followed the norl proce view will be struck down in the courts. you'd look pretty for a day but useless for a week. ..

>> each week the house of commons is in session we air prime minister's questions, live at 7:00 a.m. eastern and again sunday night at 9:00 p.m. eastern and pacific. you can watch any time at c- span.org where you can find past videos of prime minister's questions and other british public affairs programs. tonight on road to the white house, republican regimental candidates at -- jon huntsman's remarks at a rally.

then periscope, restoring america's financial future. and another chance to see q&a with nicholas be. nick gillespie.the lusb a meeting at the white house rather than earlier this evening and president obama met with congressional leaders for about an hour and 15 minutes to talk about the deficit reduction plans. the white house plans to put forward a package of $4 trillion worth of cuts that they last night, house speaker john boehner said republicans would not accept a plan that includes tax increases.

they want to include cuts of up to during talks led by vice president biden. mitch mcconnell echoed the speakers' remarks, saying that it was a bad idea with the economy. for the increase is of a second. two of the president's top advisers say he will continue to press for his plan. the white house chief of staff and treasury secretary said the president going into the meeting wanted a deal that combined spending cuts, an entitlement reforms and tax increases. reports are indicating that there could be more talks tomorrow. you can follow continuing coverage on the c-span networks, including a press conference with president obama tomorrow morning at 11:00 a.m. eastern right here on c-span.

>> c-span has launched a new, easy to navigate website for the 2012 presidential race with the latest events from the campaign trail, information on the candidates, twitchell feeds and updates from reporters, and links to partners from the early caucus states. visit us at c-span.org /campaign2012. >> denied on road to the white house, john huntsman's remarks from saturday. -- tonight on road to the white house, jon huntsman for marks from saturday. he talks about what his priorities would be if elected, including addressing the national debt, and launched a revolution to create jobs. this is the last of the former utah's governor campaign stops. this is about 40 minutes. ? ? ?ú?ú?ú?d

my grandfather was an educator and used to teach his son is that if you want to succeed at life in anything worth achieving, you want to become more than a teacher, an educator. he said that if you cannot cut it as an educator, you will always need a fallback position in life. you can always go into business. my dad went into business. he did not cut it as an educator. i got the same lecture from my dad growing up. a son, if you want to make anything of your life growing up, you have got to go into business. if that is where you can make things, create value, and change the world. but not everyone is cut out for business and you have to have a fallback position in life if you

cannot cut it there. you can always go into politics. [laughter] that is a long way of saying, i am the loser of the loser of an educator. the huntsman family started out with no -- noble intentions, but here we are. we are honored and delighted to be here with you in florida. when i arrived yesterday, i was called a radical. i have been called a lot of things. i have seven kids. when you have seven kids, you are used to being called all kinds of things. when people say, should we call you ambassador or governor, i say, since i have been called everything, you can call me anything. [laughter] but i was called a radical yesterday by the florida democratic party.

because i believe in a balanced budget and i believe in the ryan plan. [applause] all i can say is, guilty as charged. we have a cancer growing in this country. it is called debt. unless we exercise it, radiate its, or cut it out, it is going to consume this young generation over here. for the first time in the history of this country, the greatest country that ever was, we are about to pass down to their generation a country that is less productive, less competitive, less compassionate, less hopeful than the country we got. and i say, that is totally, totally unacceptable. and it is a totally -- thank you. [laughter] -- [applause]

and is a totally unnatural position for americans to be in. we are hopeful. we are optimistic. we are problem-solving people. to be down on our block and to be in a funk like we are today is ... american. i come here today -- is not american. i come here today with pride. i married a floridian. [applause] i know you are looking at her saying, how did that dweeb ever land that woman? how do you do that? i met her in high school. she had this exotic the accident, -- accent. that's other exotic accent was really exotic. it was the prettiest thing. it took me years before i got a date with her. it worked out. in we have seven kids.

our new son-in-law is from tampa. so, they say, if you own the i-4 corridor, you get it -- [laughter] you own florida. if you own florida, you own the presidency. we hope it starts here. during the pledge i was reminded of the greatest generation because i have been before some of the members of the greatest generation. it i have been at vfw post and the margaret it -- veterans groups. we have another greatest generation coming up, another generation. they, too, are wearing the uniform of the united states of america. they're coming back after 10 years of conflict. they deserve respect. they deserve the very best. our family is invested in that cause. let me tell you that 10 years of

war, i am here to tell you that is a long time. ladies and gentlemen, it is time to rebuild our home. it is time to do nation-building on the home front. when you walk out of this room, i do not want anyone scratching their heads saying, we saw huntsman, we heard him, but i cannot remember quite what is about. i want you to know why i am in this race. a way to know why a perfectly normal, saying, clear minded human being would want to run for the president of the united states. i wake up at 6:00 a.m. and i turned over to mary kay and i say, this is insane. if we have seven kids. we have a perfectly decent track record in public service. we have a target on our backs now that we are candidates. why? and she said, shut up. husband, governor, whatever they call you, that is the logical

side of your brain speaking to you. we all have that, but we also have the patriotic side. the the trackside says, you love this country. it was the greatest -- the patriotic side says, you love this country. it was the greatest and it could be again. you can either stand on the sidelines and watch it all plays out. or you can make this the american century. all i never thought i would be standing in front of the group adopted -- group of people in florida saying, we can do it again. you can stand on the sidelines or get in the arena, as teddy roosevelt used to talk about. i know it is going to be tough and grueling and excruciating, but we love this country. we know that if you are here because you do, too. i am running and my family is with us 110% because we find it totally unacceptable that this

nation, the greatest nation that ever was -- 1960, the your was born, we own seven -- the year i was born cannot we own 3% of the gdp and we are about to pass on debt to the generation behind us. i find that totally unacceptable. the debt and spending are unsustainable. we are spending money that we do not have. if you look at numbers out to 2020, medicare, payments on the debt, based on current flow, there is nothing left. it would you do about social

security, disaster relief, other needs? >> we in this -- we in this country need a balanced amendment. [applause] and we are going to get a balanced budget amendment because we move in that direction. i come from a state with a balanced budget amendment. practically every state in america have the balanced budget amendment. in is the best safeguard against one of in spending. it is not going to be easy, but we will have to have a president who pushes and controls and moves us toward the time were we, too, can get a balanced amendment. our percentage of gdp is not 24%, but something affordable. number two, and i have had people say that is interesting, and in fact, it sounds a bit hokey, but to me, it is possible. we need to launch a new

industrial revolution in this country. do you know what i mean? manufacturing as a percentage of gdp, what are we, 10%, 11%? remember, i was born in 1960. way higher. today, we sit by our feet, wondered what tomorrow is going to be. we have had a few industrial revolutions in this country and every time we face defeat, as the greatest generation did what during the depression and world wars, we managed to find our sweet spot and get back on our feet. as i travel a run the country, i see these holdouts of the last industrial revolution. the greatng, during depression people were thinking that we are done. how are we ever went to give back on our feet again? and you know what, we did. this country is going to get back on its feet again, too. [applause]

but it will take three things, i believe. why do i say these three things? because i covered a state. i will not give you terry. i will just tell you what i did. -- i will not give you a theory. i will just tell you what i did. but we need tax reform. would you cannot have the second rate and draw the break -- the brainpower and other things that we need. which cannot do it with a top-heavy tax code that has biases and loopholes and deductions that people run away with. we can do better than that. if we have to reform our tax code. member to, we have to get the regulatory -- no. 2, we have to get the regulatory monkey off our back. [applause] i cannot tell you how many businesses i have had around this country recently where, particularly small business folks say, first, i cannot get

access to capital because of the ratio requirements these days. other businesses say i will not deploy capital in the marketplace. i cannot figure out health care. i have no idea what is going to cross. i am concerned about the future. if we are going to get the economy right, we need regulatory reform. third, the lowest of low hanging fruit, and we have been talking about is forever but not by taking seriously, energy independence. for a president's going all the way back to richard nixon, who stood at -- stood up and said 30% imported oil, this is a travesty. we will never let it get beyond 37%. only president carter said, 40% import oil. i will create the department of energy to make sure this never happens again. and here we sit today at 60% imported oil.

and we say to ourselves, $4 per gallon, $4.50 per gallon, and we think that is real. take a look at what the institute in the los angeles has to say about what is really costing all of us for a gallon of gas. when you factor in diplomats to the middle east, for keeping the sea lanes open for the importation of import oil, distribution costs, etc., it is $13 per gallon from what the analysts are saying. we ought to be outraged and we can do better in this country. [applause] you want to take a real cut at the trade imbalance, something that carries profound implications? get imported oil down. we have a product in this country called natural gas. imad and onta for your as i was touring around visiting people as governor and he said, i would like to convert your servin to

natural gas. and i thought, you can do that? you can drive a natural gas car? i had no idea. i paid out of pocket and, you know what, people would call in and say, i am tired of paying $4 per gallon of gasoline, as is the governor can break up the cartel in the middle east. and i would say, i paid the equivalent of $1 -- natural gas. people started buying natural gas. i saw the power of what alternative fuels and natural gas can do in this country. it is ours. it is clean. it is cheaper. and it has profoundly important national security implications. this is low hanging fruit and we should be seizing it. it is time for the united states to pull out the mouth and take a look at where we are. and whether or not where we are

is consistent with our core national security needs. it is time to look at the map and say, where do we need to be? who are our friends and allies? what does it mean to be a friend and ally of the united states? i am not sure the world remembers exactly what it means to be a friend and ally of the united states. if i am here to tell you, as i mentioned before, we love our troops. if we are totally committed to our -- we are totally committed to our true spirit of one out of every six department of defense dollars are going to afghanistan. we were out of the taliban out of power. karzai stood for free elections in 2004. al qaeda was dismantled and settled in waziristan and pakistan. this is not a nation-building exercise. this encounter terror exercise. we do not need 100,000 troops on the ground at the cost we are paying today in order to get the job done.

[applause] and i am here to tell you that the future of the u.s. is not going to be determined in the prairies of afghanistan. the future of the u.s., whether you want to recognize it or not, is going to be determined by how well prepared we are to compete in a highly competitive 20th -- 20 per century, and that battle is going to be waged across the -- 21st century, and that battle is going to be waged across the ocean. as you walk off of this building, i want you to remember why we are in this race. it is about the generation behind us and the condition they will find our nation in. it is totally unsustainable, the debt trajectory that we are on. and number two, the reality of launching a new industrial revolution, it is within our

grasp. it has happened before in our nation's history. problem-solving people can do it again. we need leadership and a game plan. and number three, we have to get our position right in the world. finally, let me say that we need someone who is electable. we have to pull together as a party. if you want to win in 2012, we have to have numbers. this is about addition, ladies and gentlemen. we have got to pull together around what our record needs are for this country in 2012. i am here to tell you, i can be your person. we are going to win this race and we are born to work tirelessly and endlessly not only here in florida, but in north carolina and new hampshire as well. these are three states will we camped out in for a long time. we are committed because we are moving forward with great enthusiasm and gusto. i ask for your help and support

because i have to. if ever you want the most humbling experience in the world -- if you think that announcing for president in front of lady liberty is a humbling experience, think of the emotional jolt within doing that. it is an awesome experience. but another truly humble experience, ask somebody for their vote. it is the most important thing in our system they have to give you. they will look at you and analyze you and ask you and fred and talk and size you up, and all of that should be done. all i'm saying is, i am running on my record. take a look at what i did in the state of utah. take a look at what we have done in our public service career. i am not running on my record. i am running on my record. [applause]

ladies and gentlemen, it would be a great pleasure to have you on board. if we will work you hard. if you do not see mary kay or me, you will see one of our seven kids. if you will get tired of meeting the huntsman klan. our deployment -- the huntsman clan. thank you for allowing us to be here today. god bless america. [applause] >> thank you. thank you very much. [applause] >> if anybody has any questions, raise your hand. do we have another microphone as well? hold on.

>> it is simple to me. i like telling you american history. i think easily what happens to this country is, we have the greatest minds in the world found in this nation when they read the constitution. every president, democratic or republican has gone away from the constitution. what we really need to do is get back to the constitution. that is all. >> let me and -- let me point out one very important aspect of that of as we ponder federalism. the 10th amendment. i would have to tell you that one of the most important things we would do is whether it is health care reform, somebody talking about repealing the obama care, here is what we need to do. [applause] here is the answer of health

care reform. you will not solve it in one sitting, which is basically what has been tried. $1 trillion dropped on us over the course of 10 years. half the states and this republic have got to find -- the states and this republic have got to find solutions. they will have to find ways to close the gap on spending, ways to deal with the uninsured, medical records, taking costs out. we will find solutions. but one thing i am taking from your comment that has resonated since i was governor is a power in the state's finding solutions longer term. thank you. [applause] >> governor, i have two questions. one, will you stand with israel? >> of course i will stand with israel. [applause] >> ok, thank you. it and will you make -- and will you make a commitment today that if you are elected he will immediately repeal every

executive order that obama has ever signed? [laughter] [applause] right and i will follow up and get back to you. thank you. [laughter] let me just talk about israel for one second. i mentioned getting it right with our eyes. -- our allies. i like to think of the ottoman empire, 1919, 1920. roof sweeping changes from tunisia to the gulf and beyond. this happens periodically. if there are changes in leadership, dictatorships who have hung out to long and have not delivered. economic growth -- we are going through it again. i do not know why we are in libya. i cannot figure that one out political [applause] this is a change -- i cannot figure that one out. [applause] this is a change.

but will probably not get clarity on what the middle east looks like for another five or 10 years. all the while, we have to remember who are centerpiece relationship is in the middle east, and it is israel. we have to remember that the expectations on the peace process, we cannot wish for peace more than they do right now. they are in a difficult, and predictable set of circumstances where the people they are negotiating with wish them ill. and the region is in such flux that nobody knows what the region is going to look like in the years to come. how can you conclude anything of permanence when you are in this sea of change? remember, longer-term we will need some partners in this world who believe in economic vitality and job creation. that is first and foremost with us, and number two, counter- terrorism. we are not finding a nation -- fighting a nation state. we are fighting subsidiaries.

sometimes they are loosely affiliated with other organizations. they are funded. there anti-american and we need to make sure that we are far -- partnered with people who are as fervent in fighting terrorism as we are. thank you. [applause] >> when i put ethanol in my car, it falls of my boat and my car. -- fouls up my boat and my car. what is your opinion? >> there is probably reason that the governor of by what is upset with me right now. go into ethanol. i do not like subsidies at all. whether it is through tax reform, the polls, biases, reductions to my tax subsidies that get into the tens of billions of dollars, we have to address those and create a loving -- a level playing field

for people in this country. we already talked about the rationing of of $13, and what i've already run through in the middle east. we have a similar situation with our subsidies in ethanol. i think it needs to be addressed. thank you. [applause] >> mr. ambassador, as a retired foreign service officer, i will not bore you with issues of foreign policy. i read it all on wikileaks. [laughter] i read everything you wrote. it steers the, -- seriously, there was one i did not hear, jobs. remember, the guy who won the election -- it is all about the economy. i want you to speak about what you can do in your administration, which i will vote for, to put more americans back to work. >> i appreciate, first and foremost, the fact that you are a retired foreign service

officer. one of the highlights of my overseas for the past two years has been rubbing shoulders with men and women who were serving their country in very unique and sensitive ways. you would be very proud of them. the embassy in china is the second-largest now in the world. it was a truly inspiring thing to be able to work with a lot of unsung heroes nobody ever knew about who are doing the work of the u.s. overseas in pretty difficult from stances. jobs, for me, are walled up in it is all about jobs, because that is exactly the bottom line of this exercise. it must be. at 9.2% unemployment, if we cannot hit the sweet spot in terms of job creation and industries of tomorrow, we are going to lose. the industrial revolution speaks

to that. we have the capital in this country. we have the innovation and the new technologies in the pipeline. my friends in silicon valley are pretty plain about that, but there is no confidence about our economy. people are employing capital without moving it out to the marketplace, and if jobs are not created. i am here to tell you through tax reform and getting the regulatory monkey off our back and the 5000 shops -- jobs if we look at natural gas as an alternative fuel, i say i buy that. the new industrial revolution speaks exactly to jobs, and we should be sprinkling that word drought. -- throughout. >> it is my understanding of

one. you were in favor of cap and trade and another time is not the right time. can you clarify for me? as a conservative, i do not believe in cap and trade. >> about four or five years ago, the experts in the field of energy were all talking about deal with the missions. about -- every governor in america was talking about cap and trade. not viable. today we must insure the pathway growth and job creation is on hindered, and cap and trade was behind -- is on-hindered, was left behind it. is economic expansion and jobs. thank you.

we will take one more, and we will let you go. >> thank you for being here today. our tax-paying citizens are have competition for jobs because of illegal aliens or immigrants in our country. can you outline your position on homeland security and a mandatory verify it and our country? -- e-verify it in our country. >> let's talk about illegal immigration and also about legal immigration. why is it canada is doing well economically? why is it a housing market in vancouver is doing well as? illegal immigration. people are buying assets and

taking them and moving them in the marketplace. i do not think this country has any credibility on the subject, nor will anyone participate in the debate until we protect our border. that is the one thing we must do. [applause] some might say, how are you going to get it done? it is 1,800 miles. we have done about one-third of its. it is $2 million per mile. i have been to the border in years across. you have technology that can handle the other part and do some the ground step can supplement that, so by turning to the border states governors who i would say, verify that your border is secure, and then we can verify the discussion. i am here to tell you there has

been so much anger in the discussion without taking any steps at all. let's do the fundamentals first and take care of the border. e-verify i think is a good thing. i think using private enterprise and being able to weed out those who do not have proper documentation, ultimately people are going to move on, and i think governments are going to use it more robustly. >> the governor is going to take 15 more minutes and shake your hands, but let's give a big thank you for showing up. thank you, governor hudson, for coming. [applause]

[captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2011] [unintelligible] [crowd sounds]

>> we have a church service here tomorrow. we have to rearrange it, but that is all. [crowd sounds]

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>> c-span has launched a new easy to navigate web sites for politics and the financial race with no -- and the race with links to c-span media partners in the early primary and caucus states. visit us. >> a meeting of the white house dropped and at the white house as president obama met with congressional leaders for an hour and 15 minutes to talk about the deficit reduction plan. the white house put together a

package with 4 trillion dollars of cuts, but john brynner said republicans would not accept a plan that includes tax increases. they want a plan that includes between two trillion dollars and four trillion dollars in cuts developed by joe biden, and mitch mcconnell echoed the response, saying raising taxes is a bad idea with a weak economy. deficit reduction plan has been tied to allowing the debt ceiling to be raised. the deadline for that increase is set for august 2. two of the top of advisers say the president would continue to press for his plan. the white house chief of staff and tim geithner said the president wanted a deal but include spending cuts and tax increases, and some reports are indicating there could be more talks tomorrow. you can find continuing coverage

on the c-span networks, including a press conference with president obama tomorrow morning at 11:00 a.m. eastern right here on c-span. bruce cook talks about his proposal to cut federal spending by a flat 1 cent per federal dollar white 2018. this is a little over 40 minutes. >> bruce cook is joining us from atlanta this morning. good morning. restoring america's financial future, joining us this morning. guest: good morning. host: what is your colution? -- solution? guest: it is hard for the average person to get around the numbers. we use an analogy that says the

government would like an average family -- they would have taken in $50,000 last year, the average median income, they would have put out $80,000, meaning $30,000 on a credit card, already with $200,000 in debt. we acknowledge and begin with the point that we have a problem. the one-cent solutions as we want to reduce total government spending 1 cent out of each dollar for total of six years. we cut spending by seven. from dollars trillion -- cut spending by $7.50 trillion. we reduced the deficit by $3 trillion. we put spending caps each year on the amount of money that has to be reduced and let congress then -- they know the nuances.

let them decide how to make the cuts. the average family, the average business realizes they have more going out and coming in. they have to make those reductions. that is what the 1-sunn -- one- cent solution does. host: you are getting some support in congress. you have support from a member of the house and the senate. guest: we have had a great respse, again, because people understand. congressman connie mack introduced the bill. we have almost -- we have 44o- sponsors of the bill. it is called the 1% spending reduction act of 2011. it was introduced in the senate last week by senator enzi from wyoming. people can understand. it has a goal of getting us a balance. when we balance the budget, we will stop producing that. it also provides a process as

opposed to a prescription. that process with spending cuts is something we think that, in a bipartisan fashion, both sides of the aisle can get together on anmove forward. host:ur guest is bruce cook, chairman of citizens for restoring america's financial future. how did you start this organization? guest: it is an interesting journey. i had my first branch out over a year ago, about a year-and-a- half ago, at a time when the six congressional budget office came out with the tenure forecast and it said that we -- the 10-year forecast that said we were on an unsustainable track. i realized, for my granddaughter, if that happens, we will note -- she will not have the benefit of the country that i had when i was growing up. when she will be -- she's born, she owes $200,000 in debt for

unfunded liabilities. that is just not right. i was appointed to chair the department of resources several years ago and we discered that we had a revenue shortfall of $150 million of a $3 billion budget. this provided services, by the way, for public health, mental health, children and family services, a lot of important services in georgia. we found when we put a spinning -- spending cap, we were able to abide services at a lower rate without cuts. people came up with more efficient and effective ways of delivering services. if georgia can cut 5% in one year from a very substantial budget, the thought in our mind was, why cannot washington do the sa thing, and that became

thprocess of putting together the 1-cent solution. host: it calls for reducing the federal spending by one penny per dollar of gdp until 2018. that would get to a balanced budget by 2019. it would reduce federal spending by $7.5 million over 10 years and reduce the debt by $3.40 trillion over 10 years. you call yourself "and mr. smith guy who goes to washington -- "a mr. smith guy who goes washington." guest: that is how i have been feeling. this is an important debate. i do not disparage that. what has been lost is the perspective of the average person out in the grassroots parts of the country. what we' saying is to do nothing. if we do nothing, we will continue to add that to a point

where we will never be able to take care of our debt. we will become a debtor nation, never able to get a balance. we' looking to people who will buy into a simple approach that folks can understand. going washington, we were able to find like-minded people. we are a bipartisan organization looking for people on both sides of the aisle who would embrace a process of one-cent reduction. a good visual we use in the seminars is that i have 100 pennies. that represents our spending which is $3.60 trillion. each penny is worth $36 billion. we're calling for congress -- every year, take one pen out of this. your reaction is one cent or $36 billion f of the previous

year's spending. that is what the average family, the average business would have to do. on the income side, we only have 60 pennies coming in, and that forces us to borrow 40 pennies. get to the point where you stop adding debt. get to the point where the revenue balances with spending. host roll call reports of our guests, bruce cook, has gotten some traction by presenting his plan -- guest, bruce cook, has gotten some traction by presenting his pn to different groups. you have also taken a second route. you have hired lobbyists, who you have paid $90,000 between januarand march, according to the disclosure forms. does it take money to get your message heard these days? guest: oh, yeah. you probably understand that working at c-span.

it takes money to get the message out. we have to work both sides. we have the effort on the hill to introduce legislation. we have to have popular support across the country. i think that two-pronged strategy is working. when people on the hill hear from folks back home, they start tibet and gen. they start to line up with a representative government -- they start to listen. they start to line up with a representative of government. >> the whole idea of mr. smith, "mr. smith goes to washington," is that he was the antithesis of that money -- does this change the grass-roots nature of your effort, and this $90,000? guest: basically, this money has come from grass-roots. to be effective arm hill, you have to have people that know

their way around. -- to be effective on the hill, you have to have people that know their way around. what we're spending is comparatively pittance. we feel we have been effective with the dolrs that have come from grass-roots contributions. i feel that is what you have to do to get the message out. host: a message on twitter. moret in the tel. detail. guest: if you go to the website, you have the opportunity to show your support and make a contribution. we have had different people make contributions. that is how we have from the fund-raising side so far. host: let's go to a call from matt in the s&l, va., and democrats -- in annandale,

virginia, on the democrats' line. caller: what i see as a major problem --i am 28. your generation has not paid for what you have taken. the people before you have not paid for what you have taken. we need to raise taxes now, because your generation has to pay so that our generation does not owe money. you can say, cut, cut, cut, but people are poor. we need social security. we have massive unemployment. people are retiring. people love their 401k's. how are we going to be able to retire? host: let's leave it there and get a response. gut: the safety net is very important to our country. if you and i were running social security as a business, we had

a $32 billion shortfall. what came in had to be subsidized by $32 billion to pay what was going out. social security, last year, we had a $23 billion shortfall. the worst thing that could happen is to do nothing. if you did nothing, -- do nothing, you continue to pay more than what is coming in. the have to get a match with revenue and expenses -- you have to get a match with revenue and expenses. when i travel around and i present this, i ask, under which president did we receive the highest revenue as a% of gdp? president carter, who had a 70%, or president bush, with the 35% tax rate? the answer is the same. over the last 40 years, we collected, on average, only about 18% of gdp.

when you get into these debates about raising tax rates, you lose sight of the real goal of tax revenue, what comes in. what you find, historically, it is that, no matter what the tax rate is, up or down, and i certainly think there is room for refm, we're only, historically, going to collect 18% of gdp. you have to get spending down to coincide with that number. otherwise, we continue to add debt. if that continues to escalate like the congressional budget office is predicting, we will not be able to help anybody. host: bruce cook started citizens for restoring america's financial future, promoting the one-cent solution. let's go to patrick on our republican line in florida. caller: ronald reagan tripled

the national debt. one thing i would like to point out is that fdic went from 40,000 to 250,000 over the last 50 years, also-induced financial blowups. one other thing -- i do not know if you follow it -- the state of florida basically let the prescription drug dealers, the pill mills, get all our citizens addicted. now they want federal medicaid programs to get themff the drugs. please talk about fdic. it has gone from $40,000 to 000250,000 -- $250,000 per account. guest: with the one-cent

solution, we are providing a process for congress to act. they are spending $3.60 trillion. that would be minus $36 billion. they would have to determine where to make those cuts. we have hired the people on the hill to do that job. your public is valuable. there are some programs that need to be -- point is valuable. there are some programs that need to be cut. these kinds of issues would be forced to be dealt with as soon as those caps are in place. they will realize they cannot let these things continue. we believe that is the best process for going forward. host: let's hear from a republican caller, anthony. caller: hello, sir. i think it is wonderful what you're doing. more people need to get educated. we live in such a math-averse

society. my question would be, has it been looked at as part of the plant, as far on us -- the plan, as far as the citizens' standpoint, there are products that we can produce in this economy. how will that affect the average citizen, the employment rate? the issue right dell is unemployment -- now is unemployment. has that bee eompassed? whether the expanding trade, moving away from this perceived aisolationism -- guest: the only way you'll get more revenue coming in -- assume you have 18% as what you are going to get.

18% of what? gdp. the way we get more money is to get the economy growing. that is your point. if you talk to the average business person, i saw headline in the wall street journal. there is still so much uncertainty that it is ha for businesses to make headway long-term. you could provide a base for businesses to operate from. theyould say, here's are being planned -- here is our game plan. when you provide certainty, you will start to encourage investment and growth. that is when the trade will increase and that is when you will start to see employment come together. we think the one-cent solution has the capability to provide what business leaders are looking for -- some kind of certainty thawould let them get back into investment and

adding people. host: what do you think, bruce cook, about the positions that republicans are taking as far as the debt limit and taking down spending? we heard the news that house speaker john boehner has abandoned his push for the $4 trillion cut. it's now in the $2.5 trillion range. what is your reaction? guest: it's got to be a balanced budget. that's the only time we stop adding debt. if we do not get to that poll, very soon, we'll become -- that point, very soon, will become a country with a debt so great that we cannot get out of theit, in terms of the balance. if you do not balance the budget

at some point, then we will have to come back and recognize that we have a shortfall and we do this again. this again. in the current debate, the ministration is basically projecting growth next year of over 04%. our growth right now is averaging about.5%. if the growth does not get up to what the administration is talking about, we willave almost a $4 trillion addition to our debt over the next 10 years. that would make whatever reductions they are talking about pale in comparison. also, our interest rates are exceptionally low. historically, they are about 5.7%. we're getting them now at about 2%-something. if they go back to normal rates, we will add aanother -- another $4 trillion to the debt.

the objective means to be to get to balance where we stop spending more than we have coming in. host: should there be a debt deal? should there be a vote to raise the debt ceiling? guest: i think raisi the debt ceiling have to take place. i think the negotiation between the two site is a healthy -- two sides is a healthy one. that three come in with this solution. if you look at the bill introduced by congressman mack and senator enzi, it provides this cap for spending. ford. ford. host: let's go to mary in south carolina. caller: i have two commentand one question. number one, all the years i have been voting -- i am 65 -- this is the first-time experience witho much confusion that has

been put out to the public. we voted these cars people on the hill to do a job -- congresspeople on the hill to do a job. i believe they know what to do. it is not that they do not know how to cut things. the other comment i want to say is that, republicans never liked social security, medicaid, or medicare. that is number one. they want to get rid of that. that is a fact. my question to you is, why is it that everybody wants to come up with the solutions when congress knows what to do? it is not that we voted in people that do not know what to do. the whole goal is to bring this country down because president obama is the president of the united states. that is the problem. guest: well, as we started on the one-cent solution -- again,

we are a bipartisan organization. we work with anybody who is interested in a solution. weeded a survey and we found that three of four -- we did a survey and we found that three of the four voters, no matter what affiliation, would support a one-cent solution. the reason we found is that it has an element that leads to a balanced budget. do appreciate that the worst thing that could happen to you and others across the country -- -- you appreciate that the worst thing that could happen to you and others across the country, if we cannot add more debt, it will be done to us. we will not have the option of trying to solve and work through our problems. we will be responding to a market that is basically at an interesto high that, at some point, we will basically implode as a government. we have found bipartisan support. people will get behind it. that is, frankly, what we want you to do. go to our web site -- website,

onecentsolution.org, and learn more about it. we want to let the folks on the hill know that we do not want to do partisan politics anymore. we want to do something that the people want to have done. to get to a point where we stop adding debt. host: mr. cook, this recent story says that no democratic members haven't 0 -- have endorsed the bill at this point. according to the vice president for economic policy at the liberal center for american progress, democratic meers are not likely to do so. the 18% cap on spending is just not a good idea. there is just no way you can do it without seriously handicapping programs that are unequivocal the needed. what is your response to that? guest: as i said, we are a bipartisan organization.

when we started out in the fall, we had an interesting experience with this. we went to leaders of both the republican and democratic parties in the house. we got support on the one-cent solution. we were thinking, boy, getting bipartisan support is easy. then we had the election. we went back to them at the beginning of the year and we were found to be in the middle of 2012 politics. 2012 politics means that everybody is now going to their corner of the rain and trying to do what is best for them. -- ring and trying to do what is best for them. we are inviting both sides to come to the center and embrace this. if they do that, that is fine. we're. to move forward with the people who want to support something -- we are going to move forward with the people who want to support something that is best for families across the country. if you visit our website, we

have 55 economists who do believe this is a good solution for the country. there was a white paper study that showed the efficacy -- this is important. this is a gradual reduction. this is not cataclysmic. you are talking about $36 billion less in spending next year. it is a process that gets us to a balance. when economists look at this across the country, from different points of view and different parties, they say this makes sense. it will help our country. host: bruce cook. he started citizens for restoring america's financial future. you mentioned the details about how to make cuts, how to rein in spending will be left to members of congress. your group is talking about what the size of cuts should be. do you have concerns about what the center for american progress people raised about cuts to social programs -- that they might have to get caught because

of this goal? guest: you have to begin on the premise that, right now, our deficit is $1.15 trillion. as i shared earlier, medicaid, medicare, and social security flow.gative cash somehow, that has got to be addressed. i think it should be bipartisan. if we have as an example that i shared earlier wre we're putting $30,000 on a credit card that already has a balance of $200,000, you would say, at some point, you have got to stop spending. we want congresto make that determination, look at all the programs, figure out which ones they have got to pare back. again, the worst thing is if they do nothing. there will be a bond trader in hong kong that says, i am no longer going to pay 2.5% for a

10-year security. i will need for. -- need 4.something percent. the markets will make the determination. our every perscent, mortgage rates will go up, our interest rates on credit cards will go up. what do you think that does for the average family? the idea that we can kind of muddle through this thing is not on the table. it is going to be done to us. we have to have alan that gets in front of these things and is best for the american pple -- term. host: let's hear from shirley on the line for independents. caller: one thing the government is ignoring is the fact that our power grid is ready to go down

in 10 years or less. great britain is out one year or less. if that power system goes dn, those systems you have built up will not be able to operate. people will lose food. stores will lose food. restaurants will lose food. this happened in world war ii when hitler was in power. th rationed power at 3 days a ek. you could not keep food in your refrigerator to last. it is my understanding it would take $1 billion to correct this problem. think of the job creation it would create. gues great point. there are probably a lot of projects like that to be addressed. the first thing is we have to

get a pathway to balance. if we do not do that, we do not have money to do anything. your point is to have congress did into the issues, determine priorities. then let them determine the spending that needs to take place for long-term sustainability of our economy, services, and country. host: bruce cook, the tea party has increased your ideas. guest: we are bipartisan. tosuppaccept anyone who wants support this. i was at a big meeting in atlanta. a national group was coming in town to present the problem of our deficit a debt. there were 500 business leaders in the room. they have a greatresentation and finished with questions and answers. a businessman raised his hand

and asked what we should do. the group did not have anything to offer. we're providing any one with an interest was something to do. a 1e asking them to support cent solution that gives the balance in eight years. we want to enroll 1 million voters to support this and encourage support on the hill. it resonates with them as it does with anyone who is concerned abouthe problem. we welcome any participation. we are bipartisan. we do not have labels. we want to put something out there that will workor the people. host: david is a republican in biloxi, mississippi. caller: i hope i can articulate this fairly well.

it sounds like a of a good common sense ideas, but how do you implement that with a congress and president that is bought and paid for by the bankers? good common sense is not going to ram through the house or oval office. how will you implement this when you know there is not common sense there and they will not listen to the people? guest: i appreciate your observation. we showed up in washington in december. by may, congressman cnie mack was introducing this bill into the house. we have already gotten almost 45 co-sponsors. we have seen it introduced this past month in the senate. when we get it to folks concerned about solving the problem, this becomes something

of interest. i am not quite as cynical. i think this is something more members of congress will support. it gets us to balance. that has to be our objective as voters. we want the members of congress to support bills that will give us to balance. that is the only time you stop adding tdebt. host: some folks who align themselves with tea party interests say that we should cut more and do it faster. why are you not advocating for more and quicker cuts? guest: we wanted to make sure the numbers work. we met with leading economists, getting ideas, bouncing things off of each other. when we came up with the 1 cent solution, one of the goals was to put a plan in place that would not be cataclysmic.

it would have a pathway to balance. it would get thereut not be so significant in the early years that it would cause disruption in the economy. that is what we believe we have. the idea of cutting $36 billion next year off of the $3.6 trillion budget is something congress should be able to do. we would take that route. it is gradual but certain. it gets us to balance. we think that is preferable to making more significant cuts. ready tothat is tackle the problem, i will acknowledge them. we have a good dialogue going on about how to solve the debt and deficit. last year, this was not a big conversation. the fact we're talking about it is very positive. host: don in michigan.

what do you think about what you are hearing? caller: i do not like it. americans have lost their jobs and homes. this talk about reduction, the mississippi republican said the bankers. he does not talk about that. oil has been the reason for three words. this is ridiculous. they take from us and destroy our way of le, the middle class. class. you said it is the deficit. by 203 we will still have 80% of the money coming in. quit lying about that, please.

host: let's get a response from mr. cook. don is concerned about bankers d wall street and the freedoms they are experiencing compared to other americans. what do you think about that? guest: the programs that help the people in need the most are negative cash flowing. they cannot continue to operate that way. something has to change. we want congress to change the programs so they are stainable long-term. if we do not make the changes, we have less money coming in to help people in need. it is the old idea of making sure the funds get to the people in need and do n get put off to other areas. we come back to the revenue debate. we're only going to be able to collect 18% long-term of the gdp

as revenue. to be strong as a country and be able to meet the needs of people who have these concerns and needs, we have to have an ability to use our finances in those directions. we can only do that when we stop borrowing money and adding to our debt. in two or three years, it is projected our interest payments alone will exceed our defense budget of $500 billion. think about it. those interest payments could be used to meet the needs in our country. where are they going? they are going to pay interest on that we are accumulating. we all know that in our personal lives. if you add more debt, the interest payments consume you. the only way we can get to the point ere we can meet needs,

we have to stop adding debt and the interest payments down so more funds are available to do what we needo do as a country. host: citizens for restoring america's financial future is advocang for the 1 cent solution. he w a board member at the department of community health and is a memb of the commission for a new georgia. he was also the founder of choosing the best publishing. jeff writes it is not the math that is difficult. it is identifying the cuts and implementing them. guest: he put his finger on the distinction of our bill. the debate going on now is a prescription for reduction. it is done in sound bites. it is policized.

it is fitting into the 2012 elections. we believe these discussions have to be thoughtful. we have hired congress to do that. that is what they are there fo we want to put in place a process that forces them to do their job. we do not have thtime or expertise to delve into those issues. are providing a process that gets the prescription of how to do that in the hands of congress who we have elected to do that for us. host: will is an independent scholar in maryland. caller: you were right on, sir. i am dismayed by my fellow americans who do not get it. you do not have to be a visionary to see there is a tremendous problem on the horizon.

these people call in, are another example of class warfare that people try to throw into every argument. it is the spending issue. it is not complicated. as soon as you say the tea party or liberals like something or not, it is another example of the class warfare we see all around us. congress will figure out how to make it happen. this sounds like a totally workable idea. it is not immediate. it will not be devastating this year or next year. the you have to get a long-range plan and stay with it. -- but you have to get a long- range plan and stay with it. thank you. guest: go to onecentsolution.com.

if you think it makes sense, the tition. when the people on the hill here from enougheople, they start to catch on. host: how many folks have signed the petition athis point? guest: we have over 2000 facebook "likes." we're going city to city. we're looking for 100 captains in each city that will sn up 50 pple. we just want to in atlanta. we have almost 100 captains' down. we are in chattanooga. i think we have seven captains. -- 70 captains. as the captain's work, we anticipate others will come in. we're doing a social medi campaign where we're looking for 5000 for each city. we're targeting 25 cities thi year. we're targeting 75 cities in 2012.

that will give us 100 cities with 10,000 people. we're just getting underway. we encourage callers to visit the website and join in if they want to be a community capin. there's a place to sign up for that. we think it is a chance to cross party lines and work for a solution. host: jan is a republican from colorado. caller: it sounds pretty good. we have found the devil is always in the details. 18% of gdp, i do not know about that. i would like to look into that further. he does not talk about what he will cut. we have a lot of corporate welfare we need to take care of. we need to talk about some revenues. i like his ideas, but he seems to be avoiding the issue of bringing in revenue.

we know people in the 35% bracket do not pay those taxes. peoplelways discuss the larger tax brackets, but those people are hiring tax lawyers to make sure they do not pay that. host: what do you think about his comment that it is up to congress to work out the details? caller: that is the pblem right there. a lot of people we send to congress are not doing what we asked them to do. host: what do you think about that? guest: a great question from the caller. in the bill, we give congress the opportunity to make their cut. the spending cap is introduced. next year, the government spends 1% less than last year. the end of the scal year, they only come up with cuts for $20 billion. that is $16 billion that is not

cut. in the bill, there is a sequestration is an across-the- board cut to get to the cat. you do not want to do that. some programs need to be eliminated. some need to be left alone. some need to be increased. we want congress to do their job. if they do not, there would be an automatic cut that comes in and keeps us on target with the spending cap. unless you have teeth in the bill, your point is very valid. congress may not do their job. we want them to do their job. if they do not, there is part of the bill that says we will end up with the cut. here is what i have experienced firsthand. when i was board chairman of the department of human resources, we have to make those cuts. with everybody in the room together with knowledge, these people started identifying ways they cou make the cuts.

that is what we expect congress to do. they will hold hearings and figure out how to do that in the best way they know. we found that the state level that we did not lose any services as a result there were so many inefficiencies. there was a report in the paper abt how many inefficiencies are in the spending programs today. you will never get them out until you put the cap in place that forces people to try to do more with less. you know that from your own experiences in your household and business. you start looking for creative ways to pull it off. that is the process we wa to create in congress. host: bru cook, citizens for restoring america's financial future. the website is

he talks about his current movement to get 170,000 people not to vote for obama because of medicare or medicaid. also scott hodge, president of the tax foundation, and later, a look of the pending trade deal between the u.s. and panama. that is live at 7:00 a.m. eastern here on c-span. tonight on "q&a," nick gillespie. later, david cameron and thin jon huntsman at a republican --

and then jon huntsman a republican rally. president obama spoke on deficit and debt reduction talks. we will have live coverage here on c-span. >> i want to emphasize that nothing is agreed to until everything is agreed to, and the parties are still far apart on a wide range of issues. >> the debt limit is the legal limit of borrowing from the government and since 1972 has been raised 74 times. learn more and follow the process of raising the debt ceiling on line with the c-span video library. search, watch, click, and share. it is washington your way. now available, suzanne's congressional directory, a complete -- c-span's congressional