Host Neal Asbury opened his nationally syndicated “Neal Asbury’s Made in America” show on Radio America (now on 70 stations) with his astonishment that during his State of the Union Address, President Obama padded himself on the back for the booming economy.
“How can we have a booming economy when just this past week DreamWorks announced it was laying off hundreds of animation workers; WetSeal announced it was eliminating 60 percent of its workforce; Radio Shack was laying off 30 percent of its employees as it heads for bankruptcy; and EBay announced it was laying off as many 2,400 workers? That doesn’t sound like a booming economy to me,” proposed Neal.
In his introduction of the first guest on Made in America, returning guest David Harsanyi, a nationally syndicated columnist and senior editor at The Federalist, Neal challenged Obama’s assertion that climate change was the biggest challenge facing our children. Harsnayi was equally skeptical.
“It may seem counterintuitive, but the global use of fossil fuels has helped people stave off poverty, even as it has helped preserve our health and per capita income. This idea that global warming is a big threat needs to be addressed. It’s a better moral decision to use fossil fuels than worry about global warming,” noted Harsanyi.
Co-host Dr. Rich Roffman agreed, suggesting that we’re so caught up in the global warming agenda that we are ignoring the fact that if global warming was as bad as some claim it is, why have the winters in the U.S. been as terrible today as they were 100 years ago? The Farmer’s Almanac seems to make this very same point.
Harsanyi concurred, adding that every time there is a storm, it’s blamed on global warming.
The next guest on Made in America was Marc Scribner, a Fellow with the Competitive Enterprise Institute, who can’t understand why some people are unhappy about the drop in gas prices, which is a benefit for everyone. He notes that there are many hidden agendas revolving around energy.
“At one time the eco-left cheered the idea that if America was energy efficient, it would help keep the nation safer. And as prices fell, more taxes could be added to help drop consumption. But now that prices have dropped, and should stay low for a time, these groups are invisible. The tax fight will probably take place at the state level, not at the federal level,” suggested Scribner.
Neal shared the news that he was invited to become the Entrepreneur in Residence at Nova Southeastern University, where he can help inspire more young people to explore entrepreneurship and global trade.
This was applauded by the next guest on Made in America, Brian Meece, chief executive of RocketHub, which focuses on creating middle-class jobs through entrepreneurship.
“The key to entrepreneurship is promoting the concept at an early age, but unfortunately our education system does little to instill that passion. Kids with good ideas that endure our education system slowly lose their ambition. I’m trying to create space where kids can discover entrepreneurship, not learn it. They can’t be afraid to fail, because at an early age that’s the time to take risks,” proposed Meece.
Lawson Bader, president of the Competitive Enterprise Institute, was the final guest on Made in America. The discussion returned to Obama’s State of the Union Address.
“You can really tell when people are turning off Obama. The TV ratings for the State of the Union were the lowest in years and even members of Congress seemed to be dozing off. John Boehner looked like he was asleep with his eyes open. After the speech, Boehner described Obama’s demeanor as a scene out of The Untouchables,” said Dr. Roffman.
Bader noted that if last year’s State of the Union was the “Year of the Taunt,” this year was the “Year of the Hail Mary Pass,” where Obama tried to score points by congratulating himself for the great job that he thinks he did.
“He continues to focus on issues that aren’t reflective of what the average person wants to hear. The income tax credit, and cybersecurity aren’t at the top of most people’s priority lists. So he always returns to all the ‘free’ benefits that people can get from the government—which of course are never free,” concluded Bader.
As part of his ongoing segment on the rise in the development of robots to replace human workers, Dr. Roffman noted that artificial intelligence, the theme of popular science fiction movies such as Blade Runner, 2001, The Terminator, I-Robot and HER, is becoming closer to reality.
On the cronyism front, when President Obama applauded the courage of Rebekah Erler during the State of the Union Address for her ability to bounce back from hard times, the nation cheered. But Dr. Roffman revealed that far from being someone plucked from obscurity, Rebekah has been a Democratic fundraiser for many years, and her spotlight during the TV address was essentially a reward.
Through the years, Dr. Roffman has discussed the billions of dollars that Senator Diane Feinstein’s husband has received in government contracts while she sat on the appropriations committee; including $1 billion in commissions he will receive from the $19 billion sale of postal property through his own real estate company.
“She recently abruptly walked away from the military construction committee, where it seems she could no longer refute a conflict of interest. But the Feinsteins will rest comfortably with the crony dollars they have received,” proposed 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
JAN
