then we will talk about a g8 summit and who should be the next head of the international monetary fund and later we have an update on the estate of the u.s. housing market. "washington journal" is next. ♪ host: good morning and welcome to "washington journal." on this saturday memorial day weekend, may 28. president obama is in poland today. he will head home from the international trip today and won his first acts of coming back and u.s. will be to visit joplin, missouri to more to tour the area hit by devastating tornado. meanwhile, vice president joe

biden is in new york. he delivered the weekly white house address which we will share a little bit of later this morning. americans have been to a holiday weekend, our question for you this morning is whether gas prices are affecting your summer plans the numbers to call on your screen. you can e-mail us at journal@ cspan.org. we can also read your tweets on the air. our guest prices impacting your summer plans. let's look at the national average of gas price. the current average of regular is $3.79. yesterday's average was $3.80. the weekly average from one week ago was $3.86.

what do these numbers mean to you? are they part of your planning process? are you traveling this summer on vacation to visit family and friends? we have a story this morning about gas prices actually dropping as drivers head out on summer road trips. gasoline is expensive but continuing to decline with the national average down to $3.81 on friday after twice flirting with $4 in recent weeks.

the article says some people have changed their plans for this weekend. a majority of americans have to have made changes in their daily life as a result of high gas prices with 1/3 saying this has impacted their quality of life. what about you? we're joined on the democrats' line, good morning. caller: a positive change is that it is cheaper for me to fly to san francisco from portland than to drive for a wedding i will be going to. the gas is killing me but i will be able to fly. host: let's go to north carolina, robert on our independent line. our guest prices impacting your summer plans if they are?

caller: thanks for taking my call. i think it is a shame that gas prices are not figured into the consumer price index. the increase in gasoline cost affects the working people and the united states. it is not figured in and it should be. we have to realize that we are sending $5 billion per day over to middle eastern countries and people outside the continental united states that we import oil from. we are addicted to oil. our economy is based on oil. we wish that the grain economy would come quickly but it is not here. we are based on oil and gas refined products. we have not done a [inaudible] i think the futures market props

of gasoline prices. do you think that some of his $5 million per day is going to foreign countries that may intervene through intermediaries at the chicago board of -- chicago mercantile exchange and help oil prices per barrel of around $100? i think we need to go to a needs-based trading system on the chicago board of exchange and tried to tamp down the prospective price that props up the cost of a barrel of oil. host: how are your summer plans looking and will they be affected? caller: i am right -- i am sammy-retired. my mother died from alzheimer's and i am not working now. i'm doing everything i can to keep my costs down over all and only drive about 3,000 miles per year. that is what i do to try to have a low carbon footprints. virginia, our to

independent line, good morning. caller: i have a diesel vehicles so i make my own fuel and it does not affect me at all. >host: what you mean you make your own fuel? caller: you take a pot and boil it down and get the fat out of the animal and you turn it into a by a diesel. you just drive your vehicle. it is a very simple process. we doubled the productivity in the united states within the last six months and i cannot understand why prices are so high unless people are doing it on purpose. i know there is an economic need for oil but we have plenty of oil, there is no shortage, we are not running out of oil for the next 1000 years. this is all a big con job. the only way the value is set is

by keeping them scarce. host: do you think your decision to make your own fuel is something other americans would be more inclined to do it prices are high? caller:sure, there is no reason not to make your own fuel and take that part of your life away from the control of people who are not looking out for your best interests. host: here is a tweet -- are democrats line, good morning. caller: this is having a very negative effect on me. these prices coincide with an assault on our social programs from the extreme right.

host: idaho, on our independent line, are gas prices impacting your summer plans? caller: yes, they are. they are hurting the very bad financial it. i won't be able to travel as much. they are hurting me more mentally as i think about what america has sponsored for the oil companies. when we secured iraq, when we let the oil companies in, we let them in for free. we should have charged them $15 trillion to enter the country and another $15 trillion to extract the oil. go to the veterans hospital and see their young veterans with their heads blown off. americans should start thinking what are we going to war for tax this is not a democracy anymore. it is a corporate-tocracy.

we end up hurting and people are suffering in the united states. people don't think. why should let the oil companies into that country without charging them $15 trillion to clear our debt and another -- and another $15 trillion to put us in the pink. host: you say your summer plans will be affected. how high is gas in idaho? caller: almost $4. host: these are all prices are across the country. the states in red are where gas prices are highest. $3.90-$4.26 per the lowest are in dark blue. the costly states include california and hawaii, alaska, and you can check out right across the country, the prices are lowest in the south except

for florida. , lowery is tennessee on our democrats line, good morning. caller: i contend that they must not be too high because i work for a school system and people will come to pick their kids up 45 minutes early and let the cars just sit and run. we have drive up restaurants, drive up cleaners, drive cleanersbrothels. you cannot leave your car running in the parking lot that you consider and that line for 20-30 minutes at a time waiting on a sausage and biscuit. if we are so lazy that we cannot go out and get, we don't need it. we sure do waste a lot of it. host: are they high for you? caller: they are high but i have not driven away v-8 since 1979.

i drive a four-cylinder. my wife and i do well on gas mileage and we live within a couple of miles of work so we are lucky in that regard i still contend that people squander way too much. people could walk to more places. i see people driving to and three blocks to a convenience mart or they could walk to those things. until our attitude changes, you reap what you sow. host: canada, good morning. did we lose him? i think we did. columbia, tenn., are democrats line, go ahead. our guest prices impacting your summer plans? caller: yes the prices are impacting my summer plans. the only way i can cope is

irate use the self generating power cells to run a generator in my home. i was driving a truck for a while and the costs got so high that it literally had to stop driving and sit at home. now i am roofing and doing whatever i can to get by. it is a struggle in today's economy. in tennessee, prices are averaging about $3.65 d-$3.79. saturn went out of business and people are fighting. i appreciate you giving me a moment to say a little something host: let's take a look at a tweet -- let's go to dayton, ohio, democratic caller. good morning. caller: good morning.

i think gas prices are $3.89 per gallon. if we drill here we'll have to worry about exporting and we need to stop giving the gas companies tax breaks. host: what do you think that would do? caller: i think that would force them to lower the prices. they will keep raising the prices at the keep getting tax breaks. host: with the price of gas for you. ? caller: $3.89 per gallon. host: do you think a lot about this? caller: yes, i don't just want to give away my money on gas to go on vacation. we will just find something closer to the house. host: this is similar --

mt. carmel, ill., a republican line, good morning. caller: gas prices are not affected me because i do not -- i will not go with this summer. they are affecting a lot of people. i think it is bad. i think it is not right. gas prices in illinois are high for high test. host: what did you think should be done if it is a problem? caller: i think they should lower the prices. they can lower it. will go up when disasters happen and it will go up like when the

tornadoes happened. to thedn't do anything gas facilities where they are stored, did they? host: is a tweet -- west hollywood, calif., independent caller, welcome. caller: good morning, i'm still driving the first car i ever bought, in 1968 mustang, and i put a new engine in it and i get 16 miles to the gallon and a gas prices out here are about $4.35 per gallon for the expensive stuff. i look at it as a long-term thing. for my car, it is easier to keep fixing it and replacing everything than to go out and

buy a new one. i take a long-term approach. host: how is that affecting your summer? caller: well, since i have recondition my car, i will take a road trip may be up to san francisco and take a look around. it is fun to take a trip.

host: how are gas prices affecting your summer? caller: i'm a contractor down here. and when you get a truck loaded with electriccal materials, you get 8-10 miles to the gallon you're doing good. so there's a little bit of money you can make with the economy the way it is. i agree with the guy it called, something about [inaudible] iraq. as much money as we spent over there with our military, it's all messed up. and we should have took over or we shouldn't be giving more of that oil. we should at least get paid for it. bush i had no sense but knew

how to run things. i'm not discriminating but that's what you get when you get a republican in office. they just don't know how to run this country. they're just ignorant. i hope the american people will wake up. thank you, ma'am. >> host: texas, republican, what are gas prices like where you live? caller: they went down a little bit. we're at 3.76. it's hilarious to listen to democrats gripe because it's all bush's fault because obama is president. you know, we have people like obama gripe about rich people and oil companies like all those idiots do getting tax deductions but they take every tax deduction they can not to pay taxes and everyone knows you don't have to take tax deductions. you could pay your full share if you were a cowardly democratic idiot. we're spending trillions of

dollars murdering -- [inaudible] host: we're focused on gas prices and how they're impacting surveil prices so i'm going to move on to miami. caller: good morning. you know, before i make my comment i would just like to make a cause for everybody staying about this to be bipartisan. i think it's the people we need to be bipartisan and give people a chance. you know, especially these people who are coming on to the program, senators and congressmen, to answer our questions. and i like to say that this president, obama, god bless his soul, he's trying to do a good job i know. but he's got to free up and make it easier for us, period. and business, there's so much regulation. we have people from bp drilling here but we're worried about the environment? we've got to worry about ourselves first and then we can worry about the environment.

host: tennessee, jeffery, the democratic caller. hi, jeffrey. caller: good morning. first-time caller. host: how are gas prices impacting your summer plans? caller: naturally they're going to affect every american in a lower, middle income because the prices have gone up. i would like to point out that carter put a gas freeze when prices got too high and i kind of wonder why is it that being a necessity as gas and electric trissty how those companies could make the profit margins that they're making. i would like to know what you think about that. host: we're interested in what you have to say. caller: i remember in the past we've had presidents that would limit that amount of money. i mean, it's a necessity. i understand if everybody wanted to give all their money away to buy certain products, that that's the american way. but when you take advantage of the people and your profit

margin is that high, it's kind of like it's i don't know how to say it without being offensive to too many people but it doesn't seem right to me. host: and what do you think about opening the strategic oil reserves? caller: well, personally ink that there's enough oil out there -- i think that there's enough oil out there that there is no oil shortage and i think that we could have, with the technology that we have, that there's probably alternatives. we're just set up on burning oil. that's the way we grew up and it's the way they're going to be until magically something else comes along when the oil does run out. host: pennsylvania, harry is a republican. welcome. caller: this won't affect me too much. i have a camp about 100 miles away and i get 23 miles a gallon to my car so i can go stay for two weeks.

you take your own food. but getting back to this, this all started 40 years ago when we started, the oil companies or the processing plants, got rid of them and since then everybody talking about the oil company getting tax breaks. they got what 800 fields and permits they're not allowed to drill in. this country's got plenty of everything if we use it. somewhere along the line somebody will invent something. the same people don't want cool plants, they don't want new clear energy. so what do they want? you've got to use what you've got. and the free market will pick up. people make money on it. somebody somewhere along the line will invent something great. but it's not going to be for another 20, 30 years. we've got more gas and oil in this country if we're allowed to drill with it. it gets back to right now you've got this department of energy i think his name is chow, he wants gas to be $8 a

gallon. everybody says we'll drive less. guess what, you've still got to drive to work. that's all there is to it. host: do you mean secretary chu, the energy secretary? caller: he made the statement that he wants gas to be $8 like in europe. people trying about the tax break, i think they're making 3 cents on the dollar profit. and you've gt to remember the money that's coming back into this country from the taxes they're paying, the people that aren't going to be working that much. everybody involved is paying taxes. host: let's look at bit of other news what's happening in the areas hit by the tornadoes this week. this piece is from the "wall street journal." towards tally of missing 156. hundreds of volunteers and dog teams continue the search as the sprint to rebuild the

school begins. and this profile in the "new york times." he talks about in the past he's driven down streets and not known what they looked like before the disaster. but here he knows what the streets looked like.

that's a profile of this gentleman in the "new york times" today. as we mentioned president obama will be going to joplin throm. his trip includes meeting with state and local officials. he will thank the first responders and volunteers who have been helping out there and will be joined by the fema administer. he will also make remarks to the community during a memorial service tomorrow. let's go to texas and get back to our topic this morning of how gas prices are affecting your summer plans if they are. ken is it making a difference for you? >> it's making a little. but one of the things that people need to put in perspective is that the world is awash in crude oil right now and natural gas and we have more resources if it was properly focused to provide our energy needs without question. there's billions of barrels that are shut in. they can't get a pipeline to markets in the southern gulf of

mexico has massive amounts of crude and gas. and with the shails the drilling techniques, we have ways of providing all of our needs without any problem. that's not including the biofuels or the wind farms in west texas and elsewhere. there is processes that have been known for many years that takes natural gas and turns it into refined products. so many of these foreign countries, even our own government, is playing politics. and if you take a look at what's going on in venezuela with the chaveezz using revenues generated in the u.s., when you take a look at what's happening in this country, the transcanada pipeline project that's trying to be brought in bringing millions of barrels is

stopped at the border and can't come in. there's currently lots of the oil tar sands oil coming in and being refined and a lot better quality than some of the stuff that's being brought in to the gulf coast by ships. for example, the discrepancy between the current crisis of crude that's been in the range of $15 to $20 a barrel higher. none of these things seem to make it to the market. host: let me touch on somebody that you're talking about. this is from the "new york times" from texas, your state and they're looking at oil in shale. you're talking about how there are other sources of energy out there. this piece by cliffer courthouse says,

illinois next joins us, democratic caller. are gas prices impacting your summer plans? caller: not so much. the real problem is the cost of everything else because of high gas prices the way everything's gone up. really food a lot for people. that was one of the things that's usually pretty sacred and kept low, thank god, in this great country. but it seems like they've gone up really drastically over the gas and oil. and it's sad like one of the callers have said. it seems like we use our human resources, which is a terrible thing. we go over there and we fight and it's good to help those people but we lose a good men and a lot of guys come back after all these tours and stuff they're doing, it's unprecedented, five and six tours in a row. and god bless them for doing it. i just worked with a guy and i thanked him for going over there but it doesn't seem like our government treats it like that should be part of ours. not that we should take their

country or anything. but there should be some sort of a deal worked out where we could maybe help out the class of people that are going over there and fighting. and try to get some kind of deals worked out where we do get things just somewhat cheaper for what we do sacrifice. and all the people and all the money and all the gas and all the strife in this country over all the wars where we go fight and i realize that we have to for our own interest but it does seem like we should be intelligent enough to get different paufs for that. being as we are giving huge money out. right now they're worried about a teacher's pension or this person's pension. well, the politicians from what i understand, and i'm not overly innocent receive an enormous pension for two years of service and these guys are going over dying and the teachers are living their whole lives on not a great amount of money and they're worried about that.

and i guess what i'm saying is we have to tighten our belts i understand that. but we're going to have to start thinking a little more. we've got to be paid back for the jets, the helicopters, the people, the tanks, that stuff is not free. host: go on to florida, where ben is a republican caller. caller: good morning. yeah. the price of gas really isn't affecting me too much. i'm already in the sunshine state. i'm on the beach. where do i need to go? host: how has the gas down there? caller: it was 3.68 when i filled up yesterday. it's still quite a pinch when i have to fill my truck up. but the beef isn't so much with the oil companies. they're a business. they're in business to make a profit so that if a disaster like what happened in the gulf happens they can cover the cost of the cleanup and reimburse the people that they put out of work. my problem is with the

socialist administration that's bowing down to venezuela, brazil, telling the south american countries that we want to be their best customer. and while this is all going on, we've got china drilling off the coast of florida down by the keys. 60 miles off the florida coast through cuba and they're going to let castro run their oil fields. host: let's take a look at an article.

missouri on our independents line. caller: well, i think if these gas prices get way out of range on this, and more and more -- host: sorry? caller: i think they need to go down. host: ok. ohio, joe is a democratic caller. good morning, joe. caller: good morning. thank you, c-span, for letting me voice my opinion. host: thanks for calling in. caller: i believe that my travel plans will be a little lower because of the price of fuel and fuel prices are really

like the caller said a while back it's part of the bureaucracy. they want to raise prices on everything. they raise prices on fuel. guess what, the prices on everything goes up. ok. there's answers to our problems, though. there's home-made endeavors into hydrogen generators to put on your car to improve your gas mileage. there's also in philadelphia they've built a plant that recycles garbage and tushes the -- turns the garbage into fuel. and there's so much garbage out there that they could probably meet our entire national needs if they put up enough plants like that and turn all of the garbage into fuel and that will reduce the garbage and give more fuel. that's about all i have to say

for now. host: on twitter, the christian science monitor writes the relatively high gas prices may also be affecting what kind of cars drivers are traveling in

weekend. compared with the previous month. auto makers reported that consumers shifted from buying larger vehicles to purchasing smaller ones, a direct response to the recent spike in gas prices. illinois dwayne republican, welcome to the program. caller: good morning. thank you for the opportunity. [inaudible] we're planning on vacation this year and like a lot of people. usually we're within 600 miles from home is our vacation trip. we want to go out west from southern illinois to the grand canyon area. so quite a bit further than normal and we thought maybe we ought to change our plans with the high gas prices. but we decided to go ahead [inaudible] host: i think we lost him. he was saying his family was considering where they were going this year.

they usually plan travel in the summer. let's go to tennessee. how are gas prices impacting your summer plans? caller: it's not great and i do have to agree with the gentleman from ohio, the democratic gentleman from ohio. i really am definitely big on recycling. so it's definitely an issue that concerns me. i can't agree more with his entire idea. the thing is, is not so much affecting me just during a summer. it's affecting everyone everywhere. in any driving situation, whether they're going to work or coming home or anything else. it's just, it's a problem that we look to our government to try to solve but there's nothing really we can do but try to take what they're saying as information on what we need to do from here. it all goes back to money, money, money. and as far as the other gentleman who said something about worry about the

environment later. let not worry about the environment later. we are destroying our environment now by taking fossil fume reserves that our environment and our world needs in order to survive. there's got to be other answers for what we can do to make a difference. there's got to be something other than going out like the other gentleman said and spending money buying car after car after car and adding more to the waste. we've already got land fils like the other jant said. why are we continuing to put more into it instead of doing something with what we have? there's got to be more ways than just dig up alaska or destroy our gulf coast. i understand -- and as far as the other person said about going back to the other places that we are helping, charity starts at home. i've always believed that and there's nothing wrong with helping other people but there's got to be some kind of recourse in what we are taking out of it.

we should be able to get something out of it. i do agree with the other caller who said that. we need to be getting something out of it. however, there's got to be other answer. we can't just keep taking and taking from this world and environment. host: let's look at a comment coming to us from e-mail from washington. next up, atlanta, georgia. mike, independent caller. caller: hi. host: turn down your tv for us and then let us know how gas prices are affecting your summer. caller: well it hasn't had an impact on my summer plans. i'm retired but my wife is still working but we spend about $750 a month on gas and here is about $2.75 a gallon.

i think that the long-term impact of gas prices is going to have a devastate combg pact especially on retirees. because getting to and from places is an essential expense. and so is health care costs which for retirees averages probably about $4,000 a year depending on their health and with a husband and wife, it's $8,000 to $12 a year. and add to that transportation costs is going to have a devastating impact with retirees which can only be dealt with with higher taxes in the future. so i think that the more we can do to conserve all forms of energy, the better off we are.

and i think even though i'm an independent, i support the democratic stands on escalating alternative energy sources. host: we'll take a look at a tweet. coming up this weekend, book tv and american history tv take viewers to tampa, florida, as we look at the history and literary life of that gulf coast city where the 2012 rnc convention will take place. working with our networks cable partner, our team of producers visited the tampa-st. pete area that will collect programming that will air this weekend. >> it's the fourth largest city in the state of florida. so we're behind tampa, miami, and jacksonville.

a city of about 250,000 people. we're the largest city in our county which is the most densely populated county in the state of florida. we're a city of great diversity. we celebrate the arts and culture. and it's where history and modernization collide. we've done a lot to preserve a lot of our buildings. we're only roughly 100 years old. so we're not boston or philadelphia is but we do pride ourselves in these early 1900 designs. we have the only open air post office in the country and our downtown is serviced by letter carriers that actually ride bicycles throughout the downtown community. and so we pride ourselves on that open air post office. we are the birth place of commercial aviation. a lot of people don't know that. but the first regularly scheduled airline was an air

boat between tampa and st. petersberg but that started here in the city of st. petersberg i think in 18914. >> host: tampa is the first of eight cities which are three local content vehicles that well be visiting as we expand the each of our programming around the country. for more information visit our web page. you can go to the c-span home page there and find a link as well. let's go on to our next call in webster, north carolina. caller: thank you for taking my call. we are retired folks and our gas prices in this area are about $3.64. actually, we're not taking any long vacations this year. we don't drive our car on any trip more than 40 or 50 miles.

but i would like to comment on a couple of things that nobody has spoken about this morning. one of the reasons that gas price is so high is because the tremendously high federal tax, the federal tax, at 56 cents every gallon and state tax and most states charge 30 or 35 cents a gallon. one thing that people should know also is the fact that gas or energy and food are not figured into the inflation rate. and food has gone up 18% this year. so it makes a big difference for retired people like we are to be able to drive. this gas price, if they continue to stay up, i wouldn't be surprised to see us go into a double dip recession. thank you very much for taking my call.

host: let's see, we've got a "new york times" story coming to us written by reuters. so this article talks about how that is all being affected in part by gas prices. we've had a couple folks weigh in talking about how it may affect more than just their driving plans. let's go to virginia. and sand ra, are gas prices affecting your plans whether driving or otherwise? are caller: i can't drive very far because i live on a fixed income and prices are around $3.65. but i know we have plenty oil

in the united states. and we have the united states has a big deficit that we owe out. the president of the united states should be the most highest paid person in our country. but yet, we have people that make more than he does. all those people ought to be cut where they don't make more than the president and use it to pay the deficit. i have to live off of 700 a month. and when i hear about people making 800,000 a year, it makes me sick because the president of the united states is the number one person and he should be the most highest paid. host: taking a look again at this "new york times" story.

in tuscon, arizona. dan joins us on the independent line. good morning. caller: good morning. my biggest think is it's affecting me, i'm an ice cream vendor down here. we could go all year long and i'm seeing the pricing go doup here and i wish that it gets a little bit lower so i could make a little more money and have a little more time to help my family. actually, every year it's like a ritual for us. we enjoy getting out and traveling to see the world. so i'm all for more work and lower gas prices. like i say, they're affecting me by that. host: so are you going to raise your prices? caller: yes, ma'am. i've had to raise my prices in the past two years. plus, we had a 100 variety on

our ice cream trucks and we had to take them off. we just went down to 50 varieties. host: you said that you do plan to travel. it's a ritual that you have with your family. but at what point would gas prices make that impossible for you? caller: if they get to $6. host: ok. baltimore, maryland, james on the republican line. let's hear from you. caller: good morning. i would like to give you an analogy. i would like to say that gas prices are affecting me a great deal. it's the highest expensive on a weekly basis. and with that thought in mind, i feel that this thing about speculators of gas line reminds me of my buying an estate auction and i was bidding on some items there and people were bidding against me and the price went up beyond what the item would cost when it was knew and they had rust on them.

with gasoline prices are being bid up by people not taking receipt of the product, they're bidding on. and they should be required to take the item when they bid on oil for a period of 90 days. our inventory of oil is not low in this country. prices should not be bid up by people who are not going to take receipt of that oil. some in congress needs to do something to get these people away from bidding on this oil. they should have to take physical receipt of the oil for 90 days so they are taking responsibility for their actions. it's like that estate auction i went to where people bid on the items i wanted to buy but they were just trying to run me up on the price. that's what's going on with our oil prices. i think we're paying way too much and then we have our local municipalities who need tax revenues wanting to raise the grass tax because people can't afford to buy the gasoline

they're not using it. they want to raise the price of the seals sales tax simply to make up their revenues. we need to let people buy their gasoline at a reasonable rate. we need to get the people out of the market. host: all right. here's a picture from your hometown newspaper, the baltimore sun. thanks for all your calls so far this morning. coming up later in the program we'll talk about the g-8 summit what happened in europe. but first when we come back we'll talk with the leaders of the democratic and republican groups that are involved with the college end of things, the college republican national

committee and the college democrats of america. we'll be right back. [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2011]

>> over the three day memorial day weekend commencement addresses from around the country. offering their advice and insights to the graduating class of 2011 at 3:00 and 10:00 eastern memorial day weekend.

"washington journal" continues. >> we're joined by zack how long, the national chairman and also ean from the college democrats of america where he is the director. thank you for being here this morning. host: want to hear from you guys about what youth vote looks like for 2012 politics. how much work are you doing to get people out in the next election? guest: it's still over a year away but already college democrats are organized. we have chapters all around the country like ohio and florida. in 2008, colleges weren't as organized and i think we have our convention coming up this u.s. and it's going to be activists from all across the country come and attend trainings and we're going to be organized for 2012. i host: and how, 2008 was a big

year for the youth vote. what are you doing to see that 2012 is as well? guest: 2008 was a bad year for us. but i think things have take b a turn for the better the 2010 elections certainly bore that out. we increased our membership by about 20% which is unusual for a mid-term election and we're seeing all kind of enthusiasm. host: as we talk about issues that are important, what sense do you guys have among your colleagues, the folks part of your organization, what sense do you have about most issues are most important? is it social, economy, government spending? it's all about the economy. young people are having the same problem everyone else is finding jobs. it's quite a bit worse. a majority of young people are having to move back in with their parents as they're unable to find full time work or a job

at all. and so certainly the economy is in top mind for a lot of people. guest: i agree. it's economy, economy, economy. for young people, the job market is very difficult. but the obama administration recently passed the health care bill which allows young to stay on the parents health care plan to the age of 26. this is a lot of young people they don't have to worry about getting a job that has health care because many entry level jobs do not provide it and this has allowed them to take internships and entry level jobs and not having to worry about getting hurt or being saddled with overwhelming medical debt. host: we're talking about 2012 politics and the youth vote. you can join the conversation. we have this latest poll out from gallup looking at the

g.o.p. field for 2012 and how republicans are weighing in, republicans and republican-leaning independents are really feeling about the candidates. how are these candidates or potential candidates playing with the youth vote? guest: it's still such an early part of the race i don't think a lot of people have any idea who they are voting for. it's very rare that you see no candidate go above 20% even in a multicandidate field. so this is a forming field but young people are very excited about the field we have. there's a lot of different options all parts are represented on that list of candidates. and i look forward to a very spirited debate. host: and notably 22% of republicans do not have a preference at this point.

what do you and the folks who are part of your group want to hear from potential candidates? what's the message they need to get out to you? guest: they want to hear that a candidate is willing to make the tough choices to get the future back on track. we need to reform america's entitled programs we need to cut spending and we need to get our budget under control. and that's going to be difficult. so we need a candidate willing to make the tough calls. host: and we look at the democrats. what are you getting a seps of is the feeling about these republican contenders and what they might mean coming up against president obama from your group's perspective? host: a lot of candidates are now out and the field seems to be in flux but all the leading candidates have held behind the field policies for the last decade and will continue to defend those policies and intend to continue them if they become the nominee and president. guest: host: what about social issues?

past n past that's a been a big one for a lot of demographics. we're talking about age. but young people, social issues can be a really big one. how are those coming into play? guest: it's been surprising with the economy and tea party taking control of congress you would think that economic issues would be on the forefront but you've seen with the recent shutdown scare, you saw that abortion and social issues like that that hadn't been on the forefront for the last 10 or so years really came to the front. and it was surprising for me and many college students. we tend to be more progressive on social issues. very few young people care about divisive issues like gay marriage. most of my republican friends seem to be in favor of same sex marriage. and it will be interesting to bridge the divide between young

republicans and orlando republicans who don't necessarily agree on social issues. and i think the older republican party will have to somehow find a way to bridge that gap . host: zack? guest: these issues are going to come back and forth in the debate. they always will. they're certainly something that can come under conversation. but i would agree. i think that broadly younger people including younger republicans are just as concerned about social issues as many orlando voters are. with that being said it's a part of the debate that i think should be out there and we're looking forward to engaging in it . host: how do you ensure that republican candidates address the fact that there may just be a different perspective in the age demographic? guest: i think they're going out to young people and listening to them and saying what is the important issue to you? what do you want to hear about? and i think we're seeing an adjustment in message based on

that. we don't hear nearly as much about social issues as we used to and that's going to continue to be the case . host: looking at the latest pole it shows that the largest republicans continue to say that government spend ags power is their top concern. the second group is business and the economy. and 15% of republicans say their main political interest is social issues and moral values. that's across the board. not just the youth although they are included in that. let's go to illinois. max on our democrat line. caller: thank you for hearing me today, dear. it's a pleasure to talk to you. host: we're glad you could be here. what do you have to say to our guests? caller: the thing that i've got i am a life long democrat and union member. i hate to say this because i am -- i voted for obama but obama has lost me because of the

thing he's put in on the retirement, on social security he's not given us any raises. but i know that jobs are so important to these younger people. and i'm 84 years old and i can remember years ago that the thing they did, i couldn't understand them continually giving people more unemployment. they perptly gave the states and everybody, they keep sending this money in unemployment when years ago instead of that i remember roosevelt he started the ccc and the wpa and people went to work. and they got paid. and i think that made a big difference instead of having to just go down and sign up for your unemployment. i just never could understand him giving that money to them for nothing. ian? caller: i don't think he's giving it to them for nothing

at all. it's difficult to get a job back. and with the recovery package passed when president obama took office we were on the brink of a second great depression and he has been able to bring us back and we're seing the economy turn around and get back on the right path. and with the recent budget deal, he has extended unemployment benefits at the same time cutting government spending and it's represented one of the largest spending cuts in our history so i think he's serious about addressing unemployment. it's going to take a while but we have seen 14 consecutive months of job growth, 2.1 private sector jobs have been created. so i think president obama is very serious about the unemployment issue and democrats will continue to take it on. and he's not going to be happy until at least every american feels some sort of economic improvement. host: what do young republicans want to see the federal government, the administration a candidate for republican

office offer when it comes to helping young people find jobs? guest: i i think it's about offering the right policies for the economy in general. what we need is to get our budget under control, to give business the confidence to create jobs to invest and to continue nt doing what they've done all throughout american history. right now we've got a major problem. we have a virtually jobless recovery. reian mentioned some statistics, that's true. but more people are entering the job market than jobs are being created eep today. so we have a major problem on our hands. and unless we really truly unleash the job creators in this country, that's going to continue to be a major problem. host: in 2008 he held helped

register more voters than any other college campus. how did you get people so involved? guest: i think with the 2008 campaign it was incredible how both engaged and motivated the young people were to vote. for many people it was their first presidential election. for many college students they would gone through the last 8 years of president bush and it was a disappointment and they felt with president obama they had a chance to speak their voice and uc santa barbara we had a very engaged community and an overwhelming number of people registered to vote and they came out and president obama carried the college

student by a wide margin and that is because he was so inspiring to so many people. since he's taken office he has delivered on his promises. we are now able to stay on our parents' plans until 26. he ended don't ask, don't tell which was a policy which was damaging to our national security and discriminatory. host: how do you keep them motivated and not get disillusioned? how do you keep them engaged in politics instead of focusing on what people get busy on in their lives? guest: i had to find a job, my friends will have to find a job. but president obama has done a lot of outreach and made youth the focus. host: and you mentioned that 2008, not a good year for republicans. and you tauched little bit on how to motivate more. but what actual techniques do you use? social media? are you encouraging potential candidates to get on campuses?

how you need to see them engaged to get more young republicans interested? guest: it's all the above kind of think thing. we use media. we have more than 200,000 people who follow us on facebook and quite a bit on twitter. so we use those. but the message is more important than the medium. and right now we are working to push a message of economic dinism of strong solid futurer for the american people and i think young people are going to respond to that. host: massachusetts, welcome. caller: good morning. and have a great memorial weekend. i have a question for both of your guests this morning. i would like to know how they think the average student in their university could compete in the world of real economics and real jobs these days. i understand that they are up

at the upper level of takers probably in their fields in schools. but i run a small business and i have many clients come in who are like just finished their freshman, sophomore year in college, and many of them are lacking in basic, very basic in my opinion, social skills and educational skills. i had somebody in yesterday didn't even know how to write out a check. and if you're 20 years old in college i would think you would know how to do that simple function. and to create jobs, you have to have drive, energy, vision, and basic skills to do a lot of things. i'm just seeing now that many, many college educated people do not have these things even though we spend fortunes on education. thank you very much. host: let's hear from zack first. guest: i think there definitely is somewhat of a disconnect

between what people are taught in schools and the needs of the job market. but to the extent that's the case, i think it's something that colleges and universities need to study and they need to respond. but i would agree that maybe people aren't getting exactly the skills in all cases that they need in the job market but there's many cases where they are. and so, you know, hopefully to the extent that there's a problem, it's fixed. guest: when president obama passed the health care bill he also passed student loan reform. that's been important. he cut out the middleman and took away the 61 billion in subsidies that were going to the big banks and has reinvested that into helping students graduate without overwhelming debt. he's invested $34 billion in pell grants, increasing the maximum award from 500 -- 25500. and this is the single largest

investment in our nation's history and i think president obama is making sure that our young people and college students are trained to compete for jobs in the global marketplace. host: jason, independent caller. caller: i had a quick question for the republican guy there. the majority of people graduating college can't find jobs. and that's correct. it seems like that would not be with 10% unemployment less than. and secondly, i was wondering as young aspiring political activists at minimum, how is what i'm wondering. we talk about the politicians making the economy better. but how? can't you get more involved in the how we're going to be able to make things better? host: what are you hearing from young people in tuscaloosa? caller: about? host: what are they thinking about? are politics on their mind?

caller: we had tornadoes go through so most people are worried about getting their things together. but from last august when people were graduating, getting jobs was an issue of but it was still while it went down the majority of people found jobs. maybe not as much money as they were looking for but yes jobs then, specifically the economy in general, are our big concerns. guest: i may have misspoke. i didn't mean to say a majority of people weren't finding jobs. i said a majority had to move back in with their parents. which is a social indicator. yo i don't know if it's the best but it's an indication that a lot of people are finding at least the amount of work they would certainly hope to. and even in general if we look at the unemployment rate among young people it approaches 20%. so we're approaching depression levels of unemployment among

young people graduating college. and that's truly frightening. and what it could lead to unless we get things under control is a generation of young people whose skills have deteriorated, who find themselves unable to join the job market in a full way. so this is a very pressing thing. we need to get it under control very quickly. host: let's talk specific candidates for the republican nomination. there's some who have thrown their hat in the ring. there are other still testing the waters a little bit. one of them is sara palin. she is kicking off a bus tour here in d.c. tomorrow. what do you think about her involvement with the youth? what's your reaction to her? guest: she like everyone else is welcomed to join the race. and certainly it will make it more interesting if she does. host: how so? guest: well, she's definitely someone who fires up a lot of people and it's up to each

individual whether they like her way of doing that or not. but she certainly is a candidate who is able to inject some signism into the race if nothing else. guest: i think my friend has a more colorful opinion. i think she's so far out of the main stream for a lot of young people they can't identify with at lot of her policies and positions. and it's interesting that she has been dilly dallying with jumping in the race for so long it looks like she might be getting in now. the way it has panned out i'm not going to make any predictions. host: governor rick perry seems to be cracking the door open a little bit. how could that affect things? guest: it's interesting to see him considering it. he would be the only top tier southern candidate in the race right now which is interesting in a party that has strong support in the south. so that would shake things up

and definitely make the race much more up in the air than it already is. host: and what's your reaction? guest: it's interesting that a rather unpopular governor of texas who considered succeeding from the union would be a republican front runner. host: when is it time to have a solid field? zack, is there a point this summer where people need to be in so that there's enough time to get to the college campuses to go to places where young people are centered? guest: i don't think we need to set a hard deadline certainly but the iowa caucus approach within about eight months. it's less than nine until the new hampshire primary. so they have to make a decision to get the organization on the ground to be viable. so i don't think there's any day where we say this person's waited too long. but certainly time is pressing

so they need to get moving. host: does it make your job harder? a lot of politics is about personality persona and then specific elements that make a candidate. speak to a voter. when you don't have a solid field does it make your job harder? guest: you know, it means a lot of people will disagree with one another on who each person is supporting for president. that makes it a lot more interesting. and having that discussion and debate can really be alet of fun and makes you think about a lot of new issues in a new light and i think it's going to be a great race. . .

people will need to find new jobs. president obama is bucking for a new opportunity to create those jobs. we are trying to get our work

force to compete on the global marketplace. we want to create an environment for on truck and the worst to grow. host: here is a comment from missouri. we have had a 28% increase in the number of employers registering with our system.

she says that is a sign that the job market is improving. what does it mean for politics? guest: it is great news. we all should be happy when we see news like that. this recovery has been long in coming. employment has not grown quickly enough. short-term canoes -- we need long-term care is if we are going to get out of this. host: young people will have a few opportunities in the job market. as good to the republican line in missouri. caller: we are $14.50 trillion in debt. the president cannot keep

throwing billions of dollars on everything on the face of the earth. regarding politics, i am very fearful of the political situation, because anyone who does not agree with a liberal or what effort is made fun of. if you control the media, you control the masses. these sound bites and a pie in the sky comments will get people to vote, especially uninformed people, but it is not solving our problems. when you get a conservative speaker, they throw things at them, they are terrible to them. the economy is not good. many young people are getting out of school and and they have not been taught the constitution

or the founding fathers. the liberal agenda has destroyed our public schools. guest: on the budget and deficit reduction, obama's proposal is reducing our deficit by trillions of dollars. there are spending cuts. he understands this is serious. he also wants to reinvest in head start programs, research, development, education reform. he does not want to put the burden on those most needy. i think there is a difference in value. the democrats want to end tax subsidies to big oil companies and reinvest them in finding alternative energy and getting more people back to work.

host: what about the issue of immigration? how is it playing out among the young republicans? guest: there is a healthy debate on the issue. it is an important one. both parties and young people would agree that we need a better security apparatus of the border than what we have del. we also -- and what we have now. we also a debate on how can we better deal with the people we have here. there is not a consensus view on the issue. host: how is this playing out in discussions you're having with other young republicans?

it talks about how kids brought to this country legally by their parents could get citizenship by going to school. guest: you hear a lot of sites to that. some contend that it is unfair. i do not agree with that. i think it is a worthy goal to educate the people that are here trying to become citizens, so they can be more productive members of society. i do not know where the majority view would be on that. it is a big issue. it will become much more so. host: how does the republican youth vote walk that line? guest: i wish i knew. it is not the forefront of the issues. it is not something young people

are trying to vote on specifically. candidates need to be honest and say what they believe. host: immigration, democrats of america? guest: it represented an important progress, that we got a vote on the dream act. many realized they were undocumented when they applied for college. we should not deny them an education. they want to stay in america. america is the country they know and love. they want to get a job here in contribute to our economy. we need comprehensive immigration reform. that is very important to

college democrats. host: independent line, good morning. caller: i would like to echo what mr. blue is saying about the dream act. we should go ahead and pass that. i see no reason why it should not be passed. it is definitely in our interest. forrding the job market's college graduates, for me, a professional level business employment level with a salary over 60,000, you have to compete with other american graduates as well as credit was from other countries.

there are some in america that originated from other countries like japan or india. 60% asian or indian countries in most departments. college graduates have a tough road ahead of them. two plays a special tax on individuals who are not citizens, but working in the u.s. full-time and intend to remain in the u.s. as a way to offset some sort of way those opportunities for american college graduates. guest: we are a global marketplace with the tech industry. it is so important to invest in higher education. young people should be trained

and ready and have the support of the federal government to compete in this marketplace. guest: we are in a global marketplace with stiff competition from all over the world. america can win in the global economy. we need to make sure all levels of education are working properly. we need to make sure the best and brightest are coming here. many did come here from other countries create jobs not take them. their creative minds are creating jobs. i hope we can embrace the challenge and do what we need to do to prepare our country for competition with the global economy. i believe we can do it. host: what about the debt in spending?

is it resonating among the youth? guest: absolutely. it is going to come down on them one way or the other. we are adding almost double that every year in national debt. it is a drop in the bucket. we will spend $5.50 trillion on interest on the debt. that is over the next decade. we have this pressing problem that is keeping us from addressing other needs and issues. guest: president obama is very serious about addressing this as our children and grandchildren will be paying this off. they will do spending responsibly.

host: tom coburn will be ever guessed this weekend on "newsmakers. go -- will be our guest this weekend on "newsmakers." he will speak on why the senate is moving so slowly on a budget and spending issues. >> why don't we have a budget? how is it ok that the senate does not have a budget? majority leaders do not want the votes. minority leaders do not want the votes. how do we maintain our positions? host: you can see the entire interview on sunday at 6:00 and 10:00 p.m. eastern. let's go to north carolina on our democratic line.

caller: i would like to respond to the 84-year-old man that called in. i do not know why he does not understand that a law was passed by congress, and they determined how much the cost of living increases were raised. i do not know why everybody wants to blame obama for everything that has happened. i also want to ask them, what do you think about the voter i.d. loss past -- laws that will prevent people your age from voting? guest: i do not understand the argument that it will prevent young people from voting. i cannot think of a way to do

any kind of official business without having an id. it is only logical to me. it is a good way to prevent voter fraud. guest: i do not think voter fraud is a real issue in terms of our election system. many laws are targeted at young people. it is not just boater ids. the interest of students remains the same [unintelligible] it is important that they represent the communities in which they live. it is important that we hold aws. to our voter i.d. los

host: ron paul is getting a lot of interest from young republicans. why is that? guest: i think young people are looking for someone who is in favor of getting long-term spending under control. i am not personally backing him. he is out front and honest to saying we have to make it tough calls. [unintelligible] i hear chris christi among our leadership.

some are still in their first terms in waiting sometime in the future. host: what is president obama and his team need to do to get young people interested in voting again? guest: i think we are already ready and engaged for 2012 to come around. i think they will come out and vote again for him. there are some that in 2008 were eligible to vote that will be eligible in 2012. i think of the dnc and the presidential campaign are already targeting young people to re-elect president obama in 2012. host: thanks for being with us.

up next, we will talk about the g-8 summit. let's take a look at the week as seen through the nation's cartoonist.

>> follow c-span's "washington journal" on twitter. do not miss any updates so start your twitter, account today.

>> a complete guide to the complete session of the 112th congress. there is contact information including twitter addresses. information on the white house, supreme court justices, and governors. you can order this online. >> people often say how much of your time he spent in writing and doing research. great question. no one says, how much of your time the spend thinking? that is probably the most important part. >> sunday, on a q and a, the part to interview with david mccullough. you can download this and other pot casts online -- podcasts

online. >> washington journal continues . host: we are talking about the g-8 summit. president obama spent the last couple of days in france for that. but is the purpose and how is it still relevant? guest: it is a club of a mainly western leaders and the russian president to get together and talk about the state of the world. most of the time, it is pleasant, but not massively important. this year was different. with the defense in the middle east and the war in libya, there is a real need for president obama and the u.k., in germany and especially russia to get on

the same page about what they are doing in north africa and the middle east. there was an unexpected amount of progress. a strong stance against muammar gaddafi stepping down in libya. host: looking at the "the wall street journal" coverage of the summit, we see a pledge of billions of dollars in funding to newly democratic nations in north africa and the middle east. how firm is this pledge of financial support. there were not details hammered out about which countries get what.

guest: the g-8 has a track record of making really grand promises. previously it was a to africa. this year the middle east was the focus. the figures have gone up and up from 10 billion to 20 billion to who knows where it will end. there will be a lot of skepticism, judging by their previous performance. the european union has made concrete promises. the u.s. has made concrete promises such as offering egypt at least $1 billion in debt relief. some of it will come through. in of a huge step for the political urgency about the need to get aid to to in asia or egypt. -- tunisia or egypt. host: or arab countries

represented? -- were arab countries represented? guest: many of those egyptian leaders and leaders from tunisia were represented. one slight problem with one of the african leaders invited was the president of algeria. it is a country that is not reforming and has cracked down on protesters. a slight contradiction there to the arab spring. host: talk about the imf and the bid to hedge its. a big discussion about whether or not there would be an official way in.

how does that play out? guest: there are private discussions that we do not kit to hear about. the g-8 came at the end of a one week where they are trying to determine if dominique strauss-kahn should be replaced by a european. i am sure there was stress on the importance of appointing someone else. i am sure people in beijing were watching this suspiciously trying to figure out what is going on. the reality remains that the likeliest candidate to replace him is the french finance minister.

she is in india this last week campaigning for her post. that was on her schedule. this would have been one of the key background points of political gossip. host: the financial times talks about her support moving up a notch. the russian president acknowledged after the summit that although there were a two official candidates, but a consensus has practically been reached on this issue. guest: it is important for them

not to seem to push too hard right now. the g-8 has to balance itself against the larger g-20 which also will meet in france at the end of the year. since the financial crisis broke in to investigate, the g-20 which includes the leaders of india, china, brazil, and other big emerging economies, has definitely taken the lead in the finance and economics. it has reduced the importance of the g-8. there are many people that view it as a western club, why should we listen to it? if the g-8 leaders have come out with a strong declaration of support for her, it would have been counterproductive. it would have looked arrogant. >> a store in "the wall street journal" profile, stanley fischer looking at having the

imf himself. an official familiar with his thinking -- the piece is called the dark horse. the president of the u.s. did not offer his support when the french president's wrote during the g-8 talks. it sounds like a lot could be said without saying very much at all. guest: the u.s. is in a difficult position. it represents that the imf is playing a central role from all of the debt problems in europe. last year, president obama really pushed the imf's support.

there is a european desire to make sure this happens. president obama is interested in maintaining good relationships with china and india. that is why they have thrown their weight behind the g-20. it would be painful if the u.s. leader showed a clear preference or regard for in other european candidate. i doubt that it will be successful for a different candidate. most people think some will succeed where as the big developing economies will probably be preferable to have

a candidate from mexico or south africa rather than israel. host: our guest is from the new york university's center for cooperation. you can join the corporation by: the numbers at the bottom of the screen. you can also send us tweets. mary writes to us about corporate fraud. guest: there has not been a huge amounts talks about corporate fraud during this g-8. they are ensuring that banks are secure. there is some optimism that the

g-20 will get quite a strong deal. host: booker raton, fla., a democrat line. caller: we know there is a difference between structural and functional democry. my concern is that egypt opened a canal to gunboats. there is the border in dealing with hamas. i think one person said months ago egypt possesses one of the largest military and economic

aid from the united states. we are about to see this so- called democracy go over to individuals that with every speech and past remarks have been violently against american, israelis. what can we do in terms of supporting each of with more money, when they are destroying their own christian individuals and an attack on the democratic protests and indicated that 2 million moslems wish to pray in jerusalem?

guest: the g-8 leaders and barack obama know they are riding a tiger in the middle east. no one is confident as may be worth a few months ago about the fact that democracy is going to be one for everyone. we understand it is complex. what to the leaders have been trying to do this week is making a big open gesture of support to the new democrats in tunisia, showing they are willing to reach out and help with the unemployment and debt relief. the hope is that whoever comes to power eventually in cairo, that gesture will have a lasting beneficial political effect.

this may turn into a military opponent with israel again. i think we should be cautious and realistic. the egyptian military, which was a decisive force, remains close to washington. while you may get a lot of political rhetoric, it is not going to translate into a repeat of the 1973 war next month or next year. host: republican line. caller: i think the western civilization is on the brink of collapse. i mean that economically, because of the replacement rate.

populations. i never hear this brought up. the replacement rate, people having babies in countries is on decline. it is not keeping up. we have aging populations in spain, greece, and elsewhere. how is it that the g-8 leaders never speak to this issue. it is basically switching chairs around on the titanic, when they are not talking about it. growing populations are prosperous. lining populations face disaster. i would like your comments on that. guest: if you travel on the new york subway, you always believe that civilization is about to collapse. history shows that top down

efforts to raise birth rates almost always fail. that has been a huge struggle in italy. the effectiveness is minimal. in europe, the concern about reproduction rates is combined with a xenophobic feel immigrants. it is growing and reflected in the rise of white wing a populist parties. for the european leaders of the g-8, one concern is the arab spring and turbulence in north africa leading to large numbers of new migrants from north africa entering into europe. it will increase social and political difficulties in those

countries. let us be realistic and perhaps a little bit cynical. one reason that g-8 countries have been given a lot of aid to the arab world to keep the young arabs at home, rather than have them come over. host: here is a question on twitter. guest: i have to dig deeper into my knowledge. it is not a big item on their agenda. leaders want to see results on a lot of issues. sometimes they have a g-8 initiative on certain items. it sounds great.

an example is a couple of weeks before the main g-8 summit, they were looking at a drug- trafficking in west africa. most experts do not really think that the g-8 is the right forum to deal with that sort of thing. there are various u.n. agencies that would be better placed to deal with something like that. host: president obama spoke about where the u.s. and the u.k. stand as the emerging political powers. take a look. >> international order has already been reshaped for a new century. countries like china, india, and brazil are growing by leaps and bounds. we should welcome this development.

it has lifted hundreds of millions from poverty around the world and created a new market and opportunities for all nations. as this rapid change is taking place, it has become fashionable in some quarters to question whether the rise of these nations will accompany the decline of american and european influence around the world. perhaps the argument goes, these nations represented the future. it is time for our leadership to be gone. that argument is wrong. the time for our leadership is now. host: president obama speaking to the british parliament. how much is that message resonating? how important is it for members of the g-8 to perceive themselves, and how or they

perceive internationally? guest: i think the speech was will bury welcomed in britain and two other members of the g- 8. in britainlcomed and = and with the other members of the g-8. i think the impression was swept away by the london speech. it was a very effective speech that got a huge amount of attention in europe. i think it sets the stage for the g-8 summit which a large consists of seven western countries plus rusher. it reaffirmed that the west and

the g-8 are important. there was a lot of good political feeling in the momentum going into the summit, with a very strong segment in the arab world. host: democratic caller. caller: there is a wonderful money revolution going on in the belgium world right now. it is in the form of electric wallets, people using their phones as wallets and banks to pay for things and keep their money. i wonder if the g-8 and the other candidates have considered supporting developing countries by depositing money in

these personal banks and giving it to leaders that are often corrupt. guest: this points to a real difficulty that the g-8 is a summit for leaders. it is not necessarily the best designed a forum to deal with entrepreneurial momentum we are saying in africa. i cannot guarantee this is true, but i think topics like this were not discussed at this g-8 or in previous g-8 discussions. the focus is intended to be on the big mac or questions how much money should be transferred

from the west to the developing world. host: did the g-8 section the world into rich and poor? guest: it does create some polarization with the g-8 countries and emerging countries like brazil. i think members represent -- recognize that the g-20 is the more important form when it comes to economics. brazil, russia, india, china -- there was a summit in china about six weeks ago. the leaders of the big emerging economies really took the

opportunity to criticize libya. we see a degree of polarization. we are now seen the split between the world's rich and poor. it is not like that anymore. china and india are rich countries. that is why we need to combine our lawn not divide it. host: staten island, new york, jonathan, republican. guest: i do not know how to say this, but there has been, according to david ricardo, the labor from north america has

gone from the developing countries and the companies that have employed that labor over there has gleaned enormous profits. the question is why have those profits not come back to investment, new technology, and a new generation of jobs here? guest: i think we should not underestimate the extent to which the u.s. remains an important hub for innovation in the global system. and if you look at the processes that you are describing, and china still, a lot of the products that were being designed in the u.s. is very foolish to underestimate america's power to innovate. but yes, wealth is spreading.

should we worry about the fact that wealth is spreading? no, i did we should be glad, as we heard in the president obama speech a few minutes ago. spreading the wealth hot can bring huge benefits, but it also creates new tensions and a sense of competition, which they are having to contend with at the g- 8 and the g-20. about theare talking g-8 summit that took place this weekend in france. someone is asking how you get into the g-8 vs. the g-20. what is the criteria to be a member? guest: the g-8 actually started

out of the g-five. it was the u.s., britain, france, italy, and germany. it was a small club of the major western economies to get together and talk in may -- in an informal way about the problems during the cold war. very quickly canada and japan were added in as the two major non-european western allies of the u.s. after the cold war in the later 1990's the clinton administration -- it would be a good idea to bring in russia, going from g-7 to g-8. the hope was that if russians were in this club and they got to hang out with the g7 leaders it would accept -- it would

improve russia's diminished position in the world. the g-20 is based on an old finance ministers form. it was raised to the level of heads of state in 2008 during the financial crisis because actually, george bush and nicholas sarkozy from france looked at the boninger crisis. they said, we need to get everyone -- at the financial crisis. they said, we need to get everyone together. but they realize they cannot have innovation in the g-8 anymore. especially with the chinese in the room, and it would be good to have india and so on. the g-20 met for the first time in d.c. in 2008 and they have continued to meet ever since. host: next call on the independent line. , good morning. caller: good morning, c-span.

the caller that called in a little bit ago, he is kind of saying to solve our economic problems in the u.s. will need to increase our population, our birthrate. i disagree with that, and the numbers show -- most professionals who are researching it understand a lot of countries in the world have decreased birthrates and when that happens we see increased quality of life, increased ability to get health care and food and all of that stuff. i guess i'm saying, i disagree.

the way to solve this is not to just have more babies. it is to work with the ones that are being born right now. right now, we have enough people and enough consumption of resources to require more planets, by the end of the century at the rate we are going. we need to work with what we have en cut the resources that -- and cut the resources that we take. a lot of industrialized countries have shown that with respect to keeping breakdown. -- keeping birth rate down. we need to keep consumption of resources down. it will help the economy and it

is the direction we have to go in this globalized world. if we really have no choice. guest: we are getting a little off topic, but it is not only the u.s. that faces declining demographic numbers. sodas' china. china has had a one-child policy to bring down the population rate. the number of young people entering the chinese economy will shrink in the decades ahead. it may create some challenges for the very labor-intensive economy as it currently exists. it is not just a one-way street about western companies -- country's declining. it is much more complex. host: just this morning, obama pleases polish leadership.

he spoke after meeting with the polish president and his meeting with the prime minister today. and there was some talk during the g-8 about how eastern europe is a model for democracy as the g-8 books to the arab spring. -- looks to the arab spring. how does this tie in, if it does? guest: i would look at it two ways. yes, by being in poland and drawing links between what happened in 1889 in europe and what is happening now in the arab world, president obama can enforce the fact that democratic aims are achievable and important goals. but i would not overestimate, though, i think a lot of arab intellectuals find this

comparison with 1999 very problematic. they find they have very different histories and problems. and of course, tunisia is not going to be asked to join the european union as poland was, or nato as poland was. they will not get that stability. a lot of people in cairo find this comparison with 1989 slightly problematic. the other thing with the polish trip, eastern european leaders often feel left out because they see president obama meeting western european leaders, such as britain's david cameron. they see the u.s. working on its relationship with russia trying to maintain a strategic relationship. and they feel stuck in the middle. of the eastern european leaders are not invited to the g-8 or to

the g-20. poland has tried to get into the g-20 in the past, but was rebuffed. by taking a short trip over to warsaw, president obama is showing that he cares about eastern europe, too, and he is not just interested in big western youeuropean countries ad russia. host: yesterday, the president also met with polish world war ii veterans. republican, eric, hi. caller: our country is broke and is borrowing 40 cents on every dollar we spend, i hear. and president obama wants to give money away. why don't they give money to the poor people of our country and maybe then we can give other

countries more money. i think other countries -- i do not think other countries are warned to be propped up enough to be democratic. guest: on the economic point, i would underline that i think the biggest u.s. gesture to the middle east so far was actually just for giving a certain amount of the egyptian debt. to a certain extent is just recognizing that egypt is not going to pay back a certain amount of debt ever. that is not really thrown away new money. is it naive to support democracy in the middle east? what is the alternative? the alternative is to let egypt go its own way, to let radical

islamist forces gradually take control of in egypt, to ignore what is going on in syria, to ignore what colonel gaddafi is doing to his people, and to leave israel exposed to a growing number of enemies all around it. i think it would be much more naive to ignore what is going on in the middle east. yes, promoting democracy in that region is hard, and yes, it is difficult. but it would be deeply naive how, for europe and america to ignore. host: next call, go ahead. caller: i wanted to ask why the world banking conference has never come up in the american

media. the conference was held in 2010. the topic was how to supply alternative lending services to other nations without the crippling debt. they are forbidden to charge interest on loans, so there's no great feat. -- late fee. and wanted to get your best opinion -- your guest's opinion on whether or not what is going on in the middle east is in any way an effort to stall

was going on with market share and the crisis of 2008. guest: i would say that your caller is right. the islamic banking conference did not get much attention. one piece of that is that most never knew it to place. islamic banking still makes a profit for the companies involved. a number of western banks have now set up islamic banking units because they recognize that there is a huge amount of money to be made in the middle east qatar anduntries like catarr the united arab emirates.

host: santa fe, new mexico, good morning. caller: a cholera few minutes ago -- a cholera a few minutes ago -- caller a few minutes ago mentioned -- what is the salary of an unskilled or semiskilled manufacturers in china? guest: i will be very frank and say that i do not actually know that figure. given some of the demographic pressures that china faces and there is a great deal of

discontent in china, what we expect to see over the decades is that labor costs will gradually go up in china. it will take a long time to reach the level of u.s. labor costs. the comparative advantage that china has had of very cheap labor is gradually going to weaken. let me make a point on innovation, which the caller also mentioned. we have not mentioned the g-8 conference this week. a number of big ceos were present, and the majority of big internet ceos are american. with all of these men in their 40's in 50's was mark zuckerberg.

although this was the g-8 in france, you have an american ceo of a highly successful tech firm talking to american -- to world leaders. that tells you something about innovation. host: next kollhoff. -- next call. caller: about the middle east, what troubles me is the moral of metabolism in this discussion. i have not heard this -- moral relativism in this discussion. i have not heard this gentleman talked about the fact that we ine taking away from the poror this country and giving it to the wealthy.

i have heard journalists in these countries in africa and they are not raising taxes on the wealthy. host: what you have brought up, reporting on the g-8. there is concern about getting the money to where it is supposed to go. would you like to comment? guest: this is a huge source of concern, i believe, to secretary of state clinton and the state department. they have been looking at how it is spent and they are very conscious of how much money goes to developing countries.

much is lost to corruption. is it moral relativism to mention those in africa and asia and not always mention those in the u.s.? of course, it is a very difficult choice. if you look at those in africa and those at the minimum living standards in the u.s., it is still fairly low, despite growth in africa. it does not need to be a zero sum game. the more the countries like china and india growth, the more they actually demand good and services from the u.s.. this is why the economic talks in the g-20 are of greater long terms of the begins then the g- 8. this is a chance for the rising

economies and established economies to talk and share about the world. it is not all taken away from america. host: you recently had a report called "the g-8 and the threat of black politics in the system." and it ended with the fact that the u.s. will be the host next year. what should be be looking for and what should we expect to see change in that time. -- ? -- in that time? guest: it will be an opportunity for president obama and america next summer. it will be a chance to invite world leaders to the u.s. and talk about his achievements as a foreign policy leader his first term in office. but the moment is not clear what

the big agenda items are going to be, it is quite possible that the u.s. will not only invite the g-8 countries, but at on, for example, china and india to give the whole thing and more global field. i suspect there'll be a lot of talk about american committee -- commitment and the issues that we have been talking about and showing how much good the u.s. does in the world and the positives that brings to america, because -- but we cannot be sure. if you went to european union and said what is happening in france with the g-8, i would not have guessed that the focus would be getting colonel gaddafi out of power. host: richard gowan, thank you for joining us this morning.

guest: thank you very much. host: coming up, we will talk about the u.s. housing market with mitra kalita. >> this weekend, look at tv and american history tv look at the life of the st. petersburg area. plus, a look at the book industry with local booksellers. and also, the first scheduled commercial aircraft, and in his -- a look at the history of angola, who fought two wars against the u.s. in the early 1800's.

that is this weekend on c-span2 and 3. the c-span networks provide coverage of public affairs and american history. it is available on television come on line, and a social media websites. find our content any time at the c-span video library. we bring our resources to your community. it is washington your way, the c-span networks, now available in more than 100 million homes, created by cable and provided as a public service. >> over the three-day memorial weekend, commencements from across the country leaders offering their of vice and insight -- and their advice and insights. >> this weekend on american

history tv on c-span3, washington post journalist on the fallout for president nixon. and there'll be a discussion of the policies of president reagan. get the complete we can schedule at c-span.org/history, or how did he mailed to you by pressing the c-span alert button. >> "washington journal" continues. host: mitra kalita is the senior housing writer for the "washington journal." good morning. we're going to check in with you about the housing market. what is the latest you are seeing? any surprises? guest: there was actually a surprise yesterday. existing home sales were down 12%.

the number came in a lot lower than the housing industry and economists were hoping for. this seems like the spring that has not been for a lot of markets. host: there seems to be no competition in this sluggish real-estate market. analysts suggest that there is more activity from investors. a survey of 1000 investors -- what do those numbers mean to you? guest: what we think right now is that prices are falling so low in some markets. numbers are incredibly tight, so for the average home buyer to access a mortgage is very difficult.

but if an investor has paid with cash or does a combination of a hefty down payment and some credit they have available to them, a lot of these are too good to pass up. where we have seen a lot of activity is in the one that -- be under $100,000 market. investors are buying these properties and renting them out. you are starting to see rental's creep up. when i mentioned the competition, it is kind of ironic that this is a buyer's market. it has been that way for at least the last two years. but to buy something for $50,000 and it is in a great location, chances are the average home

buyer would be competing against possibly a deep pocketed investor and go through a mortgage and lengthy closing process. for the seller, the incentive is to sell to the investor, as you might imagine. host: mitra kalita is reporting on the issue in an article called upon for the seller's market. and it talks about how difficult it can be -- in an article called "the seller's market." and it talks about how the bacchante for a buyer in this market.

break that down for us. guest: in order for housing to rebound it is entirely dependent on not investors, but on families that want to upgrade from a three-bedroom to a four- bedroom, for first-time home buyers that want to move out of a house -- an apartment in the city into the suburbs. there's clearly an effect on the market. if your priced correctly and in the right location, the housing market is actually moving at a brisk pace. this anecdote that you just mentioned -- i just interviewed a woman who is looking in the washington d.c. area. they had to put in six offers before let -- before finally landing a contract on a house.

it put them a little further out than they expected, but that is was going on in the markets. that point to some of the nuances in the housing market for an hour. it is not just one national housing market. even by city there are great variances in what is moving, especially this spring. host: ... if you want to join the conversation -- if you want to join the conversation, the numbers are on the screen. our guest, mitra kalita, is a senior housing writer at the "washington journal." our first call, good morning. caller: good morning to you. i am 24 years in the business. at what point in time do you have too many houses as compared

to people who can afford those homes? supported ackley -- in the context -- put it in the context that iowa housing population grew. guest: you are asking the question that the entire home building industry wants to know when out. we are talking about existing homes that are for sale. that market is not doing well at all. but the home building industry has really been hit during this downturn. it has presented the question of how much we need to keep building. is there demand for these homes? what that has depended upon in the last few decades and has been the desire to upgrade. the american dream depends on the idea of moving up in your housing stock. that is how the industry has

been able to flourish. the question that you have about affordability, some affordability index this show that housing prices right now vary from region to region. you are back to what you might have seen in the 1980's. in other cases, back to 2003. another thing that speaks to the affordability question is wages. wages have not gone up. they have been hit by the recession as well. there has been a lot of talk about catering housing to the next generation, generation y. but there is the question of whether there will be able to afford the housing that is

constructive for them. host: ryan is calling on the independent line. caller: i work in the industry right outside d.c. i am a loan officer and have been doing it for 10 years now. one thing they fail to mention is that home buyers, how hard it is to get a loan based of credit scores. a lot of people five years ago and would easily get a house and nowadays are being denied. i see it being a big problem. a lot of them are being denied.

guest: you are absolutely right. the conditions to qualify for these loans are not what they were five years ago. credit scores for a conventional loan, it is about 680. the average score the i have seen is around 700. what is on paper and what is being practiced might feel like two different things. indeed, lending standards are huge affect on the state of the housing market right now. in some cases you are seeing banks demand 20%, 30% down payments. to families that were buying in the 1960's and 1970's when i was common -- when that that was common, it has gone back to that

in a lot of markets. you are right. every time i do a story on the state of the housing market, this type of lending environment is certainly to blame for why things are the way they are. host: from the "washington post" this week --

way in about how significant a change that would be. guest: for a long time now, at least in the immediate short term, the fha has been the only game in town for a lot of buyers. it requires lower down payments and your credit scores do not have to be as high. about 680 for conventional loans. you have to pay mortgage insurance to qualify for insurance under the fha guidelines. you have to pay mortgage insurance. with the increase in down

payment that has been proposed, their world be an effect in some markets. -- and there will be and in effect in some markets. people who are buying homes in the market are making the minimum requirement to buy those homes. if it goes up to 5%, there's a chance that your pricing some families out of their ability to buy a home. already though, in the marketplace you are seeing the requirements set the lead -- you are seeing that the requirements set the lead on the rise. this is the bare minimum to make sure that fha does not become the next bubble that burst. that is one way of safeguarding those loans.

again, it will have an effect on some markets, but already, the marketplace is definitely in and -- in a mode of requiring much heftier down payments from home buyers. host: our guest, mitra kalita, is a writer for "washington journal" and the deputy global editor of the wall street journal. she also works with the "washington post" and newsday has a business reporter. two years ago she was nominated for a pulitzer prize for coverage of the economic crisis. let's go to lincoln, california. caller: i would like to make a comment about how the banks are treating people who are trying to buy a house. , my son ispening isla

in his 30's. they are professional people and they want to buy a house together. they have good credit. they have an fha loan and they have been looking at houses. they have their name on the house right now. but come to find out, all of the holdings that they're looking at are under water. the bank has to make a decision as to whether or not they will accept their offer. it is taking anywhere from six months to in one case two years to make a decision. the owners of the house have already accepted their offer and now it is that the bank. the we have no idea how long it is going to take. a realistic agent says of all you have to do is make one bad comment and your paperwork goes to the bottom of the barrel.

i would like you to comment on that. it should be a lot easier for the banks to make these decisions. guest: unfortunately, the scenario that you mention is becoming much more common. i am pretty much not hearing of any seamless closings anymore. the processing time, the underwriting time has certainly gone now lot longer than in previous years. it is precisely to avoid ordaz -- has it gone too far? certainly many in the real- estate industry think so. not only for middle-income borrowers. i spoke to someone who lost more than a million dollars here in new york city.

he was turned down for his loan because he could not quantify where a check that was given to his family as a christmas gift came from. his father is from italy and there was no way that his father could documented in a way that the bank wanted within a day. -- document it in a way that the bank wanted within a day. so, he was turned down. it is happening at the high-end and low-end. the four luxury cars, i spoke to that saidate agentcy they feel like they are being turned upside down and their pockets are being emptied. they take money out of the stock market and our borrowing a pretty low rates. but the process of underwriting and hanging them upside down, that is one reason that one

realtor -- that realtors say the number of cash buyers is still on the increase. host: what kind of impact are adjustable rate mortgages have been right now? guest: the impact immediately has been on the market.

the word dicey is pretty appropriate for the gamble somebody would be taking. i do not give financial advice. that is not my job. but there are so many factors and uncertainty in the real- estate market right now. for the last few months, rates looked like they were poised to steadily be on the rise. again, they were hovering fairly low. economists said prices will fall by as much as 5%, others say 10%. 20% of investors think the prices are going to go up in the next six months to a year. the industry is sort of all over the map. some of this varies by location quite greatly. that might be a factor to consider with the adjustable rate mortgages.

>> where does a brisk come into this and people willing to take risks? the "wall street journal" and says -- this is a bit of a gamble. guest: is a risk that has so many buyers on the sidelines right now. if you look at the broader factors that might keep people from buying right now, you know, for while rates were supposed to be on the up, so by now. rates have not really gone up very much. last year they tell me there on the way up. last year, there was a credit for home buyers -- a tax credit for home buyers.

the buyers that i speak to our incredibly frustrated because they do not know where it is going. a lot of them, especially first- time home buyers, or maybe these upgrade buyers who are trying to move from an apartment to a house or from a three- bedroom to a four-bedroom, they come with a perspective of expecting their nest egg to eventually be their home, a feat checking -- of checking the home value every day and feel like they had a lot more than they really did. host: next call, california. caller: we went into escrow on the house and it turns out that the seller, which is the bank because it is a foreclosed property, no one has the power

of attorney to close the deal on their side. we kept thinking we were born to close, we were going to close, and they kept pushing it back. i am amazed at the slopping is without the banks are handling this situation. -- sloppiness with how the banks are handling this situation. guest: short sales have seen quite an increase of the last year, and certainly this year. it is a big trend across markets. it is a common scenario, again -- i am sorry for what you are going through, but just yesterday i got a press release about a company being set up to help realtors and buyers with short sales.

some of it seems to stem from a lot of buyers and sellers being new to this process. and as you said, there might not be the paper trail to explain just who should be doing what in this equation. >> let's talk about foreclosure properties. the average price of a foreclosed property -- mitra kalita, can you expand on how that is affecting the market? guest: when you look of the strings of a regional market, it is largely dependent on two

factors -- one, how unemployment is sharing in the area, and two, how little there have been foreclosures. is it flooding the market? is it confined to certain areas? the foreclosure perfect house and effect on the house next door. you might say, well, i'm not in foreclosure. it does not affect me. but if you're selling a home down the street from its foreclosed property, that will count against what you just soldier home for. it also has an effect in areas that do not have foreclosure areas where the prices have been stable.

host: this is from consumer affairs. are you hearing now from experts in the field? guest: yes, and as i mentioned, i was just in washington d.c. i have been to markets that have been ducking what you're seeing nationally. but those numbers such as camel yesterday denard the point to a housing boom. -- do not really point to a housing boom. family is what the pitfalls -- before thes want to move

school year begins. i do not see it in the short term, the housing boom that is being referenced. you might see booms in some of these locations that have stable employment, not too many foreclosures. their economies have generally held up. their markets might be insulated from all of this. there's also a shift in what people saw you. as i mentioned, the upgrade in the housing sector. where are they moving to? they're moving to areas that could be as much as 50 to 75 miles away from city centers if for employment. they were willing to put up with massive commutes if they could

have two staircases and a mother-in-law suite. i think people are rethinking that now. the recession has brought on new frugality and practicality. maybe they're willing to pay a price for a three-bedroom that is much closer into the city. with gas prices rising, you are also seen an effect on the screen buying season. -- the spring buying season. you might see in the suburbs, those places with empty trucks of land during the boom years -- tracks of land during the boom years. host: next call.

caller: in the market, where are those numbers coming from in the foreign investment market? can you break down those numbers? guest: in some markets, some buyers are actually keeping those numbers stable. in miami, a large number. in california, i just talked to someone who sells vineyards and he said he is seeing a number of chinese buyers who want to buy vineyards and have them as a trophy properties. they did reference to statistics and i do not remember them off the top of my head, but we did talk about cash buyers. we talked about cash is king. foreign buyers really do illustrate the. -- illustrate that.

foreign investors feel that may pay off in the future. in new york city, there is activity from foreign buyers. anecdotally speaking, realtors are seen people who want second, third homes in the united states. >> joe asks on twitter -- host: jill asks on twitter -- years there was a belief -- as we mentioned, there was someone checking the website every day to see what their home was worth. you just felt richer.

you base your housing by use on your personal consumption and how much you are spending, and that equation has completely changed. for people who advise you on whether you should buy or sell out, the talk has certainly shifted from prices here grow -- going up. you will definitely get your money back soon to if you need to the dockyard, if you need the room, this is for you -- if you need the backyard, if you need the room, this is for you. host: it was reported recently in the "wall street journal" about cash buyers. she reported that 28% of sales were all cash buyers last year.

and your note that in phoenix, paying cash at 42% last year, more than triple the rate in 2008. guest: that is right. phoenix, las vegas, parts of florida -- prices have become so low that people can buy it -- can afford to scoop up housing. but it is not just limited to people who want second homes or in more luxury purpose. a lot of it is driven by the under $100,000 range. i just spoke to a piano teacher who has a house, but saw that there was another house for sale not too far away for about $50,000. she thought, it would be great for me to have a place just to

teach pianalto as opposed to having the kids come to my house -- to teach piano as a opposed to replace -- the kids coming to my house. this is the flurry of buying activity we have seen of late. host: rubin, republican, good morning. caller: i have two questions. why is it that fha has suddenly raised their mortgage insurance premiums, thus making it awarded a gold for middle income to low -- making it more difficult for middle income to low-income buyers? i suspect it is because of the losses they are taking. and you mentioned about the cash buyers. it being a mortgage banker in miami for the last 20 years, you can imagine i have seen it all.

but these cash buyers are buying a lot of these properties and refurbishing them and putting them back on the market. it is a decent deal for us realtors. are you seeing that in other places in the country? or are they mostly buying and renting them? guest: i should have mentioned the mortgage insurance increases when you ask about fha earlier. that has been another issue that has been and, as you rightly point out, to protect fha. but is also having an affect on the buyers who only have that avenue as a means to get a mortgage. investors seem to be in it for the long haul.

about 50% want to hang onto their properties for about five years and rent them out because they do not expect it to be worth their while to renovate and get a profit on the property. there might be exceptions. but again, investors seem almost completely different from those boom years were flipping was the thing to do, and quite a bit of risky behavior as well. but now they seem much more inclined to hunker down and keep these properties and rent them out. the question of what happens in this gold in five years when another rush of properties hit the market and investors want to sell and they want profits of

20% or so? host: why is it permissible for a bank to write a mortgage and package it and sell it to a third party? are we seeing a lot of that right now? guest: yes, it is the model of the mortgage industry that we have. following the overhaul of getting a and freddie mac, there will be familiar questioning of the model as well. should government be in the backing of securitization, or should that be left entirely to private industry? , there was ik ahma activity in congress backing those loans and creating more compromise. host: next call, hi.

caller: thank you for taking my call. why would someone just rent when 30-year mortgages are incredibly low? guest: your interest rates at the outset would be so low. the thinking is -- we did see adjustable rates during the boom years as well because people actually entered homebuying with the thought of leaving these properties within two years or three years. they might have gone for the adjustable, you know, not having the higher payment with the 30-

year fixed. and some people gamboled rightfully. -- gambled rightfully. host: richmond, va.. zakaria on the republican line. -- zachary on the republican line. caller: how has the record in this -- the renter in this situation changed? how has that relationship changed, when renters can interact with whatever party they choose? guest: some markets, renting is going out. some of it is driven by investors. in florida, for example, in miami, brave have gone upy