Host Neal Asbury opened his nationally syndicated “Neal Asbury’s Made in America” show on Radio America (now on 70 stations) with the sobering news that America has the lowest percentage of working Americans since 1977. Only 62 percent of Americans are in the workforce, with some 93 million sitting on the sidelines.
The first guest on Made in America was former Maryland congressman Albert Witt, who suggested that the race troubles in Baltimore and in other major cities can be attributed to a lack of jobs.
“It’s not about government assistance programs, it’s about creating jobs. Many of Obama’s regulations hurt job creation. They are too stringent and wind up costing every American $2,000 a year,” according to Congressman Witt.
Congressman Witt noted that the new EPA regulation regarding ozone is one of those regulations that hurt job creation because it punishes manufacturers. He also believes that one-party rule doesn’t work and he wants to see both political parties work together on job creation. He especially wants legislators to start listening to the needs of manufacturers and how they can help create jobs by limiting regulations and taxes.
Co-host Dr. Rich Roffman added that American corporations need to be successful and not subject to onerous regulations so they can compete globally and create U.S. jobs.
The discussion turned back to ill-conceived regulations, especially those proposed by the EPA. The EPA continues to support wind and solar firms despite the fact that 19 solar companies went out of business, taking with them billions of dollars of American taxpayer money.
Neal added that the new EPA ozone regulations are based on questionable science and the results are flawed.
The next guest on Made in America was Lain Murray from the Competitive Enterprise Institute, who is concerned about pending federal regulations from the Department of Labor that would force employers to pay overtime for any employees making $50,000 or less per year.
“This pending law will set back labor relations to about 1970, at a time when labor unions ruled the workplace. Now the NLRB is trying to revive this method of operation. This will diminish the ability of middle managers to progress because they will be unable to put in the extra time to hone their craft. They will have to account for every hour, but employers will have to pay them overtime,” according to Murray, who adds that it could reduce hiring and headcount.
The final guest on Made in America was Dan Mitchell, Senior Fellow for the Cato Institute.
Neal suggested that Greece is going the way of Detroit when it comes to a failed economy, and now Puerto Rico is the next trouble spot on the horizon.
“Greece has simply borrowed more money than they can repay. Their welfare state is collapsing. And more countries with a heavy entitlement load will follow, including the U.S., although the U.S. will not suffer much if Greece collapses. Germany will feel the brunt,” noted Mitchell.
Dr. Roffman noted that the debt in Greece is 180 percent of their GDP.
“The Europeans have leverage. The Greek banking system is insolvent and they rely on the EU. Greece can’t afford to alienate the EU or they will run out of money. It’s morally reprehensible what Greece is doing with their economy,” proposed Mitchell, who added that Greece needs to know they need to produce more to earn more money.
“No sugar Daddy wants to bail them out,” concluded Mitchell.
Next up was Dr. Roffman’s ongoing series on robots, reporting that a pair of Japanese robots was married. No information on what they received as wedding gifts.
On the cronyism front, Dr. Roffman revealed that despite the EPA’s ongoing involvement in funding failed solar programs, they have found a backdoor way to get back in the program by convincing the EPA that federally subsidized housing must use 300 megawatts of electricity generated by solar power.
“You can bet the same players in solar energy that got money in the first round will once again get money from the EPA thanks to their crony relationships,” suggested Dr. Roffman.
Dr. Roffman also noted that a multi-million dollar high speed train project in California was given to Nancy Pelosi’s husband.
“Doesn’t it make you feel strange that nobody in Congress found anything wrong about a deal like this?” asked Dr. Roffman.
Finally Dr. Roffman revealed that the EPA has gotten so cozy with its vendors and consultants that they are using them to write the new regulations, which will profit the very companies writing the regulations.
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.
JUL
