Host Neal Asbury opened his nationally syndicated “Neal Asbury’s Made in America” show on Radio America (now on 48 stations) with the astonishing and troubling news that some government employees’ salaries are being paid by taxpayers to work on union business.
Joining Made in America as a guest was Luke Rosiak, a Senior Watchdog Reporter for the Washington Examiner and its Data Editor, who revealed that the salaries for some 4,000 employees of the Department of Justice are being paid by taxpayers to conduct business on behalf of unions.
“There are 26 immigration judges that belong to the National Association of Immigration Judges that are being paid some $165,000 a year to work primarily on causes that support the union. They are pretty much autonomous, and this has been going on since the 1970s, to the tune of about $23 million. A priest/chaplain is being paid $90,000 a year, and almost all of his time is dealing with unions. In fact, the DOJ employees devote about 200,000 hours a year to union duties,” noted Rosiak.
Rosiak adds that most of their time is devoted to making sure that more money is reinvested in their jobs, so some of it can be used to support the politicians that support them and the unions.
Seguing to a different perspective on jobs, Neal is tired of watching the White House play the numbers game and sugarcoat employment figures as if they were a good thing.
“Crowing about 142,000 new jobs created is a joke, when you know that we need a minimum of 250,000 monthly jobs just to stay on target. They conveniently ignore the 64,000 people that dropped out of the workforce, a black unemployment picture that is above 11 percent, and a 20-30 percent unemployment rate for 18-22 year olds,” suggested Neal, who added that the unrest in Ferguson is going to be recreated in other communities as black unemployment becomes a bigger issue.
Co-host Dr. Rich Roffman agreed, adding that as more illegal immigrants are allowed to work and take jobs from blacks, the situation is only going to get worse. He notes that already in California, 1 in 10 workers are illegal immigrants – a recipe for more civil unrest.
Dan Epstein, executive director of Cause of Action, returned to the show to discuss Tesla Motors, and whether or not they truly represent a free market company. “We all like to see American companies succeed, so when Tesla announced that 100 cities in China are building charging stations so that Tesla cars can be recharged, their stock took a spike. But this accomplishment wouldn’t be possible without a big government loan (which has largely been repaid) and a $1.3 billion package of loans, grants and tax benefits from the State of Nevada to build a giant factory to build their batteries. This all sounds good until you realize that it will only create 6,500 jobs, which comes to a cost of $200,000 for each job created,” revealed Epstein, who wondered where the rest of the money would actually go: perhaps shareholders and a piece to Senator Harry Reid, who always gets a share of anything happening in Nevada.
Phil Kerpen from American Commitment, suggested that Republicans can be more effective dealing with Obamacare if they stop waiting for the “stars to align” before taking action on a program that accounts for 1/6 of the economy.
“Yes, Obamacare needs to be repealed, but what people really want in a national healthcare plan is an off-ramp, so they aren’t locked into a choice that may not be right for them. They need options,” suggested Kerpen.
Kerpen also wants to see the government stop putting regulatory barriers in front of companies that are trying to create better drugs and treatments that will really help lower healthcare costs.
Neal and Dr. Roffman moved on to their weekly segment identifying rampant cronyism.
“We usually talk about Democratic cronyism, but it’s hard to ignore the corruption trial of ex-Virginia Republican Governor Bill McDonnell, who will be first governor in Virginia to be indicted on corruption charges,” said Neal.
Dr. Roffman added that it looks like McDonnell’s wife is also guilty in the matter, as the couple racked up some $90,000 in credit card debt and accepted $165,000 in gifts which they hoped would help offset their economic woes.
Just to get back on course evaluating Democratic cronyism, Dr. Roffman thought it peculiar that Chuck Todd, a political reporter who has cozied up to President Obama, was able to score a one-on-one interview with the President just as Todd was taking over the reins of Meet The Press.
“It’s nice that the President wanted to help Todd score some good TV ratings for this new show—maybe even help with the questions,” suggested 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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