>> turning ideas into action. the clinton global initiative attracts some of the world's best people. the goal -- find solutions that promote economic recovery in the united states. on a bloomberg tv special. from this year's meeting in denver, colorado. we sit down with bill clinton. >> we should look at this money as a one-time stimulus. >> zillow cofounder, robert rubin, former treasury secretary.

>> the government is not meeting its challenges. i think that is a real threat to our future. >> coming up -- we will hear them weigh in on the policy and business challenges of today's economy. >> what's your sense of what is going on in an economic recovery? how would you characterize this economy? >> i would say we don't have enough internally generated growth. we can't do that unless we unlock investment and direct it it to high-growth areas. we have only two options. one is not favored by the house of representatives. we have cut the deficit by more than 50%. we have to get the structural

deficit down. this is the best time we will have to undertake a massive effort to build a 21st-century infrastructure. if we did that, we would have massive internally generated growth. the other option would require less of congress. we could build an infrastructure bank with public and private funds. we can seed it with a negotiated incentive structure. to be fair, there is a wariness to do this in both parties. it would have a guaranteed rate of return which it would have if the government said it up.

i believe we can negotiate an attractive deal. i know that cisco -- >> is there a right number? is there a right corporate tax rate? >> basically, it it would have fewer deductions and incentives. maybe even have an alternative minimum tax for corporations. let me back up. i raised the coporate tax rate. >> it was a different era then. >> it was exactly in the middle of the oecd countries. the wealthy countries. it is about economics. if the government is going to spend money, you need revenue to cover it. if you ran a multinational company, you would be reluctant to bring the money that you had

earned home. now the average corporate tax is 25% or 26%. the way to do it without giving up money is to require those that pay under 20% to pay a little more and to finance the repatriation. we should look at this money as a one-time stimulus for the economy. require certain amount of it -- they could pay a modest amount in the treasury. the most important thing is the infrastructure, and putting people back to work. if you fund it it that way, then the people who put up the money would invest their pension funds in the investment bank.

other corporations get money in the infrastructure bank. that's what i think are two options are. we should try to get a corporate tax reform rate that is competitive internationally. we should do it without giving up money by closing loopholes and requiring everybody with x amount of income to pay a minimum tax. >> coming up next. the former president talks about what really matters to america. immigration policy, income equality in the minimum wage. ♪

>> welcome back. we are with former president bill clinton. you spent a lifetime believing that policy matters. over and over again, immigration comes up. this is not one that public private partnerships can solve. it needs federal policy. if you are running the show, what would the path to immigration reform look like? >> first of all, i would be sure we had a targeted approach for

skilled immigrant labor that reflects the current demand for the economy. i believe we need a broad-based immigration reform. we need reasonable quotas in the future. that should be coupled with -- most of the anti-immigrant feeling in america ironically is in places without enormous number of immigrants. they are places that feel like they have been left out and left behind. everybody is at the front of the line. and neither party really does much for them. >> you given a good sense on how you would direct some policy. how would you lead us in this political climate? we do have a new house majority leader. he has suggested he is open to immigration reform. >> you have immigration reform

opposed from the right and left. on political and nationalist reasons on the right, and economic populist reasons. on the left. i think that we need to -- the president has shown he is willing to enforce the laws. he has been attacked repeatedly for sending too many people back. he has actually changed and modified his position. i support that change. this in important thing. we live in this interdependent world. one of our big advantages in the world is there is somebody in america from everywhere else. we are four percent of the world's population. we have 21%-23% of the world gdp.

you don't have to be a mathematical genius to figure out, we have to sell something to somebody else if we want to maintain prosperity, you have to have the workforce. it needs to be young. youth matters. demographics matter. we have a lot of work to do on the other side. how do you create jobs? we need to raise the median income in the workforce. but i think this immigration reform is really important. >> income inequality -- president obama has called this the defining challenge of our time. i will take a guess that you would agree. since this was a subject you're particularly passionate about. what is the single most important thing we can do?

>> in the short run, the most important thing is to lift the bottom, the working bottom by raising the minimum wage. you could raise the minimum wage so much -- for example, research indicates that it if you keep the minimum wage, you can get the best of both worlds. you can give people enough money to live on. they don't have enough to say, so they circulated in the economy. it turns over and it contributes to growth. i think making some adjustments in the tax credits to help working people with families at the lower end of the wage scale is important. the third thing that will help a

lot is it will take us three years, we got to get a medicare expansion. it creates thousands of jobs in every state. it brings money in and rewards working people. over the long run, social mobility may be even more important. that is, we have proved in america that we would accept a slightly higher rate of economic inequality than many of the most wealthy countries in europe in return for more social mobility. we would take in more immigrants and give them a chance to start out low on the totem pole and build a middle-class life. that is not a credible position. we have less social mobility in america than a lot of other countries. >> when we come back, a panel discussion on political gridlock and how american businesses can move forward. ♪

>> welcome back. we continue with the conversation on the u.s. business climate and how to keep america competitive. >> what defines american businesses? >> the united states has tremendous advantages. we have flexible labor capital markets.

we have vast natural resources. we have the rule of law. this is the key, we have to meet a host of policy challenges. the difficult, doable, but difficult politically. and we have a political system in gridlock. the key to our future is the reestablishment of a political system in which you have a congress and willingness to compromise. in that way, we will meet our policy challenges. i personally think it is likely. we have a dynamic society. it is in gridlock now. there are no guarantees. it will be a long process. >> what's holding back american businesses? what are the key policy issues were key impediments?

>> there are some fundamental things -- we like a stable tax policy to predict what is going on. we feel very strongly that we need an immigration policy. as a nation of immigrants we , need workers at all levels of the chain. >> can we be globally competitive if we do not solve our immigration problem? >> it is something we want from a workforce perspective. >> can i ask a question? i have friends in big technology companies who say they are moving jobs out of the united states. they cannot bring in people from abroad to fill key roles. the failure in immigration reform is costing us jobs. >> we have an immigration problem.

it is linked to computer science education problem. the very best jobs in the world -- i have a company called glass door. we are one of the largest job sites. we analyze all kinds of data about the job market. the jobs are in computer science and engineering. there are hundreds of thousands of open, unfulfilled jobs. these don't have american kids applying for them because they do not have an education. only one out of 10 public schools in the united states even teaches computer science. this is really something that we as a society have to change. another part tied to that problem is immigration. because we cannot find all the computer scientist and engineers, we look abroad. we educate a lot of foreigners, non-us residents. they come and we educate them in computer science. we get them phd's.

still, we make it hard for those people to stay. the interesting image that everybody can grasp is that every time a phd is handed out in the united states to someone who is not an american, a green card should be stapled to it. >> you are an advocate of putting the right policy in place. are there policies that would help us reduce the inequality? >> yes. there is a tendency to conflate income equality and stagnant wages. there are -- they are separate but conflated questions. i think we should focus on increasing incomes at all levels. president clinton talked about this every day. it is his driving vision.

all the policies that been talking about in the education and training area, anything that promotes economic activity will help address those issues. i happen to believe in collective bargaining. i think it is a good idea. though i do think unions should work with companies to help make them effective. increased minimum wage. >> where do you wait in on the minimum wage issue? >> on a federal level, you get a bunch of people together, you sit down, try to figure out if increasing the minimum wage would adversely affect jobs. i don't have that kind of analysis available. i think on the national level it would be a good number. $15 an hour. >> any other impediments we should talk about. [laughter] >> i could spend all day talking about it. let me ask both them a question. i am a very strong supporter of regulatory protection across a whole range of areas where the

private sector by it self does need to function within the framework of a regulatory system. i have an impression that we could do a better job of balancing the costs and benefits. i have a feeling you're not going to disagree with that. >> infrastructure, different types of regulation, there is always a need for balance. balance between business interests as well as appropriate infrastructure standards, environmental standards. i think this will be a work in progress. i am very optimistic, particularly when i look at the state and local level. we are sitting in a location, colorado, that has had an excellent balance of the needs of energy manufacturing and the environment. it is combined with a good business approach.

>> an issue that i know is near and dear to you -- ride sharing. we had a flareup in seattle. >> it is a revolutionary, transformative kind of transportation. now people are realizing that there are people who are getting rid of their cars. it is more economical to use uber. i did it for a week is an experiment. in seattle, the seattle city council took a vote to cap the number of uber drivers are allowed to be in seattle. a very low number, something lower than what the market was demanding. there was a huge uproar. the people wanted uber. the mayor felt pressure and later they reversed a decision.

the ideal regulatory position on new disruptive companies like uber would be what you go would be what? >> we need regulators open-minded to progress. we need a government that is open-minded. if you stifle innovation, i can guarantee that you will get stagnation. >> coming up next -- president bill clinton talks about whether hillary clinton will run for the white house. that is next. ♪

>> welcome back to our special report. with more from former president and cgi founder, bill clinton. i'm not going to ask you about secretary clinton's decision to run for office. if you feel like sharing that, i am sure we would all be happy to hear it. >> i'm for whatever she wants to do. this is a rewarding thing. i wanted to say to all of you that the fundamental fact of power in a highly integrated, interdependent world is that it is more dispersed. the good news is you have more of it. you can come here and form alliances and increase your impact. the bad news is people are trying to have more influence too.

the traditional nationstate all over the world is under stress, which is driving some people to support more authoritarian governments. we don't want that in america. it's not like you can't have a meaningful life. for the rest of the life of everybody in this room, you will live in a period where power is more dispersed. the power will go to the people who are most effective in recognizing the new realities, organizing, and deploying for it. whatever she decides to do, she's going to do good. >> what is that mean about you? in other words, you have spent more than a decade out of office devoting your life, creating a foundation for the public good. what would the return to the

white house for your family mean for the foundation for the work you are engaged in? >> i hope that we would be able to continue to do that with what we do. but that we would set up certain rules, be totally transparent, so that no one would think that someone was helping the clinton foundation because they wanted an edge with the federal government. when hillary was secretary of state, i cleared every speech i gave. i cleared in advance on what the policy would be. on taking any funds from non-american sources. the white house developed a policy that i reported every penny we got. if you made a mistake, someone could see it.

i don't think we should shut down the clinton global initiative. where program that now gives aids medicine to millions of people. more than half a million people in the world get their aids medicine from contracts we negotiated. we should not have to shut it down. if she were to run and become president, the last things she needs is for me to be underfoot. [laughter] she is the ablest public servant i have known. i would help. whatever i was asked to do, i would do. just like a did for president obama. just like i did for president bush. when your former president, you show up when you are summoned. [laughter] i do. but i hope that we can keep this. this is a part of advancing the public good. ♪

>> we are finding it, we are testing it, we are there as they build it. we are on a quest to show you the most cutting-edge companies on the brink of the future. tonight, we visit the epicenter of the american robotics industry, boston. i will start at irobot, the pioneering company at the head of it all. >> it has a very mars rover quality to it. >> i will meet baxter, whose goal it is to bring american jobs back from overseas. >> i will visit harvest automation, where they develop robots to do the back-breaking work no one wants to do. >> "bloomberg brink" --