change. and, advice for taking the u.s. government advanced placement exam from high school teacher daniel larson. ♪ host: good morning to you. it is graduation season for the class of 2016. along with college diplomas, many students are leaving school with mountains of debt. thange graduates hold more one trillion dollars in student loans and 40% of those are under federal programs, behind in their payments. what has launched a new effort -- bernie sanders has made free college tuition a centerpiece of his platform. we want to know about your experiences paying off student loans.

if you are between the ages of 25 and 40, call us at 202-748-8001. order than 40, 202-748-8002. if you are under 25, you can call 202-748-8000. you can also send us your thoughts on social media. again, we are talking this morning about the growing problem of student debt. are some charts from the boston globe using data from the department of education. of collegerage cost 0uition has risen from $2000 for a private four-year college

average for a0 on private four-year school. costing aversities little over $10,000 in 2000. $20,000 risen to over in the most recent year that it is available. large increases in the sticker price of a college education. that does not factor in the amount of financial aid that students may be using. 78% of students who attend private four-year colleges received some type of financial aid. collegettend a public receive financial aid.

40% of those who have taken out federal student loans are behind on their payments. the wall chart from street journal that shows 22 million americans have federal student loans and 43% of them were either behind or received permission to postpone those payments. 3.6 million people in default. that means they are at least 360 .ays behind on their payments three percent are delinquent, meaning between 31 and 360 days behind on the payment. 3% in postponement. 12.5 million people are current on their student loans. the amount of student loans outstanding, the amount of student debt is greater than the amount of auto loans, credit cards or revolving home equity loans.

here to break down some of these numbers with us and give us more information on the white house plus program is an education reporter at politico. according to you. -- good morning to you. what is the white house doing to address this problem? number ofere are a things the white house is doing and that congress has been trusted in doing to address this. none of them are going to really stick -- fix this problem at the root of the student debt issue. college is too expensive and people have to take out big loans to pay for it. right now, you are seeing a lot of initiatives that look at helping student borrowers repay their debt. there's been effort to keep interest rates down, which

important, buts it does not help curb the cost of college. the perspective of education policy, there's a few things going on that are interesting. the federal government backs the student loans, but they do not actually administer them. is not the federal government making sure that students are paying their loans. it's these outside companies must be loan contractors. -- student loan contractors. the government is turned to give incentive totors make sure students are repaying their loans and doing a good job. doing a badm are job at that. the are not paid by government based on the performance of students they are

overseeing. some of them are not doing nearly enough to try to keep borrowers on time, give them information they need to be responsible with their loan. it doesn't sound like as big of a deal, but it could stand to make a big change. . host: we've heard about the concept of loan forgiveness and maybe allowing some of these student loan holders to simply not pay part of their lives if they have low incomes, etc. the white house has done a lot to expand the loan forgiveness for certain student loan borrowers. like people who go into the public sector and work as teachers or government employees can now get their loans forgiven after a certain amount of time.

student loan debt is one of the only forms of debt that cannot be discharged with bankruptcy. however mother are a number of things for very specific students. -- however, there are a number of things for very specific student groups. forgivenessfer debt for students who attended for proper colleges and were taken advantage of by those for-profit colleges. if they go to a for-profit college that has been found to be defrauding students and it shuts down come in the past, there was legal language that allowed the federal government but --harge that that that debt, but it was rarely

used. the obligations for students weapon seriously defrauded could make a big difference and you are sick students who attended -- seeing colleges students who attended corinthian colleges clamoring for that kind .f relief host: you mentioned the potential for congressional action. i don't think we are going to see much until next year when we have a new president. rewrite theeed to higher education act. this is one issue where lawmakers have heard a loud and clear from constituents that people want a change would comes to student debt. there are a lot of different

ways to do this. it will be front and center when they do get around to reauthorizing the higher education law. you will see more action on that front next year. host: the root cause is the rising cost of a college education. has there been any proposal to address the core issue? you are starting to see proposals like that float around on the hill. there's a lot of disagreement over how to handle that issue. but a lot of interest in handling it because policymakers understand that is a root problem. when idea is this idea of putting skin in the game. you see this as part of hillary clinton's education platform. institutions should be responsible for making sure the

money student aro is worth it. students borrow is worth it. we needed new metrics to judge whether the money students are borrowing is worth it. i don't think anyone would argue that, for most students who take out loans to attend harvard or a top law school or medical school , it can be expensive but a really good investment. people would like to see the amount of money more lined up with the amount it benefits the students in the long-term. host: that is maggie severance from politico. thank you for talking to us this morning. severns from "politico." under 25, 202-748-8000.

40, 202-748-8001. columbus, ohio. over 40 line. caller: thank you for taking my call. 1948, i was going to college in michigan. my dad was helping me out. it was chump change compared to today. it's ridiculous that we don't have a plan like the country of france has, if you get high enough grades, you go to college for free. did you know that? host: bernie sanders has proposed free college tuition for everyone as part of his platform. the you agree with that -- do you agree with that?

caller: absolutely. it is ridiculous. what we've got here, only the upper class -- it's ridiculous that these kids are getting good grades in school, cannot go to less thand have $50,000 in student loans. this is supposed to be the land of the free and the home of the brave. -- got the billionaire class by the way, when i went to college, my boss told me, you can work 30 hours a week, i will make you a full-time employee. in 1948, he made me a full-time and raised my pay from $.80 to one dollar an hour and i got medical benefits and life insurance.

host: a few comments on twitter. bill from athens, georgia is up next. good morning, bill. caller: my comment is similar to that. 1960's, you could for about $1200 a year for everything. you go down there and drive a truck, worked construction, worked on shipyards and you can make that much money. you cannot do that anymore. i don't know why college costs have gone so out of place.

president obama spoke last week with student reporters on college training day. here's what he had to say about what his administration has done. [video clip] >> we expanded health grants to make sure more young people could access it. we created the pay as you earn program that ensures people can cap the amount they are repaying on their loans each month so that young people who want to go into jobs that don't -- that are not as lucrative are still able to pursue their passions while managing their debt load. we are aiming to enroll 2 million more people in pay as you earn by this time next year and you can find out how at studentloans.gov/repay.

makingalso going to be additional announcements about how we will get our agencies coordinating so that as young people are managing their student loan debt, there is one-stop shopping, they can figure out how to do it and make there are consumer protections in terms of how they are being treated in the repayment process. host: we are talking about the problem of student loan debt. we are taking your phone calls for th. to is calling on the 25 40 line. college, wherety i went to college -- i did get a loan and my college education cost about $8,000. now, people are paying $40,000. it is just crazy. take out aou have to

loan or were you able to pay out-of-pocket? caller: i took out a loan. i'm still paying it off. host: how much longer do you have? caller: i have about $3000 left. not long. host: i'm next caller comes from davenport, iowa. jack is on the over 40 line. caller: i paid off my student loans but the interest rate was 3%. i went to school in the 1960's and 1970's. there's too much protection for the banks. bankruptcy laws were passed to protect banks and they got into the same trouble and collapsed the system. just asd to make loans dischargeable in bankruptcy as a

bad house loan. , you willcannot pay not have debtor prisons anymore. call it like it is. reinstate think of to laws so that kids underwater that cannot married,nnot get cannot buy a house, cannot move s.t of their parents basement let's be realistic. host: the presidential candidates weighed in on this issue. here is donald trump in an hill." whyith "the is the federal government making money on student loans? he says he is the best presidential candidate to help millennials.

now, here is bernie sanders's campaign website. makelatform it is time to college debt free. start by making tuition free at public colleges and universities, stop the federal government for making a profit on student loans, substantially cut student loan interest rates. allow americans to refinance loans. he would pay for this by imposing a tax on wall street speculators. -- noillary clinton

student has to borrow to pay for tuition, books or fees to attend a four-year public college. she would enable americans with existing student loan debt to .efinance let's get back to your phone calls. romney in california is calling on the over 40 line -- ronnie in california. i took out a student loan at a place called associated technical colleges. it was only about $3000. it was back in the 1980's and i'm still paying that. i am paying triple of what i actually borrowed. the interest kept building and building, the school went under.

the instructor was caught in the bathroom doing cocaine. so, i did not pay for couple of years. back iniled income tax the 1990's, they took my money and said i owed all this money like $20,000. that don't make any sense. host: what do you think of the s proposals or the white house's plan to limit the amount of households impacted by th defaults? caller: as far as these technical colleges charging these enormous interest rates over the years -- i only borrowed $3000 and ended up

paying $20,000 back. i've been paying for 15 years. that is crazy. schools like that, they should the federal government should check them out better. mary from massachusetts on the over 40 line. go ahead. caller: thank you. -- first ofllege all, not everybody should go to college. some people should go to technical institutes, the people should just go into the workforce after high school. that, this student loan business is crazy. i have a very close friend, they don't have any money and yet, they are allowing their youngster to go to the most

expensive college in the united states. that doesn't make sense. if parents would sit down and tell a student like my parents did with us, we cannot afford to send you to x college, but there is a good one right in town. right there, room and board are taken care of. that's about $30,000 right there. my sister and i did a survey with regard to these colleges and my friend could send his for to college in the state one third of the cost. andle just don't sit down figure these things out. i think a lot of the student debt is on the onus of the parents who have allowed students to go to college is they cannot afford, just like

people who live in houses who cannot afford them. host: next up, susan from --tana on the line caller: i had my experience, i ,ent to a community college took out student loans to get an rn degree. i was astonished at the interest rates. , but i felt like being an american and trying to educate myself from a lower -- the interest .ates just floored me host: how did you take out these

loans? who did you borrow from? caller: from the school. the kind of promoted them. you go into rooms and fill out paperwork and you would get these loans for gas and books. it gave you know life. -- no life. it was the first time in my life i do not have a full-time job at the same time. then, when i finished school, i worked so hard and the interest rate was triple what i imagined. host: have you finished paying? caller: i finished paying it. now, i feel really bad because my grandson -- my son died.

to payngest son has for college on his own. his girlfriend got pregnant, adding more stress to his life. he had to take a full-time job, try to go to college. he had to drop classes for a while and the college called his loan. now, they will not allow him to enroll in school. host: janine from charlotte, 40th carolina on the 25 to line. 2008r: i went to school in for criminal justice. i got my student loans down to $5,000 and change.

haveer, because i do not , i have$2000 loan fee to start back paiying. if they can forgive somebody debt, why can't it? just a race -- erase they cannot find my student loan. the information is on my credit score. get it paidying to

off. i have a son, he is seven years old now. for student loans to last that long -- host: a few comments from twitter. some information from the education department. this story in "the wall street journal." education department officials note that some defaulted loans are from prior decades. the government is severely limited in its ability to write

them off. some borrowers are not repaying, even when they can. barbara's prioritize other bills such as car loans, mortgages and heating bills. -- borrowers prioritize other bills. from melbourne beach, florida. john is weighing in on the over 40 line. points.i have three , all collegesmost are scams. scam.phase of it is a

the point that hillary is trying and ie versus bernie don't want to see people who are rich getting a free college tuition or anything else free. we the middle class have toported that for too long let them have the inside track, which they always do. i would like to see c-span do a comprehensive study on airtime given to the candidates currently in the race. my experience is that donald trump gets the majority of the time, bernie sanders gets the likeand hillary clinton is left back in the dust as almost

a non-candidate. i would like to see c-span do an evaluation on its own airtime that they allow candidates to explain their positions. host: andrea from connecticut on the over 40 line. go ahead. -- andrew from connecticut. old, a i'm 50 years disabled veteran. i just finished paying my loan off a few years ago. donald trump is right. people in our government, instead of helping the american public, they decided they will use us to make money off of us. they've done it with everything. these loans are getting unmanageable. younger kids are very unreliable these days.

there's a lot of abuse. push classesing to on me to get the money from the u.s. government. i had g.i. bills. push me intoing to courses that were just ridiculous and i did not eat. if i did not take control, i was going to end up paying in next or $10,000 so they can eat up money. were just that ridiculous and i did not need. politicians are making money off the middle class and the poor. with paul ryan. we voted for donald trump to stop this and he seems to think it's about his agenda to jump in. more data for you. report.from a gallup

, the averagedebt amount students are graduating with. for all students, you can see that 37% of students do not have all.ebt at 28% have between $1000 and 25,000 hours. andhave between $25,000 $50,000. when you look at the breakdown --race, black students have only 20% have no debt at all. for hispanics, the majority -- the most number of hispanics

have $25,000 in debt. the amount of debt held by college students b there is dramatically by race. dave is calling on the under 25 line from california. on the underalling 25 line from california. i'm listening. segment you are iowing the correlation -- would like to work and go to school. ging to go to

school. the economy is driven by -- host: the next caller is dave from michigan. dave is calling on the over 40 line. i want to look at this from a different point of view. i think we are wasting our time spending so much money and putting so much attention to the college. where we should be paying k12.tion to is from -- k-12. the teachers unions in these countries smother or try to discourage any creativity in our children through political

correctness, global warming and other ideas that expels that if you disagree with this sort of stuff, you are politically incorrect. when my father came home from china, he said the students in china, when they left the 12th grade, were capable of entering any engineering room with a competence in engineering and thermodynamics. 12 graders in america are bored with mathematics. host: is your argument that you feel that high school students are not prepared to take advantage of a college education ? caller: host: high school -- caller: high school students are

deprived of a proper education. they should have calculus when they leave high school. they should have thermodynamics. host: a few more thoughts from twitter now. our next caller is rich from troy, ohio on the over 40 line. i do a ride share and i pick up a lot of college students. i talk to them and question them of what their majors are in the what they're going to do when they grow up. the majority of them say i don't

really know yet. yet, they are paying all the student loans. why don't they look at the athletic departments? some of these coaches are making $5 million a year. that is kind of crazy. that is totally out of hand and somebody needs to look at that. we are talking this morning about student loans and a growing amount of debt held by students and the parents. we want to let you know some of our other programming as well. today, president obama will give his first commencement address, talking to the graduating class at howard university in washington, d.c. is chris fromr michigan on the over 40 line. what do you think about student loans?

caller: thank you for taking my call. to u of t in toledo in the late 1990's for speech language therapy. she is 60 now and she will be paying her loans for another 25 years. that was even after i renegotiated in 2002 to get her interest rate lowered to 3.5%. originally, she owed about $45,000. she is not even working in that classification. in?: what is her degree speech language there. she would only be making about $35,000 a year. therapy. language

she will be paying for another 25 years. host: with the amount of student loan debt you still have to pay , how has that affected the money you spend on other things? caller: greatly. she will be paying $380 a month for the next 25 years. she has been paying it for the last 12 years. i cannot lower it down anymore. we consolidated two loans into one. it is just ridiculous. have tohy the kids think about whether major is going to be, how much it is going to pay. host: more information from the gallup and purdue university poll on student debt.

have you delete any of the following because of your student loans? those who have taken out a loan, $25,000 or under, 40% of them say they have delayed going back to school for more training. with loans greater than $25,000 have delayed going back to school. home.ve delayed buying a many have delayed buying a car, moving out of the parents home, having children, starting a business or even getting married because of payments on their student loans. d.c. on thengton, over 40 line. i have a grandson that started his school. , his fatherdeceased

was incarcerated. he came home from school. he now owes $17,000. somethinghe signed that put him in debt. he came out of school to try to assist me. is there any amnesty or help for him? host: what school did he attend? caller: a school in north carolina. know if it was a for-profit school, public, private? caller: private. host: i hope your family member finds some relief. jordan from jennings, louisiana on the under 25 line. what is your story? caller: i don't personally have any college debt, but around here, i talked to people at the gas stations, the cashiers.

they have a lot of student debt and they are cashiers. can pick go to college or work and it seems like a big issue. most people around here are really religious and it seems they will get off by god is going to take care of everything . host: did you go to college? caller: i did not. host: why did you decide not to go? caller: i can barely afford rent. from next caller is jose california on the 25-40-year-old line. caller: i was always trying to tory -- education is

me, when i got out of high school, i started my job. , but in thatation time, i learned the person that was there running the business, he taught me so much. man, old school. here's a you run it, here is how it has to be. colleges say education is very knowledgeable. much -- i learned so ran the business in 10 years. fromave so much knowledge

lots of people who are real americans. host: we will leave it there because we are out of time. we will continue talking about your money and about the economy. irwin will be joining us to talk about the latest job numbers in the state of the economy. later on, we will talk about the $48 million federal grant to facing entire community climate change. first, this weekend, our c-span cities tour takes book tv in american history tv on the road to san bernardino california. coming up today at noon on book tv, all of our programs will be

airing, including the history of terrorism. >> starting with the history of terrorism, terrorism has the story of samson, he was captured, tortured, blinded, and sent to the lions. what did he do? down the temple. killing thousands of innocent people. samson wasay that the first suicide killer in history. and it continued on and on and on from generation to generation. something really modern or something recent, or something islamic. this has been around for for ever and ever.

the act itself, the nature of the act, the reaction of people to oppression and violence has been around a long time. rebel, -- ,> both iraq and afghanistan the constitutions being the facilitator on key issues. considerable. heads of state are very anxious to meet with you. formeray night, ambassador to iraq and united nations discusses his memoir. extremists exploited.

at theh we corrected it end of the period i was there by reaching out to the sunnis and , toding up iraqi forces bring about security, violence was way down, but unfortunately, when we left, and the vacuum was filled by rival regional powers pulling iraq apart, violence has escalated in we have isis now. >> sunday night at 8:00 eastern on c-span posture "q&a." "washington journal" continues. host: joining us now still erwin, the "new york times" senior economic correspondent. he also worked at the "washington post".

thank you for joining us. we will be talking about jobs. here is the story in the new has times that says hiring picked up. machine -- job's the 160,000 payroll increase reported by the labor department follow the best two years ofetch since the tech boom the 1990's. what did you make of the numbers? guest: we had a few several months in a row. these things jump up and down. you've seen these numbers totally consistent month after month. this has seemed the usual bouncing around. it was a mild winter, that means there is more hiring in the winter.

there are less jobs added in the spring when the weather improves. that may be part of it. what we are seeing is a jobs market on a steady trajectory. ways not booming quite the that it seems, but growing at a nice steady pace. host: the unemployment rate stayed steady at 5%. is that a good or bad thing? guest: we all wish the unemployment rate would get lower. that said, there is something to be said for a nice, steady unemployment rate. that as employers are adding jobs, they are filling those jobs by pulling people into the labor force, who were not even looking for jobs and now finding a job. the unemployment rate is staying steady because that is happening. if the unemployment rate was theping much lower, -- labor market is so tight that you see inflation and the federal reserve raising interest rates, which is slow things

down. host: 5% is the national average. it does very. here are numbers showing the unemployment rate. for whites, it was 4.3 percent. blacks, eight point 8%. asians, three point 8%. for hispanics, 6.1%. guest: it is not just a race. you also see the same thing among college grads versus noncollege grads. see it in different geographies. have a 3%places that or 4% unemployment rate. other places have my percent or 10%. 9% or 10%. host: you can join in on our conversation with neil portland as well. your are the numbers. if you are unemployed, call us

at 202-748-8000. part-time workers can dial in at 202-748-8001. if you hold a full-time job, 202-748-8002. everyone else call 202-748-8003. we are speaking with neil or one of the "new york times." the story in your publication this morning talks about wages. what have we seen happened to america's paychecks should mark -- america's paychecks? wast: in april, the number up 3/10 of a percent hourly earnings. that is up over the last year and higher than inflation. inflation is low. 2.5% is not terrible. when inflation is under 1%, that

amounts to a meaningful rise in buying power and earnings. at the same time, we have seen much stronger wage growth. you will often see 4%. the question is whether that changes? do we start to see the labor market tight enough? employers say, if i want workers, i have to pay more. host: you wrote a piece for the upshot, workers are getting more of the economic pie and shareholders a little less. american workers are reaping fewer gains of a growing economy . shareholders are reaping more in corporate profits. that shift has been one of the more important economic stories of the last several decades and is key to understanding stagnant wages and a soaring stock market. that trend appears to be reversing itself. why? guest: a couple of things.

we are 5% unemployment. it is a tighter labor market since 2011 and 2012. employers are having to pay more money to their employees because they have no choice. if you want better workers, there are bidding wars happening. that is good news. on theer thing is corporate profit site, there are pressures pushing down corporate profits that were not there a couple of years ago. energy prices are way down that is hurting energy companies. also, there is -- companies, paying what they are workers comes out of profitability. company profits are down, workers' pay is up. it is starting to reverse. host: let's bring in some of our viewers and listeners. wayne from harrisburg, pennsylvania is calling on the unemployment line.

go ahead with your question are common. caller: i would like to know, when you are looking for a job, they want to give you a credit check, right? then they want to know if you have been locked up, right? they ask you all this stuff that even be asked.t why would you want to credit check somebody? mostly the minorities are unemployed. when is somebody going to do something for the minorities? the hispanics? the blacks? when? we have a black president and we need this done now. we have no time to wait. president obama got in office, -- since president obama got an office, blacks are having a harder time. issue wayne raises this of people having criminal records not to be able to get jobs, which is a real issue.

a crime andcommits does their time, the idea you get out of jail and a lot of employers have a box on the job application, have you ever been to jail? that is really problematic if you want to help people we enter society and be productive. there is a movement trying to make that illegal or a less common practice, called ban the box. there is a lot of discussion around these issues. , the tighter the labor market is, the better it are on thele who fringes of unemployment, who want a job, but have a hard job getting one. at the time of a percent unemoyment, employers have their pick and can hire anyone they want. lower, get to 5% or employers might say, you know, i generally wouldn't higher

someone with a criminal record, but for this job, i need good people. they know what they are doing, even though they are not my ideal candidate. host: keith from chicago, illinois. keep hold a full-time job. caller: wow, that was quick. i understand some european countries have a minimum wage for their citizens regardless if they are working or not. when they are -- and then when they were, they get a wage above the minimum wage, so that could control the costs of unemployment so employers can hire more people. what do you think about a minimum wage regardless whether you work or not? calledthis is a version a universal basic income. the idea is if you are in a rich country, create some threshold

that everybody, whether you are working or not, you just get a check in the mail or money put in your bank account. it's a low enough number. you can't live high on the hog with that check. but what you are is added to that. it is not been tried on a large scale anywhere. northern european countries have a more extensive social welfare system than the united states. quite tohave not gone that step. every adult gets a check every month or something like that. it is one of these intriguing ideas. is this something, if you took away a lot of the bureaucracy and make it more efficient, as that of the thousands of people tried to figure out where they are eligible for benefits, you cut a lot of that overhead and make sure nobody is below a certain threshold of poverty. in ay is really trying it large country.

but it is one of those ideas discussing more -- being discussed more. host: the jobs report was a topic in president obama's press conference. inseven years ago of april 2009, the economy lost 730,000 jobs. aprilyears later, in 2016, our economy added 160,000 new jobs. that makes april the 74th month -- e businesses have created 14.6 million new jobs in all. wages have been rising at an annual rate of more than 3% this year. the unemployment rate has been growing. unemployment has been falling. and wages have been rising.

the global economy, as many people are aware, is not growing as fast as it should be. it -- there is lacking growth in places like europe, japan, and china. in the united states, people are still hurting. we have to do everything we can to strengthen the good trends and to guard against some dangerous trends from the global economy. and if the republican congress joined us to take some steps that are pretty common sense, we could put some additional wind at the backs of working americans to create new jobs. to create infrastructure, they should invest in schools and bridges. in flint, michigan, that shows you the kind of work that needs to be done. we could be putting people all across this country back to work with huge multiplier effects

across the economy if we started investing in the infrastructure that will make us more productive. to reward some of the hardest working people in america, congress should raise the minimum wage. this is something that would not only help those individuals who are getting a bigger paycheck, but it also means they are spending more and that would be a boost to business. to level the playing field for american workers in krakow on unfair foreign competition, they should pass smart new trade agreements and congress should reform our tax code to promote growth and job creation which includes closing loopholes and simplifying the tax code for everybody. host: we are talking with neil irwin of the new york times. how is the economy playing out on the campaign trail? guest: it is funny. one of the big lessons from political science over the last couple of decades economic

conditions matter for elections. there won't be an incumbent this time. economists -- economy matters. if it the employment rate you want to pay attention to -- is it the employment rate you want to pay attention to? gdp? what we are seeing in terms of wages matters in terms of how people think of the state of the country as they go to the polls. what we are seeing are earnings up 2.5%. low inflation. maybe not what it was a limit to thousands thousand, but a solid number. that suggests things aren't so bad. host: edward from fort collins, colorado is our next caller. edward is calling on the unemployed line. go ahead, edward. caller: hello. host: hello, good morning. , whyr: i would like to say is the 5% employment --

unemployment rate always thrown out there when that is such a false figure, a false percentage? only the percentage of how many are applying for assistance. it just keeps getting thrown out there and makes you guys look foolish as a government. is not quite right. so the 5% number is flawed. it is not the end all be all of the state of the economy. it is not based on who is getting benefits, it is based on a survey that the labor americans of,s of do you have a job? are you looking for a job? -- it is true that it is not capturing everybody. if you have not been looking for a job in the last month, you don't get counted as unemployed. you could work, but you are kind not you don't count in those numbers. there are other measures to understand what that looks like. for example, 9.6% is a broader

measure of unemployment. almost twice as high as a 5% rate. that includes part-time workers and people who have given up looking. that is one way of thinking of the broader number. atre is also -- if you look the adult population that is not working, that is 42% of the entire adult population. that includes plenty of people that we would not expect to be working -- college students, retirees. so if you are looking at that broad number, and some candidates have you said number, to get to that number, you have to include some of these people who are not working. if you want to use something broader than the 5% number we that my can look at

.6%. -- 9.6%. host: surely from evansville, indiana is our next caller. she is calling on the full-time employee line. go ahead, surely. caller: yes. i wanted to ask you a question. [indiscernible] we have little kids playing on the computers. they shouldn't have gave it to him. he was in the government business and he messed up some -- he playing mind games. playing mind games on the computer. police hit cars and stuff. all right, surely, do you have a question about the economy? caller: what we can do is move

arward and raise money just little bit more for them to keep the jobs, tell obama to straighten that out and move forward because -- host: all right. let's move on from -- let's move on to ryan. good morning. caller: hi. my situation was, my wife and i were both working, making $60,000 a year. we had a second kid and started looking at what am i doing working at a job that doesn't have a lot of prospects for the future? so i quit my job. i saw that over half of what i've made went to federal,, state taxes, social security. didn'talth care that we

need necessarily. host: ryan, are you hoping to go back to work in the future? are you a stay at home dad? caller: i am a stay-at-home dad right now until my kids are in school. host: all right. that is my from oregon. neil irwin? to thewhen you get situation of both parents working and childcare, it looks like a pretty good wage until you are paying the monthly cost. after-tax money -- it is a top problem. host: tom cole from the full-time line. you are on the air. -- tom calling from the full-time line. caller: mr., you are doing a great job protecting president obama. explanation about the total number of people unemployed and you obfuscated by saying --

all of those people have been another administration. what are you talking about? that you usedon to protect the democratic party and protecting president obama is just ridiculous. guest: people can disagree. the numbers are what they are. this is not a perfect economy to be clear. this is an economy with major flaws. the income of the family in the middle of the income distribution is lower than 2007. that is a profound failure of our economy to work well. we have a lot of economic problems. the question is, what do you look at? are you looking at the way things are changing? or the absolute level? on the absolute level, there are a lot of ways that economy is worse than it was back in 2007.

in terms of direction, most things are pointing in the right direction. trend, unemployment trend, those are going in the right direction, not as fast as people would like to see. this is a deeply flawed economy. in trajectory, i look at the numbers and take what the numbers say, which is a are heading in the right direction. host: one of the problems that peasrote about in a recent upshot is productivity. what is this concept of productivity, and why is it so low? guest: if you are talking about weaknesses in the obama administration -- what we have wage growth. for every hour americans were, we are not seen the kind of gains in economic output we saw in earlier eras. mick to thousands, that number was 3.5%. -- mid to thousands, that number was 3.5%.

way, good in a short-term that means it is more hiring relative to the economic growth. that is part of the reason unemployment rate is low. a long-term, that is really bad news because it means that the open driver of income is how much economic output a given worker can produce any given day or hour. if that which growth stays low, it implies that you are not going to see your grandkids be richer than you are. part of the reason we make more than our grandparents did was because we had growth over the last 50 years. if that does not change, it is a bad sign. economists have struggled to figure out why it is happening. what is clear from the data is that it is happening and has been one of the biggest negative economic trends. are on thet, you air. caller: yes. am a college degree person.

i have three college degrees. two in engineering. one in acting. i build solar panels, solar amenhouses, and here i unemployed. , i watch the businesses in my neighborhood all owned by foreigners, and that is no big surprise why blacks are the most unemployed people in america. indon't control any money our neighborhoods. how alle's a secret on the gas stations and stores are being owned by the indian population. host: all right, lamont from

georgia. we will hear from another caller. up next, ralph from chicago, illinois. caller: from time to time, the unemployment formulation changes. , theted to ask mr. erwin history of the changes in the consequences of those changes. aret: the main number we talking about, 5% unemployment level, i am not sure they change the definition of that in a long time. survey the as. do you have a job? the one a job? have you looked for a job in the last month? jobpeople who don't have a and one a job at the people counted in that 5% unemployment rate. i am not sure when that definition was changed in a meaningful way. that said, this speaks to what an earlier caller was saying.

thething about interpreting economic data, there is no one number that magically captures everything going on in and $18 trillion u.s. economy with 320 million people. this is slices of little pieces of the picture. to understand what is going on in this complex economy, you cannot just look at what number like the unemployment rate and says, that answers it. the trick is not to treat the naemployment rate as some man from heaven. put it in the context of all the other data we get from all and putsector sources that together to create a picture to understand what is going on in the economy. the answer that it presents is the economy is getting better. it hasn't healed a lot of the years,from the last 10 but it is heading to the right direction. twitter, how from

has gdp growth over the last seven years? guest: gdp growth has been growing. we had percent -- we had growth in the first quarter. it is not growing nearly as fast -- it is not -- the relationship is not as strong between gdp growth and employment growth. we are seeing good employment growth and weak gdp growth. that has been -- that will ultimately become a big problem if we keep seeing this pattern where there is low gdp growth, growth,hly strong job -- host: from longmeadow, massachusetts. michael is calling on the unemployed line. caller: good morning. i wanted to talk about the jobs added figure. it is my understanding that in

order to keep up with the -- keep up with attrition, people retiring and dying. you have to create, or fill 250 -- 250,000 more jobs. thatyou make the statement jobs are created in the implication is that there is 168,000when you have new jobs, you have not created anything. you have lost 70,000 jobs. up, every president goes there, every correspondent says, we added so many jobs this month. is labor participation rate back in the 1970's. host: that is michael from massachusetts. the number of long-term unemployed was 2.1 million. the size of the labor force was

6.28%. we are talking with neil irwin of the "new york times." guest: the caller is right in some ways, but wrong in the particulars. all, true -- first of 168,000 jobs added in april, that is a net number. if 3 million people were hired million lost their jobs, that is a net number. there is a certain level of job growth to keep up with the growing population. 250,000, it isot 100,000ish. see some baseline level of job growth just to keep up with a growing population. we are well above that and have been for the last couple of years. host: trudy from utah is up

next. caller: hello. , do you see this prolonged poverty that the united states seems to be suffering? no jobs and locate jobs etc.? there is no better way to keep people quiet if they are worried about when they can get a job, or when they can pay their rent, when they can eat. that is not how i think about what is going on. there are a lot of forces that have reduced the supply of good, middle-class paying jobs for people without advanced skills in the economy. a generation ago, people who could work in a factory or in a number of areas for reasons that are complicated and we can talk about endlessly, there is more entry-level work in less than those kinds of jobs then someone

with a college degree could earn. it is a great challenge, a great crisis and a lot of ways. we have seen this on the campaign trail, how many people are deeply dissatisfied with the outcomes happening and available to them. the next president, the great challenges will be trying to figure out ways to help middle-class americans who -- americans earning middle-class wage because he had been left behind in the economy in this last generation, and it is complicated in its reasons and is hard to solve. it is a crisis in a pressing concern. host: many economists and investors looked at the friday's job numbers as a potential signal for what the federal reserve might do in the future. what is the decision facing the federal reserve and how do these numbers implemented? guest: the fed is trying to decide have quickly to raise interest rates. had seven years of growth. they have concluded that the

time for trying to boost economic look this over if they keep doing that, we will have inflation. the question is how fast to remove that -- how fast to raise rates? were going toey do for food more races this year. they backed away from that. rates yet't raised this year, but they could still do it in june. in july.ly, looks like in september, they will start .aising rates it is about .5% now. the quest to know -- the question is how strong is the economy? -- canraise the rate 2% they raise the rate 2%? how strong is the economy and how quickly do we have to move to raise rates to head off inflation down the road? them in thetosses

direction of moving slower, but not by a wide margin. betty is calling on the unemployed line. caller: good morning. how are you all? host: we are good. the key tocomment is inflation or the problems and united states is to support people. support people in always, education. wages, i mean, i have been looking -- i have been working 17 yearsrkforce since old. i worked at a chemical plant for 16 years. our --egan at $2.30 and $2.30 an hour. if you would look at the whole picture, when money is spent, jobs are created. money is spent by poor people.

out theree will go and by clothes, shoes, and furniture. from all right, betty humble, texas. is an interesting point. it is a case at people with lower incomes are more likely to spend money. one of the arguments of what has beenwrong, as there has income equality, as the wealthy have gotten higher wages, they are more likely to save money and not spend it. it is an interesting idea. policies.different if there are minimum wage increases being discussed in a is onestates, that approach to it. there are other government tools ' wages.ase peoples there is the earned income tax credit, a policy that essentially makes -- for people

in the working class that will income levels to enable them to be paid more in after-tax dollars for their income. there are different policy approaches that can do the issue. the general point is right. had lower levels of the pay it is been few and far between for a long time. on theike is calling full timeline. good morning. go ahead. caller: good morning. i have a statement and a brief question. i have a full-time job. due to inflation, i make less now than what i did years ago. where for a company business has been down 30% this year. in taking care of that, they do brief layoffs or shutdowns for two or three weeks during the summer. i beg to differ about the unemployment rate. i think it is more along the lines of 20%, especially out

west. my question is, i saw the clip a few minutes ago with president obama. he said in 2009, we lost 700,000 jobs and the unemployment rate was 10%. he says we now added 160,000 jobs and the unemployed rate is down 5%. how do you cut that in half when you haven't even added half the jobs back? guest: remember, those numbers are cumulative. 2008/2009 recession was very bad. we did not read on directly from that. it is not likely added 700,000 jobs and month to have an instant rebound. this is a very slow, sluggish recovery, but it is a growing recovery that grows month after month. the recession it in the middle of 2009, 7 years ago. we have had seven years of this fragile, grinding, improvement

in the job market. so we are finally starting to get back where we were in 2007. we are not quite there yet. we were down 4.7% in unemployment in 2007. but the way mathworks, seven years of grinding improvement a profound crisis. host: do you see certain sectors in the economy adding more jobs and others? guest: yes. this has been the case for a long time. some of the real weak spots are mining. oil prices are very low so into inergy expiration has fallen off the cliff. a lot of service industries are doing reasonably well. manufacturing has been up and down. horizon,longer time manufacturing a stronger. market on the line. go ahead with your thoughts.

caller: i hope you can hear me ok. ok. you really should get john williams from shadow stats on. i wanted to know, small business development is at an all-time low, what can be done to stimulate small business development because most jobs are small business related jobs. -- that is what i would like to ask. guest: new business formation has been quite low as the caller is suggesting. of whys a rope question we had been see more activity in the last two years. -- they they companies companies are using regulation to keep competitors away.

is it hard to get a business loan. it is a real problem. if i had a definitive answer, i would tell you. it is one of the real weak spots heard -- it is one of the weak spots. chris is calling on the line for part-time workers. you are on the it. caller: i want to agree with the last caller. shadow step is a great resource. the caller from texas about employment in low-wage workers. the reason i am calling as i think this discussion also needs to take into account consumer credit, which has been on the rise. morepeople are taking on debt, they are less likely to spend. that is how you can have low unemployment and an in the mix gdp growth. anemic guest: gdp growth.

anemic gdp growth. guest: it is a tricky balance. we don't want people to get overleveraged. i am not sure we have the balance structure right, but it is an important challenge for the economy. another question on the federal reserve from twitter -- mr. irwin, what would be the impact of the fed reducing their

bloated balance sheet? guest: i am skeptical we will see a big inflation problem. is toode, the problem little inflation. yet the bank of japan in central banks, federal reserve trying to get inflation higher. they want to percent inflation. it has been -- they want to percent -- they want 2% inflation. they could sell off assets on their balance sheet. they could raise interest rates. .5% short. .here is a long way to go that is not the fundamental problem the world economy is fixing right now. it is a glut of oil, unemployment, downward pressure

on inflation. host: we have time for a few more colors. next, joe from rawlings, maryland on the full timeline. geo, go ahead. i would likerwin to mention that my father is in his 60's. he said you don't trust the guy counting the beans. that is where america falls right now. guest: but the caller is suggesting is that if you don't trust the government, you should not trust the data. there are plenty of private sector sources giving out the same stuff. the company did their own employment report based on their client hiring hundreds and thousands of workers. there are different private .ector surveys they are all pointing in the same direction. they are saying the economy is

expanding. maybe not as fast as we would like, but it is growing. statisticsent's collections -- there are always conspiracy theories. long -- the white house gets the numbers before everyone else, but only -- it is not situation where they are telling us what to do. it is an independent agency. if you don't trust it, i respect that. a lot of private sector sources are showing the same numbers. host: our last caller will be wrong from pennsylvania. good morning to you, ron. caller: a lot of colors are calling and about the 5% unemployment rate. we always know that. it is a case when george w. bush

was president when it was 10% in 2008. none of these callers find the phone lines, sounds like most a conservatives, saying in 2008 the rate was 10%, it was actually much, much higher. you don't repeat from them on that -- you don't hear a peep from them on that. thank you. guest: the u.s. economy is in much better shape. it is always a tendency to look around what is around you, your friends, your neighbors. country.ig what these numbers are is a way happening.nd what is it doesn't answer all the questions, but helps you understand a piece of the puzzle. it is the best we got. host: neil irwin is seen economics reporter at "new york times."

talk about a $40 million grant struggling with the impacts of climate change. later on, it will be time to cram for the exam. opening the phone lines to high schools only for that conversation. american history tv on c-span3 is marking the 40th anniversary of the 1976 relief of the church committee report of activity. here is a preview from this weekend's program. and brings us full circle back to the constitution and to the assurance, the extent that that thesure constitution is understood and loyalty is a constitution given by every public servant. toi think he comes back

something by all officers of what this agreement by all with the limits and responsibilities of the constitution are. is notblem we have had just in this area, but in many areas. over the past 30 years, you have in executivese power. a 30 yearn, after period, you woke up one morning, and here was this preacher. each of the steps were on the steps. i think they were honest people, dedicated people. they thought what was best for the country. i don't think they were out to destroy the liberties of the american people. what happened in my judgment in this area where i got sucked in

and should have known better and were many other more intelligent, sophisticated people got stuck, is the whole concept of some inherent executive power that really extends beyond anything contemplated who made the claims. recently, our campaign 2016 resmed midi visited pennsylvania during his primary. college,at growth city slippery rock university, washington and jefferson university where students, learned about our road to the white house coverage and on my interactive resources. visitors were also able to share their thoughts about the upcoming election. our bus ended the week in pennsylvania to honor seven 19 graders for their winning video. a special thanks to our cable partners, comcast and armstrong cable with their coordination.

you can view all of the winning documentaries www.c-span.org on. "washington journal" continues. is coral next guest davenport. thank you so much for being here. guest: it is great to be here. host: you are here to talk about climate refugees in federal money being spent to move an entire community. your story is placed in a place called isle de jean charles, louisiana. tell us about this community. charles is ae jean tiny island on the south coast of indiana -- of louisiana. it is a community of native americans. they have lived there for generations. now is washing

away. naturalthat is due to coastal erosion that happens the matter what. that has been exacerbated by the oil and gas industries coming in and digging trenches and digging out a lot of the land. it washes away much more quickly when that happens. this sort of triple punch that is really threatening the existence of this island is sea level rise due to climate change. .he sea levels are coming up now the island has lost almost 90% of its land mass in the last several decades. scientists say it is just not going to stick around. so the federal government looked -- as they look at how communities can prepare for climate change, the federal government says, maybe we can give money to help communities build dams and levees to prepare

for sea level rise and climate change. in this case, they said, that would be a waste of money. the waters are rising, they are flooding. the little road that connects the island to the land, several times a month, the people who live there, their homes are being flooded regularly. kids can't get to school. people can get to work. the federal government is coming million to move this whole community inland was from the island. host: we have been showing a few of the photos that were associated with your story of this island. -- it is justust a sliver along a much larger body of water here. there were some great aerial photos taken. photo there.he why does the federal government feel a responsibility to help the people who live in this community? guest: the grand for this

community came as part of a much larger $1 billion grant put out by the office of housing and urban development. they opened it up to the state and said, states can't compete canet money for -- state compete to get money. the obama administration has tried to make climate change a cornerstone legacy issue. a lot of that has taken the form of climate change policy, reducing, dioxide emissions. science is showing a third amount of climate change -- there is a certain amount of sea level rise inevitable with the warming that has already happened and that is projected to happen with or without certain emissions cuts. theadministration and states and communities are saying, all right, signs are showing as we are going to have a certain amount of sea level

rise in a certain amount of flooding. there will be more extreme storms in some places. communities and cities prepare for the changes that we know are coming? opened up this competition. the money went to 13 communities and 13 states. as i said, almost all of that was for things like strengthening infrastructure, preparing moving buildings. this did out because this was the first ever expenditure of u.s. tax. dollars to move and entire group of people -- to move an entire group of people in preparation for climate change. host: you have spent a lot of time talking to people. how do they feel about the potential of leaving their homes? intenset is a very conflicted emotional reaction. people, they are part of these native american tribes that have been there for generations. this is their ancestral land for

is annt, fish, and there ancestral burial ground. a lot of people feel very emotionally attached. they don't really want to leave. yet, other people, especially i was a younger people with families, or people going to work every day will say, last month, i wasn't able to get to work for food is out of the month and i had to call in and lose those days of pay. i just can't go on like this. or, that same number of days, the school bus can't get to the island. and i will get a call, you have to pick up your kid. if this is going to be regular, daily life, people will say, yes, this is our land, will -- but we can go on living like this. on the other hand, especially be older people who live there who are retired and not going to work. i built my house on stilts and

know how to live like this. we have been hit by storms and floods and we are resilient people. there is intense distrust of the government as well. this is a native american community. it reads like, the government is going to come in and move us to a place they have chosen that upsettingof connotations. it is very emotional and very conflicting. host: you can join in on our conversation with coral davenport. here are the phone lines -- we are breaking them up by party lines and a special one for coastal communities. democrats can call 202-748-8000. republicans, 202-748-8001. 202-748-8002. host: tommy, what do you think?

caller: i have a question. with all of the drought taking place around the world, witnessing levels rising, wouldn't that eliminate drought like places in california and hawaii and everything else would balance out? especially with technology to divert water to other places. guest: that is a great question. the science of climate change ares that the impact extreme, but very different in different locations. coastal areas, there will be rising of sea levels, although it will happen unevenly. meanwhile, the caller correctly pointed out that there will be -- climate changes are expected to exacerbate drought, especially in places like sub-saharan africa, parts of india, and the problem is, it

doesn't balance out. rising sea levels on the coast don't balance out inland route, but the drought -- inman isught, but the drought expected to contribute to large movements of people. we could see 200 million people displaced by the impacts of climate change by the middle of the century. this of the people in vulnerable communities and subsistence farmers that would experience more and stronger drought in the longer be able to support crops. thataller does point out scientists are working on technology to better irrigate improve agriculture. the impacts of climate change are unevenly distributed and don't necessarily balance out. host: next caller is from tulsa,, oklahoma. go ahead. caller: good morning. what is amazing is we're into this discussion about so-called

effects of climate change. and yet, the villain in climate change is not being discussed, which is carbon dioxide. foron dioxide is necessary all plant life on earth, and therefore, all human life. the debate once to ignore the fact that optimal plan growth occurs whenever carbon dioxide is three times higher than it is today. it has been higher than that in the history of the earth. so this whole thing is climate dictatorship. the in dictatorship uses not to list carbon dioxide, which is no one could live without carbon dioxide. no plant could live, no human could exist because we exhale carbon dioxide. there is no discussion --

host: coleman, we hear you. anst: the caller makes important point. co2 is all around us and is essential for plant and human life. what carbon dioxide does is trap heat. it is known as a greenhouse gas, a category of gases that were identified by physicists in the 19th century. basic physics have found with the massive increase in carbon dioxide in the atmosphere from burning fossil fuels, more and more heat is trapped in the atmosphere. that is what contributes to climate change, and you get to a point where you have all of the carbon dioxide unique in the atmosphere to support human life , to support plant life, so then when you have a higher buildup in the atmosphere trapping the heat, you get more heat in the atmosphere, and that is what starts to cause a problem. it is a very -- it is complex

physics. but the caller makes an important point, we need carbon dioxide to live. scientists are telling us we got a little too much which traps the heat in the atmosphere. host: in your story, you use the term "climate refugee." wellkerry uses the term as bring to your story. here is what he had to say. >> there was a story this morning about climate refugees in america. some of us have been talking for years about the potential of climate refugees going back rio 1992.wo rio a suddenly, it is a reality. there is so much reason to be talking about energy transformation. particularly in the context of economies and what is happening with oil and other options that are available in the world.

host: we are talking with coral davenport of the "new york times." what is a climate refugee? guest: that is a great question and one that is wide-open for a debate right now. an international legal definition for a political refugee, and that comes with it, a set of legal obligations. -- for someone who is not the definition for a political refugee. within the international community, the u.n., and governments are trying to say, should we create a designation, international designation for a person who has been forced to leave their home for the demonstrable reason of climate change? that is such a can of worms because people have been fleeing their homes due to extreme weather, due to drought and storms for generations.

how do you know if one particular event is deafening due to climate change? in some cases, climate change might exacerbate a drought. the drought might lead to food shortages. the food shortages could be contributing to little uprising and distress, and that combination could we what drives people away from their home. but the studies do show that climate change is going to be a contributing to moving and displacing people, and if people are forced to leave their homes and climate has been some part of it, what should governments do? who should be responsible? should governments have an obligation, particularly the major polluting economies, to -- whor people who have would have left in some way due to climate change at go this is a conversation starting on the

international agenda. we will see it hash out within the u.n. and with any major economies over the next several years. i don't think there will be an easy solution. there will be a lot of pushback in creating this definition. theidea could be opening up existing u.n. treaty on refugees. amending it. so this is going to be a very hot, thorny, contentious question that will be debated on the international stage. the "new york times, you wrote about this one community in isle de jean charles, louisiana. it are there other communities in the u.s. becoming climate refugees themselves? guest: the other community is another native american community in alaska. these are native american

communities that are experiencing, not necessarily sea level rise, but the melting away of their coastal communities. so, the interior department in the state of alaska has been trying to figure out -- the same sorts of questions. do you move an entire community attached to the land? this is another example where the community and their livelihood, identity is attached to the land. we do you move them? what do they go? what if they don't want to leave? is coastal alaska communities are literally melting away. ast group is being looked at , another group of the federal government may step in and try to create a plan to move them, but that has not happened yet. is what is sothat distinctive about isle de jean herees -- here is a money, is the program, and we are doing it. host: stacy is on the democratic

line. caller: which is wondering why they are on refugees when they are american? i think the government is responsible for poppy locating them to another profitable land. the caller glad thought that appeared climate refugee is -- it does not have a legal definition. it is the term being talked about and when you use it, people understand, it is a person displaced due to climate change. these people aren't leaving the u.s.. they're not going to another country. so, it does not have that legal refugee claim to another country. this is how government officials , you saw secretary kerry refer to them in that way, but this is a term that is going to be hotly debated. the question of whether it will get a legal definition is an

open one. the 100% term would be people displaced by climate change. host: our next caller is a member of a coastal community. peter is calling from doma, new jersey. caller: hello. my name is peter boyce. i am an inventor of electric power plant. for 30 years now, i have been researching meteorology with regards to wave energy and its effect of the wave energy on the coastline. ist of the coastal erosion coming from the turbulent release of energy from the waves breaking on the beaches. in the process of that research i have done, i have come across 32,000ne petition by american scientists, 9000 of them are phd, meteorology, stating that the computer models that global warming is based on,

or ford models. to me, it appears politically, that to give a definition climate refugees is to get a blank check to the right nations -- to the united nations to shift populations at a whim. where man is now able to control the weather. there are patents that have been issued over the past 30 years with regards to whether control. host: that is peter from doma, new jersey. one more point for our guest coral davenport, michelle writing in townhall says propaganda itself suggests that erosion of isle de jean charles was a result of land management factors that had nothing to do with climate change.

is climate change the real corporate -- the real culprit here? host: in terms of isle de jean charles, there are three pieces. one is nationally erosion. it second is the oil and gas industry came in and dug out a bunch of panels as part of extraction. that exacerbated and increased the speed of the national coastal erosion. a third piece is rising sea levels due to climate change. so this island is expressing a triple whammy. we are seeing rising sea levels and coastal erosion all over the place, that is normal. then you have rising sea levels due to climate change coming in and exacerbating that natural process. we make sure to make that clear in the story. from britain,ne tennessee is up next on republican line. jaclyn, go ahead. caller: this is the most

ridiculous thing i have ever heard in my life. america, theof government wasting our money. it is just appalling. i have never, ever -- i have been watching c-span for one solid week totally almost all of i have everything on c-span is a wasting of our from themoney government, from obama, from john kerry. it is insane. host: all right, jaclyn, we can you this morning. it -- the caller raises the caller raises and important piece of this debate. it is a lot of money, $48 million. shocked when i made the

calculations. it is a big project. gets at the complication and cost. moveis is $48 million to 60 people, it makes you scratch your head when you think about what of the other costs coming up? but the price tag associated with dealing with the impacts of climate change. if the government spent $48 million to repair infrastructure and then it had been washed away, the price tag associated with dealing with it in the amount that the government is , looking atspend expenditures in the federal budget, this is going to be at the heart of the debate about climate policy going forward. how much is it costing taxpayers? what is the right amount of money?

where should it come from and who should pay? all of these are going to be big debates going for it. host: how did they come up with $48 million for moving these residents? your story, it looks like the residents have not even moved yet. guest: no. the state in the parish, the regional government in louisiana are working together to find a spot of land to buy to move them. they have not settled on that yet. the state that apply for the grant from the federal government. this was an issue within louisiana and within the had beenthat officials grappling with for a while. it was very clear that the community was in some kind of crisis and something needed to be done. so, they had been figuring out how to budget this at the state level. aturing out how to budget it the local level. there was a lot of paperwork already associated with this

problem and these proposals. so the opportunity came up for a big government grant. they knew what they wanted to ask for. but again, they haven't bought the land yet. the logistics of doing the moving and will they build all new housing? an "itthis is still appeared -- all of this is still an open question. caller: thank you very much for c-span. how come george soros is buying up stocks by the millions? how come obama bought a house right on the ocean in hawaii? i could not tell you anything about george soros' personal investment or his portfolio. know anythingt about obama's personal real

estate choices. i will say that a lot of homeowners who are looking at buying coastal property are starting to look sometimes at what the projections are showing us about sea level rise. there has been a number of said showing that she levels are rising faster in the mid atlantic in the u.s. than in several other places in the world. so, coastal property in places like north and south carolina, --ginia, new jersey homeowners and property owners in those areas are starting to look at what could happen to this property in 20 years, 30 years? given what the projections are showing us about rapid sealevel rise. host: we want to get in a few caller some coastal communities. lonnie is from louisiana. what you think? caller: yes ma'am. i was wondering about -- in the news lately, i have heard in the

south china sea, i was with being billed where there was nothing -- islands were being built for there was nothing. it seems to me that some of the money that would go into moving them, especially the people who don't want to move, could it be that some of that money could go to building more land with a already have a start of land? i don't know. i'm just wondering if this lady knows about that. guest: the question of how to spend the money and what to do with this community was sort of, should you go in and build the land back up? could you elevate the roads? could you elevate the buildings? could you make it stronger? do something like what they are doing in the south china sea? and the assessment was, sea levels are rising so rapidly, this land is already so vulnerable, that and expenditure like that -- that an expenditure like that would eventually be

waste of money. you build it up, but the sea levels keep rising. that is why they made this extraordinary choice. ordinarily, it would make sense to build up the land and the infrastructure, but they decided -- the government decided ultimately, the science was showing it would be washed it was a better use of money to move the people. again, an extraordinary choice. give weight to what can actually be restored, rather than moving people. host: tom, go ahead. good morning. caller: good morning. inave worked and lived malibu for the last 40 years. history ofistoric land-use.

people whof land -- want to live and can live on the ocean have paid millions of dollars to live there. the government has no right to anything we climate change has been occurring for about 200 million years. i have never heard of anything that is dumber. twodo have lots of soil to tidal waves. that can simply be replaced. it is done locally. we don't need the government involved. host: we hear you this morning. a comment from twitter, why are refugees being relocated? why can't they decide for themselves to be relocated if they want to?

on thisne point particular case, if people who live there don't want to move, they don't have to . it may well be that on this particular case, if people who live some choose to stay behind. is of the difficulties utilities may stop serving the island. if there are only a handful of people left, the state may no longer prepare the road that goes to the island. the government is not saying that everyone has to move. again, in other parts of the necessarily are not government programs. people will leave, and go.

another example that they looked at his bangladesh. low-lying islands, coastal erosion. a very impoverished and vulnerable community that has been identified already as honorable to rising sea levels and storms. some studies have shown that in the coming decades, over 10 million people might have to leave. where they will probably try to go is india. of concern up a lot political questions, when you start to see levels move in like that. this is what demographers to study the issue say could we in the works. the question is what do governments do. obama administration officials have in talking with other

countries and governments looking at this program saying, -- could set a precedent how could we relocate people? the idea is figured out before large numbers of people leave in the wake of a disaster. on is up next. good morning. you are on the air. caller: i would like to say that this is all more or less like a religion. this is junk science. they started putting these monitoring stations up around the south as far back as 1972. feet them placed within 35 of the restaurant spewing

greece. they make up the numbers. weather is weather. it is always going to change. it is never going to stop changing. host: both go to one more caller, stand from california on the independent line. caller: good morning. thank you for taking my call. have no sufficient knowledge on climate change, no comment on .hat, on the bangladesh situation, i think climate refugees would be an appropriate term. thank you. host: this is a question that

came up around hurricane katrina . the people displaced, where they refugees? guest: legally you would say a refugee is someone who has crossed international borders. if you're more casually talking using the word refugee implies someone who has fled terrible conditions. i think the caller, i like his term. i don't know if it will catch on. new. all very what will become the term used broadly, all of this is the debate we will see unfold in the coming years. -- : i want to talk about

parents and grandparents live here, there is a cemetery on the the bitter dispute between the two indian tribes it ishwarted efforts -- not just a matter of moving to a new place where they live happily with neighbors. bit aboutlk a little how people on the island are approaching this decision? guest: with anxiety and great , theust in the government ancestors settled there in the trail of tears.

this idea that the government will come in and move them, there is a question, where do find a where do you large enough plot of land, to find a place where there is no one else there? there will probably be other people. all of this is thorny. there have been a couple of meetings. officials have gone door-to-door . there is the fear of the unknown the distrust of

government, and a deep attachment to the land. then there is the reality that it flooded again. the house is flooded again. trailer slide so frequently that they lost electricity. what is interesting is the parents in the family really wanted to leave. the children said, this is our home, our community. even though they miss school sometimes, and they are young, they felt more attached and connected. they said something that could well be true. we could all move to some new place. it is a beautiful island. rich people from new orleans could come and build vacation

homes. completely possible. camps vacation homes, where someone could come home and fish. they envision something like that happening, and there are a few wealthier people who have started to build camps there. this is ancestral land. intense.y emotionally tim. our next caller is go ahead. caller: yes, i love c-span. i have a couple of comments. probably before the young lady was born, the scientist was talking about the next global ice age. stuff this global warming over the last 6-7 years, we have a secretary of state that runs around and says the biggest

threat to the world is global warming. this has been perpetrated on the american public. host: all right, we hear your thoughts. our last caller for the segment matt from lancaster, north virginia. property in a low-lying area. am i there? host: you are on the air. caller: we have noticed some flooding. i saw a program a few years back, and basically, they said of like aund is sort lightbulb, and it fluctuates.

it does not remain steady at one temperature. it is always doing something. anyway, according to the program, the cycle that we are cycle, oryear something like that. they looked into the cemetery rock, and found, indeed, there times due tocold the sun. my question is, is man-made global warming a fact or a theory? thank you for your time. guest: according to the intergovernmental panel on climate change, which is the prize-winning body, the consensus that human caused

climate change -- burning greenhouse gases trap heat, and warm the atmosphere. niceonsensus overall is 7%-90 8% that that is the primary cause of the warming we are experiencing now. again and again, we have seen scientific report saying the consensus is clear, burning greenhouse gases, carbon isxide, trap heat, the earth warming. the scientific consensus is strong and clear. the president of the national academy of science says the consensus right now is actually stronger than the consensus linking cigarettes to lung cancer.

host: thank you so much for being here. next up, it will be time to cram for the exam. we will talk about what is on the advanced placement government test. we will be opening up the phone lines to high school students only. "newsmakers"t on this week is the democratic puerto rico. you can see the entire interview sunday at 10:00. you can also hear it on c-span radio. [video clip] theast year, you declare unpayable.rto rico

there is a larger $800 million payment due in july on the constitutionally prioritized general obligation debt. will you be able to make that payment on july 1? >> today, the answer is no. it is not an issue that if i want or do not want to pay it. it is that i do not have the money. the money does not exist. the same happens last monday, and the same will happen on the first of july. we just don't have the money. >> last year, the commonwealth .ncreased the sales tax haveould puerto rico not the money if you're over year revenues are up?

>> a very good question. because the deficit increased this year too. meet oursed to obligation. debt service rate this year, 36 percent. the average indie united states is five. the average in the world is seven. we are up 36%. it is the burden that is too heavy. >> madam secretary, we probably votes to the next

president of the united states. [cheering] [applause] >> "washington journal" continues. we know it is early on a saturday morning, but it is never too early to start cramming for the exam. the exam we are talking about the u.s. government advanced placement test. students across the country will be taking this exam on tuesday. here to provide a guide for us are two teachers. we are joined by andrew conneen

and daniel larsen. it has been a long time since i was in high school. tell us a little bit about this test and why it is important? andrew? guest: this is a test, some students take the course for a full year, or one semester. it prepares them for the basics in political science. if they do well enough, they can earn college credit. host: it is called the derby. guest: it is also super tuesday. the questions are 60 multiple-choice questions. for free response questions where students will and to explain, discuss,

identify. few daysre are just a left before the exam. how should students use their time to study? guest: look at the concept of government. look at the key definitions. think of synonyms for words, and think about how those concepts ix. think of those examples of checks and balances. work hard,betting on work out today. if you work hard, you can do well on the test. host: we are opening the phone lines only to high school students in this segment. if you live in central or eastern time zones, your number is (202) 748-8000. if you live in the mountain or pacific time zone, your number is (202) 748-8001. you can also send your thoughts on twitter. the handle is @cspanwj. mforex. use #apcra

we will go straight to the callers. tara from ohio is the first one. caller: i would like to just give a shout out to my ap government teacher. my question is what are typical questions that you see on the exam? to thank alle want of the teachers out there. because of you, your students will be well prepared on tuesday. roy, what types of questions? you will see questions on the big topics. federalism, participation, political parties, campaigns and elections, cut constitution, courts, and don't forget about the president. guest: absolutely. then, learn to mix the concepts.

know aboutu political parties and the nomination process, you can use that information to help you on the test. host: what to expect to see for the free response questions? guest: usually they are higher-level thinking. they are worth between 6-7 points on a rubric. even if it looks like you don't understand some of the concepts, try to get some of the easier points in the free response, and ,ight, right, right -- write write, write. guest: we tell students to think ink more. 100 minutes, for questions. they will be multiple part questions. think carefully and use examples. if it says, explain. more than one or two sentences. host: lauren from indiana is up

next. what is your question? caller: good morning. host: turned on your tv. -- turn down your tv. caller: i want to give a shout out to my teacher. my question is regarding amendments. i'm wondering which amendments we should know, and if we should know all of them? guest: of course. i would start with the bill of rights. know the purpose of the bill of rights. it was originally intended to restrain the government. you should know that the bill of rights originally were intended to restrain government. the 14th amendment and the due process clause, you should know that it was intended to incorporate parts of the bill of rights. guest: i would know the suffrage

amendments too. host: speaking of the constitution, we have a pocket constitution here to give away to a caller. why don't you tell us how you plan to decide who the winner will be. guest: every year, we get a fromd pocket constitution a supreme court justice. this year, it is in speaker of the house, paul ryan. we will avoid that to the student who calls in. host: brandt, go ahead. caller: i would like to give a mike government teacher. government teacher. you talk a lot about synonyms. what you think will be covered? isst: my favorite synonym suffrage. people should know that suffrage

.s voting or maybe you see federal earmarks. guest: casework. a lot of us have been teaching and talking about it for a long time. don't freak out if you see a little casework on the test. host: we have some sample questions from the test that we can quiz our viewers on. here is one of them. this is from the ap u.s. government exam. the question is the original constitution was ratified in 1789. which political offices were directly elected? d.c. house of representatives, united states senate, president, or government heads. which is it? guest: let the students -- host: all right, alexis.

did you see the question? do you know the answer? caller: the house of representatives. guest: keep studying, there will be more than this question. get a shoutnt to out to my ap government class. my question is which supreme most case is the important? .uest: everyone wants lists clearly you need to know all the cases. the standards are brown versus board of education on civil rights, roe versus wade about privacy rights. that is another civil liberties case. my favorite is give love versus courtrk, when the supreme of the united states, using the due process clause decided to apply free speech to the state.

the granddaddy of them all is marbury versus madison. case, you should know the government gave itself the power of judicial review to review the powers of state and local governments to decide if they were constitutional. from kent, washington, johnny is on the line. good morning. it is very early where you are. page fromve on to dublin, ohio. caller: i just wanted to give a shout out to my ap government class. my question is what is congressional reapportionment and how does it affect the state? guest: we love reapportionment,

not so much, gerrymandering. have a0 years, we census. based on population growth or decline, different states get different representatives. you're guaranteed a minimum of one representative in california has the most. every 10 years, we reapportion. every 10 years, states will re-district. they will redraw the boundaries of the districts, and, if the state has a political motivation to help protect the political party or incumbents, we call that gerrymandering. ist: our next caller stephanie from florida. go ahead. caller: i just want to give a shout out to my ap government teacher pay she makes the subject so much fun.

my question is how do you differentiate between the committees in congress? guest: this is a great question because committees is really where the legislative work gets done. committees is where the work gets done. know the difference between the different types. difference between standing committees and conference committees. standing committees are the permanent committees in the house and the senate. they are permanent. expertise.l about a conference committee is temporary. it is created to reconcile differences between the house version of the bill and the senate version of the bill. guest: the house does have some unique committees. one is the rules committee. one of the first and most important committees in the

house is the ways and means committee. because the house is given the power to create tax laws, the ways and means committee is very important. host: shelby from kentucky, you have a pop quiz. here is the question for you before you can ask your own. the question is which exemplifies divided government? caller: b? guest: b, it is. divided government is one one branch of government is held and the other branch is held by another. caller: how does congress check

the judiciary? guest: we love the checks and balances system. it is really up to the senate to confirm vacancies. we know congress was given the power to create the federal court system. it is not just the supreme court. funds the congress courts. we talk about congresses power of the purse and the oversight. host: why don't you remind us what our callers need to do in order to win this pocket constitution? if shelby is still on, that was our first congress question. you are stillif there, call back into give you information to the producers. otherwise, we will have to move on to someone else. braden from colorado is up next.

caller: first, i would love to ine shout it to my teacher class. my question is what type of supreme court cases will we have to know for the test? guest: we have already heard a little bit about the supreme court. just like my students back home, supreme court cases give them english. i wouldn't be surprised if you see this year some citizens united. certainly there will be multiple-choice on campaign finance. i like the case of a couple of years ago where the supreme court said that letting money in on independent expenditures was limited. all,randdaddy of them buckley versus boyle protects free speech.

my favorite is one where you learned about congress .esegregating public facilities host: here is a question from twitter about the test itself. is this test given outside of wealthy districts like lincolnshire? guest: this is a global test. there is no prerequisite. we get e-mails from students in bangladesh, in europe, asia, africa, south america. he's our schools all around the free in and neighborhood. over 300,000 students will be taking this test, and we wish you all the best of luck. been a lot ofs

talk about high-stakes testing. do you worry about the dangers of teaching to the test? how do you counter that? with: this test is written teachers and high school who try to replicate what is a college course. are 37 different test now. it is not just f1 high schools. across the country, you see in the norm is spread of classes. increasingly, you are seeing high school students, not just thelite students, who want test.

guest: we call it a test with benefits. if you do well, you will get college credit. students who take this test will do better in college. host: i think we will have to pocketnew winner for the constitution. i apologize to you, shelby. student who calls with the question on congress will have a chance to win. we move on to jaden. go ahead. you are on the air. caller: first, i want to give a shout out to my teacher. m my question is on fiscal federalism. guest: these are the yukon -- you are talking about different styles of federalism. we teach marble cake federalism.

we think that more times than not local government and state government interplay, overlap, makix the responsibilities. there is always money involved. incentive encourages them to work together. here is money through a block not layerarble cake, cake. grants aregorical given to state and local government for very specific purpose. can be used for a much

broader purpose. blaineur next caller is from washington. you have a pop quiz for your call. here is your question. congressue bills and what to say? caller: e? guest: yes. no taxation without representation. i think he deserves a pocket constitution. host: i think you do too. stay on the line, and we will get your information.

give a i would like to shout out to my ap government teacher and future president. my question is what influences political parties over the political process to go guest: certainly political parties have grown weaker. it is not all that bad. candidate center campaigns mean that candidates can raise money without a party endorsement. they run on rogue status. we have also weakened parties with campaign finance reform. when they illuminated soft money, it eliminated huge .mounts of money some would say this is a good

tank. others would say it causes huge problems. especially presidential candidates, the move away to caucuses and primaries puts more power into the hands of the people, weakening political parties. we had some a.p. cram sessions, people were asking about caucuses and primaries. you are right on with that. here is a question from twitter that is related. can you explain the concept of a blanket primary? guest: there are different types of primaries. you don't have to register as a party member to vote in the

primary. a close primary is like what we saw in new york, where you have to be a registered republican to vote republican or a registered .emocrat to vote democrat there will be questions on the multiple-choice you don't know. don't blame your teacher. there will be questions that you miss. we all do. do your best. if you don't know the answer, and to a good guess, don't leave it blank. host: are there penalties for getting it wrong? guest: no penalties for wrong information. keep writing and keep filling in the bubbles. host: megan is our next caller. caller: first, i would like to give a shout to my teacher.

my question is what is the difference between the establishment clause and the due process clause? guest: a lot of clauses in the constitution. a lot of students get those confuse, and with good reason. clause dealsment with the fundamental right that we have. that is that the united states government will not establish one religion over another. we have that strict fault of separation. the government of the united states cannot show reference to one religious group or another. the due process clause has more 15th ofth the minute and 14 the minute. this deals with procedural rights we have. guest: really, the difference between the two process laws and the equal protection clause is key. they protect the load liberties from the bill of rights.

for example, the first time that the supreme court told state and local police that you have to abide by the 14th amendment. to desegregate public schools. guest: there are a couple of other causes we can give you now. don't forget about the necessary and proper clause and the commerce clause. the commerce clause, more than any other clause of the constitution has been used to enlarge the power. host: the next caller comes from oke is on the line. caller: i would like to give a shout it to my class. how does the house bills committee -- how does it make up part of the legislative process. guest: there is the house and

the senate. the house considered the cup. tois hot, legislation tends pass more quickly. one of the key rules for debate in the house is typically that there is limited debate. there is no unlimited filibuster like what we see in the senate. the house process tends to be much more quick. we see that close rule in the house where you are not about to ask for members. s with the saucer of the senate, which cools the process down. it is the key difference between the house and the senate. .ost: sandra from california since you are up so early,

you will be treated with a pop quiz. here is the question. caller: e, full third general? -- solicitor general? guest: four for four. host: go ahead with your question. caller: i want to give a shout out to my teacher at eleanor roosevelt high school. my question is what is the war powers act and how does it relate to judicial review? guest: i love the war powers act. every test.n it was an attempt by congress, in and around the vietnam war, on theg rater limits president's warmaking power. we know that congress historically has deferred to the president when it comes to foreign policy.

we know that the president is commander in chief. wait a minute, doesn't the congress have the right to declare war? guess, but they have not declared war since world war ii. we have been in a lot of for his sins. congress passed the law to ratchet up the checks and balances on the president. the types of provisions you might see on this test is the .0-90 day limit after 60-90 days, the president has to ask for approval on funding. that thehours president has to inform commerce. it was an attempt to check and executivee branch. guest: one of the most recent

bayes was guantanamo and whether or not the detainees had the full due process right. host: here are some practical questions on twitter on taking the exam. what are test taking techniques for students when they do not know the answer? great question. here is what i tell my students to do. write down the big topics. we have kind of already listed them. the 10 major topics in the course. write it in the margins of the booklet. when you go through and say, i to say,ve anything else look at the topics. if it is a campaign-finance question, what can i say about campaigns? book could i say about federalism? interest groups? cues like that to prompt

you to write more. write more. you would be surprised how many thisents use pronouns -- does not help. you are talking about campaign finance. ," know,y "it is "gerrymandering is." be very specific. use examples. this is not history exam we have to drop names and dates. examples, examples, examples. guest: i would write like esther larson talks, a lot. if you blink on something, like i've linked on blanket primaries, go back to what you do know. use context clues. you teachers have prepped well. use the context clues, take a

deep breath, and problem solve. host: maryjane is our next caller. caller: i just want to shout out to my ap government teacher. thank you for giving it your all . theuestion is how does supreme court apply the bill of rights? guest: for the majority of the beginning of her country, the bill of rights only applied to the national government. then, that changed with get low versus new york. the supreme court said the first amendment right to free speech should apply to state governments. we have seen that incorporated. whether it be protection from unreasonable searches and seizures, the right to remain silent, most recently, the second amendment being incorporated back into thousand 10. this has been a long-term process, case-by-case, and your

teacher is absolutely right. it is the due process clause interpretedn to include the bill of rights. host: our next caller is tyler. you are the lucky viewer who gets quiz. here's the question. caller: is that secretary of state? guest: well, if your name is alexander haig, it is secretary of state. of thection speaker house. host: go ahead with your question. caller: can you talk about iron triangles? guest: we love talking iron triangles. no mushrooms this year. iron triangles is an example of

policymaking. it is usually fast with a lot of conflict. this is something you typically don't read about in the new sticker typically we don't care about these. is code 21 of food administrative act. it is related to corn, and specifically, canned corn. for every 14 ounces of canned corn, you are not allowed to have more than seven pieces of the corned beef round or black be brown ororn black? where they come up with that is the iron triangle.

of course, the special interest groups. the special interest groups, maybe a lobbyist who has a special knowledge about corn because she works for the national corn growers board. that is the iron triangle. that is how you get some very detailed policymaking that not many people care about. guest: there used to be the bean counters. now we have the corn counters. that reminds me of another synonym. you might see issue networks. on this test, iron triangles, issue networks, the same thing. from twitter, what two different types of regular take -- regulatory commissions due? guest: p rocker c is tough -- bureaucracy is tough. friends of the

president giving him advice. then you have the cap and it. the secretary of agriculture, attorney general, secretary of defense. dividedy important, but loyalty. the independent agencies, like the epa. not supposed to be partisan. it is supposed to be more independent than the president. have government corporations like nassau, the post office. it has grown large because we have so many needs. laws need to be enforced, and agencies are forms. people talk the how large government has grown. it has grown because we have a big needs.

if you can differentiate between the two met layers, and come up with an example for each. if you see the independent agency multiple-choice question, and you will, think about the repeat a. guest: one last word you should know is meritocracy. so we'll servants get those jobs because they typically earn those jobs. host: kia from georgia is our next caller. aller: i would like to give shout out to my government teacher. my question is how does the media affect public policy? guest: we love the media question because we are sitting in the studio made up of media folks. the media is extremely important. some give it the same type of power that we would give the president big needs. and the courts. without an educated citizenry, how can we vote? we talk about the different roles that the media plays.

important. are so the media tells us the types of stories we should be talking about, alerting us to what is actually the news. the news is not just entertainment. there are things that we need to know. the media is a scorekeeper and tells us who is winning and who is losing. we cannot always does turn the media we are getting. the media serves as a midway of who is winning and who is not. then, the watchdog function. who will reveal the scandals? we you should know that some of the tools and rules and amendments used by journalists and citizens to get access to government information. the right to free speech, the right to petition, the freedom and openation acts,

meetings, that government should hold these meetings out in public. host: madalyn, you're the next caller. you have a pop quiz ahead of you as well. caller: was it b? host: what do you say? hard: this is a question. we have this difference between .he majority is you need to win the most votes which is a plurality.

it could simply mean the most votes. guest: this is another one of those occasions when knowing the difference between subtleties on a multiple-choice is important. i think you will see a plurality question, but you will also see a pluralism question. they're totally different. for listen is the philosophy of government that allows competing groups to compete against each other, as opposed to a few believe make the -- elites who make the decisions. caller: first, i would like to shout out to my teacher. i would like you to go over the executive and judicial checks. i know you went over the other one. checks is judicial when there is a vacancy, the

president has the power to fill the vacancy. he gets to nominate. it is up to the senate to give advising consent. guest: the ultimate check, of course, is judicial review. they must rule on cases that are brought to them. the court does not sit back and just say, we don't like this or that. citizens have to engage in litigation, bring suits before the judiciary, and as it rises through the process, district courts, the appellate court, and the ultimate appellate court, the supreme court, then they can practice judicial review. host: the next caller is kristin, go ahead. caller: i would first like to lane, anout out to mr. amazing teacher. my question is, could you explain original intent, and how

it has influenced court decisions? guest: this contrasts with activism. are they using the original language of the bill? the original intent of the writers of the law? that tends to be more conservative, we use the word, judicial restraint. restraint from changing current policy. activism,asts with where we are looking at what the spirit of the law is, and maybe putting in the current modern date interpretation. guest: again, to words that often times get confused. jurisprudence is the technical word that describes how they make the decision.

what cases they hear. washingtonbeth from is our next caller. ahead, what is your question ? caller: i would like to give a shout out to my teacher. next, my question is how does the president impact legislation? guest: the president has tremendous powers, more than originally intended. we can debate that. or,his bully pulpit -- someday, her bully pulpit -- , aey draw attention to process. the power to negotiate with congress is a tremendous power.

remember, they also have a large arm of supporters and advises that they send out to meet with individual members of congress. remember, negotiating and bargaining. the president is often called the chief legislator. remember, the formal power of the president to tell the country how we are doing. often times, this is the presidents agenda. to forget, they create the budget. the budget creates priorities for the president and congress. guest: the budget does give the president tremendous power. parts of the white house staff, or the executive office of the president, specifically, the office of the management and budget helps the president prepare the budget, and he prepares it to congress. they draft the budget, and it is up to the president to approve it or veto the entire thing. host: that is all the time we

have for this morning's cram session. students, keep on studying. thank you so much for being here with us. beer on today, we will featuring president obama's commencement address at howard university. we will be covering that live at 10:45 eastern. tomorrow, on "washington journal" we will break you the former national cochair for , talking about campaign 2016. be will also be hearing from jennifer lawless. we will also be joined by sarah jane glenn from the center for american progress. that doesn't it for us today. we will see you tomorrow. [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2015] [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is respole