Benjamin Zycher is a senior fellow at the Pacific Research Institute, the President of Benjamin Zycher Economics Associates, and an adjunct Professor of Economics and Business at the Martin V. Smith School of Business and Economics, California State University, Channel Islands. In addition, he is a member of the advisory board of the quarterly journal Regulation, of the advisory council of USA for Innovation, and the advisory council of Consumer Alert.

His previous positions include:

Senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research;
Senior economist at the RAND Corporation;
Member of the Board of Directors of the Western Economic Association International;
Adjunct professor of economics at the University of California, Los Angeles;
Vice president for research at the Milken Institute;
Founding editor of the quarterly public policy journal Jobs & Capital; and
Senior staff economist at the President’s Council of Economic Advisers for the first two years of the Reagan Administration.
He holds a Ph.D. in Economics from the University of California Los Angeles (1979) and a Master of Public Policy from the University of California Berkeley (1974).

When Unions Punish Mexican Truckers They Punish Every American.

As I have maintained countless times, NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement) is by far the most beneficial trade legislation Congress has ever passed. Today, Mexico imports more U.S. made products than China and Japan combined. In fact, a guest on my radio show “Truth for America,” former U.S. Secretary of Commerce, Carlos Gutierrez, noted that during 2008, the U.S. exported $115 billion to Mexico (up 13 percent). All in all, thirty percent of all U.S. trade goes to our two NAFTA partners.

You would think this country would do everything it could to nourish this relationship. But with the tacit approval of the Obama administration, the Teamsters Union has manufactured unsubstantiated data that Mexican truckers transporting goods into the U.S. from Mexico are unsafe. This despite a number of studies that have shown that the safety record of Mexican trucks in the U.S. is actually better than that of U.S. truckers. Consequently, the Teamsters have shut down Mexican truckers from trying to move goods across the border.

In retaliation, the Mexican government has imposed punishing tariffs on a number of U.S. goods being exported to Mexico. The first round of tariffs was imposed in 2009. Just recently Mexico announced new tariffs on 26 previously tariff-free goods. These include produce items such as oranges, grapefruits, apples and pistachios, as well as ketchup, chewing gum, and chocolate. This has raised the cost of these American produced goods by more than twenty percent to the Mexican consumer. You can guess the outcome. Mexican consumers will no longer buy U.S. goods, but will look for cheaper imports from countries that have a better trading relationship with Mexico such as the European Union.

Mexican Economic Minister Bruno Ferrari came out recently with the sobering data that after the first round of higher tariffs were sanctioned by Mexico in 2009, imports of these U.S. items dropped by eighty-one percent during the first year.

U.S. small businesses and American farmers are being punished because of the new clout gained by the Teamsters Union after they threw their support behind Obama. Now the administration looks the other way even as these tariffs have resulted in U.S. job losses.

What is there not to understand about a Free Trade Agreement? It means that nations can trade with each other without tariffs and undue trade regulations . Both sides win. The United States enjoys a trade surplus with our seventeen Free Trade partners. But while we’re watching the drug cartels control the U.S./Mexican border, no one seems to be watching the Teamsters Union control the border in a different way that is equally devastating.

I’m a proud U.S. exporter and despise undue tariffs anywhere, but in this case, I side with the Mexican government. We are abrogating a signed treaty that has proved immensely valuable for both countries. We have allowed greedy union leaders to punish Mexican truckers which they consider competition. Yet, what they are really doing is punishing U.S. workers and small businesses.

If you want to see an improvement in our border, start by demanding that the administration conform to our treaty obligations of NAFTA. We did not elect the Teamsters Union to patrol our border. We thought we were electing someone who had a plan to create jobs. Take the first step this November and elect members of Congress that will pay attention to the trade war brewing with Mexico by supporting NAFTA. This is a war we cannot afford.

China likes to make noise that they are adopting “Green” standards that will take the target off their backs from environmental groups who see China as the world’s leading polluter. Just recently they announced they are closing down 2,000 steel mills and other industrial sites that are polluting the skies. Green initiative or propaganda? You choose.

The latest report out of China, as detailed in news reports, is that during the first half of 2010, China’s air quality actually deteriorated. In fact, for the first time in five years, acid rain is now making life miserable in more than 200 of its 440 cities.

I’ve seen this first hand during many visits to China and I can tell you it is a nightmare. A yellow mist hangs over its cities making it nearly impossible to breathe. People walk the streets choking while wearing masks. Pulmonary disease is off the charts.

Now comes word that a quarter of the nation’s surface water is contaminated. This will only add to their misery.

China put its priorities in the wrong order. They focused all their attention on supporting their manufacturing industries without thinking of ways to support the health of its citizens. This not only will harm today’s and future generations, but will doom the rest of the world as well if they don’t quickly learn some lessons about balancing their economic might with respect for the well being of everyone.

The Global Summit II is entitled “Humanity Uniting for a Sustainable Future”. It’s focus is on creating global partnerships and local program support systems to unite powerful grass-roots stakeholders and co-create a sustainable future.

The Global Summit is a biannual event, and this year it will be held at the Fort Mason Center in San Francisco, California.

Council topics range from ecological and agricultural subjects like Bio-diversity, Climate Change, and Food Security to the economic subjects of Scarcity, Conflict, Reconciling Local Living Economies and our Global Currency System, and Oil and Bio-Regional Trade. Additional council topics include Free Speech, Free Press, and Self-Governance.

Participants across a multitude of disciplines share the same objectives for the Global Summit. Each member seeks “solutions to the issues that affect them most.” For Asbury the summit is an opportunity to work with individuals equally passionate about global trade and entrepreneurship.

Focused discussions will be instrumental in identifying the root causes of worldwide problems and they are the first step in constructing a better future.

One of the most anticipated sessions of the conference is that of Neal Asbury, a prominent talk show host, author, and free enterprise champion and renowned Anti-WTO and Human Rights Activist and Founder of Global Exchange, Dr. Kevin Danaher. They will engage in a dynamic WTO debate during a key session of the summit.

Together, Asbury and the other participants will demonstrate the true power of initiative as they “provide [a] new model for global cooperation & policy making.”

Neal Asbury opened the show by proclaiming: “We want to feel good again about this country.  We want our mojo back.”  He pointed to the staggering unemployment rate of nearly 30 percent (factoring those on unemployment; those who have stopped looking; and workers holding down “shadow jobs” where they are working part-time or are overqualified, over educated and underpaid for their current job). He likened this unemployment rate to those of developing nations.

“Jobs are the cause of this country’s insecurity. The stimulus package was a failure, and Obama initiatives like cap and trade, card check and the health care plan are job killers, not job creators.  If I was running for office, I would have job creation tattooed on my forehead and ask that every other politician do the same,” said Asbury.

He added that incumbents should beware in November because people don’t think this system is working and they want to see a change.

Joining the show for a return visit was William J. Antholis, Managing Director of The Brookings Institution.  In that capacity, he works directly with Brookings’s President and Vice Presidents to help manage the full range of policy studies, develop new initiatives, coordinate research across programs, strengthen the policy impact of Brookings research, and ensure the quality and independence of that research.

Antholis lead the conversation by explaining The Brookings Institution’s “How We’re Doing Index,” which takes a look at significant trends and indicators.  The index was started a year and one-half ago to examine the surge in Iraq, and then was applied to the aftermath of Katrina.

While it measures a number of indicators, it concentrates on three main themes based on the preamble to the Constitution: provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty.

The current index is overshadowed by the economy, which Antholis said is leading to “political consternation.  If I’m running for office the last person I want to be is an incumbent. And that isn’t just Democrats – it’s all incumbents.”
Antholis credits the Tea Party with some of this, but he believes the backlash against incumbents should help Republicans take back the House, and the Senate isn’t secure to maintain the Democratic majority.

Incumbents that Antholis thinks are in danger are Diane Feinstein, Barbara Boxer, Harry Reid and others in Connecticut and Pennsylvania.

The restlessness by voters should increase voter turnout, which is traditionally low for midterm elections.  But Antholis believes that a new found passion by voters in both parties will energize the voting process.

No matter the outcome of the election, voters will want to see how the government will deal with the fiscal deficit.  When the new budget commission comes out with its recommendations people will be paying attention and will want action.

“Americans will have to ask themselves if they can accept tax cuts with more spending.  If they have to bite the bullet, which bullet will they have to bite,” asked Antholis. “We’re living beyond our means and we have to stop it.”

The economy and unemployment are creating anxiety and are slowing down investment, because businesses are looking for some clarity, according to Antholis.

Antholis believes this lack of clarity is contributing to President Obama’s plummeting approval ratings, even among independents, where ratings fell by 17 percent last year.

But according to Antholis, the President’s biggest misstep was not doing enough to promote bipartisanship. He gives Obama high marks for entering office by putting two Republicans in his cabinet.  But that bipartisanship quickly evaporated when Obama was unwilling to let Republicans share some credit for passing large policy initiatives.  For example, he missed opportunities on the healthcare bill when some Republicans initially were willing to work with him.

“You can’t put a label on American voters as conservatives.  They’re not conservatives, they’re cautious.  Obama should have spent more time getting people to believe in government again, as he did in his nomination acceptance speech.  Now he has raised such high expectations for bipartisanship that he gave Republicans an open invitation to weigh in on every issue,” said Antholis.

If you had to give Obama a grade on his three major promises, Antholis gives him a flunking grade on the energy bill because he didn’t reach out enough to politicians on both sides of the aisle that had an open mind and were willing to work on a compromise.

The education bill has not even left the gate, but Antholis thinks that it will make a reemergence after the midterm.  The “No Child Left Behind” Act may make a come back

On the healthcare bill, Antholis is really disappointed that Obama did not get more personally involved in negotiations, but left it to Democratic leaders in the House and Senate to get bipartisan support.  Though it passed, it remains a highly contentious issue.

Antholis proclaimed the Cap and Trade climate bill officially dead. “The discourse over Cap and Trade is so great that nothing can be done to revive it. It was a great lost opportunity.”

According to Antholis, the immigration reform bill is “not going to happen.”   A big part of the problem is that most Americans do not understand that economic growth has come to the US from educated immigrants, which possess that traditional entrepreneurial spirit.

As a result of the storm over immigration policy, Antholis notes that Obama has experienced a significant loss of support among Hispanic voters, who voted in large numbers for him.  He is mystified by the drop in support, and points to approval ratings of only 59 percent among Hispanics.

“Neal Asbury’s work is very important to understanding America’s role in global trade.” – John D. Negroponte

“Conscientious Equity is written from the hands-on perspective of an American businessman who has been in the trenches of owning and operating his own business in the Philippines. This is a valuable contribution to our discussion about how to get economies, including our own, going again.”–John D. Negroponte, Yale University, Former United States Deputy Secretary of State

“An original thinker . . . and a visionary entrepreneur, Neal Asbury offers a clear and realistic assessment of the challenges facing firms and policymakers regarding international trade today, as well as creative solutions that could allow the United States to retain its competitive strength in the face of Chinese competition and a wayward WTO. Should be required reading for every Member of Congress voting on future trade agreements.”–Honorable Philip English, member, House Ways and Means Committee

“Neal Asbury’s book takes a sledgehammer to conventional wisdom that it is a must-read for anyone trying to break out of the stereotypes that have helped create gridlock in our political system. Neal points his clear and entertaining prose at the myths about international trade and not only makes a passionate argument for how to make international trade fair and free again, but also how to turn it back into a weapon in America’s arsenal for battle in the global marketplace. Neal’s is a voice to which Republicans, Democrats and Independents should listen.”–William Antholis, Managing Director, Brookings Institute

Neal Asbury is the chief executive of The Legacy Companies. He was the 2008 recipient of the coveted United States National Champion Exporter of the Year Award. He has published more than 100 articles on global trade issues, and been quoted in The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and LeMonde, and has appeared on network television nationally and internationally. He is also the host of “Truth for America,” a nationally-syndicated radio talk show that attracts a Who’s Who of political and business figures.

Conscientious Equity:An American Entrepreneur’s Solutions to the World’s Greatest Problems
ISBN: 978-0-230-10892-9, 240 pages, $26.00
Available November 2010 wherever books are sold

www.conscientiousequity.com

To View Flyer Click here.

My objection to the New York City Mosque is not a legal objection. We all know those that wish to build the Mosque are within their legal and constitutional rights. My problem stems from the simple concept of what is right and decent. The proposed Mosque is a couple blocks away from where a terrible and heinous war was begun on our soil. A war we did not invite or wish to fight. It is a war that is still raging. July was the deadliest month for Americans losses in Afghanistan since the war began. On June 7th is surpassed Vietnam as our longest war. We must never give aid and comfort to our enemies especially when Americans are now dying every day to defend us. The question for me is not if you are for or against the Mosque, our extremist enemies will see this as an important victory. This is the wrong Mosque, at the wrong place and at the wrong time. Once we have won the war and our nation has healed, let’s reconsider at that time

Those behind this project should be sensitive to the vast majority of Americans for which this has touched a raw nerve.

The new issue of Newsweek conducted an international poll that ranked countries in a variety of areas like quality of life, healthcare and economic dynamism. But then they came to education. The United States is not in the Top 10. We are Number 12. This does not bode well for nurturing a new generation of students that can move into the high tech jobs that will maintain this country’s economic power. Finland ranked first, South Korea is second and Canada is third. Estonia was 7th. Estonia? We let Estonia beat us? But if it’s any consolation, China was not in the Top 10 either. Not yet.

But consider this. China graduated 10,000 Ph. D Engineers last year. This spring the U.S. will graduate about 8,000 Ph.D. Engineers, an estimated two-thirds of whom are not U.S. citizens.

This nation was built on new technologies that made millions of U.S. workers more productive. That’s why you learned about Whitney’s cotton gin and the McCormick reaper in elementary school.

Today, not only is the U.S. losing the battle for U.S. trained engineers, instead of staying in the U.S., our non-U.S. Ph.D. graduates increasingly judge their home countries to be a more attractive option. India’s best young minds used to insist on being sent to the U.S. but now many of them resist going to the U.S.

We’ve talked about this brain drain before on Truth For America. This country has got to do a better job improving our education system, before we lose our reputation for innovation and scientific accomplishments. We can do it, but we need a program that works. And we need it NOW.

“Fox & Friends” invited American entrepreneur, talk radio host, and author, Neal Asbury to appear for a second time on their Radio Rumble segment.

Neal Asbury spoke with Brian Kilmeade during the “Radio Rumble” segment covering the “Key Primary Votes in AK, AZ, and FL.

Neal was joined by Thom Hartmann, talk radio host from Oregon and Charles Goyette, talk radio host from Phoenix and best selling author of “The Dollar Meltdown”.

Neal Asbury will be a speaker at the MIT 2010 Leaders in Global Operations Alumni Conference.

Neal Asbury, chief executive of The Legacy Companies will be speaking at the 2010 Leaders in Global Operations Alumni Conference on October 15th 2010.

The LGO Alumni Conference is sponsored by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. This year’s conference topic is “Operations Leadership in a Global Economy”. The event will be held October 14 and 15 at South Beach, Miami, FL and will be divided between the speakers presentations and a series of plant tours.
Among the key speakers is Neal Asbury, a noted champion of entrepreneurship and free enterprise, talk radio host, and author. Asbury has over 25 years experience in the global market, during which he has developed a philosophy of “Conscientious Equity”. His insight propelled several of his companies to international success and garnered various distinctions including the United States National Champion Exporter of the Year Award.

The LGO Alumni Conference has confirmed the attendance of several other successful entrepreneurs, including Raul Pedraza, CEO of Magno Internacional, and Gilbert Fiorentino, CEO of the multi-national direct marketing and e-Commerce giant Tiger Direct. Dr. Ted Piepenbrock, international researcher, lecturer, and consultant in strategic management, leadership and macro-organizational change to leading universities and global Fortune 100 companies will also be presenting along with Steven Goddard, the VP of FedEx’s Latin American Operations, and others.

During the LGO Alumni Conference attendees will tour four different locations. They will visit the Port of Miami, Terremark’s flagship facility which the site of one of the most significant telecommunications projects in the world, Hamilton Sundstrand Aerospace MRO repair facility, and Tiger Direct’s flagship retail store which will feature strategy of Retail2.0.

The 2010 Leaders in Global Operations Alumni Conference will draw from the experiences of savvy entrepreneurs and observe their theories in practice though a series of plant tours in an effort to enrich the attendees understanding of how successful operation leadership functions in a global economy.