Host Neal Asbury opened his nationally syndicated “Neal Asbury’s Made in America” show on Radio America (now on 69 stations) by noting that the jobless rates coming out of the White House are pure fiction. Despite reports that jobs are being created, these reports don’t take into account that each month, the employment numbers are falling behind the 60,000-70,000 jobs that must be created to keep pace with new workers entering the jobs market; and ignore the number of workers who have taken part-time jobs because they couldn’t find a full-time job.
Co-host Dr. Rich Roffman agreed, and added that the numbers also don’t take into account the millions of people who have simply dropped out of the job market and aren’t accounted for in the unemployment numbers. It also doesn’t take into account the 55.5 million women who are no longer in the labor force.
Returning to Made in America was Professor Peter Morici from the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business, who is a recognized expert on economic policy and international economics.
Morici echoed Neal’s contention that the jobless numbers are a fraud, and estimated that if all the people who have dropped out of the labor market were included in the jobless numbers, the rate would be closer to 10 percent, not the 6 percent trumpeted by the Obama administration. And if it included the millions of workers who took part-time jobs because they couldn’t find full-time work, the jobless numbers would be closer to 20 percent.
“We still have one out of six workers in the 25-54 age group that aren’t working, and the administration’s policies aren’t helping to rectify this,” suggested Morici.
In particular, Morici pointed to the growing American trade deficit – now at $3 billion – that has stopped the creation of at least 3 million new jobs.
“And our trade policy should not include importing oil. A lot of the money we send is seeping into the funding of terrorists. We need to be using more domestic oil, proposed Morici, who also noted that the glut of federal regulations and cronyism are killing growth.
As an example, Morici revealed that the CEO of Comcast, a big Obama supporter, has been able to have the Treasury Department deem cable wires as real estate, allowing Comcast to pay much lower taxes.
“The cronyism of the Obama administration is amazing, especially as it applies to the banking industry. Bush put crooked bankers in jail while Obama rewards them because they are big donors,” noted Morici.
Neal and Dr. Roffman returned to a discussion of the 55 million women who aren’t in the workforce, and wondered how the Democrats can accuse Republicans of waging a war on women.
“What’s worse for many women who are in the workforce, is that they are supporting spouses or significant others who can’t find a job,” suggested Dr. Roffman.
He also noted the bleak future for millennials – 13 million of whom can’t find a job. And that even companies like the NY Times are laying off employees.
“People have lost that feeling that they can grab their piece of the American Dream. And yet “mainstream” media report that everything is OK. But I think we’re in for a momentous mid-term election when people wake up and realize that everything is not OK,” proposed Neal.
The next guest was Fred Smith, founder of the Competitive Enterprise Institute, who suggested that America looks at American business as the enemy, while 84 percent of Chinese look favorably at big business.
“The American business community hasn’t done a good job explaining how they contribute to the nation’s success. Suddenly, capitalism is bad. You’ve got the kids of successful business leaders asking why they do such terrible things. We haven’t done a good job encouraging more people to embrace business and become entrepreneurs,” proposed Smith, who urged American businesses to stop apologizing for their success. Neal agreed and noted that Hillary Clinton has run away from her success and money so she would appear to be a more viable candidate. With tongue in cheek, Neal proposed that it looks like the American people would sooner vote for a candidate who has accomplished nothing, rather than someone who has made money.
Joining the show was Amelio Torres, vice president of Denver-based Brand 44, a leader in backyard adventures that encourages kids to spend more time exploring the outdoors.
“We teach kids how to do things outside, combining education and activity. Our biggest sellers are our Zip-Lines and Slacklines, which can be erected in the backyard. We’re only four years old but have 13 full-time employees, and we anticipate future growth,” said Torres.
Neal and Dr. Roffman moved on to their weekly segment identifying rampant cronyism.
“Electronic medical recordkeeping is really important for patient safety, but when it fails, like it did in Texas when Tom Duncan died of Ebola after his medical information was incorrectly reviewed, there is a real problem. In this case, the Texas hospital, like hospitals across the country, was using a system called EPIC. One reason the EPIC system has grown is that its founder, Judy Faulkner, a big Democratic donor, received part of $30 billion in federal subsidies for this industry. Maybe we need to review some financial recordkeeping,” 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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