more about the role of credit rating agencies with jules cole at 8:38 eastern. our series of jobs in america continues with a look of the private sector and its relationship to government. our guest is marchant regalia -- our guest is martin regalia. ♪ host: stocks rallied yesterday as the fed pledges two more years of near 0% interest rates. a look that the overseas markets today. could morning. we will begin with your thoughts on the federal reserve's action yesterday.

if you are republican, called a number on your screen. what you think of the fed decision to keep interest rates near 0% until mid-2013? let me begin with the "washington post." this is their headline on this. they do not know what to make of the decision. this move could provide businesses and consumers with greater certainty. haven'pledging a two-year commit is unprecedented for the world's most influential central bank.

it would mark almost half a decade of holding borrowing costs as low as possible. we want to get your thoughts on this this morning. the miami herald has this headline about the other half of what the federal reserve said yesterday. economy's outlook not tired, not good. franklin is a democrat in washington. caller: i think that this is great news.

i have a couple of adjustable rate mortgages. knowing that i will be able to hold on a somewhat predictable rate now, it makes it easy for me as an investor to actually make other plans for further investment. i think it is a great thing that we're able to make plans now for the next few years knowing that the rates will be kept steady. host: with your extra money, you'll be putting it into the stock market? caller: maybe not. but i think at least i can make a little bit of planning for the next two years knowing i do not have to hear that my rate is going to go up. i have an adjustable rate right now and i always feared that it is going to go up to where i cannot afford it. the mortgage that i have is quite high. but i would not put money into

the stock market. host: what about paying down the debt while the interest rate is low? caller: definitely, definitely. i think it is a lot better to not worry about this rate going up. host: what about refinancing? caller: i did refinancing about two years ago. i was able to benefit from the lowest and that you could get. my mortgage rate is as low as you can. host: because it is adjustable. wind should go back up? caller: it is supposed to fluctuate every six months. it is at 3.5% right now. host: john in virginia, what you make of the move yesterday?

caller: on a mixed bag. it will be good for mortgages but when you look get inflation and commodity prices, by keeping interest rates low, it means your savings accounts will turn next to nothing, so turkic its of deposit are next to nothing. -- certificates of deposit will turn next to nothing. i like to see the fed at most a year, not two yours, but we will see. i think it will be a detriment for most of us. host: explain that more. we're not going to be making as much on our dollar? what are you saying? caller: we will see real prices of everything from commodities to what have you go up because their hockey is still real inflation in occurring. anywhere from a historical 3%,

and interest rates are around 0%, lifted her bank account, you're getting 0.5%, so you're being outstripped 2.5% in terms of real money. host: let me read you the "wall street journal" editorial on the move. argentina tries this every few years.

what do you think? caller: they are wrong with argentina. they inflated their way out of the debt and ended up killing the middle-class. we need to look more of our fiscal policy the fed has tried to enact monetary policy to help us out.

that is what they have tried over the last couple of months. it is a bit more political than bernanke and the monetary side of policy-making. but in the and, it is going to hurt all of us. but it is coming. host: the overall los angeles times" has this headline. three of the federal reserve members of the board disagreed with the move made yesterday. hear from the story, it says -- it recoups some of its losses over the last three weeks.

derek, an independent in washington, d.c., go ahead. caller: this move by the fed will do one thing, solidify economic power for your large banks. but it would be that death knell and destruction of, and middle-class americans. host: why? caller: the value of the dollar declining, inflation running rampant, that is what we see right now. your common americans live on a salary. they do not have the leveraging power and tools to invest and play the short stocks. basically the value of their salary goes down.

they will continue to struggle. it is the death knell for the american middle class. host: should the fed be doing more or do they have no impact? caller: that has absolutely no impact. that move, again, we will continue along the path on fat -- past fed policy to destroy the middle class. host: the of the " new york times" says that the fed could be doing more.

california, helen on the republican line, go ahead. caller: he is continuing to suppress the interest rate to 0% hoping that they will and courage people. but there really has not helped. the main issue is not keeping the interest rates low. it is unemployment. if unemployment stays where it is, which is really over a 16% eat you factor in the huge of underemployed rate, people are not able to qualify for loans.

if the interest rate goes up, just for the sake of paying off the debt, the federal debt, it is going to make it harder on the unemployed. the cost of living will go up for the middle class. the cost of living will go up. increasing the interest rate may be the only benefit the for government. but it does not benefit the taxpayer or the wage earner. and it is to the detriment of the unemployed. host: you think it erodes confidence as well? caller: yes, i think it does. i remember in the 1970's when inflation was a very high and it was difficult for people to purchase anything. almost or very expensive to purchase, cars were expensive. and the stagflation under carter, and salaries did not keep pace with what the cost of living was.

again, stagflation, people went on buying and then did more to damage the economy than it did to help. but the fact remains that we could do all of these things. bernanke in the federal reserve can finagle all they want with the economy. but the bottom line is, if you do not have enough jobs, then you cannot stimulate the economy. and all of this is not going to help it. host: what you think should happen on the fiscal side of it? when congress is back working in their districts, should they come back to washington, d.c. and try to come together on some jobs legislation? should they come back right now and forego what is called the august recess, working back in their districts? caller: they should try a comeback. but the problem is unemployment.

that is my main focus. the real problem is structural unemployment where we have -- there is a great article written by the fed i 2001 nobel prize winner in economics. many people in the united states will be unemployed for a long time because they do not have the skills and cannot compete with other countries. manufacturing and so forth. host: all week long we have been taking a look at the american work force on the "washington journal p k and last hour, we will look at private/public partnerships and talk about the chamber of commerce about how they are working with the government. speaking of jobs, this story was ." the "drudge report bec

i want to show you some other headlines as well. you might have heard that the senate majority leader harry reid picked his three choices for the so-called super committee. here is the "boston globe" this morning. baucus,ry, matt x and patty murray were named. it takes a look at the three packs. there is a story in the "wall street journal," senator murray is chosen as the co-chair. house speaker john boehner will be able to choose the other cochair. she is also chairwoman of the democratic campaign harm. in that role, she recently attacked republican candidates,

saying they wanted to turn medicare into a voucher program run by a for-profit insurance companies in order to pay for more giveaways to oil companies and the very rich. on mr. bachus, he has a center rich history as a centrist. -- he has a history as a centrist. he worked to pass legislation that their prescription drug benefit to medicare. also in the paper, this is the "wall street journal." this is that on mr. kerry, he has worked with republicans on foreign-policy issues but he has been recently been blaming house

republicans -- it describes a decision to strip u.s. debt of its aaa rating. the others have until tuesday to name three members each to the panel. it will have until thanksgiving to come up with a deficit reduction plan. karen, a democrat caller, what you think about the fed move yesterday? you are on the air. caller: i was calling about the deficit. i've got quite a few things to say. but that is a good idea about the interest rates. it is supposed to be the government of the people, for the people, by the people. and it is not just the regular people anymore. but we need to get off of here

and stop all of these wars. we cannot help everybody anymore. and need to focus on our economy. and i feel as though the republicans would rather see -- that would rather see this country go down to its knees to get rid of president obama. and also come all the people out there outsourcing jobs? stop them. host: another story on the super committee. a recent poll says that the americans want the debt panel to compromise. let's go to richard, an independent in indiana. the fed moved to keep interest rates near 0%? caller: it helps in the short

term. i have college loan payments and credit card payments. in the short term, it definitely helps me get college loans so that i can go to college and get the skills that i need to get a job. but in the future, with inflation and the decreasing value of the dollar, the cost of leaving possibly going up, it seems like the consequences really do not -- are too great for the short-term benefit to be worth it. host: ottawa, hal, what do you think? caller: bernanke needs to resign. he should make way toward that kansas city president. he is that talented individual.

bernanke is not an economist. this idea of advocating interest rates -- excuse me, inflation, increasing to 4% to 6%, sheer stupidity. the interest rates should not have been at the 0.5 -- 0.25% for these years. it should have been a 1.5%. that is not going to kill business. it is absolutely going to not. what he is advocating is absolutely wrong, wrong, wrong. when you have inflation like this, it is beyond belief. host: we have several comments on our facebook page. here is vance.

here is a tweet. if you want to send us a tweet, go to twitter. johnny, a democrat in an albany, georgia, go ahead. caller: i think this is a good thing for the interest rates. can you hear me? host: i am listening. caller: it what allows stocks, people will be buying more more likely, because money will be freed up in the banks will be able to support -- people will

be buying houses and that will help construction. i think it would help create jobs. not to help people who are saving money make more money on their bank and help the bank make more money on that it destroyed. host: you think it will spur spending rather than people saving money and paying down their debt over the next two years while the interest rates are low. caller: big factor is still have stock on the shelf and they're not going to make new stock. if people would buy the stock on the shelves, and they have to remember, they have to buy american because that they buy from foreign countries than only foreign companies will need employees. if that stock is leaving the shelf, and the warehouse has to be restocked. somebody has to make those items to put back on the shelf.

right now, no stock is leaving the shelf so businesses do not need employees. host: we have an e-mail that we read as well. sandy is an independent in olympia, washington. your next. caller: i agree with most of the things that people have said so far. it might not be a good thing for everybody, because it is a good opportunity to invest in u.s. manufacturing. a lot of the country doing well right now economically are brazil, requiring things that

sold there are made there. so the company if they want to sell, they have to locate there and be primarily on by brazilians. we need to set aside that trade agreements and not consider new ones. and we need to do something like that here, to bring the jobs back. people are still using the very basic things that people need. it was a republican saying that americans do not want to make toys and tires anymore. i don't think people have been asked whether they want to do that are not. host: the "washington post" has the story about president obama. he's scheduled -- cancel scheduled events and went to dover air force base in delaware he saluted american soldiers.

here is the of the " washington times." this is a big story about a crash in afghanistan. below that, aside story about obama going out to dover air force base. he says, accompanied by his top team, the commander in chief watched the remains of the falling troops -- he spent seven minutes visiting with 250 family members before going to pay his respects aboard each plane. we're talking this morning about the federal reserve's move

yesterday to keep interest rates at near 0% 4 two years. steve joins us from scottsdale, ariz. on the republican line. caller: what they did basically is like putting a band-aid on a very large gaping bleeding wound. what we really need is a tourniquet. we have to try to court these businesses, bring them back to the united states. we have to have manufacturing jobs here and started drilling. we have to do the mining and everything in our power to get things rolling here. it is as simple as that. i do not think any amount of politics or things like that is going to. host: a quick program note on afghanistan appeared on c-span

and2 at 9:00 a.m., we will cover in afghanistan brings thing with a top commander there. you can tune into c-span2 at 9:00 a.m.. robert is from arizona, go ahead. caller: i've been studying situation since i retired almost seven years ago. what happened, really, under bush was a lays out fair situation -- was a fair situation. -- laissez faire situation. what happens is that they put everything in their side and then they exploit the world for labor costs. it used to work for a while when other countries would not mobilize for production.

now they are, all countries are mobilized for production. what we see is essentially a problem from the fed. when the rate came down to 0%, because people are people and they want to look at situations and see where they can get a benefit, they did not see a benefit, companies especially, when it dropped down really close to 0%. it is like putting a little bit of cheese out there for somebody, for a little mice, to see if it will attract them, but it only attracts anyone place is money. host: in 2012 politics, the ames straw poll saturday. our coverage starts a new eastern time. we will be covering the republican iowa straw poll. here is the "washington paul." and ron paul one and all in

iowa? -- can run paul when it all and i will? if the polls better than michele bachmann -- mitt romney is participating in the straw poll on saturday. he is out with a new ad. it is in response to a story we talked about is your day, the political front page had the obama strategy was to go after him personally. here is our running responded in an ad. >> because only a more civil and

honest public discourse can help us face up to the challenges of our nation. ♪ host: another politics news, here is an obituary of charles wiley, a big-time republican backer. he died of a seventh after car accident in western colorado. he was 77 years old. rick perry was one of the

biggest political beneficiaries, receiving more than $300,000 combined from the wylys. he plans to cut the aisle of the day after the straw poll. we're continuing to take your phone calls about what the federal reserve decided to do with interest rates. but joining us on the phone is jason stein with the "wisconsin journal-cent on all" about the recall story. democrats gained two up three seats needed for the majority. what does this mean for him next tuesday, the 16th, when more democrats -- when republicans -- democrats are up for recall? guest: it lowers expectations somewhat for the context. had they taken three or four seats, taking back control of the senate, then those two

democratic senators under recall what have been, as we joke in the press corps, a nuclear winter situation in the north woods of wisconsin, with a tremendous fight over those seats. but they will still be important and the republicans have lost a couple of seats and have a tenuous majority of one vote in the senate. if they could pick up one or two of those seats, how they would be in a more strong position. host: going into next tuesday, what you expect from outside groups and what role have that played so far in the wisconsin recall? guest: they played a tremendous role. the of outspent the candidates in terms of their spending on ads and so forth, maybe a five- one, a tremendous margin. spending will end up at a level of a gubernatorial action.

and that is and senate districts that: -- only cover a fraction of the state. we have seen unprecedented here. you saw some decisive victories. the democrats failed to take back the senate. but they took two seats and the collective bargaining legislation that sparked all of this in wisconsin could not have passed the senate with a margin as it is right now, prior to the vote on tuesday. so both sides are taking away something that they can use to claim victory. we will see what this means for tuesday and for a possible recall election of governor walker next year. host: where does that stand now -- right now? guest: neither side won a decisive victory. the state democratic chairman told our newspaper yesterday

that it is on for governor walker. even though they claim the victory with two seats. governor walker sent out a statement late yesterday saying he wanted to work with both sides to improve our economy. and he has had several tweets out this morning to that effect. host: many have said that this is reflective of 2012 politics. how so? guest: an interesting question. wisconsin is going to be one of the stage you expect to see in play in 2012. it is almost always in play in recent presidential elections. certainly the events of last six months have recast the political debate in wisconsin, making it more competitive as a state. the national implications of

this, certainly we have seen other states take up the same issues of government spending, a public employee compensation, other states like ohio and new jersey. certainly it will be in the mix. i hesitate to draw some really large conclusion out of what our model results here in wisconsin. but certainly we have not seen the last of these issues. host: jason stein, think u -- thank you, sir. we will continue to take your phone calls about the federal reserve. here is an e-mail from jim reilly.

robert is an independent and tampa, florida. what do you think? caller: if i was in power, i what fire the federal reserve bank chairman because he does not know what an economy is. he said that no country could never survive it their imports exceed their exports. we lost our jobs because of the world trade agreements and nafta and nobody talks about it. the only way to put the people back to work is that being the no. 1 taxpayer catcher in the world. host: bill on the independent line.

fredericksburg, va., lewis, a republican. caller: i am not sure if it is good or bad a long term. but we are in manufacturing and i grew a lot of the callers this morning, many more than i have ever heard on this show before, talking about the free trade agreements. i can tell you as a manufacturer that unless we get a handle on this, it is going to hurt our country. we are not going to be able to dig out of this whole. we have only so many starbucks that people can make what they said. -- make lattes at. host: to you want free trade policies dial back? many agreed that there are three pending free-trade agreements right now, colombia, panama, and

south korea, that could be put into law. caller: and they need to stop those. they do not need to sign them. i hear people on your show and it frustrates me, because they do not own a manufacturing plant. there never hired anyone or ever had to compete. you could take away my epa, take away my osha, take away minimum wage, all the regulation in the state, and we still cannot compete with china. it is not a matter of sharpening our pencils. they had an incredible unfair advantage because they pay their people practically nothing. they have no epa or osha or health care or any of this. and this is what is going happen, we will have to lower our living standards tremendously in order to raise the tide of india and china's living standards. and some economists are saying that we need to do in 10 years you will see things get better.

this is a country of 1.3 billion people in china. how low do we have to drop a " mirror -- before we see some light? host: in the of the " washington post, industry supportive of rules for big rigs and buses. an update on the ethics investigation of congresswoman maxine waters and the "washington post."

as good a portland, ore., scott, an independent. you're next. caller: i don't think interest rates are going to do anything for the middle class. americans are already tapped out. we have our house payment and car payments and cellphones and what not. your every day bills, gas is ridiculous. food is expensive. my we do not have enough jobs paying enough to do the things that they want to do. you go on vacation and drive anywhere, it cost you $400 to fill up a car. everything is too expensive and people are not making enough money to live.

host: two headlines for you on a foreign affairs. that is in the world section of the of the " washington post." mr. cameron is to regain control. joe is a democrat. what you think about that's move yesterday? caller: i do not think it will help. i think they the trade agreements are the issue. here in west virginia, we are one of the rich states in the united states. let's get where we are at in every ranking system in the

united states? we have oil, coal, gas, timber, limestone, rivers, railroads -- and we are at the bottom of every list. these companies come in every -- extract our resources, and 50% of the coal exported from the united states goes to china. " we're left with the pollution, the damage, and the destruction left with that for their places and west virginia that we will not be able to survive within 20 years because there is no clean water. this trickle-down economics that was originated with the reagan administration and the so- called free trade, we need their trade. we need to check the products coming into the net is states and try to level the playing field. host: mary, a republican in iowa, go ahead. caller: i like to know how the

older people can get along on all little bit of interest they get if it is near 0%, and they have no money to pay their rent with. host: indiana, joe, an independent, you are next. caller: if we are at 9% unemployment, that means we are at 91% full employment. secondly, the banks are not lending money to small businesses so they cannot grow, and because of nafta, the low- skilled jobs that people can get out of high school, they have been shipped off. and the available jobs require tech training, some type of training that is not going to be available. they are not going to hire you

unless you have some kind of college. for somebody who is 45 years old, who still has 20 years left in the work force, that is untenable for those types of people. i agree with a lot of the callers. it is a sad situation and i do not know if we have a leadership that can pull us out of this at this point. host: how you plan to vote in 2012 because of this? caller: i am not sure. there is not anyone right now that i would vote for. host: mary is a democrat and elmhurst, illinois. caller: i have been concerned about the low interest rates for a long time. during the bush administration, i thought they were trying to

keep the crisis from occurring during their watch. but it could not be held off because it was obvious that the economy needed a desperate measure and some real truth telling in solving the housing crisis before it became as bad as it was. i am a person with 401(k), and there's no interest record how can and retired person live on your 401(k) when you're paying 10% right off the top for your taxes, which had been deferred, and the interest rates are going down a whole. my father is 100 years old, how can i survive that long with my assets going down? they are not going to support me. host: mary will be our final word on that. here is the "washington post."

of poverty tour, tavis smiley and cornel west began a 16-city tour across the nation. they will be our guests next. and we will be right back. ♪ >> hit a mine that surprise you that we think good things coming good >> c-span pilot --

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frederick olmsted it remembered for designing the u.s. capitol grounds and york city's central park, looking at his life as a journalist and an abolitionist. also from washington, a launch party for juan williams. and on afterwards, office: crossbones are long gone. pirating in the 21st century is a home of how night vision goggles and gps units. "this pirates of some malia." sign up for alerts. every weekend, american history tv highlights the wonders 50th anniversary of the civil war. this week the new york city draft riots of 1863. >> he refused and said he would

go to war, you cannot afford the three other dollars, you go to the battlefront and died. and an emancipated blacks label, and take your job for less money and your family will start all the rich stay home. >> the new york historical society examines how that possible conscription of working-class man let the three days of rioting and the lasting effects on the city. the civil war every week on on american history tv on c-span3. >> "washington journal" continues. host: we are back with cornel west and tavis smiley. cornel west, african-americans professor, and tavis smiley, tv host. thank you for being here to talk about the poverty to a. let me turn to you and ask you, you came up with the idea.

what is the purpose? guest: highlighting the poor in this country. it allows suffering to speak. no one tells the truth about the suffering of everyday people. they are ended up rendered invisible. -- the worst thing to do is act like they do not exist. they are more and more a disposable group, throwaway group. so what the ranks of the poor increasing more dramatically, there ought to be a focus on eradicating poverty in this country. this debt ceiling plan we just agreed to in washington that did not spot -- extend unemployment benefits, it did not raise a new sense of new tax revenues from the original lucky, the banks get away. wall street gets away. all of these cuts are going to be on the backs of everyday people. there has to be a conversation

about the poor in this country. they matter and the white house needs to understand and the republicans in congress need to understand that. we're going to dramatize that in this tour to talk about all races, colors, creeds, and political affiliations. and what we hear is inspiring and depressing at the same time. host: where you go next? guest: we started as we should have with our native american brothers and sisters. they are so often left out of these conversations. and given how we continue to mistreat them, they end up living in depression era lifestyles most of the time. we started out on a reservation and went to a clear, wisconsin, to talk to the farmers. we went to madison's to take back the land. they are arguing that housing is a human right.

why not put people into these homes there sitting vacant because of foreclosure and bankruptcy. why not put americans into those homes? we did go into chicago. over 2000 people in the monsoon, not a rainstorm, came to chicago. over 2000 people in a town hall meeting to talk about these issues. that was fascinating and that is what you saw referenced in the "washington post." and then detroit, where unemployment is off the charts. we had a good conversation there. not everyone agrees -- some people think that we're anti- obama because of raising these issues. nothing could be farther from the tree. now we're in washington and spent all night on the streets with people who are street people. we want to get a sense of what they're dealing with and how many of them got there. to hear the story of a woman having a baby in the day, nine

months pregnant, on the streets of washington last night. the capitol dome in our view, the white house just blocks away. here we are today talking to you about it. host: you're up all night. what struck you about what you heard? guest: we find among our poorer is the tremendous sense of resiliency of poor people. tavis were part of a legacy of martin luther king jr. and dorothy day who says that poor people are as priceless and presses as anybody. what we have discovered is that they are struggling, they're suffering, but they are fighting back. and this tour is about fighting back, because we know the top 400 americans have more wealth than the bottom 150 million.

pedestal level wealth inequality that we've seen for 20% of all children live in poverty. something has got to be done. this is host: a state of emergency some other numbers. unemployment is at 9.4%. african-americans, 15.9%. if you look at me in household wealth, from 2005-2009, african- american households down 53% for white households down 16%. dr. west, you implied this but it is the poverty to or about race or class or both? guest: it is about a moral concern for poor people which includes class. critical wall straw -- wall street oligarchs who are greedy. not demonizing them, but recognize that they have billions of dollars of assets.

" we experienced last night, folks have nothing. that is a moral statement and the spiritual as well. there is a poverty of spirit in the nation that needs to be revivify. we have a democratic awakening and realize that we're all in this together. host: about the numbers that you put up, i do not think that an economist anywhere in the country being honest, even those who work for the government to provide these numbers, they would admit you that these numbers are not the real numbers. there are so many people who have stopped looking for work. these are the people that are working -- looking for work because they cannot find it. all the people who of stopped are the people who are now on the street. the new poor in this country are the former middle-class. we've discovered there are a lot of people so embarrassed, humiliated by what they are in during, they do not want the government to know that they exist.

we were at a tent city in michigan. guest: an arbor. but the homeless veterans there in akron, ohio. all colors, all cutters. -- cultures. host: this came out and the "washington post." you have been talked about as anti-obamacare this is a quote from a young mother who found a job after in the year -- nearly a year of unemployment. they are not really giving him a chance. how it feels like that this is piling on. and you look at the latest polls, 80% of blacks express approval at the job that obama is doing even as support has slipped among other groups. host: that same woman had a job for a program that is now defunct. host: part of the stimulus package. guest: that is now defunct.

with that deficit reduction cuts that have been approved, this is a declaration of war on the poor. so she had a job in a program that is now defunct. there will be a lot more people like her that feel that way. you're right. there is a dichotomy. when you talk about black folks and president obama, we celebrate the symbolism of his being in the first african american, but in that same article, 54% of black people approve of his handling grid that means almost half of black folk in this country disapprove of the president's handling of the economy. even black people support the symbolism or than anybody else but they want substance. the president will have a difficult time getting reelected. you may very well not get reelected by a margin of black absence at the polls. you have to energize your base.

this tour is far from demonizing the president but tried to remind him what he said when he ran. you cannot ignore your base. he has used this term. he knows that there is an enthusiasm gap right now. they do not have jobs and they've lost their homes and they are on the street. how do you motivate your base? by addressing their concerns, you could motivate them. focus on the poor, those to you promised to look out for. there is a chance. guest: we and a stand that bush handed obama a catastrophe. we have wars, financial collapse on wall street. the problem was that president obama chose the wrong economic advisers. you do not choose advisers from wall street when it was agreed of wall street that push the nation almost off a cliff. host: treasury secretary g. h. greene net -- geithner --

guest: he should have been gone a long time ago. he in no way represents a legacy of martin luther king. host: the michigan this article. -- let me show you this article. this is when the cameras are not on him when he does fund raisers. he is not trying to cast themselves at the reasonable bipartisan figure but rather focusing on spending money to create jobs. going back to stimulus. is that enough? guest: it is not enough because the stimulus was not large enough in the first place. it never trickled down to small business owners of all races, colors, and creeds. never trickled that everyday people. and as you mentioned that article, many of the programs

are already defunct. but the white house, the record does not bear out what you read. on too many issues the white house is compromised and capitulated. i saw story about a former aide in the white house that fed up -- president clinton, concerned about this white house staff's negotiating strategy. if you are in a foxhole with somebody, you want someone who will fight with you not someone who wants to a compromise out of a foxhole. my grandfather put it this way -- there are some whites not worth fighting, even if you win, but some you have to fight, even if you lose. they want to see that president obama is a fighter, not a compromiser, not a capitulated, but a fighter. the people want to see the president fight. it is true that as much as his

base is restless, and as much as some americans might not like him, they hate republicans even more. they disliked congress. congress has a 14% approval rating. we have debated this. i have said many times you cannot beat somebody with nobody. we want to push the president to remind him of what he needs to do. at the same time, i do not see the somebody that can be the president because they dislike republicans more than they dislike president obama. host: he needs a primary challenge? guest: he needs a birdie that -- bernie sanders-like canada it. the problems are in -- the parties are in trouble. but're talking about jobs,

it is an afterthought. they should have been talking about jobs two and a half years ago. the wrong economic team is in place. we are talking about bouncing back. poor people are waking up, and we will fight back. over our dead bodies are more poor going to be pushed off the cliff. host: let's hear from joan. you are on the air with cornel west and tavis smiley. caller: if only either of you were president this country would be doing just great. i agree with every word that you spoke. now, what bothers me is the president appoints a committee, or a task force -- transmit it translated, that means they do not have a clue. the so-called super-committee,

they will not agree on any tyrant -- tiny item. host: john, let me get your take on the picks from senate majority leader harry reid. it looks like democratic senators john kerry, max baucus, and patty murray are the picks. do you think they will represent your priorities text caller? caller: now, they are the same move, and it is a waste of time. guest: thank you for your phone call. to this committee, this is what we have been talking about on this tour. because there are no people of color in the united states senate, all other people in this country, of color, and we are

the most multicultural country ever. with all due respect, john kerry is far from broke, so nobody knows anything about poverty. that is what this is about, reminding the leaders that everyday people, the middle- class is falling more and more to the ranks of the poor. there was a report of the other day that from 2008 to 2009 more children in this country fell into the ranks of the 4th than at any other point when data has been collected -- poor than at any other point when data has been collected. i am not convinced that these people on the committee -- i do not see the evidence that party will -- pour people will be made a priority.

host: let's hear from pittsburgh. caller: i think the big picture is the council on foreign relations and travel commission is controlling both parties, and the money that has been spent in the last four years, or with these last two candidates in offices, especially bullish, causing wars, and they allow people like halliburton to make money. during world war two, they had people from the army peeling potatoes. i think the dollar's being weakened and we will be modeled after the european union and there will be a one world currency, and we will be the north american union, not the united states of america. host: dr. west, why don't you take that.

guest: there has been a bipartisan agreement to extend in the military complex. we always find money for wars. we're not even talking about the secret war in pakistan. there is a bipartisan agreement on the prison and the show complex. we spent $300 billion in 1980, and say we do not have money for jobs and housing. the media, thank god for c-span, does not focus on what both parties agree on that is helping to undermine the democratic processes and procedures. greed is blinding. it is dangerous, and will push a person or a country off of a cliff. this is what we are wrestling with. democracies are about making people accountable. i just read an important book "accountability." that is where the moment of a state of emergency, a sense of

urgency -- yet we do not see it. guest: since the caller raised these wars, dr. king, i mentioned where we are going, we're going to atlanta, mississippi, and will be in atlanta tomorrow. tomorrow, we are honored to members -- with members of the king family to lay wreaths. dr. king once said war is the enemy of the poor. he said that about vietnam. it is also true in iraq and afghanistan. when you consider the money being spent, all of them applied to the problems in this country, toward the poor, you really get the point. war is the enemy of the poor. host: we will go to bat in rouge, louisiana. a republican.

caller: good morning. please let me say this. the son of a reserve -- you were talking about it earlier. these people make the corleone family look like brownie scouts. they are criminal from under woodrow wilson. they bankrupt this country. they created money all over the world. they created wars. they want to destroy our sovereignty. it is a shame that people did not know who these people are. ron paul was trying to get the message out there. mr. smiley, dr. west, i wish they would put it on their agenda to tell these people who there are. guest: all right, dr. west?

-- host: all right, dr. west? guest: we should acknowledge the federal reserve has two aims, financial stability and full unemployment, you would never know as the second game, because it has been dominated by all the guards. -- full employment. we were talking about the full employment bill. it is fundamental. he would never know the federal reserve has any concern about it. host: that brings up the point. specifically, what policies are you advocating for? guest: you cannot answer that question without the stuff that has been missed. a lot of people believe our best

days as a nation are behind us. you see that borne out in more and more pulling all of the time. there are a lot of americans that believe an opportunity has been best. when the president came in with all of that wind at his back that he had an opportunity. now, with a divided government, a party that says no to everything, there are a lot of folks that are concerned. there is not a lot that can get done, or is going to get done, and what the president is pointed a gun, the president has to compromise and capitulate -- the president is going to get done, he has to compromise and capitulate prepare. the short answer is jobs. we have to have full employment. we have to have a jobs bill. , was on the hustings and post

the other day, just checking in -- i was on the huffington post yesterday, just checking in, and somebody has put together a series of clips that since he's been elected the president has said now we're going to focus on jobs, and now we turn our attention to jobs, and now we're going to focus on jobs. he is saying that again. what this party toward is all about is that we hope he is serious this time. we hope there is a concentrated, laser focus on a jobs bill. the president said in his statement to the nation that we have to have an extension of unemployment benefits. how'd you juxtapose that with the legislation you sign that did not extend unemployment benefits? we want the president to be a serious about this. we know what he is up against. you cannot say it enough times. he is up against a party that

does not want him to succeed. mitch mcconnell said his job was to make sure president obama was a one-term president. if the president can get focused and rally the people behind and around jobs, something can get done. host: we go to florida, a democratic caller. caller: i have followed you two gentlemen for a long time, but when we talk about mark mr. king, let's not forget malcolm x. please. every now and then, without malcolm, society would have done martin luther king the same way. -- the same way they are doing president obama. vote. the people that are listening, vote. cried today, a vote tomorrow.

vote. you can vote yourself out of this. those of us who said i will not fight for the white man, go into the military. take care of your country. that is all i want to sit. guest: my dear brother is actively right. where you are talking about with martin luther king and the comebacks are two people willing to live and die for what they book -- and malcolm x are two people willing to live and die for what they believed in. it was a kingdom where for and working people had dignity. what we missed today is to many of our leaders are up for sale. almost everything and everybody is up for sale. money, money, money. young people are living lives of emotional emptiness.

malcolm, martin, there was no price. they knew there was a human value that had no market price. host: i have been enough from carl in san antonio, texas. he wants to know if we could get more available to help our legitimate poor -- guest: i hear that. we saw some of that last night. some of the people we saw are substance abusers. some of them made bad choices, but who among us has not made a better choice? i am exhibit 8. -- exhibit a. i have a book about the 20 worst mistakes i have made, but for the grace of god i would be

unemployed. i have screwed myself so many times with bad decisions that i cannot even count compare. guest: he celebrated 20 wonderful years and broadcasting. guest: this report from the heritage foundation that tries to redefine what it means for. they are laughable. i saw the bid that steven colbert did. just because you have a refrigerator and microwave, that does not make the middle class or wealthy. this conservative push back on what it means to be poor is troubling for me. i want to go back to the caller gets a vote. we are active participants. we vote every election. there are a lot of people in this country who did think a couple of years ago that they were voting their way out of this. that is the problem. a bunch of folks, black folks,

white folks, independence, republicans, a bunch of people across the aisle to support president obama. he told the story how republicans would whisper to him that they were voting for him and he would say why are you whispering? the point is a lot of americans thought they were voting their way out of this. now they are deeper in to hear again, the new poor are the former middle class. guest: why not sit home as a protest vote? why not sit at home, and not vote and sent a message? guest: i think people ought to participate, but when we say lift every voice, which is a great aunt and for black people, you lift your voice not just by voting, but sometimes you lift your voice by moving to the streets, mass demonstrations, civil disobedience.

we are willing to get arrested, willing to go to jail for poor and working people. that is beyond voting. it is not confined to that two- party system, which is becoming more decrepit. his so dominated by money interests. he is both parties do not wake up, we will find out there is a situation like the 1860's, where one force declines, and new forces emerge. host: are there lessons to be learned from the way the tea party group organized their efforts fourth 2010 for your side? guest: yes. i have said countless times, when people pile on the tea party, and i've certainly been critical of their methodologies, their strategies, the racism that as shown its ugly face at times in their movement, the signs they have held up by about the president

-- there are things they have done that i disagree with. why celebrate about the tea party is they turn their tanks into -- what i celebrate about the tea party is they turned their tanks into motivation. if you cannot turn out your base, then you lose. the democrats, this white house, this campaign, has an enthusiasm gap, and the data is not on their side right now when it comes to telling a story, creating a narrative that could sell. we have gone from hope and change to it could have been worse. that is not a winning campaign strategy. guest: the reason why that is so is when obama came into office he should have told the america of this is the reason we almost went off of the cliff with the greed on wall street. we're not plan to bail them out. we are going to give them tight

strings, priority to homeowners, workers with job creation, and the poor. that would have been nipped in the but the right-wing populism. when they say it is corrupt, they're right. the problem is their right wing populists, which means they use the anchor to reinforce the oligarchs that got us into trouble in the first place. the obama administration could have and that that in the bud. the populism took a right-wing form. it is a very said. host: a story out of arizona -- senator john mccain of a town hall meeting in gilbert, ariz., and it was pretty heated according to this newspaper, especially when a tea party supporter s for an apology after calling them -- asked for an apology after calling them how that's.

-- hobbits. guest: 114% of the country approve of the job congress is doing, we are in trouble. republicans are going to hear that, and they ought to hear that. we will see a lot more of that. dr. west said we might be seeing something akin to the 1850's. you do not have to go back that far. you might be seen something that is happening in london right now. one person cannot continue to own and control more wealth than 90% of americans. poor people will only take this for so long. as things get worse, i'm not predicting doomsday, but i am suggesting there is a restlessness in this country. we are going to have to do something about middle-class

people falling into poverty, children falling into poverty. that restlessness, that hopelessness, it is going to morph into something. guest: that is the greatness of dr. king's legacy. he take the rage and transformed into a struggle. love, not hatred. prosperity based on fairness, not negativity based on survival of the slickest. host: michael is a republican clayton, and virginia. caller: good morning. i'm thinking the main thing that is going on in this country from the white house to the middle class am the poor -- and the poor that is making so much hatred is care. we care more about what is going on on the other side of the world than our own backyard. if you go back to hurricane

katrina, how long did it take for those people to get drinking water, medical supplies, food, a place to be? how long did it take for the fema trailers. that is a small example. after that, there was an earthquake in pakistan where we were there within 24 hours. as a middle-class person, a poor person, if i feel the government does not have any care towards me, why would i have it for them? guest: the republican brother is absolutely right. the greed is good itos, which has been dominant since the 1980's is an attempt to kill killassion, kill empathy, til care.

-- the poverty tour is a love tour. we care about the innocent civilians that the u.s. drones are killing every day. innocentong to killl people. host: here is a tweet -- host: do you plan to vote for president obama? guest: i am going to do the same thing i did three years ago. my role on pbs is one of accountability. my friend dr. west did 65 events for president obama.

guest: that was 2008. host: you will be asked next. [laughter] guest: my role was the same as it was a few years ago -- help people reexamine the assumption they hold about the poor in this country, expanding the inventory of ideas, using my platform to introduce americans to each other so we have empathy for each other. ultimately, where politics are concerned, my job is to hold people accountable. itself as many of you know, mr. smiley -- host: as many of you know, mr. smiley hosts "the tavis smiley shelow." dr. west, you campaign for president obama at what, 60?

guest: 65. we were hoping barack obama would initiate a new age. i am deeply disappointed, and i feel betrayed by his economic team especially appare. my question for anyone is what is your concern for the poor. right now, i am looking for the bernie sanders-like a candidate. host: so you will not be content -- campaigning for president obama? guest: right now, and the primary, i can not support him. if it is the election, and it is michele bachmann, and there is not a formidable third-party candidate, that is a different situation. we are not in bed right

situation right now. at the moment, i am looking for a burning-sanders -- bernie sanders-like a candidate. host: marie, an independent. caller: good morning. i am excited to talk to both of you. i saw your program with robert kennedy jr.. what a story. you're talking about the prison industrial complex. i would like to add the private prison industrial complex. that is a prison in florida, the largest corporation in the state, and it is taking away jobs from the small local printers. my other point is with regard to walmart, and i think you need to drop walmart as a sponsor of your show, tavis smiley, first of all they get tax breaks from towns and cities to build their stores. also, walmart and procter and

gamble, they take out life insurance policies on their employees, and the beneficiary is not the employee. the beneficiary is walmart, procter and gamble, and there are a number of others, and people that died working for wal-mart are left with hundreds of thousands of dollars in bills. one woman who died had a really bad as the situation. walmart made $81,000 on her. his guest: i hear your critique, and you are entitled to that. i am glad you watch the program. people want to watch the program to be empowered by what i'm trying to do, but every now and then somebody wants to push back on walmart. wal-mart's can speak for themselves. we were going to do away with every television program, every

news program, because of walmart support or if this partnership -- partnership, you would not have abc news, nbc news, and certainly would not have fox news. it is not a perfect company. when i have tried to do in my private conversations with the ceo there now, is to speak the truth that i know, to offer suggestions and ideas. i can say in my time, and there are stories that bear this out, the unions have bettered their working relationship with wal- mart. there is a long way to go. if i were waiting for a perfect company to be on television and radio to empower people, i would not be celebrating 20 years. there are so many imperfect companies in this country. guest: we were just in west virginia, with echoes of robert

kennedy, and to see tavis smiley speaking his troops, because he is a free black man, interacting with any institution, buddy has he owned -- his own views -- but he has his own views. my teaching at princeton. we produced ralph nader, and dolls from spelled -- and donald eild. frumsf fundamentally, we're committed to being free. when you are free, you say what is in your heart of the men and women who helped make this country soulful. host: have either one of you talked to president obama about this poverty tour? have you plan to go see him?

guest: i have had no relations with my dear brother in three years or so. i pray for him every day. a protect him against the vicious right wing attacks. i respect him as a human being, and i want to tell the truth about him the way i tell the truth about anybody. host: tavis smiley? guest: as a member of the media, we, like everyone else have a standing request for the president. every so often, my staff on the radio, which are custom inviting the president to be on our show. since u.s., have known the press -- since you ask, i've known the president for many years, and prior to his being elected, and he came on my programs with regularity. once he was elected, and my

critique, holding them accountable, it did not sit so well with him. he has not, at this point, come on my television or radio program one time since he has been in the white house. this is the first president does not invited me to the white house for anything in my career. host: media events? guest: bill o'reilly, right wing brothers. i think the president has done that. he seems to be reluctant. when he moves in to campaign- mode, it will be different because i'm not crying about that. i only answered it because you asked about it. at the end of the day my commitment is to justice for all, service for others, and to exhibit a lot of the deliberate people. if that takes you to the white house, so be it.

host: will go to ellen, scottsdale, ariz., on the republican line. caller: to my black brothers, i will say that we are all looking for our politicians to have what we call a kennedy moment, where they are talking about solutions, he know? they are missing it. here's what i want to say. and there are two things i want to talk about, racism, and energy. if we can get energy, the kennedy moment to come through, and have this country did gasoline below a dollar a gallon, what do you think that does for the cost of living across the board? we become the no. 1 country in the world when it comes to energy costs. when it comes to racism, please, i want to say something to you, i am a tea party member. i am a white man. i love my black brothers.

i do not know where i would be in this country without my black brothers. guest: that is beautiful. caller: let me say this, there is no racism in the nba. show me the racism in the nfl. i grew up in the 1960's. i was involved with music. look at what the black people brought to this country when it came to music. there was not one white person that i know of that said i am it off. bacthat sh host: so, can i jump in? what is your point? if you mention the nfl and the nba. caller: the level of -- the

level of racism in this country is so minuscule, we need to give people a better solution- oriented. guest: he makes an important point about cultural contribution. america's contribution on a world view is jazz, soul, and all of them acknowledge the dignity of everyday people. he is right in terms of the ways black culture contributions have helped and humanize the american society. when he talked about racism being in the school, i think you will want to spend a little time with us and you can see some of the consequences or effect. guest: or spend time with barack obama in the white house. guest: it is true it is less now than it was before, and before

it was so, winching black people, and so on, we have come a long way, but we have a long way to go. guest: he mentioned the nba and the nfl, but we will see how much racism exists with how these talks turn out with the players that have been locked out. there's only one african american in the country who owns an nba franchise. the majority of the folks that plague our -- that play are black. the owners are white. we saw what the nfl was up against with an overwhelming number of african-american players, and we have seen an increase in the number of coaches, but the coaches in the nfl against the players, there is a huge gap. if they will use you on the field to win the game, but as general managers, owners, as head coaches, i think you get

the point. guest: the one sign of hope is the naming of the new poet laureate. he is a powerful public. his critiques of racism -- we were just in detroit wrestling with this issue. also, the question about energy, the brother will alan in washington. green jobs. i think philip line is a wonderful choice to try to tell the truth with his book a, what what -- "what where it is." host: yvonne is a democrat in detroit, michigan. caller: the president has no power, apparently. it does not take a ged to run

the country as george bush could do it. why do we vote if the results can be tampered with? the electric co. in detroit has the rates so high that maybe half of the city is living without lights and gas. des host: that brings us back to the poverty tour. guest: that was a democratic line, right? that makes the point i want to make. the frustration in this country, this cannot be the moment where americans think that our best days are behind us, and people give up. there has to be a way to reenergize people about the future of this country. i think you'd do that by focusing on the poor. the overwhelming majority are

much less rich than the 1% we talked about before. if you can respond to the needs of everyday people, you can bring the hold back. guest: we were just in detroit there is no doubt that our dear sister, the councilmember, makes a difference. we're going for a revolution in the values and priorities. that is what martin died for, a revolution in priorities. we have to transform our society in a way where people believe it is much more july and serving others but with corporate profiteers. host: dr. cornel west and tavis smiley, thank you. we will turn back to our question we ask all of you. the federal reserve decided to keep interest rates back to close in -- near zero. we will also continue our

series looking at the american workforce, today focusing on the public/private partnership. we'll talk about that in 45 minutes, but first a news update. >> yesterday's decision by the federal reserve's to keep u.s. interest rates extremely low until 2013 is helping to boost stocks. european markets have opened with gains. asian markets have closed higher. the european central bank is acting to stabilize the continent could tell banking system by handing out more than $71 billion to 117 banks asking for help. french president nicolas sarkozy is interrupting his vacation to hold an emergency meeting. he is pledging to stick to deficit-cutting goals of mixed concerns that france could be the next aaa rated the economy see its rating cut. here, in the states, investors are looking forward to new

figures from the commerce department. also, the labor department releases job opening figures. ahead of the bell, the stock futures are down over 100 points. -- the dow futures are down over 100 points. >> drop the month, c-span radio will feature lbj tapes. this saturday, here president johnson talk with the senate republican leader and vice- president nominee hubert humphrey. >> i am a conscientious, earnest fellow, tried to do the job, and i'm going to do it. if i get a piece of 4:00 p.m. this afternoon, i will get it come hell or high water. >> listened to c-span radio and the baltimore/washington d.c. area 90.1 fm and ed c-span.org.

>> frederick law olmstead is remembered for designing the new york city's central park, but in all code genius of plays" a look at his life as a journalist and abolitionist. also, we stop by a launch party for one williams' latest, "muscles. -- muzzled." also, we take you inside the world of "the pirates of somalia." >> "washington journal" continues. host: here is a headline about the decision from the federal reserve to keep interest rates near 0 until mid-2013. here's what they have to say. investors seemed uncertain about

what to make the bid by the announced -- about the announcement from the board. this move could provide businesses and consumers with greater certainty about the availability of low-cost borrowing as they consider making investments or major purchases such as homes or autos. that is the question we are turning back to this morning to get your perspective about what you think about the fed's mots. how do you plan to make your money decisions based on this decision? ," the baltimore sun" front page this morning says confidence is key to the economic recovery. it says that stocks recovered much of the lost ground on tuesday, but federal reserve policymakers also warned they expect a slower pace of recovery over coming quarters and pledged to keep interest rates low in a bid to prop up

the economy. inside the newspaper, "now with the nation's economy and the balance, the future might depend on the confidence of businesses to expand, but consumer confidence has not been robust for years, rising slightly in july after failing the months below. -- before. this recession was the first time that pessimists outnumbered host: that is "the baltimore sun" with that story. inside "the wall street journal" --

host: it says the fed has spent a lot of its votes. the real focus less on what is going on with the political side of the equation, which is where the problem means to get solved. the credibility of policymakers -- host: returned to you -- what do

you think of the fed's mode? bobby is a democrat in tallahassee, florida. caller: it is disheartening to me. it seems that right now in congress there seems to be an ideological tug-of-four between both parties. one side seems to not really understand what their role of the fed is, and it seems the other side has some sort of an understanding, but is not willing to compromise you take what just happened with the debt ceiling, and there was a lot of credit companies that said basically do not make this a political issue, just raise the debt ceiling, and get your house in order. it became a political issue. so, i honestly, i am not somebody that likes to attack congress. i believe in public service.

i believe in government, but i honestly do not know how lawmakers could have any type of political will to get this thing done when you have half of congress not liking or trusting government, and pretty much wanting to be fond everything that is beneficial to the american people -- defung everything that is beneficial to the american people. host: do you think the two sides should compromise when the super-committee finally comes together? and, does that mean entitlements, medicare is on the table? caller: medicare entitlements were on the table from the beginning by the democrats, the democrats need to understand you cannot compromise with somebody that is holding a gun to your head. i think texas, the tax code,

loopholes need to be on the table. the right wants to talk about how we are in a welfare state and they want to reform it, then let's reform it, but also reform corporate welfare. host: let's hear from john, a democrat in florida. caller: why would the government give us two years of no interest for people to borrow money when there is no jobs out here for people to even get money to buy anything from somebody that is going to borrow money to make a profit? i just do not understand. the only people that are going to make any money off of the government giving no interest is the people already with money so that i can now buy things that a lower cost -- they now can buy

things that a lower cost. nobody has money to buy because they do not have jobs. it is still the rich getting richer. it is supposed to trickle down, but it is just the rich getting richer, and for them to cut the medicare and medicaid, and the people than needed the most are the older people, the ones who fought for us when we were kids, and we're just going to let them sit around and not treat the mall, i think that is wrong. host: let's hear from a republican, jay is joining us from martinsburg, virginia. caller: about the general interest rates, if you look at what happened to the housing markets, people getting into them with no down payments, and things like that, and then you look to the automobile industry -- 0% in district -- interest,

zero down, that put more people in debt. they want to spend more money on green energy. but the new chevrolet will vote .olt they sold 147 of those cars last year because they retail for $41,000. i wanted to talk to the two gentlemen on their earlier. he seems like every time i call c-span, just like yesterday when you head the two economists, i want to talk about nafta, and every time you cut me off. nobody wants to give me a specific answer. everybody blames it on bush. please let me finish. host: a share. -- sure.

caller: clinton signed the bills for nafta and those policies. over into the bush administration. host: a couple of stories. over into the s&p downgrade -- here, the "financial times" -- they did not face downgrades. stephen murphy, the head of radiance says the agency will decide later this year -- host: also, the news from the caused the swiss franc search. here is "the wall street ."urnal turcot

sarasota, florida. carl, an independent. what did you think about what the fed did? caller: i am carl sheldon in sarasota, florida. we testified on behalf of the american people against state and federal, -- i'm sorry, civic asset forfeiture, and when we testified against forfeiture, it stands that everyone and everyone. anyone and everyone in the united states can have their assets taken away from them without being charged with a crime. host: what does this have to do with the fed yesterday? caller: we are living here in

sarasota, florida. you have to give me a chance to finish what i'm going to say. host: you have to turn the television down. sorry about that, carl. let me show you what the fed had to say. the committee anticipates that if economic conditions, including low rates of -- host: will go to clinton, new jersey, next, alan, and the democratic line. caller: i did not think anything the fed says has added in to do with normal american people. the people got their money, and if they go out and spend it, they will do what they did before, take everything away from you, and put it back into

banks. if the money from the stimulus should have been divided upon and we would not have the problem we have today. host: tallahassee, florida. glenn, a republican. caller: thank you. you do a great job. i would vote for alan west. i did vote for alan keys. host: we are listening. caller: i try not to be a racist, but if cornell and what -- cornell west, and tavis smiley, if they had their way, it would be like africa since they think the black thing is the answer to our problems. host: was detected the fed -- let's get back to the side. -- said. caller: i do not think that is

going to be any good. ronald reagan would be right when he said the government does not the solution to the problem, it is the problem. host: "half-measures from the fed. host: "wall street journal" ways in saying there is no doubt inflation can erode the value of money and debt, as argentina tries this every year, but the middle class pays a huge price. once you encourage more

inflation, it is hard also to stop. host: tracy, a democratic college in philadelphia. welcome to the conversation. about what calling the fed did yesterday. i think it is a great thing. now, we can create jobs. the republicans ran on job creation. they lower the interest rates, which means people should have more money, either more money to spend, or more money to use to create jobs for people. i try to get on with dr. cornel west and tavis smiley. i think it is said what they say about the president. nobody ever talks about what the president has done for this country. host: many of you are probably learning this morning that senate majority leader harry reid named his choices for the

so-called super-committee, and one of them is patty murray, a democrat of washington. she will co-chair the committee. here is what "the new york times couple had to say -- new york times" had to say. in that role, patty murray recently attacked republican candidates said they wanted to turn medicare into a voucher program run by a for-profit insurance companies in order to pay for giveaways to oil companies and the very rich. about max baucus, the democrat of montana, the paper says he has a history as a centrist, breaking with other democrats, and also worked with republicans in 2003 to pass legislation that added a prescription drug benefits to medicare. most recently, he helped kill mr. bush's plan

host: the third member that senator harry reid pact is john kerry. here is "the washington journal -- the wall street journal."

host: we'll go to alan, an independent in detroit. caller: i think what the fed did is a good thing for the simple reason that the republicans can no longer say that these bush tax cuts are necessary, because they have the opportunity to borrow money at no cost if they really want to create jobs. the second part is nobody mentions that we are still at war. i am a veteran. i do not see how you justify these taxes benzes would bar -- expenses with borrowing money so republicans can maintain tax cuts. it is not right. we are still at war. nobody mentions that. we are still a war.

from --led let's hear host: let's hear from bofa, read , florida. caller: i do not think the people understand or listen, most of them, when you are having such wonderful information on every single day. these low interest rates have been like this for a long time, and i think there is no money. most of us, obviously i am a teacher, i do not make much, whee do not have the money to buy most anything now, because i think these low interest rates are inflationary. it does not look to me like it will get any better. i do think that it keeps our

dollar very low, which is not a good thing the overall that i can understand for the economy. i did want to say one other thing. i take umbrage with all of these folks who think that the democrats are somehow poor. obama got got 10 times more mony from wall street during the 2008 did poor johnnd di mccain. for god's sakes, the democrats had the house for the last four years. host: we will leave it there. here is it "the golden vale." -- "the globe and mail."

host: connie, democratic line. maryland, what do you think? caller: he did not have a choice. now we have to concentrate on jobs. host: what do you want to see on jobs? caller: i want infrastructure. anything to put people back to work. they cannot keep going with no jobs. anyone that would vote for a

republican, who supports things of that would harm poor people in the middle class -- host: should congress return to work on jobs? caller: yes. they should not have left. i wish this president would call them back. that is why during this election we have to get the people out to vote for him. to vote for democrats so that we can get people back to work. history tells us that democrats, when we are down like this, democrats always find a way to get our people back to work. host: jack, south carolina. caller: please let me make a couple of comments.

please do not hang me up. i will not go on like the florida guy. and i have been trying to get in. i take issue with the cornelius guy. whoever he was. he mentioned fox news. he also mentioned van jones. he worked at the white house. he had to leave. they did not want to shove him out, but he is an economist doing commercials out there with kids. i am telling you, he is a guy. my comment on the fed, i do not know much about that, but we are probably going to see inflation picked up.

$630, i am a shut in guy, and i am a proud republican. all of these people, they are just scared or something. democrats are the ones that are screwing up this country. host: yesterday many of you saw that democrats were flooding the banks with market turmoil. according to brian moynihan, he faces a crucial conference call today after stocks fell. "analysts see the bank as like sleepwalkers

host: here is "the wall street journal," this morning, with a story about the calm in the storm. both banks emphasizing that they are healthier than they were before the 2008 meltdown. host: fairlong, new jersey. alex, independent caller. go ahead. caller: [unintelligible] he real inflation is much higher than what people say. that is also why you see, even though europe is in much bigger

trouble than the united states, europe is above 140 for the dollar. the second comment, if they cannot come to a decision, i guarantee there will not be a deadlock there. host: florida, waltz. caller: i would like to point out of the fact that the fed is doing the right thing. going in the right direction. host: ok. caller: they are trying to get the money circulating again. host: "the new york times," editorial today calls on the government to tax the money that these banks are holding in reserve as a way to spur them to lend it it. what do you think? caller: pot i hope that they do.

-- caller: i hope that they do. something that has to be done, because they keep taking your money with high interest rates, they refuse to put any money into the community. getting back to what i was saying, people do not realize that the facts are, if the recession was twice what it was last time, it takes twice as long to clear it up. it is twice as worse as that if you do not have anyone to help you on the other side of the table. the fact was that clinton had, when he moved to the center of the room, he had cooperation from both sides, even though he did not want to give up tax cuts.

that has not happened in this situation at all. the party of no on the other side, with employers saying that they are going to hire and they do not, you have another bottleneck. host: cape coral, florida, republican line. go-ahead. caller: i do agree with the gentleman from the carolinas, i think. you have a lot of listeners wanting to opine. i guess i will talk about your previous comment. taxing the money on the bank, those companies are more than offshore. the union deals that they could

not afford, the more u.s. from these companies, the more they will do. another common with that the fed move to lower interest rates, it came the day after obama's speech. when obama spoke, wall street just through dagen. -- through dallas -- through down. i would say, to counteract what happens during his speech, they said we did not have to do anything drastic, but they were hoping that things would change

if they kept on taxing. the previous gentleman from michigan said that he was so upset about how the subjects for lower taxes -- let me tell you, if you tax everyone at 100%, there will be something every time. we will go ahead and reduce the debt. the government will not be able to operate for a few days. host: robert, independent, troy, new york. go-ahead. caller: it seems to me that the people with the fed and all of the banks and approvals, amongst the republicans and democrats, the main issue is really manufacturing. the auto parts business.

our electrical parts. they are all made in mexico. either china or mexico. there are billions of cars. they all need parts. just to get that manufacturing back on american soil, i would say that that would be close to balancing the budget right out -- right there. host: today we continue our weeklong series on the american work force. that is what we will talk about when we come back. first, news update from c-span radio. >> intelligence officials in pakistan say that american-fired missiles have killed 20 islamic militants in the northwest part of the country today. and most of them were fighting the u.s. presence in

afghanistan. meanwhile, general james madison has performed an investigation to determine what went wrong in the downing of the u.s. helicopter in afghanistan last week. questions remain about why the troops were called in to aid those engaged in a firefight, what they knew about those on the ground, and what role altitude and flight path may have played in the crash. 32 american troops, along with eight afghans, died in that crash. violence continues in britain. after four nights of looting, david cameron says that he will not let a culture of fear take over the streets. he adds that authorities will do whatever is necessary to restore law and order. plans to use water cannons, if necessary. london was relatively quiet last

night, but other cities saw looting. the british parliament meets tomorrow for a special session on the rioting. those are some of the latest headlines on c-span radio. >> to route this month, c-span radio will feature lbj tapes. bearing for the first time, this saturday, here president johnson speak with eric dirkson and hubert humphrey about vietnam and the paris peace talks. >> i am going to do it. come hell or high water. >> listen at 90.1 fm in the baltimore washington d.c. area, and online apple c-span.org --

c-spanradio.org. >> every weekend, it is american history television on c-span 3. what personal interviews about historic events on oral histories. our history bookshelf features some of the best known history writers. we live key events on the anniversary of the civil war -- relive key events on the anniversary of the civil war. the presidency, we will look at the policies of former presidents. sign up to have it e-mail to you. >> "washington journal" continues. host: each day this week in the last hour we have been taking a look at the american workplace.

monday, work-force training at the labor department. tuesday, technical education in the work force. tomorrow, federal jobs programs. friday, women in the work force. today we will take a look at the private public partnership. our guest is martin regalia, of the chamber of commerce. how does a private public partnership worked, in theory? guest: in theory you have the public sector, controlling the permits, laying the groundwork, drawing the parameters of the project. then the private sector has an interest in working with the government to provide the actual solution to the problem. a situation where it is sometimes a matter of start up funding for credit insurance, credit overlay. that sort of thing, helping to facilitate the project.

host: what is the economic theory in favor of this? guest: when you are dealing with things like public goods, things for which a private company would not enter and build a project because they cannot get any return out of it, like public roads, by working with the government you invigorate the private sector, giving them some benefit out of it. some of the road blocks to establishing the project are facilitated by the interaction between private sector and government. there is no cookie cutter stance about how these work. host: we had a guest yesterday, an economist, who said that the reason why these public-private partnerships are a bad idea is because there is no market.

that is why the private sector is not going there by themselves. why should these exist? guest: in the situation of a public road, a private company would not build a public road. that is a public good that the public sector has to provide. there are some infrastructure projects beyond roads and bridges. systems that will be operated partly by private companies. there is a benefit to the private sector to be involved in that aspect. you have to find the places where the private sector can get a return on investment, then find the places in the project where they have to step in to help with permitting and the like. revision of credit or insurance.

host: one example is an infrastructure bank. we have heard that proposal from the president. spurring job creation around the country, creating financing authority, sponsored by john kerry in massachusetts. the idea is to attract more infrastructure investments by creating an infrastructure bank that could spur up to $640 billion in infrastructure spending over the next decade. what is the proof that that would happen? guest: there is no proof. it is simply one of those projects that makes sense that it makes sense. right now we have a huge deficit and a debt problem. the first downgrade in american history. the federal government cannot simply ride line checks. but there are pieces of these

projects that the private sector can make money off of. so, the government tries to come in with up-front funding and private sector cooperation on funding and construction of these projects. that is the problem with an infrastructure bank. the problem is that every single project has a certain amount of idiocy grassy to it. different from the last one, different from the next one. you cannot just rubber-stamp them all. you have to look at everyone. meaning that you cannot do them as quickly as you would like. it is a piece of the puzzle and it moves the ball forward. host: martin regalia, put on your economists hat. looking at those that have been unemployed for long time, our

most of those numbers construction workers? are there enough unemployed construction workers to make an infrastructure bank effective? , guest: we are still down by 7.5 million jobs since the downturn. we have many that are marginally taxed and not even counted. working part-time, but for economic reasons they would rather work full time. a large number of them are in extraction and construction industries. plenty of people could be brought back into construction projects. the majority of them are not construction builders, home workers. the layoffs in this downturn were very broadbased. there is enough supply to bring

back, but the question is, how do you do that without running the deficit? host: continuing our weeklong series looking at the american workforce, a private public partnerships on the topic this morning. business owners, we have a separate line for you. 202-737-2579. we want to hear from you as well. this is from the department of labor, the joint effort with the chamber commerce to assist military members in find civilian workplace jobs. can you put more meat on the bones of this proposal? guest: 8% to 9% of veterans are

unemployed. they have put themselves in harm's way for the country. we owe them a great debt for that. many of these programs are trying to create an avenue where by veterans can be reabsorbed into the private sector more effectively, more quickly. what they are doing is training, providing the individuals with a better knowledge of how to operate in the private sector. they have been operating in a very controlled environment up to that time. how can they make themselves more presentable to businesses? it is also a situation where they want businesses to take a good look dead veterans. in the military they have learned to deal with catastrophic situations.

it is a bringing together of the mines. we call it a -- coincidence of one. people want jobs and experience and you bring them together. it is another piece of the puzzle. veterans programs changes how you hire your veterans. meaning that in some cases the veteran will be more desirable and that a better wrote price point. it will not create net jobs in total. it is not a jobs creator for the economy as much as it is an employment program for veterans. because these people have sacrificed so much, it is the right thing i think for the country to do. host: is it already under way?

fixed guest: yes. i think it has been very successful. bringing together the -- coincidence of veterans in businesses looking for people, showing how the veteran can service that need. host: john, pennsylvania, go ahead. let me push the button. caller: i have a big electrical business. [feedback] i have a little electrical business in harrisburg, pa.. i have problems with getting the big government jobs when it comes to their bonding and all of that. host: i will perform -- i will take that point and i will let you go. in future, remember to turn your television down to avoid that

annoying feedback. guest: this is a situation that we see with small businesses. not just veteran small businesses. burdensome red tape that exists out there today. it has been a main chamber expression to streamline these regulations. very different for small businesses, how do they go, where do they go, how do they make the applications, what kind of permitting do they need to qualify? the sca does a pretty good job to help with that, but it is a big problem. many of these businesses were started by experts in their field, but dealing with the government can be a daunting obstacle.

host: what is the small business lending fund? guest: there is a program for lending to small businesses that tries to make credit more available. trying in many cases to bring the person that needs credit to the notice of the bank's and provide insurance and overlapping coverage for the banks that make those loans. guest: banks and businesses work together to make those jobs -- host: banks and businesses work together to make those jobs? guest: i think that the mistake we have made over the past two years is not focusing on the economy and focusing on jobs. you cannot get jobs without getting growth in the economy. providing a relative price point for a veteran or a new higher does not create a job.

it changes the relative price of hiring person a versus person b. that does not create a job. you have to have growth. we have to grow above 2.5% to create jobs. looking at the jobs side without looking at the economics side misses the driver in the equation. host: dupont -- the public- private partnerships do what you say it needs to be done? guest: some of them do. other public-private partnerships a look at various pieces within the economy and say -- why is that he's not sharing the economic benefit? why haven't veterans, who have given so much for the country, become employed them those

partnerships move to correct what is that perceived deficiencies. there are two reasons for having them. one of them actually focuses on creating more jobs. the other focuses on taking a disadvantaged piece of the economy been trying to bring them up to a place to take part in the opportunities out there. host: san bernardino, california. caller: good morning, c-span. the conversation this morning, regarding public-private sector jobs coppola basically the government has -- sector jobs, basically the government has sent these out to the highest bidders.

they take that money and they hire the cheapest workers that they can to retain the profits for themselves. we have done all of this work and have nothing to show for. i guess it is not a long-term solution to the economy. guest: actually, it can be. some jobs are more permanent. they provide the wherewithal to fund the demand that those people spend. they buy drugs that the drug store, food at the grocery store. stores that want to stock their shelves, the economy is internet-connected that way. i think that it is wrong to say that any one job is not a good

job. every job is a piece of the economy. if we are finding a place in the economy where the demand has not been met, we can further increase generations of intel. many little steps in the right direction will start to showing 117,000 jobs added in july. host: joblessness fell, but so did the share of the population looking for work. here you can see where the jobs were added. construction, 8000, manufacturing, 24,000. health care, retail trade, financial services, all down.

andy? guest: -- caller: there is a finite amount of jobs in the world. why would companies invest in the united states when they could invest in countries with cheap labor? this high unemployment rate is the new normal and analysts are not being honest about what is going on. guest: an interesting point. the number of jobs in the world are not finite. we see them growing every day. last month we saw another 117 jobs. these are the results of jobs being created in jobs being lost. we can do much better than that. that is what we are shooting for. we want to hundred 50,000 jobs, 350 jobs per month. the issue of competitiveness about world, we are in a

competitive world environment. it is not just a matter of what you pay a worker, it is what you get. yes, they earn more, but that is the key. they earn more by producing more. the fact that we are in a worldwide competition does not mean that we have to ship jobs overseas. for our system to be more competitive with those abroad, we would bring them home. host: patty murray was just assigned to the super committee. she wrote this piece in "the washington journal" this morning.

host: that is true. our educational system is failing the test right now. we have an economy that is becoming more technologically advanced, which requires greater skills. as they pointed out, post- graduate skills in many cases. and we are not filling that need in terms of training. much of it will have to be retraining. another absence in this skill

shortage is simply that the older workers worked with that one line of work for a long time. that line of work might be fading and another one might be coming up. not only is it educating youth, it will be reeducating the old war horses like myself to move into another line of work when it becomes available. wax often they are calling for public-private partnerships on this. including an integration of education. that allowstrategy's lawyers to work. -- host: often they are calling for public private partnerships on this -- guest: right now, if you are a business and are training people, it is very difficult for them to bring the training skills that they have to the

local educational system. trying to penetrate these environments at the local level can be a daunting task. i think that some of these partnerships are saying to the businesses -- what is the skill and training that you need? then try to change the public education curriculums to meet that need. many people come out with degrees, but they are not degrees that are readily employable in the marketplace. driving the education crop -- education in the way of the employable would be held by a long run. host: for a continued update on the stock drop this morning, the market opened up a few minutes ago. as we continue to talk about private sector jobs, buffalo's supply inc., what is this company?

caller: we are a distributor of medical equipment and supplies. host: does the private sector do enough? caller: i am not sure that those partnerships would directly impact my business. i do not claim to be an expert on them. host: would you call yourself a small-business owner? guest: -- caller: yes. host: earlier we were talking about the $30 billion to encourage lending to small businesses. your viewpoint on that? guest: -- caller: certainly, small businesses have a more difficult time getting capital. to grow and hire people, they need access to capital.

our company was founded on the principle that we should never be in debt. so, we have not been out in the capital market, looking for money. host: what are you hearing from other small business owners on this? caller: a lot of red tape. a lot of confusion. a lot of not thoroughly understanding the process. sba has a i thinksb improved in communicating their needs to small businesses. host: we just read a piece saying that there was a skill gap. are you having trouble finding people with the right skills for your business?

guest: given the unemployment situation, we should not have a problem meeting those needs. in terms of meeting the proper skill sets with job demands. host: are you going is a business? caller: we are just now seeing an upturn, so in cautiously optimistic. we will be hiring in the near future if things go well. host: are you concerned about the talk of deficit and debt reduction in the papers? we saw this from "the wall street journal," yesterday. host: businesses, like yourself, which supply things for the federal government? government contracts? caller: certainly, there have

been concerns over fewer funds being available. i guess i am somewhat philosophical. the overall good, i think that a lot of spending is good for the general economy. we will find our way through. we offer a value proposition that will not be as easy. we will find ways to continue to grow our business. host: all right. harold jackson, thank you for your time. martin regalia, what did you hear from him? guest: the same thing that we hear from many of our small businesses. availability of credit is an issue. it has been a tough few years. when they have more customers, they will hire more individuals. that is the key. host: if the federal government is this customer and the federal

government is cutting spending -- guest: if you serve as the need, the company will be there. they have much less to worry about than companies that do not. it is a competitive environment to provide a service that is needed. you provide the cheapest of the best service needed. you will maintain that customer. it is not a question of the federal government going away. that is what is misinterpreted about so much being done on the debt and deficit. we are just trying to slow the growth of the federal deficit. as a result, maintained deficits smaller than the growth rate. bringing down the debt to gdp ratio, headed in the right

direction. we are trying to change the trajectory. something that was so list in this current debt deal. it included spending cuts and was never intended to fix the debt. it was intended to keep us out of the faults and start the process in the right direction. -- keep us out of the fall and start the process in the right direction. caller: i think that we are overlooking something. as a country, we need to be more self-sufficient. less reliance on the federal sector. in terms of the federal debt, it is astronomical. we have main staples that people purchase every day. we have foods where we are not making what we are buying. [no audio]

host: we lost you. sorry about that. do you want to take that? guest: some of that i would agree with, some of it i would not. we are in a worldwide economy. if we do not try to serve it that -- service those customers, we will gradually shrink on the world stage. at the same time, we have to learn to live within our own finances. and not to burden the economy with bright side is as opposed to large size. we have not done that, which is why be have this huge debt level. get if you were to do it too

quickly, you could crush the economy. enhancing growth is the prerequisite, keeping the growth growing and changing the trajectory. host: democratic caller. bronx. caller: your economics are incoherent. you said that jobs are key and customers are key. then you said that the government has a lot of jobs they have had to stop because you want the government to shrink. therefore allowing customers who are not there for your businesses. ho[no audio] host: i apologize. we lost that call as well.

we are having technical difficulties here. this is not on purpose. guest: i would beg to differ. when you look at an economy, a broad based economy with a large federal sector, there are a lot of balances that have to take place. that being said, the underlying fundamental driver is the private sector. we have to unleash the private sector today. right now it is burdened with excessive regulation. a tax system that needs to be totally reformed. if we do those kinds of things, to get the private sector moving and creating jobs, it creates demand and the need for businesses to hire people to meet that demand, creating more income, jobs, and spending.

sometimes that can be terribly confusing to the people that have never studied economics. sometimes confusing to those of us that do. listen to mr. ben bernanke. listen to the people on wall street. we do know that certain things retard growth. certain things push jobs overseas. we have to get rid of those. excessive regulations. excessive taxation. we have to start doing the right thing in allowing the economy to work. host: let's try this again. roger, business owner, tennessee. caller: i am watching you all and -- yes, i just wanted to say that i am watching you all right now and you are talking about jobs and everything. ford started to build a new transmission for their carpets.

they are taking it to mexico. until we stop letting our businesses go to mexico, also bringing in cheap labor, all of these people -- the rich people, hiring them, i am a builder. i cannot understand these people. host: we will leave it there and take your point about trade policy. guest: right now we have to -- we have a free-trade agreement that is not being pushed forward. languishing in washington, d.c., everyone has a different reason. while we are sitting here without these trade agreements, competitors abroad are meeting that market. a lot of people like to think of the u.s. the way that it was 100 years ago. when we were coming out of the industrial age, becoming a

dominant power. or 50 years ago, after the second world war. we are not there anymore. for a lot of reasons. size. we are not even the largest economic block anymore. the european union is larger. we have to interact with these people in a way that is different. producing most efficiently, effectively, selling where we can sell affectively. in doing that, we create jobs. not necessarily the same type of jobs. not necessarily manufacturing jobs. different types of jobs. we produce what we have a relative level of experience in here, selling those abroad and making money. it is a different system that is always changing.

of that industry is gradually shrinking because it is not worldwide competitive. host: republican line. robert, texas. caller: thank you for taking my call. the government thinks that it can create jobs. it cannot. the private sector can create jobs. we need to get into a mode where we just step back. starting businesses, helping people to get working, getting away from this government does everything -- government does not do anything but get in the way. host: we will leave it there. let me show you this twitter message -- guest: the real estate bubble was the man did not by the private sector, but the

government has for years nationalized the housing industry. fannie and freddie are back, but before that the problem was that we nationalized it too much. i think that you could make a very strong case for just the opposite. that in that case, we had too much government influence and interference. i think that the overall state that we have unleashed on the private sector refers not to unfettered capitalism, but to overburdensome regulations. there is a balance. you do not want an economy with no regulation, or regulation that is so pervasive and hard to

understand that you do not get people taking a chance. it has driven the economy since the beginning. risking their lives savings. going forward, creating businesses. not just rich people. way back when, building computers in their garages, ozniak, working on an idea that no one thought would work. it is not just fat cats. providing capital to entrepreneurs, moving the system in the direction of allowance. there is never a success without failure. when we criminalize failure, we retard the system. we do not see the kind of growth we would otherwise have.

host: pam, your on the air. caller: i am just appalled at bureaucrats that tell us that free trade is working for the united states. to me, it is a completely failed experiment. but not to admit that it has failed, i cannot believe it. every job that we have has gone overseas. i had a business of 40 people in medical transcription that entire business sector is going to india. the best jobs that we have are headed to india. guest: i love people that sit there and preface everything by saying that trade is a failed experiment, i started 10 years ago. we have been trading for a lot longer than 10 years.

as the world economy changes and grows, we will have to trade a lot more. that does not mean that every particular sector benefits. it does not mean that trait does not destroy it some jobs while creating others. if someone says that their business did not do well because of trade, you kind of have to say -- that is a shame, is there another business that you could move into that would benefit from trade? we have become much more of a service economy. one of your own callers today said that we ship all of the service jobs overseas. what is left? we have a problem growing right now, as well as a problem creating jobs. the problem is not the competition.

we have leveled so much, and levels, we are having trouble competing in that new global environment. we have stepped up to the big leagues and we are not the only global player in town. we have got to meet that competition. if we keep sitting here and saying -- my goodness, look at everything these other guys have done. they did what we told them to do. become world traders. become more efficient. we will just shrink. we have to step up to the challenge. the trade is there. get used to it. the rest of the world is there. get used to it. do not bemoan the fact that they are growing, figure out how to compete and take that business back. host: earlier we were talking about proposals like the vet

program. what are you hearing about when congress returns? when could date address these proposals? guest: fall is going to focus again on the debt issue. we have that new joint committee on the deficit and the debt. i think that it would be good if we could deal with that in a long-term way. is hard to see where they fit into that context when you have to give real legislation, forming in the proper way on the heels of an election campaign.

the sun with the other issues was not focusing on it. host: the federal reserve, keeping interest rates low, do you think that will help spur spending? i ask this because of this week -- tw -- etweet -- host: does that get people spending? guest: i do not look at it as spending. i look at it as an underpinning of the very modest amount of growth that we have right now. there was thought that they might announce of the purchase of laundering year securities.

the fact of the matter is that as he maintains liquidity and keeping -- keeps places operating during this difficult time, that is their job, first and foremost. i think that they have done as much as they possibly can to provide liquidity and capital to the banking system. but with lack of demand, the woman is right. who would expand businesses if customers are not coming in? as long as these businesses can meet the existing demand with a current work force, that is the way they will do it. host of democratic line, spencer, chicago. -- host: democratic line, spencer, chicago. caller: starting back in the

1990's, economy and industry became aware that conforming companies told the business community a very bad set of rules to play by. outsourcing jobs does not work. you cannot outsourced jobs, because who can purchase them? we have to bail them out, because why? merchandise. if you continue the owner's role of saying -- ok, we have to compete with global markets. number one, trade policy is very poor for our nation. it is destroying this economy. guest: i disagree with some, agree with others.

your point about market entry is absolutely true. which is why we have free trade agreements with the rea, colombia, panama, that we are sitting on that other people are taking advantage of. our competitors around the world are laughing at us. the fact of the matter is, if we are going to be competitive in the workspace, and we have to be, there is no alternative. a disconcerting fought for people my age and older, with the united states being the kingpin, but it is just not that way anymore. we will have to try to be more competitive. sell goods abroad. we will use the money that we make selling goods to the rest of the world. host: patricia, a business owner, fort myers, florida. caller: we have downsized our

construction business considerably. host: what do you think about these public-private pat -- partnerships? caller: we are putting all of our issues into one basket. we have to separate. we have the mets corporations getting sustenance. oil companies, farm subsidies, defense contractors. you name it. these guys are just lining up with congress saying give me, give me, give me. the american worker is starving. host: as a construction business owner, will it help you if there was this infrastructure bank? was this infrastructure bank? caller: case in