an all new "your money." stick with us to catch "your money." wait, there's more in the cnn news room. you have probably heard about the credit card hacking. what do you do if you are a victim? an expert tells us the steps to take to ease the pain and edward snowden making the headlines leaking classified information from the nsa. is he a trader or hero? james and a former nsa whistle blower going head-to-head on the issue of whether snowden should get amnesty in the united states plus, the most outrageous excuse we have heard about calling in sick. sorry, i'm busy with my other job doing secret work for the cia. one e.p.a. worker got away with it for years. that's ahead in the news room. now, stay tuned, "your money" with christine romans begins

now. a federal reserve confident in the u.s. economic recovery. investors cheering economic growth revised higher. i'm christine romans, this is your money. on wednesday, the fed announced they will pull back on the stimulus. only a little bit, a teeny bit. 10 million dlar$10 million a mo. for investors, it's the best of both worlds. still, plenty of stimulus in the system. that means short term you could see stocks still run. what else can we expect? the fed indicated they are in no hurry. the same for car loans. greg is a chief political strategist. you said the fed's decision means the recovery is real.

we saw economic growth in the third quarter. tell me the long, national nightmare is over. >> i think so, christine. happy holidays. everything looks good. there are still people that need unemployment insurance in january, but i think that the level of acrimony on the budget has diminished. the fed can start taking the punch bowl away a little bit. you have to conclude, this economy is gaining momentum now. >> it's not gaining for everyone. that's a sticking point. we have a national conversation about a living wage and the conversation about the quality of jobs that have been made in the recovery. they have not been as good as the jobs we lost. we have stocks moving up, a housing market recovering. who are going to be if winners next year? >> i think savers will get more on their returns. i think banks will do well. they always do as rates go up. both parties will be less

vilified, shall we say, because they decided their brand was hurt so badly in october that we are not going to go through this again on the debt ceiling. >> they are backed away from the cliff, no question. senator ron johnson said he, you know, he's going to tie changes to obama care to raising the debt ceiling. could it be the republicans try to do it again with the debt creeling in february, march where you are going to tie obamacare to paying our bills? >> it's not going to work. they have tried twice before. maybe they will get some reforms. my long shot special, by the way, is keystone pipeline will get tied into a deal and we might get it approved. the idea we are going to kill obamacare, it's not going to get tied to the debt ceiling. let's talk about ben bernanke. he's going to be a hero. has he set up janet yellen for next year?

>> absolutely. i mean they could have had an awkward meeting in late january or she could have done it on her own in march, but they made it clear they are all on the same page. i think it's a seamless transition. as the year goes on, the fed can focus on the next task, that is letting everybody know we have two years to go before they raise rates. >> there was a time when people said that allen greenspan was the best fed chief in history. of course he was in the fed chair for the run of the bubble. could you be less kind if the stimulus created a bunch of bubbles for the future? >> sure, if we get bubbles. i don't see inflation right now. i suppose there could be a harsh post mortem. right now, you have to say what bernanke did very controversial and opposed by some politicians. i think what he has did worked and worked well. >> the national economic nightmare is over and a cooling

of tensions in washington. we'll take that as the gift, at least for this week. thank you so much. >> you bet. for more stories that matter, give me 60 seconds on the clock, it's money time. drug giant will no longer pay drug reps based on sales numbers. it will stop paying doctors, marking a change in how they push their products. vitamins are a waste of money. strong words from researchers studying long term benefits. the vitamin industry rakes in $12 billion every year. revenge of the nerds? not so much. a new study finds people who were attractive in high school end up making more money later. an 8% bump for good looking women and 4% more for men. target is shunning queen b. the retailer will not sell her new album. it was available digitally first. target says that hurts sales.

can you smell where the who can is cooking? forbes named johnson the top winner of the year. he brought in $1.3 billion at the box office. coming up, the federal reserve may be confident in the recovery. many of you are asking what economic recovery? are we one america with two economies? next.

the jobs picture is

brightening so much the fed will gradually pull back the stimulus. unemployment is at a five year low. if you have a job and a 401(k), you are feeling better. if you are one of the 11 million americans out of work, it feels like one america with two economies. the compromise passed by congress is not likely to change that. the agreement blunts the pain of the forced budget cuts, but doesn't extend unemployment. 1.3 million americans stand to lose their benefits. it cuts pensions and does nothing to create jobs with a living wage. the president of the national league. both of you, welcome. mark, let me get your reaction. what does the budget agreement say about america's priorities? >> i think the deal is imperfect. i think paul ryan and patty murry did something bipartisan.

as you mentioned, it doesn't extend unemployment benefits. from my point of view, it doesn't secure investments and education and job training to deal with the long-term unemployment level. i think, also, they missed the opportunity to confront the problem with broking, out of date tax holes with lots of loopholes for special interest. >> i like the bipartisanship. i'm not going to go -- we have low expectations. senator ron johnson said he will tie raising the debt ceiling to changes in obamacare. republicans are starting to maybe, i don't know, spoil for a fight. >> so your question to both mark and i is what does it tell us about our priorities. >> yeah. >> the right answer is it tells us about our policy. the truth is, what it tells you is politics is the priority right now. itis not necessarily always a bad thing.

many things were missing in this budget deal. i disagree on some of them. tax reform was missing. sbe entitlement reform was missing. the goal was to get beyond the concept of shutdowns. let's have fights on other grounds like obamacare. republicans, by the way, feel better having political fights over the debt ceiling. >> let's talk about the backdrop of this. polls are showing again and again, even if the economy is getting better, people don't feel great about their share. the top 1% of households captured 95% of the income gains. a study shows 95% of those born poor stay poor. will, we have had this conversation many times. this is the normal by product of a healthy, democracy? >> no, i thought you were going to say economy. it's not a by product of a healthy economy.

what is it, i would love to see us disagree on this. the concept of inequality and poverty are not one in the same. they are not the same thing. we need to do everything we can to lift people out of poverty. mark mentioned education. strong believer. doesn't mean throwing more money into it. inequality isn't a problem. it's going to hit a lot of people. inequality is fine as long as we are all growing. we can grow at different rates. >> the middle class has been going like this over the past 30 years. >> it's true. >> here is my thinking. income equality is tied together like red beans and rice, ham and eggs, santa claus and christmas. the two go hand-in-hand. 20th century america narrowed the income gap in a significant way. we have record economic growth.

we have the rise of a middle class. we had a much better nation throughout the 20th century. this is a reversal of trends. >> hold on, i want to play something to make will mad. the president called it. >> government action time and again can make an enormous difference in increasing opportunity. investments and education, laws establishing collective bargaining and minimum wage. they all contributed to rising standards of living for massive numbers of americans. >> the key is he says government can help fix it. you disagree. >> i don't accept the premise that inequality is our defining time. it is for president obama. inequality is based upon the human vice of envy. how am i doing compared to someone else. the true problem, are we all

growing and getting better? it's what you hope to solve. i don't think the answer to solving it rewinding to the '50s. they are policies that make us grow. >> if you don't agree with president obama, maybe you can agree with pope francis. it has a different frame because pope francis is raising it, makes it moral and not political. he's talking about it in a broad context. the second thing is on the role of government. government can play a role. the nonprofit sector has a role to play in improving this idea of upward mobility. this is what we are talking about. we are talking the ability of an american born poor or in the middle class and their ability to rise and it's not just theoretical. >> could it be the 19th and 20th

century and now the rising mobility. >> it can happen here. it can happen here and the place, to be specific, where government can do that is the realm of education. think outside the box, not just spend more money. in places like new york city, we are going to roll backwards on that. as we have seen experiments like charter schools and such, reform education is the way to rise. >> next time, we are going to talk about the education component. >> i have kids in this. >> i know. we all do. we have a lot of opinions about this and personal experience. thanks. nice to see you. happy new year. >> merry christmas, happy kwanzaa. >> ding, ding, ding, you win. up next, trapped by the wage gap. >> i'm here to be like 40. like, who is going to hire a 40-year-old that just started off? probably not going to happen. >> poppy harlow introduces us to

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one america, two economies. fact, the u.s. economy is

improving. home values are rising, 401(k)s are rising. big companies are making money but they are not hiring and not paying wages to allow the middle class to take part. poppy harlow met with americans not feeling happy. what did you find? >> we have been seeing a flurry of protest demanding what they are calling a living wage. arguing they can't get by on what they are taking home an hour. they are demanding a higher wage as the stock market soars to record highs. keep this in mind, half of all americans are not invested in the market and not benefitting from the run. >> you have no money on your lunch account. not a dollar. >> at 29 years old, joanna is stuck at a job that pays $7.30 and hour. she works at a deli, 40 hours a week. $244.70 a week. what do you need to make to get

by on your own? >> i would have to make at least $14, $15 to be able to live. >> reporter: do you add it up as you go? >> yeah. i have to. >> reporter: she's a single mom fighting to get by. don't be mistaken, she blames herself for not finishing high school and going to college. she tells me, there has to be more she can achieve. >> there is no moving up. i might get a raise if i'm there long enough, that's about it. >> reporter: her life mirrors her mothers. she worked 30 years in a mattress factory and never made more than $9 an hour. >> it's a vicious cycle for everybody. >> reporter: her mother provides the home joanna can't afford. >> if it weren't for you, where would she be? >> in a shelter, in the street. >> reporter: years of low wage work left joanna with little hope. >> i'm 29. by the time i finish school, i'm going to be 40.

like, who is going to hire a 40-year-old that, you know, just starting off with no experience? it's probably not going to happen. some days i don't want to try. >> reporter: tell me what you mean. >> i feel like what's the point. what's the point in trying, i'm not going to make it anyway. >> reporter: do you think from the outside looking in people have any idea what you go through? >> no. none. >> reporter: americans have long believed in a fair day's pay for a fair day's work. we can't agree on what that wage is today. president obama supports raising the federal minimum wage from $7.25 to about $10 an hour. critics argue that won't help, it will hurt costing jobs and increasing prices. >> in general, prices go up, people buy less. you are better off if you earn a higher wage, clearly. weigh that against the likelihood your employer is going to make due with fewer

workers and you might be one of those workers. >> reporter: at the center of the debate, big box retailers. in 2012, the average pay for fast food worker, $9 an hour. retail, $12.17, both higher than minimum wage. as for joanna, her pay will go up in january, when minimum wage in new jersey increases to $8.25 an hour. she will still struggle, but hopes her children's lives will be better. >> it's not. i promise you that it's not going to happen to my kids. it's not. i won't allow it to. >> consider this number. we looked at the data. last year, more than 12 million full time working americans, full time, working americans earned less than $20,000. that is more than if they made minimum wage. you talk about the cycle, joanna, her mother never made more than $9 an hour. she's making less than her

mother made but says it won't happen to her kids. >> is it an educational story? >> she takes personal responsibility. she feels discouraged. >> so interesting. when people look at the minimum wage and investments in robotics and assembly lines, we are talking delivering a package with a drone to someone's front door. you are talking low wage jobs and mid wage jobs. >> it's going to be interesting to see what kind of job opportunities for people stuck in that cycle. >> what is the answer? where is the governments role? this? >> it will be a story for 2014. are you flying this holiday season? crying babies and snoring flight

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the nfls television black out rules angered people. here is the score. fcc is considering a ban on the nfls television blackout rules. if a stadium doesn't sell out, hometown fans don't get to watch the game on tv. they said it helps support their franchises, gets people to the stadium. the blackout rate is the lowest in 40 years. ticket sales aren't the only source of revenue. fans hate it because attending a game is too expensive. tickets, parking, food and merchandise. senator tom coburn might have

something to say. they could have made $91 million to tax the nfl. currently, nfl franchises are tax exempt. hate waiting to board the plane? just wear a russell wilson jersey next time. alaska airlines is giving priority boarding to anyone wearing the number 3 jersey. he's the new spokesman for the airline. it may be cheaper to go to a game. tickets are cheaper than the nfl average. the fcc is considering lifting the ban on in-flight cell phone yuls. the folks at "saturday night live" had this to say. >> 59% of americans want the faa to keep the ban on cell phones used during flight. the other 41% want you to guess where they are calling you from. >> can you hear me? guess what i am?

flying can be stressful enough. is the ability to make calls during flight worth it? we hit the streets och new york in a segment, what would you pay? >> 100 bucks. >> an hour, five times 60. >> probably $25 to $50 to be in a no phone zone, if it's possible. >> if i was trapped next to somebody -- >> i would pay anything. $3 a minute times 60 minutes -- >> a cocktail. >> $7.99. >> zero. you know why? i am the outlier. i don't care if people use their cell phone on the airplane. i don't. i would rather be in contact. >> $50 or so an hour. >> double not to have phones on the plane. >> what would i pay to stop the person next to me from yapping? quite frankly, i'm good at

tuning people out, i work in tv. >> funny. isn't that funny? the only people who don't care work in tv. thank you. that's it for "your money." start every saturday at 9:30 a.m. eastern. have a happy holiday, everybody. hello, everyone. i'm fredricka whitfield. cnn news room starts now. two nasa astronauts spent five hours on an emergency space walk to fix a critical cooling system pump. without the system, they had to turn off some of the electronics. nasa says they got more accomplished today than expected and the problem may be fixed after the next space walk on monday. both astronauts made it back