Host Neal Asbury opened his nationally syndicated “Neal Asbury’s Made in America” show on Radio America (now on 48 stations), with a recap of the ultimate story of cronyism involving the attempted forced takeover of Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy’s grazing land in a secretive deal orchestrated by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and political allies in the solar industry.
“Under the guise of an environmental story concocted by Harry Reid and others to protect desert tortoises, the attempted seizure of Bundy’s land is nothing more than a way for top Democrats and supporters to enrich themselves at the expense of taxpayers and Bundy,” proposed Neal, adding that it ultimately will hurt job creation.
Co-host Dr. Rich Roffman suggested that this story has all the makings of a screenplay, replete with characters ranging from Al Gore and Ted Turner, to Goldman Sachs and a Chinese solar panel company, to Harry Reid’s son Rory, who stands to make millions off this proposed $5 billion solar farm.
To continue the conversation, Made in America welcomed guest DeDe Banke, a former Bush aide and frequent FOX-TV contributor, who characterized the attempted Bundy ranch seizure as “un-American.”
“This move is more in character with a dictatorship than a Democracy. You can’t take people’s property in the dark on trumped-up charges. This should end Reid’s political career and put him into the Hall of Shame,” predicted Banke.
Dr. Roffman agreed, wondering why desert tortoises are a priority while thousands of illegal immigrants pouring into this country through Nevada are ignored. Dr. Roffman also wondered why this story isn’t being played up by mainstream media.
“Pelosi and Reid think they can get away with anything. This is a very ugly story that will only get uglier,” concluded Banke.
The discussion turned to Neal’s recent Newsmax column in which he accuses Congress of taking exports hostage by fighting over granting President Obama fast track negotiating authority (or Trade Promotion Authority –TPA), which gives the President the authority to negotiate international agreements.
“More than 38 million American jobs depend on trade, so anything that interferes with America’s ability to negotiate trade deals hurts our economy and job creation. Our president must be able to sit across the table from other nations with the authority to complete trade agreements. As it stands now, without this authority, trade deals need to be authorized by 435 members of Congress, under the Commerce clause. This simply isn’t realistic and puts America at a disadvantage during trade negotiations,” noted Neal.
Dr. Roffman added that this is a bad time for this infighting when America stands at the crossroads of becoming a net exporter of energy, creating new revenue and U.S. jobs.
Joining the show was return guest Lowell Ponte, an author and radio host, who revealed that it now takes the average American four months to make the wages just to pay for their taxes. In 1900, it took only 3 weeks.
“Taxes and regulations hurt everyone. Under JFK, 50 cents of every tax dollar went to national defense. Today, 70 cents of every tax dollar goes to pet programs of politicians. Today, the average income for Americans is $53,000 due to overwhelming regulations and taxes. If the same number of regulations were in place as in 1949, our average income would be $330,000,” suggested Ponte.
Ponte noted that only 86 million Americans are working full time and their taxes go to pay for the 148 million Americans who are drawing benefits.
“A recent survey found that 52 percent of Americans say our taxes are too high. Ironically, only 52 percent of Americans actually pay taxes. See something wrong here?” asked Ponte.
Ponte offered to send a copy of his book “The Great Withdrawal” for free to anyone who calls 800-630-1494.
Eyebloc Founder CJ Isakow, joined the show to discuss his new product and his appearance on the popular TV show “Shark Tank.”
“People don’t know this but other people can watch you through your own webcam. In light of the NSA revelations, and news that someone was stalking Miss Teenage USA through her webcam and that high school personnel were watching students through their webcams, I realized that there was a need for a product that could block this snooping. So I came up with Eyebloc, which covers the webcam lens,” said Isakow.
Sales didn’t immediately take off, so Isakow agreed to appear on Shark Tank to try and get advice and investments. He ultimately did not attract an investor, but learned important lessons about promotional marketing and the need for a product extension. Today, the Eyebloc is sold on Amazon for $5.99.
Neal and Dr. Roffman segued to their weekly segment identifying rampant cronyism.
Neal noted that people need to be paying more attention to cronyism because it has now infiltrated the very top of the U.S. government. He warned that allowing people in power to hide behind a smoke screen of supposed altruism when they are merely enriching themselves is a dangerous precedent.
Dr. Roffman returned to the Bundy ranch situation as an example of the worst kind of cronyism since it involves so many people connected to the Obama administration who will benefit financially from this illegal land seizure.
“You have the U.S. government inventing an environmental emergency to steal land from a rancher whose family worked this land since the 1870s. He’s now the only rancher left in this county. And who will benefit from this action? Leftist elitists and Obama fundraising bundlers. And let’s not forget that we’re seizing American land to give to a Chinese solar panel company so cronies can enrich themselves,” said Dr. Roffman.
Dr. Roffman concluded his cronyism report with the news that highly paid left wing pundit Paul Krugman, who is front and center in the discussion of the battle of economic inequality in this country, has accepted a $225,000 nine-month contract from the City University of New York to study how people in the 1 percent are fueling the economic inequality.
“All he has to do is look in the mirror,” quipped 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.
APR
