personal pricing now on brakes. tell us what you want to pay. we do our best to make that work. deal! my money. my choice. my meineke. lot more coming up at 10:00. right now, "your bottom line" straight ahead. most americans don't want to see cuts in social security and medicare, but does that leave education firmly in the cross hairs? good morning. i'm christine romans. will protecting programs meant for grandma and grandpa leave washington no choice but to cut spending for your kids' feature. find out what issue compelled matt damen to get off the movie set and march side by side with america's teachers. and, a man whose own career comeback story was so inspiring, they made it into a movie. he's here with some timely

advice for you on how to permanently improve your career prospects no matter how bad this economy gets. the debt ceiling deal is done. what does this mean for you, cuts mean for you? don is chairman of the peebles corporation. it's a real estate developer and a member of president obama's national finance committee. the economic policy institute estimates that the debt ceiling deal will cost america 1.8 million jobs by 2012. now most of those are expected to be government jobs. don, you're an employer. do you think that we're going to see job loss as the nation tries to tighten its belt? something like this, the debt ceiling deal make you as an employer have to higher fewer people. >> i don't think it helped me make me higher fewer people but gives us a little more stability. the irony here, the debt ceiling has been increased 74 times in my lifetime. >> right. >> and i'm 51. more than once a year, ten times since 2001. not a lot of impact other than all drama around it and further

instability. the big challenge here is for the average american, they're not going to see much of an impact because social security is not getting touched nor medicaid and medicare. those are the drivers of our budget deficits where we can't control them. >> we'll talk more about those as we go on. diane is chief economist at the concord coalition. some of the cuts in this debt deal were going to come from loans to graduate students. when the job market turns around, will we have a work force that's educated and ready to compete if we're starting to pull back some of the subsidies to get middle class kids into college some. >> pretty troubling that the areas of budget cutting that congress and the president managed to do happened to be those that will most adversely effect our younger people, the ones that will be stuck with the bills later on. it would be nice if we at least set aside enough resources for them to get a good education. >> but you know, you've studied this for so long. you know, talking about fiscal austerity, paying for the life we can afford not the life we think in this country we want to

live. i mean it is clear that we are in a period now, an american family should understand, we're in a period where we can't pay for all the things our government has promised. >> that's right. we can't. and unfortunately, congress did not really demonstrate or the administration, that we're ready to confront those tough choices. as don mentioned, the biggest pressure on the federal budget are the entitlement programs, the payments to medicare and social security, and the great mismatch between revenues and those spending programs, but we didn't touch those this time around and congress and the president haven't set up a great mechanism to force them to confront those choices the next round. >> sacred cows, taxes on the republican side and entitlement programs on the democratic side. want to bring in columnist bob herbert, a distinguished senior fellow, social security safe for now but medicare providers could

face cuts. bob, neither the tea party or miles o'brien president obama seemed thrilled with the compromise. in terms of the american people who are the wins? who gets hurt by this deal? >> no winners here. the problem is we have an economy that is flat lining and not creating jobs. this debt ceiling deal which came after a completely manufactured crisis will do nothing about -- to strengthen the economy and ultimately it also won't bring down the deficit. >> what is everyone so -- what did we do it for? >> i don't know why the politicians did it. i presume they had their reasons. they felt that they were boxed in. they were pressured by the tea party. they couldn't come to any kind of agreements. but you should not have had an argument about the budget at the same time that you were talking about raising the debt ceiling. >> and i think we all agree on that. diane, explain to me, in not economist terms, because you also wrote a blog called

economist mom, i know you can speak all these languages, tell me specifically, what american families should know about what this debt deal means for their personal finances and for the opportunities for their kids? >> well, i think the first thing is that just because we avoided default doesn't mean that the u.s. government reassured global investors that u.s. treasuries are a safe investment. what that means first of all is, interest rates are going to rise. the rates that the federal government pays on its borrowing is considered the risk-free rate of interest. all the other interest rates us ordinary folk have to pay for our car loans, mortgages, our student loans, are going to have to go up. secondly, if we don't get our really big spending pressures and our lack of revenue in order, it's going to squeeze out the rest of federal spending. so that interest will end up eating up more and more of the federal budget, less left over for discretionary spending and

it's hard to cut discretionary spending very substantially because it's just not that big of a part of our budget. >> it's a small part of the budget and includes very important things like food inspectors, things like education grants and includes a lot of things that are the services that when we think of government services, that's a little part of the budget that's the part that we feel. so this is why i keep saying do this deal so important for everyone to really study and for policymakers to pay close attention to how they're going to do this cost cutting because it's clearly something that's going to affect a lot of american families. we will continue to talk about this. whether you're 18 or 88, we're going to tell you which generation will pay the most for this debt deal that's next.

the debt ceiling debate was the latest example of how politically divided the nation is right now. you know it's doubtful you could get 85% of voters to agree on anything, unless you ask them about their social security and medicare. a recent cnn/orc poll shows 84% of americans oppose cutting spending on social security. even more, 87%, opposed cuts to medicare. back with us bob, don and diane. bob, with america's debt more than $14 trillion and counting

major cuts are coming. if we can't touch programs beneficial to seniors like social security, medicare, then aren't we subsidizing one generation, bob, by protecting money from one and we have to take from the other. >> may seem like that, but ultimately i think not. what i fear is happening is that this generation is getting left behind not because of medicare and social security, but because we haven't put in place an economy in which they can thrive. so there's not employment out there, college kids moving back with their parents after they graduate. if you really wanted to do something about this -- the long-term future of these young people, you need to set up an economy in which they could be employed but you would need to get a handle on health care costs and i think that the way to do that would be to provide, for example, medicare for everyone. these are complex issues. we can't get political agreements on it. i think the kids will get left behind primarily because of the

economy, not because of entitlement programs. >> interesting. a lot of kids when i talk to them they don't expect much of these safety nets to be there for them. even if they are out there rallying to keep all of them and prevent cuts many kids aren't counting on it. diane, the term sandwich generation, folks simultaneously caring for their children and parents. it's the first generation where we've had that. are we seeing a version of this playing out in washington where taxpayers are funding programs for the elderly, and the interest on the debt that comes from paying for the stuff we can't afford? >> yeah. very much so. i think that bob's right that it's not just entitlements spending that's the concern. the concern is are we going to encourage a strong economy for our children at the same time. but it's both parts of the equation. our debt is unsustainable because both because we've made commitments that are unaffordable and because we're not growing our economy fast

enough. >> all right. all of this is a jobs thing. people kept telling me when reporting on this debt deal, it was never a jobs deal. this is always a debt deal. longer term, those big deficits can hurt jobs. but this is all about debt right now and raising the debt ceiling. don, as a business, america seems to be in crisis mode dealing with budget problems the last minute. what needs to change to make sure america is starting to create jobs again? >> stability and this discussion about tax increases. that's a big issue for small, medium-sized businesses because entrepreneurs like me pay taxes at the personal income level. all of our income from our businesses -- >> you're against tax increases. >> but i'm for tax incentives. i'm for incentivizing further investments in job creating activities. >> tax reform? >> i think there should be tax reform. i don't think the american people should subsidize expenditures. >> three to five years from now still working under this tax code or have something simpler, fairer, easier to understand

that gets rid of loopholes and raises taxes at the federal level. >> i think we should have a flat tax. i stel steve forbes a flat tax proposal he made a couple dec e decades ago is the way to go. everybody is paying the same rate, get rid of the deductions and have these politicians working on bigger issues than our taxes. >> bob, nice to see you. don peebles, peebles corporation, diane, thank you so much, everybody. >> find out what has matt damon fired up that he's heading from the movie set to washington to march side by side with pretty angry teachers. unless you want . new splenda® essentials™ no calorie sweetener with b vitamins, the first and only one to help support a healthy metabolism. three smart new ways to sweeten. same great taste. new splenda® essentials™. vietnam, 1967. i got mine in iraq, 2003. u.s.a.a. auto insurance

is often handed down from generation to generation, because it offers a superior level of protection and because u.s.a.a.'s commitment to serve the military, veterans, and their families is without equal. begin your legacy. get an auto insurance quote. u.s.a.a. we know what it means to serve.

and started earning loads of points. you got a weather balloon with points? yes i did. [ man ] points i could use for just about anything. ♪ ♪ there it is. [ man ] so i used mine to get a whole new perspective. ♪ [ male announcer ] the new citi thankyou premier card gives you more ways to earn points. what's your story? citi can help you write it.

a massive teacher march in washington last weekend featured some real star power. actor matt damon showed up to show his support. >> i don't know where i would be today if my teachers' job security was based on how i

performed on some standardized test. >> matt's mom nancy carlson page is a childhood development expert and professor at leslie university and joined her son, he joined her at the protest and she joins us now. nancy, he told a story. welcome to the program. >> thank you. >> told a funny story about how in 1970s you marched in and said my son is not going to take this test and you yanked him out of there. you know, you told the principal that's not what's going to happen. why did you do that? >> i've never been a fan of standardized tests. sometimes children remember things with more drama than really happened. >> my mom says the same thing? in that case, a terrific principal of the school who gave the option and i didn't really march in, but i certainly said, no, i don't want matt to have standardized tests. i don't think they tell you anything. you know, testing has a place in education, but the place it has is to inform teachers about how to work with children, what they understand, what they don't and

how they understand it so you can develop curriculum base odden what you learned from the test. they're being used these days to evaluate teachers. their jobs are hinging on them and their bonuses and schools survival. it's a whole wrong-headed way of using tests for evaluation of someone versus for information. >> i want to bring in bill bennett a cnn contributor, former education secretary as well. bill, you believe in standardized testing. and that they should be used, right, for evaluating what a job a teacher -- how well a teacher is teaching the material but agree this model should be revised? >> yeah. i also believe in jason bourne, i want to say that for the record. big fan. you know who i'm talking about. >> oh, yeah. >> standardized tests have their place. there are too many tests i think i might agree with nancy on that. we test too often. but there are important uses for tests. yes, they're useful for teachers so they can diagnose understand

where their students edeficie y edeficiencies are but useful for parents and the public. you're paying this bill, we're papg for the schools, need to have a sense of how our students are performing and when many of them are performing as dismally as they are in international competitions and other competitions we have a right to ask for improvement. you have to be able to measure. you can overdo it. without measurement we're in the dark. >> i want to look at the confidence in public schools. a recent poll from gallup and both of you, this has been trending lower and lower. we're at 34% in terms of a great deal or quite a lot of confidence in our public schools. question to both of you. nancy, you first, are teachers tests, schools, who's to blame? >> well, you're saying there's not a lot of confidence in public schools. i don't see how people could have confidence in public schools when there's a national

climate full of messages that schools are failing, that schools have to be closed, that teachers are to blame for bad education, that we don't do well on international tests. there's so much of a climate of blaming teachers and schools, i don't see who could possibly have confidence in them. but, actually, i think the more that schools are disembedded from communities, the more that there's this creeping privatization of schools and they're taken out of local control, then the more disconnected people feel and the less can confident that their schools are doing what they want them to do and less able to have a voice in affecting what happens. >> you know, bill, to watch that trend line just moving lower and lower. and i'll tell you, it seems to always dip exactly when we're at the worst in the economy. i'll point that out as well, but you'd like to see more than 34% of people thinking that they have a great deal of confidence in their public school system. there must be some other choice than leaving the school system altogether and finding an

alternative, isn't there? >> yeah. pessimism follows pessimism. when you have a situation like we have today, there tends to be a decline, christine, in confidence, in many institutions, government, public schools, public institutions and the like. but some of this is just fine, because of performance factors. we've been increasing spending dramatically over the past 40 years and performance has been flat. i, too, think schools should be part of communities, but i don't want it all to be under local control. i think parental control is important, but i do think states, which have an important responsibility to fund education have a right in outcomes and should, in certain circumstances, close down schools. i visited a school in baltimore when i was secretary of education, where not a single child was reading at grade level. that hurts public confidence, you bet. >> before i let you goes, nancy,

i have to tell you, i'm the mother of three sons, 5 years old, 3 years old, and 1 years old. just between the two of us, tell me what i can do to raise a matt damon, what's your advice? >> well, the way that you raise a child who is like matt damon is to encourage him or her to think for themselves, to be creative, to have a thriving play environment, to have an environment that nurtures imagination, and to go to schools that also nurture those things. and one of the problems with the high-stakes tests that we're talking about, where teachers are threatened and their jobs are threatened, of course they're going to do everything they can to survive, especially in an economy like this, but also, the tests are narrowing the curriculum. the arts are disappearing, the social curriculum is disappearing. imagination and play. these are the things matthew had as a child who helped him become who he is. that's what he's saying in his speech. they're eroding out from under most children in the country today because of testing. >> nancy carlson-paige, nice to

meet you. and bill bennett, nice to talk to you again. maybe we can have this conversation again. there's a lot of directions we can go to talk about how to make the public school experience better for everyone. the job isn't going to come to you in this market, so what does it take to be a successful entrepreneur? i'm going to talk with one you know, next. prescription strength relief from my worst allergy symptoms. so lily and i are back on the road again. with zyrtec® i can love the air®. so lily and i are back on the road again. there's another way litter box dust:e purina tidy cats. tidy cats premium line of litters now works harder on dust. and our improved formulas neutralize odors better than ever in multiple-cat homes. so it's easier to keep your house smelling just the way you want it. purina tidy cats. keep your home smelling like home.

really? 25 grams of protein. what do we have? all four of us, together? 24. he's low fat, too, and has 5 grams of sugars. i'll believe it when i--- [ both ] oooooh... what's shakin'? [ female announcer ] as you get older, protein is an important part of staying active and strong. new ensure high protein... fifty percent of your daily value of protein. low fat and five grams of sugars. see? he's a good egg. [ major nutrition ] new ensure high protein. ensure! nutrition in charge! what if we designed an electric motorcycle? what if we turned trash into surfboards? whatever your what if is, the new sprint biz 360 has custom solutions to make it happen, including mobile payment processing, instant hot spots, and 4g devices like the motorola photon. so let's all keep asking the big what ifs. sprint business specialists can help you find the answers. sprint. america's favorite 4g network. trouble hearing on the phone? visit sprintrelay.com.

two top economists both from different sides of the aisle think this country might be headed for another recession. martin feldstein, top adviser to presidents reagan and bush during the 2000 election said that the country faces a 50% chance of a new recession. larry summers, director of president obama's national economic council, says there's a one in three chance of another recession. and of course, you've seen all the dreadful news about jobs. i'm here to tell you, you can't wait for this economy to make it work for you, so we wanted to ask chris gardner how to make it work for yourself.

chris gardner's book "the pursuit of happyness" inspired the movie starring will smith. i need some inspiration? what do you have to say about that? >> the first thing i want to share with you about those economists, most of them were reluctant to admit we were in a recession in the first place. >> and larry summers said a one in three chance of a recession, i said, that means we've got a two-thirds chance we're not in a recession. i talk to people who don't seem to care what's happening in the macroeconomy if they've got a good idea on how to do it. especially if they don't have another job. talk to me about what it takes to start your own company or get out there and start hustling for contract work or making it happen for yourself. >> i agree with you. you cannot wait for a perfect world in order to pursue

something that you're truly passionate about. the truth of the matter is, 50% of all the companies in the fortune 500 were started in either a bear market or a recession. this is a fabulous time to be doing something, pursuing something that you're truly passionate about. and one of the key components there, christine, is recognizing that skills, talent, and expertise are transferable. why not transfer those things into those opportunities that you're truly passionate about, as opposed to waiting for the economy to correct. >> i think that's a pretty good the -- that's some really good advice, some inspiration. and i wanted -- some people, i hear, chris, they say, i'm not the entrepreneur type or i'm too old or i really need to work for a company. but we found this this week in "the washington post," an article about the myths about entrepreneurs. here are some of the myths. that tech entrepreneurs are in their 20s. that entrepreneurs are like top athletes. that they're born, not made. that college dropouts make better entrepreneurs.

and all of these things actually are wrong. the average age of an entrepreneur is actually 40, starting out. 40. you know, these things are all -- all of these things, anybody could be an entrepreneur, really. >> let me say one thing about that. i believe we're going to be a resurgence in the entrepreneurial spirit in this country, led by people who are with 50 years old and older. why do i believe that? >> because these people who are let go and lost opportunities in corporate america were let go in their prime. they bring something to the table that guys in their 20s don't bring, and that would be the three rs. basically, rep, your reputation and the rolodex that you need to make something happen. so this next wave of entrepreneurial spirit in this country is going to be led by people who are 50 years old and older. >> you call it the three rs, i call it contacts and context. the people they know and how they get into the overall