Host Neal Asbury opened his nationally syndicated “Neal Asbury’s Made in America” show on Radio America (now on 48 stations) by completely disagreeing with the Obama administration’s assertions that the economy is improving and unemployment is declining.
“All I hear from other manufacturers is doom and gloom about their prospects. In particular the sluggish environment for exports. If exports fall, the economy and job prospects can’t grow,” noted Neal.
Returning to Made in America as a guest was Peter Morici, an American macro-economist and Professor of International Business at the R.H. Smith School of Business at the University of Maryland.
Morici contends that since Obama was elected in 2008, and taking into account Georges Bush’s administration, America gained 6,000,000 jobs. While on the face of it, this sounds positive, until you realize that under the administrations of Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton, America gained 41,000,000 jobs.
“No matter what the Obama administration, says, they aren’t creating jobs. The jobless rate may be down from its recession peak of 10 percent, but much of this results from adults, discouraged by the lack of decent job openings, having quit altogether. They are neither employed nor looking for work. And then if you factor in the Americans who would like full-time jobs but are stuck in part-time positions because businesses can hire desirable part-time workers to supplement a core of permanent, full-time employees, but at lower wages—then it’s even worse. Then there are the discouraged adults who say they would begin looking for work if conditions were better, and those working part-time but say they want full-time work, the unemployment rate hits about 15 percent, when you also factor in the effects of immigration.
He added that when you include employers who intentionally or unintentionally abuse the H-1B visa program; young people that are being duped both by unscrupulous for profit, post-secondary institutions forcing them into heavy debt; older adults lacking adequate resources to retire; the real unemployment rate is 18 percent, according to Morici. He takes exception to inept Republicans who have not presented a plan to create jobs, and who have failed to reach out to blacks and Latinos who will be a major force in the mid-term elections.
Continuing the discussion on Obama’s failed policies, Neal revealed a recent Rasmussen poll that found that 67 percent of Americans think that people are too dependent on the government. The result is that government handouts have become an opiate for many Americans, who depend on the government to survive, and blindly buy into Obama’s rhetoric.
Co-host Dr. Rich Roffman agreed, adding that the same Rasmussen poll also found that 49 percent of Americans think that government programs have actually contributed to poverty. And a recent CNN poll found that if the election were held today between Obama and Mitt Romney, 53 percent would have voted for Romney.
First-time guest on Made in America was Congressman Steve Stockman of Texas, who actually broke away from a meeting on immigration to appear on the show.
“I think House Speaker John Boehner’s immigration funding bill is in trouble in the House, because our party looks so disjointed and we’re nearing a recess. It’s splitting conservative Republicans and it is confusing,” opined Stockman.
(NOTE: After the show was taped, Boehner’s bill was confirmed by Republicans, but it took a late night voice vote by telephone to do so).
Stockman is concerned that many bills passed by Congress have unintended consequences, such as one that was designed to halt sex trafficking. But the border security is so lax that it is actually contributing to a rise in forced prostitution and even pedophilia. Stockman has suggested that America has seen an invasion of undocumented immigrants larger than the invasion of Normandy.
He also suggested that Obama wants to be impeached because angry Democrats will rise to his defense with big money donations and renewed support.
Hector Barreto, former head of the Small Business Administration (SBA) and currently Chairman of the Latino Coalition, was the final guest on Made in America, who suggested that the $15 minimum wage passed in Seattle will continue to erode the growth of small businesses, already growing at the lowest rate in decades.
“Now the labor unions are using this to go after the parent companies of franchisees to force them to raise wages. What people don’t know is that unions don’t care about small businesses; they just want to raise the minimum wage because it means that union wages will have to be increased. But I think that Seattle has made a big mistake and small businesses are uniting to fight this; and I think that when people see the unintended consequences of raising the minimum wage, they will support small businesses,” concluded Barreto.
Neal and Dr. Roffman moved on to their weekly segment identifying rampant cronyism.
“This is really more about cynicism than cronyism, when we talk about rotund filmmaker Michael Moore, who has painted himself as a regular “man of the people.” Except this man of the people has earned over $50,000,000 for his documentaries and owns nine homes. Now that he is in divorce proceedings with his wife, the man who decried capitalism is fighting tooth and nail to keep his income, blaming his wife for overspending on their $2,000,000 mansion,” proposed Dr. Roffman.
But returning to his ongoing battle to expose cronyism, Dr. Roffman contends that all the hospital systems and health insurance companies that supported the passage of Obamacare are finding they have received a windfall in profits.
“It’s amazing what can happen when consumers are forced by IRS punishment to join the Obamacare pool. Happy healthcare companies become happy Obama donors,” concluded 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.
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