on "washington journal." ♪ host: this morning on the "washington journal," we want to talk about a group called rebel pundits. it is out of chicago. they put out a video challenging dominanceatic party's with african-americans. it got posted on the drudge report. the videong to show to you. it is about four minutes in length. and then have a discussion about it. here is rebel pundits' video. which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] -- [video clip] >> black folks are in an abusive

relationship. >> we are talking about what they will do to hurt us. life has been hurt by democrats. we've got in our mind that we got to the democrat. and see in your community, who are the real oppressors. they all this talk about black on black crime. when you hear black on black crime, the first thing you think of is a black man robbing you or breaking into your house. doubt is an black on black crime. let's take it one step further. there is a black on black crime in city hall. there's a black on black crime in the state capitals in america where black folks are voting against our interests. where black folks are making themselves poor and other groups are getting richer. >> public housing.

.ost of people are homeless it is because of you, mr. president. detroit, where is your leadership? black folks aren't running that city. ain't no white folks doing that. everything happening in our community is black leadership. children know that democrats have not done anything for us yet. why should they vote? what agenda on the table is going to change their lives? >> the only thing helping the -- this is what the president asked us to vote for. now he wants to have a conversation about minimum wage because this is a way to get poor people's attention. with his minimum wage raise, we do not have any jobs.

they are not pushing a black agenda. they are not pushing a family agenda. they are pushing a neoliberal agenda. >> in the major democratic cities, this is what it looks like. how can the same process happen over and over again? is abusingadership us. the democratic party is abusing us. it is the same way in every black community across the country. a life of welfare, we do not want welfare. we want opportunities to go to work. they bailed out the major banks and big investors but left the people starting. there are no tea parties. we do not have those people. we have a major democratic machine. the majority of them look like me. these other the people who make sure we get nothing but then turn around and have us but for them again.

they only come around when it is time for the election. they give you a turkey or something and everything is good. ofhundreds of millions dollars are coming from the federal government but the money is going to special-interest groups. my brother's keeper went to his friend. it is a corrupt democratic system that gobbles up all of the dollars and starts people. look around your community, do you see any change that has come about? no, you cannot. what we do see is elected officials riding around in new cars and they have new homes. not haveur people do jobs and we do not have resources. cut all the deals have been and all our people are left out, this is where we end up. most important thing we have got, we can stop all. everybody's got a vote.

if you use your vote wisely, you can stop a lot of the stuff. ♪ host: well, one of the gentlemen who appeared in that video is jo watkins. he joins us by phone. he is an activist with a group called voices of the x offender. mr. watkins, let me you participate in the video? ofst: we are sick and tired broken promises. we are tired of participating in an electoral process that does not work for us. oftentimes, our voices have been muffled. we are not at the table. decisions are made for us. we do not have an opinion. we welcome the opportunity to share our views.

host: give us a little bit of your background. .t.e., voicess v.o of the x offender. what is your background? we were founded in 2001 to combat violence and find jobs for men and women getting out of prison. started out protesting construction sites, union construction sites. with backgrounds you are allowed to work in the construction industry. since everything is close to us, we chose to seek employment in the construction field. chicago has a history of machine politics. they are prounion and not pro-african-american employment. findingruggled with these unions in our community.

we started focusing our attention towards politicians. we discovered that our politicians, especially the black ones, had an alliance with the unions. the unions were paying their funding. helping them during election campaigns. every time, our black african-american legislators would support them. we found it to be ironic. on the one hand, you tell us you support us but you are doing everything against us. and that was the basis of our organization's foundation. host: mr. watkins, why were you locked up for a time? guest: i was locked up for several things. for protesting, robbery in the marijuana, lot of host: the usual stuff.

were you raised in chicago? saw chicago we just centric or something that could be carried to a nationwide audience? be carried to a nationwide audience. this is the suffering african-americans have throughout the u.s. we do not have a voice in electoral politics. we are ponds. -- we are pawns. we are being pushed back farther and farther. host: i wanted to get this reaction to this article. it is out of the business insider. rangel, democratic congressman from harvard. some republicans believe slavery is not over. he says the republicans are confederate and they still think slavery exists. is bothbviously that

republicans and democrats if that is the case. i would say democrats are the same. i'm not a republican or a democrat. .e. party,f the v.o.t i do not have any resources. people in my generation, we are locked out of this process. if you are not part of the democratic liberal process, then we do not get anything. i would think that republicans should have the foresight to open up more to bring african-americans into the forefront. instead of trying to marginalize us and stigmatize us, which democrats are doing. back at most of our criminal activity, it is created. it was not because i chose to be a criminal. -- i was snatched

off the bus at 17 years on my way to college when i was given my first charge. i was arrested 21 times by the same policeman. we are not given the opportunity that other people are given to come to this country. i thought not just democrats, i thought republicans. this should be an opportunity that republicans do more to reach out to us. everybody deserves a second chance. as a matter of fact, this country was made up of everyone released from europe out of the presence. they had a second chance. african-americans should begin in a second chance. we are giving amnesty to illegal immigrants. why can't we give amnesty to african-americans? ped, by the way, were trum

up on the charges to create the prison industrial system to make money off of us. most evil in jail are nonviolent crimes. most people in jail are nonviolent crimes. host: what kind of attention has this garnered since it got posted on the drudge report? guest: it remains to be seen. we still have debates among people who have had a chance to view the video. blessing. was a other than that, we would not have a voice. here thattv service we use maybe two times a month. getting our word out to the masses. everyone cannot afford cable so people do not watch it. that are a lot of people are behind the times in chicago. who are not up to par with everything else.

my video i said i blamed the president. we know the president. andlped him in his campaign i voted for him the first term. i did not a second time. he knew the state of homelessness here. he knew about our plans for transformation. the marriage he gave us, rahm emanuel, he's a liberal racist. she brought him here to create a plan for transformation. the plan for transformation as public housing. they've created a workforce, if planudit chicago cha-hud for transformation, chicago has spent three billion dollars and african-americans have not gotten one penny. when they tour the projects down in chicago, public housing was

97% african-american. 99% of the workforce was eastern european and hispanic. we cannot even get a job. the president and i lived in the same word. he knows our plight. he has never addressed our issues. are rebelling now. he has not done anything for our children. we have a lot of struggling organizations. who do not get any funding from anybody other than gifts from one another. he gives gifts to the liberal democrats for chicago who are racists. so make other plans to displace and make lack folks unless. mycontinues to give brother's keeper or the lab school hundreds of dollars, there is no way white folks will let us train their children. we cannot identify groups that

are educated enough to train african-americans. i have a graduate degree from the university of chicago. i could never get a job. when i go to get a job, i have to go to hispanics. to getto go to hispanics interviewed for a job. who made these arrangements? the liberal democratic process is making a full out of black folks. host: joe watkins is with a v.o.t.e., voice of the ex-offender. a group called the rebel pundit. we want to hear from african-americans only, your view of the democratic party. we are talking about this video we just saw. you can see the numbers on the screen. divided by political affiliation. republicans, democrats, independents.

joseph, a republican, springfield gardens, new york. good morning. this is my first time calling. i'm glad i got up in time to see this. is very interesting. i'm a republican. i voted for reagan and bush senior, bush junior. i did vote for president obama the first time. thatnk it is about time somebody challenged his idea that all african-americans are democrats. in my own community, i'm not allowed to come out and say i'm republican. it is like the democratic party owns all african-americans. i'm republican and my values. i think republicans need to realize they need to begin opening up. by thet feel welcome republicans.

and my values. i do not agree with everything .ou democrats are putting out i saw no need to change my republican status. host: but you do not feel welcome by the republicans. caller: no, i do not. host: has it gotten worse? caller: over the last few weeks them on e-mails asking me for money. that is the only change i've seen. i've seen a slow change. i think also there is a small there is a segment of african-american republicans who have not felt free to speak up. they do not speak up in their own communities. but they are out there. there is a sizable number of african-american republicans. justice in new york. this is a democrat in annapolis, maryland. caller: i was watching the show.

i'm sympathetic for the gentleman who came out of prison. .e did have a phd why is the timing that you are having this show, the particular guys who are ex-offenders. you are not even talking about things like voter suppression. you spent a week talking about ebola. yes, my father was once a black republican. i have no problem with that. to do with ronald reagan republicans. it should be something on that issue and more on black people -- not something very negative. particularly from the president's home state. host: why are you a democrat? democrat because i could not vote for ronald reagan. i was a republican. i feel that the party should be 50-50 blacks and republicans. the republicans never give

anybody any reason to vote republican. when i hear black republicans talk about how they are oppressed, i have a problem with that. in odenton, maryland on our independent line. you are on the "washington journal." caller: good morning. my view of the democratic party see, a lot of democrats do not even vote in the midterm elections. tvote when it is a presidential election every four years. it is all politics that are local, voting for your government and local judges and things of that nature. that is what will affect change in the community.

i hear a lot of complaining but i do not see a lot of african-americans voting during the midterm elections. an example of that, how is it possible that 70% of african-americans lived in ferguson and the majority of the ferguson are white? if you have a problem with the in yourthe first thing mind, let me get out and vote so i can change things. are calling on our independent line. have you voted for both parties? caller: yes, i have. i did vote early voting. i voted all incumbents out. i do not like republican party in the democratic party. they are both one and the same. in my opinion.

if there is an independent person running for senate and i will vote for that person. just,re was not, i would you know, other. the only thing that i have to pointout voting, one more . it is very hard to find information on the judges. i find that i tried to do some research and i could not find anything about their records. so i did not vote for the judges on the ballot. host: we're going to leave it there and move on to herb in california on our republican line. caller: thanks for having me. tape on rush limbaugh the other day. he played the tape. i was really impressed.

i'm really impressed with c-span for playing it on tv. i hope you play it later in the day so other people can hear it. this is pretty early for a lot of folks. i'm impressed with these brothers and they are saying a lot of things that are true. host: why are you a republican? caller: i was a democrat at one time but i took a long look at things that were going on around me. the more i looked, the more i to leave the democratic party. they took me for granted. they figured i was going to vote for them no matter what they did and they did not do anything. the war on poverty has been going on since 1964. i have not see any changes in the black community. in facts, it has gotten worse. be other issues that attribute to that. the black community i lived in when i was growing up in the

doors, we could leave our unlocked. today, you cannot do that. it is completely different. it is a different society. earlier, ad a caller black republicans say he did not feel welcome. caller: i do not feel that way. i'm not involved with any particular republican party club but i have gone to republican party clubs and i've been one of the few blacks in the room. i never felt intimidated or anything. i heard that comment. i am 66 years old. i feel that i have earned the do,ht to say and pretty much a o with respect to others, if i republican, iam will say it. if they have a problem with it, i cannot help. host: cheryl in los angeles,

democrat. why are you a democrat? father was a democrat. we were a democratic family. some of the values i doubt agree somei also agree with -- of the values my dad agreed with i also agree with. , my daughterings was in the military in arizona and i got an opportunity to go there. i was around a lot of the republican people in arizona. that their view of thinking was so off. mention a lothey of christian values. when i talk to them one-on-one, some of the caucasian people, i kind of found that they talk their values about

helping -- they would always talk to me about abortion. when i addressed them about the abortions, they would say you should not because god does not want you to. of course god does not want you to. i'm a believer. but i know that that is a personal choice. that was the first question i wanted to say. i'm a little nervous, please forgive me. blacks thatat the they had on there for the four-minute tape, like one of , they do itn said around election time. ,t reminded me of the blacks the character, they reminded me character inblack "django."

he was loyal and matter what they did. he cost a lot of blacks to get killed. these republicans remind me of played by samuel l jackson in the movie "django." says is a scripture that the liberal soul should be made. god never says the conservative soul. republicans do not give you anything. the democrats will at least give you something. to leave itoing there and move onto john, independent in mississippi. you are on the "washington journal." caller: good morning. there's something no one is addressing. the elephant in the room. , it wentu.s. was made from a very young country to the

most powerful nation in the world in the blink of an eye. it could not have been done without slavery. well for the u.s.. 85% of all money was produced from slave labor. you have banks built from slave labor. no one is talking about reparations. country comes to this and trumps us. we're the foundation that built this country. everyone else came here by choice. we were brought here by change. -- by chains. host: how does that high into the video we saw in your view of the democratic party? feel like the democrats have taken advantage. i could not be a republican. in my opinion, they're just as bad as the dixiecrats.

they're very anti-african-american. that is why they had the rebel flags. come on. the swastika has been banned in europe. you know what they use as a replacement? the rebel flag. willie in mississippi, democrat. in a 68-year-old. bit whenember a good black america was republican. after the civil war and everything like that, they abandoned us down here. they let the black democratic party die. my grandfather was a republican. and i watched. they abandoned us as a people. why? tv that the

blacks had left the republican party. no, they ran us out. young, my grandfather could not even go to a meeting. they changed the meeting halls. host: thank you. les in detroit, independent line. caller: good morning, fellow patriots. peter, in 1988, there was a president election when jesse jackson ran for president. he won michigan. we thought he would be a good vice president but the democratic party turned its back on him. it was a group of african-americans that went to reverend jackson and wanted to start a third-party. i often wonder what if they had started the third party. would we be having this conversation today?

most of my life, i have leaned towards the democratic party. when you call yourself independent, you lean one way or another. towards the democratic philosophy or the republican philosophy as an independent. 've party in itself, they been taking americans for granted in both parties. in've been assaulted an detroit by democrats in lansing that vote against us. we do not take care of the people. basically, it is the working class that is suffering. it comes to deciding if you're a democrat or republican. we are all in this together. we're supposed to be all americans. it does not matter if you are democrat or republican. we're supposed to have the best interest for our community. that is not happening when it is coming to the democratic party or the republican party.

host: your city was mentioned in the video by rebel pundits. is run byt detroit blacks and look what condition it is in. caller: yes. you are right. watkins, it is almost like he was saying the same thing that is happening here in detroit. the democratic party has no interest in what is happening to the working class americans. ok. it comes to them, it is when it comes to big is business, we are ok. the working class are suffering. what about a bailout? we are under siege in detroit. host: what kind of work do you do? used to work for a correctional facility but i am medically retired. host: mariane in blackstone, virginia on our democrat line. good morning.

i've been trying to get on c-span for the last three years. host: welcome. caller: i am an 85-year-old minority lady. i've grown up in the south of virginia. i've seen the changes of the party, the democratic party and the republican party. my father was a republican. they were thinking about lincoln. peopleson that minority do not vote in the community elections is because they have not been told in the schools. the only thing they have been told in the schools is to vote for the president because he's the leader. , they find educated

out the president cannot do everything. and the house of representatives controls the country. over the lies they've been talking about president obama. they said they are going to suffer, their children are going to suffer because of their lives. -- because of their lies. all americans. i'm a fourth-generation, fifth-generation american. indianstors were native . they were mistreated. the blacks came over here and they were mistreated. it is a shame that we do not get together as americans. anne? mari

your father was a republican but you are a democrat, are you happy with the democratic party? caller: yes. they tell the truth. the republican party tells stories. c-span and i listened to the regular news and i read the newspaper and i listen to fox news. i can tell when this reporter fox are telling a lie. they twist their heads. i know they are lying on the president and american people. what did you think of the video we showed comedy rebel pundit video? caller: i did not see but half of it. you know we have people that get abouto talk negative

other people. that is the reason why the poor in america are suffering. because they have been brainwashed by different people. and that is like the school system in virginia. they have got all white teachers in the school system. and the children come home, they ,annot read, they cannot spell they do not know anything. they just play in school. the teachers and the leaders let them do wrong. to leave iting there. we appreciate you watching and i am glad you got through after three years of trying. daniel is next, augusta, georgia. republican line. you are on the "washington journal." what do you think of the democratic party, why are you a

republican, what did you think of the video? caller: yes. i have a hard time understanding how people can't understand that when president obama talks about you can keep your doctor and you can keep your health care and he knew it was a lie, how that is not lying. i'm not going to get into that. i'm going to go to when i came to talk about. i'm adopted by a white family that had six of their own kids and adopted to black children. my mom and dad both worked really hard. my mom stayed home to make sure that we were on the right reading level. make sure we had lunch is when we went to school. was a principal at the school i went to and did not make a lot of money. they still do not make a lot of money.

i dealt with racism. racistd one of the most off courses in augusta -- i joined one of the most racist golf courses in augusta. i dealt with racism. i dealt with racism on the black side as well, prejudice. because i talk to certain way. ,he thing is, for black people if we want to succeed, we are going to have to start changing. it is not the responsibility of government or anybody else. it is the responsibility of each individual to make sure they are taking care of their kids, to make sure they are reading. it is not the teachers' responsibility. is the responsibility of the parents. as soon as we start taking responsibility for what we do, we will succeed in life.

we are not the only once to have been oppressed in life. over history, there have been other people who have been oppressed and they can out of it. we keep blaming other people for our downfalls. to start having fathers staying with their families. we need to start working things out with the kids and making sure they're doing what they're supposed to do. as soon as they are not, make sure we are setting punishments. ping then because you are angry about a situation. host: what do you do in augusta? electrician and i own my own landscaping business. i am 34. host: do you feel welcome in the republican party? yes.r: i grew up in augusta. most people in the community are republicans. to be actively doing stuff in the republican party,

trying to get my voice heard. on top of it, i would like to run for office down the road. that is the reason i am building my own business. int: up next is greg denver, colorado, democrat. caller: that guy was so full of it. it annoys me. the problem with detroit-- host: go back. while you say he is full of it? caller: to say that it is because of broken homes and so forth. we had ties in colorado -- we h colorado who came from solid homes and shot up their schools. there is a built in culture in america that is anti-black. that is a fact. who is -- who is part of the culture?

caller: is really perpetrated by conservative media. host: ok. now you can make your point. theer: that is one of reasons i'm not republican. they are anti-black. they do not want you to vote. they raised the interest rates on student loans so that prices, in particular cannot get their children into higher education. if you look at the fact that they do not want wages to go up. we have trade deals in this country. places like detroit have been .estroyed these manufacturing companies have been off shoring for the have letr 30 years and the third world have employment. it is not something a party is doing. they are doing policies.

that particular thing is what is destroying america. the video byu saw rebel pundits, what was your reaction? caller: that they are paid jerks. host: denver, colorado. here is rick on twitter. gop voterhe suppression machine at work." from the hill newspaper. turnout typically falls in midterm years. particularly among black voters. while blacks represented 13% of the electorate in the presidential years of 2008 and vote share was 11% in 2010 and 10% in 2006. in the new york times, early voting numbers looking good for democrats. to turn outfforts be young and nonwhite voters who sat out the 2010 midterm

elections appear to be paying off in several senate battleground states. more than 20% of the nearly 3 million votes already tabulated in georgia, nor china, colorado, georgia,-- in virginia, colorado, and iowa come from people who did not vote in the last midterm election. kansas city, kansas. it is your turn. thisr: i'm calling about videotape you just showed. i agree with it to a certain extent. in going to the root of all problems. it is this society. all black folks have was from

fromry -- have woes slavery. black folks in america are doomed. there's almost no hope. through.t democrats, republicans, i have never voted in my life and do not plan on it. host: let's leave it there and move on to jack in texas. republican line. caller: when he just say my father was black. 100%.e with the video it is time to leave the liberal plantation. charles barkley is right when he said recently that blacks are basically unintelligent. in asull themselves back they get more educated, people keep pulling them back.

kennedy would have been a conservative today. he said ask not what your country can do for you, that what you can do for your country. the notion that somebody has got to do something for you is the biggest problem that people have. you have to learn to pull yourself up by your bootstraps. do not count on someone out to do it for you. once you learn these basic precepts, you can be a responsible individual. i think people have to quit crying and thinking that somebody is going to fix something for them. they are here right now and they cannot do anything but do better tomorrow if they try. host: i thought you were finished. cordell in pennsylvania, democrat. you are on the "washington journal." caller: i just wanted to make a general statement. -- whoever to think was there in integrated society. what we are doing in the u.s. is somewhat like an experiment.

it, if youink about look at the conference that we have, africa, japan, russia, canada, south america, were they integrated? how long were they integrated? is this something we have always had so we have an example of what to go by? time in thehe first history of humanity that all totinents have come together land on one continent. i thought that is what we started in the beginning with the u.s., the land of the free. liberty is what we are here to work on. but it is a work in progress. no one is right. black people were in complete control of the whole world, we would be oppressive, too. if you have africa, africa is not heaven on earth. time butve been at one due to the fall of man it is no longer that. host: why are you a democrat? democrats atse

this time seem to be more sensitive towards african-americans. let's face it. we have a democratic african-american president. this is the first time i started voting so much. for the most part, i'm influenced by my community in the way that it feels enticing to me. the republican party has a lot on thesitional ideas surface. when you go back and you study, i have a small business that i started back in 2006. when i talked to my republican brothers, i realized i have to take more responsibility for being the owner of my company. when i deal with handouts, i'm not as responsible. they say that the democratic party really once everybody leaning towards being dependent on the government, so to speak.

and that the republican party makes an individual person more independent. the woman or man becomes an independent and then becomes the republican party because we want controlcan people to our own country. let me say one thing. every time somebody says "they" people," through the american democratic process, we thought ourselves into office. when you are upset at this president or this governor, you are really upsetting yourself. these are the people we voted on. host: we're going to leave it there. tim is also in pennsylvania, republican line. you are on the "washington journal." caller: good morning. i did not see the video clip and

i was calling into the question mia democrat or republican. i guess i'm a republican by mistake. my father was a product of the depression. and a great fan of jfk. i grew up in a family, i was taught to have community service in be mindful of yourself and work yourself up the ladder. but my father always talked about jfk. , because of his values, he was a republican. so i became a republican. but he was a democrat. a jfk democrat. like the gentleman before me, jfk stated, "ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country." host: what kind of work do you do? caller: i am in chemical sales. host: thank you. ray, florida, independent line.

the is your -- if you saw video by radel pundit, what did you think? what is your view on the democratic party? caller: i did not get to see the video. i want to apologize, i'm suffering through a cold. i'm a latino. i am happy to live in such a diverse neighborhood. that i get to see different cultures. that ared people african-americans. i do not like to use the word black. some people, if it comes from different races, it might mean offensively. be people ofuld color. as an outsider, i get it from both sides.

outside the country to mexico and i am a person of light skin. they do not understand how i speak perfect spanish. and i speak to you and i'm speaking perfect english. i've been to the point where store,rking at a retail a white person comes in and speaking the way that i am, i went to high school and training , i greet them as i was supposed to -- host: we're going to leave it there appeared for the first hour we are talking to african-americans only and their view of the democratic party. we are basing it on the video we showed earlier this morning on the "washington journal." [video clip] thelways talking about what republicans have not done for us or what they will do for us. my life has been hurt by

democrats. we've got in our mind that we have got to vote democrat. >> who are the real oppressors in our community? ony always talk about black black crime. when you hear the word black on black crime, the first thing you think of is a black man robbing you or a black man break into your house. and that is a black on black crime. but let's take it one step further. there is a black on black crime in city hall. there a black on black crime state capitals of america. where black folks are voting against our interest. or other groups are getting richer and richer. everywhere you go, there is poverty in black areas. housing. most of the people are homeless and living in the streets. it is because of you, mr. president. the, where are your

leaders at? there are no white folks running detroit. there are black folks running that city. a are black folks going along with that. the things happening in our community, black leadership is doing this. our children know that democrats have not done anything for us. why should they even go out and vote? what agenda is going to change their lives? host: in 2012, voter turnout, 132 million white non-hispanics. 98 million blacks. 17 millions asians and hispanics. you can see the numbers. sourced by the u.s. census bureau. nora is a black democrat in the bronx. good morning to you. good morning. i am proud to be a democrat. i've been voting for over 40 years. i have never seen in my life as ahateful people

majority of the people that are up there on capitol hill. whether they are in the senate , againstngress minorities. whether they are african-american, hispanic, asian. they do not like women. they do not like minorities. they want to cut social security and medicare. i'm a senior now. why would you want to do that? they try to use cold words that we are lazy. that video was a disgrace. the presidentis of the united states of america. he is not just the president of african american people. even if he is african-american. and what have they done but stand in the way and be obstructionist. not passed a jobs bill. they do not want to pass an immigration bill. they have cut back the voting rights. that my people died for to get the right to vote. why would you have this survey on? four days before the election to

make people disheartened and not get out and vote. i call every day to get out the vote. for people to vote. that is a right. host: that is nora in the bronx. caller: that is my opinion. host: this is jim in chicago on our independent line. caller: good morning. rebel pundit comes out of your city. you aboutt me tell the video. i agree with the video 100%. what those guys were saying is true. i've been in chicago all my adult life. 34 years ago, you had more black people voting for democrats. put in people that care about their community. now, black people are like sheep . they keep voting democrat because they figure the republicans are racist. they put anyone in their, .ncluding obama black people vote for the same people over and over. they do not demand, they have a

lot of power but they do not use it. are the dumbest voters in america. look at the hispanics, they are demanding. it is upsetting to see chicago the way it is. comment two years from now, black people are going to vote for democrats. host: what do you do? caller: i am retired. from west virginia on our republican line. caller: thanks for taking my call. excusestime of all the people have for their place in life, where they are at -- i'm a recovering addict. i would tell my own grandmother

-- i would sell my own grandmother if i thought i could get high. butve no one to blame myself. today i am very successful. i work for an established company and i put myself through school. i quit school in ninth grade. since then, i received my ged a fieldeditation in that i do not work in today. at least i have it. . make six figures i have a car and a house. i was basically a bomb on the street. bum on the street. host: does that make you a republican? caller: the reason i'm a republican is because of nasa. the democrats sold this country out. makewould rather have ford

products in july mexico rather than in the u.s. if i was a businessman, i could see the logic. it is better to be a mexican $6 a week than to pay a u.s. citizen six dollars an hour to make the same part. ,hat is why nafta was developed for big companies. i do not know if we can't reverse that but i think that is something that needs to happen. we need to stop buying stuff from china and relying on other countries. the problem is not that the democrats are the republicans -- or whatever.r you have got to stand for something or you are going to fall for anything. host: beatrice, democrat, las vegas. caller: good morning, how are you? host: i'm fine. , whether youmment are a democrat or a republican. if you are black, you have to step back and stay in your

place. i have been sent back to poverty because of racism in san diego. my husband worked at the shipyard for 36.5 years. he was an electrician supervisor. the most brilliant electrician they knew. this mandate contracts for the company but he was never made in a position where he should have been. he did not mind, he loved what he did. when my husband passed away nine years ago, these shipyards, there is a space this -- there is asbestos. the ceo managed to make sure none of those people got paid for the asbestos that killed them. my husband won a lawsuit against .his company six months after he died. he had a lawsuit and he won. host: before you go too far down this path, why are you a

democrat and what did you think about the video that we showed? caller: i lost everything because i am black. the white people there did not do that. every minority, they lost their insurance. their family went back into poverty. host: thank you. tonya in west virginia, independent. hi.er: i just turned independent the last election. i voted for obama. i volunteered for obama. i gave him money and everything. they have these laws but you do not know what they passed until 60 years later. all these policies. ony are not going to vote them until after the election. have of these states, they schools in third world countries that look better than schools in

south carolina. when the occupy wall street people occupied wall street, it was the democratic states that and abused those young white men who stood up. it was the democratic party who did that. that did not happen in oklahoma and kansas and what have you. and yes, the democrats, they went to beat the black people up when they say something. and then they want to put like charlie rangel, they want to put him up to embarrass him and then say to white america, look we took care of the corruption. off, theyl street got did not go to trial for nothing. you cannot say there is an illegal war in iraq when nobody was arrested. . you cannot say nothing against him or his policies. host: that was tonya in west virginia. everyone who

participated. if you want to see the video, go to rebelpundit.com. cd video we showed earlier. two more hours in we are going to turn our attention to retirement savings and whether or not we are saving enough, and after that, we're going to talk about the death with dignity laws. so those are the two segments we've got coming up on the "washington journal." regular seers of c-span, you know we have been showing you lots and lots of debates. over 130 debates already have aired. and last night we showed you the new hampshire senate debate.

here's a portion. [video clip] >> senator, the journalist that was beheaded by isis told the state department that they repeat dwhri threatened her family with prosecution if they sent ransom for her son. did government mistreat the family? >> i don't think that hard line was necessary. i've had a chance to talk to the foley family about what happened. the barbarous murder of foley and both with ties to new hampshire is one thing that brought home the us, the threat from isis. i had the opportunity to question both the secretary kerry and hagel about the hard line we took, because i think we need to look at how we are helping families that are faced with the situation that the foley family is facing. we should do everything we can to help families like the foleys. we should not pay ransom but i

think it's important that we treat the families with respect and do everything we can to help negotiate for americans held captive. >> can you imagine if that happened to your child? when it happened, we were deeply saddened. what the state department did was unconscionable. the fact that they would use the strong arm of the government chipping away at our reedom, also to have the glimmer of hope to get their child home, i would have done anything and everything to get my child home or friends of anyone that i knew. that's the problem with the federal government right now. they are chipping away at our rights and freedoms and telling us what to do and how to do it and we should just sit back. it's time to stand up.

>> "washington journal" continues. host: this morning on the "washington journal," we're going to do a segment on retirement. security retirementization. joining us is the managing director of the society of actuaries dale hall. a new report has come out from your group saying we are going to live longer. that is positive, isn't it? guest: it is. the report definitely shows people, especially the ones we studied in this report on u.s. corporate retirement plans are living longer as opposed to some of our previous studies. for example, when you look at our previous study it's about a two-year increase in life expectancy for the typical retiree at age 65. host: well, mr. hall, you are an actuary. what does that mean when it comes to numbers that we have a two-year increase in our life expectancy?

>> yes. it's a notable jump. the typical point of an actuary is to come up with an assumption especially in corporate sponsored retirement plans to help them value what the liability of that will be. so two years on average an additional 24 monthly payments that a planned sponsor might be expected to make to the typical worker retiring from that plan. and it's a fungs of things we've seen over the past decade, mortality improvement. things like mortality and reduction in disease. as we ran a simple calculation to determine what the affect of this would be to be tables, we were seeing an average increase in a plan liability of 4%-8%. that depends a lot upon the demographics of the plan but something the plan sponsor certainly needs to consider.

host: so how much time do we spend retired on average? >> well, again, the male age 65 who is contemplating retirement in this study is going to be living about 20-21 years, up to age 86. females, even longer. those females who reach age 65 in our study are expected to live a little past age 88. so spending a large portion of our quares in that retirement phase. host: if you put in together with social security to see what impact that will have on social security? >> we have not run that specifically. we do a lot of studies, and the data we use sometimes has some data that is part of social security's output. something that the social security administration does a very good job at projecting what the impact of that will be in the united states.

host: dale hall is with the society of actuaries. thank you, sir. well, diane oakley is the executive director of the national institute on retirement security. ms. oakley, we are living longer. good news. guest: peter, it is good news. the good news is we are living longer. the tough news is, how do we make sure we can afford it. here we are on halloween today. so it's like the day of the living dead in terms of those goblins out there. and kids running around trick-or-treating. but what we really want to do is make sure americans can live in retirement in a comfortable way. and what does that mean in terms of retirement and being comfortable saving. being able to expect to live two more years, he is a professional. he deals with these numbers and understand them. and he is working with managers of pension plans who also are professionals. and they can make adjustments.

they are not going to be easy to do but they can make adjustments to their plans. but when you are an individual, most people talk about the life expectancy going to 86 for a man who is covered by a plan. but most individuals, what they don't understand the that means half of them are going to live beyond 86. so when you are in a four, four, plan and you're going to be your -- when you are in your own 401-k and you've got to be your own actuary. you've got to make sure you plan beyond your life expectancy otherwise you're going to run out of money. we've done research on data just released from the federal reserve where they put out data on how much individuals have from a national survey that's very comprehensive. the data shows when we look at the median amount of savings

for the people right before retirement ages 65-64 for all households. not just households who have 401-k accountsings. -- accounts. that median is $4,000-$5,000 and that's not enough to give them one year of retirement. we look at social security. i think the most interesting statistics i've seen looking at a lot of surveys coming out is americans are really understanding that social security is going to be a key source of their retirement income, and that's important because social security does something that's very hard to do on your own. that's taking into account inflation. that means inflation is going to have more of an impact on your health care costs, spending costs, what you're going to pay for food and housing. the interesting part is he was talking about average life expectancies. you've got to plan for that

tail end if you're an individual so you don't run out of money. so if you say i want an 80% chance i don't want to run out of money. that means if you're a woman you've got to plan to live until 97 not 88. that's almost another nine more years if you want to make sure you're not going to run out of money. that's tough. host: will you outlive your retirement save sngs we've ivided the phone lines by age. and 0 and over and under 51 and older -- >> yes. host: so diane oakley, what are the implications of social security? medicare? medicaid? we have an average of 14,500 for those 55-54.

>> the implication is more and more americans are going to rely on those services for income and protection and care in retirement care without anything else in many cases. so it's good that those plans are there. but we also know that social security, for example, will either have to make adjustments in the social security benefits or the contributions over the next several years, because in another i guess it's 2037 the funds will be reduced and possibly by statue chute, if we don't take care of that to maybe 75% of what people get today. and i think when we look at changes to social security, what the retirement savings levels tells me is that trying to fix social security by cutting benefits is i think something that would harm so many americans, because it

really is their only income or primary source of income. for the bottom 3% of americans social security is 90% or 50% of what kind of income they are going to have when they retire. >> often when you do the retirement charts you say you're going to need 80% for income. where do they come up with that anything? guest: they look at expense and what you need for work. some of the expenses you're going to have in retirement like health care generally go up faster than inflation in our experience, so you want to make sure you plan for that and the income specter where we've got the most ghaps retirement for coverage. those individuals were thought to even need more than 80%. because quite often they are not paying taxes and may be

getting tax benefits like an earned income tax credit that they will get when they retire. so it's a good bench mark. i think a lot of people might be able to adjust their expenses. we see people cutting back on spending but we have to realize that has an impact on our economy. when seniors spend their retirement checks, and we've tracked this for people that have pensions. we know when people have pensions in the private or state government, they spend those pension checks every month. income and erates jobs with the economy and economic activity. it's about $940 billion in economic activity and supports about 6 million jobs around the country, and especially in a lot of our rural areas. that can be a key source of income for some small businesses is that might be open with retirees coming in and getting that sort of early special at the diner.

host: with this onslaught of baby boomers getting ready to retire, is this a different generation? is it different now with regards to the savings rate than it was in the previous generation? guest: well a lot of the people saving coming up to retirement today, a lot of them still have traditional pensions. this is really the last group where pensions dominate what they have and they have less 401-k accounts. when you look tatami len y'alls, for example. the coverage of the traditional pension will probably be about half of what we see in baby boomers. so they do have some level of protection but are used to a different lifestyle. these are people who have grown up and their spending really

has driven our economy. and what do we do in terms of when the next generation -- this generation has half of what it spends, what does that do in terms of our economy overall? host: kirk in christianburg, virginia. 31-50 line. hi, kirk. crip how are you? host: please go ahead, sir. caller: yes. i was going to tell you a little back story first. y'all are a real treat because before the war broke out used to be -- host: you know what? i'm not sure what he was talking about. we're going to move on to jay in killeen, texas. good morning. you're calling on the 51 andor line. caller: as a senior citizen, diahann, you hit it right there. most of us have had parents or grandparents in the depression era, and i remember hearing use

up, wear it out, make do or throw it out. we had shoes, one for school and one for sunday and then my daughter had 12. i'm grateful for the medicare we do have but i have two questions. is it true that for every dollar in my working years and now i put in for medicare i'm receiving $3 of benefits back? the other question -- why don't we go on and just take out social security all the way up on people's incomes. don't stop with the $114,000 or wherever it is now? if you're on medicare? why not on social zphuret because what you said is true. that is all some people vaccine and they can't help it. >> thank you very much for your comments. you're absolutely true. guest: medicare and social security both operate on a pay as you go basis, pretty much.

which means that the money you put in actually went to help pay for health care for people who were retired at the time that you were working. and what you're getting back is actually more than what you've put into the retirement system overall. on social security there's a little bit of difference on that, but it's pretty close and operates pretty much the same way. your comments about being able to trays security wage cap that, has been a proposal that several members of the senate and the house have suggested as ways that we could fix social security and doing that would fix a good deal of the social security short fall and make it able to do that. the reality of it is we've got to get the political will in washington that probably needs americans to speak out a little bit more about how important retirement security is to them, and we're seeing that already.

we've done surveys for example that suggest that 86% of americans feel that washington needs to pay more attention to retirement security. host: do you see washington doing that? do you see state governments? guest: actually, what we're seeing today, the debate on social security has mellowed a bit. people know it's there and know we have to deal with it. but i think where we are seeing a lot of activity less inflateably is in the state capitol. a number of states are following the lead of california of passing legislation that would create some type of a way to assure that every working american would have access to a retirement safings program. right now so it's critical. there was just a survey released by wells fargo, and what they found was that if you had a retirement account and

you were 30 or between 30 and 39 you actually had about $35,000 in that account. if you didn't have a retirement account through work you only had $1,000 saved. so having that account is critical tapped states are actually trying to say, we're going to require every employer in this state to offer some type of payroll deduction savings for retirement. california took the lead. states like minnesota passed it. i'm actually serving on a task force appointed by the governor in maryland that is looking at this and try to figure out a way that can we be helpful at the state level? host: and 41% between 50-59 years old not currently saving for retirement. 31% say they will not have enough to survive on in retirement and 19% of all respondents have no retirement

savings. as somebody who has worked in this industry for years and heading up an institute on retirement security, what does that do to you? guest: well, it really gets to the heart of the issue. americans are finding it hard to save. we do a survey. we come up with similar numbers. only 2% of americans think it's going to be easier in the future to save than it is now. this is the survey wells fargo did was middle class america. it's not necessarily people at the low end and what's interesting to me, this idea, i'll do it later. you know, when we looked at some of the numbers age 30-49, six out of 0 says i'll save for retirement later. that is a costly decision. compound interest means if you start sooner, it doesn't cost you as much so if you want to get an adequate retirement

ncome at 65, you should cost you 10% of your pay. if you wait until you're 45 it will cost you 27% of your pay and most people can't afford to save that much so what i find interesting is there's a lot of surveys out there on retirement security. the federal reserve did one on america's well-being and when they found looking at people 60 and over, and what's your plan for retirement? for 68% of them, it's to work. work part-time, work at another job, create a different occupation or stay with the job as long as i can. only about 14% thought of retirement in the way that you should which is i'm going to stop altogether. the optimism of the american as

they get into the workforce, millennials were the ones 34% of them say my plan for retirement is i'm going to stop working entirely. so as you get closer to retirement the reality is i didn't safe enough so i have no choice but to work. others are saying i will have o work until i'm 80. host: in indiana. good morning. caller: i'm not anticipating having social security for me at all. it sounds like a different connotations in legislatures around the country it seems to be a bigger deal but social security benefits being reduced or not available or have you not but i'm just planning for it not being there and hoping at i can use the pension i

slightly accrued from a previous job and went back to school in grad school in hopes to find a job that would offer me benefits including social security and pension and still find a way to save up to have my own business so when i do retire i would still have a orm of income in that means. guest: adrian, great comments, too. millennials. i know they are not buying cars the way their parents did and are deferring getting married and deferring buying a house. but 6-10 in that wells fargo survey, millennials, people under 30 said they had started to save for retirement. the thing that is scary, though, is that at some point in time when they leave a job.

and you didn't do that. they take their retirement money out and we know 4-10 people under age 30 take money out of their 401-k plan when they take a job. so make sure you save early and when you start to save, you keep that money in there for retirement don't use it for something else. last year we saw $60 billion out of 401-k accounts for reasons other than retirement. host: laura tweets in they are increasing the level of retirement contributions and max out. >> it said in the tax code the amount you contribute or can contribute each year is adjusted based on inflation so you are not capped out. and the current contribution limit is $17,500. that will go up to $18,000 next

year. and there's also a special option for those callers who might be over age 50 called a catch-up election that allows those individuals to put away another $6,000 in a year. and the reality of it is that most people don't do anywhere near the max. what we find is so many people when they save they will save based on their company plan, which may mean to get the maximum tament employer will match. that's that real important concept about not leaving money on the table like if your employer is going to match 50% and you alary up to 6% ly put in 3%, you're leaving 1.57 from your employer but many people want to save at the max if they want that adequate income. host: tom? caller: good morning. thank you for taking my call.

i want to make sure to say this one thing first. one week ago there was an article in our newspaper that stated that one of the government agencies, i think it was the national security ency, had made a deal with world war ii nazi war criminals that were in this country and had been discovered, they made a deal with those guys. if they would -- host: they were -- receiving social security. do you have a question for diahann? caller: yes. what can be done to stop the raid on the social zphuret host: thank you, sir. we got the point. diahann oakley, is social security well managed? guest: yes, social security is actually one of the programs that is well managed.

it operates on the money provided by the government to do that. there are challenges because of the funding, one of the biggest challenges social security has in its management isn't so much the retirement system but disability system because it's so much more than retirement income. if you die before you retire social security provides fwofse your spouse and your children. if you become disabled, and that's a pretty detailed process to prove it. so there's a big delay in processing some of those claims, but when it comes to he retirement of that security that goes out pretty regularly and people know when when it's going to be deposited in their bank account. host: good morning. caller: good morning. i would just like to say, i'm dying. but i'm -- this program is so correct.

this is like a retirement community. ms. oakley addressed several 86 s tabled going up to for men and higher for women but what about the years for retirement, what's your health going to be like? if you wait to start working when you're 18 then when you retire are you going to have 18 quality years of living or are half of them going to be sent in some type of medical facility on life support? so first of all, when you're young, you've got to slow your consumption down and your savings. you should be saving 51% and spending 49%. and then on the retirement she is so correct. fund of $ 10,000 they

put back in our community and most important. when you're between 40-06, your quality of life after 60 is determined by your health. so you've got to have a rigorous style of living and maintenance that will sustain a quality of life 60-70, 80. host: thank you, sir. we're going to live it there. diane oakley, what about scott's points? guest: if you want to look at the big tips. save early, increase your savings over time. understand what it means to invest. the hardest thing i think for many people is how do i figure out how much money to take out of my 401-k account every month so that i don't run out of money? should i be buying an insurance

company annuity to help me make sure i'm going to meet some expenses? look at social security. one of the benefits of working longer is social security, because it has that inflation protection, the longer you can stay in the workforce, that means your benefit's not going to be reduced if you retire early at 62, but if you work beyond the normal retirement age of social security which is 66, for every year you work beyond 66, your benefit goes up 8%. in this day and age i don't know where you can go and get something that's going to increase 8% and then every year after that, that benefit will go up with inflation. so if you can continue to work, the interesting thing is we've all got to get out and do more exercise. walking around the block. host: men living two years

longer, women another 2.4 years. women 88.8, if you're 65, pre addicted on average to live until 88.8. kimberly in san antonio. kimberly, go ahead. caller: yes. i wanted to, first of all, thank you for covering the issues you are and really utilizing the media to help the common person, because i'm looking at everything now, and as i'm 47 years old, i've already put myself in the golden girls era. that's what we say. we have friends who live with other friends to save money for retirement. some of us have businesses and we have taken second jobs to save money and are trying to save 1,000 times whatever age we are. so i mean great job everybody is doing on your side but it really pays for the individual to -- host: have you started your

savings? you're in the 50 range. caller: yes. but it's difficult to do so. i still like going out and enjoying myself. as much as i go out i try to put just as much in my savings account. host: do you have any 401-k's sngs deferred save caller: no. i actually only have a savings account but i found out the only thing that's going to get saved are the banks so i'm leery about deciding on where to put my money but for right now i just put it in my savings account. host: what kind of options does kimberly have? guest: you mind to put some of your money in an i.r.a. account, especially for younger workers using a new type of

i.r.a. called a right i.r.a. so you put the none taxed but when you get the money back it's tax free. host: why younger workers? guest: well the compounding works better but quite often they are in a lower tax bracket when they start working and may be in their higher tax bracket later. so it might be better to take advantage of defering the taxes today as opposed to getting the tax benefit on the other end so you can work with a financial planner and get so many of sense of whether that works or doesn't work for you. to so would encourage you diversify your savings. what the get at the banks is modest meaning you're missing some of the benefits of compounding interest.

if you can get your interest compounded at 1% more that that much more so investing in mutual funds or if you have an employer with avenue fund, you want to take advantage of that. and having a defined benefit plan can be a real important benefit. and if you can find a job that has a defined benefit plan, that may be a job you want to look for and stay with, because it can really be a big plus. host: what about my r.a. plan that's come out? >> well, the white house is getting ready in the next couple of months get that out into the marketplace. this was, again, the idea of -- it's so important, as i said earlier, to be able to save through your payroll.

if you wait until the end of the month and you try to save, the money typically isn't the there. at least it's not in my house. if i do it before it comes out of my check, that's the key benefit. it's designed specifically for people who don't have anything. really trying to get those individuals who haven't saved anything yet to start saving. and we know we've got half of the american households and they have no retirement accounts. some say those people will be taken care of by social security. everybody admits it wasn't supposed to be your retirement system but in facts become our only retirement system for a large number of american households and we need to make sure we get ways people can save. host: vobt on the phone. caller: good morning. i have a question i would like

to ask this young lady. i got a letter yesterday in the mail from my doctor. my doctor, i've been with her retired rs rls i'm and i'm 80 and my wife is 81. e letter i would like to ask about diane oakley, she is opting out of medicare and opting out of medicaid. now, that puts me in a bind, because for me to stay with , r, and i got until january 1 2013 to make an option. -- 2015 to make an option. either i stay with her and pay $50 for my wife and $60 for me and that's $120 a month to stay with her. my question is to this young

lady, is the -- what -- i made some calls yesterday to people that know doctors. and i went and put our applications in for a new doctor yesterday. host: robert, what is your question for diane oakley, sir? caller: what do i do? host: before we have her respond to that, tell us about your situation. you say you're 81. your wife is 80. had you saved throughout your life? do you have personal savings along with social security? caller: yes, sir, i have a small abt $35,000. host: and social security is your main source of income in your retirement? caller: yes, sir. that's the only income i have is my social security. and my wife's social security. but i could not afford $120 a month to stay with my doctor, and she is a good doctor.

host: thank you, sir. let's get a response from diane oakley. guest: robert, your situation is a critical one. congress has limits in terms of the amount of payments it will make to doctors under social security just as most medical plans cut back the bills that doctors typically provide. so i think your situation and some doctors are making decisions not to cover social security or medicare patients because they don't want to deal with medicare or medicaid and puts people in a situation where if they want to stay with the doctor, they are caught up in a situation where the doctor is asking for more payment. that is coming up in the care model and there's something that they deal with every so often to make sure they pay doctors enough to keep many doctors in the system.

hopefully the demographics of the baby boomers going into retirement may change some of that as more and more of us who have doctors and are retiring will be needing to have those doctors and continue to have those in their practice. host: good morning. caller: good morning. i had a question. what does the government do with the money of those who work all their lives and don't have kids, never got married, and they die before they were able to claim social security? where does their money go? host: matt, are you worried about that situation? caller: um, not that i'm worried about it. but my thing is every time you listen to some expert that come n and say, oh, you are not

going to be able to rely on social security, because it's not going to be there. then you have those who accuse the people who claim their social security early because they are disabled. and say oh, he is just robbing the system. then you got girls who say i can't afford it. but my thing is what does the government do with the money from those people who die and don't ever claim their money? guest: robert, thank you. hank you for the question. basically the money that goes into the account for someone who works their lives and dies early and doesn't have beneficiaries, actually, that money goes right back out to those people who are going to live to be $110 and pays those

individuals living longer than expected. what they are doing is something called pooling. so when you can bring together those groups of people, you can pretty accurately poolibility to what they need but some individuals may get a better deal, because they live longer but other individuals unfortunately die sooner and some of the benefits they paid for will ultimately go to other american citizens who need the noun live on when they retire. host: connie. twitter. why not trays cap on social security, i.r.a., 401-k what happens to retirement if market crashes? isn't that the risk of privatization of social security? guest: again, raising the cap on social security is a very popular option. we've done survey work and 75% of americans say that's the way

we ought to fix the system. a great deal of political and popular support. political support probably a little more difficult to get. but your point on raising the limits and absolutely that happens with inflation. we talked about that earlier. but the idea of market crashes. the 2008-2007 market crash is certainly on everybody's mind. and what it's done for millennials, it's made them more conscious of retirement security and the need to save. we actually see millennials able to be in the define benefit plan meaning they have to be in that the longest but see it as attractive. because millennials seem to want to save more because they retirement their

grandparents had as opposed to the one their parents have. guest: he is right. social security doesn't run out of money, because it pays you a lifetime of money and you can get some of the define pension and annuity. the office did a study saying the probably the best place to do it is in a pension because a pension does tilt best way and you can also go to an insurance company and they will say look at your basic expenses and make sure you have enough money from social security and maybe go and buy an immediate annuity. ost: a lifetime annuity. guest: and you might want to get one that increases with inflation. they can be costly but it's important to have that

inflation protection because your costs are going to go up with inflation. and make sure you have enough to cover your basic expenses and maybe use your 401-k account to give you that, the extra income to take your grandkids to a ballgame, to go visit your parents or visit your grandkids and be there with them. so if you want to have those things to enjoy with your family, use that extra money but make sure you cover those living expenses. host: diane oakley with the national institute on retirement security. whether you -- what are -- when are you predicting it will become an issue behind us on critical? when does this need to be addressed? guest: it does need to be addressed. we have this automatic adjustment, as we talked about, at the top end.

the biggest place we need people to save is in the middle and bottom part of the income distribution. so we have to find ways to get lower-paid people to be able to save. you know, social security, i think back to when there was a grand bargain in the mid 1980's and social security at that point was three months or so from running out of money. the reality is, it's not as painful to fix, if we fix it sooner rather than later. but again, i'm not hopeful that's going to be something that's going to happen in this next session. congress is certainly looking at retirement security, and they are looking at the tax code. i think we are going to see some of that. because retirement savings has provisions that enter into the tax code. i think that might be part of the mix. so we want to make sure that comes out of that in a robust way so americans can still have

attractive vehicles to be able to save. host: thank you for coming back. guest: thank you. host: we are going to turn to the death with dignity laws .ecently with the news that we will be right back. >> this weekend on the c-span networks. on c-span, our campaign twourttwourt debate coverage continues in primetime. saturday at 8:00 the funeral for "washington post" editor

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call us or email us or even send us tweet. join the c-span conversation, like us on facebook. ollow us on twitter. >> throughout campaign 2014, c-span has brought you more than 130 candidate debates from across the country in races that will determine the control of the next congress. watch the election night coverage to see who wins, who loses and which party will control the house and senate. we continue with results and analysis and see candidate victory and concession speeches in some of the most closely-watched elections. campaign 2014 election night coverage on c-span. >> "washington journal" continues. host: now joining us is mickey

macintyre. he is chief program officer for a group called compassion and choices. guest: it's a nationwide organization that provides support to people facing end of life choices as well as advocating choices people have at the end of life in order to have a peaceful, controlled death in the arms of their families and loved ones at home. host: so we have been talking about how we are going to talk about the so-called death with dignity laws. what is it and some of the concerns surrounding it? >> it's the ability of a terminally ill, mentally competent adult to be able to access medication and control the time and day of their death. death with dignity is authorized in five states as

well in washington and oregon through legislative statute in very vermont and one in montana and new mexico. host: and in many states it's a felony to help somebody. guest: assisted suicide is sometimes perceived as the law that would preclude being able to participate in death with dignity but then there are certain states in aiding death and dying. host: we will be talking about this and the case with the young lady in oregon who said on november 1st that she would be ending her life because of brain cancer, and we want to talk about some of the death with dignity laws around the country. we want your input as well. the numbers are on the screen. 202 is the area code. if you support the concept of

death with dignity, call, if you opposed to this concept, we have another line and then there's an undecided number for you to call in on. first we want to get on the phone the doctor of the providence institute for human caring. he is the chief medical officer there. doctor, when you hear the i remember the "death with dignity," what's your thought? caller: good morning. i think that the compassionate choices folks, as good as their intentions are, are misleading the public. they talk about death with dignity. let's be clear. they are talking about physicians writing lethal prescriptions. i've been involved in the field of hospice and medicine for years every single day i and the teams with whom i work with around the country help people to die gently in a natural way.

without suffering. without feeling that their pain or their breathing is uncontrolled. and the phrase "death with dignity" implies people who die naturally with hospice care and good medical care are less dignified. the ly am concerned with message we're sending to frail elders or seriously ill people or people with disabilities that they are not already dignified and their dignity can be preserved in the way we care for them. i really think that as a matter of public policy we know the institute of medicine has released a second report that shows there's a crisis that as you were rounds the way we care for people at the end of life. they spoke to the serious persistence ways that medicine

is practiced and frankly, the way doctors are trained. to give doctors who are having difficulty taking care of people's pain and communicating with patients who are seriously ill and counseling them to give hese doctors who have demonths -- demonstratively deficiencies the ability to write these prescriptions doesn't sound good to me. host: in a recent tbs interview i want to show this "over 85% of people who use oregon's law and end their life do so because of extension or motional suffering meaning feeling the loss of the ability to enjoy life and feeling the loss of meaning and emotional suffering. it is an undeniable fact that

the slippery slope exists. guest: a few years ago barbra and i debated and she denied there was slippery slope but in the comments there she didn't deny that she simply said that people suffering from depression or loss of control are also suffering grievously and should have the right to end their lives. i actually agree they are suffering grievously but it's important to realize that if that's what causes us to give people lethal prescriptions, there's a lot of people who don't feet in six-month criteria that are also suffering profoundly. if you give a 3-year-old a hammer, the whole world starts to look like a nail. and i'm afraid -- as proud as i am to be a physician, i know we are graduating new classes of physicians who have not been well-trained in even the basic of taking good care of people.

so why we would then without fixing curriculum or without fixing the perverse incentives that enhance doctors giving more treatment but giving inadequate care to human beings in their fullness, to give doctors now the authority to write lethal prescriptions doesn't seem to fix any of the roots of that problem. host: that was dr. ira byock of the providence institute for human caring. mickey macintyre, what do you think of what the doctor had to say? guest: well, first i would say, has a on and choices full range of care and as we believe with the doctor that a good care and hospice register meant at the end of life is the gold standard for how we would

like to see people at the end have peaceful and controlled lives but there are those whose pain and suffering cannot be mitigated and/or don't wish to go through sedation which is process doctors use to induce a coma in an individual and then they remove food and fluid and wait for either the disease or dehydration to end the person's life. and while they are in the coma, i mean, literature from anesthesiologists shows we don't know what kind of pain or suffering they are in and they can often be in that coma for two weeks or months and often don't have the ability to come out of that coma if they wish. with aided dying which is what we refer to it as, the individual has the opportunity up until the very moment of gesting or administering the

medication, to change their mind. so they have total power and control over the situation until the very last moment. also, palliative sedation and care is often done in an institutional setting. and while that's an important role for being able to stride kind of care the doctor is referring to, 70% of americans would prefer to die at home surrounded by their loved ones in peace and control and prefer not necessarily to be in a hospital setting for the last of their days. host: are there any ballot initiatives? guest: no. there have been legislative campaigns. one is currently going on in new jersey. we have seen them in new hampshire, connecticut and massachusetts that we participated in. and we are seeing a population that, as we know, when

individuals like your listeners and watchers, as they grow more interested and concerned in this, that's what's going to move policy makers and that's what's happening with britney mainrd's case. host: yes? caller: hi. good morning. thank you for what you are doing. the issue i think is a lot more complex and for the following reasons. and i just would like to hear your comments about it. i think it's really -- the general issue is that of compassion and law. and what i keep coming to seems to be that the laws are not at all libertarian and with respect to individuals who like to choose the way they live and die. and i believe that somehow -- i found it in the anti-suicide laws and also which i believe are created by religions and

other social groups. and i was just wondering how we have come to this point where people who refuse to die as they wish, that they have mental capacities to make such decisions. host: all right. thank you. guest: for them, and thank you very much for calling in. here's what i will say to that. first of all, you're absolutely right. people want autonomy in their life and polls say 96% say the government should not be involved in the very personal and deeply intimate decision that is made by individuals and with their families and doctors and we would hope it would continue with their doctors to as that conversation and with -- we see death

dignity in all populations. libertarians are extremely strong about having autonomy at end of life. and we continue to see that reflected. the connection to suicide is he issue we have here. medicine like britney maynard, they are terminally ill and dying already. to confuse that with someone being suicidal is fundamentally incorrect. these people want to live. if they had their choice they would live. brittany, who hased that medication for weeks now, if she were truly suicidal, she would have already taken the medication. this is true. those 1/3 and 1/2 of other the years who have had medication with them, between 1/3 and 1/2 don't take the

medication. they either decide not to or die of their underlying disease before they have -- before they take the medication. part of what we heard was a doctor-centered approach to medicine. it's one of the reasons policymakers and i think a reason doctors are often opposed to this particular kind of end of life option. it's because its really moves the power and control to the individual, which is a very fundamental libertarian belief. as more and more individuals want that control and let their legislators know that, we will begin to see some fundamental changes. ,ccording to the gallup poll support for doctors ending a patient's life by some pain this means -- painless means,

americans have supported it overwhelmingly since the mid-1960's. guest: between 60-70% of the believed that this should be an option for individuals at the end of life. what we are seeing now with this change is that the aging of america, the change with 78 ,illion americans going through seeing what mortality is through their parent's eyes and being able to think about what their own end-of-life choices are is really changing the conversation. it's gone from a poll question to a real-life experience that people are having on a daily basis in their home with their loved one. that is going to be the catalytic change that drives us forward with authorization. host: you inject the word

"suicide." you can see the results are pretty vastly different. 51% support. 45% opposed. consistently, since 1997, people have supported that majority. harrisburg, pennsylvania on our opposed line. caller: i just want to say that we are not in control, only god can say when we are leaving this earth. i think that legislators and the people in the position to make giving us or people the opportunity to take their life is so wrong. i think these people don't understand that there are eternal consequences and they realize there are eternal consequences, they would rethink

all of this. it goes back to abortion. these babies are having a heart beat at conception and they are choosing to kill babies. that is where i stand. it is up to god. host: the religious component. guest: absolutely. this is a deeply personal and intimate decision. it is one of the individual has with god. with whatever their spirituality or religion might be. i was talking to a catholic hospice nurse who was sharing this believe as well and she wants her not to take the medication, if that is his will, he will prevail upon her to not do that. and she will make that decision. i don't disagree with you at all.

are accessing who "death with dignity", they view it as being a deeply personal and intimate decision that is made with the people they love, including their faith. brenda in tallahassee. caller: i have heart disease and breast cancer. kevorkian was for this same sort of thing, i was not for it. i thought it was a terrible thing to do. being that i have diagnosed -- been diagnosed with heart disease and breast cancer, my mind has changed quite a bit. i do not look at it as suicide. i look at it as a choice to go to sleep, eternal slumber and go home sooner to be with the lord. i am one of those people who are very antiabortion.

livest think innocent should be taken, but when you come to your stage where you are tired of the pain and tired of living and you want to say i'm coming home, lord, that is what i think it is. host: have you pursued this yet? caller: i have not. i am tempted to have a tattoo on the top of my chest that says do not resuscitate and it and have witnesses. i am tempted to have that tattooed on my chest. i had a near-death experience when they worked on my heart. i had a wonderful near-death experience. ofnow that, beyond a shadow a doubt, things are good between me and god and i know what it is to be on the other side. although i'm not anywhere close life,t point of taking my

i think it is a wonderful option for people who do not want to suffer. host: mickey macintyre? guest: i'm so sorry to hear of the diagnoses you have. veryunds like you're being thoughtful and clear and transparent with your self and your relationship with your spiritual leadership and your faith. i think that is terrific that you are really thinking this through in a very real way. this is part of what i was saying, people are beginning to have to confront issues of diagnosis. it is helping them really see the stark difference between suicide and what we are talking about here. you really bring that point forward. you mentioned kevorkian earlier. there is a big difference between what is called euthanasia and aid in dying.

it's a personal decision that you make and you are responsible for the medication. whereasia is a situation someone else's actually injecting medication. we are not in favor of euthanasia as an organization. we are interested in ensuring that people have ultimate control over the use of the medication and that is a big difference. we have been practicing this aid in dying for 18 years. there has been no evidence of a slippery slope. no evidence of coercion, no evidence of disabled population or vulnerable population in any way being mis-proportionately or disproportionately engaged in this process.

i really appreciate you calling in and sharing your story with us. host: 122 people have prescriptions for lethal medication. 71 deaths from ingesting the medication. 28 patients did not take it or died of other causes. what kind of medication does britney have? guest: i don't have the specific medication. it is a pill or a powder that is used, usually created into a liquid form. host: how important are do not resuscitate and living wills? are extremely important. what is most important about them is that provides you with the opportunity to talk to her loved ones and your doctors about what your wishes are. the most important thing to have happen if you have an advanced directive is have that translated into a doctor's order

, particularly if you anticipate into the last year of your life. some states have life-sustaining treatment physician orders. that goes into her medical chart. advanced directives and dnr's are very important. what's most important is your , if thatre proxy individual has the stamina and fortitude and willingness to be able to engage on your behalf and make sure your wishes are honored. host: john is in silver spring, maryland. caller: i have one question and a comment after that. how would you define mentally competent? host: make your comment, sir. caller: the comment off of that,

the previous guest, when he describes the world starts to look like a nail, the limited amount where you have four states with restrictions, but they have the option, living in a state where that was not on the table with two of my grandparents passing this past year, it's an interesting component. mild,ve moderate and which is very ambiguous. and then you have those who do not have any mental disability -- host: where do you come down on this issue? caller: strongly opposed. it's taking the control away from the individual and putting it to the doctor. guest: ultimately, the control resides with the individual.

decideve the ability to -- britney has the ability to decide whether and when and how they will take the medication. competency to mental , it is written into the law the mechanism for establishing mental competency. it requires two doctors and the potential referral if either of those doctors have doubts about mentalividual's competency. in montana and new mexico, there is a medical standard of care being implemented. it very much mirrors what happens in oregon and washington. what have you been hearing in our conversation here? caller: thank you very much. my position has been mischaracterized.

this is a serious and dangerous public policy being promoted. a slippery slope does exist in oregon. right now, people with advanced cancer or heart disease order logic disorders may qualify for physician-assisted suicide but be deemed ineligible for hospice under medicare and medicaid. yhey become too healthy or the r become better and are discharged from hospice but nobody comes and takes away the lethal prescription. moreey decide they want treatment which then makes them ineligible for hospice, but they are still eligible for physician-assisted suicide. this is about a doctor centric approach, but nothing could be further from the truth. the prohibition that doctors must not kill patients was not put in place to protect us, but

put in place to protect the public from us. host: thank you for calling back in. mickey macintyre? guest: what the doctor is bringing forward around the idea that there is a slippery slope and people are accessing this -- 28 of the people last year did not take the medication. folks are people he is describing who experienced some sort of change. some sort of change in their condition that manifest them to not take the medication. having the choice of being able to access the medication or even being able to know there is a law available changes the way people view and see their lives. it can help them fulfill bucket lists they did not feel previously possible. and can help them experience

greater pleasure and care in their lives, being able to live them more fully in the final days. often, that affect can extend the life. it does. we know that. this is why i would go back to the idea that the folks who are involved in this process don't consider themselves suicidal. they don't want to die. they want to live. that is part of the research as well. if they were suicidal, i would be concerned about this slippery slope, but these are folks who want to live. the real slippery slope we have asbe concerned about mentioned in the iom and others about the concerns we have around end-of-life care, the real slippery slope we experienced in our process is the concerns that people have that we have a violent death.

fraser was terminally diagnosed and shot herself in the head. this is the slippery slope we have to be concerned about. it is about people who will turn to violent means. host: joann in kansas. caller: hi there. this is the most wonderful conversation i have heard in eons. i had the experience of a neighbor that fell to poor health and she had open heart surgery and she had an instrument installed. she named it jiminy cricket. she had a great sense of humor. arrived at 66 or 67

with her jiminy cricket. she ended up with brain cancer. end-of-life, her two did not respond to her health conditions and i took her for-five times a week for her doctor appointment as the doctors directed. i am very interested, not for myself, but interested educationally with the talk of the medication, end-of-life medication that is available, where it's legal. people that i know now that are at end-of-life and on anden and in their 80's

they are beginning to resent it. i talk too much -- host: not at all. how would you like to respond? guest: i have traveled across the country implementing the work of compassion and choices and i've talked to thousands of people every year. every single person has a story like joann. situationcritical that we are experiencing. i grow concerned when we start looking at competition between options for care and dignity at the end-of-life and instead would really like to see us be able to work together to be able of the options

that could be available for individuals. we don't have to hear as many tragic stories. people are getting what they want. host: molly in jacksonville, florida. you are on with mickey macintyre . caller: i would like to talk about the cost of dying under hospice care. the day before memorial day had somemy husband serious problems with hospital life and transferred to a nursing home and had a rehabilitation wing. he was therefore rehabilitation. he became weaker and weaker. the day before memorial weekend, my doctor took me to the nursing that me andtold us

our children -- that my husband would not live more than one month. the day after memorial day , we were gathered with the hospice representatives and they would not take him into their hospice facility. they would put him in a nursing home wing. this is going to cost a minimum of $8,000 a month. we have some savings. would not a month take very long for me to have to put him on medicaid. he did not want to go on medicaid because it would take half of our income, which would mean that i could not keep the house host. i am in favor of the "death with dignity" law.

people should have a choice to end their life as they wish to when they are in a terminal condition. host: we will leave it there. mickey macintyre? the cost of health care at the end-of-life is a very serious issue. it is one that was addressed in the iom report and one being looked at in a variety of places, including health care withms and policy level the centers for medicare and medicaid services. compassionate choices does believe that people should have the ability to access curative and eight in dying care at the in of their life -- aid dying care at the end of their life. oregon.

caller: i had a friend from springfield, oregon. she has been allowed to die under the oregon health care plan. this is not obamacare. the portlandto radio station. host: she is allowed to die on the oregon health plan? caller: when she was on the station, she told oregon she did not want to die and they said it was her fault. all she did was smoke. host: are you opposed to these death with dignity laws? caller: yes, i am. it contradicts everything this gentleman is saying. if someone does not want to die and they are told they will be given their medicine to keep them alive, who is right or

wrong? if a person wants to live, they have the right to live. she did not want to die. guest: unfamiliar with the story. -- i am familiar with the story. if was denied and expand mental treatment through that insurance program. advocate for her to be able to get expand mental -- experimental treatments to be able to control her care at the end-of-life as well. there is a distinction between being required to access aid in dying versus having it as an available option. concur that she should have had opportunities for care necessary under that health care plan.

that does not necessarily mean people should not have the option for "death with dignity." host: chris in milwaukee. directivee advanced does not mean anything. my father was very ill. he could not walk one foot without oxygen and sitting down. he was ready to die. he made it very clear to all of us -- when he went in the , they badgered him to know end that they could extend his life. he finally said yes, that he would be put on a vent. after he was asleep, they told resuscitatedo not meant nothing anymore. if his heart was stopped, they would have to resuscitate him. it was not what my dad wanted.

the doctor said i thought i could give him six more months. and what? six more months sitting in a chair? it was not what my dad wanted. guest: i'm so sorry to hear about that story. i hear of it repeated over and over again. it is so important to recognize that advanced directives are pieces of paper. you are in a situation that is very unequal when you end up in a situation like the one you were in. a health care system designed to keep you alive and do whatever it can to make sure that you stay alive, regardless of what the quality of that life may be. i think they truly do it because they want to be able to give people better lives. they want people to be able to

live their lives more fully. to be ablelly want to see transition in this country is be able to see the sensitivity for the individual's wishes to be honored. in this very unequal conversation that happens at the end-of-life. the family is emotionally not inght, they are their environment, not an environment you are familiar with. you have the very logical, barry systematized institution of health care on the other side. it is very difficult for those two groups of folks to be able to come together with good decision-making that honors what the individual wants. host: once the feeding tube is in? tough to get out? yes.: it can become a absolutely. we have a campaign to end unwanted medical treatment, 20 organizations and policy

looking at how we can create both incentives and disincentives for the health care community and industry to be able to honor what individuals want. it is very difficult for the belth-care system as well to engaging with treatment and trying to undo that treatment later on. host: mickey macintyre, how did you get into this business? and some of the other foundations you work for. my personal experience in end-of-life choices, i am a gay man who lived in new york in the 1980's. i am a soul survivor of my friends in new york who all died of hiv and aids.

loved ones,many dying loved ones, my contemporaries, people in their 20's and 30's, in my arms as they were dying, in a situation where they were not getting what they should have been able to get from the health-care system. they were facing verbal pain-and-suffering. hospital care and hospice have come a long way since then and attitudes around hiv and aids, the health care system being able to provide has radically changed. the aging of the population in america, there is going to be a crisis in end-of-life care. my in texas. caller: i'm glad you had this topic today. i am a retired nurse. inave seen so many patients agony, ready to die.

so fareir children are spread out that you have this guilt because mom is not living with you, you are not there to take care of dad, it's do everything to keep them alive, do everything you can. that is not what the patient wants. patients who are in anying homes who don't have major medical problems. they are just old. there is a natural process to that. you lose your appetite, you are not thirsty. it instead of making them comfortable, we put in feeding tubes and they get pneumonia so we give them antibiotics. your body slowly shuts down, we treat that. we have to talk about what the natural death is people need to

be -- what the natural death is. people need to talk about what they want. guest: you bring forward is some great points. kids and thed the guilt around the family situation. for me, the answer to this is not necessarily life medicine, but more medicine. every institution should have, in addition to social workers, found the counselors test family counselors. -- in addition to social workers, family counselors. doctors really can't do it. they need some support and help. the community has made some great strides in that area. you are absolutely right. to haveple used to want

a natural death, they would wander out into the woods. we no longer have with people wander out into. we have a forest of machines and medicines and treatments and systems that keep us alive at any cost. that isa situation going to have to be discussed and debated by families across this country and demanded through health-care systems. host: lamont in charlotte. caller: good morning. the club -- we have the same problem in san francisco. people who control medicaid and medicare are playing god. people who oppose this are playing god. i also want to say, we are a reflection of god. this is reallyat

about money or is this really about closure for people after they have gone a lifetime of getting what they can to the country and to the people who love them and truly being able to find peace and closure so they can be happy when they die. have morewe independent people on your show? guest: thanks for that. me, the compassion and choices, for the rest of the country, we want this to be about the individual in the family. and not about money or power or ego. fundamentally a lot of what you are trying to say. to be anhis individual, personal decision for that person, within their family structure, within their faith, to be able to access whatever treatment they want at the end-of-life.

anin tony ervine tweets -- in states like oregon and washington, there is a series of requests and authorizations that must be gone through. there must be witnesses to those, including people who are not directly in line for any kind of benefit from the individual if they were to pass. there is a whole system for that. i don't want to go too far into those pieces. it is quite strenuous. to be able to get medication and egon is not an easy proposition for people. many people who ask for their doctor or medical professional to start the process don't ever

make it through the process to even get any medication because it is a strenuous process. many folks don't even get to access the process until it is too late. the timeline on the trajectory of their disease, to be able to get through the safeguards and requirements. oft: mickey macintyre compassionate choices, thank you for being on the program. a are going to go live to seminar, a discussion on oil prices and what they may mean. for the last half hour, we put a lot of the table this morning. there is a policy you want to discuss, you can see the numbers divided by political affiliation. ♪ >> the c-span cities tour takes

book tv and american history tv on the road, traveling to u.s. cities to learn about their history and literary life we partnered with comcast for a visit to colorado springs, colorado. he was sent into the american southwest to explore the region. similar to lewis and clark sent to the northwest. sent to the southwest part of the territory. perspective, when he came out here, he walked off the map. he went to an area that was unknown. >> when he first sees the grand the, he thinks he can reach top of it in a few days. it takes weeks. there is a lower mountain on the flanks. they turned around and pike wrote in his journal, given the

conditions, given the equipment havehave, no one could summit did the peak. peak inspired america the beautiful. view down to the planes from the top of the mountain inspired the poetry and inspired the images that are captured in that poetry. watch all of our events from colorado springs, saturday at tv. on c-span2's book the 2015 c-span student cam video competition is underway. open to all middle and high

school students to create a 5-7 minute documentary on it "the three branches and you." action bycy, law or the legislative, judicial or executive branch has affected you or your community. there are 200 cash prizes for students and teachers totaling $100,000. g. to studentcam.or >> "washington journal" continues. host: if you would like to have a voice and make a public policy pronouncement this morning, you can go ahead. since 7:00n talking a.m. this morning about mary's issues. join the conversation. -- about various issues. superstitions. here are some of the top liberal

superstitions, as she sees them. number three, republican candidates always have a big spending advantage over democrats. the democratic senatorial campaign committee have raked in $127 million this cycle. $30 million more than the national republican senatorial campaign committee. , global warming is causing increasingly violent weather. tell that to floridians enjoying a ninth consecutive season without a hurricane landfall. 2013 was the least active in 30 years. global temperatures have not increased for 15 years. number seven is voter id laws

suppress minority turnout. finally, number 10, women are paid $.77 on the dollar compared with men. the mother of all liberal superstitions.

that is in the wall street journal if you would like to read the whole thing. mary is in canfield, ohio. i wanted to remind the women out there that it's ironic that in colorado, marijuana is now legal. they want to make the iud illegal. i don't want dried-up old republican men telling me what form of birth control i can use because of his religious convictions. host: elaine in sierra madre, california. caller: i just want to talk about the oil prices dropping. isil is using oil on the black market to further their war, prices are dropping. it will cut their benefits from

it. morning,00 a.m. this we are going to go live to the wilson center to hear about the witht of low oil prices some people come including folks in the national defense university in the wilson center as well. bob in raleigh, north carolina. independent line. ago, i about five years learned an amazing statistic from c-span. 91% of all personal wealth goes to the health care community in the last six months of life. that is my comment. host: what do you think about that, bob? i guess we want find out until next time he calls in. from roll call this morning, stu's blog, "obama's midterm

loss record could make history." that is the headline. we try to show this from time to time. here are the most recent poll numbers, very quickly, we will run through some. mitch mcconnell up five points. cory gardner in colorado up in the last couple of polls. jeanne shaheen up in new hampshire. hagane senate race, kay in two different polls leading by four points. a tie in the senatorial race in georgia. cotton over mark pryor by 13 points. another poll says seven points.

the gubernatorial race in colorado tied. florida's gubernatorial race tied. those are some of the polls. from louisiana on her democrats line. caller: hello. i'm a phd biologist. we have a lot of problems with what people think life is. life is very simply nothing more than a homeostatic, complex set of biochemical reactions. when those reactions are out of function, you have illness. medicine does not yet know all those reactions. so, the choice at the end of life should be the individual's choice.

factor, in myd opinion. it is definitely the choice of the individual. life is not sacrosanct. we take it daily, when you eat, you take life. if you think life is sacrosanct, stop eating. ignorance is bliss. we all have the right to be as blissful as we want to be. you will understand more about the way -- host: al in cambridge, ohio on our independent line. --ler: i just wanted to ask you quoted something from the wall street journal. that lady on the editorial board? i figured. it's on the editorial page, too. i wanted to bring about

some of the politics here in ohio. it has become the tradition politicianside .ebate the challengers this takes away from the process public the allow the thertunity to question actions of our incumbents. that is my comment for today. i'm disappointed not to hear anything in the mainstream media. i'm sure c-span has covered it. host: we are used to hearing from ohio people. this year, you will have been quite. john kasich is way up. caller: he is way up. he had the democrats dropped the

ball.e all of a sudden, that is totally his. they don't debate because they are way up. they have been doing some of this motor id law stuff -- voter id law stuff. he is not debating. it is left up to -- the newspapers are not printing anything about it. just now, i see a lot of my local news covering the local candidates. but they are not covering the statewide candidates. the candidates, not the s.cumbent's are given free rei n int: this is mark

pennsylvania. republican line. technologyh today's and new robots out, we could hook up -- we could leave the doctors completely out of assisted suicide. instead oflieved suffering, they could by voice command, command it themselves to have the drugs pushed in. even a laptop with a certain chip could do it. or the robot could come over and administer -- technology has taken off. i believe it is everybody's right, if they are suffering and don't want to live, they should be allowed to do it. host: from "the hill." upset brewing in michigan house race? fred upton.

a poll from his challenger showed him within four percentage points. -- spending $2.15 million in the next couple days in that race. "washington times" has an article about the unions and their shifting money for campaigns. the state and local races. that is the front page. baptists on gays. michael in capitol heights, maryland. it is on that no one said or mentioned anything about the explosion when the missile blew up.

fumes traveled across maryland. i smelled it in prince george's county in capitol heights. nobody's mentioning anything about what was in that explosion. not only the missile fuel, but maybe the cargo that the missile was carrying. i guess we all have leukemia in another five years from now. what do you think? host: we will move on to richard an in vermont. caller: good morning. i am really concerned about women not voting for people who are opposed to abortion. thing has's rights gone overboard. that is not the major concern.

my major concern is we are looking over good people with a good platform for the only reason, they are opposed to abortion. host: financial times this morning. well foreconomy did the third quarter. growing at an annual pace of 3.5%. boom times are still as distant as ever. u.s. overall growth is mediocre, it is bulwark for the rest of the world's economy. gdp is important. it looks backwards. fromatest report july-september, much more significant for markets is

october's jobs report, due next friday. gary is in tampa on a republican line. caller: good morning. with the election coming up here have good turnout in the early voting stages. thet of topics have been on table down here, particularly with education, medical science and technology, tourism and offense. -- and defense. turnout -- we have to get some things done down here. the only way we can do it is having a strong voter turnout. it is time to send a message to washington that we need help. we have to work together. got theu've gubernatorial race going on. how did you vote? caller: i voted yesterday.

i went with rick scott. host: why? there are some things he's done down here the last couple of years as far as job creation. i see a real good economic impact in our area and statewide from tallahassee to miami. there are going to be some key factors of being able to bring in some companies like amazon, opening a facility here in a couple of months. we have been able to do one in lakeland and ruskin. job creation has been big down here since 2010. host: what kind of work do you do down there? caller: i'm actually a volunteer for a ministry. host: we appreciate you calling in. on the editorial page of usa today this morning is an editorial by robert, president of pioneer energy.

politicians -- he asked me when i had voted. when i told him i always cast my vote in person by going to my local polling place, he told me it would not be possible. lying.he was i told him to get off my doorstep and don't come back. it turned out he was telling the truth. in colorado, you can still drop off the mail-in ballot at a few places on tuesday. but the traditional local polling places no longer exist. how could this have happened? my guess is that replacing

election day with election month helps incumbents. they have years to make their names known, challengers only have a short time. less time for the general election makes it harder for challengers to get a hearing. oregon only colorado, and washington have abolished election day. quite a few other states have taken steps in that direction. lee in highland, illinois. democrat. caller: thank you, c-span. i have a comment. i received -- i'm a senior citizen. notice of changes

for 2015. i would like to point this out to your senior listeners. you might need to check on your drugs. , they did notrugs raise the price of them directly but indirectly, they jumped up several hundred percent. care toaken a lot of move them to a tier three. i don't know i can say the name of the company that united health care and aarp. me my drug price would go from six dollars for a 90 day supply to $106. i have two different quotes. again and somebody told me it was going to $81. they are moving these drugs from

one lower tier to a higher tier. it doesn't seem right. these drugs have been on the market for ever. like plavix. host: do you plan to do anything besides call your health care provider? caller: i don't know what the next step would be. althcare call unitedhe for aarp because they endorse unitedhealthcare. i have not heard anything discussed about this at all anywhere. sharon in is inglewood, ohio. sharon? caller: yes? host: go ahead. caller: good morning. this is a comment about medicare. when you are eligible for medicare -- host: turn down the volume on

your tv. we cannot hear you otherwise. florida. democrat. caller: thank you for your topic. it was great. -- ericer said we holder -- we need to talk about dying. people have their right to die when they want and have it be controlled. it is no different in hospice when you are given a diagnosis to go home and die within 3-6 months. you die in a controlled setting with controlled medication. we are raping the system. we take them along as long as we can. every diagnostic test you can think of until they are almost

dead. we have to think about it earlier. people have a choice. it is not based on religion. it is living and not dying. they talk about it, but they are never ready to go. let people have a choice. let religion have nothing to do with people's individual circumstances. host: the style section in "the washington post." president obama's trip to asia next month should prove to be reasonably newsworthy.

sharon in inglewood, ohio. here is your second chance. we are all listening. thank you so much. this is about medicare. seniors realize when they are eligible for medicare, if they do not take prescription b drugs, there is a late fee until they die. there should be a temporary late fee. this is not fair to seniors. it is a late fee for your husband and your self. it is not fair to seniors.

there is a late fee if you don't take prescription drugs until you die. it is a forever fee and it's not fair and it's not right. ohio.this is jim in nationwide known for ballgame. known high school football game. the issue i want to bring to the determinede computer district boundary lines to be drawn in all states. we only have about 40 competitive congressional seats anymore. this is what underlies everything we see going on or not going on in washington.

we are going to remain a republic, but not very democratic until that's fixed. i would suggest something like an amendment to the constitution making congressional districts to nine make it so that you cat have such a convoluted district. bring back some democracy. have a great weekend and listen to the score for the game. we are cheering for the tigers. host: go tigers. he mentioned book tv. book tv, every weekend on c-span 2. 40 hours of books and nonfiction . 49 hours of books and authors on book tv, including a live call-in on