come on. this has got to be his year. robert redford. let's give it to him. >> true. >> not just to give it to him, but because he's earned it. great, gray. >> why don't we give him one of these? >> i wouldn't mind being in the room when you personally present it to him. how than? we'll make a date? >> me either. >> good to see you. appreciate it. all right. that's does it for us for now in the "newsroom." see you back here in about 30 minutes. i'm fredricka whitfield. "your money" starts right now. the economy is taking flight, but 50 years later we're still fighting a war on poverty. i'm christine romans and this is "your money." good-bye polar vortex. i'm not talking about the weather. i'm talking about the economy. the deep freeze is over. >> 2014 could be a breakthrough year for america. >> economic growth above 4%. rising home prices. more than 2 million jobs created last year, and a record-breaking performance for the stock market. but wait.

only half the country is invested in stocks. low-wage jobs replacing those lost in the recession, and the white house admits, the economy is not it strong enough to let emergency unemployment benefits expire. >> if this doesn't get fixed it will hurt about 14 million americans over the course of this year. >> 50 years ago this week, another president drew his battle line. >> this administration today, here and now, declares unconditional war on poverty in america. [ applause ] >> a dramatic expansion of the social safety net pushed down the poverty rate, but it didn't last. today, 15% of americans live in poverty. democrats argue, now is not the time to cut people off. >> if we lose the middle class and we're not there with a safety net, when they all that, we'll lose everything. >> but republicans say democrats don't know how to cure poverty. they only know how to invest in

expensive band-aids. >> to help people alleviating the symptoms of poverty, the pain caused by poverty but don't help people emerge from pov tinchts the question, if the band-aid comes off, how do we heal the economy underlying wounds? john avalon, cnn political analyst and executive eder of the daily beast. bob herbert, senior fellow. john, listen to the president this week. >> these are not statistics. these are your neighbors, your friends, your family members. it could at some point be any of us. that's why we set up a system of unemployment insurance. >> that caught our attention. is he being a little dishonest? know one's talking about getting rid of insurance. taxpayer paid for emergency aid after you exhaust your unemployment insurance. >> that is a fair distinction. how much, the point being if we

are still in two economies. wall street is roaring, main street still suffering, do you have an obligation to extend that safety net? obviously, democrats say kbrep there was a hopeful. moment. the republicanen from nevada corralled some to move forward with debate on this. there may be breath left in the compassionate conservatives. >> i want to talk about marco rubio offering a new map on mobility. he's really focused on mobility for all americanss. he want to turn federal anti-poverty funding over to the united states, replace the earned income tax credit with an enhanced federal wage. so a job becomes more enticing than collecting jobless benefits. could that work? if you enhance a wage of an $18,000 a year job, the person gets a little more money every paycheck not a tax credit at the end of the year. that's what he'd like to do. >> if you enhance it, an enhanced federal wage, that's a subsidy to large employers. the question becomes, do you really want to pay people more

money by taxing the rest of us? i mean if someone's going to make more on their job, you think that that extra money should be paid for by their employers not the taxpayers. >> we need to raise jobs that are good paying jobs. around the edge, people surviving. the message at the white house is going for this year, raising the minimum wage, extending unemployment benefits. does that give republicans an opening to say you're talking about band-aids, not how to create good jobs? >> i think democrats definitely see this issue as something that is a defining issue of our times and resonates with the base historically. talking about the 50-year war on poverty. it was a statistical success, a political failure. lind johns lyndon johnson looks better today than 50 years ago. the republicans are beginning to talk ob poverty and inequality. it's a step forward.

i think it's heartening they're at least entering the conversation. because it raises the question, if objectively we have an inequal tuty problem, what's the gop solution? >> and economists say the official poverty vat 159%. but there's misleading statistics around there. it doesn't include food stamps, earned income tax credit, medicaid. maybe the war on poverty has been more successful than numbers sut, bob, because we have a safety net toyed we didn't have before. >> you can argue about the numbers to any extent that you want, but try to imagine what the situation, what the landscape would look like right now, if we hadn't had medicare, medicaid, the food stamp program, school lunches and that sort of thing. so to that extent, the war on pvty really helped a tremendous number of people, but going forward i think you've made the essential point. you can't take care of inequality, upward mobility, poverty, any of those things

unless you figure how to create an awful lot of well-paying jobs. >> we'll be tuking about it all year. thanks, have a nice weekend. coming up, what would you do for a new job? give up your facebook password? disclose a credit score? employers want this and more. can you say no? why companies hold all the power. 's new for 575 calories or less on our lighter fare menu. enjoy fresh tossed. go fish. and try our new rosemary garlic chicken at olive garden. explaining my moderate to severe so there i was again, chronic plaque psoriasis to another new stylist. it was a total embarrassment. and not the kind of attention i wanted. so i had a serious talk with my dermatologist about my treatment options. this time, she prescribed humira-adalimumab. humira helps to clear the surface of my skin by actually working inside my body. in clinical trials, most adults with moderate to severe plaque psoriasis saw 75% skin clearance.

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the rocky mountain high would cost you your job. as of january 21st anyone in colorado can walk in to a store and buy marijuana. workers should be careful. employees in the centennial state still can be fired for testing positive for pot, even though it's legal to smoke it. anna joins us from colorado where she's been following the story for us. hi, anna. >> reporter: the green rush continues. really, the demand outweighing supply, and yet as people are rushing to get their hands on this stuff, they might not be thinking about one thing. you could be putting your job on

the line. turns out, colorado's new rocky mountain high comes with a catch. test positive for thc at work, you could hear the words "you're fired." >> i'm not going get bitter anytime soon. i need the marijuana and i don't want to go the whole rest of my life without having a job. >> reporter: it happened to brandon, a quadriplegic fired in 2010 working as a telephone customer service representative, good annual reviews and using medical marijuana off duty to control muscle spasms when a company drug test showed thc in his system. >> the first time that dish ever knew about brandon's use. >> reporter: so coates case went to court. both the arapaho county trial court and state appeals court ruled in dish network's favor saying even though marijuana is legal in colorado, it is still illegal under federal law. in a statement to cnn, the company defended coates

dismissal saying, "as a national company, dish network is committed to its drug-free workplace policy and compliance with federal law, which does not permit the use of marijuana, even for medicinal purposes." and that reality appears to be receiving colorado's marijuana shoppers. so you're coming here to get some marijuana today. does that concern you about the possibility you could get fired for this? >> i don't use marijuana in the workplace. i think if there's an accident, you should be able to be tested for it. >> it alters people mind so that they do make mistakes at work and they don't think clearly. >> reporter: it doesn't take an accident or mistake for an employer to have the right to test and unlike other substances like alcohol, a positive drug test doesn't necessarily mean impairment. thc can still be present hours or even days after use. has that thought even crossed your mind? >> absolutely. it's a risk i'm willing to take. >> reporter: it's a big risk. bottom line, your career could take a hit.

from a drug that many consider harmless. >> really, at this point, you know, all of the rights belong to the employers, and employees just need to know what their employers' policies are to abide by them. >> reporter: now brandon coates case is with the state supreme court, and the nation will be watching as a ruling in this case could really set a precedent. nome here in colorado but across the nation during this pivotal point in history with the use of marijuana on the rise. christine? >> thank you so much, anna, for that story. buying and smoking marijuana are legal in colorado, but workers who light up could risk their jobs. more evidence in this economy employers have all the power. robin bond is an employment attorney and author of the book "how to negotiate a killer job offer." nice sow see you. robin, nationally the acceptance of marijuana is growing. 55% of americans think marijuana should be legal. in the '80s, just 16%. at the same time, companies have

been really good about driving down the number of positive drug tests. quest diagnostic, dropped 74% over the past 25 years. for the past half decade, the rate stated just 3.5%. so companies have been working really hard to get smokers off their payrolls and also to make sure that they have fewer people using drugs on duty. how does this change now that it's actually legal in one state to smoke marijuana? >> well, right. it's very important to understand that once you -- you know, once you enter the private sector workforce, you're no longer standing on the bill of rights as a united states citizen, lu exclusively. you're consenting to go into the blue collar and white collar dictatorship of a private workforce where the employer does make the rules. to some extent you have the protections of federal law for illegal discrimination and the

right to unionize and some extent, a political speech, but in terms of off-duty conduct and what you do off-duty, there are very few laws that really protect that, and colorado and the use of marijuana is an all new chartered territory. >> yes. >> as your reporter said, it's legal in the state, but it's not legal under federal law. so although brandon coates had the use of this for a medical purpose, the accommodation of a disability, federal law is used under the americans with disability act to define a disability, not state law. that was the turning point in this case. >> yeah. so murky. i think you'll see a lot of legal challenges between employers and employees in colorado. meantime, we know it's a tough environment for people looking for a job and hearing stories about employer, not all, but a small minority of employers asking candidates in a job interview for a facebook password, during the interview before they even extend a job offer.

is that legal, first, and, second, maybe you should still go along with it, if you want the job? >> if the information is publicly out there, that information is just not protected, but when you cross the line, the aclu brought a case and in many instances, organizations have retracted this policy of asking for access for passwords, because honestly, no one has the right to your passwords. >> no one has the trite your passwords. but some bosses want to see it. they have a lot of good candidates. they want to make sure you're not a total loser, i guess, or on a booze cruise every night. the other thing i want to ask you about. credit scores. i've covered this story many times. i hear complaints from people their credit is checked and then they're denied a job. been around a long time knop laws in ten stricts contradicting this, from using the background check, the credit check, against potential employees. is it fair for employers to weigh credit scores before they hire somebody? >> it's very important for viewers to know this.

people cannot get this information about you unless you sign a consent form giving them permission to get it. >> if you want the job you're going to do it. you know? that's the -- catch 22. you know? >> yeah. right. pretty much that's true, but if you have bad information, here's a couple things you can do. say, yes, i'll sign the waiver, but let me explain to you there's some recent things that have happened that explain why i had some credit problems. and let me also give you some great reference letters about me. you know, proactively explain this, because there's a lot of good reasons why credit goes bad. and if some adverse actions is taken against you, ask for the credit report. by law you have the right to it, and if adverse action is taken against you because of bankruptcy that sill legis ille >> everyone should go to www.annualcreditreport.com and get your free copy you are allowed to have.

you should see what's on it so you know what the boss is going see. coming up -- >> sprinkle sensa on. eat all the food you love and wauchb watch the pounds come off. >> sounds great. the federal trade commission says it doesn't work and it's not the only product the ftc is going after. talking about "operation failed resolution" right after this. [ chainsaw whirring ] humans -- sometimes life trips us up. sometimes we trip ourselves up. and although the mistakes may seem to just keep coming at you, so do the solutions. like multi-policy discounts from liberty mutual insurance.

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have you noticed the gym is a little more crowded lately? the start of a new year usually brings new year's resolutions. if your resolution is to shed pounds, careful how you do it. the federal trade commission

cracking down on companies it says are making false claims about their weight-loss products. tracking what the ftc calls "operation failed resolution." brian? >> reporter: christine, the federal trade commission says four companies sold weight-loss powders creams and other products that don't work and the ftc says those companies were shameless and deceptive in their ad campaigns. >> it's called sensa. >> reporter: and it seems enticing for that new year's resolution you might have made to lose weight, but as they say, if it sounds too good to be true -- >> without dieting. simply sprinkle sensa on. eat all the foods you love, and watch the pounds come off. >> reporter: sensa markets a powder to enhance the smell and taste of food, which the company says makes you feel full faster. $59 for a month's supply. >> i may not have gone to a fancy ivy league school, but i sure understand that that is good old-fashioned horse manure.

>> reporter: senator claire mccaskill is launches a campaign into those ads asking those to flag potential scams. sensa is one of four supplement dietmakers the ftc charged with deceptive advertising saying there's no proof those products work. other target, hcg diet correct, distributors of hormone drops placed under your tongue, the company says, you'll lose weight fast. lean spa, a company the ftc shut down for using fake websites to market colin cleansing and diet products. and the popular beauty product company locciton. >> honing in on the fact people want to lose weight and don't want to have to work at it. >> reporter: the ftc isic maing these companies pay $34 million in settlements. the in refunded to customers. nutritionist katherine tallmadge worries who they are taurgted.

>> i was alarmed thinking that teenagers and eastern children were taking those potentially dangerous supplements. >> reporter: with the wait los industry exploding in america, snaft mccaskill warns going after those four companies is like plays the game wack a mole. >> there are many companies doing this. with one that is found, another one will pop up. >> reporter: the ftc says those companies will each have to conduct at least two legitimate clinical tests for their products to prove they work. they will make its testing more rirgerrous to comply with the fta. sensa said the product is solid, and ads would be changed. hcg diet direct didn't respond to our calls. >> two things i know, brian. you can't skinny quick and you can't get rich quick. two things i know every new's. thanks so much, brian todd. >> reporter: schoo.

wait. stop. don't text that party photo on facebook. what would you pay to make your most embarrassen social media picture disappear forever. the answer, next. and the guy hands me a locknut wrench. no way! i'm like, what is this, a drainpipe slipknot? wherever your business takes you, you can save money with progressive commercial auto. [ sighs ] [ flo speaking japanese ] [ shouting in japanese ] we work wherever you work. now, that's progressive. call or click today.

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what would you pay to make your most embarrassen social media moment disappear forever? answers in a moment. first a look at the rest of the stories that matter to your money this week. it's "money time." check out these curves. samsung unveiled its new bendable tv at the consumer electronics trade show in las vegas. the screen changes shape to enhance viewing. game over for china's ban on gaming consols. sony, nintendo and microsoft can now tap a huge new market, but they'll have to make them in china. the ban started in 2000. chinese officials worried about violent content and the potential for moral decay. facebook cares about your privacy but its ceo doesn't talk about it much. a college prfr put more than 150 speeches and appearances by mark zuckerberg through a word cloud. the words privacy and private

uttered only 68 times in public since 2009, what did he say the most? people and's think. the great liquid gold mystery. velveeta cheese disappearing from some store shelves. kraft is not sure why there's a shortage, but it's just in time for your super bowl party. it you're sharing online, once in a while you might feel a momentary tinge's regret. even the president of the united states with a recent selfie that doesn't seem too amusing to the first lady. connecting online and sharing in a way we never could have imagined even ten years ago. in this week's "what would you pay" mouch money would you pay to get that embarrassen tweet or photo from facebook removed from the web forever? >> a dollar amount? the most, $500. >> whatever it cost me, because i don't want anybody in my business. you know? so -- i mean if it cost me

$1,000, then i go in my pocket and pull out $1,000. >> maybe $10,000. >> depends what it was being seen. >> it's going to be in the thousands, for sure. >> i would probably pay -- i don't want to say that. somebody's going to try and get it out of me. i could see paying, like, maybe five grand to get a photo removed. that's just me, because i feel we should be able to keep some of our stuff private. >> zero. unless it's really, really bad. >> i don't know. $1,000. would i? i don't know. i'd probably just let it stay. >> it's all relevant. depends how incriminating. $1,000, yes? horrible, pay more. but then that goes to blackmail. i would probably not put it on to begin with. >> my officemate deb, a wise woman. she has nothing incriminating that could ever get there. thanks, guy. december, the weakest month

for jobs growth in years. so who's getting hired? how are they doing it? tell us your story at cnnmoney #i got a job. sees back here next saturday, 9:30 a.m., brand new "your money" then. have a great weekend. hello, everyone. i'm fredricka whitfield. the top stories we're following. on top of breaking news. a minor win for baseball super star alex rodriguez, and ash drater reduced his suspension to 1 2 ga62 games. neither the player nor the league seems to be thrilled with the decision. jason carroll is following this breaking story for us from new york.