Neal Asbury opened his nationally syndicated “Neal Asbury’s Made in America” show on Radio America (now on 45 stations) by wondering why we have a president who wants to talk about everything but job creation, pivoting his attention on every issue that arises while ignoring 26 million unemployed and under-employed Americans.
Made in America welcomed Carl Schramm, bestselling author, economist and entrepreneur to the show as a first time guest.
In an article he wrote for Forbes entitled “Detroit Sells Off All Evidence Of Its Once Prosperous Past,” Schramm decries the City of Detroit for putting $4 billion worth of art up for auction that was donated by wealthy citizens when Detroit was the most
prosperous city in the U.S. for two decades. He suggested that at one time Detroit could have been compared to the Italian Renaissance when wealthy patrons demonstrated their love for the city in the belief that their contributions would contribute to the glory of a city they expected to last 1,000 years.
“The biggest similarity of Detroit to the prosperous cities in Europe is that it too was diminished by corruption. In this case, Detroit needs to sell the art to satisfy billions of dollars in promised pension plans. Ironically, the money is going to the very union employees that looted the city for money in the first place. Now these people are picking through the carcass of the city by demanding it sell off its art,” said Schramm.
Schramm predicted that at least 17 other cities are facing Detroit’s economic problems, and laughs at the concept of some cities (including Detroit) creating arts districts to create revenue and jobs.
“Art comes after wealth is created. Art doesn’t create wealth,” concluded Schramm.
Neal and co-host Dr. Rich Roffman segued to a discussion about the economic pessimism that has taken hold of the country – a phrase used by John Maynard Keynes during the 1930s to describe the Great Depression.
“I’m not suggesting that we are seeing a sequel to the Great Depression, but some of Keynes’ recommendations that were adopted by FDR, are being emulated today. Particularly the belief that increased government expenditures will solve our problems. It didn’t work then and it isn’t working today,” said Neal.
Dr. Roffman agreed, adding that even Henry Morgenthau, FDR’s treasury secretary and architect of the much ballyhooed New Deal, knew that the program wasn’t working and did nothing to alleviate the nation’s crushing unemployment.
In fact, added Neal, “Rates of unemployment for the lowest-income families — those earning less than $20,000 — have topped 21 percent, nearly matching the rate for all workers during the 1930s Great Depression.”
As a result of today’s failed policies, Dr. Roffman revealed that there are more than 23 million households on food stamps –equal to the population of the entire northeastern coast.
‘People are losing hope and faith. They don’t believe that anyone in the White House can identify with the average man,” proposed Dr. Roffman.
Returning to Made in America was Chris Jacobs, Senior Policy Analyst at the Heritage Foundation, who took issue with accusations from Democrats that the GOP wants to shut down the government during a pending vote.
(NOTE: As Jacobs predicted prior to the vote, the Republican-led House passed a short-term government spending plan that would eliminate all funding for Obamacare. The measure went back to the Democratic-led Senate, which is certain to reject the provision that defunds President Barack Obama’s signature legislative achievement of his first term).
“Conservatives don’t want to shut down the government. They just want to shut down Obamacare. The country is faced with a program that takes about 1,000 pages to explain. Everyone knows that the country’s healthcare system isn’t working, but we can identify and implement those solutions that make sense and that can cut costs,” said Jacobs.
Jacobs characterized Medicaid as a “hunting license,” forcing seniors to hunt for physicians that will accept Medicaid and its low payments.
The final guest on Made in America was famed J.D. “David” Power, who in 1968 founded J.D. Power and Associates in his kitchen, which today is the voice of the customer in the auto as well as other industries.
“I’m really pleased to see that the American automobile industry has been able make ground over imports, especially those from Japan. Today, American and foreign car brands are on the same level. I think we played a role in convincing American car manufacturers to upgrade the quality of their products,” said Powers, who admitted that he received one on the first calls made by new Ford president/CEO Alan Mulally.
Powers said his organization has about 850 employees and has branched out from cars to other industries at the request of these industries that recognized the prestige that comes with a J.D. Powers award.
Powers attributed his success to the recognition that consumers wanted to have a uniform way to judge the quality of cars. Most customers recognized that the data from car companies wasn’t exactly free from bias toward their own brands.
“Our value is that over the course of some 30 years, we have helped manufacturers improve the quality of their products. The J.D. Powers award is a great incentive for companies to improve the quality of their products,” suggested Powers.
Neal and co-host Dr. Rich Roffman concluded the show by returning to the topic of cronyism and its impact on enriching friends of the White House.
Dr. Roffman returned to the Department of Energy, his favorite organization that unashamedly doles out billions of dollars to friends of the Obama administration.
The latest boondoggle is that DOE will be tapping manufacturers to produce more energy efficient products to meet new energy efficiency standards.
“When you hear the creation of the Clean Energy Manufacturing Institute, you can almost see Obama’s cronies lining up for their money. If you liked Solyndra, you’ll love this program because we know that billions of dollars will go to companies that waste their money and won’t create any meaningful jobs,” concluded Dr. Roffman.
Each week Neal Asbury’s Made in America provides Neal’s insights into the week’s top news stories and their impact on the worlds of entrepreneurship, small business ownership and the overall economy. Neal’s analysis, together with co-host Dr. Richard Roffman, a veteran 30-year publisher with extensive domestic and international experience, takes a non-biased approach based on real life experience in business as an American manufacturer and exporter. Made in America airs nationally each Saturday from 7-8:00 PM on Radio America. Link to Made in America at http://www.nealasburysmadeinamerica.com.
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