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 anticipation that when the Supreme Court rules on the Harris v. Quinn case (which involves eight home health care workers in Illinois who were being compelled to pay dues to a union they don’t wish to join), that unions will be put on notice that they are over-reaching their power. Neal suggested that the ruling could represent a tectonic shift in the way unions hold sway over public unions.
(NOTE: the show was taped before the justices voted 5-4 that the home health care workers at issue in the case are not “full-fledged public employees” because they are hired and fired by individual patients and work in private homes, though they are paid in part by the state, via Medicaid. They do not have to pay union dues. But the Court did not rule that state laws requiring union membership are unconstitutional).
Neal noted that as a business owner he was discouraged by a rough 1st quarter that saw many consumers not involved in the marketplace. Any White House pronouncement that the economy is “roaring back” is pure hyperbole.
Joining Made in America was Daniel J. Mitchell, a top expert on tax reform and supply-side tax policy and is a senior fellow at the Cato Institute.
“The establishment press is highlighting all these good things happening in the economy, but this is the weakest recovery from an economic downturn in history. And the American public is starting to understand this reality and is no longer buying the White House claims that everything is good. People are upset and they don’t see the economy recovering,” said Mitchell, who noted that we should be seeing a 4-5 percent growth rate, not 3 percent.
Mitchell is frustrated that Democrats, aware that the economy is floundering, are not standing up to call for change. They need to put party affiliations aside and do something for the country. Instead, they are letting ideology stand in the way and are moving farther to the left wing.
“We should all be worried. The population is aging, entitlements are on the rise, and our workforce is shrinking. We can’t pull out of the economy without a thriving workforce. America is starting to look like Europe, with a government that is beholden to special interest groups while they take down the country,” maintained Mitchell.
The next guest on Made in America was Phil Kerpen, president of American Commitment, a nationally syndicated columnist, a contributor to Fox News Opinion, chairman of the Internet Freedom Coalition, and author of the book Democracy Denied.
Kerpen proposed that while nobody likes Obamacare, the Democrats say they are willing to try to fix it, while the Republicans want to repeal it. Kerpen warns that the GOP is making a mistake by continuing to press to overturn Obamacare.
“When you ask people, most of them hate it, and think it needs fixing. But if you ask them if they want it repealed, most vote against it because they don’t want to go through the process again. This will hurt Republicans unless they make it clear to Americans that the Democrats are lying and have no plan at all to fix Obamacare,” proposed Kerpen.
Returning to Made in America was Fred Wszolek, a spokesman for the Workforce Fairness Institute (WFI); an organization committed to educating voters, employers, employees and citizens about issues affecting the workplace.
Wszolek re-addressed the Harris v Quinn case before the Supreme Court, and hoped that the Court’s ruling will end the practice of unions forcing employees to join unions whether they want to or not.
“Workers are discovering that public unions are a scam, skimming money from the pockets of workers to enrich the union coffers. It’s all about preserving power for the unions,” noted Wszolek.
The final guest on Made in America was return guest Horace Cooper, an adjunct fellow with the National Center for Public Policy Research, co-chairman of the Project 21 National Advisory Board and a legal commentator.
“Eric Holder has abandoned his responsibilities as attorney general. He has a powerful position, which is designed to serve the best interests of the country by upholding constitutional law, not protecting the President. When the Supreme Court votes 9-0 against an Obama administration decision, as it has for seven different cases, Holder should have anticipated this before he brought it before the Court. He’s more interested in protecting the political issues of his party than protecting the rights of Americans,” proposed Cooper, who added that Holder is actually hurting the legitimacy of the president instead of strengthening it.
Neal and Dr. Roffman moved on to their weekly segment identifying rampant cronyism.
“Just looking at what we discussed today, even before we talk about cronyism, it’s time for the American people to stand up and take exception to bad policies that hurt our economy and jobs. Our competitors around the world aren’t sitting still while our economy suffers, and this will hurt our long-term growth. It’s really scary and it’s time for people to tell the government that enough is enough,” said Neal.
Co-host Dr. Rich Roffman, turned the spotlight on John Koskinen, in line to become the IRS commissioner, who underwent some contentious grilling by the House, concerned about the lost records of his predecessor and the IRS targeting groups the Administration didn’t like.
“Here’s another big Obama donor being given a big government job. He’s given at least $85,000 to Democrats and has even contributed to Hillary Clinton, who has not even formally announced whether she is running. You have to ask: whose payroll is this guy really on, and why does he even need to take this job?” asked Dr. Roffman.
Each week Neal Asbury’ 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.
JUL
