tv Your Money CNN July 24, 2011 12:00pm-1:00pm PDT
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$3,000 a year by cutting expenlss at work. expenlss at work. "your money" starts right now. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com no one knows for sure what would happen if we don't raise the debt ceiling in time. but we have all heard the adjectives. welcome to your money. i'm tom foreman. the deadline is august 2nd. still we're left without a viable plan through all this. although signs of a potential deal. ben white, ken rogoff, jean sehati. thank you coming here to grind this down. boy, has it been ground down in washington over and over again. jean, first question here. is it time to simply say let's go for the possible in washington? everybody has all these grand ideas about what they want to
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do. nobody can get the support to get one of those through. do we have to look for just the possible? >> i think mission number one is to raise the debt ceiling. they cannot get away without doing that. saying they're going to downgrade you. but they left a bit of an out. if you raise the ceiling but give indication you're on the road to getting a deal, we'll keep you on credit watch negative but take you off and affirm your aaa rating if you get it done within a couple of months if we see that possibility. so that's -- that seems to me to be the fallback plan for congress. weather they take -- senator mcconnell has put a fallback plan in that neither seems to like to allow the president to raise the debt ceiling a couple of times. politically it would make him look bad. number one mission, raise the debt ceiling. >> ken, considering how hard this has been, how contentious,
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has the damage already been done in some extent in the world's view? >> not yet. number one we have to raise the debt ceiling. but are we going to do this every year? this is a constitutional crisis. i don't know how we'll run the country if we wait until midnight on the last possible night. >> how will we get other politics done? ben, the simple truth is this has dominated everything else. what else have we heard about anything else important? >> no. we haven't heard about job creation. we haven't heard about anything else basically as this sucked all the oxygen out of the air. obviously they need to raise the debt ceiling. but the politics are so complicated and competing interests. have the debt ceiling raised,
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have debt reduction gone. republicans will not accept any tax increases. so you have this politics coming together. >> i think one of the things that continues to be overlooked in all of this was raised by ben bernanke who warned if we don't have a debt deal in times we could see businesses even less willing to hire. i don't know how you can be less willing than zero to hire. let's listen to what he had to say. >> if the government is reducing its payments by 40%, that's going to have an impact as well. i can only conclude this would be very bad for jobs. >> ken, let me ask something about that. because this week i was reading a number of warnings that were saying to the public in general, don't make a mistake here.
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either one is bad for jobs. we're talking about a difficult time for our economy. that's why we're having this discussion. we're not going to come up with a solution and say our problems are solved. this is a big band-aid on a much more serious problem. >> this isn't about jobs today. this is about where we're going to be in ten or fifteen years. are we going to run off a cliff? are we going to have a gradual adjustment or wait until the last second and have markets force us? they're not forcing us to do this. we see it coming eventually. so this is not going to help. although it'll encourage wall street, encourage credit a bit. because it'll provide a bit of calm finally in the markets over this. >> do you think that any of that -- any of the plans you see right now when you look at them do you say any of this will create jobs now? because the warning i'm hearing about so many of them is in the short-term, this is possibly going to slow things down even
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more. >> yeah. they're not creating jobs now. but they're taking some very hard problems and by gosh, if they actually do some of the tax reform, it's going to make a big difference over the longer term. it will be a help for the economy. >> jeanne, if they do the -- there's so many ifs in washington. >> however much time we have left, yes. >> washington keeps saying we don't want to do things with a gun to our head. yet washington doesn't seem to do anything without a gun to their head. what's the silver lining here if at all? this sounds more like we just have to protect ourselves. that's it. >> i've been covering the debt ceiling since january which is going on eight months now. timothy geithner sent a letter to congress, it would be an awesome idea if you raise the debt ceiling sooner rather than later because we don't want to get caught. i don't see a silver lining yet.
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if they allow themselves real time to have a real conversation -- because right now it's still a food fight. the gang of six plan came out this week. i started getting e-mails from progressive groups and conservative groups saying it's terrible. really? how do you know? because we don't really have the details. we need to have a discussion. we are discussing this. >> it's funny you said that. i've been referring this as an adjustable rate over the debt ceiling. because nobody seems to know what the bottom line is here. we do know this. we know that voters are concerned about jobs. voters are concerned about real nuts and bolts issues. do you think that both the democrats and republicans as they fight for the edge on this thing are really shooting themselves in the foot politically because there is no political gang to be had here. the whole system looks worse and worse and worse. >> i think there is some political gain. people are tired of all of the
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debts run up by washington. they do take seriously the idea that long-term deficit reduction could help our economy in the long-term and help create jobs. you have corporations perhaps getting lower rates. which could help them create jobs. so i think there is a political benefit to being serious about deficit reduction. obviously if you cut spending dramatically quickly, you're going to take some jobs out of the system. there could be a short-term hit. but i think in terms of politics, it's a benefit to the politician who could say i'm serious about getting our deficit under control. >> all right. we'll get back on to that and on to a poll of what voters want to see on this. all stay where you are. playing politics with the debt ceiling. the tea party, a popular target for many out there. but there's another question here. has a tactical move by president obama put our nation's credit further at risk? we'll take that up in just a moment. act my age?
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. the treasury department has warned that if the debt ceiling is not raised by the 2nd, america will not be able to pay all of its bills. the prevailing thought is that bond investors will be paid first. they lend america money. for everyone else, no deal. could mean reductions to social security medicare and medicaid, food stamps, and federal workers. defaulting on our debt would likely mean a lowering of america's sterling credit rating. that could potentially mean it would be harder for most many earns to get a loan as it rippled through the interest system. ken, by not publicly guaranteeing that bond investors will be paid on time. by not making it firm this will happen, has the obama administration created an
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environment for people to question. >> i think they're questioning our credit worthiness because we have this debt that's soaring. no plan yet to reign it in. i think that's the number one reason. they are nervous if we do business this way, once in a while we might forget to pay the bondholders and it'd be catastrophic. they have to pay them first or the economy implodes. >> people say there is so much uncertainty that that's why they won't move forward. it seems similar to what you're saying, ken. the debt, the deficit alone may be a problem. doesn't have to be. the lack of a plan is what scares people. no idea what's coming. >> well, i think they certainly have reason to feel uncertain about the next few weeks. sometimes i hear that argument and think it's just political. if you don't like the president, you claim you can't hire people.
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in this case they have absolute reason to be uncertain. what happens after. august 2, tim geithner may have to squirrel away a lot of cash to pay the bond. a lot of people in the country might not get paid. we don't know who. it's not going to be hard to figure out. for anybody. that sort of chaotic situation is not going to be good. politically for anybody. >> so what kind of deal do people out there want? that depends on what party you identify with. 83% of democrats say give me a deal with a mix of spending cuts and tax increases. but that kind of compromise only works for about a third of republicans. as for the independents, the people you can't win the white house without these days, 63% want to see a mixed budget plan. so ben, if the republicans want to get the independents behind them in this next election, can they continue to beat the drum of no taxes, no taxes, no taxes
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when the independents say they're willing to talk about that? >> i don't think so. i think the republicans in the house have moved beyond where the public is. the energy in their party, the tea party movement is a no tax movement. that's a minority in their party. it's not independents clearly who are willing to accept new revenues. i think the republican party is captive to its wing. a lot of energy comes from there and don't want to -- but i think they're in danger to playing to that part of the party and losing the middle and independents. that's where obama is racing to right now. it helps him that the liberal wing of his party are upset about the cuts in entitlement programs because he wants those independents. he wants to be clinton in 1996. it was a big fight with the extreme wing in the republican party. he went to the middle. he won re-election.
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>> there's some indication that he actually needs the independents more than he needs the liberals. the liberals can't elect him alone. there's not enough of them. and where else are they going to go? >> exactly. they may stay home, but they're not going to abandon him. they're certainly not going to vote republican. if he wants to win in ohio, florida, midwest. places where he absolutely has to win to win the white house again, he needs the independent vote. this is the main moment for him to capture this vote is for him to come up with a reduction plan that has shared sacrifice. that cuts spending. this is his pivotal moment. >> ken, i don't see any way -- let the republicans and democrats be mad if they wish -- i don't think i see any way mathematically to do this. what do you think? you know the numbers in this. >> mathematically it might be
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possible, but wouldn't be pleasant for the economy. taxes, revenues have to go up. i think the gang of six and the position president obama has moved towards recently is get rid of some of the deductions and loopholes with b that's the way to raise tax revenues. that's where the silver lining is. if they can do that, we will be energized and have more revenues and it will be okay. boy, they don't seem to be moving towards that very smoothly. >> the european union is going to provide more aid to help greece out of its debt crisis. people are looking for models overseas for what we might see. does this put an end to the defaults throughout europe and does it put more pressure on us to produce a deal here or just a step along the way? >> it's just a step along the way. they stuffed greece in the closet and they still have to deal with ireland and portugal and italy and spain. they did a lot recently.
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this meeting on thursday, they did a lot. but they had to do a lot. the markets were going crazy. i think they bought themselves some time. so it's just their motive. do just enough to make it to the next meeting. >> last question. yes or no from each of you. deal by the end of the week? >> no. >> deal by the end of the week? >> no. >> this is so bleak. and then another deal after that. thanks for being here. the tea party voice is heard loud and clear in the republican party. but will it end up hurting the gop in 2012? we'll take that up in just a moment.
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as hard as it may be to believe sometimes, history teaches us that democrats and republicans actually can work together. but what about the tea party? democrats can't seem to stand them, of course. but the more moderate republicans are also tiring of the tea party's influence on these budget battles in particular. this view on raising taxes held by those by presidential candidate michele bachmann. >> president obama does because they embrace the idea of increasing taxes. there is absolutely no appetite anywhere across the united states for increasing taxes. >> will cain is a conservative political analyst. will, you join us now. republicans love the tea party. michele bachmann is incorrect there. there is an appetite among some people for raising taxes. just not the people who support her.
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but republicans like the energy of the tea party. they like the fact they got people involved saying come to washington let's make things happen. do they like it still? >> some of them. a minute ago you said republicans and democrats have a history of working together and you're right. but that working together, that compromise led to medicare prescription part d. it led to record increases in department of education. virtually every department over the last 12 years. thus it led to the tea party. the tea party has a win on their side. obama is talking about major spending cuts. but now it seems like they have an ability to take a win. i don't understand that strategy. why can't you just take yes as an answer? >> because it comes out as compromise. a lot in the tear party say we were sent here to do something. we're going to do what we were sent to do. >> yeah. and that is a noble principle. guys who are not worried about
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getting re-elected who are principled individuals, but at the same time this is a government where you can't have my way or the highway. take a 75% win. >> all right. mark is chairman of the memphis tea party. according to a cnn poll, 55% have an unfavorable opinion of the republican party right now. mark, do members of the tea party concern themselves with how the country sees the republican party? >> no. i think we're focused as will said on the fiscal issues. the issue isn't about compromise. it's about verifiable results. reagan had it best. trust by verify. even the three to one deal will spoke about, i looked at the proposal proposal. it takes credit for reducing as we like to hear, the cost curve over time. and the problem i think the tea
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party is being intransdent in this matter is it's expecting results. and we're not seeing that. the only thing we have seen that is legislation proposed and passed a cut, cap, and balance. there's not a conflict here. it's just holding people accountable. >> first let's bring in john avalon. he's a senior political columnist for "newsweek." a poll found two-thirds of tea party members say it won't be a problem if we go past august 2nd without a dell ceiling deal. almost any economist strongly disagrees with that. how do republicans strike a deal and gain support among the tea party base? >> that's becoming a real problem. with the debt ceiling deniers, is a drain of populous. i think the tea party was
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reducing the debt. talking about generational theft. reality check here. tax revenues are as low as harry truman. and ronald reagan presided over 17 raises in the debt ceiling. to will's point, take a win. the gang of six deal which reduces tax rates and a dozen entitlement reform, this should be embraced. this all or nothing at attitude shows the real enemy is bipartisanship. not because a history of spending increases. in divided government in the past, we've had the highway built, the marshall plan, all of reagans terms essentially. the term for these folks is a dislike and distrust with bipartisanship. which is essential to get anything passed in a divided government. so reality check, folks. we need to raise the debt
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ceiling and we need to reduce the deficit. the only way that gets done is with a bipartisan plan. >> mark, i'm sure you want to jump in on that. why don't you want to take a win at this point? >> because it's not a win. i looked at the numbers. first of all, it's a proposal. there's no legislation we could put our hands around. it's a $1 trillion tax increase. >> no it's not. >> and it's a $3 trillion savings. >> i'm sorry i'm reading in the post. there's no legislation i can point to. so let me just suggest that at this point there's $1 trillion of quote unquote closing the proverbial loopholes. then there's the $2 trillion of savings on future costs of government. >> mark, do you consider closing loopholes a tax increase? >> absolutely. >> you do? >> let's be very clear. i do. >> they're loopholes in the tax code. when did that become a tax
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increase? i thought you were against earmarks. >> let me be clear. i'm against the code because it's overly complex and bad for the economy. there are issues in terms of closing what loopholes you want. it's a political motivation. we talk about off shore drilling but don't talk about aspects of nuclear power. we don't deal with the realities that the economy is facing. what we as a tea party and my own views are that we want verifiable reductions in spending. if they get to that $3 trillion. that's $300 billion a year a hundred of which is taxes. >> mark, this is will. listen. here's a guy, i believe in small government. if you can't win me over, we've got a problem here. you've made two different arguments. are we opposing this gang of six deal or any bargain because the spending cuts are unclear or because there are any potential tax increases? >> there are two things.
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fundamentally the cost reductions are not clear. it's not evident. we went through that already last year at the end of the year with john boehner. we haven't saved a dollar. so let's be very clear. if we're going to reduce the actual spending we've got to have verifiable results. that's required. and i think in my context of suggesting to you that a lot of people in the tea party aren't maniacs about this. they're saying we're not going to get fooled again. in 2009 during health care, there was no bipartisanship. i was there when they sequestered congress and made them vote. so please don't look at the context of the discussion here around bipartisanship. that's not the question. the question is verifiable results. >> mark, we've had a reduction in time here. so we're going to have to wrap it up here. same question to you guys very quickly. john, do we see a ceiling deal by the end of next week if. >> i hope so. i hope obama and boehner are able to put together a grand
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bargain. it reduces taxes and raises the debt ceiling. it'll reduce deficit and debt. >> mark, yes or no? deal by the end of next week? >> i think with -- we will. >> i agree. we have a debt ceiling increase by next week. we have to. >> all right. thank you all for being here. we appreciate it. coming up, why higher wages could be good for job growth. that's next. it flows with clean water. it makes its skyline greener and its population healthier. all to become the kind of city people want to live and work in. somewhere in america, we've already answered some of the nation's toughest questions. and the over sixty thousand people of siemens are ready to do it again. siemens. answers.
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while the red there, their incomes have soared. richard florida is author of "the great reset." richard, others have argued that higher income wages are to blame for jobs moving overseas. but you think that higher wages here could actually create better jobs at home. why? >> well, it's the way we built our original middle class after world war ii. we decided as a society, political leaders, business leaders we had to pay them better so they could buy homes and cars and fuel our growth. now less than 10% of americans have those good jobs. construction jobs which paid high wages dried up. our service workers who prepare our food, take care of our kids, parents, homes. 66 million of them, their wages are sinking. i think we need a new social
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compact in society. we'll each pay a little more for the services. what's more important? who's more important? the person who builds your car, the person who takes care of your children or ageing parents? we've got to get it to the middle class. it's something we have to do. >> and they can spend more money. terri savage is the author of "the savage truth on money." the wage gap could hit young people harder in all this. look at this graphic. this is the national unemployment rate. but look at the jobless rate for 18 to 24-year-olds. it is much worse off. more than 18% of those looking for work can't find a job. a lot of people might say well they're young. give them time. they'll learn to make their money. but studies show that college graduates who can't get a job in their field because of the economy make less money over
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their careers than those who land a job during the first year out of school. so terry, will graduating into this economy with so much debt make a permanent debt in the future standard of living for these young adults? >> well, tom, that graphic line is mixing actually two groups. you've got 18-year-olds some of whom have dropped out of high school and don't have jobs. and you have those who are graduating. as happens through the business cycles in our economy, graduating without a job and the cycle will revolve and they'll get jobs. we had this in 1982 when the unemployment rate was higher. yet they went on to take advantage of the technology boom. all those in one line is a bit misleading. and another point i'd like to make to richard is yes we have an important service sector in this economy. the question is what priorities do we set? we have high paid service jobs if you're an nba player or baseball player or a rock star or reality show star.
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you know, they're providing a service. we haven't decided as a society that we're willing to pay. now, who is going to pay higher wages? if you pay higher wages to the person who washes your car, then where do you cut back on something else if you're a family or if you pay higher taxes where to cut back on spending? the real answer is economic growth. that's what drives wages higher. >> richard, what about this fear that higher wages would mean we all pay more and more for the stuff that we want and at a time when many people can't afford it? >> we go back to what terry says. we're looking at a split society. those of us who are fortunate enough to have a college degree and be a professional worker, we've never seen an unemployment rate top higher than 5%. i think we need a more balanced approach. terry's right. we need innovation and economic
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growth. the way to make our economy grow is do what we did in manufacturing. get the workers engaged. organize them in teams. get them involved in quality circles. let's have a national movement. we committed to our federal government and our universities to do research and organize our manufacturing sector. the last frontier of efficiency and growth has to be that low wage service sector. the personal services. you know what? wi you can't offshore the person who cuts your hair or takes care of your kid. those are locked into the u.s. innovation, economy growth can go hand in hand. >> terry, i want to go to the first question i asked you. not sure i got a full answer on that. if we look at the post college americans. they're coming out into a terrible job environment. they're not making much money. they're not saving much money.
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are we setting these people up or are we setting ourselves up far whole bubble moving through our economy of people who don't have much can be can't earn much, and will be a permanent problem. how will they ever recover? >> well, they will recover. they will recover because the economy will recover. we had a decline in standards of living in the 30s. those who gave up on america missed out on great boom. it is horrible to be graduating from college nout without a job because the average college graduate has so much student debt. i wrote a column about the fact that now within six months of graduation you have to start repaying those student loans and some helpful websites there for getting information on that. studentloans.gov. and the new income-based repayment plan. these are places that students -- the one thing is we have more student loans out now than we have credit card debt. but student loans you can't go
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bankrupt. you can't default. the federal government will deduct from your social security check if you don't repay. so it's a horrible problem currently for today's graduates. we can't minimize it. but it would be a mistake if we thought that america was over. that the economy wouldn't rebound and these graduates will get a chance to use their new skills. one more point. here in illinois $24 an hour jobs are going begging while service jobs pay 12%. we haven't educated the high school students to do the manufacturing jobs. >> terry i'm going to have to beg you to hold off and stay put. we'll continue with us. richard thanks for joining us. some called him the king of las vegas. if you haven't heard of him, you've heard of his massive hotels on the strip. find out why steve winn is lashing out at president obama. s side by side, so you get the same coverage, often for less. wow! that is huge! [ disco playing ]
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yet another top ceo has come out blasting president obama. the latest lash comes from las vegas king steve wynn. there he is. he called the president the greatest wet blanket to business progress and job creation in my lifetime. and you know those vegas folks are not prone to exaggerating. and he's not alone. the lengthening list of ceos blasting this administration includes george buckley. jim mcnerney and paul otellini. terry savage is still with us and joining the situation editor for thomas reuter. are these just business folks lashing out at a guy who they don't like? >> i think the latter. i'm sorry you didn't have some of the wall street business ceos who are lashing out at the president. these complaints are familiar to
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us. i don't understand what they are whining about. the fact is taxes are still at the levels of george w. bush when you had the big, big tax decrease. the president spent a lot of money on the stimulus. i think someone like steve wynn should be really happy about that. that was an effort to sort of goose the consumer economy. i think what they don't like is he sometimes talks about tax increases but they haven't happened yet. >> terry, what do you think? >> i think business hates uncertainty. not with the uncertainty about the future. that's what's been generated out of washington. steve wynn doesn't need us to defend him. he's a man who's created thousands of jobs. he has huge profits. that's what we want. we see companies like borders who don't have profits. what do they do? they lay off people. steve wynn creates jobs. those businesses that create jobs are concerned about the future regulation, taxation, and
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general attitudes toward economic growth. that's what's going on with the private business sector. >> that's what they say. but i have a hard time believing that concern about future regulation is causing problems for someone like steve wynn. i don't see a lot of new regulations on restaurants or casinos or hotels coming out. i think what we're hearing from the ceos is real distress about the slow growth of the u.s. economy. and that actually is something that personally i wish we had more focus on job creation and less focus on the deficit right now. >> let's jump forward to a different topic here. after practically creating the first consumer protection bureau, beth warren's big reward was being shown the door. instead president obama hired richard cordray. we want to show you how this new protection bureau works at least in theory. this is courtesy of our friends
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at cnn money who put this together. the agency is focusing on all these areas from student loan companies with credit cards. so for credit cards they have various enforcement things that they're looking at here. so you can look at -- on the website here on cnn money you can look at various readouts about what the mission is. some of the critics and what they had to say. who could be helped by it? same for debt collection over here. mortgage brokers. payday lenders. and we've got a cute watch dog in the middle there. you can find it all on cnnmoney.com. terry, you were raising the alarm here about how much would this really have in the weight of protecting consumers in washington. you genuinely have concerns that it's not clear it will have the weight it needs. >> we had agencies like the fcc
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existing throughout the mortgage crisis and stock market issues that we had. and those agencies weren't able to stay ahead of the scam artists. it's all right to have a consumer protection agency. the question is do you give them unfedered power to walk into any business whether it's a credit card and make policy without any oversight and accountability. consumers do need protection. but the best protection consumers need also is to be a little bit skeptical. once we think that someone's watching out for us and can do these protection things, we tend to let down our guards. so even if we have this agency, you've still got to be double checking. >> what do you think? >> in the wake of the financial crisis, it's absurd that people are worried that a consumer protection agency would have too much power in the united states. the fact is that countries with markets like canada for example did not have a subprime crisis
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and their economies are stronger. what we have to realize is a stupid decision by an individual consumer can have a real collective impact on our welfare. i think that it is absolutely time for more careful regulation of consumer credit. and that's what this agency will do. now, elizabeth warren has scared -- >> and you're scaring me because you're eating up our time. thanks for joining us. we'll be back in a moment. it's a smack seen around the world. wendi murdoch coming to her husband's defense as a protester assaults him. but will news corp. get more than just a slap on the wrist? we'll look at that next. we believe doing the right thing never goes unnoticed. liberty mutual insurance. responsibility. what's your policy?
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[ male announcer ] when diet and exercise alone aren't enough, adding crestor does more than lower bad cholesterol and raise the good. crestor is also proven to slow plaque buildup in arteries. crestor is not right for everyone -- like people with liver disease or women who are nursing, pregnant, or may become pregnant. simple blood tests will check for liver problems. tell your doctor about other medicines you are taking or if you have muscle pain or weakness. that could be a sign of serious side effects. ask your doctor about plaque build up. and if crestor is right for you. [ woman ] i love what we've created here together. [ male announcer ] if you can't afford your medication, astra-zeneca may be able to help. by now, you're all familiar with the news corp. hacking scandal and rupert murdoch's testimony in the uk. the 80-year-old media mogul endured a three-hour drilling by british lawmakers, testified he
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had no idea his staff at "news of the world" hacked phones and bribed police. one thing is certain, this scandal is captivating tv audiences around the world and now the murdochs may be up for round two this time with authorities here in the u.s. christa is back with us joined by richard quest, host of "quest means business." richard, the british have been wrapped up in this story for weeks over there. when do you think the focus really jumps to the u.s.? >> the moment that there is evidence that there was wrong doing or some way in which it's brought in. i'll give you an example. the actor, jude law, the question of whether his voice mail was hacked into while he was in the united states. the question of whether from this country to the united states, a call was made that intercepted a voice mail somewhere en route. the moment you end up with that, then suddenly it's open season
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in the u.s. federal system and the feds can really get to grips with it. one small point, there have been a couple of u.s. politicians that have groused about the inability of the british to have a decent investigation into this. i think that's sort of playing it a little bit strong. we now have in this country at least four investigations and a full scale judicial inquiry that will get to the bottom of this. >> christa, would it be a mistake for people here to keep saying this is a problem over in london, but doesn't have anything to do with us, to underestimate it? >> yes, absolutely. i think richard is right, and some areas that i would particularly pay attention to are the victims of 9/11. if it were to turn out that the hacking had extended to the victims of 9/11, i think that you would see that as a real catalyst for huge public attention and real public disdain in the u.s. and the fact is also that, you know, news corp. is a single company, it was run as a single
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company with fairly close attention paid by rupert murdoch personally to the media properties in the u.s. and the uk with a single corporate culture. so what we're finding out about news corp. culture in the uk i think very much applies to news corp. in the united states. >> jump in, richard. i think you have something to say about that, particularly this question about rupert murdoch and his role. >> well, the point is, look, away from phone hacking and the minutia of who hacked whose phones or bribed who, there are real questions about corporate governance here. and not only about why didn't the chain of command escalate these very serious issues, but the independent directors of news corp., what were they doing? and the dual share structure, the voting structure of news corp. that allowed news corp. and the murdochs to have such control over what is a huge public company, prolisted company now. those are other issues. i think we're seeing it from calpers, the california and
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pension fund on the west coast. we're starting to see it from other institutional investors that are now saying, okay, murdoch has done very well for the company. he's been a great benefit. but is this the way a company should be run? >> fair, fair, fair questions. fair questions that i think will be raised by a lot more people as we move on. richard, thank you for being here. chrystia as well. why the massive heat wave, and your air conditioner may all be intertwined when we wrap it up with my xyz, next. act my age?
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-why? -why? -why? [ female announcer ] we all age differently. roc® multi-correxion 4 zone moisturizer with roc®retinol and antioxidants. lines, wrinkles, and sun damage will fade. roc multi-correxion. correct what ages you. is it the new forty, i don't know. i probably feel about thirty. how is it that we don't act our age? [ marcie ] you keep us young. [ kurt ] we were having too much fun we weren't thinking about a will at that time. we have responsibilities to the kids and ourselves. we're the vargos and we created our wills on legalzoom. finally. [ laughter ] [ shapiro ] we created legalzoom to help you take care of the ones you love. go to legalzoom.com today and complete your will in minutes. at legalzoom.com we put the law on your side.
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finally, our xyz and this time it comes down to one word, heat. about 150 million americans, that's half the country, are sweltering in a crushing heat wave right now. folks are being warned to drink more water, stay in cool places and reporters are busy frying eggs on sidewalks, just in case you don't get the point. note to my fellow journalists, it would be nice to include some bacon now and then.
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the inferno is focused on the midwest and east coast, but not cool anywhere. so people are cranking up their air conditioners, which is driving up demand at power companies, which is sounding the alarm about systems being pushed beyond their limits, which leads us to washington, d.c. for years political leaders had known that our infrastructure is in bad need of massive repairs including many miles of the very electrical grid we are depending on at this very moment to keep grandma cool, the dog happy, and the ice cubed. and yet time and again, funding to make many of these repairs has been diverted to more politically popular projects. so if the lights flicker, the air conditioning shutters to a stop, and you feel a hot hand closing around you as this heat wave rolls on, it's not the devil's work. it is our own. that's going to wrap up "your money" this week. ali is back next week, saturday 1:00 p.m. eastern and sunday at 3:00 p.m. if you're an early riser, catch
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