Host Neal Asbury opened his nationally syndicated “Neal Asbury’s Made in America” show on Radio America (now on 48 stations), with a sense of bewilderment that Senate Majority Leader, Harry Reid continues his war against the Keystone XL Pipeline despite the fact that many in his own party want to vote for it. Instead, Reid is asking for a vote on some nebulous energy policy, with the provision that if it gets bilateral support, he may rethink his stance on Keystone.
“Even if he gets 60 votes, we all know that President Obama will veto any approval for the Keystone XL Pipeline. Anyone with a rational mind knows that Harry Reid is just blowing smoke,” commented co-host Dr. Rich Roffman.
Returning to Made in America was Michael Whatley, Executive Vice President at Consumer Energy Alliance, who agreed with Dr. Roffman and Neal that Obama’s veto of the Keystone is a foregone conclusion and that Harry Reid is not going to get any Republicans to vote for an energy bill that gives them no leverage.
“It’s amazing how the environmental community has influenced Obama’s policies and unpopular energy programs. Mostly every state is in favor of broadening our energy policies, but our government doesn’t show any commitment. In Canada, on the other hand, even though they are a left leaning government, they have demonstrated a commitment to a variety of new energy policies,” said Whatley.
Dr. Roffman added that when we have stable, affordable energy, it helps reduce manufacturing costs and creates jobs.
“Elections have consequences, and the president needs to stop concentrating on climate change when 70% of the country wants to see gas prices fall and jobs created with an energy policy that explores all options,” concluded Whatley.
Joining the show as a return guest was Seton Motley, a consultant and the founder and president of Less Government, who is concerned that the government is trying to exert regulatory control over the Internet, despite the fact that the Internet was always designed to embrace “net neutrality.”
“The FCC is starting to recognize the rise in commercial traffic over the Internet, with companies like Netflix taking up 30% of bandwidth each night so people can download films. So the FCC is looking at Internet traffic the way some regulators look at freight – the more freight you ship, the higher your costs should be. But that’s not the way the Telecommunications Act of 1990 was structured. Now the FCC is reinterpreting the Act, applying a feature known as “market failure” to justify their interference. The Internet works because the government has stayed out of it,” proposed Motley, who added that no one wants to see the government act as an Internet provider.
The next guest on Made in America was return guest Neal Munro from the Daily Caller, who contends that the administration will invite at least 100,000 extra foreign workers to vie for U.S. jobs over the next four years. The extra foreign workers will boost the resident population of graduate guest workers above 750,000 –almost as many jobs as the entire number of 842,000 blue-collar, white-collar and professional jobs that were gained from January to the end of April.
“This ultimately will drive down wages, deprive U.S. College graduates of a fair shot at jobs, and just add to the income inequality in this country. During the 2012 presidential campaign, Obama began granting work permits to young illegal immigrants. Since then, he has given work-permits to 521,815 illegal immigrants, who compete for the jobs sought by the 4 million Americans who turn 18 each year,” wrote Munro in his Daily Caller piece. Munro predicted that we’re seeing the “Brazilianation of America,” where a small portion of the wealthy in Brazil controls the country.
The final guest on Made in America was Rob Tappan, Director of External Relations at Koch Industries, who is disappointed that the Koch Brothers have been maligned by the Obama administration and popular media outlets.
“We employ 60,000 workers in this country, 100,000 around the world, and we are hiring 100,000 new workers. Yet, the Koch Brothers are attacked for their political views, while the good they do is ignored. This includes giving $1 billion over the past 10 years for research, the arts and education. And $10 million to rebuild a New York Hospital destroyed by the hurricane. All the Koch Brothers are pushing for is a free market, reduced regulations and the desire to promote shared values,” noted Tappan.
Dr. Roffman compared Harry Reid to the Dark Side for his constant attacks on the Keystone XL Pipeline, to the Koch Brothers as Jedi Warriors fighting for free enterprise.
Dr. Roffman moved on to his weekly segment identifying rampant cronyism.
“Jet fuel for Navy planes usually sells for about $2.88 a gallon. But thanks to a cozy relationship with Gevo Inc. a big Democratic donor, the Navy is buying 500,000 gallons of green jet fuel at $150 per gallon – 64x times the price of jet fuel purchased by other entities flying jets,” revealed Dr. Roffman.
Dr. Roffman then looked at Fulcrum Biofuels, which received a $105 million contract from the Department of Agriculture. It’s no coincidence that almost every investor in Fulcrum Biofuels is also a big bundler to the Democratic Party.
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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