Will 2011 be the Year of Compromise or the Year of Paralysis?

The year 2010 was like a film that flickered before us with the usual events playing out on the screen – politician’s posturing for ultimate domination. Then in November, someone spliced in a surprise ending. We knew that the GOP would take back the House, but then suddenly President Obama began supporting the Bush tax cuts, the same tax cuts he campaigned so vigorously against. We didn’t see that coming. But here are five predictions that will be coming. 1) The Obama Compromise is a Ruse. President Obama will use the Bush tax cut passage during the lame duck session of Congress to position himself as a man of compromise. However he will only pretend to compromise. He is fully committed to the progressive agenda. He will take one step forward then two steps backwards toward... Read More

Taxation as Self-Flagellation

The two things to understand about our economy are American entrepreneurs and small business owners create wealth where wealth does not exist. They expand the wealth pool of all Americans, not just themselves. By expanding America’s wealth pool they increase America’s tax base. Therefore by creating policies that get our best producing businesses feeling confident about the future we solve all sorts of problems not least of which is job creation and the containment of our destabilizing deficits. The second thing we need to understand is Americans are longing to feel good again. We want our mojo back. We will not feel good again until we are economically secure. We will not be economically secure until we are all working. Yet, there are those that are fixated on a different path for small... Read More

Can the U.S. Afford to Lose Any More Friends?

When it looked like we would finally have a signed Free Trade Agreement with South Korea, an important U.S. ally, I was optimistic that it signaled a sea of change in our approach to trade relations. Boy, was I naïve! The word from the White House is that the U.S.-Colombian Free Trade Agreement, first signed in 2006, will not be readied for final passage. Once again, American trade unions have been able to convince President Obama that passage will result in the loss of American jobs. This is pure fiction – the same kind of sordid claims by American trucking unions that allowing Mexican truckers to transport goods into the U.S. represents a safety hazard. These misguided positions to further selfish self-interests threatens the NAFTA agreement, one of this nation’s most important... Read More

Did the U.S. Really Win the Tire Fight with China?

The headline in The Wall Street Journal was “U.S. Wins China-Tire Fight,” and proceeded to detail how the ”World Trade Organization handed the U.S. a big victory in a fight with China over tire imports, bolstering the Obama administration’s effort to show it is tough on enforcement as it girds for a battle in Congress over passage of a free trade pact with South Korea. The WTO’s Dispute-Settlement Panel ruled last Monday in favor of President Barack Obama’s decision in September 2009 to levy tariffs of up to 35% on Chinese tires.” But did the US really win? Last year on “Truth for America” in the midst of this legal battle our featured guest was Marguerite Trossevin, who represents a coalition of U.S. tire companies that import Chinese tires. On the show she said... Read More

Exports Are Good Gauge of US Growth

We’ve grown so accustomed to reading about bad news that when there’s a glimmer of hope, it’s largely ignored. Suddenly, like when a flower sprouts at the end of one of those apocalyptic movies, the U.S. trade deficit has narrowed and exports are up despite the fact that trade has been largely ignored and mishandled by our government for years. Drawn on a proud history of rebounding after economic meltdowns, trade has found a way to persevere. A recent economic report showed that the trade deficit narrowed to $38.7 billion in October from a revised $44.6 billion in September. Economists had expected the deficit to widen to $44.5 billion from the $44 billion originally reported for the previous month. A jump in exports contributed to the narrower deficit, with the value... Read More

China Exacts Its Revenge from Morphine Economics

At one time, Western nations treated China like a poor stepchild, even going to the point of illicitly providing opium to its citizens enabling a terrible addiction. After President Obama’s recent Asian debacle, China now treats the US like the poor stepchild. Now it is America that is hooked on the sinister drug of Morphine Economics and it is largely China providing the US the drug that is making us weaker each day. Here’s an historical perspective. Low demand for British goods in China and high demand for Chinese goods such as silk and tea in Britain during the 17th century forced the British traders to purchase these products with silver and gold, the only currency accepted by the Chinese. The British quickly began accumulating a large trade deficit that it could not sustain. They... Read More

HIS MISSION: FAIR TRADE

BY MIMI WHITEFIELD Neal Asbury, a South Florida entrepreneur and international trader, is a man with a mission. An unabashed U.S. booster, he wants to carry the mantra of fair and open business and trade practices around the world. In an international career that has spanned three decades and in which he has logged more than four million miles of travel, Asbury has seen plenty to lead him to the conclusion that the United States can do better — much better — in global commerce. The world, he said, is clamoring for U.S. products but the United States needs to take a leadership role in promoting a more equitable world trading system, especially in light of the rising power of Asian nations that are laser-focused on economic success linked to international commerce. “It’s not that American... Read More

Looking at Strike Three

If President Obama was trying to revive his approval ratings with his foreign tour and dance demonstrations, he’s heading in the wrong direction. First, he struck out in South Korea on getting a badly needed Free Trade Agreement ratified. Now he’s struck out again in the G-20 Summit where he was unable to convince world leaders to approve US currency policy changes and to put pressure on China to stop manipulating their currency. While there are no guarantees in international negotiations, the President’s inability to build consensus with foreign leaders can be traced to his administration’s disengagement on trade policies. Worse, world leaders have rejected America’s fiscal policies. Like most of us, the world leaders are skeptical that the Federal Reserve System’s creation... Read More

What Took You So Long To Wake Up To Trade?

In addition to all the promising changes we hope to see in our government after the Republican election landslide, the Democratic meltdown seems to have awakened President Obama’s interest in trade. Yes, we were initially optimistic that trade would take the forefront of his policies when in his State of the Union address he promised to double exports in five years. But then nothing happened. Now he is embarking on a trip to Asia to expand trade agreements, highlighted by a trip to India. Initial reports indicate that Obama loosened U.S. trade restrictions with India that will result in a $10 billion new export deal. And guess what? This single deal is projected to create 50,000 American jobs. Why did it take him so long to wake up to the reality that when U.S. exports increase so do... Read More

“Conscientious Equity” Now Available!

Dear Readers, “Conscientious Equity: An American Entrepreneur’s Solution to the World’s Greatest Problems” is about the power for positive change in a world driven by commerce and free enterprise. We must look past worn-out political ideologies to find solutions to the destabilizing issues that plague our planet-crippling corruption, poverty, and environmental plunder. But in a larger sense, “Conscientious Equity” is about awareness, understanding, and action. Too often we are consumed by the happenings within our micro-environment and become blind to our roles and responsibilities in a global setting. Through “Conscientious Equity”, I address the consequences of the United State’s unbalanced approach to trade and how that adversely impacts... Read More