medicaid and we will discuss the bloomberg article about tunnels under the u.s.-mexico border. ♪ host: good morning. wednesday, august 15. the race to the white house is weeks away. that has not kept president obama and mitt romney from ratcheting up their attacks. the latest attacks came yesterday in the wake of joe biden music a racial term to describe romney's plan. as we look at the campaign, we want to know if youyour thought.

are you hearing what he what? are the campaign's focus too much on the electoral horse race? give us a call. republicans, 202-737-0002. democrats. -- 202-737-0001. independents, 202-628-0205. you can also catch up with us on all of your favorite social media platforms. twitter -- , facebook and journal@c-span.org. good morning. we want to go to the front page of "the washington post." this is a story from ohio.

host host: we will cover that story this morning and get into more of it. we want to hear from you if you want to start calling in on whether you think the campaign has bed substance if enough for

you. we want to wrap up primary night across four states to help us. by our guest from "gledhill." -- "the hill." guest: atomic towns and was able to beat back -- tommy thompson was able to beat back the establishment. he overcame the challenges of the tea party. it will be a competitive race in the future. it is likely to heat up now that we are closer to the nomination. host: our democrats feeling

about this race? caller: -- guest: tammy baldwin was the favorite for democrats. republicans have recently been in surgeon because of the recall election and because ryan is a big starter. it will be one of the state house in which paul ryan plays a very large. a lot of money will be spent. the republican race will pay -- played it well. it it remains to be seen how much of strength republicans have. host: the party candidates were looking at this race as another place for a big win. what does this do for the tea party. -- what does this do for the tea party? guest: some candidates were

beaten back. one was a self-funded businessmen who was doing pretty well. the fact that tommy thompson pulled it out indicates the strength of the establishment. host: take us elsewhere last night. in michigan, and the other big races? guest: michigan was interesting. we were not sure what would amount. republicans look like they would remain insurgent, but it is often blue. it is likely to get a large influx of outside money. host: another senate contest people watching is the kinetic race to replace joe lieberman. what happened? guest: the connecticut race kind

of cut its expected results. they have been attacking each other. right now, it is is undecided. -- it is undecided. we will have to see how that turns out after all of the money games played out. host: linda mcmahon get your her work with the world wrestling inner came in. guest: yes. that was her business. host: how much did she and the spending? guest: a couple of million dollars. now that she has taken the nomination, it is an open door for outside groups to come and

help. although, they will be wanting to spend their cash where there are nine candidates -- not candidates on her level. host: i know it was a late night for you. other headlines? guest: it was for that's fifth district, there was an upset. when the third district. sorry about that. the incumbent was actually taken down by 80 party insurgent. -- a tea party and surgeon. he said he was thinking got for his accomplishments. he is running against a democratic opponent that is also a political newcomer. it will be interesting to see

how that plays up because it is an example of tea party insurgents. host: how did he do? cliff stearns had several million dollars in his big account. he spent over half a million dollars on his primary race. guest: stern tattle virtually in dollars. he said -- won a couple of straw polls. that shows the power of the tea party in florida. conversely, there was a race s and thetom incumbent, and adams lost.

it is not the conclusion that the tea party has the strength they did in 2010. it can be a game changer. host: mica is a longtime member of congress. it was this race in doubt? guest: adams wanted it to be in doubt. she was running a very fierce campaign. mica had a large lead over the past couple of months. it was expected that mica would pul il it out. host: any othe rrace that ke -- races that kept you up? guest: aside from florida, most things were expected. democrats got their nominee in the 26 the district.

he was running against the preferred candidate. host: that is the district near miami. thank you for joining us after a long primary night last night. i want to turn back to the "washington post" story that we started. how i want to redo some more from that campaign how talking about the -- i want to read you some more from that campaign talking about how to language. at

the half host: we went to start hearing your feedback on this subject.

we will start with carmen on the independent line from montana. thank you for joining us. caller: in the article you just read, i have been watching the republicans do hard fisted politics towards the democrats since the revolution. it seems like the democrats -- there spying got soft. watching joe biden, i love the politics that the democrats are throwing back at the republicans. they cannot take it when the truth is hitting them hard. i am glad romney picked ryan because he is just showing the fact he wants to turn money over to the rich people. host: you say you like the

bareknuckle the back-and-forth. is this what you think the campaign needs to be about? caller: republicans are telling the truth. -- democrats are telling the truth. when the republicans talk, they are taking sound bites and making the conversation look cute. there aris a lot of money being wasted by people like the koch brothers. i have been rallying against the corporations since vietnam. we paid for the vietnam war and we are now paying for the veterans who need care in the hospital. host: thank you. talking about the sound bites. i want to take you to one that we talked about with joe biden. [video clip]journ >> we have a great picture what

they all value. look to what they value. look at their budget and what they are proposing. romney said the first hundred days, he will let the big banks to write their own rules. they're good to be all back in chains. host: lot of headlines about that statement yesterday by vice president biden. this is from "of the new york post."

host: we also want to show you the headline from "the new york daily news." gop will put you in chains. a couple of more thoughts. on the republican line from georgia. good morning. go ahead. caller: biden is taking

advantage of the public-school system because anybody that studies history knows that it was the democrats down in the south that all and all the slaves and they are the ones that started the civil war. we have to go down there and free the slaves from the democrats. they can still control the south. republicans just got into georgia in the last 10 years. host: fast-forward to 2012 to talk about how you feel these moment should be covered. is this something that is a legitimate campaign issue? the democrats were the ones who started the jim crow laws and all of the laws that they complain about. they are the ones that started them. now, they're trying to turn history around on its european try to make like it is the

republicans. host: thank you for calling in. the commentary and analysis in "the washington times" --

host: we will go to chicago. beverly is on the democratic line. good morning. caller: good morning. i have been listening to your program and you are reading this stuff joe biden said about wall street. his reference was to wall street, not to say black people was in chains. mitt romney is running around laughing and giggling with donald trump, to his question in our first black president. as he denounced that? ithe says the presidents goal. now he is a thief. newt gingrich said the president is the first welfare president. that is relating to blacks because they have all blacks on welfare. where is the outrage to this? you live.

host: the you think the media is too caught up in this? caller: -- why are you not outraged about that? this president has been taking abuse. i have not heard of the republicans that act like they are concerned about the black people. haveromney doesn't anything to do. he will tell the president to go back to chicago. host: thank you. some comments on facebook --

host: we will dry jack from austin, texas. thank you for calling in. caller: politicians are just polarizing the issue. they're not taking any american ideas into consideration. they're trying to tell people to vote one way or the other. i want to tell you something. all of these politicians are lying. they are trying to tell you to be a republican or democrat -- host: if we are talking about issues that you think are not part of the campaign, what do you want to hear? caller: i want to hear about the

federal reserve. how powerful the federal reserve bank is and how they have been inflating our currency since 1913. they are a private institution run by private bankers who are constantly causing depressions and recessions. they are a bunch of criminals. thank you, sir. host: jack from austin, texas. a recent column from "politico." host: that column sites two

pieces from "that the york times" -- this is a bit of it.

host: we will go to patrick on the republican line from indiana. thank you for calling. caller: while i do agree that the chain's comment was egregious, one of the things that is important to consider is when he said they would send the factories to singapore. why singapore and on china? the one of the reasons is because the thought that we are dependent on the chinese for our future. it is important that the democrats treat the electric light children as if we would not have been able to figure it out. we cannot say anything to offend the chinese. that is my comment. thank you. host: patrick from indiana.

a few programming notes. the president and the first lady are delivering remarks this afternoon at about 1:25 p.m. at the alien energy in the theater in iowa. also, at 6:35 p.m., they will be at the village of east davenport in davenport, iowa. also, other programming notes on the presidential race. the countdown to the convention is happening. follow that on our facebook page. republican convention august 27. democratic convention september 4. you can also check out extended coverage of the zero "washington journal." october 3, the domestic policy debate is taking place at the university of denver. october 16, the foreign and

domestic topic debate. how his foreign policy, october 22. another note on the upcoming convention. chris christie and marco rubio given prime convention rolls. chris christie has been preparing for a top speaking role at the national convention --

host: let us go back to this question about whether the race for the presidency is substantive enough for you. we will s query from san diego. go ahead. caller: when the supreme court said that corporations are people too, joe biden said fine. romney ran away from the government when the war in vietnam was one. ron paul, who was a communist, this guy voted against bringing our troops back.

bush and cheney lead 9/11 happen to get us into the war. host: where are you getting that information? caller: i predicted 9/11. host: are the issues you would rather hear about? are you ok we focus on these issues? caller: okay. you have to head them low. romney took $77,000 on his tax break. this guy is a jeter. he has always been a cheater. hidden love. hit him hard. i do not care. host: larry from san diego. let us go to the independent line from oklahoma. your thoughts? caller: i must agree from the woman -- with a woman from chicago. i do not agree with the conspiracy theories, but president obama has been the recipient of the greatest bull

rush of hatred, animosity, slurs, racial and then it is -- this is unprecedented in regard to air attack on a president. for the right wing to let garbage to criticize with the obama administration is doing is like enosis -- nazis. the right-wingers have no integrity. they have absolutely no lull they will not stoop to in order to try to destroy these residents. i am glad that democrats and joe biden are finally finding these guys back. they cannot take anyone that fights back and thank god they are probably -- finally fighting

these guys back. host: on twitter -- host: let us go to florida. tom is on the republican line. go ahead. caller: good morning. thank you for having me. i do not know what is going to happen, but i think the press can really help the american voters decide the directions of getting bothy candidates to cut it out. allow the american people to examine your plans. the democrats think that criticism of the republican plan is a plan. it is not. what is their plan? every time a press reporter asks them what the plan is, they get

stuck. they say oh, i did this indicted that. we need to know what the democratic plan is for medicare and reducing the national budget. i would like to get one other thing. the barack obama mentioned a gentleman named frank davis. he is a communist. he needs to explain how much this gentleman has influenced his thinking. host: you brought up the medicare issue. have you seen the advertisement that has been controversial? the pro-obama superpac in which a man suggests romney is to blame for the death of his wife. [laughter] caller: let me just say that the democrats depend on ignorance of the the listener.

every company in the u.s. has had to lay people off in order to survive. it is ridiculous. host: we will play you that advertisement right now. [video clip] >> i do not think mitt romney understands what he has done by closing the plant. he does not realize that people's lives completely changed. when mitt romney and bain capital closed the plant, i lost my health care. my family lost health care. a short time after that, my wife became ill. i do not know how long she was sick. i think maybe she did not say anything because she knew we could not afford the insurance. one day, she became ill and that occurred to the jackson county hospital and admitted her. they found the cancer. by then, it was stage four. there was nothing they could do for her. she passed away in 22 days.

i do not think mitt romney realizes what he has done to anyone. i do not think mitt romney is concerned. >> priorities usa action is responsible for the content of this. host: let us get some reaction. let us go to a man on the democratic line from arkansas. good morning. caller: i just wanted to say biden told the truth. if it were left up to the republicans, we would be getting paid $2 per hour. they take social security out of my check. they take up unemployment. they take out health care. i told them to stop taking that stuff out of my check because they are going to layer it on. i cannot give it to you.

they want us to work for $2. the republicans, i would not trust them if they had jesus on one side and christ on the other. thank you for listening. host: little rock, arkansas. we will go to california. the independent line. your thoughts on where this campaign is going and whether you think it is going in the right direction? caller: i am here. i am just listening to all of this racism. we do not have to -- look what they said about bush, reagan. some of these people bring it up and i say the guy from san diego was right.

it is said that people have to stand at one another and put each other down. jobs is what is needed. this administration -- host: are you talking about david axelrod? the you think the media is to blame on this? caller: it is bad. host: thank you for giving us your call. i want to show you another advertisement. this is a romney advertisement. [video clip] >> what does it say about a presidents character when his

campaign tries to use the tragedy of a woman's death for political gain? what does it say about a president's character when he had his campaign raise money for the advertisement and then stood by as his top aides were lying about it? america did -- america deserves better than a president who will do anything to stay in power. i am mitt romney and i approve this message. >host: you will probably hear more of these advertisements heading into the campaign conventions coming up later this month. the campaign calendar for the republican national convention, we will show you it now. monday, august 27. every day after that rfrom 7:30 p.m. until 11:00 p.m.

watch all of the coverage and .ollow us on faceboofacebook.con we will go to florida. republican line. your thoughts on whether the campaign has gone a little too nasty or is it substance stiff enough for you? caller: i would like to see the republicans ignore the man in the white house and address what they will do for the country. i'm tired of all of the things they're saying. what about the people who lost the jobs that president obama closed? it is the same thing with medicare. why have so many people decided to not be you responsible -- not be responsible for their own health care? what is wrong with the preventative measures people can take to take care of themselves and why when they do not, they

look to other people to pay the bills for them. i would like to see the campaign addressed the people who are willing to stand up and be responsible for themselves and have one side just ignore the other. tell me what you will do. for goodness sakes, do not just keep going with this race nonsense. if i do not like somebody, it is because i do not like him. race has nothing to do with it. it is a sick and divisive thing that people do to say it is because i am this or that. host: thank you for calling in. i want to read a couple of tweets --

host: we will go to new hampshire. democratic line. your thoughts on campaign 2012? caller: good morning. i have to say about the advertisements, as an american individual, you will have to pick and choose through all of the b.s. as a democrat, i can tell you that republicans seem very desperate when they have to take everything that people say and switch them around.

they make it sound like it was racial when they were talking about banks having chains back on people. it sounds pretty desperate. there is a big reason why congress has under 10% approval rating. the biggest problem is the congress has been ignoring the president. they have been ignoring the president be. that has been getting nothing done for america and that is all i have to say. thank you. host: thank you. we will go to steven from madison, wisconsin. your thoughts on the race? caller: -- sorry about that. i think it is growing.

there is a diversion from the truth. it is set so many people in america do not really have the connections to the media that -- they do not know to what should these types of programs or listen to these programs. where to go to find the right information about what they need to know. i think is also ridiculous that they have to get so disrespectful to each other. especially to our president. host: thanks for the call. on twitter -- host: from facebook

host: another story focusing on the gaffes that have come up. a lot of focus on mitt romney introducing his new vice presidential candidate, paul ryan, as the next president of the u.s. this is from yahoo news.

host: i want to show you that moment. [video clip] >> today is a good day for america. there are better days ahead. [applause] during me in welcoming the next president of the united states, paul ryan. [applause] host: let us go to the republican line from texas. is the media to focus on the gaps? caller: absolutely. incidentally, president obama did the same thing, introducing joe biden one time.

i am actually proud to say that they are finally talking about some issues instead of just letting third. -- fleeing there is. he did do a budget in the senate has not done a budget. they're both supposed to do one and then they work out their differences. it is hard to work it out whenever the other side does not even put out a budget. maybe with him coming on board, they will talk about some things that will really matter with america. thank you. host: thank you. the headline from an editorial in "the washington post" --

host: that editorial is in "the washington post became one more comment from twitter -- host: we will ask jeffrey if he agrees from savannah, georgia. your aunt. caller: i do not agree with that. host: what do you think the campaign should be focusing on? caller: medicare is part of it. the deficit should be definitely a part of it because i believe from the republican perspective, for the aaa rating to a aa rating and i want to see what they will do when it comes

up again because of african- american being president. never in history as a president been that is respected. even bush got more respect. i am an african-american man. this kind of everglades me. -- it aggravates me. you have two doubles and a blue dress. for those who do not believe what they are seeing, it is deceiving. host: jeffrey is from savannah, georgia. he will be the last caller in the first 45 minutes of the "washington journal." we want to show you our coverage schedule for the presidential debates coming up. october 3, domestic policy debate at the university of denver.

october 16, foreign and domestic topics. october 22, foreign policy debates in florida. also, later this month, the campaign -- national republican convention calendar starts on monday, august 27 that 2:00 p.m. tuesday, wednesday, thursday will be from 7:30 p.m. until 11:00 p.m. with mitt romney scheduled to accept the nomination on thursday night. up next, we will have cnbc host larry kudlow to discuss wall street's perspective on the ticket. we will look at the changes that paul ryan has proposed to medicaid and medicare programs. we will be right back.

>> i started as a copy boy in a "of the new york times." i was in a training program for "the wall street journal." >> this sunday, walter pincus talks about his various jobs as -- as a journalist. >> they built a $4 billion facility. it housed 40 people. it has separate rooms for everybody. if he spent $4 million on an elementary school, somebody would raise questions. >> more with walter pincus sunday night at 8:00 p.m. on c- span's "q&a." >> now the soviet bear may be gone but there are still wolves in the woods and we saw that when saddam hussein invaded kuwait.

the mideast might have become a nuclear powder keg. our energy supply fell hostage. we did well was right and what was necessary. we destroyed a threat. free to people. a blocked a tyrant in the prison of his own country. >> tonight, 10 million of our fellow americans are out of work. 10 million work harder for lower pay. the incumbent president says unemployment always goes up a little bit before a recovery begins. unemployment only has to go up by one more person before a real recovery can begin. >> c-span has aired every minute of every party convention since 1984. this year, watch the republican and democratic conventions on c- span starting monday, august 27. >> "washington journal"

continues. host: we turn to wall street's perspective on campaign 2012 with larry kudlow. glad to have you on "washington journal." we want to get your thoughts on paul ryan joining the republican ticket. guest: of course, you are talking to a big fan of paul ryan. he is a friend of mine going back over 20 years when we were with jack kemp. he is from the free market supply-side school of economic growth and economic incentives. so i my. i am an old reagan guy. i was pleased to see ryan put on the ticket. he has put energy into it. he will help the discourse on the key issues.

i am very happy with it. >> -- host: what do you like best about this? what does he bring the most to romney? caller: -- guest: his knowledge base is spectacular. we are going bankrupt in terms of entitlements an. for me, the single biggest thing that i like about paul ryan is his longtime emphasis on economic growth. the country is in sad shape. the recovery right now is anemic. the fact of the matter is, for the past 10 or 12 years, going back several administrations, we have not hardly grown in this country. the growth rate is just over 1%. that is not acceptable.

we should be growing at 3.5%. we have to make it possible for entrepreneurs. we have to have a corporate tax code that is more competitive. paul ryan gets that. he is a growth die. we have got to get this country moving again. host: you named paul ryan the conservative men of the year at the end of 2011. you describe him as having an old-fashioned american vision. what did you mean by that? paul believes in the american idea. he believes in american exceptionalism. he wants us to advance to our fullest potential. what you are seeing here is a different model than the one we have in washington. there will be a big choice. ryan and romney want free enterprise and sprinkle --

entrepreneurship. president obama is a big government man. he is a redistribution guy. there is ao have -- he i real contrast. paul ryan is old fashioned. he is basically saying he should keep more of what you were in. you should invent. you should innovate. most of all, america has just got to be number one. we are an exceptional country. i happen to subscribe to those views and i think ryan is dead right. host: we are talking with larry kudlow. if you want to ask a question, give us a call on the republican line at 202-737-0002.

the democratic line 202-737-0001 . for independents -- 202-628- 0205. staying on paul ryan, and the concerns about him on the ticket? what is your biggest fear when it comes to paul ryan's views in the campaign? guest: i do not have any fears. i think he is first rate. he has already reenergize. he has reenergize mitt romney. host: this him being on the ticket but medicare at the forefront of this race? we have seen that attempt by democrats. guest: democrats will try to scare everyone with medicare. we need an honest discussion of the financial problems and the

health problems and all the medical service delivery services. those tactics will not stop an intelligent discussion. i think ryan and romney together will have plenty of time to keep their eye on the ball. they will work on making the economy better. there is going to be a big battle over medicare. there will be bricks thrown on each side. i am fine with that. let us hash it out. let us have a discussion on how to make our whole health care system more efficient, let us examine the people already in the system -- let us give the younger cohorts some choice. let us get some competition and have insurance plans that are competing with each other. competition and free markets and every other aspect of american industry have been the most competitive, the lowest cost,

and the best quality. why can we not apply a free market competition model to health care? let us have that debate. it is time. host: i want to get your reaction to a piece in "the new york times." one of the graphs says mr. ryan bucks of the wisdom on how to deal with the debt ceiling. host: your take on whether wall street thinks this is the right way to deal with the looming fiscal cliff? guest: i personally did not agree with his position on that. there are other republican

leaders who took that the way and i do not pretend to speak for wall street, although i used to work there and i have covered that place for many years. i do not -- losing our credit rating was not a good thing. i would like to see that not happen again. defering obligations for a couple of days was not something i favored. i expressed my disapproval on that very subject. host: let us get some calls in here. patrick is on the independent line from florida. patrick, you are on with larry kudlow. caller: larry kudlow is a typical gas on c-span. you say he is an economic expert. he had a political appointee job for a president who raised taxes, triple the national debt. he talks about \ big government.

fdic has gone to $250,000. he talks about medical reform. we elected a governor down here that -- his company backed out been corrupted by the government because it was charging $1.5 billion fines for ripping off the medicaid system. all of these other republicans love to talk about waste and fraud. host: i will give you a chance to respond. you make no bones about your political viewpoints. guest: i am not sure what the question was. was there a question? i am not going to speak to governor scott. i think he has been a very good governor. i thought i heard something about the fdic guarantees being raised under sheila baier. i thought that was inappropriate move to increase the deposit.

i do not like bailout. when you are in the middle of a financial crisis, i think small favors and large favors -- we needed to patch up the financial system. i do not see what the big problem is. ronald reagan lowered marginal tax rates from 70% to 28%. he watched one of the greatest economic booms in american history. bill clinton -- i have always felt he was a pretty good economic president. he bumped up the income tax, but bumped down the capital gains tax. i am not sure what the caller is talking about. he sounds very grouchy. nothing is perfect. i will defend most of that stuff. i cannot speak to governor scott. host: you talk about reagan. i want you to explain your recent column about the reagan in romney and where you say you

believe that romney is the most candidates like reagan. guest: yes. i think he is the most fiscally conservative republican since ronald reagan. romney's position on a 20% supply-side tax cut across the board on targeting government spending to get it down from 24% of gdp to 20%, which could mean several trillion dollars lower spending. his growth estimate of 04% is exactly right. we should have had that this whole time. the idea of creating 300,000 new a month was an excellent target. unleashing our energy resources and going towards a more free- market choice when it comes to healthcare -- i think romney is very conservative. that is why i was not surprised

when he picked paul ryan because he has many of the same views. when i look back, meaning no disrespect, but some candidates and presidents -- i find romney's platform to be the most conservative since ronald reagan. he wants to restore economic incentives for he wants to limit the size of government. that is very much to my liking. host: ron the republican line this morning. caller: yeah. i did not necessarily agree with everything the republicans are doing. i feel he is pushing us towards being a part of a one-world government. he wants us to be a part of the

one-world government. this artificial cliff -- to push us so will become a part of the one-world government. guest: well, what i gather from that -- i'm not sure i understand one-world government. i've had some foreign policy experience through the years. i think the united states must act in its own national security interests. we are important players in the united nations. we should not be held back. we must act where we see fit to act. we are involved in the imf and the world bank and the world court.

we must always act in our self interest based on our constitutional principles. host: barbour this morning from missouri -- barbara. caller: can he explain how the republicans seem to not be concerned about the cuban side of our government? it is all about the money. how can ryan having been in the congress now be the one who is going to bring us out of it. let us be honest. this government is not just about a budget. why do we go 12 years ago from being great/ guest: those are good and tough

questions. ryan rose to the head of the budget committee just a few years ago. i did not think he deserves credit or blame for what happened going back 10 years. he has been a house member for 14 years. i think he has put together a very strong budget and a very strong budget restraints. he is trying to hold back spending and deficits. he is absolutely on the right track. it may not be perfect. i think he is on the right track for limited government. the debt bomb is out there and we have to deal with the debt bomb. i give ryan a lot of credit.

what the caller was saying, i think people in washington do understand the human cost. the human cost has to be measured in different ways. if you want prosperity and if you want to in million rate poverty, if you want to help those who are not rich or not well off, what is the best way to do it? is it to flood the country with more government spending? to create more food stamps and welfare? is that the way we want to do it? do we want a government and welfare-dependent country? or do we want to create opportunities for people to act with responsibility in their own independent ways and some now

become entrepreneurs and go out and get jobs? we have competing visions here. the government has to cut back and maybe trim their entitlements. that doesn't mean the policymakers do not care about people. is the big government experiment working? the reagan years and the clinton years or a perfect example of "--to use clinton's race, phrase -- it has taken hold. we created almost 50 million new

jobs. that was a good time. i didn't like the government dependency that is happening now. host: who is to blame for it? guest: i hate to come up and assign blame. it is no secret that i did not agree with president obama. i had dinner with him when the first came in at george will's house. i do not agree with his policies. he is more intent on creating greater and greater government dependency with more government transfer payments. i think mr. obama has created a oor psychology. he is taking whacks at businesses and wants to spend more money on thes trende

payments. he represents a change from esident clinton. i think obama is moving his party to the left. i think it will cost him financially and politically. host: is there any blame to be assigned for the eight bush years? guest: i think bush makes the mistake. he had good and bad. mr. bush is a friend. i basically loved the guy even when i disagreed with him. i didn't like the drug into ottomans. it wasn't paid for. i thought he spent too much money on education and put too much federal authority into education. i did like is lower marginal tax rates in 2003.

i think they helped launch a boom. he inherited a recession, a tech bubble, 9/11. those were difficult things. he tried to revamp freddie mac and fannie mae. i give him credit for that. i do not blame bush for that. put together the rescue package for the banks. that was done in 2008 while bush was still president. president obama built on that for better or worse. bush is very much a mixed bag. the deficit was about 1.5% of gdp and the unemployment rate was 5%. george bush has a mixed record

and i'm the first guy to limit that. host: a question from maverick on twitter. i have no trouble with governor romney provided additional tax returns. i say let it all hang out. the remarks by harry reid that romney has not paid taxes in 10 years or without fact. he has no sources and it is stupid. that is the lowest form of politics. i would probably err on this side of more transparency. host: let's go to bob from dallas, texas, this morning. caller: i am a liberal and calling on the independent line. i believe in the liberal

publication of laws. why your guest prefers to social security as an entitlement. i am eligible for social security by paying into it. i paid 100% of my income -- it goes towards social security. a very large income or salary. i do not understand why they continue to refer to it as an entitlement. if we continue to do away with jobs by outsourcing them and we'll have ceo's and wealthy individuals that only pay social security on a certain amount. host: larry kudlow.

guest: social security has become an entitlement rather than a straight insurance plan. the caller is right -- we pay into it. the benefits have grown much faster than the work force has been able to put in funds to finance it. that is the problem with social security. it is in better shape than medicare but i think it will be in trouble. i think we could grow our way out of it. i have looked at the numbers. rather than harsh cutbacks, i think if the market economy grew 4% for the next 10 or 20 years, we have enough revenue to cover social security providing we do not add any new benefits.

i do not think that is the case with medicare. there will have to be some trimming. it issue -- i don't know if will come up in the campaign or not. why should the younger people have an option? they want to invest the money into a government account that yields 4% a year. there is no lock box because the surplus is turned over to the treasury for spending. your money is spent and you get ou for that. why shouldn't you have your own option for international investments just like members of congress? why shouldn't everybody have that option? they can stay in the traditional

system or go out and have a choice and have the same investment menus that people have and that members of congress and the executive branch have? why shouldn't that option be made available? i did not get that. host: debbie write-in, a question on e-mail. guest: there is a lot of truth in all that. these are tough issues. let me just say that i come back

to my mantra of economic growth and tax incentives. i think on a per ship has been stifled. growth helps solve a lot of these problems -- i think entrepreneurship has been stifled. there is waste, fraud, abuse. there are programs which do not need. there are entire cabinet agencies will no longer need. host: what would be the first one you would get rid of? guest: i would put a knife to the commerce and labor departments. i would want to push the education department to the localities. let the local states and cities run the education system. i think the education department has gone too far. i used to beat an associate director of omb.

today, in the modern high-tech era, there are some nights things that can be done without a big, centralized federal government. mitt romney knows how to do this. romney has taken over sick companies and turn them around. we have a sick company right now. it is called usa government, inc. and it needs to be turned around. we have to root out unnecessary spending besides dealing with the entitlements. i think these goals are achievable. i think if the economy grows at 4%, that is an ambitious goal. then the revenues will pick up as a share of gdp. the revenues will pick up.

host: we are talking with larry kudlow of nbc's "the kudlow report." another question on e-mail. host: your response. guest: as i understand it, the role of investors is forced and foremost to make a profit. to get a high rate of return. they get their capital and give it to a andant to get a high rate of return. that competes with stocks and bonds and china and brazil. that is what the name of the game is. here is the people do not understand. without profits, you can create

jobs. this is something that president obama does not seem to understand. a successful business is a profitable business. a profitable business will be an expanding business that creates jobs as it expands. if apple and microsoft and google were not profitable, they could not read these thousands and thousands of new jobs. the role of profit is maligned by many politicians in washington, d.c. the idea that we should invest in order to create jobs does not make sense. you have to have the capital and from that comes the business expansion and from that comes new jobs. you cannot just say, i will invest in a new job. what about the rest of the new

business? what good is a job tax credit for one year, which has failed utterly? profits make the engine run. and that's what creates jobs. host: let's go to john from oregon. caller: i watched your show every day. in oregon, the july jobless report came out yesterday. it went from 8.5% to 8.7%. all the jobs are all the big industry is leaving the united states. i do not understand the obama mine said by driving -- mindset by driving jobs away.

several industries have just left. don't you think that they should give some incentives to bring in these jobs back? guest: lowered the corporate tax rates. there's probably no one single other important idea that making our taxes as competitive as taxes around the world. i do not want to dismiss regulatory burdens. international capital -- capital which is mobile, it goes where it it is most welcome. whichever country is more possibility in the treatment of capital is going to get the companies and will get the jobs. our corporate tax rate at 40% is the highest in the world.

the president and congress should have lowered the corporate tax rate in 2009 as a recovery measure. it was one of the single biggest mistakes. instead of spending one trillion dollars in helpless stimulus, we should have lowered the business tax rates and brought our company's home. provide new incentives. am a free-trader. the corporate tax rate would have made a huge difference. it still today would make a huge difference. i favor romney because he talks about it all the time. the president wants to penalize firms operating overseas. firms operating overseas should

not be double taxed at have a huge headquarters operations here. you'll have administrative headquarters here that creates jobs. he does not understand the tax incentive model. there are other issues about the national labor relations board. the corporate tax would be a huge improvement, in my judgment, and make america more competitive. host: the caller brought up the jobs report. your take on addit. guest: at least we did create some jobs, 160,000. we are an anemic jobs recovery. this is the lowest jobs recovery in the modern era.

you are running about 150,000 jobs per month and we need to double that. the unemployment rate is too high, 8.3%. it could be as high as 15%. we are in trouble on this. it looked like what december, gender, february, we were going better guns -- december, january, february. that seems to have stopped. some of these short-term stimuli fade away. the other thing to deal with is the fiscal cliff, which is primarily a tax cliff but maybe

defense spending cliff. if the bush tax cuts expire, that will take about $400 billion out of the economy and it will reduce marginal incentives to grow. the congressional budget office it thinks that creates a recession next year. people think it is impacting this year's economy. firms are pulling back. on the spending side, defense taking $500 billion -- $1 tr illion. defense is not half the budget. we're risking our national security posture and all these big defense companies and weapons companies. they are pulling back because

they know think that federal money will dry up. the fiscal cliff should have been attended to. congress should not have gone on a break until the fixed the fiscal cliff. host: what do think will happen when congress gets back? guest: that is one hell of a good question. what i hope will happen is that the tax cut will be extended in their entirety for a year. in that year, the congress and maybe a new congress or new administration can figure out individual and corporate tax reform. lower the rates and broaden the base and get rid of some of the exemptions. a big fix.e to see

that is one of the themes that has not surfaced yet in this presidential campaign. we need a big fix and it will have many pieces in it. some some balls was the first outline of the big fix -- simpson- bowles was the first outline of the big fix. a deal will have to be cut to help this country move forward. i'll be honest with you. i like romney because i think he is at home and adept with making those kinds of financial deals. he is a numbers guy. he has had experience in private companies. i think we need a large deal to deal with some of these various pieces. is that coming?

i do not know the answer. that is a political question. host: maybe john from kentucky knows the answer. john, you're on with larry kudlow. caller: i am not sure about the answers. the political consultants have run both parties. i think the lobbyists have run the process. we have got to cut stuff. i have rental properties. people get this medicaid and by the pain pills that cost hundreds and hundreds of dollars. republicans never talk about medical costs. they want to test, test, test. neither side wants to give. my brother owns a liquor store. he was born in 1963.

why do the people 55 and younger have to suffer? implement it for everybody. people feel like they paid into medicare. people don't make that much money. i think it is a mess. i would not want to be a part of it. guest: 55 and older is sort of an arbitrary political line in the sand. that is why i always looked at it. of paid most of your dues in medicaid -- you have paid most of you dues in medicaid. the political class is saying, we're not going to mess with you. that strikes me as more politics than policy. but whenever.

i am not an expert in every facet of health care. i want to see as much competition and consumer choice choice ash patient possible in any plan. i like to see the individual get some kind of tax credit that he or her could that used to shop around for the most efficient insurance plan. you want the cadillac, the chevy, whenever. i want to see the government run this as little as possible. they have fixed it every other part of this economy. that is my generic point. host: i want to go back to a subject, how good of a job the

press is doing in covering some of these issues of the campaign. liz writes in on twitter. guest: i have my quarrels with parts of the press. i did not like to blame the press. the press is a broad, a generic term. you have a conservative media, liberal media, and guys someplace in between. you have your newspapers, blogs.s, we do shoradio shows, i and a columnist and a blogger. i may disagree with a certain analysis. my liberal friends may write a column that i might disagree. you have a menu to decide what

is right and wrong. it is up to the individual to decide what they prefer. i do not like a blanket condemnations of the press even though i do see a lot of stupid things out there. host: that is all the time we have in this segment. guest: thank you for having me. host: up next, the changes that paul ryan has proposed and the medicaid and medicare programs. then adam higginbottom will join us about drug tunnels. but first a news update. >> mitt romney speaking earlier on cbs says that president obama en running a campaign of "

mit, jealousy" and caring not a defensive effort to keep from talking about the issues. he added the rhetoric is demeaning to the office of the white house. today's interview follows remarks by the vice president by it or he said republicans would seek to put people "back in chains." the campaign is mobilizing its network of volunteers in key states to highlight paul ryan's efforts to cut funding for clean energy and education. democrats say those cuts would be just as damaging as the overhaul of medicare. president obama today campaigns in iowa. michelle obama would join him,

marking their first joint appearance on the campaign trail since may. you can watch on c-span television live at 1:25 eastern time. those are some of the latest headlines on c-span radio. [video clip] >> now the soviet bear may be gone but there are still wolves in the woods and we saw that when saddam hussein invaded kuwait. the mideast might have become a nuclear powder keg. our energy supplies held hostage. so we did what was right and what was necessary. we destroyed a threat, freed a people, and locked a tyrant in the prison of his own country. [cheers] >> tonight, 10 million of our fellow americans are out of work. tens of millions more work harder for lower pay. the incumbent president says unemployment always goes up a

little bit before a recovery begins. but unemployment only has to go up by one more person before a real recovery can begin. >> c-span has aired every minute of every major party convention since 1984. this year, watch the republican and democratic conventions on c- span starting monday, august 27. >> "washington journal" continues. host: there has been plenty of debate about congressman paul ryan's proposal when it comes to medicare and medicaid. to help us better understand the plan, which turned to mary agnes carey of kaiser health news. help us understand what folks are talking about let's talk about paul ryan's medicare plan.

guest: he has a plan that would start in 2023. he has a formula and a traditional fee for service plan. from those plans, a price would be picked. that amount would be the second or medicare fee for service, what ever is lower. if you buy higher, you'll pay the additional money. if it is lower, there will be a premium refund back to you. this will inject more competition into medicare and help reduce federal spending on medicare. host: a lot of information and we will be taking your calls.

give us a call. the republican line, 202-737- 0002. the democratic line, 202-737- 0001. the independent line, 202-628- 0205. the parts you some of of the ryan medicare plan now. ?ow would that work it would be in a couple of months increments. guest: a simple thing was done for social security. the eligibility age would go from 65 to 67. this is a cost saver because people wait longer to get into the program. the plan would repeal the 2010 health law that was favored by

president obama and many democrats. if the health insurance exchanges are repealed, you may have people waiting longer to get coverage. host: the talk about that repeal effort. the offices of manage and budget has studied this proposal. how much money will this plan save? guest: there are two different plans. the congressional budget office has said the ryan plan would reduce federal spending in the ballpark of about 35% to 42% by 2050. the thought is if the bids in the medicare exchange are not dropped, this is a cross shift.

this is a problem for paul ryan. there was a different paul ryan plan where fee for service was not an option. beneficiaries would pay an additional $6,400 for their coverage. host: a term for not a lot is privatizing medicare -- term thrown out is privatizing medicare. guest: 75% of medicare beneficiaries -- if you're in fee-for-service, the government will pay the amount of money it takes to provide those services. it goes from may defined benefit to a defined contribution.

that is a major shift that is causing some concern. host: there is an option that there would be no change if people wanted to keep their current plans. guest: any plan needs the equivalent of what is offered in fee-for-service as long as the amount of oil was offered was comparable to what was available. host: we will continue to pick apart pieces of the ryan plan. this was proposed last year. we have seen how it has been received. several headlines about democrats gearing up for a fight. are we seeing a rehash of the same arguments on the campaign trail? guest: democrats see this as a political gift.

they can elevate the romney plan to the forefront of the campaign. republicans have gone after president obama and democrats for spending on health care that would take hundreds of billions out of health care. this is a rallying point to fight back. changes of medicare have not been politically popular. host: this is a headline from ."day's "washington times

host: that from today's "washington times." talk about other major changes that folks would see it under the plan. guest: if we could talk about medicaid. host: explain the difference. guest: medicaid is a shared federal program for low-income individuals. enrollment in medicaid has grown with the recession. the government pays about 57 cents per dollar for every dollar spent in medicaid. what paul ryan would do is make that a set amount given to the states. they feel lifting the requirements will make states

more efficient. advocates are concerned about what this would do to medicaid coverage. you're talking about a reduction of some $800 billion over the next several years. the concern is that states will have to pick up the slack. they may reduce benefits and pay providers less. the concern is between 14 million and 27 million individuals could lose their coverage if paul ryan's plan becomes law. host: what his program gives states still control over the medicaid program? guest: it is all and the details. the specifics have not been

drafted but that seems to be the spirit. he seems to want to lift the shackles of the federal government. it would be reduced. host: going back to the medicare debate. there are differences between the ryan and what romney has proposed in parts of his plan for medicare. guest: governor romney has said that he and paul ryan are generally on the same page in wanted to limit the government contribution. one significant thing that governor romney announced is the health-care plan cuts $700 billion in payments to different providers. paul ryan's plan would take those same cuts and keep them.

president obama we set to expand coverage under the medicaid expansion. what mitt romney said yesterday was, i will repeal these cuts. we will not have these provider cuts. that is a significant difference between governor romney and paul ryan. host: we start with len michigan. good morning. caller: good morning. mary, thank you for your presence there this morning. it is refreshing to see a nonpartisan view on this very terrible bill that obama has put out there. more of a comment. during the process of this obamacare being passed in the

night and other closed doors and so on, knowing that there are companies that have been granted waivers that will not be responsible for this, it is, to me, refreshing. i am making a comment that it is refreshing to see the paul ryans out there. he is a clear, critical thinker. thank you if your time and have a good day. host: john from florida on the independent line. you're on with mary agnes carey of kaiser health news. caller: i believe the basic issue is being aborted by both parties. the order to bring sovereignty to the medicare system, we need to set up a reasonable means

testing regime to take into account the medicare beneficiaries and giving them a reasonable rate of return. they would have taken that money with the employer contributions, which are currently 1.4%. and would have provided a fund to pay for their health care. a guy like dick cheney who perhaps has adjusted gross income of $20 million this year. taxpayers paid $600,000 for his heart transplant. in theory, maybe that is a good thing. that $600,000 probably represents a tiny fraction of what mr. cheney had available for himself to pay for it.

the medicaid program is largely a middle class program. care for poor people. the lion's share of medicaid it goes to pay to support middle class people and upper middle class people and rich people in nursing care facilities, which before the creation of medicaid would have been the responsibility of those families. if we were honest in our debate, we would acknowledge that but for the existence of medicaid, hundreds of millions of people now have second homes because they are freed up from the

possibility of taking care of their parents who would be paying $50,000 a year of discretionary income to support their parents when they get up and ineir late 7's, 80's florida, by the hundreds of thousands into their own 90's. guest: that is an interesting point. a point of agreement before democrats and republicans. the amount of money that a beneficiary has to pay on his or her income if they are high income. part b covers outpatient coverage. in president obama's proposed and paul ryan's proposals, the

idea that is the richer you are, the last of a payment contribution you would receive if you're wealthy. that is a point of harmony between a lot of republicans and democrats on the hill. host: talk about the plan. is that a bipartisan proposal? guest: last december, ron wyden and paul ryan got together and put up a proposal. it wasn't debated in congress. they simply said we want to start the discussion about how much premiums should be limited at how much they should grow and what sort of protection should beat there. after that, in april the house

passed the second version of the ryan plan. it included a lot of things that ron wyden does not lighke. we effort references to paul ryan and ron wyden and how -- this is a demonstration where they can now of some agreement in some areas. host: one point of difference between the ron wyden plan and the ryan plan was a cap on spending increases at half a point percentage point higher than gdp. explain what that means. guest: paul ryan would say the contribution that medicare would provide would grow every year at the rate of gross domestic

product of half a percentage point. the plan with senator widen would be if full percentage point. the wyden-ryan proposal was a more generous increase each year, which would mean less cost shifting to the beneficiary. host: sue is waiting on the democratic line. good morning . caller: good morning. i think the american people are not getting the full story of the $719 billion that is being cut from medicare. that was a subsidy to sign-on to the program and provide coverage. if these changes go through to a voucher program, imagine the windfall to the private insurance industry and how they

must be salivating at the idea that the government will only pay a certain amount of increases but they can increase to whatever level they want. i agree with the gentleman from florida who was talking about medicaid. medicaid is also a subsidy to large corporations like walmart who do not pay health insurance benefits. we taxpayers are paying what wal-mart is responsible for. thank you for taking my call. guest: one thing i would like to touch on, a point about medicaid covering nursing home care. it does cover nursing home care. but fisheries have to meet -- beneficiaries have to meet certain requirements. people shifting their assets and getting rid of accounts to avoid

for medicaid. there is a check to see how that happens, so they know are trying to crack down. that is one point. let's talk a little about the reduction in the medicare spending. these reductions would be made to hospitals, insurance companies in medicare reductions to home health agencies, hospitals. the payments would grow in the medicare program. they would not go in rates as quickly as they have in the past. the thought is that medicare and vanished has consistently cost the medicare program more per beneficiary than fee-for- service.

host: we want to keep going through some pieces of the paul ryan medicare overhaul plan that has been proposed and has been talked a lot about on the campaign trail. given you some time to learn about it. it allows the purchase of private health plans or somebody can enter into it medicare exchange. host: take us through that. guest: proponents of medicare and veterans would say there are certain constraints on them that would be lifted in the medicare exchange. insurers provide the actuarial benefit of what is provided in

fee-for-service. private insurance can enter in and they can design packages in a way to meet the monetary amount and they could do it differently. perhaps health your folks would go into private plans and sicker people would stay in fee-for- service. health care costs have historically been higher than inflation. the voucher -- the amount of money it does not grow fast enough that medicare fee-for- service it may not remain an affordable option for people. host: in terms of the government giving money back to people if they chose the cheaper option in this smorgasbord of options.

guest: the payments would be given to the plans. they would not go to the individual. maybe they would simply send a check. it is not clear. host: we have a question on twitter from maverick. talking about kaiser that you work with kaiser health news. guest: it is very confusing. we're part of the kaiser foundation. we have no affiliation with the insurer kaiser permanente. they don't take a position on the health law and neither do wwe.

i worked on a fantastic health- care product and i covered congress for dow jones news wire in washington. i worked in newspapers in connecticut before that. host: gilbert is waiting on the republican line from washington, d.c. caller: i read through part of the social security act. they follow the same basic framework. it is the slow amount of money taken out of your paycheck to be saved we distributed to other people. when you retire, you get some of that money back. with people in their 20's, why are we giving money and we're not getting the money back, at

least the money back that we put in. we get last then we put in. why cannot private individuals say, i will do in my own bank account this incremental process. and from the 1930's debate, they said this is unemployment compensation. people with low incomes get these benefits. we are compensating people that do not work. with the ryan budget, why are we talking about federal government and private doctors when the state government is still there as well? why don't we put some of this off of the federal government wally cut from the federal -- we put some of that into the states or of the states pick up. guest: will do pay medicare payroll taxes. you see that on your pay stub.

the money will be used to finance the program when you retire and when you need it. people say that i pay more into medicare and then i receive. i have seen a lot of data that implies the opposite. for many people, they'll receive more in benefits than what they pay in in medicare. it may be a wash. it depends on what happens when you retire. setting up private accounts. this has been advanced before by conservatives. it has never gotten any traction. medicare is very popular with the public. this idea has been advanced and will probably come back around. it has never gone anywhere. republicans, paul ryan and other

advocates have said if we set up a medicare exchange, all-out competition to get into the market, this will lower prices and will make medicare stronger. host: he also talked about young people paused reaction to these proposed changes. talk about what reaction if you have seen on the campaign trail as well as folks who lobbied for young people. guest: this links up with the debate of the health-care program. young people, healthy people that do not think they do not need insurance. they came up with a program in the health law that would have a high deductible and some high copays but it is taylor to be younger people. this is a group you need in the

risk pool to buy health insurance. you need people to buy health insurance to balance the risk. host: a question from tony over twitter. guest: a very interesting point for tony to raise. this is a scheduled reduction in medicare payments. i'd think it is in january, are 20%. medicare physician say if you cut my pay that much, i will not take medicare. legislation has called for greater and greater cuts, but congress has never been able to find a compromise on the formula. while physicians do not have to accept medicare patients many of them do. many of them have their vacation in practice for many years. -- have their medicare patients

in their practice for many years. but you do not have to take if you are a physician. host: is there a cliff that they reach every year? >> guest: yes, it is the cliff that they are reaching every year. it has been difficult for congress to resolve. it has been close to $300 billion to fill a hole, if you will, in the next decade. host: have there been options, or have we even got never far? guest: yes, there have been options. some people have advanced legislation saying this is a flawed formula and we should not have to fill out a whole. finding the revenue has been incredibly difficult. carol on theo to independent line. caller: good morning.

my concern is about the parallels between the flaws between medicare pardee -- and the proposals under the reihan plan. we need to -- the reihan plan -- ryan plan. we need to control costs of medications. guest: what she is talking about is medicare about"d" is the coverage that will help cover that. it gets back to the concern about whether the part that is paid by the government, that if it is not high enough, would there be a cost shift?

many seniors are on fixed incomes and have the gall to our meeting their current financial requirements under medicare part "b" premiums under medicare "d" and so once -- so on. host: someone right in on twitter about the idea of doctors not accepting medicare or medicaid. he says, doctors need a license to practice, don't they? make a dependent on accepting medicare or medicaid patients. is that something that has been proposed? guest: i do not know, but there are lawmakers with all kinds of opinions. there is one right there. host: let's go with charles on the independent line. caller: good morning. great show. if nothing house, obama has made

people more aware of the issues around this. i have two questions if you would take them. here lately, i was funded by someone on facebook. -- defended by someone on facebook. -- friended by someone on facebook. it was opened for handicapped and loving it. most of them want to support the republican side of it. i make a little under $70,000 a year. i know why tempore. where is this line? i hear people talking about this line in the sand. where is this line that makes the poor people better bidding medicare and medicaid, where they have to pay. and where's the line above that

where they will not have to pay? host: are you talking barkoff all levels for folks on medicaid? -- but talking about cut off levels for folks on medicaid? caller: that is exactly what i'm talking about. and also, those on medicare and medicaid would sell their left thumb if they could have 10 care. guest: let's talk about medicaid for childless adults. this is something that only eight states in the country provide some coverage for those individuals. in the rest of the country, you could be extremely poor as an adult and not covered on medicaid coverage. that is where they want to expand as of june individuals at 133% of poverty. it would be about $30,000 for a

family of four. the supreme court said it is optional, sorry state could say yes or no. but looking at that as the marker, around $14,000 for an individual, $30,000 for a family of four. host: two comment on twitter. one individual rights, if they can give me back all i paid into medicare, i'll take care of myself. modot -- obama can have medicare. another one right, you pay taxes on your life and then the government takes what little you did make. if you are over 67 you should not pay for anything. let's go to ernest on the republican line. ernest, are you there? caller: yes, i am. apparently, i have been on medicaid and medicare for almost all of my life since i was

disabled as a child. all i see on the democrat side is always copiague -- is always copays. some people cannot afford that. i see a lot of people go sick. i support ron paul and romney because i think their proposal is a better solution for the poor people. host: talking about paul reihan's medicare proposal. can we talk a little bit about the medicaid proposal? guest: the caller was talking about medicaid. there are a lot of copays in the current medicaid program. states do have some flexibility in this area, but one thought about the ryan plan is the

federal contribution for medicaid is reduced. states theoretically could run the program more efficiently. 's proposal.;' but there are some states that might say that eligibility might be reduced and some things might be cut. what is the block grant proposal that makes you think you will pay less money? host: i think we lost him on the line. but going back to the rhine plan, that would turn reddick into a federal block grant program. compare the two plants. here does colleran -- ryan's

plan actually save money? dramatic aid cuts or medicare cuts? -- through medicaid cuts or medicare cuts? guest: through medicaid cuts. it is based on population growth and it is a set amount of money that would not increase beyond that formula. the medicaid cuts through ryan are more significant than medicare cuts. host: here is an article from today's "washington post" -- you can read about that in today's "washington post. -- "washington post." we will go to eleanor. good morning.

caller: some people are turned down because of pre-existing conditions and they were quite grifo when they made it to medicare. can you -- quite grateful when they made it to medicare. can you explain how that will be under the ryan plan? guest: that plan will not discriminate based on pre- existing conditions. if a private plan could provide the actuarial equivalent to medicare, a beneficiary would have to look over those benefits to make sure they cover their needs. i do not think any plan would say they will not cover a particular condition. but the with the plan is structured would be important to look at to see what is covered. again, we are talking about an actuarial equivalent of what is covered and what is not. and just with the health care law that was passed in 2010 and

now being implemented, starting in 2014, it would exclude any kind of denial based on pre- existing conditions for all americans. host: we will go to the vonn on the -- yvonne on the democrat line. caller: i am a bit confused. i understand there are $16 billion in cuts in both the obama plan and the ryan plan. but in one case, the cuts would go back through a obama plan to the people on medicare to be done a whole and other things. but it would go back to people on medicare. under the ryan plan, that $16 billion would go back to the providers and to the medical -- the medicine and that.

is that true? i do not understand. guest: i do not blame you for being confused. it is a very confusing issue. the provider cuts in the health- care law as proposed by president obama and democrats, those would go toward the expansion of the outlaw. the health insurance exchanges and the medicare expansion, providers would still get more money, but not as much as they have, perhaps, in the past. and there is a lot in the health care law that proponents believe would help reduce medicare spending over time. there is debate about whether it would work, but in the ryan plan, congressman ryan says he would put it into the medicare program to help strengthen its solvency. but as we noted earlier,

governor romney said if he were elected president, he would not put these cuts into place. there is another piece to consider. host: st. louis, donna is on the independent line. caller: good morning. at first, a comment, and then how i think you can fix it. republicans have been fighting medicare since before it was signed into law in 1965. i will tell you the answer to the question could flow would not answer. republicans do not want these changes for over 55 because most of them vote. they want it for under 55 because a lot of them do not vote. it is that simple. and for every young girl person that drops out, not only will they not be able to pay -- every younger person that drops out, not only the will they be able to not pay their medical insurance when they get older

because it will be too expensive, they will just not have insurance at all. you do not have the mix of younger and older people paying into it, and therefore, it goes bankrupt for everybody over 55. that is something they do not talk about. host: do you have a question? caller: i was just going to say that you fix it by fixing our trade laws overseas and the millions in lost revenues. you fix the money coming into the government, which is a lot less now. and that is basically all i have. host: donna from st. louis. thanks for calling in. we are talking about congressman paul reihan's proposal -- paul .yan's proposal it would set minimum standards for covered services? guest: there is an actuarial fee-for-service. host: what does that mean?

guest: that means the package of medicare fee-for-service is worth a specific amount of money. you've got to match whatever benefits that you provide. it has to equal that amount. it has to be equivalent of what is offered by medicare fee-for- service, but it does not have to be exactly the same thing. host: connie on the democratic line. caller: good morning. the way my congressman explained it to me, the money that was taken out of the advantage care was put into obama's health care bill and it would close the doughnut hole and seniors would be able to go for wellness. and the money helps bring down the cost of medicare.

and with ryan's bill, you would be given a set amount and you would not be given increases and when you spend that money. the rest would be on you. that is the way i understand it. i think the seniors would be a fool to take a doctor, because as someone said on the congressional floor, the voucher would not be worth the paper it was written on if you had a senior that was really sick. guest: the caller raises a couple of great point that i should have done earlier. i want to thank her for doing that. the affordable care act does have a lot of new benefits for seniors, including a wellness visit. there are new preventive services. it also reduces the doughnut hole in the medicare prescription drug law. this is a gap in coverage were

seniors have been on their own to pay for everything until they hit another level of spending. this doughnut hole is closing overtime. and she talks about water congressman explained to her. there are several changes in the structure in the health care law that will reduce spending. and right now, 75% of the beneficiaries are in fee-for- service. those services are reimbursed per service. you are incentivizing providers to do more services if you bundled payments. if you had something called account of all care organizations where providers are encouraged to work together and they can get savings from that and benefit financially from better coordination from care. -- better coordination of care. there is some skepticism about what is really in the all-star

-- in the health care law and whether it will work. but there is more coverage for seniors. host: talk about preventive care a little bit. guest: it would allow i plan to provide those services. a plan could structure preventive services in a way that could be very attractive for seniors. host: we will try to get one more call here. robert on the independent line from ohio, madison, ohio. caller: i have a son who has down syndrome and he is on medicaid. will he lose services? guest: i would assume you're talking about the ryan plan. under that plan, there is a concern that if money is block granted and many of the federal requirements right now were lifted, then it may mean that

states roll back what they cover. they changed their enrollment is, a variety of things. some advocates for the poor would tell you that they would be concerned that your brothers coverage could be impacted. the ryan plan would argue that states could be much more efficient covering their immediate beneficiaries under medicaid and that they plan to do a better job under the plan. host: thank you for joining us to talk about what it's getting a lot of play on the campaign trail this week. guest: thanks for having me. host: next, we have adam higginbotham. but first, a news update from c- span radio. >> consumer prices were unchanged from june to july as slightly higher prices offset

costs. the cpi has not changed since march, evidence that inflation is keeping the economy in check. economists say that mild inflation gives the federal reserve more leeway to take steps to boost growth. documents show a subpoena in a congressional investigation of former subprime mortgages under countrywide did not include vip loan treatment from the lender for house members and aides. it was reversed when republican successor carol issa issued a second subpoena that contained the vip information. congressman towns insisted he did not receive preferential treatment. starting today, lead security will start taking applications from young ill will all immigrants who want to stay in

the u.s.. -- illegal immigrants who want to stay in the u.s. they can prove their desire to stay in the u.s. by showing their repertoire the child welfare program. >> i was in its training program after i got out of the army for the "wall street journal." >> this sunday, washington -- "washington post" kamras walter pincus talks about his views of extravagant u.s. spending overseas and his criticism over budget priorities. >> if you spend $4 million on an elementary school, i bet some of it would raise questions. >> more with walter sunday night

at 8:00 p.m. on c-span's q&a. "washington journal" continues. host: every wednesday in this segment of the "washington journal" we do our magazine spotlight. this week, we are joined by item higginbotham of bloomberg business week to discuss his piece about the cross border drug smuggling. tell us a little bit about this specific case that drew you to this story. guest: i heard at the end of last year about a specific incident where tunnelling had been done under the borders that emerge under a parking space 45 feet from the border fence. and the scheme that they had devised was to park a van that had a hidden hatchway in the cargo compartment cut out of it

over a 10-inch hole that had been cut out of the pavement. and they moved 2,600 pounds of marijuana through a deserted hotel at the border up through this hole into the van in the space of 30 minutes and then drove away. host: and you said this a whole was about 10 inches wide, so it was not for moving people, but for drug smuggling. guest: none of these tunnels, as far as we can gather, have been used to smuggle people. they pose to much of a security risk. secrecy is paramount. if you move drugs through, that is fine. that is the idea. if you move people through, then every person who comes through the tunnel is a potentially. what the d.a. agents i spoke to

about this said that although there is a lot of talk about this, moving people, they never risk it. host: this was one of more than 90 titles that had been discover in a two-mile stretch in nogales in arizona in the 1990's. what makes it, as you say in your article, the total capital of the southwest? -- the tunnel capital of the southwest? guest: nogales, ariz., is a twin city to sonora, mexico. it is a small town, about 20,000 people. but sonora house 200,000 people and is a very big city and is very busy. the reason nogales is very important is because it is a

port city. far out of proportion to the amount of people there live there, it is known for importing material from mexico. one agent told me that more than 30% of all fresh produce that comes into the u.s. annually goes through the commercial port of entry in nogales. firstly, it is extremely well situated for infrastructure. it is the distribution point for fruits and vegetables, and also drugs. it is also a peculiar place because the two cities are built right up against one another along the border. nogales -- sonora sits on high ground above arizona. during the monsoon season, water is bottled downhill from mexico into the u.s. -- funneled

downhill from mexico into the u.s. as it began to be built up in the early part of last century, that meant that flooding started in downtown nogales. u.s. engineers had to drill the -- bill concrete culvert in order to channel the waterway. the construction began in mexico and continues under the border into the u.s. as smuggling developed over the years, these became underground conduits for contraband. host: we actually built the tunnels are originally for them? guest: [laughter] well, the tunnels were originally built to prevent everyone being in america -- inundated with water every july. securing them underground proved problematic. host: again, we are talking with adam higginbotham of bloomberg business week. if you want to talk about the drug trade and issues popping up

along the border, give us a call on the republican line. and the democratic line. and the independent line . mr. higginbotham, why are we seeing a rise in these titles? you get an idea from the article that some of them have a -- do a better job protecting the border aboveground, correct? guest: it is pretty explicitly directly related to house supported -- how supported the border is. a lot of tunnels go undiscovered for a long time. these only come into heavy use when the ports of entry become particularly secure. the first known tobben was discovered on the u.s./mexican border -- the first known tunnel

was discovered on the u.s.- mexican border in 1990. and then the next one was about 1995. and then it was intermittently after that. as one particular cartels seize control of not only nogales, but the entire border through taxes, than the amount of tunnels began multiplying dramatically. host: the question for you on twitter. do we have the technology to see the underground? talk about the security measures to protect against these tunnels. guest: what the border patrol told me is that there is technology that can detect tunnels under certain circumstances, and they are working on technology that will provide a kind of underground

alarm system. they would have a big electronic panel that would light up when they detected underground movement in a certain part of the border. but they have been talking about the kind of thing for a while and nothing has yet come of it. host: a lot of it has the border patrol agents still going underground and crawling through the titles themselves. you have a picture of it in this story. guest: exactly. what baker and the bulls down to is a man with a flashlight and a pistol crawling through these narrow tunnels trying to figure out where they go. they can use ground penetrating radar to detect tunnels under ground. but the problem is, if you try to use it in an urban environment, like nogales, then you will come across a lot of false positives. you'll be discovering things like sewer lines, power lines, drainage culverts.

it just does not work properly view use it in a city. host: i want to read a piece from your story talking about going underground. you write that the air is thick, humid, and dangerously low in oxygen. the ages look for signs of cracking or small piles of dirt. the single thing that one man says he never wants to see as -- is someone coming at him. there's almostto turn around. -- almost no space to turn

around. guest: the titles by your talking about there are the hand-dug tunnels. they are very narrow and they are dug using picks and shovels. as much as i replied to go into one of these things, what i was there, they have recently filled in the lost when they discovered. went into inel's i nogales were the drainage tunnels, which were big enough to drive a truck through. host: when they discover them, how do they fill them in? do they just poured concrete into them? guest: that is exactly what they do. first, they have to find out what is in the tunnels, as to whether they have crossed utility lines or something like that. they do not want to in case

utility lines in concrete. that would make them inaccessible for repair later. but once they have done that, they fill holes all the way up to the border. they are only allowed to do it of to the border and then the mexican authorities have to take responsibility for the other half of it. host: let's take a call from lou in connecticut. caller: i know a perfect way to eliminate these tunnels. these drug cartels have been digging these tunnels for decades. the best way to and this is to end the war on drugs. who wins in the war on drugs? could cops, crooked politicians. and who loses? the taxpayer. the collateral damage from the war on drugs is 1000 times worse than the drugs themselves. drugs used to be legal in this country and we did not have near

the problem with murder and mayhem. end the war on drugs and stop this nonsense. host: adam higginbotham, talk about this issue with the border patrol agents you worked with in writing the story. do they think the war on drugs needs to come to a close? guest: that is not something i really talked about with them. there was one former senior da agents -- at dea agent highest boat to. the one i asked him about whether this battle against the tunneling was effective, and in assessing whether or not their efforts in nogales was working, the answer to that was the

wholesale price of drugs on the streets. if their efforts are working, the price on the streets goes up. this one guy had joined the dea in nogales in the early 1980's and retired in 2010. he told me that the wholesale price of a pound of marijuana in nogales when he started was $400, and the wholesale price of a pound of marijuana in marijuana -- in nogales an hour is $400. if you take into account inflation, it has gotten even cheaper. host: here is a, and on this issue. i have read the article and confirms one thing in particular, the war on drugs is a losing proposition. how would you respond to that? guest: it would be interesting

to say what would happen if they stopped trying to prevent the drugs coming in. host: i ring is waiting on the democratic line. caller: i agree with the caller that says the war on drugs has been growing on with -- for decades and is a waste of money. you should just make it legal and charge taxes. people did the same thing with liquor and looke. it is not going to end. you are just wasting money. host: mr. higginbotham, you talk a little bit about congress oppose the efforts to step in with the tiling problem -- you talk about congress'efforts to set in with the tunneling problem. tell us about those legislative efforts. guest: the 2012 title prevention

act, this is a second piece of legislation that follows a 2006 measure that was very similar. it turns out that until 2006, i was not actually illegal to build a tunnel under the border. the things that you did with a tunnel, like emerging illegally in the u.s. or mexico, were illegal. but the construction of the tunnel itself were not illegal. -- was not illegal. in 2006, that made that illegal. the use of wiretapping and specifically for tunnel investigations, it doubles the sentence for smugglers the use titles -- that use titles for the movement of their contraband. but these are technical points

to cleanup technicalities. the agents to investigate these things, they still have to do the same kinds of investigations they would have done 10 years host: and -- 10 years ago. host: an article from the "los angeles *" --

"this bill confirms our determination to bring an end to cross border tunnels." going to key largo, fla., tom on the independent line. your thoughts on this cross border toddling issue. -- tunneling issue. caller: their earnings to be a point made here. this is marijuana being brought over. i do not smoke marijuana. i do not like it. the biggest point and needs to be brought out is the chemicals on it. i own a company in costa rica and i saw what people did just growing vegetables. but we would not even want to eat them. they use chemicals that we do not. there are no guidelines. people are not too bright. they are smoking it. they are eating it. there fertilizing it with god

knows what. there is a bigger problem here than just the tunnels. i appreciate you bring it up, because i can show you how to build a kite and fly across the border, or even fly a plane. because i've been a fisherman all my life, and a captain, what are you going to do about roads? host: thanks for the call in this morning. and matt smith writes in on twitter -- i wonder if the guests can comment on the prevalence of similar titles from egypt to gaza. can we take any cues from global issues on this? guest: i do not know anything at all about the gaza tunnels, apart from the fact that the agents from the tunnel task

force in san diego have been out to investigate this in order to find out of there is any information that can be gained from the way the tunnels have been constructed there. host: in an article yesterday from bbc news europe, police have small -- have spoken out a factory used by mussolini in the 1930's. there were special chambers for drying and processing the crop. we are focusing on nogales. let's bring in tyler, you are on with mr. higginbotham. caller: it is like this issue is

the headline issue. they do number novartis of its about the parent -- they do not bring in any specifics about the parallel industries, like smuggling individuals or other items. do they know if they have had an impact on that industry? guest: those things are outside the scope of my reporting on this. i was focusing exclusively on the drug smuggling titles that are being used on the border. i do not think the tunnels are being used for any other kind of contraband or for human trafficking. the risks for the cartels are not worth it. host: can you talk a little bit about the structure of these tunnels and how they are run? you get into your article a little bit about the franchising opportunities on the other side of the border for people who

actually run these tunnels. guest: their way that it originally worked is that in nogales in particular, the tunnels fell under the control of individuals. many of them were parts of families who had experienced smuggling in the area and this would go back generations. each of these families would control a certain space of the border where they would know what the terrain was like and they would understand all of its pitfalls and advantages. they would run the tunnel and the cartels would pay them to run the drugs through those tunnels. these independent franchises ran in that way up until the mid 2000's. at which point, guzman, who runs

the nogales' cartel, made a move to take over all of them. now they all work directly for him. there is a handful of tunneling cells that are run by individuals who look after its brizard kinds of tunnels. one group might look after toddles i go to the drainage system. another group might look after tunnels are hand-dug and go through a building. another group might look after those with ventilation. host: and you're saying that they benefit from expertise of folks on the oversight of the border and the mining industry, correct? -- the other side of the border and the mining industry, correct? guest: 18 and that i talked to said that he had spoken to individuals who had handled the tunnels themselves and that there is a huge copper mine

about an hour's drive east of nogales in mexico. they had a strike going on for three years. i imagine that would have contributed to people being prepared to, to the border to do this for a few dollars a day. host: tom in michigan, your honor. -- you are on with mr. higginbotham. caller: since medical marijuana laws have been passed in numerous states in the u.s., have there been any surveys or any type of conclusive data that exists that might suggest there is less marijuana flowing through the u.s.-mexico border passes the laws came into effect? the michigan medical marijuana a

law passed in 2008, so we have had almost four years of data to deal with. i'm wondering if that did exist? -- if that data exists. guest: the problem with the data about the volume of marijuana or any other drug that is important -- imported into the u.s. is that nobody really knows. nobody knows what they grow or manufacture. no one knows how much is a broader cross the border. the only concrete information anyone has at are the figures for seizures. all of the agency's extrapolate, the dea in particular extrapolate from seizure, but it is guest worker in terms of whether medical marijuana has made any impact of the amount of marijuana being brought up

through the border, i've only heard anecdotes' of individuals in the cartel's saying that the impact in california has made no difference. host: have you got the sense of how much help these border agents are giving to u.s. border control -- border patrol agents? are we getting help on the oversight of the border? guest: all of them talk about the effectiveness of the help we are getting on the other side of the border. but one of the specific points that have been introduced to the tunnel task force that has just been created in nogales is that they have cooperated with veted units of mexican police on the other side of the border.

host: we showed you a picture of a border patrol agent. he is known as the tunnel grow. tell us a little bit about him. guest: he is what they call is subject matter expert for the region on tunnels. he has been going into these hand-dug tunnels, these very narrow tunnels for the last six or seven years. he is the one that knows where all of the utility lines are, where all of the titles have been built, and were all of the locations that they have discovered in the last six or seven years are in nogales. host: james on the democratic line from cincinnati, ohio. caller: good morning. i intend to read your article. i have not so far. i do not know if you made any mention to the cost of this. i do want to reinforce what

previous callers have said. i can only imagine the amount of money it took to put the forces on the ground to investigate these holes, fill these holes, do the investigation with the wiretaps and to find the criminals that are running these enterprises in mexico. i highly doubt they ever took any of the kingpins into custody. there is no return on investment from a business perspective. from another perspective, i would like to point out that prostitution is widely to boot -- widely believed to be the oldest profession known to man. we have criminalize it. what do we do? we empower criminals to do violent crime to protect their big -- their business. but you never see the same thing going on in brussels where it is -- brothels where it is legalized.

tell me what you have seen in your investigation in the grand scheme of things that bears us some fruit. host: what would you suggest they do instead of spending the money on interdiction? guest: what would you do instead of spending the money on interdiction? host: we lost the call. here is a comment on twitter. if we shut down the titles will they just use other means? guest: that is one creative means that they used to bring the drugs into the country. they have started using a ultralight aircraft to fly over the border and drop marijuana bales in the united states and then fly back. it is true that whatever means of interdiction border patrol and ice use, then border -- then

smugglers have time and funds to get things into the country. host: you said you went into one of the tunnels that was not actually one of the hand-dug tunnels, but talk about your experience of going under the border. guest: it was pretty interesting, because it means you can walk right up to the border. you get into the tunnel about a mile away from the border and then you just walk under the town right up to the point until you are about 20 feet from the border. they have had to build three sets of gates. there was an original set built to prevent people coming in from mexico. then they discovered the human traffickers and drug smugglers would try to break them open.

they put cameras up to monitor what was going on. then they started coming in with low caliber guns trying to shoot at their cameras. now the border, there are three sets of gates, one on either side of the centro date to prevent the real date from been tampered with. -- the central gate to prevent the real gate from being tampered with. host: and who was with you in the tunnel? hecht was the one that took me into the tunnel because he knows his way around on there. host: did you see anyone down there? guest: no, it is completely deserted. part of the impetus for putting up the new dates in the first place was that during the 1990's, border patrol pretty much lost control of these

drainage culvert. hundreds of immigrants would come through the tunnels every day. drug smugglers were using them to pass cocaine and marijuana and methamphetamine through the drains. and then reaching up three drainage grate in the street to pass bundles of two people waiting in cars. -- to pass bundles off to people waiting in cars. but since they have regained control of these ring-tunnels, there is nothing down there at all but -- these drainage tunnels, there's nothing down there all by bank air. -- but dank air. host: joe, you are on with mr. higginbotham. caller: on this side of the

border, has u.s. customs been able to find foreign nationals or u.s. citizens who are using the titles -- tunnels? they are used to pass off drugs. the cartels on the of the side of the border have been able to use them to pass off the drugs to cartels on this side. guest: you are right, there are cartel operatives on this side of the border. the problem is, the cartel breaks down their operations into cellular structure. there are individual groups of people who handle each part of the process of smuggling. none of them have any contact with one another in order to preserve the secrecy of what is going on. the guys to build the tunnels

will only in direct with the guys to build the tunnels. the guys in transportation only direct with those in interest -- in transportation. the kinds of people that ice and the dea have been picking up, these people have relatively menial roles in the process. they will get the guys driving trucks, but they do not know what happens at more senior levels. and they are frequently not connected to them at all. host: the senior members, we just cannot catch them? guest: that is exactly right, because they are in mexico. the nogales operation has been run by a senior lieutenant by the name of geo since guzman

took over in 2006. but so far, they have not been able to directly connect him to the tunneling, even though he is the person who seems to oversee what is going on. host: you said in your article, the titles range in cost to build from tens of thousands of dollars to more than $1 million. it was the most sophisticated town about has been found? -- what is the most sophisticated tunnel that has been found? guest: one of the most sophisticated titles so far discovered was the first one, which was discovered in 1990. it is the one of the custom agents described as being part of a james bond movie. it was 270 feet long. it originated in a border town in mexico. it came up in douglas, arizona.

and it was concrete-lined for its entire length. it was ventilated. but most remarkably, the entrance to the tunnel in mexico s concealed in iraq from attached to the house of a lawyer -- in a recreation room attached to the house of a lawyer for guzman and it could only be accessed by raising the pool table. that revealed the entrance to an 8 foot deep chamber. that was the most sophisticated and impressive piece of engineering. in nogales, they've tend to

favor quantity over quality. there have been a handful of titles of that level of sophistication being built -- pommells of that level of sophistication being built in tijuana. but in nogales, two-thirds of the tunnels have been built since 1990 and have all appeared in that short stretch of border. it comes to about one month since 2006. that is a lot of tunnels. host: but cordray residents of arizona. good morning, harry. caller: what do they do with all of the material they are removing? and have you had been discovered when they accidentally hit a utility of any kind? guest: what they do with the material is frequently pile it

up in the building where they are building the entrance. there was one tunnel that the mexican authorities discovered a few months ago that was being built in a business along way from the border. about 200 yards back from the border. there was a business on the ground floor making plaster moldings for lights. they had built a false wall in their room, behind which was access to the tunnel entrance. it was a two or three story building. all of the dirt they were taking title they would just pile up in the upstairs rooms in sandbags. -- they were taking out of the tunnel they would just pile up in the upstairs rooms in xanax. host: -- in sandbags. host: thank you for joining us.

that is our show on "washington journal" and we will see you tomorrow morning at 7:00 a.m. have a good day. [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2012] >> the several primaries yesterday, two veteran republicans, former wisconsin governor tommy thompson and representative john mica of florida survived conservative challengers in those primaries. in wisconsin, turning back a trio of challengers to set up a general election race against democratic tammy baldwin for retiring senator herb kohl's seat, which democrats have