on charter schools and education policy. we will look at government efforts to alleviate homelessness. >> "washington journal" is next. [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2010] host: the queen of england will address the united nations today, the first time since 1957. expected to give broad remarks on unity and peace. live coverage at 3:00 p.m. eastern time. in washington, president obama meets for the fifth time what is route's prime minister benjamin netanyahu in the oval office this morning. expected to talk about the peace process, gaza strip blockade and sanctions. go to c-span.org for more information. good morning this july 6.

house and senate members are back in their districts. campaigning for this november election. we turn our attention to the election. front-page of "usa today" say independents are gaining favor with voters. will you vote for an independent this fall? the numbers are on the screen. here's the article in "usa today." it says the duty -- it says --

the story continues inside the newspaper. it is there a cover story. saying independents don't have to defend the party line. on a little history about independents running, it says --

will you vote for an independent in 2010. tacoma, washington, democratic line. matthew, you are our first phone call. caller: i will never vote for an independent and i only voted once, and i voted for mr. obama and that is because i am a

democrat and i believe in big spending, big government and tax cuts, keynesian spending. host: auburn, washington. david, independent line. caller: i would have to agree, i never vote for an independent candidate. i would not vote for them because i am looking at the whole process. they tell the voters whether they want to hear it and then once the voters foolishly let them to public office, they go to washington and do the same thing the democrats and%+ republicans are doing. i don't think it is really beneficial to anybody to vote for an independent candidate no matter what they say. host: on that fund raising, it says here in "usa today" --

arlington, virginia. the democratic line. hold on, teddy, we will continue in just a minute but let me read another piece for you from "roll call." the headline -- will democrats third-party scenario pay off. it says --

that is a list of democrats hoping the third party candidate will siphon off votes from the republican challenger and allow them to win with less than 50% of the vote. lester on the republican line. would you vote for an independent? caller: i would vote for a tea party person. i had it with the republicans. they don't have the guts to really go after the democrats. i have had it with obama madness.

i am tired of what is going on. i want conservatives in there who will bring the country back away it used to be paired -- used to be. host: texas, independent line. caller: yes, i am an independent but i mainly vote with the democrats, but i do believe we should be voting for the person and not the party. host: how would you be voting? caller: primarily with the democrats, but i do go down the list and studied the candidates. host: arlington, virginia, democratic line. caller: listen, it is a wasted vote voting for an independent for president. he does not have the party structure. obama, even though he has the majority of independents and what not, he does not have enough votes to do what he has

to do. if you are in -- independent, you are out there by yourself. 3 republicans. they had such a disastrous affiliation with president bush that they make themselves the tea party so people will not think they are republicans. we know who they are. host: alex at city, maryland. independent line. caller: definitely particularly in local races. i look for independents. i am very unhappy with the direction we are going socially and fiscally, to say it is a wasted vote is equivalent of finding the winner and cast the vote in that direction. host: have you voted for them in the past? caller: absolutely. host: why is it? why are you more attracted to an independent voter? caller: because they are socially liberal and fiscally conservative.

host: who you point to as the candidate or politician who represents that, independent? caller: michael bloomberg. caller: he is someone you would like to see more -- michael bloombergs running? we corresponded -- caller: we corresponded by e- mail and i'm very impressed with him. host: good morning in baltimore. are you with us? one last time. all right. i am going to put you on hold here and we will come back to you in just a minute. this is also an article this morning from "roll call." outside groups aiding gop cause this cycle. this piece says that whether or not they have the dollars to make an impact is ssill unknown. a newly formed 527 group raised a meager 200 in may --

baltimore, democratic line. are you there? good morning. caller: good morning. host: will you vote for an independent? caller: i will not. i am a democrat and i have a hard time voting and supporting someone who does not have the ability to decide what action will party they are going to go with. i think an independent is just a loophole to say you are used to this and that, and try me. host: more fundraising stories this morning also in the "roll call."

the have a breakdown of how much the different political committees have raised. in total, between the national committee, national republican senatorial committee, democratic congressional campaign committee and national republican congressional committee combined from january until the end of what nay, they raised $282 million. front-page of "the washington post" has this story. democratic groups losing wall street donors. and eager among executives is to blame. 65% drop from the world's financial capital. that is "the washington post" this morning if you are interesting. the next phone call comes from shawn on independent line from oklahoma. good morning. caller: i'm sorry. host: you are on the air. caller: i am an independent.

primarily because i you the republicans and the democrats as just -- i view of republicans and democrats as one big boys club with few exceptions. i have been waiting for ever for the senator feingold to run, but i have given up hope. i don't consider the democrats to be who they used to big and i sure don't consider republicans who they used to be and what they used to stand for. i think they all stand together and they play a kabuki dance. i am sitting and waiting for someone to earn my vote. thank you. host: before you go, could you tell us what the democratic party and what the republican party used to stand for in your opinion? caller: the democratic party to may stood for a party that fought for -- to meet stood for a party that fought for justice and a sense of fairness and fair play and what i've been mired so

much about the republicans the best -- i've admired so much about the republic of the best was their mature outlook toward fiscal responsibility and i think those messages have been lost. i am sorry. host: maryland, republican line. timothy, you are on the air. caller: i have been a republican all my life. due to this and and when that thing, which i am currently drawing unemployment and trying to get extended, it seems like it is only the democrats will lead to do anything for this country right now. all you hear is bp, oil, bp, will appear -- oil. compared to the 15 million in this country, i find it upsurge in past billions of dollars to go to the war in afghanistan. what is that the wing for the economy? i think i am going to start

voting democratic. i just think it's real sad that all of these people are affected and here they are home the fourth of july and can't get anything done about this unemployment. i would definitely changed parties. it would not be for the independences, but would be for democrats. host: do you have republican friends who are on the employed and sang the same thing? caller: i live in a small county and i guarantee that just about all of my friends are republicans and this county is just about all republican and just about everyone i talked to will not vote republican. i don't know if they will go democrat or not but i guarantee this county will not vote republican. with bob erlich running for governor he will waste of money and time. host: any independents running in maryland's you are keeping your eye on? caller: i am searching the internet try to find one.

host: springfield, a lawyer, stephen, democratic line. hcaller: how were you? it depends if the swing more toward democrat or not. i used to swing more republican especially when i first part of voting. i only 22 years old so my first vote was in a gubernatorial election -- i voted for the person running against gov. one of its. i and tired of the party not doing anything slice which democrat but i would vote for an independent. host: what can they say that says to you they are going to do something? caller: basically if they are willing to go on to the table with ideas instead of just saying we don't want this, actually saying i will work to craft legislation. for example, the health care bill. everybody knows something need to be done but the only party

who was willing to give something was the democrats -- i don't want to open up the debate about this. i think that if someone was willing to say we agree with all of these aspects but we will change -- instead of saying, no parrot host: "usa today" editorial says --

the opposing views says it is unprecedented disclosure. he is saying --

host: san diego, democratic line. go ahead, sir. caller: democrat, never have been an independent. [inaudible] also, the tea party, -- [unintelligible] all of these independents and tea party, cap motivating democrats -- kept motivating

democrats [unintelligible] that's all i have to say. thank you. host: south dakota, independent line, tom, good morning. when what you think, sir? go ahead with your thought? caller: i have been a democrat most of my life up until about 10 years ago, ever since then both parties have gotten so decrepit i consider myself an independent now, but more i consider myself, i vote american. which, neither party it actually puts out a good candidate for america. they vote however the big lobby groups want them to vote. host: remember, you could also

send us your thoughts on twitter, c-span-wj is our address. or you can e-mail us, at the address on the street -- screen. here is an e-mail from one of the viewers. winnebago, minnesota. we've broken line. you are the next phone call. caller: good morning. i would not vote for an independent on the national level or gubernatorial level. we did vote for jesse ventura a few years ago, big mistake. he did a lot of damage for the image of the state of minnesota, and a lot of people have tried to correct it in recent years. i would never vote for an

independent. there's got to be a party person, as far as i am concerned. host: hold on, though. what mistakes did he make and why do you attribute those to being an independent? caller: he is a little bit like some of these people who go off and make statements that they really aren't based -- if i am not mistaken, he was an favor of a lot of liberal and audit-type decisions i think on gay rights, same-sex marriages, things of that nature. i am not sure, it was quite some time ago that it came out with these statements. i know he made statements about pornography as well. host: you think it benefits the constituency if these politicians, elected officials, are beholden to one party.

caller: you have to look -- they should be supporting a position they believe in. host: appreciate your phone call. rose, democratic line, in ohio. caller: i would not vote for an independent, take a good look at joe be averted, the leader in that field. anyway -- joe lieberman, the leader in that field. the people who raise it from 3000, to 5000 month, that causes unemployment. i just feel that the people here in power, they all belong to the tea party and they are trying to get into power again and they do not like obama. host: we are talking this morning to all of you about whether or not you would vote for an independent this fall. "usa today" front-page ssory is about their -- about that. there are two stories about

israel and the prime minister's visit to the white house this morning. look for our coverage at c- span.org. but here is the front page of "the washington post," their story. if you want to take a look at that. the front page of "the new york times" has this story about israel, 80 settlements in west bank. it says --

that is the front page of "the new york times" on that. republican, good morning. caller: i think i would vote for an independent if they have a pretty good stand on some of the issues. right now i am having voting remorse with the republicans and democrats. my family has been lifelong democrat voters and ever since i turned 18 and joined the navy and then became a disabled veteran from the persian gulf, we have never voted democrat since jimmy carter -- before jimmy carter. since then we have voted republican. right now my congressman, he does not even have time for me or my vfw group or disabled american veterans groups, and i am having big-time voter's remorse on all incumbents. my two governor campaigners

blocked our democrat and republican, jerry brown, he was governor moonbeam when i was a little boy and he drove our state to the ground and this woman now, magnet -- meg whitman, whenever voted in 28 years and got a big bailout from her ebay company, has not even vote for 28 years, she does not take the job serious enough. i am really having voters remorse as an american citizen, it disabled veteran, and as a born-again christian, and it is like, i don't have a voice in my own country anymore. tnybody who is and independenc who has good, christian moral values, who stands up for their country and willing to put america back up, i would vote for them at the drop of a hat. host: wisconsin, tom on independent line. tom, you're on the air and you need to turn that television down. i will put you on hold. let me show you mitt romney's

piece in "the washington post." he writes about foreign policy. he talks about russia -- that is mitt romney writing this morning and the washington post. people are watching to see if he will run again for president in 2012. nevada, republican line.

caller: you know, i would vote for an independent if they had a platform that was capitalist and lays a fair -- laissez-iair. i voted republican my entire life but when bush did not veto the financial bailout and let the banks -- let the banks, dealers, fail so that their bonds could be picked up for pennies on the dollar ended ownership could change over to new wells, then i became very discouraged. i think there is too much money being printed, too much debt, ending up in an inflationary scenario and possible catastrophe. if an independent came in with the right words and platform, i would vote for them. host: what do you make of sharron angle. caller: i plan on spending her platform, i heard good things,

but i cannot give you an educated opinion on that. host: she is running against harry reid did this fall. what you think of his chances of winning? caller: i just located to reno from california so i am completely behind the eightball with nevada politics but a planted up to speed very soon. host: we heard that nevada has changed a lot since the last time that harry reid ran for reelection. are you hearing that? caller: no, i have not heard -- but that does not mean it is not true. i can tell you right now that reno is a major league economic opportunity right now for sure. host: washington, d.c., democratic line, jeff. you are next. caller: i would vote for an independent if a candidate were a principal candidate, somebody

who was honest, open-minded, and willing to do what is necessary for the recovery of this country and the communities that make up this country. too many times we have people in office who purport to be one thing and then they act out in a manner to support their own hidden agendas. take, for instance, the gentleman mentioned joe lieberman. i think he was one of those crybaby-type candidate who lost -- he was not printable like arlen specter. -- prince of old like arlen specter. he lost a primary and decided he would become an independent. i would like to say a valid progressive independent for a change. people screaming i am an independent. you are really just republican in sheep's clothing. host: on the economy this morning, there is a piece in "the new york times" bought ad section.

-- op-ed section, saying companies are not reinvesting profits and that is hurting the overall economy. it says that -- this is a piece this morning from the author of a blog, naked capitalism, and also from the head of a political financial advisory firm. they are taking care look at austerity talk as well as spending talk, whether or not you have another stimulus in

saying the government needs to run up large -- large deficits now because corporations are holding on to their profit. that is "the new york times" op- ed section if you're interested. illinois, independent line, christian. caller: i would say we should vote independent. it is really the only hope we got for our country. the democrats and republicans are both beholden to their corporate masters. mccain and obama were getting money from the same people. here in illinois, we are lucky enough to have a pretty which independent candidates. the person running for governor on the green party ticket -- i voted for him in 2006 and he got 13% of the votes here in illinois, so he did not have to petition to be on the ballot this time. he will be allowed to be in the debates. we also have recs green running

on the libertarian ticket -- rex green running on the libertarian ticket. people need to go out there and listen to the independent candidate speak and research these people, because really they are the only hope we have for this country because they are not going to be tied down. host: north hollywood, california, republican line. brenda, good morning. good morning, brenda, go ahead. caller: i am calling -- i just want to say right now it is really important for all of us to get together and really vote for those, whether democrat or republican. i have been independent but mostly have been voting as a republican. there is too much corruption going on right now. it is really sad that we wide

world in the united states -- it is stressing out the wide world in the united states. i do vote republican because they have more morals and that is what i have to say. host: the column this morning in "the wall street journal." tapping reagan's growth theme. he says you will hear president obama moving away from talks about whether we need a second stimulus or cutting deficit. that whole debate, you will hear more talk from president obama about gross. that is that the present over the weekend in his radio address talk about $2 billion in energy department grants going to solar energy companies to potentially create 5000 jobs. the white house will try to move on to the expanding exports -- a theme that was big in the state of the union address but got lost in the shuffle.

david brooks's column -- and little economic realism. if you have been following "washington journal" the past few days we have been doing a series looking at the economic situation in several states were in the red and we ended yesterday with one state that was able to balance its budget, new hampshire. for all of that you can go to our website, c-span.org, go to "washington journal" web page. but david brooks this morning rights at the end of his column --

also on the economy is "the new york times" waiting in on their editorial -- calling for president obama to come up with a trade policy. "usa today" has this piece -- expect lots of layoffs at the state and local level. new haven, connecticut, democrats line. chris, good morning. caller: how are you? i would definitely vote for an independent if it was a way to send a message. for example, here in connecticut, soloro will not need my vote to be reelected so i will vote for an independent if there were one running and i

will also e-mail her and explain to her what that vote means, that i want to influence the way she votes -- that i don't want to do it by supporting her. i want to contract with her. i believe that she is a career politician and that we need to control career politicians and hold them accountable. host: troy, michigan, hank on indeppndent line. caller: good morning. in all, i've been an independent in the way that i vote, but i would never vote for an independent for office. i believe we need the unity now -- more than ever, we need unity. and i can't vote for republicans, especially since they are going against social security and extending unemployment benefits. they just don't have any program at all and i don't have any reason why i would consider voting for a republican.

but i like what the president is doing. i like his hard work. and the democrats always seem to be concerned with people, whereas the republicans are all tied up with business and money interests and i just don't see where they have anything that would attract my vote. but the democrats, i like the president working so hard. and i think the fight in afghanistan against the taliban, the people throwing acid in the face of little girls going to school, just the whole thing about the democrats. i like what the democrat party stands for here in america and what we stand for in the rest of the world. host: "the financial times" this morning has a piece about financial investment in this country. that is "the financial times"

this morning. also a story from "the new york times" about the value chain. we talked about this with an economist in georgetown. taking apart the iphone and looking at all the different parts that go into it and the materials from different countries and how much value making the iphone and how much goes back to the countries that supply the different materials. that is "the new york times," if you are interested. on the consumer protection agency, "the wall street journal" says many in congress, democratic leaders are looking for the elizabeth warren to lead the consumer protection agency. she is a frequent guest on "washington journal." pine hearst, north carolina, republican line, donna, good morning. caller: good morning, greta, how are you doing today? i am a libertarian. it seems like to me, none of

them know what they are doing. really and truly. it and you -- you vote republican, they don't know what they're doing. democrat, a bit like to spend money to goods. independents like joe lieberman, he does not know where he is going. take charlie rangel, they have not figured out what to do with him. i just don't know. this is one time where i really don't know who to vote for. i listened to the calls, maybe eventually i will figure out. thank you. have a good day. host: "the washington post" this morning has a front-page story about bp.

also this morning on bp, "the financial times" this morning said bp stop refueling iranian airliners. it has also taken out a full- page ad in today's "financial times," making this right. a full-page ad in the "the financial times" from bp this morning. "the washington post" has a headline that louisiana officials are urging bp to speed up the claims payments. clinton township, michigan, david, democratic line. good morning. caller: good morning. i will be voting for the president. i think he is doing age -- great job considering what he was candid.

the thought of an independent candidate is great but all they end up being is are spoilers. perot help clinton get elected and nader helped bush get elected. all they do is boil the election -- elections. the woman from california same morals will be her reason for voting, we need leaders that are more interested in economics. i can assure that george bush was a very moral man but economically he tanked the economy. host: larry on the independent line from norfolk, virginia, talk about whether you would vote for an independent. caller: yes. i think my answer would be, though, term limits. it the rascals out of office who are bought and sold. caller: how many terms should a house member served as well as

senate members? caller: house member terms are shorter, right? host: two years. caller: make it 3 for them and two for the senate. maybe a period of two terms and then they could come back in. then there would be a break. generally governor cannot succeed himself. he can run after he has been out of office for a time for a second time, but that is it. host: what has been the impact? caller: it gets away from this machine politics and politicians being bought by these lobbyist and the companies. host: more news on bp this morning. in "the new york times," mms signed off on reports that oil

spill risk to wildlife was low. editorial and "the financial times" says that bp needs to change its top executives. that is "the financial times" weighing in on bp, saying the company must start its renewal in the executive suite. also in "the new york post" this morning that had this headline on the gulf's toxic bomb. arsenic is a threat to food supply. west virginia, republican line. norman, you are next. caller: good morning. host: we can hear you. will you be voting for an independent? caller: well, i think this time -- in west virginia when we voted overwhelmingly for hillary clinton our delegation decided

they were going to vote for it -- so we ended up with obama as president. i assume that what -- i guess it will go democrat again so we can continue down the road toward becoming a socialist. host: hammond, indiana, independent line. had reappeared you are the last call. would you vote for independent? caller: yes, i would. host: why is that? caller: democrats and destroyed the country. -- destroying our country. obama is a liar. you put liars' into office. host: sorry about that.

we lost a phone call this one. next we will turn our attention to nutritional programs for children for the summertime. here is "the denver post" this morning. feeding needy kids. summer lunch program reaches more low income children. we will talk about the status for that program. we will talk with jim weill with the food research and action center. he is the president of that. we will be right back.

>> "book tv" continues all this week on primetime. tonight, focus on the military and war. in a collection of essays, victor david hansen asks, why study war? from "terrorizing ourselves" the take a critical look at u.s. counter-terrorism policy. and and "captive." jerry van dyke spent 45 days in captivity. "book tv" in prime time all this week on c-span2. the c-span video library has every c-span program since 1987, but the end of that includes

every offer that. on c-span2's "book tv"? the c-span video library -- it is "book tv" your way. for a snapshot of washington and 111 congress, the c-span congressional directorate, a reference guide to every member of the house and senate, the president's cabinet, supreme court justices and state governors all at your fingertips. all online at c-span.org/store. c-span is nowwavailable in over 100 million homes, bringing you a direct link to public affairs, history, and nonfiction books, both as -- all as a public service. created by america's cable companies. "washington journal" continues. host: jim weill is president of food research and action center, looking at the status of some and nutrition programs for children.

what is the status? guest: not worse -- not good and it got worse in the summer of 2009. low income children need good nutrition in the summer as well as in the school year. both hunger and obesity spike in the summer for kids because they are not getting the nutrition they did during the regular school year. only one out of six kids, our study shows, and get a summer lunch for everyone in six to get a regular school lunch. host: kids who would normally get a school lunch from the federal government or a school year are not getting it in the summertime. what of the factors? guest: the little is out of reach, but the bigger problem is there are not enough places doing it -- not enough schools, churches, profits. the recession brought down the numbers serving, as a state budget cuts and budget problems reduced the number of places open for kids in the summer. host: it is the state government

that pays, not the federal government? guest: the federal government pays for the food but the food is provided in programs. it is not delivered door to door. if so, unless there is a parks and recreation program open to give kids exercise or mentoring or what ever for a summer school or school-based program or a church-based program or a boys and girls club or police athletic league, when those programs are not open, kids to not get fed. host: the denver post front page about this says sort of the opposite. there had line -- colorado's summer lunch program reaches more low-income children. as people are losing their jobs they are seeking out programs like the summer lunch program. guest: there are some states that went up in the summer of 2009, and i am sure some states are doing better this summer as well, and colorado is one of

them. that would be great. what matters a lot is the efforts of state, if the colorado department of education -- doing a lot of outreach, if they are making sure there are a lot of sponsors for the program. host: what is the role of federal government in this program? guest: it pays the full cost of the meals, a couple of meals a day -- providing breakfast and lunch, for example. in the school-based and non profit based in city based programs. so, the federal government pays the full cost and sets minimum nutrition standards. they could be a little better but it could be -- but they are decent. the rest is up to the private sector, nonprofits or the city or county governments. a host: what is the impact of a decrease in children accessing these nutritional programs in the summertime? guest: the studies show, as i

indicated, there is more hunger among kids in the summer and also the nutrition they get in the summer is worst during the school year. they are eating fast food, eating less healthy food because that is all the parents can afford often bear the -- afford. a lot of evidence that healthier food is more expensive. they are not eating as well and not eating as much, so they are suffering and all sorts of ways. also the fact they are not in these programs means there is more summer learning loss. a lot of the difference between low-income kids and more affluent kids in terms of education comes from what is called summer learning loss. more affluent kids are in some programs that keep them in school that poor kids are not. low-income kids are hurt in many ways, educationally as well as nutritionally. host: you testified about this issue last week. we are airing that hearing on c-

span 3 right now. the secretary testified as well. who testified beyond the secretary and what was said? guest: this is a hearing the health education and labor committee had on school lunch and school breakfast, wic program and summer and afternoon school food. a pediatrician testified, a chef testified, someone from top chef, and a retired general testified. there were all sectors represent -- represented. the overall thrust was that the attrition programs can be made much stronger, both -- nutrition programs can be made much stronger, both in the quality and the number of kids brought into the program. the fact that we are reaching only one out of six kids in the summer suggests there is a lot to be done to reach more children with the benefits of

the summer food program. host: a retired general, did he make an argument this was national security issue? guest: the military has found that they are losing a lot of recruits -- i forget the exact numbers -- the majority of the kids and show up to volunteered to get into the service are rejected for health reasons. many of them related to nutrition reasons and obesity. host: we want to get your thoughts on the summer nutrition programs for children. you can start dialing in now. the first phone call -- william, republican line. randy, go ahead. caller: good morning, c-span. thank you very much for taking my call. jim, love these summer nutrition programs, having personal experience with one run here in hampton roads area in newport

news. i have a unique business that is a mobile fitness center that was used as a critical mass in public housing complex here in newport news. sadly, though, the not-for- profit -- a little unsophisticated and we were not able to reach a modest fee for my service which afforded the calories out component of the meal program. one of the things i did notice, though, in my several visits -- turned out to be pro bono because of this misunderstanding -- i found that the food that the children were receiving was nothing glorified -- more glorified and corn dogs, chicken nuggets, canned fruit salad. i run a first-class program -- i ended up with 30, to 40 children at my facility on site -- they spent far more time with me in the fitness program, which

enable -- enabled me to mentor burning calories and involve the whole neighborhood. it was not just the children but there were grandparents, great grandparents, cousins, all goals, and the other members of the public housing community that were able to participate. i really applaud the efforts here in virginia. i think we need to step it up, though, and i only hope that the professional groups, the for- profit sector would get into the business of fostering programs like the traditional not for profit and ngo's have done in the past. i think if we had a professional approach, we could save a lot of money and deliver a better product. guest: he makes a couple of different points. one, certainly the nutrition could be better in these programs. there are federal standards, but they should be higher standards.

a few years ago congress cut the amount of money it pays for each kid's summer lunch, so that was bought -- not helpful. their efforts to increase reimbursement. the study shows better than what kids are eating our own, certainly, unfortunately better than what they normally get at home. in school years the food is better than what kids bring in a brown bag. getting physical activity into the summer programs is also incredibly important. all kids need physical activity year round and they need structured play, and doing that in the summer is important. the nonprofits and these public agencies that are the beneficiaries of these federal food dollars, and also typically who run the programs, are allowed to contract with for- profit providers for food or activities or what ever. i don't know the particular

problems in virginia, but it is certainly possible for them to contract out some of the services. host: rich on independent line from new york. caller: sir, i would say to you that you are and enable our of irresponsible parents. are any of these kids' parents investigated for alcohol abuse, drug abuse? they are not feeding their kids and not taking care of their kids, it is their responsibility. you liberals are the ones that let them be bad parents. as far as federal tax -- the taxpayers foot that bill, which it lost right over, and you did not mention that. thank you. good day. host: your response. guest: it is certainly true that the money is provided by the taxpayers. and it is a great investment because it helps kids in school and it helps kids learn and it helps kids stay fit and it helps kids stay out of trouble.

i forget the first point he made -- host: that the parents should be responsible for their children. guest: most of these children are from working families. the parents are working one or two jobs. they are out of their home because they are working. the majority of low income parents with children in the school food program, summer food program, are working. so, it is not that they are not taking care of their kids, it is that they have low wages, not enough money to pay for good child care and programs in the summer and it is a way for them to take care of their kids with a little bit of help. host: does your group tracks hulbert and the lack of food with our nation's competitiveness -- track honegger and a lack of food with our nation's competitiveness? -- there are studies that show food and security, the government phrase of those struggling with hunger, hurts

children and therefore the nation's competitiveness openly in a bunch of ways. it reduces kids health. it causes anemia and other health problems. it drives up hospitalization costs. it hurts kids in school. they learn less. they are less attentive, their behavior is worse. all across the board -- when kids are hungry, adults are hungry -- but particularly when kids are hungry, it hurts their performance. and it hurts their long-term productivity and ability to work. host: how much money is the government spending on nutrition programs, particularly summer nutrition programs? guest: the summer and attrition program is about $100 million in the scheme of things. it is a relatively small3 the government spends more on the school lunch and school breakfast during the regulaa school year than it does --

host: how much is that? guest: off the top of my head i don't know, but all the programs together, about $20 billion a year. host: is that lower than recent years or higher? guest: hire right now for a couple of reasons. one, the programs are connected to inflation, so when food prices go up, the costs go up. but the recession has added particularly to the school lunch program, hundreds of thousands of kids to the program. host: louisville, kentucky, democratic line. mary, good morning. caller: i would like to congratulate you, sir, because you are using american tax payers to -- top -- tax dollars to help americans. .

from 2008 to 2009. in west virginia, the percentage has gone up. the bottom five states where the percentage has gone down. next to that is children nutrition summer 2009. free or reduced national lunch programs. you can see the top five and the bottom five. we are talking to the james while about the summer lunch program -- weill about the

summer lunch program. caller: i wanted to share my experience at the grocery store and how difficult it is to pay for your own food. it is very difficult to keep healthy, especially on a tight budget. my wife and i, for various reasons, to extend our life, decided we wanted to eat healthy we tried to get a loan modification to keep our home but they explained to us the money that we used for food was above the national average. we had a modified it, but it was just little things. i have been trying to find things without complex sugars,

genetically modified organisms. that is one thing i want to know about. in this program, or you educating children also on gmp's and how dangerous -- gmo's and how dangerous they are? host: do you know the average spend on groceries? caller: that is the them. they never told me what that was. we were spending approximately $700 a month between myself and my ife. host: and you have produced it down to what? caller: about $400 a month. we are trying to pay the mortgage. host: jim weill. guest: we certainly think summer

food and school food programs, to serve healthier food than they are. i understand the struggle you are having tried to get food for yourself. wages stagnated for so many americans. so many people have trouble putting healthy food on the table. the gallup organization has been asking in their polls and there was a time in the past year where you had trouble throwing food for your family. in 2009, 18% of households said that there were times when they could not afford food for themselves or their family. so this is not a narrow struggle for a small amount of people in the country. this is an increasing problem for the individuals with low

employment. host: republican line. debbie. caller: my sister works for a summer food program. it is no different. it is a chicken nuggets. it is catered in. it is only three hours of pay that is wasted by the taxpayers. host: what about preparing the food, serving, and cleaning up after? caller: i told you, and it is catered -- you, it is catered. most of the people who are there are already low income and are

on food stamps. the people at the grocery store, they have two come the threecarts full of food. it is a fleecing. guest: is true that many of receiving food stamps. every study shows that those stamps are there enough to get you everything you need. food stamps are not enough to get you through. it is true, many families participate in both programs, and that is great for the kids. host: illinois.

caller: tte average person in this country that is on food stamps and gets $99 for one person for one month. with our country supporting these conglomerates not to grow the farm land -- most of them are owned by outside entities. the largest place where we can grow rice, outside of china, is right here in arizona, but we are told we cannot. we have 60% more growth of rice compared to china, right here in arizona. republicans and democrats are all crux of the federal government with all of their money invested in these

companies that have left america. host: tom in detroit. caller: i can sympathize with the last caller. working in the school lunch program, senator harkin recently said there were not enough food and vegetables to give everyone 5 servings a day. how are we going to get to the point, let alone in these food deserts', how are we going to look at this systemic problem, maybe give extra credit for food stamps? i have to be available. host: you are a physician in

your helping your local school? how did you do that? caller: a physician was in the newspaper said he had the guts to call himself capt. breakfast coming getting kids to eat. i congratulated him and he asked for my help. i have been donating some of my time, here in michigan. i cannot really say much more than that. host: 1 not? w --hy not? -- why not? caller: just because of the school district, because of other pr matters. host: talk about what you did for the school system and how you went about changing it.

caller: one of the biggest problems was there was money being offered to the schools for a limited choice of food, much of which was high in fat or sodium. many of these things that they are trying to reduce articulate incentivized through the porfood program. it would be more expensive to get the healthier options. we need a better, wide array of choices, rather than the sodiumd-ense products that we -- sodium-dense items that we already have.

guest: i think what he is referring to is how the federal government giving public schools a certain amount of cash and commodities. i think what he was saying, the commodity, the food, is not as healthy as it should be. that is absolutely true. there is a lot of great work done by school leaders, many of whom are super heroes, whether or not they are wearing the outfit, whom are due in a lot to improve the school program. the process covers is going through will also be better forces institute -- it will alswill also be better. it will force the school system

to provide better food. caller: this has taken a long time to call. as a libertarian person, it is hard for me to buy into the long run facilitation process, but clearly, the subsidy money is offering very unhealthy food to kid. that is something i would love to see michelle obama tackle. guest: food deserts is the phrase for areas where there are no grocery stores, no significant grocery stores within reasonable distance, said there is no convenient source of food. there is a lot of attention being paid to try to get grocery

stores and into those areas. the obama administration has proposed a government loan and grant program to get some of these stores and in these areas. low-income families, in particular, who are more likely to be in food deserts and do not have the transportation to drive through a grocery store, and up paying more. so good and good fruit and vegetables into low income neighborhoods is something important that we have to do. host: next phone call on the republican line. eric. caller: so far, i have heard of a lot of feel-good stuff, and i

remember watching on c-span a speaker from either the brookings institute or harrison foundation, and he made the point that there was very little proof -- it is a popular position -- one thing he said is this food insecurity that you are talking about, which is an emotional argument that you are making, and that one in 50 kids will only missed one meal in one month. our real problem is obesity. how you respond to that? we have to pay a lot of tax dollars for something that is not really a problem. could we take some of that money and use it for real science? guest: you must mean the

heritage institute. i have to agree with the -- disagree with some of your numbers. you are correct, we do not seem millions in this country facing the type of starvation that kids in developing countries do. the reason we do not is twofold. we are a much more affluent country, so even the low income people in this country are in a better situation than the lower middle income people in other countries that are far poorer. also, the programs that we do have in place, like the school summer program, it keeps kids from being hungry. when we say, for example, that there are 17 million kids in the country who live in households

where somebody is skipping a meal, parents are more likely to skip their meal, although they are affected by the stress. the fact that we only have 1 million, as opposed to 17 million is a testament to the summer school program and a reason not to cut back. host: one viewer writes this -- guest: a lot of schools are starting a garden. that is good for the food that comes from it, but also to teach kids where food comes from. it will not be enough to supply

the schools with what they need host: -- what they need. host: republican line. scott. go ahead. caller: i was listening, and seems like when the government is in charge of the land of money for people to spend on food, the government will be in a control, and you are going to have some horrible results as opposed to leaving it up to the free market. the free-market will give people jobs. the government only takes from the economy. we need to never forget that. also, the fda and other unconstitutionally-created agencies help that information

-- helped to suppress certain information. >> that may ask you something. -- host: let me ask you something. there was money in the stimulus in the short term, for example, for every dollar you put into the economy, you get back $1.41. do you see an argument for providing money, providing a program like this to boost the economy? caller: the government is the reason that we are in this problem. the government on monday the way to get the usout ous out of depn

here. host: what about the comparison there? some say that for every dollar, you get $1.41 in the economy. is there an incentive to creating these programs? guest: absolutely. this money is quickly spend because people need them so badly. there are other studies showing most stimulative programs involve food stamps because families are so desperate for the food, they spend that money quickly. these programs are very stimulative to the economy and it is hard to argue that all public programs are illegitimate.

the constitution provides for congress to make laws for the welfare of the country. these programs are among their many strengths, our countercyclical, in the sense that they keep the economy afloat when the private sector fails, when we have these cyclical depressions. it is government support that helped to stabilize the economy. host: brooklyn. independent line. caller: good morning. i think the really big solution to a lot of this is education. i have worked with kids for many years, all different circumstances. in certain places, there is only one store for the neighborhood

and it only sells junk. then you might have one supermarket that is overpriced. you did not always have those whole foods-kind of options. by talking to kids, the faster you can get the information out, that is the best way. it will not even be expensive. it is just a matter of knowing what to look for, knowing the additive to stay away from, looking for the better quality food. we have so many cultures in this country, and eat differently, and you can share all that knowledge, too. guest: nutrition education and general education are both incredibly important.

there is a lot of advertising to kids that sometimes gets in the wake of good nutrition and education, but i agree. it is fundamentally important, but also families, schools need resources to provide food for people. host: next phone call on the republican line. george, go ahead. caller: there is something surreal about this then. i hope that there are lots of people out there who are in shock from what he is saying about the government supporting the people. it is sickening. i hope there are a lot of other people who feel the way i do. i do not know what to say. that is my comment for this

morning. guest: let me approach this another way. we have tens of millions of children in school every day during the school year. millions of children in day care. over the summer, in summer programs, not as many as there should be. one thing the federal government does it is it helps pay for food for kids in those programs. that is basically what we're talking about with these programs. the choice is to say everybody always has to bring food from home, in order to feed the kids. then some will eat, some will not, some will do worse, some will do better, just based on whether or not they are eating.

or providers can feed the kids at the program, and the government stepped in after world war ii when it was discovered that so many recruits were coming in the undernourished. the government stepped in and said it was a matter of national security to feed kids healthy food in these programs. so you have to make a choice about how you make a kid to eat. host: conn. peggy, independent line. caller: i am not against the food stamps for those truly in need, but my gut feeling is that

these programs are really meant for subsidizing the big conglomerates. they should only allow fresh fruits, fresh vegetables, staples and like rice, flour, beans, -- but it seems like they are buying so much junk food. you are really subsidizing the big u.s. food manufacturers. i wonder what your guest has to say about that? guest: studies have shown that the food that individuals purchase from food stamp is about as good as others. they are making the same choices, and restricting the through they can buy create problems for the stores and beneficiaries. the other thing i would say is,

when people talk about food stamp recipients, they talk about them as the day are a different population from the rest of us. the concept is people are on the program for a long time, but the fact of the matter is, tens of millions of people in this country cycle on and off of food stamps. recipients today are seniors, unemployed people who have been on the program for six months, will be off in another three months, others that have been on for a longer time, some with disabilities, half of them are kids. it is a portrait of america. have all the children will be on food stamps at some point before the age of 18. half all adults will be on food

stamps at some point between the ages of 18 and 60. so we should not look at food stamp recipients haas a separate population that needs to be controlled. just as we all want to be treated with dignity and respect, food stamp recipients tran also be treated with the -- should also be treated with dignity and respect. host: next phone call. caller: my aunt lives in south carolina. her husband was about to die and i found up she was only getting $10 a week for food stamps. i thought it was a mistake. with her permission, i called

local authorities, and that was right, $10 a month. i do not know if it is still there, i sure hope not. guest: the amount of food stamps you get depends on your income. everyone is low income but the poorest people get more money compared to those with the highest income. the minimum benefit was $10 per inevitable, and you are right, it is -- individual, and you are right, that is too small. it has been improved a bit since

then. host: next phone call. republican line, lori. caller: i am a cafeteria food stuff worker and i appreciate everything that happens in the food-service industry. the i am first and foremost seeing what is being promoted to the children. the summer program is an excellent program. i do not work in the summer, but i know the government provides a lot of nutritional food. in our county, they provide a good, healthy, nutritional meal. we provide five different choices of vegetables and fruits, the sides and their meat choice. they are getting a choice of

nutrition here. the school summer program is there for anyone who is in need, who signed up for it. also, it is more of a food supplement for someone who may not get food during the day. i believe it is important for that child to have a meal in the summer. guest: that is a a greatnote to end on. across the country and in congress there is a lot of support for these times of the efforts. bipartisan support across the committee's talking about how important these programs are to the nation. host: thank you. we appreciate your time. when we come back, we will turn

our attention to charter schools. there is a new report showing that success is mixed. we will talk about that with in ginnie alan -- jeanne allen. >> president obama is hosting israel's prime minister of public house today. they are expected to explore ways to get peace talks going again with the palestinians. the meeting comes one day after israel eased its blockade of the gaza strip. we expect the leaders to speak to reporters after their meeting. britain's queen elizabeth is expected to pay tribute to the victims of the 9/11 attacks in her first visit to new york in 34 years. she will spend five hours in the city where she will also address the united nations for the first

time since 1957. all the gulf states has now been touched by the oil spill. with the discovery of karbala and texas, gulf oil skimming has been hampered by storms. the officials said there is no way to see if this arrived because of the an oil ship or fm gulf currents. the northeast is in the grips of an historic heat wave with he advisories in effect across the region. finally, the price of a stamp is likely going to go up. the post office plans to announce a new rate increase

today in order to offset massive losses. those are some of the headlines. >> learn more about the nation's highest court from those who have served on the bench. "the supreme court" candid conversations with all the justices, providing unique insight about the court. "book tv" continues this week in prime time. in a collection of essays, victor davis hand and asks "wise study war?" -- "why study wawr?" r?"

"book tv" in prime time, all this week. the c-span video library has every program since 1987, but did you know if it includes every author that has appeared on the "book tv?" the c-span library, it is open " book tv" your way. host: jeanne allen is here to talk about a new report releasee by the department of education showing the impact of charter schools. let me read you a little bit of what they found. on average, charter schools were neither more nor less successful than traditional public schools in improving student achievement, behavior, and school progress. what is your reaction to guest:?

-- what is your reaction? guest: this is what happens when you have one study looking at a narrow scope of schools. we believe the best and verifiable data on charter schools shows that they are succeeding, coming from state data. we do not have one, national mode of comparison. the department of education would rather try to do the best they can making assessments nationwide. we are all upset with how things are going nationwide, and that is fine. if you look at the vast majority, charter school students outperform their public school peers by 1 to 1.5 years. host: of what are you looking at in this study? guest: there is a state test,

thanks to no child left behind, that shows where kids came in and where they left after a year's time. based on data, we tracked students from year to year, compared to students who were not in those schools. where you started and will year endedup is what you want to know, not some aggregate set of information. host: what is a charter school? guest: it is a public school that is free from most regulations. it is a public-school opened by choice, accountable by adults. if they do not meet the needs of their students, they do not get

the students, or they are forced to close. they are baseand rated based one results. host: how are they funded? guest: it is funded by the people, similarly to how public schools are funded. in most states, it is about $3,000 less.. they do not get capital facilities, and there is a huge battle about that. many of the students are at risk students who are not succeeding in traditional public schools. host: who teaches at charter schools? guest: public school teachers. every teacher has to be qualified in the same way the state requires for all other schools. host: they have grown since the

early 1990's? guest: yes, there has been a 10%, 15% increase almost every year. the laws in every state are so varied. there is not one uniform charter school law. some states allow school boards to open them. others allow universities to open them in colorado, you have a hybrid of state and local people opening up. some areas only allow for certain sizes. some say people money, equal students. a is a huge tapestry, if you will, and one that really embodies freedom and flexibility of states to prove -- pursue

reform in the ways that they see fit. host: we have our traditionallines for you. we also have a line for teachers and students. we are talking about education, specifically looking at charter schools. while our charter schools necessary? guest: the great thing that people need to understand about charter schools is, it is great that we have a choice, but when we first started, there was no alternative choice for parents whose kids were not being challenged properly. maybe they were being under challenge to come up over challenged, may be the composition was not right. we were not giving parents

options to actually educate their own kids beyond traditional school, unless you had the money to go to private school. we were not holding schools accountable for results, so we were sending a bucket of money to these areas, regardless of whether schools open door now. charter schools were designed to give more power back to authorities. send money to a local school and let the people there make a decision on how to best educate their students within a set of rules and standards that we all agreed to. charter schools use those things that we know work best in public schools. performance pay, more tauruses, more accountability, more school-based budgeting.

host: it is education tailored for each student's interests, need to? guest: in most schools, you will have a variety of offerings that you can buy into. there are some schools that are technologically suited for kids, the online mechanism, but in most cases, they will have a classical education. greek mythology, early american founding spirit you have some that are focused on the arts. you have some that are vocational, some have a focus on a drop of kids. -- on dropout kids.

there tends to be high retention rates in charter schools, and therefore, more success, over time. host: next phone call. caller: i am a professor at the university of miami. one thing that has been have paired with my students is hair reading comprehension has been subpar. reading comprehension and math skills are pretty poor. lots of my students came from public schools. there is a difference between the public schools and the ones that went to private schools. the ones that went to private school to cap -- tend to perform better. what is the problem with public schools? obviously, you are pushing for charter schools, and i agree with you, but where do the problems stem from that want us to turn to charter schools?

hostguest: the issue is not just about charter schools. this is just one tool that we used to improve education in this country. what you are identifying about the kids that you get is something that has been plaguing our country for some time. to many of our kids cannot read at a grade school level. we have a reading and comprehension problem. most kids are not being challenged to the point of where their potential could be. we often think about what is on paper, what is in a curriculum. it is because we do not challenge ourselves every year, we do not have the accountability and that allows

us to report or fire a teacher or principal, based on how they perform. we have to tie everything we do to student achievement. host: c we have thisomment fom twitter -- our charter schools a way to get around the unions? -- we have this comment from twitter -- guest: charter schools is all about parent choice. when teachers wake up in the morning and they go to school, they are being talked to one on one. union contracts specify where

you go, how long you are in school, what you're selling the is. if you have a salary that says you are going to be here all day, so many charter schools allow teachers to be around all day long. charter school teachers get paid roughly the same. the benefits that they bribed about, frankly, many of them come from the traditional system. your twitter guest, getting rid of the unions -- the issue is, the unions are grappling with a complete change in the performance gap. they do not want to say is ok to hire teachers one on one. they believe that they need to fight against this reform. host: how has raced to the top

impacted charter schools? guest: that added tremendous support to reform. it allows yet another chorus of support in washington to say this is a good thing. there was a lot of dialogue in the beginning about race to the top, that if a state did not have strong charter laws, they would not qualify. when they put print to paper, it only accounts for about 8% of a state court. the that as it may, it was held up as a carrot. some states did more than others, a new york raised its cap. but on the whole, it has been used to expand and strengthen the argument for charter schools. still lots of challenges come information. we welcome any time someone says

this is great, but we need to do more. host: richard on the democratic line. norman, oklahoma. caller: my son and teaches physical education and my daughter is an rn. we all agree we do not have enough healthy bodies to promote healthy minds. if you do not exercise the body, the brain goes to waste. we need to teach the children to exercise, reduce their weight, and cause them to be more influential to the teacher. host: let me ask you about physical education in charter schools. does it exist? guest: absolutely. not all of charter schools have the facilities. most do not, so they tend to

find you need to buildings to have their activities in. some have access to a gymnasium, some have access to other buildings, others build buildings. some of them will contract the local karate provider. some may use a field in a park in the city. they know having that activity is important. what they can do, though, is the flexible to their program and to reduce those things that are not paying off. i absolutely agree, the body is critical, but we need smart mind and body to understand. host: 1 study points to science and math results dwindling, and

in this new study, it says in the analysis, lord achieving students had statistically significant positive effects on math scores. charter schools, those with higher incomes and private achievement, have a significant negative achievement on math test scores. guest: i discount a lot of what is in that information because it is based on sample data, does not account for where the kids came in and where they are going. these are national studies from harvard, people who compare apples to apples. there is a child who enters or charter school in the fourth grade, there is another child who is not, compare them. overwhelmingly, charter schools

are performing successfully. we survey schools every year. math and science comes out ahead in terms of focus point. there are high-tech, high technology schools. there are schools devoted to architecture. these kids are out in parks, rivers, streams. they are doing things that most public schools take three years to get permission to do. science, technology, math, education, it is a huge emphasis. host: fayetteville, north carolina. a teacher on the line. caller: please make sure your guest answers my question. public schools, i want to know

is it mandatory for private schools to take any, do they have the privilege of selecting the students in their program? also want to know, do they have special ed programs, something that all public schools are required to have. the whole world needs to know. guest: thank you for the question. money goes to charter schools as public schools, and in need to be treated the same way. schools need to take everyone who gets into the school by lottery.. every charter school in the country is required to hold a lottery and there are more kids on list for that school. for example, healthy start in north carolina has hundreds of

kids signing up who are african- american, low income. most of these kids are being taken from these lotteries, and they come with all of their issues, challenges, and once their kids are enrolled, will never tell them that they have been education problem. so absolutely, yes, equity. they take that risk kids, and there are required to follow all the same rules. host: a tweet for you -- guest: is an interesting question about countries. i have not done that definitive

work. it turns out most countries have most -- more choice than america, which is surprising, given the democracy that we have here. if you look at switzerland, chile, there are not only subsidies for a kit to go to public schools, but there are a wide variety of options. competition in our country seems to be an anathema because we have school groups that somehow think it is threatening. we might be good to look to other countries. host: gilbert on the democratic line. caller: i have almost 40 years background teaching and i have worked with a charter schools here, and public. charter schools, in many cases, if they are doing this great

job, the one that did the best was the one that got the smallest amount of money. i want to say this. if you want to get the best out of your dollar educationally, you must go with vouchers. for the charter schools, the mere fact that parents are looking for something better for their children indicate they are looking into the educational facility of their children. this claim is not something that they deserve. with vouchers, it is really free enterprise education. let me explain vouchers.

however much money you spend on public education, that money will travel to whatever school ttat child may go to. i think vouchers have become the answer. the education system has become a political quagmire there are people who have no business being there and they are supposed to cut the footsteps of education for our children. guest: vouchers, scholarships do have the money following kids, which goes to the school of their chores. -- vhoice. vouchers play a role in charter schools in about the dozen states across the country. the moderate choice of both political parties happens to be charters.

and a more joyous, the better. for cities like washington, d.c., boston come tulsa, tulsa,r we can do is critical. whether it is better standard, a teacher quality initiative, we just need to do better for our kids. the more money that goes to local level, the better off we are. host: "for every local student that goes to a charter school, the local district loses $20,000, but the district still has the same fixed cost." guest: i will bet that that person is somehow associated

with the school board association. both are all of the arguments that i have heard for 20 years, all due respect. the reality is, money in education, the money that we found our education system with is supposed to be for the education of kids. we should be funding each, individual child to get the best education available to them. right now, until charter schools came along, we were fighting so many systems. those school districts have got to and learn how to spend their money for the kids that are in them. not just prop up a system. last year, there was a report that found the number of teachers being hired in the

country over the 10-year period more than doubled compared to the student ratio than it warranted. that is why we have a bailout bill on the floor of the congress. we have fixed our money on people, not kids. host: what state has the largest charter school population? guest: california. there are over 800 schools serving roughly 300,000 kids. across the board, california, arizona has almost 500 charter schools. 215 or so in texas. a couple hundred in new york. several hundred in florida. host: mountainside, new jersey. charles on the republican line. caller: please tell us of some

of the disappointment that have been docummnted about charter schools. guest: there are lots of challenges that the charter school movement has had and has overcome, which is the good news. they are not stuck in a fixed system. the challenges, disappointment, are actually phenomenally great lessons. we closed 15% of all charter " schools opened in the country because they were not meeting the demands of the people they were serving, they did not meet the demands imposed by their state. i think that is a phenomenal record to be able to say, we have been able to put out of business these schools that were not meeting expectations. one of my disappointments,

frankly, is that there are kids every day that we are not educating and their arguments, as you heard earlier, that these charter schools are robbing the public system of something. these are kids who we should be educating. as long as they are performing to the same standards, can prove that they are spending their money in the same responsible fashion, that should be the requirements. . .

guest: he is talking about sending money to schools regardless of whether or not they are succeeding. we have a lot more people than we have students to fund them. host: a follow on what you said, because you sort addressed this before -- this person points to two media stories that came out in newspapers following the report i cited at the beginning. the study, bbt i, was

commissioned by the institute of education -- guest: that is correct. host: within the department of education. c -- charter schools sometimes face the same problems as public schools. guest: again, you can look at this on a city by city basis, town by town, state-by-state. parents are absolutely going to face the same challenges educating kids at any schools. are they doing anything -- are they doing everything they can? am i doing everything i can? are the visual learners, auditory learners? do they get out enough? are they responsive to me? we have got to get away from this notion that there is a one- size-fits-all response. when we look at the charter

school movement, when it talks about public education writ large and what we have to do, we have to treat all of our students in ways that best meet their needs, not create systems that supposedly meets everyone's needs. we can move out traditional%+ public schools f, and some of them are, more and more towards freedom and flexibility and innovation that characterizes every other part of america. parents are going to learn how best to maneuver. host: the study also found that parents are perceived to be more satisfied with charter schools and public schools. our parents -- our parents' record be more involved? -- are parents required to be more involved? guest: when you have the power of the purse to come up and evaluate whether the school works for the child, you are

going to be more satisfied. the other thing, frankly, is that i was involved in every additional setting and i experienced this when i was growing up. -- i was involved in a traditional setting and i experienced this when i was growing up. let's say i'm at the program is not working and you cannot do anything about -- about. let's say a math program is not working and you cannot do anything about it. they don't have the ability to do that. there are rules and regulations for thousands of people and they cannot do that for every child. this allows you it within reason to make sure what can we do to get the child to square one and meet his or her needs. host: keith, good morning. caller: good morning, ladies. what did you do before this position?

guest: i have been in this position for 20 years. host: what did you do before? guest: prior to that, i was with the department of education and on capitol hill and was with the think tanks. host: did you teach before? guest: i did not teach. host: what brought you to this position? guest: my love of political science and my feeling that we were not teaching our kids what we need to know. we were not connecting with people locally and in states to teach the great ideas and different ways to do it. and the fact that i went to one of the best public high schools in the state of new jersey and i still love with an education that i felt was under serving a -- i still left with an education that i felt was under- reserving me. host: what administration to do work for? guest: i work for the reagan administration.

host: james, you are on the air. all right, i'm going to put you on hold. you have to bring your television or radio down. all the ways we get feedback -- otherwise, we get feedback. let me ask you about teacher authority, that teachers have more authority to can you explain that more? guest: in traditional public school setting some teachers are beholden to a contract or set of rules covered by contract, as well as by policies that are adopted locally by the school boards. it prescribes for the most part when teachers can come to work, when they leave, what they are all about and permitted to do in the school day, whether they can offer extra help, whether they can be available on weekends, whether they can do cafeteria duties. more importantly, in traditional public schools, they have little to say about the curriculum they have, standards they use, or how

they apply the standards, some of the different to french agents and the classroom. in the charter school, when teachers by in and are hired, it is transferred from the get go, and they tended to involve not just in the teaching of the class, but the management of the school itself, they are consulted about what is happening, and they are considered professionals in a way that they are the first line of authority for what to do about the kids in the classroom. host: let's see is a james -- let's see if james is ready on the teachers line in wisconsin. caller: the last caller, still my daughter or we learned about this lady's background, coming from the reagan -- this last caller sort of a possible whit - sort of stole my thunder, with this latest action,, forming the reagan administration did this race from the top by arne duncan is a continuation of the

assault, were you based teacher pay on merit. i taught for 31 years and i work hard for a middle-class income, and i think that public schools are doing an amazing job in this country, considering the socio- economic conditions -- poor,, both parentsor, having to work to put food on the tables. not set schools are to the same standard as public schools. host: let's take that point there. guest: i i do that they are held to a double standard, that they are having to demonstrate within five years or they are put out of business but they are restricted in terms of buildings and supply and where they can

set up schools. that is very important. this is a phenomenal country where i can be working very closely -- in fact, people work for me on a daily basis. we have people from the reagan administration, bush administration, clinton administration, obama administration coming together over education. this is not about politics or partisanship. this is about our kids. when we recognize that what our political hats down, one of the reasons i found the center, to bridge policy and practice across ideologies, and we had succeeded in educating more kids as a result. host: what is the center for education reform? how are you funded? guest: a national nonprofit education and advocacy group. our money comes from private donors and suppoporters across e country, thousands of individuals, middle-class, lower miidle class, and high-walled individuals keep us going.

host: do you make your donor list public? guest: we published our donors every year through our annual report. host: columbia, south carolina, independent line, stephen. caller: good morning, jeanne allen. it's great to hear you talk about charter schools across the country, particularly in south carolina. we are fighting the battle here and continuing to try to increase the number of charter schools we have, particularly among african-american groups to i want to thank the center for education reform for the work you have done in our state. earlier, speaking about creativity and innovation -- if you could speak to that a little more. in south carolina, our law requires that public school teachers serve on local charter school boards, and many of them

become intimidated and frustrated because they are intimidated by local school districts when they're being asked by community groups to participate. but many of them have great ideas about what should happen in the classroom with regard to education. if you could speak to those issues, and thank you again for what you are doing across the country. guest: thank you, steven. teachers are the single best, obviously, line of defense, and clearly, our weapon against bad education in this country but we just don't do enough to give them the authority and the ability to use their creativity in the classroom. when you invite teachers to come into a process that allows them to create schools to other -- create schools together, they take what they have learned in experience, not necessarily in ed school, and they put it to use.

eight end up getting hired or boards. -- they end up getting higher rewards. the kind of creativity going on in charter schools today and the way they do the work and the amazing graduation rates coming up, or particularly for minority kids, is amazing in places like south carolina. host: it is the headline in "the chicago sun-times" this morning, "teachers so good, they're gone." is the economic situation having an impact on charter schools, having to cut back and let teachers go? guest: it is. they are going to cut lots of things we would prefer they not cut. there are bills in every single state to cut charter schools,

even though they are already under-funded compared to public schools. what is really at issue today is the pension liabilities, which are extraordinarily, if we can do eight and a great economic era -- if we can do it in a great economic era. teachers will have to face early retirement or cuts in the pension, sadly, like every other industry. host: last phone call, republican line, shelby. caller: i am going back to school today. i am the school nurse at our charter school. we have 130 students and just graduated 100% of the senior class. we are a mix of cultures and races and achievement abilities. i think i did hear complaints from somebody that they wished

we had more students in the middle category, because we had so many high achievers and then we have lower achievers. be that as it may, our building is an old store, and we are not supported by the local board of education to be our eyes state -- we are not supported by the local board of education. we are eight local charter school. we finally got almost the right amount of funding, but i still the we get funded like the local schools do. -- still don't think we get funded like the local schools and to bring out director is out of a separate public education. i did not see students in sixth grade with all the same textbooks. i don't see that in our schools. but we have thousands of books.

my mother taught 29.5 years in public schools, my sister is almost as long, and my daughter in law is teaching. i don't think that education for any child is going to be very good until we get the families back together, because you need a good family situation to support the child at school. guest: next to a family, the research shows, and it is very clear, that teachers -- the family is the most important thing in a child's life, you are right -- it can make a bid of -- the teacher can make up the difference between what the family is not providing and what the student needs. charter schools in georgia are overwhelmingly successful. studies show that they are outpacing the conventional public school peers.

hats off to you for working in one. host: thank you for being here. next up, we will turn our attention to homelessness. anthony love is with the united states interagency council, part of the obama administration. first, a news update from c-span radio. >> here are some of the headlines. the justice department has decided to file suit against arizona on the grounds that the state's new emigration law illegally entered on federal prerogative spread -- illegally intrudes on federal prerogatives. it will invoke for its main argument the doctrine of pre- emption, based on the constitution's supremacy clause, saying that federal law will prompt state statutes. justice department officials

believe enforcing immigration laws is a federal responsibility. it has been alleged that toyota knew about the problems with lexus vehicles two years ago but did not think the recall was necessary at the time. a global recall is now under way to repair 270,000 vehicles to replace engine components that could cause stalling. wal-mart's warehouse chain, sam's club, says it is offering small business loans of up to $25,000 to its business members. the division of wal-mart stores i based -- is testing a program would superior financial group -- with a superior financial group and will offer the loans to members to qualify. finally, the european union has jetsed most of iran air's

from flying to europe based on safety concerns. a spokesman says that the aircraft have been placed on the eu blacklist. she denied the move had anything to do with international sanctions against the islamic republic over its nuclear program. those are some of the latest headlines on c-span radio. >> learn more about the nation's highest court from those whom have served on the bench. reid c-span's latest book, "the supreme court," candid conversations with all the justices, active and retired, now available in hardcover and also as an e-book. >> tonight, a focus on the military and war. in a collection of essays, "the

father of us all," victor davis hanson asks, why study war? and a critical look at u.s. counter-terrorism policy. in "captive," the author was taken captive for 45 days. all this week on at c-span2. the seats and a video library has every c-span programs since 1980's -- the c-span at a video library has every c-span programs since 1987. bookstores, our own "after debt. booktv, your way. "washington journal" continues. host: anthony love is a member

of the u.s. interagency council on homelessness. what have you found? guest: what we did find is that we have a motivated and excited body in the administration who believe that no one should experience homelessness. we also found that the sense of urgency in india and preventing homelessness is critical. over six -- the sense of urgency in ending and provide homeless this is critical. -- preventing homelessness is critical. many communities are around the country are innovating solutions and are seeing reductions in the number of those homeless in their communities. it would behoove the federal government to adopt the best practices and promote those in communities across the country. host: what is the economic impact adopting the best practices? why should taxpayers pay to shelter the homeless? guest: that is a very good

question. taxpayers are right now paying unintentionally, through the use of emergency rooms, jails, hospitals, and so forth. for example, in states like oregon, what they saw was that they were spending roughly $40,000 per annum on individuals while they were homeless. the same person move into a prominent support housing, for example, reducing the cost by about $17,000. there is -- it is economically beneficial to those communities to adopt the best practices. solving the problem is much more cost-effective. host: there are six under 40,000 men, women, and children -- all but six water for -- 640,000 men, women, and children homeless in this country. how many of them are children? guest: the number is really a difficult one to grasp, especially among on accompanied

youth. -- unaccompanied youth. host: let's lay out the bullet points of this plan. prevent an end homelessness among veterans in five years. set a path to ending all types of homelessness. let me ask about the money you need. what kind budget are you talking about? guest: right now, the president come in fiscal year 2011, as requested and 11.5% increase over what was requested last year. you're talking roughly $4 billion to begin this process. as you may or may not know, the federal government annual budget expects the projections to go out word. we do not make the projections right now. host: $4 billion per year right

now. how you spend that? guest: use spent the $4 billion on the evidence-based practices, on things that work. focus on committees that are getting results, instead of just finding of not per diem basis and terms of how long a person stays in a shelter. you fund the programs that are actually getting people into housing and keeping them house, so that you are more efficient and strategic and targeted with resources that you have. in a nutshell, that is how you spend it. then you spend it on stable housing mixed in with services like health care, education, and job support and training. host: the type of shelter were you not only good bets, but health care as well -- not only include beds, but health care as well. guest: the emergency type of scenario where people go in and they are worked with accordingly. what we're talking about is

permitted support with the housing, will -- prominent support with housing, where a person has a place to live, and they have support, whether it is 24-hour care for those who are most chronic and disabled, or, in scattered site, mixed in with the community, and there are services delivered to those individuals. host: of the 4 billion, are you using part of the money to build these types of infrastructures? guest: there are dollars for construction and rehabilitation within the department of housing and urban development budget. by and large, in light of the housing will go into subsidies -- a lot of the housing will go into subsidies to utilize existing units within the community for families to go into so that they can integrate ,reintegrate into the community, just like everybody else.

host: you are giving the -- money guest: you are giving a subsidy. the family of the individual would pay 30% of their income, whether it is from the job or some type of benefits they receive, anddthe subsidy would bridge the gap between the fair market rent and the 30% that day. hos -- the 30% that they pay. host: why is there a significant problem with the veterans being homeless? guest: good question. by and large, same reason as other people, lack of income to afford housing they currently live in, area of conditions, problems that plague people, that forced them to spend all of their income, lack of being able to find a job, etc. veterans also suffer from issues, especially combat veterans, of a posttraumatic stress and brain injury, that causes the veteran to not be

able to, without proper treatment and care, much as well as someone who does not suffer from the same conditions. host: first phone call comes from sue on the democratic line in wisconsin. caller: good morning. thanks for having me. i had a solution for this gentleman on how to finance the whole thing. stop the war in afghanistan and spending $9 billion and bring it home to the homeless. then he would not have a problem with posttraumatic stress syndrome and all the other problems that the troops have. that is my comment. host: anthony love, you want to respond? guest: sure. thank you so much for your call. that is one solution. we are dealing with the issue right now and taking care of those soldiers who are coming home and the veterans who had

served in previous wars at previous tours of duty in the military and trying to care for them now. host: david, independent line. caller: 94 c-span. -- thank you for c-span. we have homeless people who are down on their luck, and our government build a $2 million island in the middle of the illinois river, so i guess the homeless and hungry can watch it during the winter while they are almost freezing to death. i don't know why they based this money when they could be helping out everybody else -- yesterday waste money when they could be helping out of a body else. i have a comment -- the government seems to be going anti-religion a little bit. without these religious-type, fifth base to help organizations, without their help, -- faith-based health

organizations, without their help, there would be a lot more destitute and hungry in the united states. guest: thank you for your comment. as it relates to the government going anti-religion, quite the contrary. we know that faith based organizations and people of faith have been instrumental in topphelping those who have been down on the block and downtrodden. we are focusing on programs, religious or not, that getting results and helping men and women and children to exit homelessness as quickly as possible. host: cleveland, ohio, you are on the line. caller: hello, anthony. my name is a gerald loeb. -- gerald love. taking care of everybody else in every other country but why don't we just take care of people here, please? guest: that is exactly what his

plans to proposes to do. it not only proposes that we take care of individuals, but we give them the hand that they need to take control of their own lives and live at sufficiently. host: another objective of this plan is meaningful and sustainable employment for people. you talk about jobs training, but what types of jobs? what kind of training are you doing? guest: right now we have mainstream programs that help individuals find jobs. the individuals who have the most barriers to employment, those programs do not necessarily work for them. you bring that the scope of those programs to reach out to those individuals that have the highest barriers to employment to help them get the training that they need to find decent- paying job to afford rent in communities that they live. host: atlanta, georgia, republican line, willie. caller: i would like to ask one

question. how you get out when they say that subsidies for rent -- they are not taking applications? guest: that is a good question. in many communities, there are subsidies and long waiting lines, waiting lists, for people to acquire this subsidies. one of the things that this plan it aims to do is to look at those waiting lists and units that turned over at how quickly they are turning over and how readily available to our individual -- howard obli -- how readily available they are for individuals. and so, you know, with additional funding and additional studies but fourth -- additional strategies put forth, communities can target

those were strategically and get them to people who need them the most. host: kansas, independent line. caller: i am one of the new homeless. i am college-educated and never had trouble finding work, but in the past few years, it doeshas been a possible to find work where you live. my solution is simple -- we need to get rid of illegal aliens. i am a meeting people in laundromats, and i could have had a three jobs out there if i were not competing with illegal, mostly mexican men come up for wor -- mostly mexican men, for work. they walked in the $11 to $12 now, plus taxes. when our congress and president obama -- until our congress and president obama decides to do something about it, which will

consistently have this problem, exporting the mexican citizenry to the united states. guest: our focus is to deal with individuals who are homeless and try to exit on business. in the obama administration has called for congress to -- i know the obama administration has called for congress to adopt comprehensive immigration reform policies and that is where we are at this time. host: next call is john, and i understand you are homeless? caller: yes, ma'am. i'm a vietnam veteran, and i have a job. and i am being treated, don't get me wrong. but my problem is, i can afford rent, but they want a deposit. but the time he paid a deposit -- by the time you pay the deposit, you just don't have the money.

host: 10 i asked you how you are listening today? -- can i ask you how you are listening today? caller: i borrowed the phone from somebody. i'm staying at the salvation army shelter. guest: first of all, thank you for your service. we definitely appreciate that. last year, the obama administration provided $1.5 billion to communities for the homeless prevention and rapid rehousing program, and in communities across the country, some of those resources were used to go to individuals like yourself who have the means to pay rent, but the barrier is the deposit that is needed. i would get with your case manager at the salvation army to identify where those resources go in the community that can help you get the apartment that you desperately need and deserve. host: part of the plan as the

federal strategic plan is to look at best practices. what are some of the best practices with health care and the homeless? guest: 0, that is a very good question. communities like seattle and connecticut are utilizing health care in terms of making sure that people are well taken care of by getting the health care needs taken care of. states like massachusetts, who tend to be on occurred in terms of -- who tend to be had occurred under terms of medicaid in helping the imppverished and most -- who tend to be ahead of the curve in terms of medicaid and helping the apartment and most desperate -- places like massachusetts and seattle and parts of connecticut are demonstrating best practices for people who are homeless. host: and enol from one of our viewers, who says that as the --

an email from one of our viewers, who says that their work tax credit -- there were tax credits available to wealthy investors for investing and subsidized housing during the 1990's. guest: those are practices that we will adopt and promote. we are required to review this plan annually and look at progress that is being made. if ideas like that are beneficial and working in communities, those are ideas that we want to embrace and promote. host: here is an e-mail from a vietnam vet, was wondering how many of the homeless are vietnam -- was wondering how many of the homeless are veterans. guest: on any given night, there are 107,000 men and women who served in our nation's military that are without a home.

host: democratic line, brian, good morning. caller: i think i have a couple of reasons why we have so many homeless. number one, during the wall street, banking industry took homes from everybody and then they bail out wall street to make up for all the lost wages on the homes. they got paid off on the homes and they got the back for foreclosure and sold them for profit. the other reason we have a lot of homeless is laws regarding people's drivers' licenses but last year alone we had 1.5 million people lost their drivers licenses. in america, you need a car to do anything. most people almost live in their cars. i, for instance, used to own in $120,000 home and i work full

time and at night i wws going to college full-time. on december 27, 2000, after i got my report card with all a's, i'd stop for a couple bottles of beer a local tavern and i got pulled over for going over a 35 mi. per hour to double blocks from my house and i have not had -- a license two blocks from my house -- i got pulled over two blocks from my house and i have not had a license but i had to drop out of college, and i lost my house in foreclosure. i am walking the streets, and pretty soon i will be homeless. bachelet, by this weekend, i will be homeless. -- actually, by this weekend, i will be homeless. host: why this weekend?

caller: my landlord here -- i just cannot get a job. if you look at all the jobs and it that i qualify for, you must have a driver's license. guest: if i am not mistaken, he said he was a veteran. host: the previous one, john. this one is brian. guest: there are organizations and agencies out there that good help you in this situation and could intervene for you, as well as talking to your lender about some type of payment plan for staying in wrong --, talking to your landlord about some type of payment plan so you can stay in your home. the reason for the one-stop centers are to be as a resource for individuals who may struggle to find jobs on their own. i would recommend that if you could get to a one-stop center, get their and get them to help you with unemployment issues, as

well as to work with some of the local homeless providers in your community and talk to them about how you maybe able to stay in your home or be able to get into another home that may be more affordable for you. host: maryland, republican line. the wake said. call -- go ahead. caller: i have one question. i noticed that mr. love is with the united states interagency council on homelessness. does that fall under any federal agency, or is he part of our group that president obama has called in as a czar group to help him? another question -- does this work duplicate some of the things that other agencies in existence are giving aid to? guest: that is a very good

question. actually, the u.s. interagency council on homelessness is an independent agency, comprised of 19 other federal agencies. the specific job the council is to coordinate the work of those agencies. as opposed to duplicating the efforts, our role is to make sure that every stick on the other federal agencies are coordinated, -- is to make sure that those efforts by the other federal agencies are coordinated. host: that may sound like a cz ar agency to some. guest: it may, but it came about in 1987 as part of the official response to homelessness. host: what is the operating budget? guest: a little over $2 million, for one year. host: how much stuff you have?

-- how much staff do you have? guest: 10 professionals out -- 10 professional staff. host: next call. caller: i would like to tell you this, that was the first part w -- the first at 4-profit but that ran a service for the new york city homeless services. they canceled the contract, but i would like to show one thing to you, sir, that the homeless homeless, although they account how good a place homeless -- tout how good they place the homeless, it is a thing where you go into a system and you find your help. it is not the truth.

the fact of the matter is that homelessness in new york city has steadily increased, steadily increased. now, i am not saying the obama administration has anything to do with this, but what i do know is that there should be some federal oversight by the obama administration, by the federal government, into the the new york city department of homeless services. how do i know that, sir? because i have been there. i have seen the people that work in the new york city dhs and i know those people. to be honest with you, sir, they don't care one bit about the homeless. guest: well, the people that i actually know from new york seemed to be very caring folks. no doubt you have had some experiences that caused you to have those feelings. as it relates to federal oversight, our goal is to provide leadership as opposed to

oversight. and to ensure that communities have the tools and resources needed to work with individuals and families who are homeless. communities are not fulfilling that role, that our job is to go in and identify with the gaps and problems -- then our job is to go in and identified the gaps and problems without try to tell local communities what their priorities should be and how best to address the issue. host: one of our viewers says -- is that something that you question when you are thinking about jobs training for the homeless? guest: not at this particular time. the department of labor may have that information available. one of the strategies we use is

to develop a research agenda to track those things that may have an impact on a person who is homeless and what may prevent them from finding a home. host: mary on the republican line in florida. caller: hello? host: you are on the air. caller: i just wanted -- i was just wondering why the vets -- hello? host: you need to turn your television down, that is the problem. caller: hello? host: we will go to utah, independent line. steven, you are on the air with anthony love. caller: i have a long-term solution for solving the homeless, and it deals with education. it costs $24,600 a year in washington, d.c. per student, and $30,000 per year for college on average.

if you took the money when the kit is about 1 years old and put it in a trust fund, monthly putting it in a trust fund, at 7000 he could later have a $35,000 and -- at 18, he could later had a $35,000 income, and they could take money out of the trust fund to pay cash for the -phouse and still have a $60,00- a-year income. it is a comparison to the money we are spending on schools, what could be done with that. you could eliminate a whole list, he would not need social security and unemployment -- enter you could eliminate a whole list, you would not need social security and unemployment insurance. guest: thank you for your comment and thoughtful solution. we agree that agitation is a key component -- that education is a key component and conserve as a factor in preventing people from

becoming homeless. the department of education is a major member of the u.s. interagency council. that is something that is definitely being taken into consideration as we deploy strategies to committees around the country. host: where can people read about your plan? guest: www.usich.gov, or www.hud.gov. host: one of the parts of the plans to develop a stability it coming out of the juvenile justice system. guest: you worked to devise effective discharge planning strategies for the young people who are "aging out of the system," to ensure that as they are, they are liquid

appropriate housing services of -- and droppe -- to ensure that as they are, they aren't lin -- they are linked with the appropriate housing services. host: savannah, georgia, sodbuster on the democratic line. -- sylvester on the democratic line. ,aller: i'm a veteran approaching 62 years old. it is good to help people who are homeless, but when they come back, and when they are on the verge of homelessness, why should a person have to be on the verge of homelessness in a country -- [unintelligible] there are lots of things, and then decided to -- host: i apologize.

i have to let you go. very difficult to hear you there. i do not know if mr. love -- guest: thank you, again, for your service to your country but celeste trichet note is that the core of this plan -- that you, again, for your service to country. what sylvester should know is that at the core of this plan, the best way to end homelessness is to prevent it from happening in the first place. host: next call. caller: good morning, mr. love. the question i have, and i don't know how much this would go into your home, but in cases where i have a home and we make it month by month, it is a wonderful day, but the problem we have is that the insurance has gone through

the roof. we are paying $600 a year on insurance, and now we pay $3,800 a year in insurance. you at your monthly mortgage payments, -- add that to your monthly mortgage payments, and it goes through the roof. it does not seem to be any relief. we had three several years ago. several years ago but it seems that insurance companies seem to raise the rates at a lot of people lost their homes due to that. and the subprime, of course, that we have had. what can be done with that situation? guest: as it stands now, the one thing that can be done is to look at insurance for homes and so forth regulated by the states, to work with those state entities to look at what effect those policies are having on

individuals in helping to stay in their homes, and working with those states to make sure that they implement policies were buying insurance for your home does not become a risk factor of you losing the home. host: and e-mail from viewer -- why not build new homes and apartments which will create millions of jobs? guest: development of housing, as well as utilizing existing housing for people try to exit on business. -- for people trying to exit homelessness. host: the know how much stimulus money meant to that? guest: i do not. host: next call. caller: the real-estate boom started in the 1970's, and it

has just quadrupled, the price of real estate. the housing bubble has burst, but the price of rice has not dropped a bid -- price or rent has not dropped a bit. if you can reduce the rent, so people on minimum wage and paid on a quarter of the income, you could end homelessness overnight. host: mr. love, what about the historical comparison? guest: that is a good comparison. over the last several years, we have seen a great reduction in the number of affordable housing units that been built, while at the same time we have seen the number of high-rent a per income units have increased. part of a strategy is that we put more affordable units on line and so forth, and then in the, as you said, w

1960's, we had a few homeless compared to now and there are a number of factors that contribute to that. to likely to get -- too lengthy to get into any one show. but one of the things that the plan institute is strengthened -- that the plan aims to do is make sure that people can find jobs that pay wages where they can live in their own homes. host: christopher, independent linn. caller: good morning, and thank you for bringing the information of homelessness to the american public eye and formerly homeless, and survived three years on the streets of los angeles and was put out of my apartment recently and took advantage of the services that new york city provides. mr. love, i did read your one before report on homelessness that was recently issued --

your wonderful report on hold since that was recently issued, but i have to question the actress and -- question the accuracy of the numbers but in los angeles alone, you have over 140,000 homeless. i would like to volunteer as an ombudsman, having been a previous federal employee. i made some bad decisions. i am lucky to be retired from the major university and the federal government, many years of service, and in the last several months, a new apartment in new york. i want to thank those people in new york, contrary to me being -- contrary to the other caller, the new york city agencies have been patient. there is a process, and the process is a risk. -- process is rigorous.

they screen you very well for your mental and physical and financial conditions and they do provide services that you all are trying to do in other cities. guest: thank you so much, and congratulations on being able to exit homelessness. i think that the best way that you conserve it is, based on your experience with homelessness, is to work with your local community. we firmly believe that the issue is local, but the federal government as a role in can play -- has a role as a template to help families and individuals exit homelessness -- has a role it can play to help families and individuals exit homelessness. host: st. louis, missouri, republican line. caller: hi, mr. love. thank you so much for the information that you have been given. it is plain and simple and we know it is based on fact.

my question is the link that your company or agency provides for children in foster care at that are getting out of foster care. we're in ms. iraq and i have information on that -- where in missouri can i have the information on that? they get into junior college, or get into junior college and then into jobs. where can people like myself locate an agency where we can offer our homes for a period of time to these children? thank you. guest: thank you. you are in st. louis, and depending on what county you are in, you can get with child protective services in that county and begin to work with them to let them know that you would like to provide some form of home for the children that are in foster care, and

potentially become a foster parent yourself, to work with the county in st. louis. call the state of misery and the health and human services department, -- state of missouri health and human services department, and they can direct you to the right places. host: oakland, mary. caller: when you drive through little towns and cities, you see so many abandoned buildings that, with a little bit of work, even for the homeless people, to make apartments and places that they could live in and give them at hand up. the don't want just to be living on the streets. they need a hand up and then they can help themselves. i knew one that waso on heroin

and within a couple of years i had him off of heroin and going to college in a different state. he was a wonderful miracle from god. if we are a nation of religion, then we should help out brother and do as much for each other as we want for ourselves. host: we will go to one last phone call here. annapolis, a republican line. caller: canapolis, north carolina. host: sorry about that. caller: i have never called in on your line. i had a couple of comments. i see all this rhetoric about helping the homeless and one thing or another. i am about to be homeless. i'm a vietnam-era of better written. i am about to be homeless here.

i have reached out to every agency i know. it seems that i cannot seem to find the help that i am looking for, because no one even knows of any programs out here that seem to work for the people that are possibly going to be homeless. i would like to comment from this gentleman as to where we find these agencies and how we can stay in a home and not become homeless. guest: as a vietnam-era veteran, again, thank you for your service -- you should be able to link up with the va hospital within your community. if there's not one near canapolis, there shoulddbe a veterans' organization. i also encourage you to reach out to vietnam veterans of america, if there is a chapter in your community that can direct you to services that are close by good to our national websites that will go on and give you information -- if there

to that can direct you services that are close by. there are national sites that will go on and give you information. you can link up with organizations and agencies. as a vietnam-era veteran, i would say that the first step would be to reach out to the va medical center in your area that is caused by or with the veterans services organization that has an operation close by. host: there is a twitter comment -- one keeps bringing up that many homeless don't want to put in a shelter . guest: absolutely. for those that are most chronic, there is housing where someone can have a place of their own, their own space and own bathroom and own key