The worst is yet to come from the Obama administration proposed Neal Asbury as he began his nationally syndicated “Neal Asbury’s Made in America” show on Radio America (now on 46 stations), adding that in light of the disastrous introduction of Obamacare people in this country have every right to wonder if this government is competent.
“The president promised that people could keep their present health insurance but some 80 million workers may lose their employer-provided coverage. That’s a real cause for concern,” noted Neal.
Made in America welcomed back Gretchen Hamel, the Executive Director of Public Notice, a team of communications and policy experts that seek to explain complex economic, regulatory, and budget issues to Americans.
“This government has gotten so big that parts of the government don’t even talk to one another, particularly at HHS, where they didn’t even tell Obama that they knew that the website wouldn’t work properly. They didn’t want it to become a political issue so they put politics ahead of serving the American people. This government has become so big it’s become incompetent, and you have to wonder if it can run smart and efficiently,” said Hamel.
One of the results, according to Hamel, is that the president’s approval ratings have plummeted.
‘People in this country are tired of politics as usual and they think that with Obamacare, they have been sold a bill of goods. The promises made by Obamacare just aren’t true, and the president isn’t involved. Many people think that Obama is a bystander in his own administration,” concluded Hamel.
Neal Asbury and co-host Dr. Roffman segued to a discussion about the worsening job situation in this country.
“You’ve got Seattle trying to pass a minimum wage of $15 per hour, which will result in companies cutting hours or moving their operations to another city. It’s time to realize that most of the jobs impacted are low-skilled, part-time jobs that were historically created for young people to give them a start on a career. Now these jobs are feeding a family, which usually means they are five times more likely to live in poverty,” said Neal.
Dr. Roffman agreed, adding that another consequence in bumping up the minimum wage is that prices will have to be increased, putting even a bigger financial burden on struggling families. He also predicted that as labor costs rise, more companies will be looking at technologies that could eliminate jobs all together.
Neal recounted the story of New Mexico Congressman Steve Pearce, who spent nearly $20,000 in government funding for airfare for a 1-day trip to Egypt. Now people are calling for him to return the money he spent.
“He should return the money because it’s our money. And while we’re at it, the government should pay back the $800 million they spent on the Obamacare website and the $500 million they gave to Solyndra,” proposed Neal.
The discussion turned to the lack of jobs, which Neal characterized as the greatest security threat faced by this country.
“We need to be able to balance our economic clout with our military clout around the world, but when our economy sputters, we don’t have the tax base to support our military which erodes our standing in the world. We can’t succeed as a country when only 47 percent of Americans have full-time jobs and that of the jobs created under Obama, 70 percent are part-time positions,” noted Neal.
Bob Beauprez, editor-in-chief of the on-line Line of Sight, joined the show as a return guest, and weighed in on the discussion of the dismal job picture.
“We have 3 million fewer jobs today than we did when the recession began. But we also added 13,000,000 more people to the population, so the employment numbers look even worse. When we see population growth we should expect a corresponding rise in the workforce, but that isn’t happening. And it doesn’t reflect the growing number of women in the workplace or the number of two-income households. Or even the thousands of people who have just walked away from looking for a job,” suggested Beauprez.
He is particularly concerned that entrepreneurs–the nation’s job creators– have lost confidence in the economy. They are willing to accept risk, but today’s uncertainties are beyond the risks they are willing to take. So Beauprez contends that they are locked down in their bunkers and are unwilling to invest in new workers.
The final guest on Made in America was returning guest Roy Paulson, an entrepreneur and a chair of the National District Export Council, who suggested that Obama understands the needs of international trade, particularly the Trans-Pacific Partnership, but has not been able to make any headway.
“Free trade agreements let the U.S. put its best foot forward, so when we engage in commercial diplomacy, it binds countries together and helps enhance banking, insurance and shipping protocols among our trading partners. In my case, the Colombian Free Trade Agreement has helped me quadruple my business,” said Paulson.
Neal and Dr. Roffman concluded the show by returning to the exploration of cronyism and its resulting waste of taxpayer dollars.
“Remember the $49 billion in stock the U.S. invested in GM? Well, we are selling the remaining shares, but it looks like we’re getting back about $38 billion, so the taxpayers took a $10 billion haircut. But you know who is going to make out just fine? GM execs who are no longer bound by the wage restrictions they faced when the government owned GM. Their payday has come,” noted Dr. Roffman.
Dr. Roffman ended the segment with the discussion of another poor government investment: Fisker Motors, which enjoyed close ties to the Obama administration. In this case, after spending $192 million in government loans and sending all the jobs to Finland, Fisker went bankrupt, still owing the U.S. $168 million. The U.S. has auctioned off the debt to a Chinese tycoon for a mere $25 million. Another haircut for U.S. taxpayers. Bottom line: no jobs created for U.S. workers…as promised by Vice-President Biden.
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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