virginia congressman scottrigell, then congressman tim ryan of ohio and a cnbc reporter on how wall street views the government shutdown. host: good morning, everyone. senate leaders are scrambling to find a deal to avert the government shutdown after gop scuttled to plans from leadership yesterday. as the debt ceiling looms for avoiding the government default, which is thursday at midnight, all eyes on this and it -- senate chamber waiting for details to emerge this morning. we will get your thoughts on what happens next. ,epublicans (202) 737-0001

andcrats (202) 737-0001 independence (202) 628-0205. a voteeadership canceled on the latest proposal. that triggered the senate leadership to pick up negotiations again. a congressional correspondent for national journal joins us on the phone this morning. are people talking right now? > guest: i am not sure if they are up yet. they were burning the midnight oil last night. they were up late talking about a deal and really looks like they are getting close at this point. host: do we know any details? they were becoming close monday night as well and tuesday

morning the house through a curb i'll -- curveball. day, it wasf the rejected by republicans. so late yesterday the senate restarted the talks. they are getting close. the broad outlines are there. looking at a package to reopen the government with funding through mid-january. ceiling would be lifted until february. the treasury department will have extraordinary measures, which are becoming more ordinary everyday to shift money around and borrowing. does this proposal include

anything dealing with the president affordable care act? a couple of things that would deal with it but extremely minor. it is not a central focus. for those republicans like ted cruz and some of the conservative republicans who wanted to shut down the government in order to try to change the law or shut down the government if the law was not changed, it is a huge loss. there will not be a major overall. host: what could be in it with the affordable care act? have talkedhing we about is a reinsurance clause. at one point there was that involves removing a medical device tax. it has been up in the air in the fact that they have not announced what the final details will be just get them something they are trying to hammer out

behind closed doors before they present to the members of the senate later today. with yesterday they met members of the senate and said the president vowed to veto the better measure. can you explain what that is? guest: sounds like it will not be in this package. when they first put together this health care law an amendment that was offered was won by senator chuck grassley. what was that is members of congress and staff should not receive different payment than those who do not have jobs. so members of congress and staff will be put into the exchanges. the law was set up so that large employers so that members of congress or walmart, etc., would

have certain subsidies for employers. those do not exist yet. for the time being, congress is basically getting a small amount of money for members and staff in order to pay for the health insurance of subsidy. is anicans say this exemption. they are elected officials and high-paid staff. a republican is pushing to make sure they do not get that subsidy. i am sure listeners out there think it is a reasonable idea. host: so what happens today?

couple of key things. last night they said they were optimistic they would finish a deal. they will present it to the members. i am interested to watch senator ted cruz. 21 hour filibuster on the floor. anything to stop this health care law. on unanimouserates consent. everyone has to agree to take up the bill without delay. or mike leigh can simply object. that alone could push the united states passed the debt limit. that is number one to watch. the second major factor, what does the house do you go the speaker tried to put together his own planet yesterday. it fell apart. taken up the senate

package to reopen the government. there are signs showing he is about to give up at this point and may take up whatever package the senate puts together. " the orange county shows a timeline of how it all unfolded yesterday. that senators ted cruz and mike leigh are conspicuously absent from the weekly party luncheon yesterday. skipped the party meeting yesterday. i did not speak with their offices but they said there is multiple lunches every week and cannot go to all of them. obviously given the stakes, i would expect them to be in attendance today. host: before we get to phone

calls, tell viewers what happens behind closed doors with house republicans yesterday. there is a great story by theof my colleagues at national journal. they really got inside and cover the house republicans. the speaker will put out a plan, by thetead of it just democrats, his own caucus decided this was not going to go. they started at the beginning of the day with this meeting with the speaker wanted to present the plan to them. it began where the entire republican conference saying together amazing grace. it was led i mr. sutherland. it was a fitting beginning for the day.

he put out this plan that members mulled over in the beginning. boehner backed away. they were trying desperately to put it together. at the end of the day, by early afternoon, it was clear they could not. some conservative outside groups, heritage action, freedom works was another came out and said we will oppose the plan. soon after it was decided he would abandon it altogether. >> his conference has been happy with the leadership.

at this point ready to bring it to an end in our clear his membership is yet. there are a lot of questions about how much support will he have? i do not know there is an ability or movement to oust him. and at the end of the day if he is putting this on the floor and passes overwhelmingly with democratic votes, what that says about him and the caucus will be in the leader afterwards. host: thank you. with all of that on the table, we turn to you outside of washington. angie in the week -- louisville, kentucky. good morning, and welcome to the conversation. i just wanted to say i .hink it is not right

i am a mother of two kids. my son and daughter on social security. how do they expect need to put food on my table and stuff like that. it is hard. i cannot do it. christmas is coming up and wondering how i am going to put a christmas tree up. this is driving me crazy. host: tweet on this -- tommy, a democrat in ohio. caller: good morning. i hope all the people watching yesterday between 5:00 and 5:30 stall who is pulling the strings in the gop house of representatives. it is not john boehner, nor eric

cantor or ted cruz but the heritage foundation. hill scanlon read that e-mail and within minutes the rules committee canceled their hearing , and the meeting and john boehner's office shot -- shut down with tightlipped -- not answering anything. all the republican voters who think when they call their representative it will matter, forget it. let me jump in. the orange county register has this. heritage foundation urges house members to vote against the republican proposal last republican proposal because it does absolutely nothing to help americans who are negatively impacted by obamacare. right, so if they are pulling the strings, what is the

the leaders? one lobbyist group that spends millions upon millions of dollars to get their voice heard can bring the house of representatives to a grinding halt, something is wrong. there must've been an open to of airplane glue in the supreme court that day when they said this is constitutional. going onto ron. independent caller in new york. caller: good morning. i am a guyt is getting ready to retire soon. you finally get your 401(k) back , and these guys are playing with our lives. they are supposed to be in washington -- we put them there

to work for us, and it is all about them. we are the only people that get hurt by this. that is basically my statement. these right wing nuts realize they will be affected by this as well. they are pushing the agenda, but they are the ones whose 401(k) will go in the tank. i hope they are happy. it is because of the people they put their. john, republican and oklahoma. i have a little gripe about your first phone interview . he said that was a very small subsidy for the congress. , it comes to it up more than what a minimum-wage person makes in a year. you are talking about

subsidies for members of congress? caller: yes, and he said it was very small. it is not very small. more than $15,000 per year. i think what he was saying is that revision is small compared to the overall strategy. no, he said the subsidy was small. the subsidy is $50,000 per member. let me ask you, should republicans stick to their guns tothat and do not agree raise the debt ceiling unless the so-called amendment is

included in some sort of yes, becauseer: the subsidies are based on salaries. if the salaries are $170,000 per year, they can pay for their health care. [indiscernible] john, republican and oklahoma. from page of " the wall street journal."

host: this on the front page of " the new york times." david, virginia. democratic caller. i would like to see the president use either the 14th amendment or the trillion dollar coin and get rid of all this mess. well, the budget negotiations are going nowhere. they seem to want to shutdown the national government. legalesident has a

responsibility to pay the debts of the united states. they use the 14th amendment or a $14 trillion coin. in financial news, you can see the premarket data. this is futures, how they are looking this morning before the market opens up. they are taking higher on hopes of a debt deal. this is what it looks like right now before the markets open. let me show you what it looked like yesterday when the markets closed. downan see that they were quite a bit after news of the and theling apart senate taking up negotiations again. this is how the markets closed

yesterday, but taking up higher on news this morning that there could possibly be a deal coming out of the senate. we have to wait and see what happens. there will be meetings behind closed doors. this is from congressman labrador's website. conversations with conservatives happening today. obviously they'll talk about what is next and the government shutdown. caller: hello. things.e several i agree with the gentleman that just spoke.

14 amendment, section four. the president is obligated to pay. host: so you think the responsibility rests with the president? caller: absolutely. host: what about congress? it in my opinion it says right here. if he does not pay that is a felon. host: phoenix, arizona. good morning. callingi am actually pertaining to the shutdown that will affect our pay, the veteran pay and social security will pay all of us, meaning we will not get paid.

it has gotten to the point where there is name blame going back and forth. i agree with both sides. this is going to affect me being a veteran. it is the time for us to get and give to family and friends and we will not see nothing. it is going to really affect us. i blame everybody. everybody taking part in this situation. why have we not use that?

host: randy in michigan. good morning. i thank you for the show and everyone who worked so hard to put it on. i seete -- the behavior these republicans doing is something osama bin laden did not do, and that is bring down our government. seems like they are carrying on where obama -- where osama left off. it is shameful that we cannot run a country. this ideological that they have going on in the world -- they have to start legislating for real americans in the real world and get off of this fantasyland where they are ever -- wherever they are in. thank you for allowing me to speak. out: we will see what comes

of the senate today. there were a group of senators working together to come up with some sort of deal. the house yesterday morning released their plans. came toyou that never the floor for a vote. and republican from new hampshire and what is part of a group of bipartisan senators. she tweeted thsis out -- ricky in virginia. independent caller. what is on your mind this morning about basic government shutdown and no deal in sight to fix the debt situation? well, this is unfortunate but has happened in this country. there is a class of people in this country that do not get paychecks, cannot find jobs, and

i think we're going to have to use this as an experience for those people who are poor, underprivileged, unemployed. the want to point out federal flag did show up in d.c. this week. that may have something to do with it. have a good day. are the editorial pages again. if the senateama passes a compromise, the senate will have little choice.

the washington times, their editorial board says -- they say this -- republicans are rallying around the law as written.

caller: two weeks ago i listen to senator cruise's speech. he had said that harry reid andy dick durbin and senator schumer and a few of the other democrats had gone to the white house and talk to the president about exempting themselves from obamacare. the president said ok. they said what we have is a who used thete

reconciliation process to push obamacare through and get it signed into law. -- they are accepting exempting themselves from the law. there are lots of political pundits that are looking at whether the gop are winning the battle or democrats are winning the battle. happen is theill last hour of the last day the gop will send a bill to harry reid that will capitulate on obamacare, it will extend the debt ceiling, but the only thing that is going to be left is the exemption of congress from obamacare. into all put harry reid very embarrassing predicament because he will have to take more than a minute to decide on that and he will look very humiliating.

i think they should show each one of them signing up for obamacare, show some leadership. right now america is confused on obamacare. the majority do not like obamacare. right now we are all confused. host: from page of " the houston chronicle." the poll shows the party absorbing most of the blame for the unpopular shutdown. this from " the new york times."

mark in philadelphia. what do you think? good morning.

i believe this is a political gift for the democrats. obviously this will go into next year. whatever agreement we have will be short-term. i am a democrat. my congressman is mr. fitzpatrick. come november, these guys are toast. leading they is republican minority into the majority. the republican base will be so angry next november they will come out in force and make sure mr. boehner is not the speaker next year. hear fromt: let's president obama yesterday.

he sat on the local affiliates engage interviews. here's what he had to say about the back and forth yesterday. we have seen is a recognition on a number -- the part of a number of republicans that this whole strategy day pursuit of trying to extract a ransom for keeping the government open for making sure americans pay the bills with strategy, we have seen movement in the senate. the problem with the house right now, i think the house republicans still believe they can get concessions for doing their jobs and making sure the american people are not hurt. my expectation is it does get solved.

>> the president yesterday sitting down with local here is what he had to say. >> i have made clear for months and months that the idea of default is wrong. we should not be anywhere close to it. >> will there be a vote? >> will you vote on the plan that will make changes to the senate bill? >> we are talking to members on both sides of the aisle to find a way to move forward today. thank you. it all fellthat apart. republicans canceled the vote. senate leaders picked up negotiations again. on this wednesday we are waiting and watching to see what happens in washington if the two sides can get a deal.

first --nate asked us ask first we will have to wait and see. live coverage will continue throughout the day. going to stephen next. arizona. independent caller. thank you for having me. i have two questions. stressing obamacare is law of the land. immigration is law of the land and we are not enforcing that. my next question, the debt ceiling is one point, but isn't there a point when we have to budget and take away some things? i was in the red for a while and got rid of cable and got rid of other things and two weeks from now i will be in the green. is it ever going to happen? saying we areid

in good shape as they near a deal. in other news, this headline about the special election today in new jersey to replace the late senator. is republican candidate facing the new work mayor, cory booker in today's race. opening talks offering nuclear endgame. americanetails of what officials say the most detailed roadmap yet. the bilateral meeting happening with the united states. the style section had this. glenn greenwald, blogger and journalist has revealed key details --

on the supreme court, here is the usa today defends affirmative action ban. looks like the court to hold up a michigan law that bans affirmative action and that state. the washington times, the supreme court takes up power on emissions and considering issuing affecting stationary factories --

sharon in texas city, republican. go ahead with your thoughts. good morning. i love c-span, and you do a wonderful job. i wanted to make a couple of different comments. we had one politician who told us the truth about this. we do not need to be in this mess. we need to end the federal reserve. it was originally house resolution 35 90 and the credit tax brackets of 2009. we had a democratic house and senate at that time. they pushed it on through.

when it got to the senate, they gutted and replaced it. with the affordable care act. this is how the democrats pushed it on through. that is wrong. i do not appreciate my legislators making laws for me like that. they did not even know what was in the bill when they passed it. i personally do not want the irs to have so much control over my life. it is wrong the way they did this. anybody who agrees with the way this was done, there is something simple -- seriously wrong with them, too. caller: good morning. i had two points to make.

the tea party faction of the republican party, they are not what you call intelligent people. everything you do you need stability. make changes, that is well and good but there is a way to go about that. you can come in and affect day by day. no change is instant. in increments.it they do not even know the basics of what you do to affect change. number one, that is what upsets me.

this is a bunch of all that have a hatred or the very government they got did to serve. the second thing about the affordable care act, i take care every day. i work at a community clinic and we are bursting at the seams. we have people that i have cried and pay -- prayed with them. we do the best that we can do. it is specialist says you need surgery on cancer or whatever it may be, they cannot go any further because they do not have insurance. >> going to leave it there. independent caller.

republicans love to confuse everybody. it is not about the congress not being able, but staffers. their staffers did not make that is what the whole thing is. the fact that republicans cannot even get their own act together. >> i have relatives that lived in ireland and other countries and looking and saying what is

the matter with you people over there. this is ridiculous. host: this is an international paper. of pressourtesy display. also, the united arab emirates paper. that is the united arab emirates paper. can show you some other headlines across the country. here is the tampa bay times -- " the chattanooga times free press" -- " stayton daily news" -- " buffalo news" -- star tribune"

kentucky. republican caller. caller: how are you doing this morning? not like the government shutdown. i blame that on barack obama and john zehner. partiesetty sad our cannot get together and sign a deal for the debt. i am laid off. how about republican and democrats pump their own gas. it is getting terrible out here. there ain't no jobs, ate nothing producing anything around here.

offshore drilling would produce more money than this country has ever seen. we just go back to producing offshore drilling and opening up more revenue and factory jobs in this country. host: a couple of more headlines for you -- also, on the virginia governor raised -- -- race -- our conversation continues about the latest on capitol hill. two perspectives. scott rigell of virginia is next. then we will talk to tim ryan of ohio. we will be right back.

[video clip] [captioning performed by national captioning institute] niagara is a reconstruction 1812,hip built here in the winter of 1813 for the battle of lake erie. it was built to contest control with the rest of squadron of ships that was built here. this incorporates some from the original. they are not structural or loadbearing but embedded in the frame. the fact that all the rigging much what theery seamen had to do in 1813.

we teach history. we teach all and appreciation of but the most of the learning that takes place on board is about functioning as a team. i think it is of real value now because it is a place we can continue certain traditions. >> he would leave them to victory in the battle of lake erie. the rest of the story this weekend on book tv as they look at the history and literary life that erie, pennsylvania on c- span two and three. >> i never asked a negative question. i think it is insulting to the

person you want to talk to. it creates a bad impression about what you are doing. you are asking for someone's time and has you need information that will lead to a better understanding of your subject. she said to me, quote, i know why you are calling, you want me to repeat those nasty things nancy reagan was saying about barbara bush. [laughter] actually all i wanted to find out was how much money the senate wives had raised for the drug abuse fund. in that telephone call i got more than i asked for, and i used every single word. kelly will sit down

for your calls and comments lives for three hours beginning at noon eastern on sunday november heard. in the months ahead, look for other into guest including christina sommers on october 1 -- on december 1. right now lives, joined other viewers reading " walking with the wind" by john lewis. find out more at booktv.org/bookclub. " washington journal" continues. host: welcome back. we're joined by congressman scott ritual. we have a lot of latebreaking action last night. explain to us what happened with the republican proposal. the house was not

satisfied with what the senate appeared to be moving forward so the speaker and other leadership did their very best to craft an alternative that would pass the conference. yesterday morning we all got together like we always do, and the speaker and the majority us through the plan. i could sense very early on based on the comments members , but it was pretty clear the plan was in trouble. i knew as we went through the rest of the day the vote was not being called so there were real issues there. support opening the government. i made that clear on october 1. it did not seem to me like the atategy we have laid out

that point would lead to a really good result. committed to opening up the government. i think it is critical. i am deeply committed to advancing a long-term budget. i used that word sparingly but we do have a crisis in our nation's finances. it merits the attention of every adult american and merits all of us coming together right away and advancing at least a marginal incremental solution that will get us on the right track. a lot of the headlines in the paper have focused on the fact that conservative groups like heritage action came out and said vote no against the measure. in theh stock do you put impact of the group? based on what i knew about the alternatives, i let the with know i would not

support it because it looked to me at the time that the senate version ironically appeared to me was actually a bit more conservative. found out later the heritage had come out with their assessment. we find ourselves in a really tough spot. it is hurtingve the country. that is not directed at my republican colleagues. every time a district is made a little easier for a republican to win, also made easier for the democrats to win in that state as well. i do not think america is as divided as this beautiful capital behind us. he had done this to ourselves i allowing state legislatures to make it easier for incumbents to get reelected. congress is really bifurcated. there is not that many swing

districts that reflect the full fabric of the country. host: we would love to take your calls. i just wanted to get your take real briefly with op-ed in the wall street journal that spoke to the fracturing you spoke about in congress. they said that already of thinking or lack thereof from the beginning of the government shutdown. they picked the goal a could not achieve. they picked the means it cannot sustain politically by pursuing a government shutdown and threatening to blow through the debt limit.

guest: that largely reflects my .iews i think of our country like a family from a financial standpoint. the family, the place to gather around his left kitchen table. for the country, it is a capital behind us. it is like the smiths family. they make $4000 per month but spending $5,000 per month, meaning they are borrowing another 1000. the lifestyle is propped up by debt. mrs. smith says we cannot do this anymore, we have to stop borrowing. the democratic position says we wenot solve this overnight,

have to borrow more so we can preserve the credit rating. easily trueents are in their intention. what really has to happen is each side has to ask the question, what exactly are you going to cut? you have to ask mr. smith am a what is your plan to reconcile this? see either side at this point has a satisfactory answer to what is the solution right now? have developed i a plan called america first. you can actually e-mail this. it is on our website. reconcilesfic and revenue and spending.

every member of congress needs to be asked the question, what thatfic plan do you have tackles mandatory spending and tackles the budget deficit? taking some of your calls. first to jeff in colorado. go ahead. caller: i keep hearing the 14th amendment mentioned. how does the 14th amendment affect any power the president has? i appreciate the question, and good morning. you know, president obama has made several decisions that i think are well outside the bounds of his constitutional authority. his changes to the on affordable care act was beyond the scope of his authority. the key is for him to stay in

andinstitutional lane really respect the role that the house has. senator reid and the president have been very dismissive of the proper role of the house of representatives and appropriating science and shaping how much we spend on things for the president and ,enator reid to hold the view expressed early on in the negotiations. with thencompatible representative the way we have here. meaningful compromise is like oil in a car engine. without that, we know what happens to a car engine without meaningful compromise. next, a call from caroline in baltimore, maryland. on the call -- line for

democrats. caller: thank you for taking my call. federalrloughed worker. what is your position? i do not believe we should be used as pawns. it is unfair to us. know your opinion on the shutdown. also, where would you specifically cut? government about cuts, spending cuts, but the dieteman in south dakota and, now they want federal health insurance. i see people talk about this until they need help. where would you specifically cut?

my dad worked at nasa him and i never saw anybody work harder than him, and his dinner was often in the refrigerator or the oven does he was out there launching rockets. so i have great respect for the federal worker. that we no sense to me furlough the hard-working folks and yourself, and we know have passed legislation that will fully compensate you and all federal workers. we are not getting the value of your work and here we're going to compensate you. i know you would rather be back at work. not a real rational position to me. that is why i said let's pass a clean c.r. because i knew we would bump into the debt limit and not a place to have a showdown.

with respect to your second question, the specifics, and when we say cut, it is actually slowing down the rate of growth and mandatory spending. that is what my plan, america first summit does. we emphasized this because we are all in it together. this gridlock we are in and the inability to advance any type of meaningful legislation is hurting all of us. regardless of where we live, as the city, gender -- we're all in this together. gridlock is hurting all of us. torigellcan go .house.gov to see the specific plan. -- rigell.house.gov. to ask would ask you

your member of congress and u.s. senators what specific plan that he or she has and is supporting? what i have found in my two years and 10 months of. is this? this -- is everyone says we ought to be doing this. i am over that. we need to have specific, hold in your hand what the member is for, either the house or the senate. make them be counted one way or another. the: you were one of earliest members supporting a clean cr. what was the reaction in your caucus? the action was not generally supportive. there are some like me him and more than some may be apparent

by looking at the republican conference. i think that more of us need to get together in shape the debate a bit more. i respect the rights of my colleagues, but 30 or so that have gotten so much attention. they are dear friends of mine. i have had them over for dinner. we have debated things. we share the same goal. i saw this office because we are a nation at risk, high risk and increasing the risk because of our fiscal situation. where i disagree with some of my isleagues some of the times on strategy, or, more accurately, the technical way we go about this -- tactical way we go about this. the tactic we adopted on october 1 did not seem it would yield -- seem it would yield a healthy

outcome and that is why i sent out a tweet that i thought a right, and to separate our debate on the spending limit from the debt limit. no responsible businessperson says we should be on the brink of paying our bills. i do not think it can be managed. some colleagues say it can be managed. i do not believe that. is that weortant address mandatory spending, not next year, right now. i have put a plan out there. look, it might not be the best plan. i am really confident in it. it is incumbent on every member to be able to answer to every member of their constituency, what is your plan?

there is nothing -- none of this -- we need to look at or address mandatory spending -- do not let them get away with that. they need to be required. our nation wen can not have a "we ought to be" caucus. host: how confident are you that a deal will be reached by the dropdead deadline? guest: speaker john boehner is a good man, and he has a difficult job, and principally, because of the gerrymandering that i mentioned earlier. that is not disparaging for any member of congress. these are good people that love their country no less than their colleagues on the other side of the aisle, but the speaker will have a difficult decision. i do not know what that decision

is going to look like. i am absolutely confident of this -- the speaker will do whatever is required to preserve the credit rating of the united states of america, and i will support him in that effort, and i would think that every member of congress should because trust and confidence in a currency is an intangible feeling. once it is broken, once that trust is broken, if it is broken, and, in fact, we are teetering far too close to it for my comfort, it is in some ways irreparable. in some ways, it cannot be restored. you can put together something that was broken in a china shop, and you can glue it back together, but it is not going to be the same. for that reason, to me it is unacceptable to not pay our bills on time, and it is equally

unacceptable to kick the can down the road. both of those things must be advanced at the same time. host: let's take your call connie. on our line for independents. seek out i am very cap -- caller: i am very concerned. i am a disabled person. i live on $700 a month. how am i supposed to pay my bills? if i do not pay my bills, i will be kicked out. . have a suggestion they need to bring our boys back to the united states, cut off all foreign trade. topped all money from going foreign countries. keep the money here in the united states where we needed. up insteadn people

of worrying about sending money over there to rebuild their countries. these people have been fighting since bc. i sorry about your situation there. the amount of money that you say you live off is clearly very low and you are not in a position to withstand not receiving a payment. i have always believed the government has a role in helping those that are truly meet -- truly needy. beingot mind our taxes taken out of my check to help folks like yourself. i am doing everything i can to make sure your check comes in on time. the pain that you are feeling, the ramifications of the shutdown, are very serious. there are people out of work in the second district of virginia. there are many people that are

furloughed, but they have high confidence they will get compensated ultimately. that is not true for contracted workers. i know a business person who has $300,000 or $400,000 of legal fees. he has something before the sec, and it is not moving at all, and in all likelihood he might lose that. it is a terrible situation. let's go to your comment with respect to foreign aid. votedi have strategically to reduce foreign aid. i do not believe that we ought to be investing in the infrastructure in afghanistan. i have held this view for a long time and my votes reflect this. it is equally true that if we cut that budget 100%, which i do not advocate for, it would not in any, significant, meaningful way, address our budget

situation. ande very candid transported, i have to be with you, and we have to slow down the growth of spending. this is true of every democrat and republican serving here, and of the president. he must lead in this area. i have not seen the leadership needed. we have to come together soon. connie, i'm a business person, and i know we cannot stay on this path. it is immoral not to do so. we will not be able to help folks like yourself who need the help. that is why i am on the mission to do the right thing. thank you. let's talk to max in south carolina on our line for republicans. representative, i totally agree with you on the cr. the fiscal cliff is what i am

calling about. 2.1 70 revenue is about trillion and our federal budget is about $3.8 trillion, our new trillion, our$1.6 national dread is 14 point 270 -- that is 14.270. home inlk about me at my credit card, and removed his euros. brian -- the zeros. the money my family spent would be $38,200. the new debt on credit cards is $16,500. the outstanding balance is a to $42,710.00 $710

if people do not get where we are, we are in trouble. let's say i went out of town for a weekend, and i come home and sewage is backed up. do i call a carpenter to lift the ceiling, or someone to remove the sewage? go, sir.ere you that is a good analogy. took the zeros off of the federal numbers and put it in everyday terms, you are very wise to do so. first, i respect you for knowing these basic numbers. our actual deficit is not quite the delta that you mentioned. it is about $650 billion this year, which is way more than it can be. we need to be 3% of gdp or less. i am a budget -- alice budget

guy. anything over 3% puts us in the danger zone. i am on a mission to address this, max, and i have put together the america first plan, and it is something you can hold in your hand. it can be evaluated, scored by .bo, critique, and it will be democrats will find things they like and they do not like, and republicans will find things they like and they do not like. it has bipartisan appeal, and that is the only way to get something done, if we find enough democrats in the house, and enough republicans in the senate that will support something. -- would be all right if we were in a safe place, going in a safe direction. we are neither in a safe place,

nor going in a safe direction, so gridlock is not acceptable. in my public service, i am intent and determined, and have a result to find common ground. i am convinced that it exists. sometimes our parties help us find it. more often than not, they can be an impediment. we have to put america first. we have to make tough decisions, grab hold of what represents, ground and turn it into legislation. thank you. host: rose. florida. on our line for democrats. guest: good morning, rose. host: good morning, rose, are you with us? caller: i wish your words matched your rhetoric. too often, republicans vote in line with the lunatics and you are causing great harm. the suffering now here is

horrible. you want to talk about fiscal responsibility, the shutdown is costing us hundreds of millions of dollars a day. it is outrageous. it should stop. it never should have shut. this is not an option. there is no opportunity to negotiate in good faith when you are using force to get people to the table. they are not compatible. it is a shame. it is so shameful that i am almost speechless. i think it is outrageous, and the reality is our fiscal cliff is today. you know, you want to talk about the proper role of the house, it is to pay the bills, pay the bills you have already authorized. it is not repeal law -- difficult to pass a law, it is difficult to repeal a law. doing it, system to and the system has worked fine for hundreds of years. why would you come in and change

the rules? the way you changed the rule with house rule resolution 386, which actually guarantees the shutdown. ist was a dirty trick, it despicable, and i have never been so ashamed. when i watch veterans standing in front of the memorial begging for commerce to go back to work, this is just absurd. i have never been so ashamed of anyone, and there is no one in your caucus that should be smiling about anything today. get back to work. people are hurting. host: thank you. guest: rose, the sound of your voice is understandable. it is not a good time in our country. it turns me, personally -- burns me, personally. questions. a few

what specific plan does senator harry reid have that he could e- mail you that is on his website to address our long-term budget situation? i do not know what one. nor do i know what the leadership required coming from the president. i have not seen that leadership required. the four resolutions that we offered prior to october 1, each one was progressively less -- it reflected a meaningful concession. there were a series of concessions that were offered the whole time that senator harry reid was saying absolutely, we are not negotiating. something has to give here. you hold a view that it is all one party. i do not hold that view. i hold the view that we both need to sharply get better, both parties. .his is how i see it i really believe that the republican principles, the things that are captured in our core values, are really the best

for our country, and he would lift the more americans. energy independence, drawing people -- growing our economy summit getting people back to work. i am an entrepreneur. will admit time, i that our side needs to get better at this. if we hold the view that it all falls on one party, i do not think that is going to lead to a solution. that is my view, but thank you for the call, and i respect your view. host: we have a couple of e- mails in, including from john who writes after a federal worker called into you on c-span, you said you are concerned about federal workers not being able to .

that is from john in indiana. guest: anytime i am talking to one of the leaders from our party, i am always mindful of the faces of the people in the district, and the men and women that i know. actually, the chairman of the virginia beach republican party, he is not going to work because he is furloughed. he is a hard-working guy. he would rather be at work. my position is very clear on this. it is not something that i just recently came to. it was right there on october the first. we need a clean cr. that is open the government. pay the bills of the united states of america with a continuing resolution, and use the next funding cycle, whenever that is, in a should be shorter rather than longer, like

december 15, for example -- that is enough time to pass appropriation bills, get off of this thing called a continuing resolution, which is hurting our economy and our military, and i have been a strong advocate to get off of continuing resolutions, to go to regular order, and that requires the house to agree to go to a budget conference with the senate. i agree with democratic colleagues when they say you should go to a budget congress -- conference. i go to where the facts lead me. whether they are aligned with our talking points or not, i will advocate for what i think is best for our country, especially long-term, and that means regular appropriations. it means working through this very difficult process of reconciling our budget, and doing that around a funding debt, not around the

limit. i do not think the debt limit is the proper place to hunker down and get right here to the precipice of not being able to pay every single bill of the united states of america on time, without delay. a tweet from -- at lisa murkowski to the house, stop the politics. people keep saying that john boehner's job is on the line. he believed that? -- do you believe that? guest: i do not see that as some defining moment. every two years, one a new congress comes into session, you go through the process and you say among all of us, who is the best to rise up and serve in that position and other positions of leadership, and i

think john would be the first to say he expects to be evaluated a son his performance. now, i do not see that this in and of itself is going to cause any severe disruption of the republican conference. that said, obviously, we need to get that her. senator harry reid -- better. senator harry reid needs a sharp improvement. the senate would be better off with another person leading, someone that would be predisposed and desires to enter into meaningful negotiation with the house. host: run in chicago on our line for independents. caller: good morning, mr. representative. i saw your list and i have a list of my own i would like to give to you. guest: ok. caller: i think my list could help. guest: i appreciate that. caller: number one, let's remove the cap on social security.

he moved the cap, and social security will be funded for the rest of our lives. bush tax cuts.e i bet we will not see millionaires standing in food lines. you are against the affordable care act. let's have universal health care for everybody, you, me, veterans, retirees, everybody. it is the cheapest way to go, the most beneficial way to go. four, we need to put people back pass allwhy don't we of the president's jobs bills that he put -- that put people back to work? let's repair our country. let's repair our infrastructure. you know what, working people pay taxes. host: ron, let's give the congressman a little bit of time to respond. guest: thank you. i have heard you out, and i know

i am condensing your views very quickly, but it seems like we just taxing our way out of this, and it is a larger government approach, and look, i am a republican that says indirectly looking at the data that revenues have to rise, not which isugh growth, first and foremost, but through reforming the tax code. we need to pay for the level of spending that we, as republicans, have authorized. that said, we have to rein in the rate of growth of mandatory spending. that has to be done, ron. .t is a mathematical imperative i wish we had more time to walk through it, but that has to be done, and that me give you an example of where the administration is putting a full stop on jobs. i have introduced a bill that opens up virginia's coast in an

environmentally responsible way to open up 18,000 good paying local jobs. there's only one organization stopping that, the department of the interior, which is ultimately led by the president. that is the reality. we want to do it. the governor virginia wants to do it. the general assembly wants it. i ran on it. any hint of the federal government is stopping job creation -- the heavy hand of the federal government is stopping job creation. i am with you and growing the economy, but i am for doing it with less burden of legislation, protecting our environment, but let the entrepreneur do what he and she do best, create jobs. that is the way we need to get out of this. next, let's talk to larry in washington, d.c., on our line for republicans. caller: good morning.

i listen to a lot of these people talk, and i look around the nation's capital and a lot of people are delusional or have a false sense of security. the country, the default situation -- the dollar is not backed by gold. guest: that is true. caller: both sides are responsible. did it, andsevelt then nixon in 1971. it is asinine. if this is the best at harvard, , former the members secretary of state james baker said he would not see the dollar lose reserve currency. he is delusional. countriesobama said are preparing. china, russia, japan, germany, and to change the reserve currency to another currency

because america has had the title since world war ii. host: thank you, larry. guest: larry, you are correct. the currency you have in your wallet there is not backed by gold. what we have, and the reason why we are the world's reserve confidence in the american economy and confidence in our absolute commitment to pay debts and obligations on time. rating why our credit must be preserved, and we must circle the wagons and protect it with everything that we have as republicans and democrats. it is not wise to be where we are. we are doing damage, even though we have not literally gone over the line. we are doing damage internationally to our country, to our children's future, by not properly working through this.

that is why i want to separate the debt limit from the funding of the government, and this idea, and its principal objective of mine, which is to put america on a better financial track, which means getting hold of mandatory spending, getting the revenues right, and at historic levels that make some sense. you are right, because if we reach that, there is nothing backing it up. it is not like we have all of the gold in fort leavenworth to back up the currency. point one made. -- bipartisanet cooperation needed today to reopen government and meet our financial obligations. fitch the credit rating put the united states on a negative rating watch. explain what that means. assessment from an outside organization of the united states ability and

commitment to honor obligations. both legal, like on note, like a bond, and some of my colleagues say we could pay our bond. i do not doubt that. eight dollars out of $10 of what we spend we have the cash for. it is the other 20% or so that we do not have the cash for that has to be borrowed. so, we have to pay both the legal debts and also, the other obligations, like the disability payments that was mentioned earlier by connie. her disability payment needs to go to her on time. is. is what the risk here if we do not pay our bills here on time, what will happen is the credit ratings will go down, and the cost of rolling will go up, and since we already owe about full point ofeach

interest that we have to pay that goes up is around $100 billion a year. if interest rates go up, and they are at historic lows, they can only go in one direction. every full percentage point cut interest rates go up, that is $100 billion that is not going for teacher salaries or infrastructures, or roads, and bridges, or to pay down the debt . it is money that evaporated interest. we are a leveraged country, and that is not good. this is an extraordinary time. it is a true crisis in our country. i do not use the term lightly. i think it is overused. we have a budget session -- crisis. we ought to be in session six days a week, and the president ought to meet with us six days a week to get the job done like we do in the private sector. it is not a normal time and we have to change the house calendar to reflect that.

host: whether in jerome, idaho, for -- on our line for democrats. guest: hello, willard. caller: good morning to you. before my main question, i would like to say i remember one obama was elected, and it looked like we were headed for a deep the session, much like in 1929, and he did the best to get a lot of things done, but that we hear on his inauguration night, senator crapo and other republicans heed to say no to everything was going to do. it was not reported, but it became very obvious as we went through trying to do the tarp and stuff like that -- everybody we saying no, no, no, and

had a bunch of republicans, who i used to have someone of -- some respect for, that was on the committee to do the health care. we took the heritage plan and brought it forth, and obama said ok. i was for a single-payer, but he gave in left and right and as quick as he gave in, they would say no. host: we are a little short on time on the segment. let's make sure we give account the chance to respond before he has to leave. to go withard, i try what is true, and not with a talking point. i think the president initially follow the type of internet -- intervention approach that advocating,sh was at least early on. i do believe that the stimulus bill went to far. on thegree with the time infrastructure part, i could have supported that, and still do.

i see that as a long-term investment -- our roads and our bridges and our tunnels. to me, that needs to be invested because it helps productivity of businesses and keeps us competitive around the world. now, what i do not see in the president is the leadership needed to unlock our energy potential. i know firsthand that his policies are actually holding that job creation in virginia, and i take no pleasure in saying that. i want the president to be successful inasmuch as it will help our overall country. i do not want to fight him, but to the extent that he wants to grow government, i will advocate against that. to the extent that he wants to in pigments tok job creation, i will fully support that and i know my colleagues will as well. we have to find a way to make

this divided government work, and i am going to work every day looking for common ground. i tell my friends that civility is not weakness. we need to tone down the rhetoric. we need to believe that our democratic colleagues are concerned about the debt, and i am asking our democratic colleagues to stop caricaturing us on the republican side. it is because we care about the poor that we are doing the things we are doing to raise up our economy and protect our environment. i do not concede to our democratic friends that we -- they care more than we do. we have to find a way to make them at -- divided government work, and i'm an omission to do that. host: congressman, to a for joining us. he felt i appreciate the up -- guest: i appreciate the -- opportunity. host: will be talking to tim ryan and maria bartiromo.

voters in new jersey will go to the polls today. public opinion polls show 44- year-old cory booker with a double-digit lead. he is seeking to become the second black u.s. senator. governor chris christie set the date for the special election, which is three weeks ahead of his own reelection. senator frank lautenberg, a liberal democrat, died in office in june. an update on the explosions at los angeles international airport. a baggage handler has been arrested following an investigation into the two dry ice explosions. decarlo bennett was booked tuesday for possession of a destructive device near an aircraft. he is being held on $1 million bail. more reaction to the government

shutdown and the impending debt ceiling deadline from billionaire investor warren buffett. speaking earlier today on cnbc, he said failing to raise the dead ceiling would be like -- debt ceiling would be like unleashing poison gas. he added that washington, d.c., is a mess, and the city should listen to advice he gave his children, it takes 20 years to build a reputation, and 20 minutes to ruin it. those are some of latest headlines on c-span radio. >> before becoming first lady, lou hoover traveled the world clipping antiques and artifacts. -- collecting antiques and artifacts. antiques, the chinese porcelains, the blue and whites, and they first started collecting them when they were living in china.

they essentially collected them their whole lives. they develop that was probably the best collection in the united states chinese porcelains. lou collected pewter. here are some pieces of reddish pewter thattish would be used for teapots and things. we have a number of varieties. >> watch our program on lou hoover on our website, c- span.org/first lady's. we continue our series live monday as we look at first lady eleanor roosevelt. " continues.journal host: we are joined now by congressman tim ryan of ohio. i want to get your take on what happened last night with john

boehner pulling his proposal that would have reopened the government and raise the debt ceiling. what is your take? guest: it is following the same storyline we have been dealing or 10or the last nine months, and really since the tea party came to washington, d.c. you have a very small, yet big enough group in the house republican caucus that is controlling the agenda down here, and that is what you saw last night. you have all of these factions within the republican conference. you have the extreme folks who still want to talk about defunding the affordable care act or delaying the affordable care act, or doing something with the affordable care act to appease the extreme right wing, the heritage foundation, and those gropes -- groups, and you have more honest brokers like the gentleman from virginia who was on recognizes these fights should happen in more regular

order. what we saw last night was a culmination of what has been happening in washington for a few years now, since the 2010 election, but more specifically in the last eight or nine months. host: what do you expect to see in future risk of fights in washington? guest: well, probably more of the same. we are allowed to have these fights. this is what we do. democracy is an ugly process. we have fights all of the time. there is a two-party system. it is fine. it is what it is, and that is what we do, but we traditionally order, through regular but now we have a house that is republican, a senate that is republican, it president that was reelected that is a democrat, so you find common ground. areas you can work on. transportation, immigration.

one-thirds will get two and half of what they want and we move forward, but this recklessness is endangering the , as we saw with the fitch rating. it is starting to affect what is happening in our economy. in thee also saw talks senate between mitch mcconnell and harry reid. does the house have any other option other than to accept whatever deal is forcing the senate? guest: that is the case. speaker john boehner has to bring the senate version, which would be a compromise, to the floor, and i will continue to urge the speaker to do that. i think there is a silent majority within his own conference, that if he steps up and says we have tried to go the tea party route with the

obstruction and all of the denying of what can happen if we fellas, wesorry, have to go in another direction. i think there is a silent majority in his caucus that would support him, and hopefully if he can take a strong enough stand and bring this to the floor, which could then have a series of compromise bills on immigration, transportation, that we can begin to deal with in the political system that the founding fathers established for us. host: we want to make sure that we get your calls. yesterday we heard speaker john maynard talking -- house speaker john boehner. let's listen and get your response. [video clip]

made clear for months and months that the idea of default is wrong and we should not get anywhere close to it. >> will you vote today on a plan that would make changes to the senate bill? oure are talking with members on both sides of the aisle to try to find a way to move forward today. thank you. host: congressman, your take? guest: good. i hope he can bring something to the floor. dohink it is essential to that today. i do not think we need to get past close of business today. we need to get something done, and if they cannot figure out what that is going to be in the house, ring the senate bill up immediately. calls,et's take your starting with kevin in saint augustine, florida, on our line for republicans. go ahead. caller: good morning.

representative ryan, i will keep it short, so you can answer my question. as you know, when the direct deposits hit for the first, a lot of people will not be getting paychecks. what are your thoughts on the congress and the senate -- should they have to disclose whether they get their paychecks or not, and will -- when the direct deposit hit, will you take your paycheck, knowing millions of americans will not be getting a paycheck? will you be getting paid or will you be donating yours to charity, and should every member have to disclose whether they can buy food, pay their rent, and when they go home at night until around the table, there is nothing wrong, what about the average american? what will you be doing? i have already contacted the appropriate people that i will not accept my paycheck until everybody else gets theirs, and i think it is only fair for members of congress in

my case to stand with solidarity with others. i have contacted the appropriate people in the administration and let them know i will not be accepting mine until everybody else gets theirs. host: dan in oak ridge, tennessee, on our line for democrats. caller: hi, congressman. guest: hi. caller: we cannot have progress in america until we first acknowledge reality first. said that nato was -- that admitted that building seven was in freefall. would you stand by architects and engineers that demand an investigation? to geti am not going into those conspiracy theories. those kinds of things open up old wounds. i think it is clear what happened on 9/11, and there is

enough business that we need to do in the nations capital to not get engaged in these conspiracy theories that quite frankly are a distraction. we have so many issues to deal with in the united states today -- a level of inequality, investments we need to make an to the future, -- in the future, and when he to get away from the sideshows, not just a 9/11 issue, but we have a leader of a prominent conservative group stand at the world war ii memorial and tell the president -- koran.n his karen if he is muslim, that is fine, but he has said he is christian. when you look at what they are saying in china, europe, mexico, it is a joke. it has turned into a joke.

what kind of country are we going to be? are we going to be the kind of country that lift up the world, shrinks inequality, closes the gap between the rich and the poor, invests in renewable energy, addresses climate change? distracteding so with the sideshows that we are not a country where supposed to be right now. int: next, let's go to kenny mooresville, indiana. caller: good morning. old, retired, and very proud member to be a uaw. my wife and i have an appointment today with our health care plan that this company is supplying us, and i'm very fortunate for that, but my question is, i just found out, according to the brochure that i got, that any insurance premiums

that my company is paying for me, the irs has passed a law that i have to pay taxes on those premiums, and i do not know that everybody knows that, but that will cause my taxes to go up every year because i have to show that as an income. the you know of anything about that? guest: that is something that we are working on right now, and he gets to the broader discussion. you brought up the uaw, so i have to brag a little bit that uise is made in youngstown, ohio, my district. broaderaks to the question. nobody is saying the affordable care act is perfect. we are saying there are adjustments that need to be made along the way, but we need to sit down in a constructive way, and the gentleman just brought up one of those issues we need

to talk about and have a discussion about in a bipartisan way, and not get locked into throw the thing out, or leave it is -- leave it in as is. we have to figure out how to work this thing day by day, week by week, year by year, looking to improve it. it takes time to work through things. host: i want to read an e-mail from james in fort worth about the federal budget that says the true problem with our economy is not federal spending your response? guest: i would agree with a lot

of what he said there. we have levels of inequality they go back to the great depression levels. we need to close the gap, and the means we need a strong workforce, strong unions, and a working middle class. this all comes down to the fact that if an average person has money in their pocket to have health care, to have a pension, to be able to go on vacation, to be able to buy a house and a car, and send their kids to school, america then works. we have gotten to the last 30 and we have not done enough to change it. nasayou look at defense or with the space race, those investments we made as a country -- transportation, roads and bridges, what they did for aerospace, telecommunications, the technologies that spun out of those investments helped to

create engineers and scientists, and average folks could go manufacture these things. i think we need to get back to a policy where we are investing, and one of the main areas now is renewable energy. we need to make those solar panels, windmills, in the united states. we need to retrofit cars and transportation system so that they can run on natural gas, for example. these are investments the government needs to make. no one country is -- company is going to make those. if we want a strong middle class, we have to get back to a country that makes investments together, that no one company will make on their own, and until we get back to that day, we will have stagnation, we will bleed manufacturing, and will have the levels of inequality the gentleman mentioned. about they reports deal in the senate says it will

not do anything to avert the sequestration cuts in 2014. you have been outspoken. how do you fix these cuts? town, findn, said common ground -- sit down, find common ground, look where we can find agreement. until we do that, there are a lot of members that have theirry bases in districts, for example, or a lot of research is done at universities in their district, or the high concentration of head start programs -- all of these things are affected, and we need to make sure they are all willing to sit down and negotiate. if president obama says the sky is blue, the tea party says it is green, and the president gets the blame for everything. the cleveland browns lost last weekend. it must be president obama's fault. there is a light out.

it must be president obama's fault. this is why i am optimistic about john boehner, in a sense. he was one of the chief architects of no child left behind. it has its faults, but he said down with george miller, ted kennedy, so i believe isn't it is to reach across the aisle and try to find common ground. is toelieve his instinct reach across the aisle and try to find common ground. ohio.mike in our line for republicans. caller: good morning, mr. ryan. guest: hi, mike. caller: i have been a republican for a long time. i consider myself reasonable, and i have to tell you i am not a republican anymore. i think this crisis is nonsense. i have watched c-span, and i have watched patty murray in the senate and the house members begging the republicans to go to

conference. they seem to not want to go to conference all of these times that i have watched, and the only thing i can think is maybe they want to push this to a crisis point so that they can cut entitlements. -- everybodys smart thinks you have to do both to get out of this mess. when it goes to conference, that mr.t of it is ryan knows they do not want to defend those. it is part of sequestration. they do not want to go to conference because they do not want to defend the paul ryan budget, because it uses all of the save is the affordable care act has in it. they have to defend their own budget using the savings from affordable health care. host: mike, we will let commerce and ryan -- congressman ryan go

ahead and respond. guest: i would like all of the callers on the republican line to be so enlightened, but what mike is representing there is a republican that is paying attention to what is going on, and he recognizes that the democrats have tried to go to conference 18 times. 18 times the senate has tried to go with republicans, and he has paid attention to this tea party faction that is controlling republicans. m represents a lot of the traditional, moderate -- mike represents a lot of the traditional, moderate republicans who were for limited government, but not for abolishing government. because of redistricting in ohio, president obama one ohio, sherrod brown one ohio, and the democratic congressional candidates won almost one

million more votes, but it is 12-4 republicans versus democrats because of redistricting, so those notionns are forced to -- those republicans are forced to appeal to a conservative base and republicans like mike are left high and dry because pragmatists are now forced to be extreme and we are getting extreme government. it is not good for anyone, and it is especially bad for the country. dynamics, areose you actually optimistic we will see an agreement, given we are hours away from october 17, the self-imposed deadline? guest: i am cautiously optimistic that at the end of the day when we are faced with default theme and sending a signal to the entire world confirming what fitch said about a possible lowering of our

rating that at the end of the day we will come together, and i think the next question is what happens to speaker john weiner in that process -- john boehner in that process. if he has to courage, it will strengthen the silent majority in his caucus, and we can lay the groundwork for more copper mines legislation, that we can all -- compromise legislation that we can all find agreement on. alabama, randy, on our line for democrats. randy, are you with us? caller: yes, i am. h could you make question for the congressman? -- host: do you have a question for the congressman? caller: yes, i do. i think they should let the country go into depression, shut

it down, and get all of these republicans out of office. they do not want to help president obama. if it was george bush, they would have done jobs. we need to get a woman in office. i voted for hillary, and i would vote for her again because i made more money under bill clinton in 12 years than i did in -- under reagan, bush senior or ocean junior, and i think this country needs to be taught a lesson and go under depression for about a week, and everybody appreciates. -- would appreciate what they do. i am on disability. i drove a truck for 20 years. i vote every trucker calls -- i hope every trucker calls to shut it down. guest: i will not go there could host: it is not 2016 yet.

iest: it is not 2016, and love hillary, and i hope she runs, and i would be out front carrying the flag, the going to the point where we want a depression is not something we should be asking for, but he brings up the point, he did very well under president clinton, and i think there are a lot of americans that did in that balanced way. remember, it was that democratic budget. many people lost their seats and we ended up in surplus. we also had, believe it or not, speaker newt gingrich at that point, who was a more pragmatic politician who made investments in children's health care, immunization, nih and research, a lot of things where they found common ground after the blowup with the government shutdown. so, you look at the leadership that resident clinton provided, it was amazing what happened to the country -- president clinton

provided, and it was amazing what happened to the country. it is hard to grasp an agenda item that the republicans have dealt with in the last 10 years that plus, the tax cuts led to the budget problems that we are having now, two wars, both on paid, a prescription drug bill, not paid for, really looking back since president bush came in, what positive thing has happened? lead tohe deregulation the collapse of the financial industry. we had to do the bailout there. the rise of the tea party in 2010, an extremely instructive politics today. you republicans are saying that, not just me. we are getting called on the republican line. that is how far the crash has come for the republican party at this point. dorothy in lexington,

massachusetts, on our line for independents. caller: hello. host: good morning, dorothy. guest: good morning. caller: i am a 75-year-old senior and i remember world war ii, and during world war ii, we obviously took on a huge amount of debt because we were involved in helping on -- helping out europe. after the war, the marshall plan, where we spent money, and then the g.i. bill, which helped the soldiers who came home from the war to get a college education and get started on their careers. now, my understanding is right now we are taxing somewhere of the17% of gdp instead average of 20% of gdp, and it seems to me that, at that time, and the upper income people were paying much higher taxes than

they are today. in fact, it is almost obscene that someone who makes money like warren buffett is only paying 15% when his secretary is to 30%.paying 25% i think people paying cash making more than $100,000 a year .ught to be paying more not just the really high income people, but the people making $200,000, three hundred thousand dollars, should be paying more as well. the idea of cutting entitlements for social security recipients is crazy because the average social security recipient makes about $22,000 in total income a year. i wish i had been able to make this comment when the republican representative was up there, but i am wondering what your take is on this whole idea. guest: i agree. you look at the levels of inequality in our society today,

recognizing that we are in this together, and the extreme wealth -- in some instances, we are not even talking about the top 1%. in some instances, we are talking about the top 0.1% of the wealthiest people were making gobs and gobs of money, recognizing that we have high levels of inequality, and that ultimately, if we are going to have a thriving, vigorous society, we need to make those investments to lift people up, and it is essential that we do that. at the same time, as a government official, i think it is important that we lay out an agenda for the people that we are going to be asking to pay more, and give them confidence that we are going to reform some of these programs, and i am not saying take it out of the middle , ons, the what i am saying health care, for example, if we move to prevention, wellness,

oft, attrition, food -- all these things causing diseases like diabetes, if we star showing people that we are going rather than a lot of thehat will processed food people are eating, this diabetes epidemic is a ticking time bomb for the health-care system. my point is if we start showing ways we are going to reduce within the costs affordable care act and move in the direction and wellness. we need to ask the wealthiest among us to