spending. on the revenue side, we have to take a look at the tax cuts. also have a serious reform about estate tax. i don't think anybody is proposing to back to 2000. on the spending side, you see in the various projections, some reduction in spending. there's a long term reduction affect. there's also the end of the wars in iraq and afghanistan and some cuts to spending. it requires a calm discussion. it doesn't lend itself to buzz words or bumper stickers. host: and her concern about the

inheritance tax? guest: i believe this year, it goes down to zero and then shoots right back up again. the healthcare reform bill would raise taxes the top tax rate would go above the percent. i agree that we want to think about the efficiency of our taxes the real problem going out to 2020 is not that taxes are relative to the gdp

spending is 25% of gdp. at some point, you have to reign that in if you can't bring that in to reign it over a 10 year period. i dispair for how we are going to get on top of these problems. host: thank you for being on the program. guest: thank you very much. host: we are going to take a short break. when we come back, a discussion on food labeling and safety issues. you are watching the washington journal. we'll be right back. >> let's meet another winner from the c-span student cam winners. >> we'll meet an eighth grader.

congratulations on your win. >> thanks. why did you select this topic? >> i select it had because i was really interested in working with the war and i really like what was gooding on and happening. i thought that the kids nowadays think that war is like modern video games. i wanted to ill loom nate the fact that veterans when they come home have troubles no one understands. >> why did you select three individuals to interview? >> the first person i interviewed was my cousin. jen, she works at walter reed and is one of the lead volunteers there. she gets the fesh shipment of wounded soldiers.

>> what about the doctor you interviewed? >> he leads the veterans program at asu. i thought it was really useful. he works with bridging veterans and non-veterans and training them to go back into normal life. >> what was your thought process in creeathe the documentry from start to finish. i thought someone with ptsd or with a family member with this could learn more about it and help treat it on their own. >> what do you want viewers to take away from your dock you meant >> i want mem to know that war is really serious.

they are coming back with problems and facing homelessness and poverty. at the end of your documentary, why did you include a list of volunteer services? >> i thought they could see these people on these sites that have ptsd training i heard you are working on another documentary? >> it's honoring medical co-talkers because non-of the

people had ever been formally honored. when they got back, they were treated like trash and worse than the german prisoners of war. i did this interview to formerly honor them and thank them. >> thank you for joining us and congratulations on your win. >> thank you. >> here's a short clip from max's documentary. >> sometime soon, millions of soldiers will return from combat to an overburdened healthcare network. long deployment and stress contribute is to a higher number of divorce, suicide, crime, and homelessness. veterans often find relief through drug and alcohol addiction. >> to see his entire documentary and the other winning videos any time go to

student cam .org. >> washington journal continues. host: michael jacob son is the executive director for the center of the science and public interest. they put out a report in december that we are going to be talking about we are talking about big companies that fail to use words to disclose what is really in the product. quick example, you see the word whole grain on a loaf of bread. then you look carefully and it says "made with whole grain." you should interpret that as made with very little whole

grains. it's probably basically white bread with a dotop of grains in. host: is there a standard for how much has to be added? caller: no. if it's 100%, it has to be 100% but anything short of that, there's no standard. a statement on orange juice that says it contributes to helping joints? caller: there is a shred of truth there. we see a lot of that.

what's happening is kind of a converge answer of the sleezy diet supplement industry where claims are made for all kinds of conditions with the food industry. the food industry is now adding glucocemine or omega 3 fatty acid or vitamin c to products making a totally dishonest claim that a food will protect your joints lead to brain development in children whole

foods for example, their house brand eggs say omega 23 fatty acids, good for your heart. the food and drug administration has said you can't brag about omega 3 in eggs because of the high amounts of cholesterol. the fda is now beginning to show life on this labeling issue. a month ago, it cracked down on about 15 companies for making deceptive claims that's just the tip of the iceberg. the fda really needs to expand the division and make it a priority to protect the consumers who will try to get

away with robbery basically. we are talking about food labeling and safety with michael jacob son the director. if you'd like to get involved in the conference, give us a call at 207-737-001 for republicans and 202-737-002 for democrats and rds 202-628-0205 for indpendents. our first call comes from san antonio, texas on the line for republicans. caller: good morning. first time caller. a little nervous. i know with cerrioses there was something out about them but does this extend into the political world?

is there a line to be drawn of what is in that male? i just don't know how you can even begin to address the administration. who is to blame? where do we draw the line? guest: the cerrios claim is small potatos one is requiring

chain restaurants to list calorie contents. chain restaurants will have to have a brochure listing the sodium and fat and other newt reants you see on food labels there's one good stoody on the affect of food labeling. starbucks sponsored a high quality study that found that with calorie labeling on their food, consumers bought 14 prs fewer calories. that's something that will prevent obesity. in a couple of years, we'll see that menu labeling everywhere. there's one other important

aspect of health reform, which is a couple of billion a year will be devoted to prevention activities to help prevent disease from occurring we don't need reform, we need money. it has a long catch up period because it has been starved. >> you mentioned new york city. the cspi put out a report talking about new york city passing a food safety letter grade for restaurants is there evidence to show that people

make better choices and does it affect the bottom line for people running the restaurant? los angeles start the movement by which a letter grade was given. an a for the clean ones, b, and f for the one that's need to close down. in l.a., you see the a or the b in the window. that has been a broom to la diners. new york city has copied that. in los angeles, they found a decrease in hospitalizations due to food borne illnesses because of those letter grades. other cities have been following the lead of los angeles.

getting restaurants to cleaning up their act is important and putting pressure on restaurants to clean up. >> we are talking about food safety and labeling. >> our next call comes from new orleans. mike on the line for independents. caller: maybe three things here. the fda is basically a joke. it's a branch of the food industry lobbyists gmos, rats won't eat this food. yet our government won't label it. europe has had the great sense to go ahead and ban these

things. secondly,as pertain is a again etically modified item. in almost 85% of the sweetened products. and then of course, you have high glucose corn surup. it's almost like the government is trying to kill us. >> i wouldn't go so far but i agree the fda isn't doing the job it should be doing. in the past year, there's new management. these people really want to prevent health problems and are just getting started. i mention that they cracked down on some of the deceptive labeling. they have a long way to go. there's several things you identify. gmos,as per tame and high

fructose corn surup are small contributors to health problems, if any. when you say 80% of foods contain again etically modified items. it isn't true. there isn't a single method cool of a modified ingredient. i think the gmo issue is greatly exagerated. some of the big health concerns -- i'll name two of them. one is salt. salt is one of the most deadly ingredients in the food supply. something the fda needs to crack down on. in the next month or so, new york city is expected to

announce an initiative that will begin to force companies about the same time, if we don't see fda action after those two events, then we have serious place to question. the second area is partally hydrogenatted vegetable oil. now it turns out, it's the most harmful kind of fat in our foot supply. because of food labeling and lawsuits, there's been a real

move away from it. but it is still killing thousands unnecessaryly. the fda concerns this oil generally recognized as safe at a time when it's generally recognized as deadly. that's something the fda has to change. it could get rid of transfat almost overnight. we want to let our viewers and callers know that we have invited the fda to join us on this issue. we hope they will take us up. next up from indiana on the line for republicans. caller: i'm so glad you are

talking about this subject. i have emailed c-span to have somebody from a group called health science institute in baltimore. i'm wandering if your guest knows anything about it. it's a global group of medical doctors and medical scientists that focus on prevention and natural coors. and they have investigated for a number of years the 10 areas of the world where people do not get sick. they don't have diabetes or cancer, et cetera. they live to be 100 and die naturally. if anybody goes to health science institute of baltimore. they will find that they can get free information. we'll leave it there. >> i haven't heard of health sciences institute but what you say is true. if we changed our lifestyle, we

could livelonger, healthier lives. the ways to do it are simple. cut out smoking don't drink excessively and eat a healthier diet and exercise on our line for independents. >> i'm calling because i'm a single mom that's raised four kids. i currently have a 5-year-old that's gone thrute fda pyramid plan because she was on a wheat program. the foods that they suggested that should be eaten by her was

a joke. things i knew were going to help her. for me, when they prescribed programs for single parents and mother that's need that kind of assistance, it should be on a level that is prescribed to do better help. this is starting out with young children to birth and 5 years old. >> i'm a little surprised to hear that news from the caller.

the new program greatly improve the mix people wo could get. they really move away from the eggs and dari products and cheese towards fruit and vegetables. if you haven't seen that change, it's on the way it hasn't had standards for sugars. the government is currently developing new standards that

should incorporate to provide healthier meals. that will give the department of agriculture authority. the vending match and stores in school hallways just about any kind of junk. in the next few years, we'll see real improvements in the government related food programs. host: john is our next caller on the republican line. caller: in you read the labels

a high percentage of the products were maffered by chemical companies. as far as regarding salt is concerned, my doctor suggested i increase my salt intake. the human body requires a certain amount of salt. that's why they put salt licks out for animals. host: we'll leave it there. guest: a couple of points on the food ingredients being made by chemical companies being true. some are perfectly safe. vitamin c is made by chemical companies. not to worry. food dies. red die 40, yellow dies are petroleum based and cause hyperactivity in some children. there's some cancer concerns about food dies.

they should simply be outlawed. we have to look at those individually. keep the safe ones. get rid of the dangerous ones. the other issue about salt. i don't know about your medical condition. fur an average person, you are consuming two to three times the sodium as you need. almost all of it is coming from packaged and processed food. some governments squir a warning notice on food that's contain accessive levels of sodium. new york city is developing a program that will set voluntary targets for food companies to meet to limit food companies to a certain number of milligrams to bread and different levels for cheeses. there's about 85 categories. an important way to drive down sodium levels sand save life.

supported largely by the 900,000 members. focusing on the nutrition and food safety. if you want more information, go to their website on the screen right now. if you are listening to us across the country, cspinet is the address. >> back to the phones. caller: many years ago, my first husband was diagnosed with diabetes. in the early summer, he was

drinking at that time, your tab sodas and diet sodas were coming on the market. when the doctor was reviewing his diet, he was drinking your tab diet. the doctor said, that's part of the problem. my reason for the call is i believe in new york, they want to tax non-diet sodas as people buy them to control obesity the doctor informed us the caramel in your diet soda burns up as shugar in the body. many things are burned up differently. he adviced him to switch to