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Economy

Mayor Pete Faces the Heat, China Charged with Equifax Hack, Biden’s Nonstop Blunders

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Listen to “Mayor Pete Faces the Heat, China Charged with Equifax Hack, Biden’s Nonstop Blunders” on Spreaker.

Prepare for another busy political week by starting with Monday’s Three Martini Lunch. Join Jim and Greg as they enjoy watching Pete Buttigieg flail for an answer after ABC’s Linsey Davis calls him out for black people being four times more likely to be arrested for marijuana possession than whites while Buttigieg was mayor of South Bend. They also hammer the Chinese government after the Justice Department indicts four Chinese military figures for the 2017 Equifax hack that compromised the information of more than 145 million people. And they react to more bizarre statements from Joe Biden over this past weekend and wonder whether his campaign is just stumbling right now or whether it’s on the brink of imploding.

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Dems Take Aim at ‘Right to Work’ Laws

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Democrats in Congress and in Virginia are pursuing legislation they say protects the right of workers to organize but critics say it’s nothing more than an effort to compel union membership for workers whether they want to belong or not.

This week, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Protecting the Right to Organize Act, also known as the PRO Act.  Supporters claim it paves the way for employees to organize if they wish and protects them from retribution from employers.  Critics contend it forces workers to pay union dues even if they don’t want anything to do with a labor union.

Opponents also warn that the legislation would force independent contractors to be classified as employees, a designation that has led to major upheaval in the gig economy in California after similar legislation was enacted last year.

In addition to the debate in Congress, which will likely go nowhere in the U.S. Senate, the new Democratic majorities in Virginia are also taking aim at right to work laws with competing bills in the House of Delegates and the State Senate.

Further complicating the Democrats’ efforts are statistics from Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam.  According to his projections, repealing right to work laws in Virginia would cost the commonwealth $11 billion and 37,000 jobs.

With both sides of the debate claiming to be on the side of workers, what does the evidence show?  What protections already exist for workers wishing to organize and what would the bills in Washington and in Virginia actually accomplish?

We get answers to those questions with National Right to Work Committee President Mark Mix.

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Strong Economy Spreading Prosperity

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Tuesday night President Trump touted historically low unemployment rates in a litany of categories. He also says his tax cuts are creating economic opportunities in struggling communities and that he wants to give parents the option of moving their kids out of failing schools.

Near the beginning of his speech, Trump noted the unemployment rate is the lowest in 50 years. He also stated the unemployment rates for blacks, Hispanics, Asians, veterans and the disabled are at all-time lows. Unemployment for women stands at the lowest rate since the early 1950’s.

So how much credit does President Trump deserve? National Review Online Contributing Editor Deroy Murdock says Trump’s tax cuts and regulatory rollbacks are a big reason that employers are growing and expanding. And he also explains why Democrats refused to applaud good jobless data.

In addition, Trump says his tax cuts are spurring wealthy Americans to invest in previously neglected communities through “opportunity zones” and that is giving residents of those areas the chance to find good jobs and bring stability to their neighborhoods.

Finally, Trump made a strong push for school choice, highlighting the story of Janiyah Davis, who is trapped in a bad public school in Philadelphia. Trump awarded Davis an opportunity scholarship during his speech and challenged Congress to pass legislation that would give one million other kids the same access to better schools.

But what is the real story on opportunity zones? How do they work and what impact do they really have? And how big of an issue is school choice to parents who can’t afford to move their kids out of failing schools?

In this podcast, Murdock discusses all these questions and more with Radio America’s Greg Corombos.

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Trump’s Strong Speech, Pelosi’s Protest, Iowa Dems Still Clueless

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State of the Union, Pelosi ripping up the speech, the Senate impeachment vote, and the ongoing incompetence of Iowa Democrats. We’ve got it all for you today on Wednesday’s Three Martini Lunch. Join Jim and Greg as they applaud the amazing number of record-low unemployment statistics cited by President Trump in his State of the Union address Tuesday night. They’re also big fans of conservative policy ideas espoused in the speech and note the impressive guests Trump invited and highlighted in his address. In contrast, they also assess House Speaker Nancy Pelosi ripping up her copy of the speech right after Trump finished and what is says about Democrats nine months before Election Day. Finally, they have plenty more to say as Iowa Democrats release more than two-thirds of the caucus results but aren’t sure when or if the rest of the votes will be announced.

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Former Commerce Secretary Barbara Franklin Talks Trade Deals

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It’s been a busy stretch for highly touted trade deals. The Trump administration already completed new trade agreements with Japan and South Korea.

Last week, the Senate followed the House of Representatives in approving the U.S.-Mexico-Canada agreement, also known as USMCA, which President Trump signed on Wednesday. In addition, President Trump also signed phase one of a new trade framework with China.

But how good is USMCA? What are the biggest changes compared to the North American Free Trade Agreement? Why is this a big win for the auto industry? And what impact will the new environmental rules have?

Former Commerce Secretary Barbara Franklin played a key role in negotiating and advancing the North American Free Trade agreement in the 1990’s. She explains why it was right to renegotiate and why she thinks the USMCA is an improvement in most cases.

Franklin also sizes up phase one of the China trade deal and what U.S. priorities ought to be in the remainder of the talks.

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Undecided Dems, Bankrolling China’s Aggression, Scott Prepping for 2024?

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Listen to “Undecided Dems, Bankrolling China’s Aggression, Scott Prepping for 2024?” on Spreaker.

Big votes are coming soon on impeachment and in Iowa. Join Jim and Greg as they dive into reports suggesting three Senate Democrats are torn between convicting and acquitting President Trump. But will any of them actually buck their party? They also shudder at reports that the head of the Harvard chemistry department took taxpayer-funded research grants, only to pass his discoveries along to the Chinese for a very handsome sum of money – and he’s not alone. And while Jim generally gives high marks to Florida Sen. Rick Scott, he is exasperated to see Scott launching ads in Iowa which most analysts see as a thinly veiled preview of a 2024 White House bid.

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Dems Make Murkowski Mad, Warren Called Out on Debt, Knives Out for Bernie

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Chad Benson grabs a stool for today’s Three Martini Lunch while Jim is away. Today, Chad and Greg briefly discuss the significance of President Trump becoming the first sitting president to address the March for Life. Then they get a kick out of learning that the House impeachment managers are successfully alienating the group of senators they can least afford to lose – GOP moderates. They also richly enjoy watching a dad who scrimped and saved to pay for his daughter’s college education dissect the progressive lunacy of Elizabeth Warren’s college debt forgiveness plan right to her face. And as Democrats and their media allies dig for dirt on a strengthening Bernie Sanders, they brace for a riveting fight over whether Joe Biden or Bernie Sanders was more racially insensitive in the 1970’s.

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Why Small Businesses Could Be Big Winners in USMCA

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On Thursday, the U.S. Senate overwhelmingly approved the USMCA, the new North American trade compact among the U.S., Mexico, and Canada, and a leading small business advocate says there are plenty of changes to make life easier for American businesses and entrepreneurs.

What regulatory changes will help business owners keep costs down? How does the agreement give small business a much bigger voice in future trade deliberations? What additional provisions are included to protect intellectual property rights?

We get answers to those questions and discuss the ongoing trade talks with China with Karen Kerrigan, President and CEO of the Small Business and Entrepreneurship Council.

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‘Neither Side is Interested in Spending Restraint’

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As Congress prepares to pass another $1.4 trillion in government spending and President Trump prepares to sign it, why are both parties abdicating responsibility for fiscal stewardship?

The House votes on Tuesday enjoyed support from dozens of GOP members.

Openthebooks.com CEO Adam Andrzejewski says Democrats are open about wanting to spend more and more money and many Republicans often end up being hypocrites who run on fiscal conservatism but vote for bloated appropriations packages like this one.

Andrzejewski details how bad our deficit spending is right now, how soon the U.S. may have to pay the piper at this rate, and what can be done to address the problem.

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Bernie Drags Dems Further Left, China’s Ugly Threats, Trump Meme Mania

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Listen to “Bernie Drags Dems Further Left, China’s Ugly Threats, Trump Meme Mania” on Spreaker.

Chad Benson, host of “The Chad Benson Show,” and Greg Corombos of Radio America serve up your Columbus Day martinis while Jim is away basking in a New York Jets victory. They start by getting a kick out of Bernie Sanders once again trying to drag Democrats to the left by telling ABC News the big difference between him and Elizabeth Warren is that she’s a capitalist and he is not. And of course, Bernie once again calls for a political revolution. They also shudder as Chinese President Xi Jinping warns that anyone trying to create divisions in China “will end in crushed bodies and shattered bones” and Chad warns that the U.S. and the rest of the world need to realize that the future will either be dominated by China or the U.S. And they react to the violent video meme depicting Trump mowing down media entities and political opponents and the furor that inevitable followed.

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