Host Neal Asbury opened his nationally syndicated “Neal Asbury’s Made in America” show on Radio America (now on 70 stations) by proposing that he wasn’t surprised that the Supreme Court upheld ACA. But while it may temporarily give pause to the GOP, this issue could actually help them in 2016.
Co-host Dr. Rich Roffman agreed, and warned that it is indicative of the GOP not being able to communicate their messages, including their alterative to ACA.
The first guest on Made in America was Tennessee Congresswoman, Diane Black, a nurse for more than 40 years, who not surprisingly, has some strong opinions on the ACA vote.
“If you read the Scalia opinion, the language is very clear. This should be a concern for both Democrats and Republicans who are seeing Obamacare costs rise, along with out-of-pocket expenses. It’s hurting everyone. It has to be replaced with a bill that will be patient-centered and not cost Americans more than they can afford,” suggested Congresswoman Black.
Neal concurred, adding that he was particularly troubled that Obama characterized the ACA as being “woven into the fabric of America.”
“”The administration was wrong about everything connected to ACA. Young people didn’t sign up for it, people can’t pick their own doctors, and the costs are way above what they were promised. Look, Tennessee was a pilot state for a single payer system. It collapsed under its own weight, so I knew that the ACA was not going to work,” noted Black.
Dr. Roffman attributed a lot of the problems to an activist judiciary that is responding emotionally, instead of upholding the law.
Congresswoman Black agreed, adding that the job of the Supreme Court is not to give its own opinions, but follow the law.
The discussion turned to a headline that caught Neal’s attention which noted that as a result of Michelle Obama’s school lunch program, a “black market” has been created in school cafeterias where kids are selling sugar-laded snacks to kids who crave the food they grew up with.
This segued to a discussion about Congress granting Obama Trade Promotion Authority and whether Obama will be able to get the Trans Pacific Partnership trade agreement passed.
“It’s not a bad thing that Obama has gotten TPA, it’s just that I’m still concerned about the lack of transparency dealing with TPP. Nobody knows what’s in it and who controls it,” proposed Dr. Roffman.
Neal agreed, and reminded listeners that while Obama has Trade Promotion Authority, TPP can’t be passed unless it is approved by Congress during a 60-day discovery period, after which they can vote it up or down.
“Free trade agreements just aren’t about tariffs, they also involve environmental issues, intellectual property protection, and human rights issues,” noted Neal.
The next guest on Made in America was Seton Motley, President of Less Government and Editor in Chief of StopNetRegulation.org, who is a frequent guest on the show.
“This administration is all about the power. How many times has the government royally messed up something? And not fired anyone? Or done anything that remotely resembles improving their performance?” asked Motley.
Motley pointed to the ultimate power grab that enabled the FCC to base the distribution of free cell phones, the origin of which, can be traced to a land line phone initiative passed in 1934 called Lifeline that was created so that people could call 911 if they had an emergency. Now people all over are using this old law to get new free cell phones. I don’t remember Congress authorizing this,” related Motley.
Dr. Roffman shared the result of recent Gallup poll that found that Americans have lost confidence in just about everything the government does.
The final guest on Made in America was Dan Ogden, the immediate past President of the Export Import Council and an international trade attorney.
“I’m really disappointed about the misinformation out there relating to the TPP and TPA. The accusation was that we were trying to hide something, but it’s not unusual for a trade deal to be negotiated without the input of 535 congressmen. Keep in mind that congress has 60 days for an up or down vote when the negotiated bill is presented before them,” maintained Ogden.
Ogden also was disappointed that the EX-IM bank was not reauthorized, despite the fact that entrepreneurs and small exporters rely on it to fund their operations.
Neal shared Ogden’s concerns about the EX-IM bank, and noted that Fred P. Hochberg, Chairman and President of EX-IM, didn’t do himself any favors when he issued a press release suggesting that with the loss of EX-IM, Jeffrey Immelt (a big Obama crony) could lose out on a lucrative locomotive engine deal he had negotiated with Angola.
“This is not a message that will resonate with the public or with entrepreneurs,” said Neal.
Next up was Dr. Roffman’s ongoing series on robots, reporting that a British firm had built a fully automated robot with 3-D vision that can pick broccoli. Although initially this sounds like a breakthrough, it likely will eliminate the jobs of poor migrant pickers who rely on this work, and are the jobs “that nobody else wants.”
On the cronyism front, Dr. Roffman revealed that Jorge Ramos, host of the Hispanic Fusion Network show “America with Jorge Ramos,” disclosed that his daughter Paola has signed up as an employee of Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign.
“I’m sure that Jorge will give an impartial assessment of Hillary’s candidacy and give balanced coverage of Republicans,” proposed Dr. Roffman with his tongue firmly in his cheek.
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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