Host Neal Asbury opened his nationally syndicated “Neal Asbury’s Made in America” show on Radio America (now on 71 stations) by proclaiming that the “world is upside down,” as evidenced by the fact that Obama has allied himself with Republicans over granting him fast-track authority for the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP). Meanwhile, Obama has turned against trade unions that have been in Obama’s back pocket.
In introducing the Competitive Enterprise Institute’s Marlo Lewis, Neal noted that the EPA continues to make bogus claims about global warming that are hurting job creation.
“It’s unbelievable the games that the EPA is playing about global warming. They are claiming that the regulations they enact today will result in $31 billion in benefits by the year 2030. This calculation is outrageous since there’s no way to project this into the future. Most people believe that by 2023, nobody throughout the world will feel any difference in temperature,” proposed Lewis, who is a frequent guest on Made in America.
Co-host Dr. Rich Roffman agreed with Lewis, who noted that a recent Duke University study suggested that the government’s climate models are all wrong, and that any changes in the environment are due to natural causes and have nothing to do with humans.
Lewis is skeptical of the EPA’s calculations that are based on the “social cost of carbon,” which ignore the fact that the EPA’s new Clean Power regulations will cost some 500,000 manufacturing jobs and reduce the household income for a family of four by $28,000 over the next few years.
Neal and Dr. Roffman returned to the discussion of the TPP and puzzlement why Obama, unlike nearly every past president, has not been granted fast-track authority to negotiate trade agreements. Neal believes that every president should be granted automatic fast-track authority.
“I realize that Obama’s track record as a negotiator is lacking, but it’s important to remember that free trade agreements not only generate jobs and revenue but set better standards of human and labor rights and the environment. Trade agreements make the world a better place,” said Neal.
Dr. Roffman agreed, adding that due to Obama’s lack of transparency while negotiating deals he made with China and Iran, many members of congress and even from his own party don’t trust him. They are especially afraid that he will try and insert a clause that gives illegal immigrants amnesty.
Neal noted as the Commerce Clause in the Constitution makes clear, congress and the president have the authority to negotiate trade agreements. Neal added that it is impractical for 535 members of congress to individually get involved in trade negotiations, so they need to give the president the ability to negotiate on their behalf.
“Seven out of the 11 countries involved in TPP already have free trade agreements with the U.S., so it makes no sense for people to stand in the way of this important agreement,” maintained Neal.
Made in America welcomed first-time guest Curtis Ellis, a political communications consultant and writer, who echoed Neal’s and Dr. Roffman’s take on fast track authority.
“Both the right and left are against TPP. TPP is not a free trade agreement; it is a managed trade agreement. Congress is afraid that in the event that this administration, or a future president, decides to add China to TPP, will Congress be limited to a simple up-or-down vote, without amendment, on the decision to have a free trade agreement with China? Ideally, under fast–track, Congress can’t change a word of the agreement,” suggested Ellis.
Ellis recalled that Reagan did not have fast-track authority when he negotiated America’s involvement in the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade agreement (GATT), but he kept congress updated on the negotiations during the process, so that when the agreement was reached the 126 parties involved knew that it had the support of congress. Obama, on the other hand, is doing the TPP negotiations “by himself,” with no congressional involvement.
Chase Downham of Americans for Prosperity was the final guest on Made in America, who maintained that repealing the estate tax (or death tax) is long overdue. “The controversial death tax falls directly on the next generation of Americans and builds harmful distortions and inefficiencies into our economy that hurt everyone by stifling economic growth. It is simply wrong to punish Americans who work hard throughout their lives by confiscating the fruits of their labor when they die,” proposes Americans for Prosperity.
Downham noted that most states have already repealed the estate tax, with only 19 that still have a death tax. The death tax is particularly unfair to farmers who may be unable keep the farm in the family.
Dr. Roffman agreed, suggesting that people have the impression that the state tax is targeted to “fat cats,” when it is actually hurting small business owners, farmers, and minority business owners.
In his recurring cronyism report, Dr. Roffman revealed that the Clinton Foundation had a large role in helping Russia grab 25% of North America’s uranium deposits. Uranium One, a company owned by Canadian mining executives, needed help closing the sale, so they made a $2.35 million donation to the Clinton Foundation, and a Russian investment bank gave Bill Clinton $500,000 to give a speech in Moscow.
“Not only was this done while Hillary Clinton was Secretary of State, but this donation doesn’t appear in her public records and her emails involving this transaction have been purposely erased from her files. This blatant example of cronyism could have far reaching implications for the U.S. and the world if Russia controls our uranium deposits,” 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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