current state of the american dream to racial issues, social and economic trends, and america's role in the world. thomas hurley looks at this year's big supreme court decisions and what to expect from the court and that in the next term. ♪ host: good morning. from capitol hill, this independence day morning, with where the american fla is flying. later today, a fireworks display will take place on the national mall. we will begin this july 4 on "washington journal" talking about the idea of the american dream as the 2016 campaign cycle gets underway, it hopefuls are incorporating that term. this morning, we want to hear how you define the american

dream, and if you think it is still achievable today. what is the study of the american dream? democrats can call in at (202) 748-8000. (202) 748-8001 republicans,. independents (202) 745-8002 (202) 745-8002,. you can also catch up with us on social media. @cspanwj twitter,. facebook, facebook.com/cspan. we are talking about the american dream this morning. one traditional definition of the possibility of starting out poor in this country, working hard, and in the upper rich. if that is your definition of the american dream, americans are less confident in decades.

only 60% believe in that definition of the messaging. you can see the poll numbers there. we are asking this morning for our viewers on the "washington journal" to call in and give us your concept of the american dream. candidates are already talking about it in their stump speeches . marco rubio talked about it in his campaign lunch earlier this year. here is what he had to say. marco rubio: here in america, my father became a bartender, my mother, a cashier, ia maid. they never made it they come u big, but they were successful. they gave all four of their children a life better than their own. by parents achieve what has

become known as the american dream. the problem is now too many americans are starting to doubt is achieving that dream is still possible. hard-working families that are living paycheck to paycheck one hardship away from disaster. yet americans unable to start a business or a family because they oh thousands of dollars in student loan loans for degrees that did not lead to jobs. and, small business owners that struggle under the weight of more taxes, more regulations and more government. why is this happening in a country that for over two centuries has been defined by the quality of opportunity? it is because while our people and economy are pushing the boundaries of the 21st century, too many of our leaders and their ideas are stuck in the 21st century -- 20th century. host: marco rubio and his

campaign launch for the gop nominee ation for the camera say. "the atlantic" in a recent poll conducted last month has several members on the american dream, including the fact that the definition of the american dream is shifting. if in the

we want to hear your stories and thoughts this morning. sandra is up first -- from massachusetts. caller: my son achieved the american dream. we were not rich at all. he kept fighting and fighting to get it. he worked so hard and joined the service. now, he makes over and $90,000 per year because he worked for 29 years. he is married. she flies the across the country, helping the poor people. his two children are in college. he got them transportation and everything else.

and, he is not the only one. my nephew started out in a paint store and worked his way up to management, and now makes over $100,000. you can do it, believe me. host: if those stories are starting today, is it harder or easier for them to make the american dream. caller: you can do everyone if you have the faculties in your hand stay straight, and aim your focus forward. get your mind focused on what you want to do for you. i believe it can be achieved. you have to work very hard at it. it is not easy. it does not come easy. host: thank you for the call. deborah is up next from madison, wisconsin, also on the line for independents. caller: thank you for asking this question. it is really important.

i have people in my family that are in their 70's, just like everyone else. we are able to a cultural family. my definition of the american jew has shifted drastically. one of the things i have noticed that many of the social issues that iphone fought for, turned into social programs. those social programs have turned into -- have fostered earned learned helplessness. they were supposed to be safety net, not ways of life. the american dream, the addition of it is work.

i appreciate having discovers asia, and i hope we can bring our country back. thank you. host: on twitter and facebook you can follow along several colo, it's already this morning. judy on -- gillian on twitter rights, the american dream is dead. on a facebook page, you can follow along there facebook.com/cspan. austan writes in that the american dream is a marketing scheme. justin says, i feel like i am living the american dream everyday, but unfortunately someone is complaining about someone other than themselves. michael writes that the american dream is something that is holding american socialism down. we want to hear your comments and questions of money on "washington journal.

we have talked about this idea of the american dream. here is bernie sanders in his speech from the senate floor talking about the american dream. [video clip] >> in my view, there is a war going on in this country. i'm not talking about the wars in afghanistan or iraq, or the instability in the middle east. i'm talking about the war being waged against the american middle class, against the american center of living, and against the american dream. today in the united states of america, we have more income inequality than on any other country on earth.

we have the highest rate of child fatality than any other country on earth. today in america, we are the only major nation not to guarantee health care to all of our people as right of citizenship. the united states of america once let the world -- 40 years ago -- and terms of the percentage of our people he graduated college. in short, we were the best educated people in the world. today, we are in 12th place. host: senator bernie sanders speaking to the senate floor talking of the american dream. we want team your thoughts. what are the components of the american dream? how do you define a? caller: good morning. thank you for taking my call. i think it is still obtainable

but a lot more difficult. i will give you a little background for myself. i am at kid from west philly. my wife was from the projects. she grew up in a health care filled. through luck and student loans i manage my way to get an ivy league education. we are now middle class. i think doing what we did was extremely difficult when we did it. one of my sons just finished high school. he got one job offer at eight dollars per hour. i was making a dollars per hour 30 years ago. what has happened?

host: when you talk about it, what is your definition of the american dream. what are the characteristics are important in your life. >>caller: my definition is owning your own home. that is the first thing. the second is being able to educate your children. some of the university without going bankrupt. having decent health care for you and your family. and being able to take a week down to jersey shore, or something. these are the things i was never able to do when we were kids. we did go on vacation because we never had the money. this was back in the days before food stamps. sometimes in our household there was hardly any food.

host: i appreciate the call from philly. have a good fourth of july. dollar is up next from hawaii, life are republicans. -- line for republicans. caller: good morning. i think the american dream is still possible, unless you don't buy into the narrative that you are a victim, that somebody else has oppressed you 200 years ago and you're still way for someone to fix all of that. i think of you do not buy into the narrative that you have less because someone else has more and i think if the government would stop regulating our rights away, that stuff is really important. when you are getting regulated for every flush, every breath -- i think how often everything you do this daese days, you think, do

i need a permit for this? i think the government needs to get out of the way and stop trying to make everything equal. it does not work, it never worked for the government to make everything equal. host: do you think the government has tried to redefine this term, the american dream? caller: i don't know -- well thinking all about equality. host: we are talking about homeownership. the caller before he was talking about health care. do you think politicians and government is changing the traditional definition of the american dream? guest: absolutely. -- caller: absolutely. host: what are the basic

components in your mind? caller: i think the constitution and leaving us alone with our unaided unalienable rights. stop trying to control everything we do. i do not think we can move about our lives freely anymore. certainly, it is not like north korea yet, but we we are not there, but i think it should go back to the constitutionally limited government. host: i appreciate you getting up early with us. as i said, "atlantic" had a poll talking about the american dream . they talk with the characteristics of the american dream, talked about to the components. as we said, living comfortably achieve financial security being debt-free, providing a comfortable quality of life for your family.

a healthy marriage, 20% said that was part of the american dream. onlyowning a nice home, 28%. prais pursuing happiness, 23%. we want to hear what you think. mark is up next, line for independents. caller: how are you doing? host: good. caller: i started out -- me and my wife together we started out with nothing. i went into a blue-collar place of work, construction. i enjoyed working with my hands being out, building things. i poured everything into it. i worked seven days per week 12

hour days. i worked my way up, my pay was finally going up, i was finally achieving things and getting things. i was brought up there, me and my wife finally got just about to lower middle class. then, our government side that it is ok to let illegals across the border and come in. illegal immigrants devastated my line of work. i make now the same thing that i made in 1995. i am taking an eight dollar cut in pay. i know people say, why don't you get a better education? no. i like what i do. why should i have to change? why should i have to accept our government asked's complicity of not

doing the job? i just think that i have worked hard, played by the rules, did everything that i was supposed to do as an american, and tried to do the best for myself, my family, and the country. yet, the people they represent me seem to think that i have to accept the sacrifices they are willing to make on my behalf. i don't understand what i am supposed to do now. they let everything get jacked up so much that we have 19i-5 wages in a 2000 50 economy. it just does not work. the people of this country should be outraged at what the

politicians of our country are allowed to do as far as making sure things are fair. thank you. host: some more holy numbers from that "atlantic" puoll. host: lenny is up next, line for democrats. good morning. caller: good morning.

i was struck by this whole business of the american dream. i was extra start iruck by the rubio piece you had on earlier. he talked about, and one of his comments, it had to do about the quality of opportunity. you hear this from politicians. back to one of your earlier points coming here this from politicians all the time, this idea of "equality of opportunity." the reality, the american reality is that we have not enough quality of results. going back to political science 101, you talk about how sometimes the confusion between

those two things really becomes a problem. politicians seem to want to put our caps on with this notion of equality of opportunity. that does not exist. the thing that has hampered the american dream is economic depression. i don't think anyone would disagree with that. host: can i ask you, do you think the american dream is in the totally -- is a totally economic aspect or are their social values corporative? caller: sure, there are social values involved, but those seem to be governed, and pretty much dominated by what we are talking about as the economic reality. look at this area that i live in. look at the folks who did

really well economically, in terms of earning a piece of that rock, being the working-class community that it became over the years. people were have a reasonably stable lifestyle, but the reality is now, you have a lot of those same opportunities that are pretty much nonexistent because of the economic facts of life. you do not get the trade oriented employment anymore. manufacturing is something that does not really exist anymore. let's get real. we live in an era where opportunities are compromised. host: on twitter, a few more

comments. you can follow along on twitter @cspanwj. karen wright's, i do not think there is a clear definition of american dream, different people want different things out of life. george writes, the american dream is a mess. karen writes, the american dream is still achievable, but it takes more discipline, hard work and talent than it did in the past. again, some candidates running for presidency have mentioned the american dream in their speech. this past week, chris christie of new jersey jumped into the crowded republican field. here is what he had to say. [video clip] >> it is only america is someone like me could have the opportunity to seek the highest office that the world has to offer. only in america could all of you believe that your voices, your

efforts, could make a difference to change the country as big and vast as this one. only in america. only america, have we seen time after time the truth of the words that one person can make a difference. you see, the reason that is true is because it is the only thing that has ever made a difference in the history of the world. one person reaching out to another to change their circumstance and to improve the lives of their children grandchildren. i do not seek the presidency for any other reason than because i believe in my heart that i'm ready to work with you, to restore america to its rightful place in the world and restore

the american dream teach one of march 09, whether they live in livingston mendham, new yorkark, or camden. no matter where they live in this country, we need to make sure that everyone owes us children has a president that not only speaks to them, but here's some. host: new jersey governor chris christie launching his bid for the presidency. we are talking about the american dream this morning on "the washington journal." here are the mornings's papers from this morning.

host: we want to hear from you this morning. janet is up next in indiana. my for republicans -- line for republicans. caller: if i was not an optimist, i would say the american gene has very little chance of recovering. i would like to give to suggestions, both to c-span and the listeners. i grew up listening to paul harvey, and he talked about harming his goals.

they were written out, very clear and plain. everyone could do research. you will see, very easily, especially if you start with rule 15, which party has absolutely followed and managed to achieve most of the congress goals. the second is the answer to our health care, to an organization made up of medical scientists and doctors, who search to find out why some people were healthier, and it is called "health science institute." they have the answers. bless you, america. host: speaking of health care, some news yesterday making several papers in this country including "the financial times." aetna and humana shaking up u.s. managed care.

we are talking about the american dream this morning. joe is up next, south carolina line for democrats. caller: it just depends on the perspective of the individual. yes, for me, coming from an apartment building to a home, that transition, and then being married, having children, yes,

life is beautiful and great, but then storms come. it just depends on your area, situation, it depends. the bottom line is those who make the rules are politicians and set the rules for those of us who do not pay to stay in the rules. we become either the victims of those rules. i think as long as we need food, clothing, and shelter, then the american dream can be for us. as far as a black man in america who learns and starts to understand how to get around and utilize things in my favor, and being married to a person will with

a different status, it makes a difference. we still have to dream pray, and have hope. i think it helps. if we don't, then we become bitter angry, and that is one a lot more the problems come. host: back to florida adela is waiting on the line for independents. caller: i'm calling because i'm very concerned about the seniors. the seniors, you're working all your life in this country and you do not receive anything. no help at all. the many you have -- money you have is not enough.

the political person does not take about the seniors. all the things -- host: anthony is up next from arizona. my for independents. good morning. caller: good morning, c-span, good morning to those listening from around the world. why is it "american dream." every country has a dreamer and it. my definition of the american dream has to be said with the fact that those living outside of america want to come to america because first of all the declaration of independence give us some important tools to work with.

better light, or what is needed, allows those to accept that challenge to move forward. host: you talk about immigration, emigrants, and other folks around the world. do you think emigrants are a key part of the american dream? the american story. caller: without a doubt. our deepest desires and highest aspirations and inspirations start from others learning that they are different from another. host: that is anthony in arizona this morning. pat qui patrick is in pennsylvania. good morning. caller:'s first of all, happy

fourth of july. i think we need to keep that in perspective. when you talk but the american june, the american dream is alive and well, and prospering from multinational corporations, which of course tied to immigration. this is what this is all about. we are creating the illusion of prosperity, rather than looking at the perspective how the happiest dividend for the average american citizen is going to play out. when you look at countries like sweden and denmark, what based on fact that these are the happiest societies on the planet is they have a robust middle class. the robust middle class is protected, in direct contrast to the almost jihadist-like agenda of multinational corporations in the united states. especially the criminality in

our banking system which has decimated our brothers and sisters of color. we are continuing to allow this. what you see now developing the united states is continuing social unrest, which will escalate because the american people are not understanding that if you were to restore the freedom of information act, and more importantly, man the freedom of information act, you would know what your government is doing. that would act as a buffer to ensure that a government is not going down its radical past -- a tyrannical path. host: got your point.

several callers have judgment immigration in this country and the role plays in the american dream. harry reid, minority leader of the democrat in the senate talked about the american dream as part of -- here is what he had to say. [video clip] >> "give me your tired, your poor, your masses, send them besides the golden door. countless generations, our fathers and grandfathers mothers and grandmothers braved oceans and doesn't see answer that call. as a result, the united states has been empowered from

immigrants from around the world. my wife's daughter, immigrated here from russia. my grandmother from england. my family, like some way american families, has so many stories to tell. this month is immigrant heritage month. as we celebrate our shared heritage we wish dignity and respect on all families. our nation has become the greatest country on earth because of the hard work of those immigrants that reached our shores. just look at some of our nation's most successful companies.

google, yahoo!, general electric ibm, they are all over one century. we have stories just like google yahoo!, google, and ibm. all of these companies were founded by immigrants or children of immigrants. host: we are asking us off this morning on your thoughts on the american dream. you can also follow along on twitter. on twitter, a lynn edward writes weiss is only seen as an american dream? maverick rights, it was not my dream but the gene for my children to have the. several people on facebook 42 george carlin's famous quote on the american dream that the

reason they call it the american dream is because you have to be asleep to believe it. you can follow the conversation on social media. cedric, good morning. caller: the american dream is opportunity. america still be country with more opportunities. if you study hard, work hard stay out of trouble, you can still do well in america. we do have setbacks. one of our problems is the government. it is constantly growing. there is an incestuous relationship between the government and the media. that is one of problems we have in this country. we have a media the consul he divides americans with each other. arrogance -- immigrants are important to this country, but the same time we have an illegal immigrant problem. but, you can't say they are good

for the country at the same time as saying we have a problem. the government pushes all of these ideas, especially in this administration. such things like "black lives matter," and saying that black men are being killed all over the country, it is just not true, but it takes hold and causes confusion. america is the greatest place to live. there are more black millionaires in america than any other country. you have an individual comparing sweden to the united states. sweden, i don't know the population, but it is not 300 million. you cannot compare. host: i think we lost cedric, we will go on to randy in georgia. caller: good morning. the last caller -- what a

selfish person. at not understand that people do not get there if you were born white in this country, you have all the opportunities that would make the american dream come true. i teach figure skating. i have students from all walks of life. i can to you that there are kids that feel funny. black kids feel no confidence. i can walk up to a black child and immediately, they were withdrawn because i'm an old white person. i love my government. i like that i have firemen policemen, and a hospital that will pick you up if i'm dying. i wish things were better for the black people in the country, and the latino population. most of the people to call in with this "i have mine, get

yours," also call themselves christians. i can imagine that in real life jesus would have hung out with them. host: can i ask you, do you think america's best days are behind us, or do you think that america's best days are still ahead in the future. caller: yes. because of people like me. thank you. host: that was randy in georgia. we will keep take your calls on this concept of the american dream, but also, what i want to bring in carlin bowman.

thank you for joining us. how many americans the state say they are proud to be an american? guest: we have a large majority that consistently says they are proud to be americans. in the range of 80%-80 5%. it is really a very solid majority they do not see on polling questions these days. host: what aspects of america make americans most proud from the polling the ufc? guest: i think freedom is the thing that most you will volunteer. we are very proud of to aspects of american life. we are very proud of the military, our scientific and technological advancements. all of those things are things that make americans very proud. we greatly appreciate the freedom that we have. it is not a blind patriotism. we know there are problems facing society, but we still

love our country nonetheless. host: where you see the biggest jump off in terms of aspects of society that americans are proud to be part of? guest: in recent polling pollsters have asked if the country is headed in the right direction. since the 2008 recession, that has taken a real toll on american attitudes. you see more pessimism across many areas. i think because of the lag and economic recovery. people are just not feeling it now. the fact that we have come back from the recession rapidly in other cases, that is not happen this time. i think that is affecting our attitudes about how we feel about the country right now. host: i'm showing the viewers the chart that aei put together on what is considered an act of

patriotism. can you talk about some of the numbers and not pulling -- in that polling. guest: absolutely. serving in the military, voting, flying american fight, which of course many will do today, and i met come i will do after we get off the call. serving on a jury, those are the things that americans can is so associate with patriotism. host: and owning a gun? guest: that was at the bottom of the list, but 50% of people agree with it. host: i know you have written extensively on the idea of the american dream. what are your thoughts today. do you think the oak "american

dream" best days are ahead? i'm certainlyguest: it is things such as family and friendship. that is why in many polls, you have 40%-40 5% saying they have already achieved the american jury. that is because they define it in a very personal way. host: we appreciate you break it down for us on this fourth of july we morning. back to your calls, we will back to the debate. we will talk you about this in the first two hours of our show. glenda is on the line for republicans. caller: hello. i would like to save you the american jew is alive and doing well. so many people have turned into a nightmare because they get into debt and stay in debt.

when a retirement, they can never afford the lifestyle that they should have because they are so much in- debt. i'm 61, i have heart disease and breast cancer. i was able to retire early. i qualified for disability. i only have a high school education. people like to say, just because you are white, you have been favored. that is not true. i never had anything handed to me. i did get my disability because i were tarred 35-40 years for it. the american dream is alive and doing well. maybe the state where these people living is so expensive, they cannot afford where they are living. i live in florida where life is easy and affordable. host: thank you for the call this morning. bob is up next, good morning.

caller: good morning. how are you? host: could. happy independence day. caller: with regard to immigrants, did you hear about the guy that shot the young girl yesterday on the. -- on the pier in san francisco? he was deported five times. this is the thing that donald trump was talking about. on fox news this morning, they had this by person whose son was shot by an illegal. this is really hurting people. they are coming down on trump for this, but it is completely true. for example, we just had a lady who died of measles. where do think that came from? it came from all those kids last

summer coming across the border. people, you need to open up your eyes a bit. host: bringing up donald trump. he too talked about the american dream. here is part of his enough that. [video clip] donald trump: sadly, the american dream is dead. if i get elected president, i will bring it back, bigger and better, and stronger than ever before. we will make america great again. host: donald trump during his presidential campaign announced in for the republican nomination. 16 candidates expected to be in the republican field by the end of july.

the democratic field as well being watched. we are bringing you some clips from different candidates, bringing you the dream this morning. caller: good morning. i want to say that people are calling and talking about the american dream as if it is a living human being. it is not. it is just a concept. i want to say that it is not that i have something to eat in the morning, and that means the american journalism by. let me give you some examples. people used to look on us for what is right and wrong. nowadays, what do we do? we go around the world. people start killing each other. the thing we do is we bag the killers up. this is not being in a dream

state. calling for governments that can govern and lead the world, that government does not look at who would win and then begged them. look at the reality in the world today. we cannot decide who should be our president, or anything else. we just have two parties, and we have had them for a very long time. being free means that you are able to select. today, we can do that. there are two parties, and a lot of money and support. we have to choose from one of them. in a foreign policies, we go around the world and we see people we do not like, and we say they are a threat. like we say in iran, they might have nuclear bombs, when we see in fact, other countries have

nuclear bombs, like israel, and they have been on the verge of using them. they could overcome their fears and defeat egypt, so they didn't. we do not talk about them because they are our allies. by the way they refuse us, and we have to grant them whatever they want. host: that was santa monica, california. speaking of iran, the caller brings up that country. according to "the washington post" iran's leave negotiation is says that we have never been closer.

host: with go to jimmy from san antonio, texas, life for democrats. your thoughts on the state of the american dream? caller: good morning, everyone. i believe in the american dream. i'm 68 years old. i fought in vietnam. amplei am a black man that has lived in the white man's world for years because i did cryptology.

i believe in the american dream. give me a few minutes, don't cut me off, let me finish. not just a few minutes, just a minute. i am fine with government, as long as it doesn't tell me to do what i should or should not do in my private life. like one of my kids could have an argument. or whether i am this, that where the other. stay out of it. let me give you one example. my daughter was married. i jumped into conversation that

she did not like because she and her husband agreed. from that point on, because she is just as it up and as i am she did not like it. stay out of the bedrooms people's private life unless it affects someone else. host: freedom from government interferesn in your life is that part of the american dream? ccaller: who they should love, what they should think, how they should act. if it doesn't affect someone else's life, stay out. host: joseph is up next from shreveport, louisiana. good morning. caller: good morning.

look. host: are you with us? caller: when the government -- all states, you have governm ors, like bobby jindal, that once the people to do what he wants to do. the state government is one thing, and then the federal government when they need them they holler where the government is at. does that make sense? host: you think it is a double standard. caller: yes.

the governor is doing what they want to do in the state, but when it is something they need they holler for the federal government. when an emergency comes, they look for the federal government to step in. host: got you. mary is up next. caller: good morning. i think the american dream, as i knew it going up, is being stomped on. the american dream involves things like personal responsibility, having self-sufficiency, getting up, having work ethic, educating yourself, getting a job, doing a job and from that point, you can give back. right now, today, no one is teaching kids to have a work ethic. i employ several of them, they do not work like adults do.

it is a complete different thing. people expect everything to be handed to them. that is because of the socialist climate that we have developed. we have to get back to point where we are willing to say, we have to get these things for ourselves. we cannot expect the government to provide us health care because they mandated it, or welfare, or any other kind of assistance, unless we absolutely cannot work. a physical disability is one thing. when we have people who are capable of getting up and capable of giving back to society, they ought to do it. host: we will keep take your calls. as we said, we are talking about this topic for the first two hours of today. you can continue to call in. i also want to note that the white house and the president focused on the fourth of july

holiday today in the weekly address. here is a bit from the address. [video clip] president obama: we remember that all who served here at home and overseas represent what today is about. remember that their families serve too. we are so grateful for their service and sacrifice. we remember as well that today is the day went 239 years ago, our patriots declared our independence, proclaiming the all of us are created equal, and doubt by our creator with certain inalienable rights including the rights to life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness. a couple of centuries later, we beat ourselves into a couple, bold, and dynamic country. we are all of different races we practice different faiths, and to ideas. this is the creed that binds us

together. it has been the work of each successive generation of keeping this creed safe. people have fought, march, protested, and even died for that endeavor, proving that as americans, our destiny is not written for us, but buyery us. we honor those heroes today and everyone who continues to make this country a more inclusive place. host: that is president obama in his weekly address this week. time for a few more calls before we bring on our fourth of july panel. anthony is a n next from tennessee. caller: how are you doing? host: good. caller: i have from tennessee by live in new jersey.

the american dream -- i believe the american dream started to disappear in the earlyin the early 1980's. down here, i was told by the manager of one of the rockers there, because they know that is what i did in new jersey, they were told that the minimum wage if it was $10, i told the manager then i will do it. he said he absolutely would not do it. another place that i know where it does not work, a woman there is still at minimum wage. and one woman who just joined she was told she would lose her job and he would not, because he would have to work and he was

not going to work at minimum wage. it amazed me. people do not realize that the minimum wage does not go up. if it did, that person would have more money to spend. but you have your gasoline and your foods and a family of three, they cannot afford to live. my job in new jersey was running a grocery chain. i actually had a heart attack when i go in and see soup that used to be $.60 now up to one dollar 10. i do not know how people will make it with the rising food prices. even toilet paper. it used to be $.10 a row. ll. the prices were not even close now. people cannot spend what they do not have. host: anthony in tennessee.

we go to samuel in new york. good morning. are you with us? we go on to steve in new york. line for independents. you are on "washington journal." caller: hello. i think the american dream disappeared over the last 30 to 40 years. it has to do with wages. most people cannot earn enough nowadays to support a family or even themselves. that is the majority of jobs. the thing with wages is that they are rigged. when gnp grows and the demand for labor increases, the government flights the country with immigrants and that keeps wages down. it is a bait and switch. politicians talk about creating jobs and increasing gnp, but one

more jobs are created, they complain they do not have the workers and instead of raising wages, like what should happen in supply and demand free market situations, then more immigrants are brought in. that helps keep wages low. that is why i think the american dream has disappeared. host: medford, new york. thank you for the call. we continue this discussion on the status of the american dream and the definition with terry jeffrey are cns news.com and eleanor clift of the daily beast. later, thomson reuters supreme court correspondents lawrence hurley looks back at the supreme curt -- supreme court term that just ended and what is ahead. we will be right back. ♪

>> here are just a few of our featured programs on the c-span networks. on c-span at 8:00 eastern, and interview with new york times chairman and executive -- and the executive editor on the future of the times. sunday at 9:30 eastern, members of the church committee, walter mondale and gary hart on their groundbreaking efforts to reform the intelligence community. one big tv on c-span 2, on "afterwards," carol berkin on why the bill of rights was created. live at noon sunday on "in-depth," join our conversation with peter schweizer. he has written over it a dozen books, including "clinton cash."

on american history tv on c-span 3 at 8:00 tonight, you're a brooklyn college classroom lecture on the revolutionary war and how individual personalities, supplies, and timing influence the outcomes of major battles. sunday afternoon at 4:00, a look back at a 1960's go featuring actor performer joe brown on a nationwide search for old circus wagons and the circus museum's efforts to restore them in time for a july 4 parade in milwaukee. our complete schedule at c-span.org. >> three men and a woman believed to be numbers of a puerto rican gang opened fire from the visitors gallery of the house of representatives. ♪ >> five congress and --

congressmen were hit. ohio tennessee maryland, and michigan are presented as were hit. the one wielders and their a couple's it ascension of how being perpetrated a criminal outrage almost unique in american history. >> it was the most violent act that occurred in the chamber. there were debates after that that we cannot let this happen again. we need to wall off the visitors gallery with bulletproof glass. so this could never happen again. the more the members talked about that and thought about it, they said that is a bad idea. this is the people's house and the people cannot be walled off from the floor and what is going on there. the capitol building is a simple, and that makes it a target. they mentioned the british burned the building in 1813.

a bombing during world war i by a professor opposed to american support to the allies. a shooting in 1954. what happened in 1971 was a bomb by an undergrad opposed to the vietnam war. in 1983, another bombing by -- on the senate side opposed to -- by people opposed to reagan's national policy. there have been those instances over time. and yet, the capitol has remained remarkably open. >> don ritchie and ray smock on the history of the house and senate its leaders, characters and prominent events, sunday night at 8:00 eastern and specific on c-span's "q&a." "washington journal" continues. host: we continue this discussion on the american dream

and its status today with the help of terry jeffrey of cnsnews.com and daily beast correspondent eleanor clift. eleanor, talk about what definition you use for the american dream. guest: over my life, i have said i am the product of the american dream. my parents were immigrants who came with very little, worked hard had a store in brooklyn's and in queens. had three children. my brothers went on to be engineers. colleges were affordable. public schools were the great mixing pot in america. when i think of the american dream, that is my first thought. today, people would add affordable housing and education , wages to keep pace with the cost of living, and a sense that you want your children to, if

not do better financially -- i do not know if we want to measure in those terms -- that your children would have a quality of life comparable or even better than your own. i would even brought in that to a sense of community -- broaden that to a sense of community and a concern for the planet. that is my thinking and i hope others would share that. host: terry jeffrey's, is that an economic and values comes up? guest: yes. they go together. i agree with eleanor. you talk about immigrants, in america, people came here from distance places. they had to take care of themselves and their families are you they fed and housed themselves, offended for themselves. they rose their children in small communities were people shared values. that is the heart of the dream.

people want to be able to raise their kids and a country that is free and prosperous and safe. we want to be able to pass on to our children all the great wings we got from our parents and our great-grandparents. if we leave behind a country that is less prosperous and free and safe, then we have done a disservice not only to our own children, but to their children. host: what policies or legislation is having the biggest impact on the american dream and whether you can hand it to the next generation? guest: i believe a pivotal moment in american life was in the 1930's during the great depression when people were somewhat desperate economically. franklin roosevelt as president, he opened the door to a welfare state. he did it with social security which at that time many people thought was unconstitutional. if you look at how roosevelt

presented his arguments for the social security program and the message sent to congress, he talked about it as a replacement to the family. he said in olden days, americans would take care of their children and children would take care of them, people in communities would take care of each other he talked about that believe. since the 1930's, with the advent of federal benefit programs, we saw on increase in the number of people dependent on the government, an increase in the size of the federal government, and with that, there has been a breakdown with the family. one hardpacked, the cdc came out with this preliminary data on its annual birth report. they do statistics on every person born in the u.s. in 2014, 40.3% of babies born in the u.s. were born to unmarried mothers. the seventh year in a row were

40% or more of 80's born in the country were born to unmarried mothers. the growth of the welfare state and the decline of the family go hand in hand and are a drag on the american dream. host: it sounds like terry jeffrey is saying we're on the wrong track for the american dream. guest: we are celebrating america's birthday. i do not want to rebut everything he just said, but i disagree with it from beginning to end. first of all, people are not coming to this country to a wilderness where they are forging on their own. they are coming to route its is where it is difficult to make your way. freedom is a nebulous concept and i argue that freedom to know you will not get bankrupt if you get sick is an important part of freedom. talk about connecting dots that really do not connect, what he would call the welfare state, i call it the growth of the

government, which we all have a part in. nobody makes it on their own. everybody relies on government resources, whether it is the roads we drive on, the libraries we use or attend. connecting that to the breakdown of the family, there are lots of reasons for family breakdown, and most of them have to do with economic and the fact that nuclear families that we grew up with, it is difficult in many cases for young men to get a job that earns enough to keep the wife at home. these are visions we grew up with. the family structure today is very different. with the advent of a marriage now, i think we will redefine marriage again in another way. america is a very different america than even the last eight years. i read a column by william schneider with third way, and he

points out that the coalition that elected president obama is the new american electorate. single people, young people minorities, people ignored in the past. i think people who are part of the more traditional america are uneasy about this. the face of america is very different today, and much of it is positive. host: we want our viewers to join in. this roundtable. we continue this discussion on the status of the american dream on this july 4 on capitol hill where the parade and concert and fireworks will happen off the west front of the capitol later today. we want to hear your thoughts. republicans can call in (202) 748-8000. democrats, that he would republicans can call in at (202) 748-8001.

democrats call in at (202) 748-8000. alice calling in on the line for republicans. good morning. caller: thank you for c-span. ms. clift, i watch you every friday, religiously. to think that having 43% of the kids born today is fine and part of progress, you have married couples who barely can keep their head above water. should the american taxpayer keep funding people -- anyone can have children, but the responsibility for raising them, paying for them, feeding them, getting them health care, should the average working person keep paying for people who are totally irresponsible? i want you every friday, and you people from the secular left are killing this country -- host: we let eleanor clift respond. caller: -that-

guest: that was a lot of name-calling. he does not know me well. host: if you want to talk about the concept of the american them and how it plays into the american dream. guest: people on the left and right are concerned when families breakdown and cannot take care of children. there is a role for government to do that and take care of it. we have not changed our ideas about it. parenting classes should be done. i quote charles murray, very much on the right, says that the most stable marriages now are among the richest people in the country. they need to proselytize that. i think public schools should service community centers. we should deliver services to the kids. the kids on today and are not getting all the benefits of the wealthier people in the country. we will all pay the price in the

future, when they have difficulties. early intervention, and in the upcoming presidential campaign preschools -- universal preschool education beginning at age three will be a viable concept. you will see republicans jump on that. host: terry jeffrey, we had a caller who said freedom from government interference in his family and what is happening is a big part of his definition of the american dream. guest: that is true. the government has a duty to protect people's true rights and to protect people from crime. we have a system where the local community protect people from crime, not the federal government. if you look at illegitimacy legitimacy is, the cdc has done this since 1940. before we created federal

welfare, 1940 was the first time social security was made, something like less than -- were born to unwed women. the structure of households and the nature of families, their data for 2014 showed something fascinating. horrible. the absolute number of married couple families with minor children was smaller in 2014 then two years ago in 1963. in 1963, there were 24 million some married couples with children. last year, there was 23 million songs ring. i took the census bureau statistics for total number of household and arrived the percentage of american households that are married with children under 18. and every year through the 1960's, at least one in four

people were married with children. it has continually went on a.org -- on a downward trend. only 19% were married couples with families last year. compared to 44.6% in 1977. part of that is the baby rumor generation not having as many children as their parents which is a problem. but 40% of the babies are born out of wedlock. the census bureau says 35% or so of children are not living with married parents. that is a tragedy for america. for the government to say we have nursery school run for three-year-olds, that is a destruction of the american dream. host: we are talking about the american dream in getting your comments and questions. numeral -- muriel is on the

line. caller: i hope you all have a great fourth. i'm from the left, and i'm not out to kill the country. but when you talk of the american dream, you have to speak of the reality that sets in when you wake up. and people need to wake up. all we have to do is look to greece. i know people are going to say, that is a negative arm, it and it is, but it is reality. in greece, they -- the bankers are closing the banks and freezing out the people who have their own, personal money in these accounts. they're using tear gas on the

masses gathering for the vote tomorrow. this is not being reported on the regular news. but i know this is happening. host: eleanor clift, lessons to be learned from what is happening around the world. guest: first, the american dollar is strong. the u.s. economy is far stronger than the european economies. when people look to park their money somewhere, they do it and america. we are not the next greece. greece is part of the eurozone. they use the euro. they cannot print their money their own money. they cannot figure a way out of the debt crisis. i still hope there will be resolution there, where the banks are able to reduce the debt load and allow the

greek economy to recover. apparently, everybody is uncertain to what, if they do in fact, pull out of the eurozone what the impact would be on this country. i think there would be little, if any. we have, a long way since president obama took office and we were losing jobs at the rate of 800,000 a month. i think america is poised to do well in the coming years. host: terry jeffrey, your thoughts on the lessons to be learned as we look at the american dream. guest: the lady is right. greek banks have limited how much people can take out of their own money. guest: that is what fdr did. guest: let's look at some of the facts. in my column this week i took the number of households, 120 million something in the u.s. and divided the debt of the u.s.

to the end of the last fiscal year. it worked out to $144,000 per household. the debt is at that $18.1 trillion or so. i read a piece last week about how the treasury have frozen this limit on every daily treasury statement they have put out for 15 weeks. the on march 16, they would hit the debt limit, so they arbitrarily froze it. congress allow them to do that. we have a government playing games with the debt. the markable debt of the u.s., treasury bills and notes and lawns, the biggest holders of that remarkable that are the federal reserve bank, the chinese -- a communist regime -- and the japanese. the u.s. has floated shorter-term debt because they

have a lower interest rate. right now, we have the debt and low interest rates. eventually the race will climb. the amount of money we have to spend servicing the debt will climb dramatically. and each month as we move forward and each year as we move forward, we continue to accumulate that that. the $144,000 from the last fiscal year, every households -- including those on welfare -- that will grow. guest: you string together so many statistics and facts, and most of which do not bear direct relation to each other. the upper -- to create the sense of fear. mentioning that china is communist, i suppose. guest: it is communist. guest: and they are entrepreneurial. that is a sign that we should -- host: eleanor clift, the daily

beast's washington correspondent and terry jeffrey of cns news.com. we want to get our viewers involved. patrick is in oakland, california, line for independents. caller: good morning. happy fourth of july. i am a vietnam veteran. went to georgetown ahead of clinton. i am disgusted with the state of the rhetoric in america today. i have to give president obama bad marks for not getting his message across effectively. when you take republican ideas and you put them into the legislature and say that is ridiculous, obamacare or whatever, i can barely even contain myself. i will let you guys talk about it. for me, the american dream is lies and political flim-fl

ammery. host:. eleanor clift guest: i agree. i think the public is tired with the back-and-forth and rhetoric. i hope, as we embark on the 2016 campaign that ended its will have gone that message. bernie sanders, who has never run a negative ad -- they do not work in vermont where he is from -- he says he will keep his campaign rhetoric on a high level. if the two nominees end up being hillary clinton and jeb bush there is a possibility they could have a civilized discussion, but hope springs eternal when it comes to politicians. guest: in 1980, america was at a low moment in history. they elected reagan. reagan was considered a great communicator, because he called

america back to its founding principles. he shared the romance of america and shared that with americans in the way he spoke. people were truly inspired by reagan. there is no doubt we could use another leader like that, not just in terms of someone calling back to our principles, but someone who can communicate like that. host: these candidates who have used the term "american dream" and their campaign take off which we should in our first segment. are you surprised? guest: no. instead, most americans are word. if they are a certain age in the country, they know we are on a bad trend. especially people who have children or are raising children, they are anxious about where the country is going and where it will be 20 years from now. guest: it is an income gap and it is really unequal as a

society. bbob putnam's book "our kids" talks about the rich and the poor. basically 30% of the population of anyone with a college degree. the gap between people able to attain that level of education and 70% of the country is growing wider. a plays out even an elementary schools, where he points out activities that used to be free 20 years ago and's, chorus, parents have to pay a fee. you cannot afford those if you're of a low income. the three-year-old should be going to school, because in most families, if they are intact, the mother and father both work. the amount of words that young children here make a big difference in their education when they are young.

those gaps need to start closing at a young age. all the advantages seem to be going to people at the upper end of society. we need to think of our society as a whole, because we all will and if it. host: i give you read all from washington, d.c. on our line for democrats. good morning. caller: hello. from the things i read, it looks like the american dream has been ending for about 40 years. how cynical our americans are art to supporting programs and policies that -- that republicans put in place. those with a dream format -- those are the dreams for african-americans for a while. white europeans felt isolated because they thought those

programs were not affect them. but when i started affecting them, there was a problem. what bothers me is that no one really talks about how, the impetus -- when african americans could enter unions, they started eroding at. republican policies started positively affecting african-americans. and then -- help them rise up from poverty that were put in place like lyndon johnson. host: terry jeffrey, a lot if you want to respond. guest: we need to preserve an advanced the american dream for all americans. i think we have serious problems in the country and our public

schooling system. in dcm baltimore, the public schools do a lousy job of educating kids. they score lower than other places in the country in reading and math. these are kids in government schools. what i would do and congress can do it in washington, d.c., is give every child in dca voucher equal to the amount they spend per people in public schools, which is higher in dca close to $20,000 depending on the area. give every parent and child a voucher saying you can take your kid to every school you want. private, christian, catholic keep them in public school. let's give every kid in dca and opportunity. that is what john boehner, harry reid, nancy pelosi ought to do. give parent something real that they can do. guest: are you referring to

public schools as government schools. that is a bad thing. you are an american and live under this government. guest: one of the things wrong with public schools today is i think they are used by people in government to advance a value system contrary to the sort of life that advances the american dream. i would rather have my children in catholic school where they are taught traditional values and are taught that my families and other families have believed in the past -- our declaration of independence says all men are endowed by their creator to certain and unalienable rights. can they even teach those in schools? guest: i think they teach the decoration of independence. did you go to public school? you have every entitlement to educate your kids in catholic schools, but in a government

founded on the separation of church and state, does the government have an obligation to underwrite religious schools of any sort? guest: i am not saying all dollars public schools, i am saying gave people the choice. they are spending money in dcn not educating kids. the decoration of independence says all men are endowed by their creator to certain unalienable rights. if our schools will be mutual of whether there is a god and whether our rights come from god, then schools cannot teach the kids of -- that the decoration of independence is create -- is correct, and our founding fathers said that should topic schools not teach that? host: we have about half an hour left with our panel. jim is on the line. good morning. caller: good morning. this is a problem with america

and why the dream is being stifled. you have to people on your panel to your, you are too far left. terry, you are too far right. we keep voting presidents to bark to either side and we do not see action in the moderates. eleanor, when you talk about greece the banking system is not the problem, the banks are not the problem, it is the voters who vote for government programs but do not want to pay taxes to fund them. that is the problem. they cannot issue debt they cannot afford and they cannot reduce. this is the example of a government socialists that you propose. you keep saying how america is doing better than europe, but europe is an example of socialism you want to go to. i do not understand how your mentioning this now. it does not make sense. host: eleanor clift, and then we talk about the areas where you agree and policy. guest: there is lots to be read

about greece. i recommend a writer for the "new york times" on how the tanks have done fine and the greek voters have paid the price. they are not the problem. pensions have been cut 45%. the social contract made in the earlier times -- and i agree with you that it is loaded and needs to be reduced -- but you cannot do it overnight. you just upload the economy if you do. i think there are lots of economists who can argue that out. i sympathize with the greek people and with angela merkel, who is trying to keep the euro zone together and work out a fair compromise. i hope after the vote tomorrow that they will be able to ride a compromise. host: are we to polarize or are there places you think the parties can work together and

have movement forward in the coming months or year, legislatively? guest: it seems when the parties moved together, they move in the wrong direction. a good example is the trade promotion authority. it allows the president to make deals with 12 countries, including vietnam, where they ir economies owned by the government. another fact about american life, manufacturing jobs have declined dramatically. not everyone will go to college. they never have. a minority of americans graduate from college. if you're not someone who gets a dea or graduate degree, -- gets a b.a. and get it graduate degree, how do you survive? historically was manufacturing

jobs. but corporations have convinced people and parties to establish a system where you can move your jobs said please is like vietnam and malaysia, and bring your products back to america. creating manufacturing jobs over there and not here. americans have to look at that. both parties are cooperating on the wrong side of that. guest: i am for working with vietnam. we fought a bloody war out of moral obligation to that country. the trade promotion authority recently passed with republicans and some democrats that the president wanted is an example of the parties working together. in many ways, trade has been oversold as the panacea to create more jobs. it has cost jobs, but the nature of work is changing. i support the trade promotion authority. i think it is the way to the future.

globalization. the world is getting smaller and we need to work together, particularly on controlling climate change. host: the status of the american dream is our broad topic. jared is waiting in michigan line for democrats. good morning. caller: i would like to bring up a few points. number one, president obama and michelle obama are really the american dream, and the republicans hate them for it. number two, the debt was raised by president obama. they tripled it. he tripled it and started this country on this spending. president reagan i mean. number three is republicans never said anything about the debt under the bush administration. and all of a sudden, it is the biggest thing in the land. host: terry jeffrey. guest: i agree that president

and michelle obama are the american their life stories are great, even if i disagree on their policy vision. the truth is that the republicans took control of the house of republican -- house of representatives after the passing of the affordable care act, because people who elected them were worried about the debt. the debt has continued to grow under republicans. the treasury said the debt to be frozen, but that is an accounting gimmick. none of the politicians are talking about it. but later this year, we have to lift the debt ceiling, come to a spending deal, and it will. and the disability program is going to go bankrupt. they have to find out some way to bail that out. all of this stuff that will happen in this congress. you see republicans and

democrats cooperating on growing the government and the debt to the long-term detriment of the country. guest: except for one president clinton left us with the surplus, people have been screaming about the debt and the sky has not fallen. president reagan said do not worry about it, it is big enough to take care of itself. he used humor to deflect the issue. right now, it is so cheap to borrow money. we have a decaying or. -- if the structure. we should repairing roads and bridges, building fast trains, using this moment to use all of almost free money out there to give our society the jumpstart it needs if we want to compete with communist china. guest: right now, the u.s. is

borrowing money cheap. the average interest rate is like to percent. what the federal government has is an -- rate mortgage. we increased our debt every year, right now we pay a low interest rate. that low interest rate will not stay. when that goes up, we will not only pay a higher interest rate of all the debt accumulated, we will pay a higher interest rate on the new that trying to fund this too large government. host: if you want to follow along with terry jeffrey and his work with cnsnews.com or @terryjeffey. eleanor clift, the daily beast.com or eleanorclift.com. they are here with us as we talk about the american dream. al has been waiting from vermont

, line for independents. good morning. caller: thanks for letting me speak. i won two correct you about the clinton surplus. not a surplus because they were using the social security surplus as part of that calculation. congressional elections, there is no consistent replacement. look at the dingell's in michigan. the sentence of political families like kings and queens. the supreme court making laws out of thin air. we are also passing laws like the affordable care act that the people have not even seen. some people cannot feed themselves in this country. the new symbolism of bondage is the ebk card. the government ran for months without a debt ceiling. the future is not good and things have to change.

there should be two lines on c-span. one for net producers and one for net takers, not for political parties and independents. host: thanks for the suggestion. eleanor clift, political dynasties and supreme court on the american dream. guest: first of all, wasn't it former presidential candidate mitt romney who used the expression the takers that got him a lot of trouble? and a sense, we are all takers. we all get benefits from the government and i am grateful for them. the supreme court is nine people. five were appointed by republicans, four by democratic presidents. we used to think the supreme court was above politics. i think we have seen decisions that have made us believe otherwise. but from the day al gore saw his chance at the residency overturned by the supreme court

he accepted that graciously. that is the tradition we should aspire for and to in this country. to accept the supreme court. i do not agree with everything they do, but we had two significant rulings on upholding a core element of the affordable care act and on same-sex marriage, which does respect the majority pooling and this country, which supports marriage equality. host: we get more into the term of the supreme court on our next segment with lawrence hurley of reuters. terry jeffrey, on political dynasties and supreme court. guest: five elderly lawyers on the supreme court can totally change the nature of the country. a 1973 they said there is a right to kill an unborn child. we have killed tens of millions

of unborn babies. the declaration of independence says that we are undoubtedly are created to certain unalienable rights that among these are life, and the pursuit of happiness. by killing an unborn child, we violate those rights. also the democrat -- in the declaration of independence, they say the laws of nature and nature's god, that is what separated the united states from great britain. according to laws of nature, only a man and woman can have a child. two men cannot have a child according to the laws of nature. if we do not murder the baby and widely its god-given rights does that baby have a right to its mom? if you like the supreme court saying in a split decision that two men have the right to marry

each other, you cannot simultaneously say the baby has a right to her mother. what the supreme court did is violate the rights of children and violated other things and took from children the right to a mother and father, which is a natural, god-given right. host: we talk more about the supreme court in our next hour of "washington journal." ed is waiting on our line for democrats. caller: good morning. interesting guest. i hope you have them another day. i have a phd in physics. and i studied in germany. i know exactly what is going on in the country. we allowed our infrastructure to collapse, allowed industries to go overseas and take jobs away from the country, and we are devastating this country. they should be supporting this president. he has done a remarkable job

even though he has no republican support. the country is collapsing. we are almost number 30 in the world when it comes to hard-core sciences and math and engineering in comparison to the world. they need to take notice of that. another problem is you have the right wing media. it does not have this country's interests at heart. they are splitting the country. the nation needs to wising up to realize that they are hurting the nation. and your guests has some good ideas if we can continue this discussion. i wish to listen to this another hour or so. i think you are on target. do not listen to the right wing stuff going on. and the people running for president now, they did not have our country at heart.

and what is called harcourt hrc, hillary clinton is the only one that has policies that are the best course. host: we get mike on our line for republicans a chance and then let our panel jump in. good morning. caller: thanks for letting me speak. the guy ed, he said something that struck a chord. he says the country at heart. everybody really needs to think about what is good for a country. it is simple. the problems have not changed. the approach has. it says something about how the five older guys in the supreme court making decisions -- or would make a good decision is for them to be connected to the youth of this country. the youth that everything is affecting?

. they are living their lifestyle. they are not looking outside the box. they are still trying to learn and relate to laws constantly changing. if everything is changing, why not involve everyone with the change? host: two views on the problems of this country. guest: of the nine people on the court, three of them are women and so they are not all guys and they are not all old. it is a lot of power. that five people get to make, which is the number of votes you need. they have made some momentous decisions. there has been resistance ever since they upheld reproductive rights for women. and since they desegregated schools and 1954. there was a backlash for a long time. i expect resistance will continue for the affordable care act and marriage equality.

i guess we should be grateful we live in a country where people can continue to express dissent even after the final word has been -- supposedly common -- come down. also, inequality in the country and the flat wages people in the middle class have not seen -- singling out and you see people accumulating tons of money at the top, that is an issue on the campaign trail. republicans are talking about it at well. it is incumbent for them to solve these problems and not just blow hot air, as my mother would have said. guest: i talked about it on c-span before, but it is worth noting again, that the wealthiest community in the u.s. is measured by median household income. falls church, virginia. 10 miles down the road.

according to the census bureau calculations, seven of the 10 wealthiest counties in america when measured i the median household income is in the d.c. servers. the wealthiest people live around the federal government. why is the highest income here rather than in places where private industries and small business prevail. if you want to get richer in america, moved to washington and get associated with the government. guest: a lot of statistics that you throw out again, but what does that have to do with how we close the gap? are you saying get rid of the federal government so people cannot get rich off the federal government? guest: if you read another document that said all our rights come from god, the constitution created a limited aderholt government. the 10th amendment said that the

powers not given to the federal government were reserved to the states and the people. because of touchet expressly enumerated the powers of the federal government. one thing that has made more people on this country dependent on on the government. we celebrate independence today. if you depend on the government for your housing, food, and medicine, you're not independent, you are dependent on government. guest: i still remember the tea party protest there with their big sign saying get the government's hands off my medicare. when you get benefits, you think you are deserving. it is all those others who are not deserving. excluding those grievances, which has begun particularly on the right, it is destructive. host: ramsey in michigan, line for democrats. caller: good morning. the american dream want away when you stop seeing made in the

good old usa. when you stop seeing that, that is when the american dream ends. when the republicans went to china and opened up with a communist museum, that started everything going downhill. our jobs on over there. republicans do that. americans, we love to work. guest: i think he has a point. this story has been underreported, particularly in light of the tpa and the fact that the president and republicans are trying to create. it also includes mexico and vietnam and malaysia. but we have free trade with

mexico. under a fast track in 1984. we used to have a proud employer in detroit, which was the capital of making automobiles in the world. i believe they have $2.7 million -- $2.7 billion in mexico to build transmissions and engines and mexico and they create a bunch of jobs in mexico. why is forward -- ford leaving the u.s. to manufacture and mexico? the senior executives of ford are not looking at it page article a. they are just trying to maximize their bottom line of profit. i know there are many small business people who have manufacturing firms. they can get cheaper labor in vietnam or malaysia or mexico but they do not leave their comedic the -- they do not leave their community because they

love their country. we have the right to assemble, what form a union, they can negotiate with the folks who run ford for the wages they get in detroit. but when ford moves overseas, they invalidate the right to unionize. we have to realize there is a difference between a capitalist small business who runs his business according to his moral beliefs and sometimes forgoes profits because of something he believes in more than profit then multinational corporations are only one say raise their bottom line. host: owner chris, frank from new jersey, line for independents. good morning. caller: how are you doing. it seems like everyone seems to be dancing around the herd of elephants in the room.

the thing that killed the american dream is the fact that inflation outpaced wages two to one. the other fact is the american government is bought and paid for by corporate america. they are controlling what goes on. the legislation never once the wage to raise, the minimum wage. they always say we will lose jobs if we do. if they had done as we should have, we would not have lost jobs. they are making sure organize labor is killed in america. i think they corporations would like to see minimum wage go down to or dollars an hour, if they could. in 1968, when i was a child, gasoline was $.28 a gallon. now it is three dollars and some odd cents. of course we had this short drop

by now. things have gone up 10 times in other words. the minimum wage is $16. is it -- is six dollars. if it had kept up with inflation, it would be $16. guest: first of all, are you a supporter of unions from your earlier comments? guest: we have the right to work and join a union. just like people can for my corporations and treat cars, people can form a union and negotiate. guest: that is where you really are. -- that you would be on the side of not joining the unions. i think the caller is right, that there has been a concerted effort to minimize the strength of unions and the country. they have been severely weekend. they had a momentary victory on

the trade promotion authority and it did not last long. corporate power has gotten into a lot of hands. this will be an issue on the campaign trail. you will not hear republicans unilaterally stand up for personhood of corporations and corporate power. they are hearing from the people. there is popular sentiment. things have gotten out of whack. guest: people may not think about it this way, but we have a state tax. it is back. the state tax does not affect ford or general motors. it affects the american family. what the debt tax says is that these family businesses that have been successful in traded jobs and there came in 80 and the people who run them on their values, the debt tax sucks is is is out of families and into multinational corporations.

the newspaper industry is an excellent example. this country was full of small-town newspapers run by people who live in that community and cared about it. the state -- the estate tax took those newspapers and transfer them into a giant conglomerate corporations. people that want to check about growth in jobs, think about how the debt tax destroy businesses and jobs. guest: how i wish the death tax was responsible for all the changes in journalism. the estate tax only affects people at the very top. the right has use that as an issue to make people think it will affect everyone. it only affects the extremely wealthy and it goes back to the founding fathers wish not to have inherited wealth govern political power. host: taxes is our next roundtable discussion we will have, i think.

caller: good morning, c-span. as far as american business principles and all that's, there's boon a lot of -- been a lot of decades perspective from things like issues like that come up, like oil. yeah seem fairly well read and well educated. i think i remember hearing you call in at some point kgo to the show in san francisco. your affiliation with the republican national committee. so -- guest: that's ok. i'm not in any way associated with the republican party. i was born in san francisco. that's my home area.

but i'm a journalist. host: let's go to arizona. republicans. dan, good morning. are you with us? stick by are you with your phone. becky. caller: ok. here i am. host: go ahead. caller: i wanted to talk a little bit about the reason for the marriages being a mess and the schools. the reason that marriages are falling apart is because of one thing. it's the law that they passed, and i don't know when it was, called no fault divorce. so anybody that wants to get out of a marriage because they met someone they like better, someone who makes more money, whatever, they can just dump you. it's been done to me twice after working like a dog to get

two men through college. and once they got out, once they graduated and got a good-paying job i got dumped. host: i thought you were done. do you want to talk about the marriage issue in this country? guest: no fault divorce has been around now for decades. it's not exactly new. and before that, people would have to manufacture perhaps maybe allege true reasons becky. there was a lot of character assassination. so i think no fault divorce is a good thing. host: i want to give you a choons we started by a definition of the american dream. is it time for us to redefine the american dream? sit going to have a different definition another 20 years from now? guest: no. i think what we need to do is get back to the american dream, the principle that the founders

set that our rights come from god. to get back to the principles of government outlined in the constitution that cuts the federal government to a limited role and leaves the rest of the states and the people. ifrpbleds i think the american dream is alive and wole. it needs some fixing, some tweaking if you will. and i think the country is poised to do very well in the coming years. i look forward to a vigorous debate between the two parties over the next year. host: and look forward to a vigorous debate when we have the two of you on again. thank you both on this fourth of july morning. guest: thank you. host: upnext, lawrence hurley will be taking a look back on the term that was at the supreme court. but first on c-span's "newsmakers" this week. morning.

guest: have made the system worse and we've destroyed the ability to get some kind of bipartisan compromise on the steps we need to take as congress. so i think it is easy for people to attack donald trump for what he said. i think they ought to listen to what he is saying. i actually know donald trump.

he is not a racist. he is trying to characaterize the fact that a broken immigration system can lead to a lot of problems like crime if you don't know what's happening. the challenge i would get back to, do we actually know everything about this population that we think we know know, the illegal population? because we ought to know. we ought to embrace all of those folks who can make america stronger better and help grow our economy. host: i'm curious about your thoughts in terms of trump as a candidate. we've gone through this where a couple cycles where he's made noise but this time he's in the race but some think if it creates a circus type atmosphere. is he a good voice to have in the g.o.p. primary to have? guest: i think there's a political click in republican and conservative circles.

some people are in and some people are outside the click. donald trump is iconic classic. host: he's not the candidate that a lot of people that work on republican campaigns would probably favor. but he resonates with a lot of americans. it's undeniable. that work on republican campaigns would probably favor. but he resonates with a lot of americans. it's undeniable. host: reuters supreme court

correspondent back at our desk to take a look at the last completed term of the court known as the 2014 term of the supreme court. your piece that was out yesterday in reuters had this headline in the supreme court term obama wins big and loses small. explain that to me. guest: in the term that just ended the obama administration as a lot of people heard won some pretty big cases. the biggest one being that just ended the obama administration as a lot of people heard won some pretty big cases. the biggest one being the challenge to the affordable care act subsidies. the court upheld in a 6-3 vote and the court also obviously nationalized the zpway marriage, which was an issue that the obama administration also supported although they weren't parties in that case. so the summary is that they did lose -- they do lose cases before the court and it is a conservative leaning court and parties in they lose a decent number of cases. but this year they won big

ones. host: what was the biggest loss for the obama administration? guest: probably a case decided in the last day of the term last monday when the court found that an environmental regulation was unlawful. host: talk about a conservative court. there's been headlines in the past weerk since the end of the court's term that this was a less leaning term, even a liberal term. what's your take on how this term has played out? guest: it's certainly true that the outcomings of some cases have been one that is liberal people have supported. but that doesn't mean it's a liberal court. it doesn't mean that even the reasons why the cases came out as they did is because the justices neffsly voted in a liberal way. just the luck of the draw. host: some of the criticism including ted cruz taking to the floor of the senate after the affordable care act decision on federal subsidies. here's a bit of his criticism.

>> naked pli political reasons the supreme court willfully ignored the word that congress wrote. instead, read into the law their preferred policy outcome. these judges have joined with president obama in harming millions of americans. unelected judges have once again become legislators. and bad ones at that. they are lawless. and they hide their provocation in legalees. our government was designed to be one of laws. not of men. and this transparent distortion is disgraceful. these justices are not they hide behaving as umpires calling balls and strikes. they have joined a team and it's a team that is hurting americans across this country.

host: is the criticism of the court hasher this term or is it just because of the nature of the cases they're more high profile, gay marriage, affordable care act? guest: there's always criticism. just this year the criticism is coming from the right instead of from the left. so some like ted cruise are not happy with the affordable care act decision and the marriage decision. but in previous years liberals weren't happy with the decision that struck doub part of the voting rights act or the citizens united decision or the decision last year in the hobby locky case about companies being able to make religious objections to government action.

liberal justice is that you need to vote. there are only four democratic appointees on the court. if you're going to win a case, you kind of have to go along with what the fifth vote wants and the fifth vote is quite often kennedy. so they don't really have much choice if justice kennedy is the vote that's going to help them get the result that they think is the correct one. the law then they sort of have to go along with his rationale.

host: one story noting that the number of dissenting opinions by the conservative justices ballooned in this term. perhaps shoying that they weren't as to believe on cases as previous terms. guest: is certainly true that the conservatives did seem very plintrd to the point that they were taking pot shots at each other sometimes on kind of sometimes issues that didn't have anything to do with the case that they were deciding. it's unclear exactly what that means. it may just mean that they just like to add -- air their griefances. on the other hand maybe it suggests that liberals are better at keeping their mouths shut. host: we've asked our viewers to weigh in on the supreme court. what were the cases that you were watching and your thoughts on how it came up.

first greensboro, north carolina. good morning. caller: good morning. i just wanted to make a comment regarding the republican senator's quote. i don't recall the republicans screaming when the supreme court gave the -- the president away and gave it to bush. i'm just curious as to why they're screaming so much now. host: the history of the criticism of the court after a term screaming when the supreme court gave the -- or decision. guest: as i was saying earlier that when there's a liberal decision the conservatives complain loudly and vice versa. so it's nothing new there. host: los angeles, california is up next. ted line for democrats. good morning. caller: good morning. i just heard ted cruz's speech about the supreme court and their decision. and obviously he was unhappy with that.

has it ever been determined whether or not he's able to run for president run for president it has civil

unions just what it's supposed to be. but to take religious instance and attack it. the decision same sex marriages were already taking place in 36 states. so not quite the case that the supreme court came in and it's something that has been happening in many states. that the there was a refrpbls to i think some of the justices who

presiding over same sex weddings before the decision. host: all the cases that go, what was the biggest surprise in your mind of this term? guest: i'm not sure. i mean, i've been doing it long enough to not be surfriesed, the biggest surprise i guess. and i think the obama care case could have gone either way. i think with the marriage case we had a pretty strong sense it was going to happen because justice ant ni kennedy, the swing vote, had made it pretty clear in previous rulings that he was heading on gay rights. it seems like the liberal justices were supporting. so that one wasn't such a surprise. host: is justice kennedy after

deciding with the liberal wing of the party or of the court the cases that this term? guest: he is still the key vote for the lab rals. but this time there were a couple cases where he wasn't. there was of course the health care case where the chief justice also came over to the lishral. also there was a couple of cases where -- well there's one kay where justice thomas was the swing vote on a first amendment case on license plates what the government can amlou it to show on the specialty license plates. and then the chief yusstiss was the swing vote on another case about judicial elections which justice kennedy was one of the dissenters. host: the license plate case having to do with specifically the confederate plag on the license plate. host: how much do you think that when that decision came

down right after the charleston shooting, how much do you think that influenced the debate over the confederate flag that has become sitch a big issue in this country since then? guest: i i mean, it had a direct practical effect. as soon as that came down virginia said we're not going do have those plates any more. as the states followed suit, they had a practical impact. although obviously the debate would have taken place anyway but did have the immediate effect. host: missouri. raymond on our line. guest: i want to make a comment in regards to the marriage

supreme court law. one comment is it is not a marriage civil right. it's a moral issue in regards to marriage. and still last two years ago homo swult was considered by the american psychological association a deviant behavior. the bible certainly considers a homosexual an abomination. so my comment is that the court ruling on black and white civil

rights issues. it is a moral issue. host: a deviant behavior. the bible certainly considers a homosexual lawrence hurley, in any of the dissenting opinions in the supreme court was there anybody saying that the court didn't have the standing that they shouldn't be deciding on this issue because it's a moral issue as the caller was saying? guest: not so much that it's a moral issue. but it was an issue that the court should be deciding but wheven the majority of the spreement court says it's a civil right, it's a civil right. caller: good morning. host: heam happy fourth of july. guest: the same to you. i just wanted to comment on his

statement. he has a lawyer should know that the court can decide a case based on the totality of the law and not on a single word within the law. they have to look at what the legislators were thinking in trying to determine. and when they read the history they can clearly see that they didn't mean that just this one word. so it's time for them to stop whining and crying. when they ruled that a corporation was a person therefore they could give out unlimited amount of money and speech when we know a piece of paper which is a corporation will not be good if i stab it with a knife. so therefore it's not a human being.

host: can you talk about his background as a lawyer and his history of work with the supreme court? guest: ted cruz was a clerk on the supreme courted. clerked for the former chief justice and used to argue several cases at the supreme court when he represented the state of texas. so he knows the law. and he disagrees with the majority of the supreme court on this one. host: about a half hour left in today's show. we're taking your comments and questions about the 2014 term of the supreme court. tony. caller: happy fourth to bodes of you. it's very interesting conversation. i don't know how to exactly phrase it. number one, with this marriage act, could it come back before

phrased a little differently? to the supreme court? i was under the impression that it couldn't be passed but it was passed maybe as a moral thing than a factual constitution. host: your but question is whether this gay marriage question could come back in some sort of different form to the supreme court? caller: yes. where it could be back. guest: there are some remaining

lool issue the other side is

that if they're elected probably be even more political than they are now. host: michelle. line for be helped?

and what i don't understand, even how could you have multiple sclerosis, breast cancer, and trying to pull down the still for women to have the necessary thing that is they need? buzz these republicans democrats, or ironedents, whoever you'd better stop it and you'd better stop it already. because running for president, this is not a jock. -- joke. this is not a game. those people didn't kill democrats or republicans. i'm an american. they didn't care if a black or white or purple child was in there. i don't understand some of these women who have husbands that are republican. go look at your daughter, go look at your mom, your sister.

host: reuters has a graphic on all the cases and how they came down, all the major caseses including king v. burwell. you can see the six justices that decided the majority in that case. you can scroll through the graphics if you want to check them out. let's go to charles waiting in arkansas. caller: good morning. host: go ahead. caller: i think it's time we have true representation. this system is designed to keep the people's will from being represented. a party that says we'll do what the people say. the republicans want people to tell people how to think and the democrats don't want people to think at all. we need a party that's going to respect what people think and do what they say.

and let the will of the people be represented in this country. host: you don't seem to trust the party system in this country. do you trust the supreme court? caller: more than i do the republicans and the democrats. they're all one party. they're a big government party and they are designing the system to disenfranchise the voters. host: i want to get you to weigh in on this especially how this is seen by chief justice john roberts this idea of americans trusting the institution that is the supreme court. guest: i think for anyone on the supreme court, anyone who is a judge at any level system is important for the way that our whole system works for the judiciary to be seen as being impartial and above the party

politics. so that's something that they always have to be careful with. and if you're on the supreme court, it's even more delicate because you get these if you're on the supreme court, it's even more delicate because you get these huge cases that are very devicive. host: and you have dissenting opinions in which the justices can be very critical of the reasons quhy. why. caller: i had a couple comments. california is obviously a blue

state. they had a referendum and they all voted no for gay marriage. however, they put judges in to change it. they didn't have the will of the people there. and also, on the aca they took the totality of the entire bill they said and made a judgment. but i wonder how much or how many of them watched grover who the president and all their little minions said that he had nothing to do with writing the bill when we all know now that that was a lie. host: what is the solution in your mind taking the court out of the process doing referendum on some of these major issues? host: well i'm just saying if

the people vote in the state like california, they voted if the people vote no. they wanted a man or woman as the law. but guess what. they put federal judges in at local levels and nay changed it. host: got your point. do you want to talk about the history of the zpway marriage cases? guest: it's true. that's what happened in california. proposition 8 was passed by voters and then a federal judge struck it down. of course the rationale that that federal judge adopted is similar to what the supreme court eventually ruled. is that a referendum passed by voters can't stand if it infringes on other people's rights. it needs the protection of the law. a lot of other states passed

similar bans to california. host: one comment on twitter as folks are following along. looking ahead to the cases. what are going to be the most high profile cases we'll be talking about a year from now? host: one, a lot of people think, a case out of texas about that state's recently passed abortion restriction. the court last week put a hold on that law. the case is coming up through the appeals court. so that suggests coult well take that case up. that would brings abortion back

to the supreme court in ra big way for the first time in almost 10 years. it will be the whole question of whether these restrictions place an undue burden on women in texas. host: that probably if they do take it up the most high profile one. also, an upcoming case they have taken up on union fees. guest: this is a case they took last weerk. here in the fall. this is a case that coiled overturn a supreme court precedent that's pretty old that allows unions pubblingte public sector unions that require nonmembers to pay feings the equivalent of dues because of the benefits they seem of getting as the role of the union negotiating on their behalf. if the court overturns that that would be a huge blow to public sector unions as part of this ongoing battle they've been having in certain states with republican governors.

host: states for argue ymingts to be heard on that yet? guest: in the fall sometime. host: tulsa, oklahoma. lois. caller: yes. i'm a psychologist nearly 70 years old. i am not gay or lesbian but i do believe that people at really not making a legal comment because i'm not an attorney. all i can tell you is constoif and i vote for the council and i was the only one out of 15 there that would talk to gay and lesbians if they had problems or not married or whatever. and i got a good education by being open minded and wanting to know. and some of these people, who

are we to say that they're supposed to -- there's different kinds of reasons people are the way they are. host: so whatchesf what was yoir reeaks when your heard that the gay marriage decision had come down? curves i was the only one in my -- caller: caller: i was the only one in my family that said good. some were marching in oklahoma city and i said i will not go. those people suffer enough. i'm not going to add to their problem. and a caller earlier said a few years ago gay around -- to be gay or lesbian was considered a deviant behavior in the dsm digenostyirk book. those come out about er ten years and i think the first one

i got when i graduated was in 1980 and i don't think it was called a deviant behavior then. it -- it was -- i don't know. he must not come from a psychology background. but those books there's new ones that come out each time -- they're real thick books. they don't come out every year. they're about five too ten years. and i'm not sure if they're updating them ten years apart or what. u people i talk to some aren't interest ed sf sex at all. one woman who was raped as a child could never have a worm

-- normal relationship. i don't know about normal. host: we'll go to arthur. good morning. caller: good morning. i just want to know what the supreme court. host: say again. caller: the purpose of -- what good is he on the supreme court? host: your reading of clarence thomas? guest: he's on the right of the court and often writes his own opinions. so he swrr rarely agrees or doesn't agree with the legal nitty-gritty. so he has his own place on the

court. host: roger, tallahassee, florida. caller: i just wavent to make a couple of comments. one, i think it's bad enough that supreme court can zick tate what's right and what's wrong in this country instead of the law makers doing it. but in addition to that why is it that they are allowed to tell everybody on the court. host: roger, in this country as christians and as anybody else that doesn't believe in gay marriage that we are forced to have to marry these people when we don't want to instead of just making it easy enough where they can go get married. if you want to be gay that's your problem. i think it's wrong. host: when you say be forced are you talking about a relings or legal per spect yoif? caller: well i don't believe

in religion. i believe in god and christ. just not want usf us to condone gay marriages. why silt o ok for them to force zoun that we have to marry these people when it's against our beliefs? host: i want to ask you about oods upcoming case in the 2015 term of the supreme court. guest: it's a second time they've heard this case about a white applicant who didn't get in and challenged the affirmative action prasm they have there. -- program they have there. so they took it the first time a couple of years ago and sent it back on a technicality. and the court went back and took a look at it again and now

it's come back up. so another round a long fight over affirmative action. it's not clear whether we'll get an affirmative decision on this case. sometime over the summer they'll set the caleddor. host: with the number of -- calendar. host: with the nurl of cases, this time maybe 10 or 15. there are a lot more cases are decided. guest: i'm lucky enough to cover all the boring cases they

take about 70, 75 cases. intellectual property and criminal caseses where an inmate is challenging their sentences. so there's issues that the court listens to that don't get a whole lot of attention. host: we focus on 5-4 doe sigses. are most cases if we're going by sheer numbers decided in unanimous decisions? guest: a lot of the rulings are unanimous. again, you don't hear about those so much. the closely divided cases on politically sensitive issues. host: what is the most interesting that maybe weren't on these list of the top cases? host: that's pushing issues. host: it. i can't rerm.

but plenty of cases each term. long beach, california. caller: good morning. when you look at the same sex marninge decision, you have four men who said no way two men say yes all the three women said yes. whether or not they're knowledgeable descriptions there is a book that says women will rule over you and children will be your op pressors. thosh you go to another scrip tier. as in the days of know awe there was violence he said i will just rain everybody out of here. and now sod m and gomro. so you can keep track of how well the world continues on because somehow or another we manage to have russia as an enemy of ailt nations on the

planet earth we've got to select the rigses. so we'll see whether these negatives have any script tral background. host: michael good morning. caller: good morning. happy independence day to you gentlemen. as to all americans. host: you too. guest: i've got two questions. one lawrence didn't answer from another caller when he asked his -- if he thought that two of the justices, i believe ginsburg and kagen should have stepped down in this case because they officiated at a same sex marriage. that would be like justice

scalia being a key note speaker at an nra convention and then sitting on a case that had something to do with the nra. my second question is do you have a law degree? if so where did you get it from? guest: there is a code for the justices that they follow. and they usually recruise themselves when it's something like they own stock in a company that has a case before the court or family member who is a lawyer who sin volved in a case or justice breyer has a brother who is a federal judge. this marriage issue is probably a little different and these marriages took place in

jurisdictions where same sex marriage is already legal. so -- and the justices they get to decide ultimately whether they're going to recruise themselves or not. host: your background on covering the court? guest: i don't have a law degree at all. i've just been covering the law for about a decade so i've kind of learned through osmosis. host: supreme court reporter for the los angeles daily journal. covered maryland law and politics at the daily record in baltimore before that. our guest for about the next five or ten minutes or so if you have questions or comments about the 124e term of the supreme court. line for democrats. good morning. we'll go to alabama.

line for independents. caller: good morning. two points. the councilor who taked about the dsm and how homosexual and lesbian was listed, that was changed in the dsm from deviant behavior back i think in the early 70's. before that time it was listed as a deviant psychological behavior. the other point i wanted to make on the same sex marriage ruling i think most people because it's such an emotional issue the true meaning of what they did or what the people who advocated for same sex marriage did, they were attempting and they have done it to tap into

the financial and economic benefits afforded married couples by the government. in other words, prior to this ruling, and some of the other states ruling for them they had no legal redress when it came into assets and the benefits of their partners. for example, in the 70's and 80s when the aids epidemic hit and a lot of people were sick those partners in many cases could not visit them in the hospital because they were not relatives. also, social security va benefits military benefits, retirement benefits in the private sector, unless and until they got the same sex marriage law in and being recognized by the government, they had no true rights to

that. now, it had been chipped away but this ruling made it universal. in other words, they wanted -- when you fill out your income tax return, everybody can relate to this, a married couple which in the past was a male and a female, they got higher income tax benefits than a single person. i know because i've been single all my life. host: where were you when you heard that the gay marriage decision had come down and what was your reaction? caller: on a personal basis i don't necessarily agree with that lifestyle. but what i'm trying to say is that it's so emotional -- they never cared about what people were talking about religion and the bible because if you remember there's a term that everybody talks about separation of church and state. so people who call in and constantly talking about what

the bible said and god said, the people who advocated for this they knew that that wouldn't stand as far as our constitutional government goes because we always talk about separation of church and state. host: lawrence hurley have a few minutes left. i want to ask you about a story that you were working on the supreme court's financial disclosure statements came out this week. what's the interesting aspects of that? what did you find? guest: there isn't much of interest often except it con firms what we know already i think partly you know it's an issue of transparency. people like to see what the justices have been doing. they have to disclose any outside income. they also have to show what their investment portfolio is so they can see whether they have stocks in a certain company. you can tell from the statements which don't come out

until a year after the fact you can see why justices might recruise themselves in a certain case. for example, there was we saw from these forms that justice alito had recused himself in a case last year involving coca-cola. and we could see that he had stock and he actually sold them and then he got back into the case. host: let's go to bonnie. caller: thank you for it seems to be very unbiased answers and that's refreshing. i have no faith in either party at this particular time. i vote both republican and democrat. i voted for obama in 2008 not in 2012. he's lied. but getting to the supreme court ruling i feel that if the state votes on it and the

people don't think that's the way it should stay, i believe in states rights and i believe that the system being manipulated to change state courts to get what the government wants or what the party wants at the time is wrong. i do believe that the justices that performed the gay marriages -- i don't care who sleeps with who not my concern, not an issue. i do believe that the definition of marriage is not sexual. and i don't care one way or another whether gay rights were approved or not doesn't matter to me and i don't care one way or another whether gay rights were approved or not doesn't matter to me either way. i do think multiple marriages should be legal just like now the gays have. but marriage is between a man and woman multiple or not. host: all right. line for republicans.

good morning. caller: preamible starts with we the people of the united states. and i've always understood that to mean that the people hold sovereign at the republicans. in this country. what do you think that means? and then number two, is that we're supposed to have coequal branches of government, congress supreme court, president. i don't remember anywhere in the constitution that the supreme court can rule over what the congress has passed as law and amendment says all powers not given belong to the states. host: our last 30 seconds or so on the constitutionality of the supreme court. guest: the supreme court decided that itself that it could have judicial review over acts of congress. host: and did it within 30 seconds. lawrence hurley, appreciate your time as always. on tomorrow's show i want to make sure that you tune in.

you will see noam talking about the proposed changes that the obama administration is putting forth on overtime pay. we'll also be joined by paul rodman of the american prospect and james antiol of the washington examiner to talk about some of the issues in the 2016 conat the present time. and robin of npr will join us to discuss the impact on the u.s. and global markets due to the ongoing debt crises in both greece and puerto rico. all tomorrow morning on the "washington journal." in the meantime, have a great indns day. -- independence day. [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2015]

>> next, a discussion on how the first amendment is used today in debates on speech privacy and other issues. then opportunities for immigrants. after that, the results of a survey on the challenges facing undocumented college students. tonight on the future of the times. sunday night at 9:30 eastern members of the church committee former vice president walter mondale and senator gary hart on their efforts to reform the intelligence community.

then why the bill of rights was created. sunday live at noon join our three-hour conversation with best selling author and government accountability institute president peter switeser. ought american history tv on c-span3, tonight at 8:00, here in brooklyn college classroom lecture on the revolutionary war . sunday afternoon at 4:00 on real america, a look back at a 1960's film fi featuring joe brown. it are complete schedule at c-span.org.