new report that shows the health and wellness of minority youth being impacted by the communities they live in. host: good morning. today is saturday, december 3. president-elect donald trump has sparked controversy after calling the president of taiwan over the phone yesterday. in addition, the new administration and its allies challenges in pennsylvania and wisconsin. how should the government approach student loans? leastreport estimates at 108 billion dollars in student debt in coming years. we want to know what you think. here are the lines for you to dial this morning.

if you are a current college student, you can call us at (202) 748-8000. payingare still off that student loan debt, your number is (202) 748-8001. all others, you can call us at (202) 748-8002. you can also send us your thoughts on twitter. our twitter handle is @cspanwj. you can comment on our facebook page at facebook.com/cspan. here is a story in the "wall street journal" that details the new government report, the story mitchell.five josh . . josh mitchell. host: to stem a sharp rise in borrowers defaulting on their loans since the recession --

host: we have josh mitchell on the phone joining us this morning to give us a little bit more detail about this story. josh mitchell, good morning to you. guest: hi. thank you for having me on. host: give us the back story behind the report. what if the government report this in the first place? are comments among republicans that these programs are going to be costly, that the government cannot really account for how costly they will be, so part of this report is not just how much is programs going to cost, but whether the actual accounting methods are the right ones that the education department is using. host: what did the report find? is the education department correctly accounting for these loans? guest: no. it found a bunch of flaws and basically said the education

partner -- department needs to department job, the has not accounted for inflation and trying to determine how much these people will be earning over the years to determine how muchjosh they will be paying -- how much they will be paying on those loans. part of that is saying you that he to do a much better job accounting for those costs. for, what are these loans and why would the government be forgiving them in the first place? when congress passed these income-based repayment programs -- these programs basically cap your monthly payment as a percentage of your income. the best plan is 10% of your discretionary income. if you're ars, public service worker or 20, 25 years if you are a private sector worker, you have the balance forgiven. the idea is if you take on a lot of debt, the government does not

want you to pay this down for the rest of your life. a good-faith effort after a certain amount of time, then the government will say, ok, we will forgive the rest of your debt. the idea behind these programs, or at least with president obama and his administration, is if you are in a bind and do not have a job, if you are not making a lot, these plans can help you avoid default. a lot of the people going into these plans are not really the people that need the help the most. a lot of them are people who went to grad school because people who have the highest amount of debt are usually people who went to grad school or they went to a pricey private school, and they are coming out, they are finding jobs, and yes, they might know a lot of debt, but they might be earning high incomes. and they're going into these plans, and they will have a lot of that debt or give us -- debt forgiveness. host: is this something a

borrower has to apply for, or do they automatically will apply for it? guest: yeah, they actually do have to apply for tiered there are a lot of people in default who the administration feels like this is what they should be doing, but they do not know about it. you do actually have to fill out the paperwork and ascended in and apply for it, and you have to reapply for it every year. host: so considering the high cost of this program, as this report found from possible improper accounting for it, has there been any movement on the hill to change it or from the white house? staff so i talked to the and hetor mike enzi, released a statement saying he wants to look at changes in the law to make sure that the accounting is a probe yet. the obama administration itself has in its own way conceded that littlets are getting a

bit out of control, and one thing they said is let's cap how much debt a worker in the public ven aftern have forgi 10 years. there is a concern that this program is helping out some people who went to med school or law school, and they are coming out, and after 10 years, they might work at a hospital nonprofit, so the administration has itself proposed some changes to raining and some of the cost, but congress is not acted on it yet. what can we expect from the new trump administration? guest: trump has endorsed this idea of income-based repayment. proposed paying a portion

of the incomes and raising it after 15 years, but we will have to see where he goes with that. host: all right, josh mitchell, economics reporter for the "wall street journal," inks for waking up early with us. guest: sure, thank you. oft: here is the response the department of education to that report we have been talking about. estimating the federal cost of student loans is a task we take very seriously, and we are constantly seeking to enhance models. estimation as without student loan cost models, the next version of the income driven repayment continued represent improvement and incorporate many significant and meaningful enhancements. let's hear from you now. should the government be forgiving student loan debt?

randy is calling for mesquite, texas. what do you think this morning? caller: good morning. in ald like to, right seen firsthand account. i do not have student loans, but i had a young man who was one of my employees. mid-50's, highly intelligent, and the deal is he would never try to go get a higher paying job. as his manager, i would see jobs and i wouldpen up, encourage him to apply because they were better jobs and paid more money, but he would never do it because he said look, the government is just going to take more of my money proportionally to what i make and i would encourage him to apply because they were better jobs and paid more money, but he would, so hes highly intelligent guy, capable of doing a whole lot more, and i do not know a lot of the details about this, but i could just see that he would never try to advance itself because he had just given up. i am fairly conservative

politically, but at the same time, you know, this guy is working hard out there, he has showed up to work every day, but again, his student loan is crushing him. for years, suffering and i think it is time to get off of him because he has been having his wages garnished. randy, you mentioned that he was in his mid-50's and paying back student loans? caller: yes, ma'am, just like josh mentioned. part of his problem was he was going for his masters degree. he was in english lit major, side and i know of that handicapped him getting a job, too, but it was crushing him. -- and youted him motivated him to the point where he had given up on trying to find a better job. host: all right, randy from mesquite, texas. james is a student from staten island, new york. what do you think about this? isler: i personally think it a needed program, and it should

be preapproved or reauthorized by congress. host: james, you said you are a student. what type of education are you pursuing? caller: i am pursuing a degree in public administration. host: do you have any student that? caller: not yet. i do not pay anything yet. i'm currently a student. host: and do you anticipate having it in the future, taking out loans to pay for school? all right, james from stockton staten island, new york. portland.all is from what do you think this morning? caller: i only recently, when it was in the news, when they started offering income-based repayment plans all these years, they would just tell you, "you have got to pay up," and not tell you you had the other options. all of the student loans should be reconfigured to what they would have been had the students been offered these options in

the first place, and the amount that they oh would be much less. burt, how much debt you have to pay off? caller: i do not know exactly. host: and how long have you been paying off this debt? [no audio] 20 -- caller: 20 years. host: all right, that was bert from portland, oregon. there is more information for you about the obama administration student loan repayment plan we have been talking about. 10%asks monthly payments at of a borrower's discretionary income, and it forgives outstanding undergraduate that after 20 years. alsodonald trump has released some remarks about how he would address student loan debt going forward. here is the story in "usa today ." the good news, at least for those looking for student loan reform, is that trump seems to care about student loan reforms. he previously said he wants to .ake college very affordable on twitter, he says it is one of

the only places where our country makes money, and they make a lot of money, and that place.not take laced -- on october 13, trump mentioned the student loan plan in a speech to college students. he said it should be capped at 12.5%. we are taking your phone calls this morning. should the government forgive student loan debt? here again are the numbers to call. if you are a student, then you can call us at (202) 748-8000. if you are still paying off those student loans, you can call us at (202) 748-8001. all others, the number for you is (202) 748-8002. of course, we are also reading your tweets @cspanwj. you can leave a facebook comment at facebook.com/cspan. let's turn to davenport, iowa where jack is on the line. jack, good morning. caller: yes, are you there? host: we are here. caller: a group c is part of the

free enterprise system, and the banks loaned out too much money. the banks should take the hit, and the government should stop protecting banks and these investments that occurred. we're living in a deflationary environment. these loans will never be paid off. i have a friend who had a student loan for 30 years, and he has been mired in debt. files never been able to bankruptcy, he has never been able to buy a house, and these bedent programs should leased out to a free enterprise system. host: there is a comment from twitter -- big elephant in the room -- why has the cost of a college education risen so sharply? more than anything else in this country. am is up next in tampa, florida. she is still paying on her student loans. good morning to you. caller:. good morning.

i have two points to make it i am paying off student loan debt as someone who decided to go back to school for a technical type of degree to increase my income. i started out with a student for one loan,gned which was divided and became two which for sallie mae, changed into two different things. my student loan that i signed up interest,5 percent but they later decided while i was still in school to decide that into two department of it became two different loans. departments, it became too different loans. so i went into debt for two student loans that came due at the same time, which in turn caused me to be in double the amount of debt. i have been paying off my student loan loans to two different loan companies now for which both now,

require 10% of my income. as a single parent, that turned into 20% of my income because they both were based on that one signed agreement. there is no one that you can argue with about that. i live in florida where the wages are not comparable to what the technical degree paid -- host: so, pam, what do you think the government should do in order to alleviate your burden? caller: i really do think that they need to come up with a student loan repayment plan that is comparable to what the wage is that people are currently making because people are going into these student loans in order to be a better participant in the government system. it is not that people want a higher education and are not willing to pay for their education, but you do need to base that on something reasonable. you should not take someone's

life and make it into two loans and make them both where they are 10% and pay them separately, which is actually 20% of your income. because most of the people who are going into these technical schools that are offering government loans, they are single parents. and then the loans are getting divided into two different loans, both being repaid at the same time, becoming 20% of their income. a betterad of it being situation, it is becoming abramson situation. host: do you feel that the -- it is becoming a burdensome situation. host: do you feel that the degree program that you were enrolled and helped you find a better job? caller: no. after was all said and done after one into the program, after the us something that i would make more, i actually ended up making less than i was making before when you finish subtracting the amount of debt that i have to pay off the top before any taxes

or anything are paid. so it is up me working two jobs now just because i try to do better. host: all right, that is pam from tampa, florida. bill is up next in illinois. bill is also still paying off the student wants. caller: -- loans. bill what is your thought about this issue,? need to make it more income based. some of the qualifications are not talking about. i have a bachelor degree in psychology from the -- and i have hours toward a master's degree, but i have been working in the public field as a substitute teacher, and i was a ged instructor for close to 15 years now. none of my nonprofit organization time qualifies. you have to work 40 hours a week in order for that qualified. on average, i worked about 30

hours a week being a teacher, which means i don't make enough to get any offy that deferment or forgiveness that you are talking about. i started out at $56,000 in debt. because of my income and inability to make some of the payments they want, i am now, like, 130 thousand dollars in debt, and it is just overburdening. ,ou asked pam if it helped her yes, it has helped me because i , and i over by a car have physical problems, so my education has helped me in the workforce and working, but unfortunately, the student that has become so dramatic. when i look into ways to get it paid off, there are not the ways that i qualify for that are out there. loans are, you're government loans versus private loans taken out from some banks, etc.? caller: yes. host: all right, that is bill

from rockford, illinois. our next caller is kenny from ohio on the line for all others. kenny, go ahead. caller: good morning. host: good morning. caller: it seems like we are trying to bail out the boat before we fix the leak. if we look at the problem, every time the government guarantees loans, it seems like the people that are being guaranteed are saying, "well, if we can charge this much, why don't we just double it and charge twice as much? we are not going to lose anything anyhow." so if we get the government to stop guaranteeing stuff, maybe the price of college would go down. host: that is kenny from ohio. the next caller is from alexandria, virginia, who is also still paying off the student loans. go ahead. under oneam actually

of the federal loan programs right now about repayment because i work in federal public service. i am under what they call a student loan repayment program, which last year, the federal paying abouts me $7,000 to $10,000 a year, now i have a contractual agreement that says i will stay with my federal employer for the lifecycle of the repayment. host: do you feel like it is working well for you? caller: actually, i do. the only thing that i am concerned or worried about is the interest rate on the loan. becausea bigger concern as the interest rate goes up, i seem to be locked into one right now, but the loan interest rate can still go up. even though they are paying off money for the loan, i am still accruing the interest, like, everything will they. so that -- every single day. so that is the part that makes

it difficult to even if they are paying the money off, the interest accrues, so does not feel like a balance is going down because the interest keeps tapping into the loan. so even though there are those of us that have employer-based -- i am not still eligible for any of the other programs out there and would not be for any debt forgiveness program because i'm under one now. several of my other fellow employees are on this program as well. this does not apply to any and all undergraduate and graduate programs. host: all right, still paying off that student loan debt. here are other headlines for you this morning. ," this"washington post headline, "trump speaks with taiwan's president."

the election anchored beijing to the point of cutting off all communication with the island government. host: here is a little more information on a story from "the hill" newspaper -- "trump

defends the taiwan call."donald trump to twitter to defend the controversial call. "the president of taiwan called me today to wish me congratulations on winning the presidency. thank you." trump confirmed the call on friday. in the "new york times," there is a story about the four book air act, saying that the -- the affordable care act, saying the republicans tend to move slowly in fully repealing the hat. the plans next month to repeal the a formal care act as president-elect donald trump promise, but they are likely to delay the effective date so that they have several years to phase out president obama's signature achievement.

host: also for anyone who might be interested in visiting future,on in the near the washington monument is supposed to stay closed until 2019. the story in the "washington post" says billionaire philanthropist d david rubenstein has agreed to pay for an overhaul of the beleaguered elevator system, but it will remain closed for the next two and a half years, the national park service says. it is the second time that rubenstein has come to the aid of the monument, which has been shuttered since august 17 cousin of chronic elevator problems. also in the news, texas congressman louie gohmert has lamented. [video clip] gohmert: about seven years ago, the architect of the capitol, who worked for the u.s. and senate, has decided that we all work for him and started

making demands, one of which was that i could not cook ribs and share them with other members of congress, as i had been doing once a quarter. and most of the networks had wanted to do stories on my cooking ribs. no, we are not going to do a tv thing on this, this is just between the members. well, i am grateful that steve steve scalise got involved and god paul ryan to help, and the speaker was able got paul ryan and to help, and the speaker was able to persuade the , and we were able to work together so that my colleagues, they tell me, many of them, that it is the best tasted,y have ever the best ribs they ever tasted,

and i have enough of my mother in me that i enjoy cooking, and i enjoy people enjoying what i cook. time probably the only here on capitol hill when i actually leave a good taste in ths instead of a bitter taste. host: we are taking your phone calls this morning on whether the government should be forgiving student loan debt. let's hear from beverly in dayton, ohio. good morning, beverly. caller: good morning. host: what do you think about this issue? caller: i do think that they should forgive these loans. my sister has been paying on a loan for 20 years, and she is 60 years old. she went to college to be a counselor. is an adult counselor, and she said, i do not know what i'm going to do, but i will never get my loan paid off. host: what do you say to the argument that this is something that she entered into knowing

how much it costs, and taxpayers should not be on the hook for that? caller: well, i think some things should be forgiven. an abusive marriage, and she had to get out, and she had to borrow. she says, "it is rewarding what i do, but i will never get my loan paid off." host: all right, beverly from ohio. let's hear from jesse in san francisco, california, who is also paying on the student loan debt. good morning. caller: good morning. yes, i definitely feel it should be forgiven. i am a parent, and i am paying off my son's student loans. before, shespoke may be called three calls ago, we started off with one loan and ended up with three, and now we

owe $76,000, and my son is up withone -- he ended his masters, but he was only able to find employment in education. he is not even working in his field, ok? the one who signed onto the loans because at the time, he did not have a credit rating to be able to get the loans, so i signed on them, so now i am stuck with the loans. i am 60 years old, i have a 90-year-old father that i have taken responsibility for, and at one time, my loan payment for my son was $800 a month. but the fed loan, they did work with me, and the loan payment is $350, but i am almost at retirement age. i get very little help from my son for paying the loan because he is struggling with all of the stuff he has.

it is just unbelievable. it is crazy. host: are you part of one of the income-driven repayment programs in which the amount of your loan is or the amount of payments is capped? caller: yes, i am. i will say it is a great thing that they have to because if not , i would be paying around $600, .800 a month they worked with me, like i said, and they got it down to the $350 amount now. that, but i amay paying it, and i just want people to know it is not just the individual students that are paying these things. it is parents that are stuck with these loans as well. like at my age, that are at retirement age, and have no way out. eventually, -- now,

eventually, i know i will get help from my son. to a major come exclusive university here -- i do not even want to name the university, but it was a rival university. we were paying -- it was a private university. we were paying almost $70,000 a year. host: is the bigger issue the cost of higher education? caller: yes. because imajor issue do not think it is balanced on the amount versus what the student comes out of here with, and then what they end up being employed with. host: all right, that is jesse in san francisco, california. oy is our next color from -- caller from rockford, iowa. caller: i do not know. i am not too smart to be in college, but i think i would think it over and make sure i

was taking something that would pay enough to go to college. and also, my house payment is, like, 3.2% interest. make a the governments lot of money on these young people. also, the gentleman who said the schools who are charging more money -- that ought to be looked into a mr. trump. and the professors are making $500,000 a year. it is ridiculous. they just need to change the whole system, and people need to think more before they just let their kids go off to college and get a degree in something they will not even be able to use. thanks so much. host: all right, that is roy in iowa. senatora response from mike enzi. he said "this investigation found that the department of education relied on flawed data and methods to .stimate program costs

this is missed ration has been manipulating the terms of the student loan program without the consult of congress while statutory duty to carefully assess the cost impact of those changes." the only price of a higher education should be hard work. another person writes -- there are people 60 years old and older paying back student loans. it would be nice for uncle sam to forgive me, but i don't deserve it. it is my obligation. another tweeted know, i used student loans for all kinds of study abroad, used car, used washer/dryer, but make it a credit on current taxes. think?t do you caller: i have four kids,

they'll want to college, and yes, it is very expensive. all the regulations on schools. what i'm calling about is the department of treasure brewer biremghin, arkansas sent me a letter. mym disabled, i worked at company for 20 years. i've never been to california my committeee appeared a college sent me a letter saying that i owe a student loan. themve been fighting with on my own. out ofve taken $170.55 my check every month, which is a social security disability check. with myhem a letter birth certificate, drivers license, social security card, and the company i work for sending letter stating that i was working with a company and

have been living here my whole life. my house loan helps me, and they are totally ignoring me, and they are taking money out of my check. host: is this a private company that you are talking about here? caller: they are saying ioa berkeley commune community college in california berkeley. is $700,, my balance but it was over $3000. on 10/3/16, i have been sending them are seeds of where i have been living in in i got hurt my life, at the company, and i have been disabled for two years, and the last six months, they have been

$170.55 out of my social security check to pay back this student loan that is not even mine. host: all right, that is susan from goodyear, arizona. next up from dayton, ohio is chuck on the line for all others. what do you think? caller: yes, i think they should forgive the loans because students went to school, yes, they signed the papers, but these banks and the father will government put an interest rate on it. $20,000is paying over my daughter's student loans, which was originally a loan for $20,000. she has been paying for the last five years. $20,000.owe almost now there are four loans -- the school has taken out loans after my daughter left the school. something has got to be done. host: do you think there should assome sort of income cap,

we have been talking about. do you think the government should forgive the loan wholesale, or do you think there should be a balance between how much you all pay and how much the government might take? caller: right now, the way the schools are, and the money they -- i mean, some of the school should not even be in business. they are getting kids to take out loans so that the kid can buy a car. i was selling cars at one time, and i had a person come in with a student loan to buy a car because the school that got them a loan. host: next up is land and water ford, new york, who is a student in waterford, new york, who is a student. caller: my situation is a little different from everybody who has called in. mother of aar-old 20-year-old and 16-year-old sons. my 20-year-old is in college

your i currently owe $15,000 in loans. i paid more interest, i keep spreadsheets of everything. toh the interest, we are up $15,000. when my son graduated from high school, even though he is a really gifted child, unfortunately, he had to go to community college so we could afford school pure it on the third semester, we cannot afford it anymore. there should not be a complete loan forgiveness because new york state taxpayers should not have to pick up the bill for my education, but there has to be something done about the , or maybe a look again at the entire situation, how many courses i actually took my how many credits, how much it was for credit hour, how much i really should owe, and should it be at 6.6%? no, it should be at, like, 3%.

it sounds more realistic. i want to pay for my own education, but now i am in a bad situation where i cannot finish my masters degree because of this. workfortunate enough to for a job that has a union that does cover the credit hours, so i have stopped taking loans come about through the years, being a young mother, i had my first son at 15 and my second at 20, i had to sometimes go on financial deferment, and when you are no longer paying, the interest keeps accumulating. so i am in a situation where i am always in a whole -- hole. i own a home in new york state, it is a nice neighborhood, so mortgage,ying a paying for my education, and then trying to help my 20 euros son come in like i said, i also have a 16-year-old -- 20-year-old son, and, like i

said, i also have a 16-year-old p or i want to provide for them. i only make $65,000 a year, and in new york state, that is not enough to get any sort of help. i know that from people who struggle that sounds like a lot, but it really does very little for us. decent we barely buy meals for our home just to get by. so that is my situation. lyt: all right, that is york.ater filled, new out next call is from springfield, massachusetts -- water ford, new york your next call is sprinkled, aziz,chusetts, abdul o -- new york. our next call is from springfield, massachusetts, abdul aziz, go ahead.

unique,my situation is at least i think it is, where i went to school first on grand, but in 1983, i made a decision to take out a student loan to attend a college. this was $3500. beginning,e semester i come at 23, decided to go to work instead of go to school. i neglected to inform the college that i was not going to be attending college. but physically, i never attended one class, and i had a $3500 loan. i did not defer it, and what charged was i was $8,500 in interest on a $3500 loan, and the way the debt was

repaid was through my income tax being taken from a for a number of years until the loan was paid off for $3500, and the debt with the interest paid off for $8,500, so about $12,000 total. host: and finished paying an outcome is that right? caller: yes, it has been paid, but it was picked or my income tax being taken from me. the example is, if i had purchased a car, let's say for $3500, or a home for $3500, i would have had the car or the home. product,d $3500 for a which was an education, that i never received. host: all right, abdul in springfield, massachusetts. let's hear from randy in virginia. should the government be forgiving student loan debt?

caller: yes, ma'am. good morning, america. i have a unique experience of going back to school after an industrial accident, and realizing how expensive it was, i did not think i would get any long-term value from it. after this accident, i pediatricd on a howal injury floor and saw unprepared children were to recover from illness or made up my gold pure do cap looking around my state in virginia as to who was doing what for physical health and preventative programs for children. little to nothing or having a builder's background, i built, rather than taking out these loans, with the money that i got from my injury, i built out a mobile fitness center that i have been operating throughout the state of virginia for the last routine, 14 years.

the more impact i make in school divisions, statewide, the last interest they have four unique solutions to costs and health services, so they are much more interested in afterschool activities like sports and the like rather than the community health of the children in schools. host: all right, that is randy in williamsburg, virginia. we have time for a few more callers. clearwater, florida is next. he says he is paying off a student loan. go ahead. caller: good morning. i want to make two points. one was that corinthian colleges went bankrupt, and the department of education is claiming that they are point to forgive those student loans. my interest in it is that i read an article in "usa today"

february 23, 20 13, which i still have on my computer, the noted that the department of education collected almost $50 billion in interest on those student loans of profit. government agency making a profit, and now they are claiming that the taxpayers are the ones that are going to have to pay this student loan debt back? i did not understand it. host: all right. the last one for the segment gene fromng will be dublin, virginia. you have the last word. good morning. it is kind of neat to get the last word. as someone who has been in higher ed, i think we are kind of missing the point of what the root cause is on this. universities our about 30 years ago stopped being these noble institutions of learning. they are now essentially for-profit nonprofits. students are no longer students -- they are now customers.

and you have got an administration that makes $300,000 a year. their interest is to keep the money rolling in, and the idea here is the university, for about the last 20, 30 years, have been pulling their own version of what we call the mortgage scantily couple years ago, where they approve the loans, they get the money, they take no risk, and they have no fiduciary responsibility that the students get anything. and to tell you how far it has gone right now in the administration, they are looking at the current debts as the next cash cap. why? because the g.i. bill is as good as it ever has been. there is nothing that says the university has to provide a decent education, they do not have to provide a job, all they want to do is keep the money rolling in as long as they can. host: all right, that is gene in dublin, virginia. coming up next, we will talk about manufacturing.

president-elect donald trump has vowed to keep those jobs in the u.s. up next, scott paul from the alliance for american manufacturing will talk about the overall state of the industry. later, we will talk with ian vásquez of the cato institute. first, booktv in american history tv are on the road in tempe, arizona. today at noon on c-span two's booktv, nonfiction programming will air together in one block. for 50 years, this country, after the great fires of 1910, which traumatize the u.s. oil try to take fires out of the landscape. the problem is we took good fires out and that fires out.

we have tried to put good fire back in, and that has been very difficult. often when people film fire or write about it, they default to a kind of war story. followed the platoon through the campaign, and we learned personalities. we are all familiar with that. but that it's really not fun of italy what the story is about. this storytally what is about. it is how you put fire back in. it is really tricky, too, is once you take it out, restoring it is like trying to put an endangered species act in -- back in. or history unfolds daily. in 1979, c-span was graded as a public service by america's cable companies, and it is brought to today by your cable or satellite provider. >> listen to c-span radio today

for historic audio about japan's harbor, theearl factor that prompted u.s. entry into world war ii. you will hear president roosevelt's address to congress. a date thatelt: will live in infamy. and americanh people will for their own safety, and for the good of all, worked together. >> and interviews with veterans who were at pearl harbor on the day of the attack. anniversary of pearl harbor is featured on c-span radio today at 7:00 p.m. eastern. listen to c-span radio at c-span.org or with the free c-span radio app. >> "washington journal" continues. host: joining us now a scott paul, the president for alliance -- alliance for

american manufacturing fear scott, thank you for joining us. guest: it is great to be with you this morning. host: talk about the organization. what is the alliance for american manufacturing? group,we are an advocacy a partnership between the skill workers union, which is the largest industrial union in north america are they represent not only workers in steel but in , lot of manufacture projects so we have a business constituency and a labor constituency. we are nonpartisan. we do not endorse candidates, but our mission is to promote public policies that would induce manufacturing, so that takes us into spaces like infrastructure, trade, skills and training, and even monetary policy, things that have an impact on the competitiveness of manufacturing, the ability to generate good factory jobs in this country. host: and creating manufacturing

jobs has been a big issue, both on the campaign trail and also for president-elect donald trump and his new administration. he was in indianapolis on thursday talking about jobs that he is bringing back to a carrier plant. here is what he said. [video clip] mr. trump: i said to some of the folks, i said "companies are not going to leave the united states anymore without consequence." it is not going to happen. i tell you right now. we are losing so much. so one of the things we're going to keep them is we are to be lowering out business tax from 35% hopefully down to 15%, which would take us from the highest-taxed nation virtually in the world -- terrible for business -- to one of the lowest taxes -- not the lowest yet, but one of the lowest taxes. ourother thing we are doing regulations -- if i would ask

you folks, you might say regulations are worse for you than the high taxes, which is the biggest surprise of the whole political experience. i thought taxes would be number one. great leaders of industry, and even the small business people, are just being crushed. if they have their choice between lower taxes and a major, massive cutting of regulations, they would take the regulations. i do not hav know how you feel about that, greg. i wrote it down. 260e about six years ago, new federal regulations have passed, 53 of which affect this plant. massivelyulations -- expensive, and probably none of them amount to anything in terms of safety or the things you have regulations for. host: we're speaking with scott paul from the alliance for american manufacturing. there is a lot that donald trump just said. help us unpack it, and start with what is this deal that he

struck with carrier that he was talking about? carrier had announced in february that it would close two plants in indiana -- i am an indiana native, so i have a little familiar reiterated -- familiarity with this. a total loss of 2000 jobs, and all of the production was going to shift to mexico. try to workals with the company to keep the jobs in indiana to no success. trump had tweeted about this as early as february and kept it up as part of his campaign rhetoric . the dynamic that changed is the company probably one of's attention focused elsewhere. this is a consumer-facing company. i imagine the board was getting

nervous. the parent company has some exposure because it does have some federal contracts, which may be indirectly or directly might be at risk. that is a complicated issue. modest package of inducements, $7 million spread over 10 years, was provided to carrier in exchange for a $16 million investment in the indianapolis plant, a guarantee that the money would be paid as well as some jobs would stay in indianapolis for at least 10 years. about 800 production jobs. some are still moving to mexico, but trump had threatened tarrifsts -- directly. it is hard to execute, not impossible, but this deal was reached. there was a lot of criticism. there were 800 workers -- i can

tell you they are very diverse. it is a highly female workforce, there are a lot of african-american employees. these are union jobs, good jobs with over time, they pay up to $70,000. host: he said the union jobs are covered by the united steelworkers, part of the organization. guest: right. to our knowledge, there were no worker concessions that were extracted as part of this deal as well, which i think is very important. host: you can call and join our conversation with scott paul for the alliance for american manufacturing. republicans, your number is (202) 748-8001. democrats, your line is (202) 748-8000. independents, your number is (202) 748-8002. at's get right to it with call from michigan, chris is on the democratic line. what do you think this morning? caller: good morning, and thank you for c-span. i would like to say that i think the big problem is not just the regs. are you there? host: we are here.

go ahead, chris. caller: it is not just the regs, but it is the labor costs. mexico costs $3 an hour. i do not know what the folks at carrier were making, but it is a lot more than that. host: all right, chris from michigan. guest: labor costs were certainly part of the equation here. the wage rate differential between the indianapolis land and one or a, mexico was enormous, as i know you have reported, and others have as and -- indianapolis plant monterrey, mexico was enormous, as i know you have reported, and others have as well. one thing is important, though, the plant, as it was operating in indianapolis, was highly profitable. it is not like it was losing money or was going to go out of

business. this was, in many ways, an issue about shareholder value, and could carrier make even more money by moving its operations to monterrey? unfortunately, that is what drives a lot of decisions today. i would say for most of manufacturing, labor costs -- any of those factories where that is the highest part of the cost equation, a lot of them have moved already. about who islking offering inducements, incentives where you have access to cheap energy, what are exchange rates -- there are a lot of other factors that go into sourcing decisions that are made every day. host: let's hear from carol in rochester, new york on the independent line. good morning to you. caller: good morning. -- i amion for scott is wondering about a country's infrastructure as far as manufacturing goes. back in world war ii, you know, a lot of infrastructure was used to help with the war effort and stuff.

my question is, in today's day and age, if something really catastrophic happened, is the inted states self-sufficient its manufacturing capabilities to take care of ourselves? i will listen to your answer off-line. thank you. guest: thank you, carol, that is a great question. there is a law called the defense production act, which looks specifically at what kind of capabilities do we have come and what do we want to have to ensure that we have some sort of self-sufficiency is an emergency arises. we actually published a report securityer homeland secretary tom rich about this a couple of years ago as well, and there are some things that the united states does not have the capability to make right now that are important to national security. large electrical transformers, we found, was one of those. surge,s another coastal

damage done to larger logical transformers. in some cases, we would have to wait for them to arrive from japan to be able to restore power. certain types of equipment in constructing the nuclear facilities is another thing that we have a scarcity of. this is an issue that the pentagon looks at closely. i know members of congress do as well. but i think it is an argument to invest in manufacturing, even if there is not going to be the return on jobs that you have seen in the past. theremakes a point that are other reasons to have a strong manufacturing base, and one of those is having some resiliency in the face of a natural disaster or an unforeseen economic circumstance and also for our national security concerns as well. host: let's hear from eddie in new york, and he is calling on the republican line. good morning. caller: good morning to everybody.

guest: good morning. host: good morning to you. caller: you hear about the jobs -- he saved 800 jobs, which is really good, but if you look at the bigger picture, this air-conditioning company has multibillion-dollar contracts and other subsidiaries, ok? that is what they're looking to save because the government can write them out with the stroke of a pen. i worked on a lot of government contracts to it as a subcontractor, you have to do exactly what they tell you. the only reason why they consented to trump saving those jobs is because they were afraid of the other contracts. the problem is, our labor is very high. we cannot compete with other countries unless we put tariffs on -- we have to have tariffs. all the other countries do it -- germany does it, china doesn't, they love of american products, but they do not allow

them in the country because of their economy, but our economy is ok. that is a great point you made about the cost equation as well, and one thing to consider -- i am glad you pointed out germany one thing to consider -- i'm glad you pointed out germany. germany has twice its economy in manufacturing and the united states, and german manufacturing wages are considerably higher manufacturing wages. it is about having an ecosystem that supports manufacturing. germany certainly has that. it has strong vocational and apprenticeship programs. it has a deep system of development. it has a lending facility where capital is much more patient than it is here on wall street. and it has an economic policy

that is driven based on exports. our economic policy is completely the opposite. we have a consumption economy. dollar, whichng makes consumption of imports cheap. it makes exports expensive. we have an education system that is almost solely designed to drive people into four-year college. that is with the bulk of education money goes in the country. i think there is a high road to compete in manufacturing. i genetically want to bring manufacturing wages down. awayis not what i took from the election. we need to find a high road to manufacturing success. with our entrepreneurship, natural resources we have, the-consol energy, there is a lot of opportunity -- low-cost energy, there is a lot of opportunity. host: 20 the caller mentioned

was tariffs -- one thing the caller mentioned was tariffs. what is your organization's stance on tariffs? guest: it is a good question. right now the united states has very low tariffs on products coming into our country. on average, they are 2.5%. they are far lower than they have been at any time in our history. i do not think it is a good idea at all to impose a wall of tariffs across the board, economy-wide, on chinese products -- 35% or 40% -- i think i could be wildly disruptive and counterproductive. i do think it makes sense -- this is how chad policy has worked in the past -- to look on see ifby-case basis to there are markets we are under

serving here at home. are there unfair trade practices occurring overseas? and to make a judgment about business and area where we want to push back a little bit? tariffs doink that come into the equation. obviously as a threat worked a little bit with carrier's board. this is a consideration. i think our companies now -- publicly held companies that are going to sit around in the board of directors and say what is our risk exposure, exit costs, if we overseas?to ship jobs are they going to come in the form of tariffs? it is possible in the trunk administration, you will see some of that. our federal contracts at risk -- are federal contracts at risk? if you are a consumer company, you do not want the president

tweeting about it. you want to the race that from the news. -- erase that from the news. host: larry in massachusetts. larry, what you think this morning? caller: i have a question and a comment. i woke up listening to on the on national public radio, and they had a linguist on talking about donald trump's use of language, and they said it would be much more honest to substitute the word protection for regulation. and then i turn on your television show, and there is donald trump talking about the fact that people would rather get rid of regulations than they would hire taxes. if you substitute the word protection for regulations, i

think people would have been entirely different idea of what he is talking about. my comment -- well, my question is, is it true that this pipeline that is in such controversy right now, it was originally proposed to go near the town of bismarck, north dakota, and when the people there protested so loud and voices firstly, they decided to -- sister asleep, they decided -- rrouted to reroute it eroute it? question, iarry's do not know. i do not follow that beat enough to know. on the language -- i want to talk on -- touch on the word protection. protectionism has a bad connotation. that is what the textbooks

teach, and that is what, i think, elite opinion is. when you ask people if they like protection and protectionism, they generally say yes, that sounds good to me -- protecting my industry, my business, my family -- i am ok with it. so, the usage of that terminology, i think, you know, it is charged with a lot of connotation on both sides, and the truth is usually somewhere in between, i think. it does make sense to have some limited ability to provide some defense for our jobs, but we do not want to go too far that we are blocking out all competition. that has never been healthy for our country. i have been researching alexander hamilton, and he wrote america's first manufacturing policy, and some people urged walls of tariffs.

he said we need tariffs to run our government and create different industries in the united states. we also need access to raw materials we do not have. we cannot have tariffs on everything. let's do this on a case-by-case basis. that is kind of a framework our trade policy has worked under for 225 years now. host: you think that will continue under a trump administration? guest: that remains to be seen. he has said, his advisers have said he wants to use the threat of tariffs. the problem is if a company knows that and is able to call their bluff, what is actually going to happen? it is something people do not know or appreciate, because it does not make the front page news like carrier does. there are trade cases that move through our system on a monthly, if not weekly basis.

there have been cases that the obama administration has decided over the past year where they have put tariffs of up to 500% on certain kinds of chinese steel because it was subsidized or dumped into our market. the utilization of this is not unusual. it is perfectly normal in trade enforcement policies, but to have it elevated to such a stature by a president through his tweets or his actions, that is something that is unusual. ohio,john from cleveland, is coming up next on the independent line. good morning to you. i am glad, happy for the people in indianapolis, they will have a happier christmas, but the biggest element -- economic circle

-- the biggest problem is three-pronged. one, unlike germany and other countries, you're not have any apprenticeships along with that. number two, even if there is no competition, some jobs will never be brought back because the education system is so bad here in technology. could you tell me how many jobs are still open the -- as of now, before the new president-elect comes into office? are open.jobs number three, when general motors was bailed out, everybody said cry uncle. make money.s of course that came from a democratic president. i am independent. i am conservative, but the slow sticking of the fruit will not help the country. -- but this lowest picking of the fruit will not help the country.

nasa, exploration -- that is eating a lot of products and technology. you don't, because government is the enemy. reagan said it, and a lot of people buy it. it is nothing to do with a college degree. you never close your eyes and say there is no sun and the moon. it is a shame. host: that is sean from ohio. john raised some good points about skills and training, and also about the auto rescue, which i think is very important. on the skills and training front, it is true we lagged far behind european countries in particular in terms of industrial apprenticeships. they virtually disappeared. they are coming back, and the --ma restriction has tried administration has tried to do some of that. they can be a valuable tool. it is a seamless system in a lot

of european countries because the last two years of high .chool you get a book education you also receive some vocational education to lead you into that apprenticeship environment, and you can earn while you are learning on the job as well. the reason you not see that in the united states as much, this goes back to shareholder value. wall street views this as a cost rather than an asset for a company. so, in all of this cost-cutting phenomenon we have seen as a result of the primacy of investment banking, companies do not want to make these investments. they can receive some inducements from the federal government, and again, the obama administration is trying to remote this, but until we change that culture, it will be hard for that to take place. in terms of job openings, there are a little north of 300,000

job openings in manufacturing. that is pretty normal in a healthy economy. some employers do say that jobs are hard to fill. it is hard to find qualified candidates. challenges is that as some manufacturing is returning to the industrial midwest, a lot of young people have left, or moved on to do other things. the labor pool is not as necessarily as great for them as it once was. the last point on the auto rescue -- for anybody criticizing, you know, trump, for interference with the free market, one of the most massive private sector rescues occurred with gm and chrysler. the circumstances were vastly different. these companies were going into bankruptcy, but it took a federal intervention to prevent that from happening, and were all the details perfect, no,

they weren't. but there were probably somewhere north of 500,000 jobs in the united states that probably would not be here in that form were it not for that auto rescue, which was really unpopular in 2009, but which has returned enormous dividends to our economy today. james from rochester, michigan, is on the republican line now. james, good morning to you. caller: good morning. thank you for taking my call. i wanted to make two comments. one is i hear from a lot of republicans, in addition to others, that regulation is bad, but i think it is a much more argument than that statement -- i think it is a much more nuanced argument then that statement. i would have to get your answer because when i ask what regulations would you like to get rid of, we get into the question of are we going to get into regulations that protect

our food? ofe going to get rid regulations that allow customers to opt into a data mining process where it is already --en and you have to out of opt out of. question is whether he has come across a more nuanced argument. -- i think he hit the nail on the head when we have a degrees four-year versus up and that is more vocational. -- i: james, on regulation think you are right. i do not view regulation is being inherently bad. i would much rather have a 40-hour work week and an 80-hour -- than an 80-hour work week. i think having sensible, clean water, clean air regulations, has served our country well, and we have been in to grow along

with these regulations. when it comes to manufacturing, what you do not want is a race to the bottom and emulate chinese regulation. or lack thereof. google air pollution. that is not where we want to be. that is where we were 50, 70, one years ago in this country. we do not want to turn back the clock -- 100 years ago in this country. we do not want to turn back the clock. at the same time, if there are regulations that are over burdensome and have very little return in terms of health or worker safety, or privacy, or transparency, then it certainly makes sense to take a look at that. to cast out regulation altogether is a serious mistake. i will go back to hamilton on this again. in his report on manufacturing,

he said we are well served by having regulations because it will show consumers that these products that we are making our high-end-quality and worthy of export as well. of-- high-quality and worthy export as well. so there is a methodology that goes along with this. host: we are speaking with scott paul. i want to ask you about this op-ed bernie sanders wrote in "the washington post" with the "carrier just showed corporations have to beat donald trump." host: what is your response to that? guest: i understand senator t of view.oin

i do not agree with it. thet, let's look at inducement, which was $7 million over 10 years, which is really nothing in the economic world. for people that do this kind of deal, that is what is called saving face. that is why there was a deal that was made. in terms of the deal making itself, everybody can be a critic. i would have done it different, but the fact is you have to wield a threat out there. it takes carrots and sticks to get these things done. at the end of the day, i actually think this shifted power away from corporations and into the public benefit. i explained that earlier, but i will do that again. i think now corporations -- every corporation that has global operations, if it is considering moving jobs overseas, it is going to wonder if there are more consequences than there were a year ago, and

the answer to that is potentially yes. they will receive more scrutiny, potentially from the president of the united states. there are not a lot of corporate boards that i know who want that kind of publicity focused on their employment or sourcing decisiona. s best decisions. i saw steve processing and alan stone wrote something about this leaste post" today, at online, and they are worth reading. it talks about returning stakeholder economics. i view this as a victory, and i do not mean a political victory for donald trump. but in the efforts to try to secure more manufacturing, this is certainly a small victory. we need larger policy changes, but it is a step in the right direction. guest: arnold is on the democratic line. arnold, good morning. caller: yes, good morning.

how are you doing this morning? host: we are good. yourr: i would like to ask guests there, scott, and also you, if you recognize this quote -- it is a famous quote. it comes up every christmas. the quote is "mankind should have been my business." do you know what that is from by chance. guest: i am not familiar with it. host: i would love to know. "scrooge" as from christmas carol by charles dickens, and he tells him you are always a good man of business, and marley answers and says mankind should have been my business. with that in mind, about two years ago on c-span's "washington journal" there, you all have the head of greenpeace

on your show, and he made the following statement -- he said "if the earth's temperature rises another 3.5 degrees, it is over. 98% of all service-dwelling species are going to die -- surface-dwelling species are going to die. that includes us." the main elephant in the room is global warming. if we do not stop global warming, there are no jobs on a dead planet. host: all right, arnold, in tennessee. guest: i am concerned about global warming. i would say i think manufacturing is part of the solution. it is one of the reasons we want to invest in manufacturing here. our produces are much more efficient in terms of their pollution output, carbon output, then a lot of other places in the world. i think our policy should recognize that as well because there are externalities no one

will pay for now, but we will all pay for later. i'm hoping we can make progress on that. i think it is important to note the climate goals that have been laid out over the last decade have been met and exceeded by our domestic industry. so, we have that capability. i think it opens up new investment opportunities as well. i look at the solar city plant outside of buffalo, new york, or elon musk's battery plant in nevada that is going to employ about 6000 people. manufacture and achieve some of these climate goals. both are very important. host: i want to ask about this story in the m.i.t. technology review. the headline was "manufacturing jobs aren't coming back." the story talks about the growing role of automation in

manufacturing. is there a bigger trend at work? is manufacturing employment not going to reach a level it did in ?he 1970's yes, they will not reach the level they did in the 1970's. we had massive change decade over a decade, every decade since world war ii. that will continue and that will accelerate. we want to encourage that. would be a terrible policy to stand in the way of progress, but what does it mean for manufacturing? what does it mean for manufacturing jobs. i think this is important. there are other factors. robots will cost the same no matter where they are deployed -- china or the medassets. increased manufacturing of robots could have the effect of

bringing more production to the united states, although with fewer workers. there are things we have not thought through necessarily about this. our whole society is going to face a challenge with robotics, automation, and the future of work over the coming decades. i do not view this as an enemy of creating factory jobs. it is in reality, and it has always been there. the key to america's success, and to generate more manufacturing jobs in the past is let's increase market share, find new things to invent and make, and make sure we have good economic growth occurring here at home, and adequate public investing in things like infrastructure. if we do that, i do think there is a relatively bright future for manufacturing. no, we're not going to see that increased like we saw from the 1930's to the 1950's in

manufacturing jobs. that is not going to be replicated. i think we're still going to see some growth, even in an age of technology. peter from valley college, new york, is on the republican line. caller: good morning, mr. paul. there are three things i would like you to address. a recent article in "wall street journal" replacing -- explaining the republican tax plan, and how it will change the way imports and exports are taxed. the second thing is a lot of people are criticizing the $7 million tax benefit that carrier is going to get as a result of this deal that mr. trump made, but $7 million -- they are not taking into consideration the amount of tax revenue that the government is going to lose if all of these people lose their job.

there are going to be property taxes lost, income taxes lost, pension benefits -- government will have to pay unemployment benefits -- so, this amount of money that the government is providing in tax relief to this country to keep these jobs here is miniscule compared to what the losses will be. understand,m what i eight out of 10 air-conditioning companies are overseas already. there are only about two left here. it is not that a lot of these companies cannot make a profit. the problem is they cannot compete with these products coming in from overseas. they can stay in business, and the reason they will be knocked out of business is because the price differential is so high that people will buy the cheaper products. could you please address those three things? thank you. guest: yeah, thank you, peter.

those are some important points you raise. first, the republican tax plan and its treatment of exports and imports. i will not go tax walk because we could talk an hour about this. we step back and say almost every other nation around the world has something called a value-added tax, and that is an indirect tax on consumption that businesses would pay, and in most countries, including mexico, and every european vat is rebated if the product is exported. there is an incentive to export products. the united states is almost unique in the world in not having a system like this. so, it does factor into our competitiveness. there is no question. republicans have a way to try to address this, and a way that is

probably legal with trade obligations under the wto, but i expect to hear a lot more conversation about this. i think it is a good idea to have a corporate tax focus on creating more export opportunities for the united states, while equalizing import costs in a way that is reflective of, kind of, fair competition. that is the text piece. -- tax piece. on the inducements, you are right -- indiana university estimated that the cost to the economy of the state of indiana was going to be $108 million a year if all 2000 carrier jobs would have gone, and that would have, obviously, a profound impact on the state, and so $7 million over 10 years looks like a bargain in exchange for that. and finally, the competitiveness

of appliances like air-conditioners -- i think this is a critical point. we are in global competition. there are some types of appliances that the raw material cost in the united states are essentially equal to the finished cost of some goods coming from china and other low-cost countries. now, if it is fair competition -- look, that is the free market. if it is unfair competition, and there are rules being violated, that is something we need to look at. we know there are a lot of chinese producers that received industrial subsidies, who receive extra legal tax benefits. who enjoy lax regulations of weak labor and environmental laws, and who sometimes have an exchange rate advantage as well. so, i think there is a way to address some of that, and make

sure that these are, kind of, market-based reforms. host: we have time for a few more callers. in odessa,from anna texas. hello, do you speak spanish? caller: my english is not that good. host: i do not speak spanish. guest: my apologies. caller: can you hear me? host: we can hear you. guest: i came from mexico, but i came to work. i gave my kids a good education, and they can do something good in the united states, cocaine? ? -- united states, ok? disabled -- i am

disabled, and i am on social security checks. it is not enough to pay my bills. i was trying to do good, help somebody who needed help, ok? first.lways put god because there's a lot of eople who they don't like the united states, and they want to in the united states. jealous of the united states, and god bless the united states host: that's anna from texas. hear from one more caller. it will be our last one and we'll hear from our guests. bill, go ahead with your question or comments. caller: is this -- host: you're on the air. caller: oh, i'm bill. i understand that here are areas in mexico where

products can be assembled that components % u.s. and are then shipped back into have ated states and can label put on them "made in the usa." is that nder nafta or actually what goes on today in below the ese areas mexican-american border, the products. guest: bill raises a very good point. the federal trade commission has definition for "made in the usa" and it's actually pretty stringent, that it's only 15% u.s. content, it's going to have being called "made in the usa. ". might be assembled in the usa imported components. wonky part called

product of origin, how it's a free trade agreement. and under the north american free trade agreement, it's a big automobiles. and it's impacting auto parts firms in all three countries, in canada, united states and mexico. because under the rules of origin, there is a lot of can come from china or japan, be put into a vehicle hat's assembled in mexico, canada, or the united states, and be called like a nafta receive tariff-free treatment. this is one issue that i know wilber ross has identified that they want to look at in nafta renegotiation to make sure that benefits of nafta are going, in fact, to the nafta countries not indirectly to those that are outside of the trading block. support that effort. i think that's a good thing and an example of nafta renegotiation that could be good for all three countries and could help create jobs potentially in all of those as that i t it's an issue

hope addressed as we move forward. ost: scott paul is the president for the alliance for american manufacturing. being with us. guest: good to be with you. ost: up next, what will cuba look like under a post fidel castro. later, we'll look at a new report called "barriers to wellness." se of color feel unsafe in their communities, all of which being. their overall joining us makers," for a discussion about police community relations. working group a examining violence between citizens, tomorrow between 10:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. not a simple problem hat passing a bill and signing

a law will take care of. i'm hopeful that with the new we can find ways o continue to work on this , licing strategies conference and i start off with an open mind. i start off with an attitude that is cooperative, and that we ontinue and set a good example for our colleagues on both sides an issue thatbout is as emotional and as touchy as this one with police relations. to be said it has things many places where poverty-stricken communities, of places that are in which ate, places here's already a problem of

high crime rate. >> what's going to be the eaction of the new administration to the work that you're doing? new do you think the administration -- it's going to have its own ideas. we ell, it is so new that don't have but a few names of people who will be in positions could be very important in this regard, and i look forward to having discussions with because i think this is something that the american really long for and that the administration could provide leadership in helping to rebuild the kind of trust we need in communities between law enforcement and the sworn to t they are serve and protect, some of whom , and we erstand that need to promote that. to say that this is something that really i think is something that the congress and

the house and the senate should get behind, because we terms of he way in showing what kind of things can based upon what we've learned. >> "washington journal" continues. vasquez.ning us is ian he is the coauthor of the human index and editor of global fortune and world coeditor of d the world ating poverty, the bank and the developing world. thank you for joining us this morning. thank you. host: you're here to talk about post-cuban american situation fidel castro's death.

left power castro to his brother. so for the past 10 years, the waiting for fidel cubans have and been waiting much longer. he was in power in 1959. still the most powerful person in cuba and he died at 90, and everybody was expecting this to happen, cuban regime, place all sorts day of ictions, so the his death, they don't get any urprises and maintain the dictatorial regime and no prisings out of control and so on, which is why you see a in this past year, as he was getting worse, and since disdance on the island.

host: give us a little bit of the u.s.-cuba relationship in the past. how has this relationship 1959 when fidel castro took power? guest: well, early on, he declared himself a communist, and things went down hill for there, so for over 50 years, the united states imposed an embargo during the cold war, i would say that cuba was a national threat. everybody remembers the cuban 1960s.e crisis in the once the soviet union collapsed t the beginning of the 1990s, cuba failed to pose any threat to the united states, but that maintained, and every president maintained it. so ecame law in the 1990s that it wasn't just something that a president could take away. with g change came president obama, who recognized, or i think a lot of people

that free embargo had to democratizeed the island, to promote human rights, to dislodge dictatorship. possibly, a change could lead to better outcomes. years ago, ple of president obama started to relax. embargo that he could relax under executive orders. and included. guest: he's allowed americans to travel there under certain conditions, which are very elaxed, so that basically any american who wants to travel there can do so. e listed limits to cubans, the amount that can be sent. he has allowed americans to there and look at the use of credit cards.

flights have begun just this from united states to cuba. there's all sorts of interaction ow that hasn't occurred for more than 50 years. host: and do you believe this is the right approach for the u.s. take. caller: i think so. by united states -- not just the cuban government, but by many people in the region, latin always accused of having a heavy hand in cuba and that's right. he cuban government benefitted from that, because it could always prove the u.s. as the things were going so badly in cuba. and ut having that excuse the embargo had not yet been lifted but it has been relaxed. that excuse, i think it puts the focus right where it belongs, which is on cuban regime itself as the eal source for cuban people's misery. host: if you call in with your omments or questions for our

guest, ian vasquez. 202-748-8001. democrats, the line is 202-748-8000. number is s, your 202-748-8002. a special phone like for cuban americans, 202-748-8003. send us a tweet. let's hear from cliff in calling on new york, the republican line. what's your thought this morning? caller: hi. call. you for taking my i read a recent article right died that went into the kennedy assassination, and to a cuban operative article, rding to this and from, you know, from the active in the area, and this person was, according

article, shot, kennedy popped up from a man hole cover .45, which with a the back of his head was off instead of the front, and what said was that the narratives hat the lone shooter was perpetrated because of, you know, the retaliation that would to cuba and the threat of nuclear war with russia. frankly, the only reason i can see -- i've always thought because the only reason to continue an embargo against such a nowhere country was retaliation, not to promote et cetera. what's your feelings on that? i think that on the florida and the that american community fled cuba, played a big role in policy. u.s. foreign

presidents, up until more recently, felt that florida was an important state, and correctly so. but cuban-american opinion has started to change over the past 10 years. very issue of the embargo. surprising that obama himself started to change his views. changed their views on this and for many years now, the ajority of them supported and still support an end to the embargo. affecting the cuban american community as well which is why i think president obama change the ould policy. host: why have you seen the sentiment amongst cuban-american. guest: there's been a shift in and older can cuban-americans see it doesn't try and they want to something different. the younger cuban-americans don't have the same relationship they were born

, that d are americans their parents did. so they have a different nderstanding of what kind of relationship the united states tould have, and they do want things on the island and on't see the policy after 50 years have worked. host: after castro's death, for ix decades, the relationship was marked by discord and profound political disagreements. during my presidency, we have worked hard to put the past a future in rsuing which the relationship where we and with neighbors friends, but the many things that we share as neighbors, friends, bonds of family, culture, commerce and common humanity. do you think about this comment after fidel castro's

death. the death of probably the worst dictator in american history. they have a long history of dictatorships but none had so for so long over the lives of so many people as fidel to ro and none was able impose a totalitarian regime did. fidel castro and if obama considers himself eer of the democratic world, he should have said something more stronger than that. host: more critical. guest: much more critical, and poken things the way they are, in a very diplomatic tone, so i hink that that is very cuban inting for americans. should u're saying u.s. have taken a harsher stance. that bargo, recognizing

the embargo and the economic stations haven't been working as intended. guest: that's right. important to stand up for the values that make the united states great. reedom, democracy, respect for civil and human rights. but not fall under the illusion can the united states determine the fate of countries all around the world. history tot too much show that the united states is factor in ermining the direction that the countries go, and it gets itself into trouble time and time again when it thinks otherwise, and starts meddling quite a bit in the of other ffairs countries. hen there isn't a national security threat involved. host: let's hear from john in louisiana from the democratic line. john, what do you think this morning. caller: good morning.

hello, you're on the air. caller: okay. the cuban-americans, they're wrong, they're wrong. power? castro kept the why did they keep it? corrupt.he was host: all right, that's john from louisiana. hear from another caller and we'll take it back to our guest. is a from florida cuban-american calling in with her thoughts. maria, good morning. hi.ler: good morning to everybody. well, i think what president doesn't ed, it just work out. with cuba, you have the do have to be e trong, not to leave the

embargo, to put sanctions very heong to free all the people had there and give human rights to the people there to speak to type dia to have another of freedom, and they -- to have sit down, in his company, to sit down and negotiate is strong. if they don't give anything, the not give tes should one little thing to them. t doesn't work out what obama tried. i think he tried his best, but it doesn't work out. ou have to be strong with communist dictatorship. and if they want money, they cuba,to free the people of of that island is an island people. guest: i think the caller is right. it's a communist dictatorship and it's been that way a long time. the united states has tried the approach that the caller is

has sting and the regime never shown any interest in conditioning its behavior on wants or nited states doesn't want. say that the obama administration's policies have failed, then we can say that the previous ones have failed too. in my view, that's just a reflection that the united very limited ability to determine the change n of policy and in cuba. i the extent that we can, think allowing more interaction with americans is positive, travel, y allowing interaction o more with americans and ordinary free more n cube ans from the

state. we have another caller on the cuban-american line. good morning. morning.good [indiscernible] caller: we need to help the cuba, the people that live in cuba. host: okay. caller was from florida.

headline of the washington post. cubacastro gone, people of want change. cubans must find a way to change without safety ng the socialist net. an vasquez, what are your thoughts on that. guest: i think that's ridiculous. and the reason is we have a lot formerly nce with socialist countries that evolved through reform. ome of them have done it rapidly. some of them have done it gradually. some of them have done it well some not. and the experience lessons are quite clear. countries that have done the reaching nt far reforms are the ones that have recovered most quickly, the ones that have developed the institutions more than the other ones that have

helped people increase their ncomes, increase their consumption, increase their living standards, in a way that the others did not. precisely because they were -- under failed systems. we have to continue a failed gradually ease out of it actually doesn't make any sense. that is exactly the cause of the at this point, we have, as they say, several decades of experience, countries around the world that have reformed, and we really would see cuba making the mistakes of russia or some of countries european that did gradual reforms, and for a much h poorer longer period of time than the rampant that did reforms. this is not disparity. pro-growth ery and strategy and i think it's onfusing to cause forms

austerity when in fact, the austerity the people are living result of a failed system they had been living under. host: next caller is cindy from forney, texas, on the independent line. good morning to you. yes.er: you know, they criticized president obama for trying to cuba, trying to work things out, but gitmo, the that we held the iraqi soldiers in -- are you still there, ma'am? we're still there. caller: okay. gitmo is in cuba, right? guest: yes. caller: okay. and i understand -- i read an when bush was in office, he spent millions of cubars flying a plane over trying to communicate, and they blocked his signals. don't understand why they're criticizing this president that we have now, and bush worked with them, and people,annot trust these

why is the prison over there that hosts the people that we iraqi war? ing the guest: why is the president over there? host: why is the prison there. guest: oh, well yeah, that camp has been there cuban revolution n 1915, and it was a military base, and castro was never dislodge.o that's always been a sore point or cuba but always been a military base for the united states. when the war on terror began, this in bush used order to house these suspected imprison them, and because it's not on u.s. territory, the legal that theyion has been can do and get away with things they couldn't do

within the united states and unfortunately i think there's abuse. te a bit of host: next caller is david from dudley, north carolina, on the line.endent david, go ahead. caller: yes. reason that the ones that e are the are responsible for the blockade, the one that's in for the is responsible blockade of the cuban people. when batista was in power, it was a safe haven for american and everybody a else. and when mr. castro took over 100% of ca gave him until he used the amamoxis and all of a sudden everything turned against

fidel castro at that time. i want to know if this is true untrue. guest: when fidel castro was batista the regime, the regime in the 1950s, he insisted over and over again that he was a democrat, that he was saying cuba and so on, he was asked whether he was a communist, whether he believed he said no, s, and definitely not. i believe in democracy, freedom freedom of , election and so on. once he was in power, it didn't for him to say he is a he unist and the marxists, aligned himself with the soviet union. and that's when he began this totalitarian ended up the regime executing thousands of people, he's probably responsible for of lives of maybe

or more people who had fled the island and drowned, who war, who he executed. he has been that able to be in power for so long of hrough the sheer use force and cruelty. host: here's a question from related to that response: will the cuban government continue to invest in political prisoners. the arrests on an there. trend guest: yes. broken records in terms of citizens of ordinary cubans on the island, last many years. probably have reached 10,000 dissodance in cubans.

they're cracking down because there really is a lot of dissatisfaction on the island. there's fear on the part of the regime that with the death of things could get out of hand. they don't want any of that to this i think was predictable. possibly hadcubans more freedom, the cuban regime has cracked down. anytime that the cuban regime has introduced marginal reforms give cubans a little bit more freedom, and they've done this out of necessity, the regime has ended up back tracking. possible toittle as reform, and as much as possible to keep in power. at all there any sense that under alan castro, there any softening of that stance? it sounds like there's maybe a of it. g guest: i don't think there's going to be a softening of that stance. it's possible there's going to

types of economic reforms but like i say, they've marginal. in a country that is as poor and is, marginal cuba reforms make a big difference in the lives of tens of thousands people. but certainly, that's not enough, in order to make a difference in the cuban economy a whole. castro and the cuban regime will continue this policy f doing what they can do stay afloat and to maintain political power. will from ohio is on the democratic line now. thoughts? caller: yes, sir. amazes me when i hear you talk. you want to control everybody around the world, as if the only government is a democracy. mean, really, it has gone beyond irritation. it's just getting annoying.

if the cuban people want to live or a a dictatorship democracy, it's up to those people. people suffer under batista, and not one american raised their voice to batista out of there. batista was the uncivilized guy. mean, it's getting to be ridiculous. host: all right. that's will from ohio. vasquez. guest: actually, i don't think the united states should determine the fate of other countries. i think the united states can stand up for certain principles, intervening in order to try to make a country a or get engaged in nation building or anything of the sort. it, which ch against is exactly why i am in favor of completely mbargo and i think it's unfortunate that the cubans suffer under a i don't think t it's the responsibility of the united states to try to change that. course, i believe that there

should be a democracy, hopefully a limited constitutional emocracy when transition finally occurs. it's the only kind of regime where we actually know what the want by definition. so i think that the role of the united states is to stand up for principles but not try to pose on other ciples countries. host: you've traveled to cuba times, right? guest: i traveled to cuba in 2002. host: what was your impression economic situation there. guest: it's dismal and continues to be dismal. of course when the soviet union collapse, so did the subsidies that the soviet union had given cuba. they amounted to 5 or $6 billion huge amount was a for the small economy of cuba. a huge went into economic and social crisis.

contracted by 40%. so it took many, many years cuban economy was back up to the level that it was 1990, and probably hat didn't happen until sometime in the past 10 or 12 years. started to grow gain, but only because cuba adjusted and venezuela started cuba through oil money and took the place of the soviet union. called in cuba what they the special period in the early '90s that they were suffering through, and it started to come end once they introduced some reforms that were for many years, cuba economy.larized the dollar, because their urrency simply was worthless and everybody was using the dollar anyway and legalized it.

venezuela came in and tarted subsidizing cuba again, they back tracked on the reforms. every time they do reforms in do as little as possible to actually give people freedom and do as much as to maintain control. host: next caller is frank from line.and on the republican go ahead, frank. caller: good morning. morning. d caller: you know, i'm a america.an, but i love america has a lot of things we do. the problem with this country is politiciansause the best for this is country. resident obama, thinking he is one of the best presidents this nation has ever had. righta, it is the

thing. every time there's a war, at the end of the day, they shift. do we have to fight in the first place? [indiscernible] and what he's doing right now the people of cuba. all the sanctions have been lifted. what, we found out that the president-elect actually attempted to do cuba illegally. thousands of dollars host: that's frank in maryland. about this k you story in the wall street journal pressured castro donald trump on cuba promises. said he could undo obama's efforts. some face push back from companies deeply invested in cuba. these companies include major

airlines, hotel operators and technology providers, while big have signed rriers new agreements on the island. said he 's top aides would demand the release of and demand isoners more economic freedom. cubano you think the u.s. elationship will look like under trump's administration. trump has said he wants a better deal. is that hat's likely reverse possibly some of the changes in the u.s. policy, some of the relaxation sanctions on cuba but in a limited way. does that, he he will get push back from airlines exporters. the united states exports dollars of millions of

in exports, agriculturally, per year, and he's going to get in that regard. i think the most likely scenario is that he's going to change, limit the amount, maybe ways that ome of the you can spend money there. maybe be a little bit more strict on travel. guess, and ybody's probably at the end of the day, we're going to still have a more thaned policy towards cuba was the case two years ago. host: what did you think of his of fidelto the passing castro when people said his tweet was a little too flip. response hink trump's was actually excellent. i don't pretend to be a fan of donald trump but he said exactly thing.ht he called the dictatorship a dictatorship. he recognized the suffering

people and that's something leaders of the not ratic world simply did do. ost: evan from carolina is calling in on the independent line. go ahead. thing with cuba is the cuban people in that country a d to rise up and have people's power revolt against the cuban government. raul and the rest of raul's nies, which brother fidel, was a murderer, a killer. him in d people against firing squads, and that will hopefully eventually change that free and open elections for both import and and open up businesses and possibly make cuba a better country than it is currently right now. host: i think we all hope for a regime. of this let's not forget, this is a

it's ry dictatorship and one of the reasons why it's been able to last for so long. island nation an that is controlled in every part soldiers and by by the military and by secret apparatusd by a whole of intelligence officers from state.nts from the regime and makes it difficult for cubans to rise up, being watched and being punished severely, and for so been the case cubans t a lot of unfortunately i think have lost hope that they could make a change in that direction. though it's been clear for a long time, that nobody is cuba situation,ed with the ncluding cuban communist party members, government officials, and so on. it's just that everybody that

in a stalinist regime is afraid to take the first step call for significant change. host: this comment is on twitter, now that we've with cuba, relations the policy which cost lives should end. us what that policy is and it. your stance is on guest: since the beginning of cubans have been playing cubans and coming here. the policy was that cubans heading to the united states and intercepted by the coast guard, were let into the united states were allowed and to live in this country. changed this ton policy when there was an immigration crisis with cuba or one, and he made it o that only the cubans who actually got to the u.s. soil, who stepped foot on u.s. land,

from that policy of asylum. but if they were found in the ocean, they were turned back to authorities. i think that was a wrong policy then. it continues to be a wrong led to ow, and it's thousands of unnecessary deaths and suffering. let's hear from el merin hicago, illinois, on the democratic line. alma, good morning to you. good morning. guest: good morning. host: go ahead. you're on the air. comment is this i do believe that china is communist. that russia is communist, and oppress the people that live there. in jail for political dissent. we've also spent thousands of vietnam. communists, and we are now their friends.

we couldn't accommodate cuba being communist because of their but we can accommodate and do business with all these other countries that are doing the same thing. that's very are hip hypocrite hypocritical, and to say that only cuba wants this and that, presumption, if you don't know. guest: i think there's no question there's a consistency foreign policy. the u.s. has diplomatic, of ercial, and other kinds engagements with all sorts of likeries around the world, russia and china, like authoritarian regimes like in asia. and and cuba is an exception in the tt it's treated. but that's very historical and ery particular reasons, having to do with the electorate in the united states and so on.

make it a esn't consistent policy. if we were to be consistent in the directions of embargo actually support, we have to have an embargo with much of the world, and ding china and russia many other countries and i don't think anybody thinks that would be a good idea, improve or improve people living in those countries. much freer is a country than it was several decades ago. still a communist dictatorship. the same could be said about russia after the collapse of the soviet union. it's still not a free country but it's freer. get awayhat we have to from the notion that the united thees somehow can determine direction of entire societies. caller, juan from iami, florida, who is a cuban

american calling on the republican line. juan, good morning to you. you have the last word. good morning. yes, we need to strengthen the embargo. everything with the embargo, it is a line of credit given to not going to take and guess who gets stuck with the bill. taxpayers, okay. so we need to put him through strict embargo. only that, this notion hat cubans are coming in from 19 1994, and one year, they go back cuba like nothing happened, like they're a normal democracy and it's not. because they're using the money we give them and they take it back to cuba over it over they spend over and help that regime, this country, so we need to the embargo. the problem has not been forced

appropriately. you cannot have direct flights to cuba. f you want to go to cuba from any part in the u.s., you need to go to a third country, not that we're onghts right now. host: that's juan from florida. caller: that is the policy that in place for decades, and it didn't work. didn't of the reasons it work is precisely because the united states was the only that had sanctions on cuba. the rest of the world continues wasn't about hat to change. we have a lot of experience with sanctions on countries around the world and all of it shows they're changing sanctions on targeted countries, especially when they're with the united states. in terms of interaction with u.s. i'm against the government providing any credit

to the regime. but if ordinary american citizen or a businessman wants to go i don't think that the united states government person's mit that ability to take a risk with their own money. vasquez, the director for the center of global liberty at theicato y institute. thank you for joining us this morning. next, how well being is being impacted in major cities in the of stress in ount their community. we'll be right back. >> follow the transition of overnment on c-span as president-elect donald trump selects his cabinet and the republicans and democrats prepare for the next congress, you to key events as they happen without interruption. on c-span. or listen on our free c-span

radio app. [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. . sit ncicap.org] >> as our level seemed to be seemed like an important time to be talking about a show that valued civil discourse and debate between people who disagreed with each other. on in depth, nday 75th anniversary on the attack at pearl harbor. we'll be taking your phone

tweets and e-mails. senator george on hell, who served as u.s. board in the middle east, looks palestinian-israeli conflict. a path to peace, and the way forward in the middle east. he's interviewed by jane harman. ceo of the woodrow center. >> have long since renounced opted for nd have peaceful negotiations to a chief of state. go to book tv.org schedule.lete weekend "washington journal" continues. linda oining us now is martinez. is an assistant professor soebl e boston school of

work and a research fellow at the center of promise. so much for taking time for us this morning. guest: thank you for having me this morning. host: you're here to talk about a new report from the center of promise. report found that young people of color across this unsafe in e feeling their communities. your s more about what report found. guest: sure. america's promise alliance is he largest alliance, a multisectoral alliance committed to the well being of young people. working with the center for promise, we conducted a assessment and what that means is that young people were guiding the ssessment and determining the priorities throughout the process, and assessment is the stage in community planning effort. so it's important when we're thinking about young people that they're at the table and have are a voice. we work with young people in

chicago, denver, philadelphia and st. paul and in artnering with organizations and grass roots youth leaders, e were able to train teens of young people around health and determinance the of health and based on the riorities identified, we work with them around designing an assessment. understanding different assessments, or quantitative, and for protocols. host: essentially, you had young people interviewing or surveying peers about how they felt in their own communities, is right? guest: exactly, yes. four out of the five cities did that were much more quantitative, and then also with structured responses, and then we had one city, enver, who took a much more

qualitative approach. they did interviews where they folks and did community observations where they went out in particular and of the community verified dynamics that were happening. what did report find, all these people that went out surveyed, all these numbers they community, what did determine? guest: sure. the areas that were identified looked people everywhere familiar. stress was a major concern cross the groups, as well as safety, and sense of belongingness. explored police relations and police relations allthe one that came across five cities for young people in -- terms of relationships young people had as far as and well beingness for young people. additional things that came up

bias, racial bias in particular for profiling. as well as there were issues up around health behavior that people identified and ed to substance use sexual health practices. host: and does your report make recommendations in addressing some of these pressing issues? guest: yes. the recommendation across the board is that young people really need to be at the table. have a perspective on the community and the dynamics with the community and identify o programming, the health and program, supplementary services for young people, we really need to be thinking about how to engage young people in the development of those programs. view we want to let our ers and listeners know that they this ll in and join conversation with linda martinez with the center of promise. you're under 18, we want to hear from you. your number to call is

202-748-8000. ages of 18 and 35 years old, your line is 202-748-8001. those between the ages of 36 and number is 202-748-8002. and if you're over 50, the line you is 202-748-8003. on twitter @cspanwj, for kids tweeting. study about his social determinants of health. what is that? great question. i think for many decades we thought about health and well being. we were thinking about social behavior and how that impacts factors and netic how they impact health. e can't not think about individual behavior but whether your neighborhood environment, your social environment, your community ierm, all those things matter

for your health and well being. access to education is a your health and well being. the orce factors. environmental factors in work. all of those are important for health and well being. we can't just think about individuals in isolation. e really need to think about individuals in place and how they interact with community and which is all t, things in the community, as well as the social environment in the community. needs to be thinking beyond those individual level factors. host: and when you look at the young people who are included in the study in this report, what do we know about demographic reakdown of the folks who are included? guest: sure. young majority of the people or all of the young people engaged in the project of oung people of color, the majority identified as black or african-american, we did have a couple of young people that

latino who are from the caribbean nation, born states, parents young road, as well as people that identified as asian american. young can-american people that people, latino young people and respondents the were for white young people but were people ofty color. host: and the issues you brought attention, feeling stress and unsafe. these are issues that are new particular to this generation or are these issues that have existed for time? guest: i think the distress of young people. is a timultuous time in development. reality is young people are than many more stressors

in the pass. when you look at communities of color, young people are on a encing violence day-to-day basis. we can't not think about what people are seeing on the media. are very those things stressful for young people. i think that young people are experience stress, which we learned from a group in particular in looked at the role of social media in the lives of young impacted how that their health and well being. but young people are under a of stress. mount host: let's hear from our first massachusetts. between the ages of 36 and 50. comment?ur question or caller: good morning. host: we can hear you. okay.: i'm thinking about all the teen gun violence in the country. as you look at all the cities,

people are young dying for senseless reasons, and number 1 should be a priority for our country. host: go ahead. guest: thank you so much for calling in. is so valid.point young people, particularly for people in boston and chicago, violence was the number gun violence and trauma. what does that mean for young each living that trauma day. as they go into school, they take that with them and we need to think about the programs we need to put into place. i would agree with the caller that we need to be thinking about the violence that our to.g people are exposed some young people place. i would agree with the don't le for the fear of violence. to walk from one side of the neighborhood to another side of is a concern od for some young people. if you're always thinking always if you're

thinking safe and about stress and how it reacts to your body, the constant for the wellt good being for our young people. host: brian calling from abilene, texas, 18 to 35-year-olds. caller: yes, hello. this is brian. i had to turn my tv off because interfering with the sound. am i live. host: you're live. turningthe right thing, off your tv. caller: i've been kind of out of the loop for a long while and my own studies into ethnic histories. biracial from parentage, so i'm kind of white and kind of not white. me, i feel as if we need to like take the initiative as a eneration -- i was born in 1983, and we need to push forward and get past all of racism issues. we all need to take pride in our

qualities, and as it stands, there's a lot of like and on. ms going on 1900sbeen reading a lot of history, like all of the race ar stuff from back then, and it's just kind of strange, because it's almost like we're on a loop. but i'm just trying to find ways to get involved. i'm kind of stuck in a small kind of put here against my will due to medical establishment issues. it has to deal with more along the lines of racial and i'm kind of stuck in a place. i'm ot hispanic, but labelled hispanic. and these profiling regimes are openly hostile and i don't know what to do about it from i am, except trying to contribute. i don't have any kind of internet access. literally, there's just so much to say. i don't know what else to say too much air. up

host: brian in abilene texas, we do hear you this morning. martinez, what are your thoughts. caller: brian, thank you so much for your call. points are so valid. we need to start talking about he race issue as a nation and in some areas we've seen that happening. jones, from amar the american health public association. begun -- if we don't start to talk about these issues profiling and how people are treated based on the categories we put them in, we're be able to move forward. if we want to think about the health and well being of our nation, we need to think about the impacts on young people. is on the line for those over 50. go ahead. air.re on the caller: okay. yes. a chonney. vend a

the reason i'm calling is people voted of for mr. trump didn't realize and he was going to win, had won. but a lot of younger people and older people have a lot of fears. young people already had fears at the beginning, had more see the being able to being able to get a job or living in fear of what's life to happen with their or their future, and i think that's something they have fear said, because like i nobody ever thought he was going to win. in there, ce he is that pose another whole problem who erybody because people voted against their own win, sts, and when he did people was shocked. he was shocked himself that he won. are living in the times

in revelation, and where the democrats depend on that's ver, again, but not going to happen because they're not going to have another chance to do that. host: okay. venda in louisiana. inda martinez, what are your thoughts on how this election might impact young people? guest: i think we're in a very unique time. she brings up a good point. young people are living in fear. their t's important for health and well being and we need to address that. he more uncertainty we have, the greater their fears. i can't predict the future but i the next administration really focuses on the well being to oung people and begins create the conditions at which hey can reduce the fear young people are living in. york, angel, from 18 to 35 age range.

morning. caller: hi. my name is melody, actually. host: sorry about that. no problem. so i work with youth. antidepression work shops with our youth, and it's very that trauma care, to our teach ers and social workers nd schools in the community centers. in new york city we have 100 the relationship for counselors to use is like 332 student, where for police officers, there's 192 per our schools. nd so on top of that, the trauma they're exposed to is oppression in our communities that they're overpoliced. and the people that are serving the communities that serve them parents and families need to just not be informed

about what is oppression and looks like, but the that, like, w impacts the cally tudents' ability to succeed in academia, college, and high school and such. for time for me. is it comet informed care that talk about, needs to be more widely implemented? yes.er: and some advocates are actually working new york city, working mandated for our teacher education program in new york city. york. melody from new thank you so much. inda martinez, can you tell me about what this trauma informed care is and what your response is. caller: yes. so many important point that ame out of her parents and question there. guest: and i think it's so

the piece you brought up about oppression and helping ers and ple and teach counselors understand the cycle important.ion is so part of the training when we were working with young people nd preparing them to explore the determinants of health was to understand that cycle of and how it affects community well being. an important point that melody brought up was around the ratio. counselors and support services to students. 332, i think she said, to 1 and given the trauma young people with, it's concerning to think that young people have few support services and counseling services in school. particularly know that supportive adults and services for young rtant people. host: sandra in massachusetts in

line.er 50 good morning. caller: hi. variety of e have a black, indian, it's in ourname it, neighborhood, and our mayor happens to be guy, and i want to it's all working and it's all well. i think it's great. i see it, it's quiet. along. get and they get along and greet humility and h grace. where it starts is at home. you. host: sandra from massachusetts. tuscaloosa, alabama is on the line for those over 50. or head with your question comment. caller: yes, good morning. ne of the questions i have is education. e need education in our

communities. when obama was president, and all of the congressmen senators who are black and hispanic in washington, and no remember, has put together or tried to put program, and money, up and improve the schools in these communities. in itself would crack down n the crime and people will be able and educated to go out and get jobs. black leaders in washington, and no one has come demand that the educational communities be improved. and the other thing that i think is that racism is rampant in this country.

we need our black leaders to speak out up and about it. ou have black leaders who are afraid to identify with black lives matter. police officer in flagler right now who is on murdering a black man, police officerck last night talking about, well, this is unusual. i don't understand it. for over 300pening years. you have a practically all white juror. outright racism. from alabama. m guest: i have a couple of tim's point. he brings up a very important point around the education system. at the five promises from america's promise

people need young caring adults, quality ducation, safe spaces, and one of those main pieces. one of the focal points around increasing graduation rates, e're not going to be a healthy driving nation if we're failing to educate large portions of our population. not all young people have education.ess to and i think the piece brought up around racism. up in a it came previous caller. we need to begin to have a real conversation, a hard a nation, around the topic of racism. the mayor of boston one or two weeks ago began to have a conversation around the racism. again, i want to emphasize that we need to have at the table. host: your report was very so rehensive, identified

many areas where people of color feeling unstress or safe. do you get started considering how massive the be? lem may guest: great point. i think there were so many in the hat came up report and where do you begin and one of the places to begin a conversation, bringing young people to the table as well. i think about one particular came up in the report that really struck me when we were having conversations with relatedople, and it was to transportation, and neighborhood change and redevelopment. it's not nothing i would have ever thought about and ting police relations, i do a lot of talk about the je gentrification. they talked about how changes in the development.

they felt as their community was invested in to being served in the community. as omething as simple community development initiatives, we need to be unintended out the consequences and how it might impact families. int: other specific policies the cities, working in boston, philadelphia r, and st. paul, what are the would point to moving forward as policies? guest: i think some of the seen some niceve work happening in terms of -- in engaging young people, engaging community residents, and thinking about racial equity would e beyond the city that we worked in. there's work done in seattle and boston done this summer around equity. i think the policy is very important.

i think anytime we can think to incorporate the use programming is important as well. opportunities for leadership people within cities is important. host: we'll hear from herb in alabama for those over 50. go ahead. ma'am.: yes, i think the main problem with youth and the u.s. today is lack of discipline at home. at school.cipline a lack of christianity and teaching of the bible in the schools. host: okay. that's herb from elmore, alabama. martinez. guest: thank you for your call. i think one of the things that we know is that it's so mportant to have a caring adult, a caring adult that's available in the home and the neighborhood and the community. i recall, you e, know, when i was younger that you couldn't necessarily walk

the street or do something wrong, that your neighbor might or someone on it might see you coming. we knew each other. cohesion a sense of and we took care of each other. and i think that's an important that we were accountable within our homes and neighborhoods and we were cared for. of the things that we're finding with young people, is that they're not feeling that of belonging or not welcomed, at they're and that's concerning. host: what was the income level of the use of color that was this report. guest: great. so for the young people of color part of the research team, it varied. some of them were low income people. i should also say, we didn't collect data specifically on the you know, my so response on that would be it's anecdotal based on the sense of young people knowing

team. some were low income and some moderate income. but in terms of the data collected, the young people didn't collect information on data, i'm sorry, data on the terms of a socio economic status. i wonder anecdotally if ou have any sense of the main issues or main concerns that young people of color might according to ries their income levels. guest: and certainly their ncome level might play a role, but if you think about nequities among young adults, race or ethnicity, in health and mong the adult population, we know that within income groups, here's still a gap between outcomes. host: peter from ella beach, michigan is calling on the line those over 50. peter, good morning to you.

caller: good morning! all right, peter. what's your question or comment. i want to say something to linda. woman, you are a pretty and i know you work very hard. hard.e you're very smart. obama, comment is i know he's from hawaii, and everything i say is true. ut you followed my word, and everybody on television, followed -- host: all right, peter. this morning. we're going to move on to ernest massachusetts, on the line of those between 36 and 50. ernest. good morning to you. morning.good i want to thank you for having this important conversation.

has both k linda identified multiple risk factors facing our youth. my question is two points. id you see any variation in your themes among the youth by household structure, by sexual orientation. you've nd, often, mbedded in impoverished communities, just like multiple generations. how we can hts on mobilize any people in the to move forward, for adults, and everybody in between. guest: thank you ernest for your question. in terms of -- for the youth eam, we didn't look at differences in the team and for the individuals that they were surveying. differences byat race or ethnicity across cities.

and i also point out here, that each of the cities have their distinct effect. for cross cities, there were for each of the individual cities. the more important point i think ernest brings up is the fact that the issues experienced by oung people are not only experienced by young people. elders in communities of color marginalized and i think it presents an opportunity intergenerational programs. ow can we engage youth and elders together in programming. martinez, i believe part of this work and research company.eted by can you tell us about this partnership. the : i can tell you partnership, target has a partnership with america's lliance and target as a corporation is doing an incredible amount of work in the wellness and

community wellness. this work, particularly, the assessment was to begin to inform some of that work. rita in chicago, illinois. morning. caller: let's try over 65. i am disgusted by martinez. for you. i fought for you. teenager, i was a run worked with newton -- i don't know if you're listening or not. we hear you. white, john sinclair is as i am white. and i studied and traveled to continents, and white people are the minority in the world.

i have a color -- and color too, granted it's pink and blue eyes,d hair and and i don't want to be portrayed as a devil. obama the first time, and i saw what he did, and said this is totally illogical. host: that's rita in chicago. martinez. caller: rita, i want to thank you for your call and for your comments and i think one thing that is important is that ommunities of color or communities in general in improving health and well being, it alone and i think having white allies -- some of important partners i identify with are white. we need to do it together. it's not about communities of color. it's about our community and how we can build and strengthen. many linda martinez, states and governments say they budgets and there may

not be enough money to support could make a difference in the lives of these young people. you say to that argument. guest: i would say we need to young people and there are creative ways we can do partnerships, partnerships between government, organizations, and we ji ork together to strag -- strategize. thinking outside of the box. is extremely lts extensive. there are many caring adults in work ities and how can we together to begin to strategize young he well being of people in putting that forward. little river, om south carolina is our next on the line for those over 50.

good morning. morning.ood i'm 70 years old. y wife and i have raised three children, and two points mainly n education and families, all children do not learn at the same time. put children that are smarter and expect a slower at the same rate. it just can't be done. this, en you try to force then you end up with a problem that the child keeps failing and failing and doesn't want to try anymore. you just can't do that. learn at their own pace. he other thing is there are mommas and daddies, and there are parents. there's a big difference. i keep hearing all the time, and old, we need programs. we need programs. years ools through the have always got better and better in all of their programs.

is -- and nobody wants to address this because t's going to be so large and nobody wants to do it. understand from the youth, 70% born out hildren are of wedlock. hey have mommas and daddy, but they have no parents. if they do not have what they with hen they get home, parents that love them and take care of them and prepare them adult hood, the schools can't do it. in south 's ronnie carolina. guest: i agree with them. couple of points are very important . articularly the same on education. we can't expect every child to learn at the same pace. it's an important point and i think it's important that need parents caring in their lives. ometimes they're parents and

sometimes they're caring adults in the community. e're expecting so much of schools to make up for things missing in other parts of their lives in young people think need to begin to about that and what we can do to create supports in place in the the schools well as and supporting teach ers and young people. host: one of the findings in report is that when young people of color they feel stress risky engage in behaviors. walk us through some of the onsequences that young people are facing as they're dealing with all of their factors on them. wn guest: one example is the substance use. we heard that gs came up in our group in chicago, the youth in philadelphia as well, is that substance abuse is a concern for hem in the community, and that

they see it around them. ometimes it's in their homes, parental substance abuse, ometimes it's in the community and sometimes themselves they're with substance abuse. using young people drugs? a lot of it had to do with deal with to just things, relax. ome of it, it's always to have fun but for the most part it had todeal with managing stress, get through the day or deal with what was going on in the environment around them. remember, young people are describing that they're living in violent situations, where in community, they hear gunshots. they know people who are being killed. go to school and have lost another student perhaps. so it's something that, you know, their coping strategy, substance abuse is one of them. and that's important for their

and term well being development. host: from florida, on the line florida, 18 to 35-year-old, gabriel, good morning. caller: hello. host: you're on the air. ahead, gabriel. turn down your tv. i've been around. i've studied abroad. i've seen the world. youth.so been a minority i was once as a minority. say that. host: okay. we hear your point. christen move on to from florida over 50. go ahead, good morning. morning.ood ms. martinez, i applaud you dear. need more research. i'm a retired school counselor, always been a warrior, actually an advocate, for the

and erished youth especially the funding under allowed me nt obama to help student from the school to prison pipeline. alluding ints you're to today, highlighting, have been around, and we have to light.e to shed the now all the funding has been pulled from a program i helped all these nts with oppressors graduate and get jobs. i really did that and i enjoyed it and loved it. embrace it as a community, these certainly get that third here's generational aspect from children and parents who were of the schools to prison pipeline. it's very disconcerning. heartbreaking, and we all need to come together and refuse to let them cut these educational funds. so thank you for all you do, ms.

rtin martinez. keep up the good work. thank you so much for comments. one point you bring up that i want to highlight because it came up in the group in st. paul related to the school commentsn pipeline, and incarceration came up quite a bit. what happens for parents when prison in terms of their ability to get jobs and active members of the community and the challenges they face in that. turn now to rhode island. bob is on the line for those 50.r go ahead. caller: hi. thank you for taking my call. not identifying with any race or whatever. be identified as a human being, and i think the flaw in the system is when you down on a piece of

paper and make someone apply category.s to a it's disheartening to me because on who they are, not their color, not their status in life, but who they and it's a sad fact in this orld that we have political entities that stir it up and try peaceable people who get along on a normal basis hate other, all right. host: that's bob from rhode island. sprague martinez. face ng people of color unique challenges in today's society? they do. hey're overrepresented in poverty. they have access to -- less quality education. so we're starting off on a

there.nt place in terms of their access to nutritional resources, that came up in both of our cities in hicago and boston, came up around access to nutrient rich after school.and it came up a number over-exposed to violence. they face racial discrimination. a number of re are things they're facing as they move forward in society. the reality is that we want to hope that everyone has access to and everyone ream has an equal opportunity but that's not the case. in the united n states have the same opportunities and we need to acknowledge that. poor young people who are white, hey don't have the same opportunities as middle class folks, so we need to begin to

talk abouthat and to it. and what do we want as a nation for our of what we want young people as a nation. what do we want to see do we want to see them in terms of their ability ability to nd their move forward and be mobile. young people of color have much mobility, social mobility, than their counterparts. for one last time caller this morning, hasha from dallas, texas, calling between 50 years old. caller: hi. comment. i think that it should be up to 24 for children to find out their workforce area, to in their go to school or get some

job training. that would lessen their stress be a betterand also productive citizen as well. host: that's hasha from dallas, texas. go ahead. you bring up. one of the things that we know is another one of the high promises of america's promise alliance is young people should have the ability to serve and the ability to take part and serve their community. i think programs and workforce development programs for young people that allow them to engage in the community and allow them to engage in work -- in meaningful work experiences, that is so important. along with that, when we think about the school dropout age in many countries is 16. as a parent, i would hate for my children that think they