again. i'll do it again. i'm a buzz kill. >> shame on that city. >> a thousand dollars never to bother me again with that. >> i don't know. all right. that's all the min we have for you today. i'll have more "money" for you tomorrow when i win the power ball. the willis report is next. ♪ gerri: hello, everybody, i'm gerri willis, a meeting between congressional leaders and the white house to add vert the fiscal cliff scheduled for tomorrow, but, guess what? the president will not be attending it, secretary tim geithner will. regardless of the no-show tomorrow, president obama is hopeful to get a deal done by christmas, not inspiring confidence for pushing small businesses as key democratic

leaders refuse to put entitlements on the table. for more on all of this, republican congressman langford of oklahoma. congressman, welcome back, always great to have you here. >> thank you very much. gerri: president with strong words for congress. here's what he had to say. >> if congress does nothing, every family in america will see their taxes automatically go up at the beginning of next wreer. right now, as we speak, congress can pass a law that would prevent a tax hike on the first $250,000 of everybody's income. gerri: there's the president calling out congress. what do you have to say, congressman? >> yeah, here we go in the middle of this. the house passed all our tax things in april. we passed the sequestering documents in may. we waited for the senate since may to reciprocate on that. the senate and white house sat on it, and they said we'll see you in the lame duck period. now it's lame duck, and now they

want to get started when we finished or work in may on it. it's been frustrating in the process. it's the same song, 38th verse on it, waiting for the senate to get it going. now we're actually going, and the president now says you can clear the table on this. the reality is this is not a tax issue. it never has been a tax issue. we have the same amount of revenue coming in in 2012 that we had in 2007, but we spend a trillion dollars more per year now than we did five years ago. this is a spending issue. gerri: spending or revenue, that is, the amount of money taken in by the federal government has recovered, and it's doing much better. >> right. gerri: turning your tarns to a conversation going on for days lately. the most recent adherent oklahoma congressman tom cole saying, look, republicans need to compromise. they need to keep tax cuts in place for people earning $250,000 and less. he says it's time to make a

change and now people on the hill saying that the g.o.p. is splintering. what do you say? >> that's not true. actually, what tom was trying to say was it's a tax call thing. tom is against raising taxes on any level. he's against raising taxes on all folks, but have agreement with the president on this group that's $250,000 and less, clear the table and make the bracket.ions in the upper he's against raising rates on every single one of those. that's been a clarification. gerri: what about corker and grahm and all these people in washington, elected representatives now saying, you know, i'm rethinking whether there should be a no tax pledge. >> true. that's on the senate side. on the house side, revenue was on the table a long time ago, as in last summer of 2011 and said if we reform the tax code, clear junk deductions out that for the upper brackets, there's more

revenue and simplifies the system, and at its best, the tax code is designed to be as simple as possible which is a mess right now, and if you clear that out, people going back to making profit. when i was growing up, profit was a six-letter word, but now it's a four-letter word, and if you make a profit, people want to punish you. gerri: if it was simple, people wouldn't know what to do. >> i do, i understand, but that's the way we get taxes in is that people make more profit, then we have more tax revenue. gerri: what about what bowles had to say in i want you to listen to him. >> okay. >> i'm not encouraged or discouragedded. i'm really worried that we have a real probability we could go over the cliff, and that would be catastrophic. gerri: here's somebody who co-chaired the debt commission, saw all his recommendations ignored, and now he's saying there's a darn good chance, a 333% chance, we're going over that cliff. if we don't go over, there's some quasi reform that happens,

nothing major. what do you think of that? >> yeah. our hope is that there's major -- we laid the ground work in the ways and means committee this entire year for major tax reform saying we want to do that. we put that in front of the president saying we want to do major tax reform. all the things the president wants to do, we laid it out saying if you reform the tax system, there's more income coming in the other way. in the obamacare taxes, that's january 1st next year. those making $200,000 and more have a tax increase in their rate already starting the 1st. the president wants an additional tax increase on top of the obamacare increase on the exact same group. we say, wow, that's not right. gerri: not just that, but layer after layer on taxes from everything op income, investment income, dividends, the list goes on and on, but i want to ask you this question, and, quickly, running out of time. you know, stocks went up today, and sometimes investors have

insights that other people don't. they believe there are signs of a deal. what do you say? >> i believe there's signs of a deal as well. boehner, met with him this morning, the leadership group, and the conference, and he's optimistic there's a deal. he's working on it. the frame work is there to get it done. we need all the players engaged and the president to stay in town and engage in the issues of solving this, again, we go back to we laid the frame work for this in may of this past year, and we can function on that frame work and move off own solve it from there, but it needs to be resolved. we totally agree. gerri: all right. congressman, come back soon. good to talk to you. >> will do, thank you. gerri: what do you think? should entitlement reform be part of fiscal cliff talks? log on to gerriwillis.com, vote on the right hand side of the screen, and we'll share the results. departments paint grover as the villain for why there's no deal. does he deserve the blame?

american enterprise institute and political science, norm, i understand that you blame grover front and center. he's the man carrying a pitch fork tonight. >> well, i blame grover, among others, for a lot of the tribalism we've had in the last few years, but it's also the case. if you look at the simpson-bowles report, the rivlin-dmin economy report, the gang of six and crapo and johanns, all say we need a deal that includes $4 trillion in debt reduction over ten years, and about a third of it coming from revenues. you got revenues at 15% or just over that of gdp, and spending at 24%, and you got to bring the spending down, but you got to bring revenues up. frankly, we're not going to have a deal. gerri: it's the object of debate, debated every night here. >> yeah. gerri: i was looking at your

bio, and back in 2006, you wrote a book called "how congress is failing america," you must feel that you feel all of washington is the problem at this point. is this something that can't be fixed at this point? are we not going to come to a resolution of the fiscal cliff? you've been watching this a very long time. >> i have, and i think the tragedy of this is that there's a deal to be had, and it does not involve all that much. it involves significant pain for almost everybody, but you're not going to do it without bringing that pain to both sides, and the real trouble we've got now is that we've got a try -- tribal atmosphere. it's a question whether obama and the surrogates can take a message back to the troops who are dug in hard and basically

say we had to give this up, but we got that in return. it's the classic give and take. gerri: it's interesting. i see what you're saying. i understand your point, but the president is not even involved in the negotiation, at this point. he's traveling, doing other things. should he be at the table? would it improve his hand if he, himself, were there? >> you know, he did that kind of negotiates with boehner the last time over the debt limit. i think what you're seeing now with a president who got re-elected with 332 electoral votes and probably winning the popular vote by 3.5%, figuring that he has significant leverage, and, frankly, the leverage tom cole acknowledged here which is right now if you are a minority where you had leverage by blocking things, you're going to end up with a big tax in connection -- new york on everybody. i think we'll see an end game,

the president doing something he did do the last time, going out to the public more, but in the end, it's going to be obama and boehner, after we get done with the staff and the surrogates like tim geithner. gerri: a lot call obama moves more campaigning. one of the questions that's not answered, and bowles brought it up today. he says democrats have to move on entitlements. should entitlements be a part of the conversation? >> oh, i think they absolutely have to be a part of the conversation. you know, if you look at what's happened to spending over the last five or six years, and we know what's going to happen over the next 20-30 years, it's going to go up including federal spending as a share of gdp because of the relentless demographics. this is all about health care spending, not just entitlements, but the biggest share of the budget which is all of those programs starting with medicare and medicaid. you can't get out of it without dealing with those, a and bowles is absolutely right.

gerri: long way to go. thanks for coming on. appreciate your time. >> sure. thank you. gerri: as a reminder, the revenue from the bush tax cuts would generate just $82.4 billion a year, enough to run the government for five days. as president obama pushes for tax hikes on wealthier americans, he might look to britain to see the effect it has. it's not revenues. it's surprisingly less. after the labour party, that is, there, pushed for the top tax rate to 50%, 5-0, the richest left. two-thirds left to avoid paying the new tax. it also stopped people coming to and investing in britain. there's a lesson for you. turns out the proof is in the pudding realizing the errors of the way, the government is cutting the top rate to 45%. more to come like should washington sub di size wind

energy? more on the fiscal cliff as americans on all levels have to prepare to take the tax hit. i hope it doesn't, but i'm going to break it down next. ♪ [ male announcer ] where do you turn for legal matters?

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toght our guest, thomas sargent. nobel laureate in economics, and one of the most cited economisists in the world. what cd rates will be in two years? no. if he can't, no one can. that's why ally has a raise your rate cd. ally bank. your money needs an ally. gerri: i always like to give you the straight poop on everything, and, today, i'm concerned about the fiscal cliff. in the past two days, two very well-connected professional money managers have spoken to me about their trepidation their clients have about the expiration of the bush tax cuts and the cut backs on spending.

money is worried, concerned, and many are selling as you've seen. to read the stories of the press on the fiscal cliff, well, you'd think change is on the horizon just 33 days away, well, it doesn't matter much. in fact, just sit back, relax. the fiscal cliff is not a big deal. i'll quote one here. it's unlikely all of these bad things happen or stay in effect for an extended period of time. pundits call if the fiscal cliff smoke that is, instead of a cliff, the rising support for junking the fiscal approach as confusing and renaming it the austerity crisis or bomb. that's it. according to the u.s. news and world report, give the cliff another name, and that would change the entire impact on its problems. the reality, though, is this. you'll pay higher taxes in all likelihood. consider these numbers from the tax policy center. middle class earners, folks with an income of $64,000, their rate increased 3 #.8% or $2,000.

upper middle class folks, $108,000 in income, family of four maybe, two people working, your rate is 4.2% or $3500. if you make more than half a million, watch for a more than 5 #% hike in taxes or $15,000 tax increase. in rich land, earners of more than $2.5, an 8% increase in the rate, and this is how much more you pay. this is what they call fair and equal, dividing all the responsibility. i don't know, that's not what it looks like to me. the mainstream media says, forget it, it's not important. take whatever income you have, move the bonuses to calendar 2012, sell stock losers next year, and if you are gifting money to the kids arian grand kids, do it this year when taxes will be far lower. that's what i think. now i want to know what you

think, drop me an e -- e-mail at gerri@foxbusiness.com. >> coming up, obama back on the campaign trail as he pushes his plan to keep us from falling off the fiscal cliff. hearing from a group of small business owners who met with the president yesterday. new evidence why green energy is a wasteful end to taxpayer money. wait until you hear about a new lawsuit causing bashes against wind companies. the los angeles auto show starts this week, the biggest of the year, gerri follows every cent later next on "the willis report. i always wait until the lt minute.

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osteoporosis-related bone fractures and low magnesium lels have been seen with nexium. possible side effects include headache, diarrhea, and abdominal pain. other serious stomach conditions may still exist. talk to your doctor about nexium. gerri: a cliff nobody's talking about. federal green subsidies expected to expire, but how you could be on the hook. details in 60 seconds.

gerri: a controversial industry facing a cliff of its own, wind energy. the federal tax celt for wind power producers expires at the end of the year, intense debate heating up over whrosht -- whether or not the government should throw your dollars in a failing industry in the first place. manhattan institute, great to have you on the show, on set, happy about that. start with the tax credit. >> sure. gerri: it's an industry, let's face it, they don't have a lot to show for themselves, and, yet, we sub subsidize them to te tune of $12.2 billion, why? >> well, what the industry -- remember just a few years ago, they said, well, we're all about reducing carbon dioxide. that was the argument. now it's this we create jobs argument. they say if congress does not extend production tax credits, we lose 37,000 jobs.

they might get an extension, but there's a push among utilities and groups to end the tax credit, and it could be ended. gerri: doesn't work that well. 84% of the infrastructure fails -o produce electricity when demand is greatest. i mean, as a solution to the energy problems, how do you rate it? >> well, it's not a solution. it's wholly dependent on electric utilities and generation that can be dispatchedded. you can't conned on wind. -- count on wind. it's a problem. gerri: the irony is the anti-wind groups are growing. in the europe, there's 500 groups. what's going on? >> it's part of the global backlash of the wind industry, and what's fascinating to me is here's an industry successful in portraying itself as green, green energy, green electricity, reducing emissions, but when you look at countries around the world, and i've interviewed

people in us trail la, ontario, huge backlash, this is against the large wind projects all over the place. gerri: talk about new york. an interesting example this. >> just last month, lawyers in new york filed a lawsuit, 60 residents joust north of albany filed a lawsuit that the turbines built within a thousand feet of residences keep them up at night, diminish property values, and they filed suit. that's inkicktive of the backlash. gerri: first time it's heard in the court of law, the issue about the sound. >> in the u.s., yes. gerri: seems to me that that's pollution. >> well, sure it is. it's the part -- it exposes the double standard, gerri, and it drives me crazy. wrr green peace, natural resource natural counsel, environmental groups, why not stand up for the small land

ordinary persons? they are really getting a raw deal. the wind energy companies, of course, make handsome profits, but the land owners are getting the short end of the stick. gerri: i wouldn't be happy with them next to me. >> you certainly would not. gerri: something they call the energy strategy counsel suggesting starting a national energy strategy council that would come up with a policy soup to nuts, every federal agency in the world involved. possible? >> well, sure, it's possible. i mean, this is the federal government after all, but what bothers me is that there are -- this idea we'll have a review, we'll have a four year plan like the pentagon, well, i don't know that's the best model to work on. gerri: all right. well, i have to ask you about bp today. >> sure. gerri: big news from bp, federal government saying you are disqualified from winning new contracts. here's bp's statement, the suspension is due to bp's lack

of business integ try as demonstrated by the conduct with regard to the deepwater horizon blowout explosion, oil spill, and response. now, the stuff did not get hit today. what's your estimate of what it means? >> a temporary move. the obama administration, again, wanting to show -- hold up bp that we're puppishing them. it's a big company, one of the biggest producers in the u.s.. gerri: matter if it loses contracts in the u.s.? >> they are a lot already. they don't go away, this is just on new contracts. it's a temporary deal. gerri: come back to the set again. >> always happy to be here. gerri: coming up, live to the l.a. auto show and hottest trends in all things cars, and president obama heeds the call to listen to small business owners. no kidding. will the latest meeting change his mind? next, three owners who sat down with him yesterday. don't go away. ♪

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me. a general contracting company, mainly in defense, and we are located in baton rouge, louisiana, reasonable offices in dallas, texas, and general contractor. -erri: all right, julia? >> hi, thank you so much, gerri. we help people become healthier, happier, and smarter. gerri: i need a lot of that, yeah. >> it helps you exercise better and sleep better and get better nutrition. gerri: oh, my lord. >> lose pounds. gerri: sounds magical. >> we hope it is. gerri: andy, you're a defense contractor; correct? >> yes, thank you very much for having me tonight. gerri: you're welcome. glad to have you here. andy, how did the president find you and decide you were the right small business person to have on? >> well, we do, down here in florida, we do computer based and web base training, growing from me, myself, and i over the last five years to 10 # 5 employees in ten states.

we've been reck nilsedded by -- recognized by the small business administration and "ink" magazine ranking number 36. weave been on the radar, and we got the call from the sba that they needed a small business from the southeast to participate. gerri: all right. keith, you know, we spend time reporting on small business, a lot of small business viewers out there, and we talk about the national federation of independent businesses, and they say two in three businesses, small business owners, say there's too much economic uncertainty, and they want a little less of that. you, yourself, told us these would have been an issue, would have been an issue if president obama didn't meet with us. why is it so important to have the small business voice in the conversation over the fiscal cliff? >> well, i mean, you know, actually, the president said that, and it's a known fact, that small business actually drives this country. i mean, we're the biggest employers. it's very, very important.

it was pertinent to have us there, hear our concerns, and, you know, let us voice the opinions, and even more so for us to be there to give us that comfort level so i can come back, do the interview, and go into my own community, into my business, and look forward to expanding, and growing more jobs and continuing to push america. gerri: happy to see small business expand here because you guys are the major employers across the country, and, yet, 55% of small business owners say they would not start a business in this economic climate because they think it's just too uncertain, and they think things would be simply too dicey. julia, if you started over again right now, would you be concerned? >> absolutely. i would be concerned, but i also think hat as a start-up, there are many more things that i find in this period of time to be a great time to start a company, and, for us, you know, we're trying to motivate people to be

healthier and happier, and in terms of obesity and all of these opportunities while these horrific issues with america today, you know, there are so many reasons other than the economic climate to be start great companies, and we're focusing on that. gerri: julia, people crit size the -- criticize the president for meeting with the fortune 500 companies and say small business operator meeting was a pr stunt, do you believe that? >> i don't, actually. with the administration for many months on my concerns, and i feel they responded. it was a very intimate conversation. there were 12 amazing entrepreneurs and small business owners next to me. really voicing their opinion, and it was a dialogue, not a one

sided conversation. gerri: andy, finally, to you, small business owners, say they president obama's policies hurt them, you say it's sequestering that would hurt you. >> i speak to sequestering, and i also speak to the uncertainty. for our business to continue to grow and to continue to succeed and even help other signal businesses, we need a decision. we need someone to, you know, the president and the congress to make a decision and let's get on with it because that will allow us to alleviate anxiety moving forward and continue to go about making great computer-based products that we do, and, you know, provide the service to the government. gerri: right. everybody agrees on that. we'd like the uncertainty to go away, keith, julia, andy, thank you for coaching on tonight. we appreciate your time. >> thank you so much. >> thank you so much. >> thank you.

gerri: might not be the oscars, but american banker magazine has a set of awards handed out every year honoring the innovator of the year, banker of the year, and they hand out a lifetime achievement award, and you are never going to goes who they gave it to, retiring congressman barnny frank, the sharp tongue, liberal responsible for the anti-banks laws the biggest in history. he's been a defender of the taxpayer and in response to the bank bailouts in 2008, crafted a law that does nothing to address that. that's hardly the only problem with the name sake legislation. according to the heritage foundation, dodd-frank imposes $27 billion in new fees on financial institutions. we'll also require more than $2 million annual labor hours just to comply, just the first 10% of the rules that's been created. the 2300 law cuts fees banks charge for debit card purchases

and forced moody's to downgrade 15 of the largest banks, a huge hit to the stock prices because they can't meet all requirements the law lays out, and it strangled small banks making many go out of business. don't get me started on what the law does to consumers leaving a mark on the financial industry as the magazine points out, but it's not a good one. when we come back, the dividend rush continues as a major retailer jumps on the band wagon. we'll explain. we're live at the l.a. auto show with the hottest tends. a green still a trend? we'll find out, next. ♪ [ malennouncer ] if you're eligible for medicare,

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and you never need referrals. if you're thinking about your options, call today. when you call, request your free decision guide. and find the aarp medicare supplement plan that may be right for you. gerri: world's hottest cars taking the stage today at the 2012 los angeles auto show. auto makers unvailing nearly 50 new vehicles.

don't you love that? including world first from chrysler, ford, gm, bmw, and volkswagon. we have a sneak peek before friday ice public debut. jake fisher live in los angeles with the latest. welcome to the show. great to have you here. such a fun segmentment tell me, first, what trends are you seeing out there? something that might be new or different that people can expect coming up. >> sure. the l.a. show, you see a lot of electric cars, fuel efficient cars. there are the electric cars, but we're seeing a lot of normal cars getting more and more fuel efficient. everything's more fuel efficient and keeping the function. gerri: you said utility is a big thing. what do you mean by that? >> utility, i mean, you know, people think you get a fuel first time car, it's a little tiny box that carries two people, and they are cramped in like a smart car, something like that, but ford here, they have a seven passenger vehicle over 30

miles per gallon, looking at suvs that can do things, carry things, and still get great fuel economy. gerri: working through the makes and models that you really like here. you want to start with the tesla. >> sure. it looks to be an amazing screak. ww have not purchased one or tested it, but i have driven it, it's a ridiculous vehicle. it's so fast, so roomy. feels like you are driving a ferarri with room for five. it's really more fuel efficient than a prius. gerri: didn't tesla have trouble in the past and "consumer reports" having trouble test the cars in the past? i'm surprised you're so excited. >> well, no, no, it's not. people get different electric car makers mixed up. that's a crime. there's fisker and tesla,

totally different companies. just because one has problems, doesn't mean the other is going to. they supply technology to toyota for electric vehicles. it's a proven company that has a record, my, on the other hand, just building this one feck, and it's really, seems to be riddled with problems. gerri: all right. talk about the audi a7. i love the audis. >> it's a wonderful car, drives great, nicely finished inside, and, you know, here's what blew us away, we look at the reliability information, and we have a reliability information from 1.2 million vehicles saying what went wrong with the cars, and audi is reliable. that floored us. traditionally they have a lot of issues, but not anymore. they are up there with the japanese. gerri: interesting. what about hyundai velociter. impressive name. i wonderrhow much time they

spent thinking that name up. >> it has nothing to do with the dinosaur it's based on. it's quick, fun little car. what's intriguing is it's a sub compact, a cheap little fuel first time car, but looks sporty and drives sporty too. it fitses four people well. you can have it do everything sometimes right. gerri: okay. what about the scion? >> ha-ha! i'm six-foot tall. the frs, one of my favorites, again, fun, tossble, back to the basics car. it's a gift to car enthusiast. gerri: luxury cars up 10% this year, recession, maybe not, speaking to the economy. jake, thanks for coming on tonight. great to have you on. >> you're welcome. fun being on. have a great night. green cars seem to be all the rage at the car shows every

year, but they are not catching on with consumers despite president obama's dream of a million electric vehicles on the road by 2012, and 2011, only only 18,000 units sold, that's a bummer. in tonight's top five, the best selling electric cars in the u.s. so far this year, number five, ford focus electric. now, through august of this year, ford sold fewer than 200 of the vehicles. they didn't reach the lots until may. four, the mitts bee shy, sales up 400% to a whopping 403 cars. knee san, number one seller last year, only four people drove away in a leaf. oh, boy, the cousin of the best selling hybrid car, the toyota prius plug-in. only 6,000 priuses sold in the first three quarters, leaving us with the number one electric car

in the u.s., yeah, you got it, the always controversial chevy volt which does not make this noise. get this, the best selling car has just 13,000 sales. that's the best selling one. that's the one that does really, really good. the car is constantly a disappointment, and the worst part? it's back by our taxpayer dollars. that's right. still, my two crepts more and dividends train, where should you invest? answers to help you with your money coming up. ♪

gerri: companies making move ahead of the fiscal cliff. what dow component is boosting annual cash dividends 25%.

gerri: firms announcing special dividends or bumping up payouts as a result of the looming fiscal cliff. this afternoon, disney announced it's increasing annual cash dividends by 25%. get that. a total of 71 companies announced special dividends so far this year compared to just 15 last year. is it smart to chase stocks? wayne coffman joining me. wayne, always good to have you on the show. >> great to be here. gerri: a hot trend, a special dividends, out now before the end of the year to avoid the tax hit. do you think this makes sense for companies to do this? why are they motivated to do it? >> makes sense for them to do it. they say they do it for the shareholders, and it's a benefit for the shareholders, but, they -- gerri: including those running the company, be real here. >> that's what they are finding that a tremendous amount of them -- gerri: ceos, board of directors, come on. >> finding stuff like management

owns on average 28% of shares and stuff like that so, for example, walmart pulled it forward from january to december. they estimate that's going to save the walmart family $180 million. gerri: it's not about you and me. >> ha-ha! gerri: we're not the people they are trying to make happy, but you have done us a favor of picking the category, those offering the special dividends, though affordable, you might want to buy now, costco, why do you like these companies? >> well, first of all, they are in good trends to begin with. i don't like to buy stocks heading the wrong way, heading south. i like stocks that are making new highs, it shows there's big institute -- gerri: the trend is your friend. >> the trend is your friend. there's institutional demand overpowering supply. costco, and i have to say i'm not a big shopper, but i loch going to costco.

gerri: actually, i love it too, truth be told. resorts, the earners traction to the company? the management? >> big growth overseas in mccow and as asia grows, they will do better and better. it's jack daniels, what more do i have to say? gerri: good point, convincing. okay. i do think, though, that aren't we going to get to a point, though, where the taxes on these dividends outweigh the attractions possibly? i've seen some people write there's a window, 3%-5% dividend that could be the right thing to shop for. how do you weigh in on that? >> i don't let the dividend -- it's like the tail wagging the dog. the dividend does not drive my investment decision, and i think that the -- what's going on now is it's really very interesting the way it's affecting the market. if i was the government, i would not solve this quickly. i would wait until the very end of the year, if possible. why? because people are selling their

stocks and they are taking all extra dividends now, meaning in the first quarter, tax payments to the government will be enormous. gerri: apparently, that's what they want down there in washington. it's worth noting, though, that if you're retired, and you're living on dividend payouts, you're going to see a 43% 4% tax hit. >> yeah. gerri: that's monster. change your strategy at this point if you're in that category? i define one narrowly there. >> yeah, you know, that's a really tough and important question, and it's hard to answer because we don't know, yet, how it's going to really play out, and if they do raise taxes to that degree, then it's possible a lot of companies will lower their dividends or reduce the increases because it's not an efficient use of their capital. gerri: all right. >> it's a difficult question. gerri: all right. we'll let you duck that one, but

next time, no ducking the question. >> okay, i promise. gerri: thanks for coming back. we'll be right back with the answer to the question of the day. should entitlement reform be part of the fiscal talks, and my two crepts more on what members of congress focus on rather than the fiscal cliff. here's a clue. ♪ [ male announcer ] at scottrade, we believe the more you know, the better you trade. so we have ongoing webinars and interactive learning, plus, in-branch seminars at over 500 locations, where our dedicated suppor teams help you know more so your money can do more. [ rodger ] at scottrade,

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♪ gerri: president obama's says he is confident a deal on the fiscal cliff can be reached by christmas. both sides seem so far off. even among senate democrats, there are deep divisions over whether to include cuts to medicare or medicaid.

intel not reform, should it be part of the fiscal cliff talks? here is what some of you are tweeting me. if there is not entitlement reform and we are not backing away from the cliff, we are really doing the tango dance along the edge. randy degrees. you have to curb them to bring in spending. here is robert. without it talks are a waste of time, probably a waste anyway. ask the question. 91 percent of you said yes. 9 percent said no. surprising. here are your e-mails. says this country is so divided maybe it'' time to reinssate the mason-dixon line, get everyone five years to move to whatever side they believe that. i think they're on both sides. liberals and conservatives. ronnie from florida says to my two presidents in my lifetime had bad economies going into their terms and up to the same thing at work but times. john f. kennedy and ronald reagan. control spending and cut all taxes. it does not take an economics

degree a figure that out. finally, carol from california. we want the house to protect us as much as possible. they are now or on the defense. i love hearing from you. send me an e-mail. gerri@foxbusiness.com. finally tonight, i feel like all anyone is talking about these days is the fiscal cliff. a topic of almost every newscast, but it does not seem to be a priority for everybody in washington. one north carolina congressman is working feverishly on another issue. elvis presley day. according to reports democrat larry kessel is focusing his efforts on passing a congressional decreed proclaiming january 8 in honor of the king. they would recognize his birth in mississippi in 1935. the resolution points out the influence on music in american culture, not to mention his military experience. goes on to say the singer exemplified the american dream. you have to admire him. it's not alonep