gerri: hello, everybody, i'm gerri willis. right now on "the willis report", gm under fire over recalls. did the company knowingly put consumers in danger? also, more big changes coming to health insurance plans. companies pushing workers on to private exchanges. and how do you do that? the right way to put money in health savings accounts. we're watching out for you on "the willis report." gerri: tonight, flyers under threat. the department of homeland

security issuing a new warning of possible terrorist attempts on jetliners coming in from overseas. now officials say terrorists could be hiding explosives in tt first raised by the shoe-bomber richard reid right after the 9/11 attacks. now this is the second government warning in less than three weeks. travel expert mark murphy, ceo of travel alliance media joins me now with details. welcome back to the show. >> thanks, gerri. gerri: earlier this month we get a warning about liquids from the department of homeland security. >> right. gerri: and now? >> with sochi. gerri: now we get this warning. should be worried? >> people have a reason to be concerned. at this point in time when you fly all the time like i do you make it like second nature like getting in your car. if you fly infrequently and hear these warnings, all of sudden go to the airport talk to somebody who hasn't traveled a while, they're concerned. gerri: i think everybody should pay attention to the warnings. not just people who travel

infrequently. i think they're concerning for everybody. you look back and see the richard reid pictures, all those issues. should we be taking special precautions? you know we're starting to hear, for example, that shoe removal exemptions exist. passengers 12 and under. passengers 75 and older. members of the military don't have to remove their shoes. i have a sense we have had relaxing of some of the rules. has there been. >> there has been. precheck and global entry. can get through security faster. don't have to take the coat off or your belt off or. take your computer out. if you have gone through an way approval process. the concern is they're tryinggto make it easier and less cumbersome to get through security but they have to keep the checks in place and the question if you're not going to profile, how do you figure out where the threat might come from? gerri: you were saying that obviously the government has to be right all the time. >> yes.

gerri: and the bad guys have to be right once. >> one tile. we've been fortunate. think about it, since 9/11 we have not had an incident. we had attempts like richard reid and we had the underwear bomber b interesting about the attempts where they happened. where did they originate from? outside the united states where the tsa and dhs have no say or control over what those folks do. what happens they impose certain security on us here in the hopes that, i think mentally it will make us feel better, heyhey, we have to take your shoes off. it is not us taking our shoes off but the threat originating from outside the country. gerri: absolutely right. i can't help but think where they have precheck program where you get on the fast line if you're a frequent traveler. >> right. >> those people don't unpack anything. don't unpack their shoes or take liquids out of their bag. now i think it looks like it will be easier for somebody to get in. >> look at the goal. they want half people going through precheck by end of this year. 50% of the travelers being able to go through precheck, meaning

you don't have to take out all those things. is it easier for a bad guy to slip in, get that approval and have access? but i'll tell you one dirtily till secret. people that travel, plenty of my friends, they tell me all the time, i have done it myself, forgotten put myself through the regular belt, doesn't get flagged even though liquids and computer supposed to get pulled out. think at times, depending where you're going through that security can get a little lax and they really need to step it up especially hearing cater on terrorist networks. gerri: i know people are worried about it. what would you tell people to do, people concerned tonight? >> i would tell them number one, there hasn't been an incident. the odds of you being affected are slim to none, right? you have a better chance stepping outside getting struck by lightning in new york city and not even raining. gerri: or hit by a car.3 >> pretty good chance of getting hit by a car in new york city. i think you have to use logic. the problem with the flight you don't have any control. someone else is flying that plane. somebody else is in control and

that feeling of helplessness i think is what raises anxiety of the traveler. gerri: good point. >> and flyer. you're basically not in control. at least when driving or walking i'm in control. bad things can happen but in a plane up to somebody else. gerri: people don't like to give the control up. mark, thank you for your time. >> thank you. gerri: from long lines to the airport what seems like never-ending winter, snowfall and polar vortex took us by surprise no one is more surprised by the government forecasters at national oceanic atmospheric administration. people at noaa said there would be warmer winter that would go along with the global warming. but this is what happened. states in the red not in cold blue experiencing well below average temperatures. even the acting director said this was not one of their better

forecasts. we want to know what you think. here is our question tonight. are government forecasters clouded by their own prejudice? log on to gerriwillis.com, log on to the poll and share the result as the end of the show. this week it is changing. temperatures with the 40s and 50s. with the rising temps snow is expected to melt throughout the midwest and northeast causing concerns of flooding. the american red cross is not taking any chances. they're getting volunteers in place and readying supplies and getting shelter locations in place. here with more is pat pan-t from american red cross. thanks for being on the show tonight. tell us what you're doing and what are you expecting? >> thanks for having us on. it has been quite a winter with the polar vortex. we had storm after storm after storm affecting the mid-atlantic and coast and country as a whole. the red cross has been responding all season long. what we're doing right now, looking at with our government

partners and all of the community organizations we work with, what, what the weather is going to be like, but more than that, in terms of how we can be prepared as the american red cross, so most often times that means making sure as you said, we have volunteers standing by. that we have our shelters ready to go. we have our supplies all set up and ready to be deployed as needed. gerri: pat, i want to show our viewers a map what is going on out there. we've got i believe eight states that are under flood watch right now. that is pretty much because they have been hit hard by snow. and that snow is going to met. there is only so much good stuff comes with the sun. then it could be a flood. are these areas that you're worried about? you probably couldn't see the map but is the areas hit by snow is illinois, all through the midwest, all the way over to new york? and i think a lot of people here are very concerned at this time. >> that's right.

it is such a wide sloth of area. that is why we've been work something hard to make sure we have the resources that are needed. and where and staged where they might be needed. but more than that, i mean, floods often time have the, people have the idea they're not necessarily scary but even six inches of water can sweep you away. so one ever the most important things people can do is listen to what the weather is doing in their area. and be, be prepared to respond accordingly when they will be affected by the weather. gerri: you have a list of things people should have in the household. everything from a gallon of water to food. might want to go out to pick up more stuff for this weekend. flashlight. battery, extra batteries, first-aid kit, medications, extra cash. all that stuff is good. maybe the biggest threat here for a lot of people out there is flooding in their basement. damage to their property. could be a lot of little things that really add up financially for folks. you guys are concerned with the

serious stuff but at end of the day don't you think a lot of people will be putting things back together come monday morning? >> that is exactly right and i of the things, depending upon the specifics of the disaster that will give homeowners in an affected area, what we call a cleanup kit. if you had a flood it would contain, bleach, a mop, a broom. nothing big, but the things you need to get your house liveable again. as you try to get your life back on track and having seen this, having seen the devastation from floods first-hand in previous years, it can often times be just the little things that help you to have that beginning of normalcy. that and meal and warm place to sleep make a big difference. gerri: pat, we're watching icicles fall, the beginnings of this happening. people have been vac wayed from parts of the city here. now we're starring to see that snow melt. you know, it is funny in new york city you might not even know there has been big storms now because so much of the snow

has been cleared. as soon as you get off the island it is a totally different thing. any last words of advice for people out there who are trying to navigate this right now? >> as you said it is deceptive. you might think everything is okay. all of sudden you hear you need to be evacuated because of a flood. i would suggest going to redcross.org. we have a full set as you mentioned of flood preparedness tips, what to pack. importantly if you're not together with your family during the day, have a plan. know how you're going to meet. know where you're going to go. also e have the apps, you can download our first aide app, that is useful in event after disaster, having a plan. noaa weather radio if you have one and bad weather or where flood incidents will affect you where you live. that is really critical here. gerri: pat, thank you for your time. i hooe we don't need you but if we do we'll look for the crosses. >> we'll be ready, thank you. gerri: we have more to come this hour.

including help understanding those confusing health savings accounts. do you need one of those? why did it take gm almost a decade before recalling some chevys and pontiacs. i will look at the controversial move coming up. ♪

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at t. rowe price, we understand the connection of a complex, global ecomy. it's just one on over 75% of our mutual funds beat their 10-year lipper average. t. rowe price. invest with confidence. reest a prospectus or summary prospectus ith investment information, risks, fees and eenses to read and consider carefully before investing. gerri: listen to this story. general motors has recalled nearly 780,000 of its vehicles to due to faulty ignition switches that led to at least six deaths. this affects the chevrolet cobalt and pontiac g5 from the 2005 through 2007 model years. why did the company wait so long to issue the recall? joining me the car coach herself, lauren fix. lauren, gm knows a decade before the chevy cobalt recall that there's a problem but none of us knew and none f us knew about this story at all until it started running in the papers. >> what happened this is tfb. define the difference between

recall. technical service bulletin, let the dealer know, people complain about, here is solution because they had heavy key chains and it was causing a problem. a recall means we have a problem that is definitely could potentially cause an accident or death or something. let's bring in cars and have that done. gerri: so let's slow this down a little bit because there is lost information coming to our viewers quickly. what happened about this information that we just got today, actually, came out of a court case. >> right. gerri: now the reason it was in the court case that they knew about it is because there were these technical bulletins that went to who? >> they went to dealerships only. gerri: went to dealerships. >> right. gerri: didn't go to the public. the public never knew the problems you so well described with these cars. so we're out in the dark and there is this problem going on that is not being fixed across the board? the feds have not been told. how is this possible? >> this is how a technical service bulletin worrs.

there is problem. a couple of people complained about it. contact the manufacturer. they will give them a cure, fix, software update. as people come in with a problem you come in your cobalt or pontiac, wee got it, which know what the problem is we'll know how to cure that. if they don't have enough people, urn fortunately the results the reason they found out it was so dangerous because this woman died. when they took the information off of her black box that's when they found out -- gerri: there have been six deaths. >> and 22 serious injuries. gerri: and 22 serious injuries. what happens essentially the ignition doesn't work. >> shuts off. >> the car shuts off. airbags do not deploy. >> right. gerri: people are in real trouble. saw i typically what happens is head-on crash. >> right. they said that all the accidents happened have been head-on crashes. this is as far as information we're able to ascertain at this time. what we know when a car is parked on side. road, when you hit it head on, the airbag wouldn't deploy

because the car is not on. when car shuts off due to weight of keys, goes to act restsy, off mode. no power steering or brakes. the car in its mind is off. that is how they found this out in the court case. that is why it was investigated. >> let me ask you a question. a heavy key chain. is that my fault? shouldn't they have figured that out? >> well the truth is you shouldn't put a lost keys on your key cheney how. what we learned in drivers ed it is not that at all. one of the things important to note if you had the problem take it to the dealer. hey the car shuts oof sometimes. the dealer would tell you take the weight off-key chain and put a clip on case over the top. that is what you would use. gerri: why not just tell the feds, make the problem public. go with it and tell everybody what is going on? >> i agree with you, especially during the era of 04 to '05, and recalls out there. they are afraid of the recalls because the press will go after them in force. gerri: it is worse if you wait and you have deaths.

>> you have deaths right. now manufacturers are being extremely proactive this is something -- gerri: except for now. except for this example. >> this is really bad. could impact the stock. i know mary barra is phenomenal ceo. she will put everything she can to elevate gm brand. this is happened previous. the team will work to upgrade and get people more confident in the brand. if you have this car most important thing, is, take it to a dealer. anytime you get a recall, do not weight wait. maybe nnxt week. if you get a recall or technical service bulletin in the mail, get is fixed as silly as trunk latch. gerri: you want it fixed. >> you want it fixed. there is reason they contacted you. gerri: i want to show you past gm recalls. you have a list how many there have been. this one is concerning, chevy cobalts and pontiac g 5s, model years 2005 and 2007. that is what you have to worry about. if you have one of those cars

you want to make sure you get it looked after because the thing can stop on you, stall right out. >> there is one. chevy truck had problems with brake lines and fuel lines rotting out. go to the dealer replaced as needed. problem a couple people run intersections with faulty brakes. if you have problems with your vehicle, this is not a thing. contact the manufacturer, dealership in this case. problem. see if there is technical service bulletin. i don't even know. put in year, make and model into the search engine on internet and put in recall. if nothing comes up, try under tsb, which is technical service bulletin to see if it applies to vehicle. don't take it anywhere to have someone look at it. take it to the dealer first. if there is fee to have it repaired, look at alternative ways of having it fixed. >> lauren, great job, telling us how to get information online which you can do. all the information is out there. but when you don't tell the public they can't get it. that is a problem we saw. thank you very much, lauren. >> thank you. gerri: later in the show the

vice president at it again with some crazy cooments about obamacare. we answer the question, how do you do that? as vast majority of americans say they don't understand hsas. we will tell you all about it. we'll give you help. stay with us. ♪ announcer: where can an investor

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according to new insurance quotes.com survey the vast majority of us say we don't understand hsas. how do you know if its right for you? we have lauren adams insurance quote.com. start us offfmy friend, what is the difference between an hsa and a fsa? >> flexible spending account is what most people are familiar with in the work place. it or lose it plans. in other words if you put money in, if you don't use it by end of the year you forfeit that money. lsa on the other hand allows to you keep money. it rolls over year to year so you can use it indefinitely. gerri: this is money setting aside for any health ailment. except for i understand you can't buy aspirins or cough medicine. very specific list to buy, am i right? >> right. use hsa funds for specific equaled expenses. right now that includes

prescription mediiations but not over-the-counter medications. so you can use it for medical expenses and dental expenses. vision. even hearing aids. anything that your plan does not cover. gerri: eyeglass, dental visits, you name it. we're showing folks a list of things they can use to buy. health savings accounts are a important part of obamacare, right? a lot of plans have steep deductibles, high costs. so if you have any hope of affording it, unless you're getting a lot of money from the federal government you want to set money aside over time, do i have that right? >> that's right. when you have a high deductible plan you can use a health savings account to help cut your expenses. so you're putting money in that account on a tax-freebase sis. and one of the few opportunities we have to save money on the front end and to withdraw money without it being taxed. gerri: okay. that is helpful. so who should be using these things and which are best for what kind of person? >> right, if you're in

relatively good health, a high deductible health plan is a good option. it can really lower your premium and help you save money. of course you can also have the health savings account we're talking about. we're finding that many people are opting for these plans because they do cut costs of your premium and make health insurance more affordable. gerri: okay. so when it comes to the fsa a lot of people complain that when you have the program with your employer they have to be willing to do this, set this money aside out of your paycheck of the good news is you're setting aside pretax dollars right? you're not paying taxes on it. people forget they have money rolling into the account and sometimes they lose it. tell us about that? i think it is an issue for a lot of people out there. you use it or you lose it. >> right, with the fsa you do have to set aside just enough, don't want to set aside too much because if you don't use it all you lose it. that is the not case with a health savings account. with the hsa your money continues to rollover from year

to year. many of these plans also have an investment option. so you can let your money grow. also on a tax-freebase sis. gerri: all right. i wonder what the options for investment are. here is how much you can set aside for a health savings account, that is the hsa every year, 3300 for individuals, 6550 for family coverage. you put a lot of money aside. now obviously it's your dough but you're setting aside pretax dollars so it a big savings ultimately. laura, thanks for coming on the show to describe it to us. appreciate your time. >> thank you. gerri: thanks so much. well, now our cash challenge. are you tired of credit cards? the fees, the interest rates, the worry about having your identity stolen? do youuwant to live without the plastic but don't know how? we want to you take our cash challenge. if you want to dump your credit cards and find a way to live on cash only, we want to hear from you. let me know your stories, friends, family, anybody you know. we want to talk to them.

hope to hear from you soon. coming up, more evidence obamacare is killing the job market. and next, employers are so fed up with the law they are taking drastic action and going with private exchanges. what it all means coming up after the break. so i can reach ally bank 24/7, but there are no branches? 24/7. i'm sorry, i'm just really reluctant to try new things. really? what's wrong with trying new things? look! mommy's new vacuum! (cat screech) you feel that in your muscles? i do... drink water. it's a long story. well, not having branches let's us give you great rates and service. i'd like that. a new way to bank. a better way to save. ally bank. your money needs an ally.

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research and analytical group at his disposal. ♪ but even more pressive is how he puts it to work for his clients. ♪ morning. morning. thanks for meeting early. oh, it's not a big dl at all. come on in. [ male announcer ] it's how edward jones makes sense of investing. ♪ ♪ ♪ gerri: well, there is only a month and a half left until the end of obamacare's open enrollment, and with the enrollment numbers falling short of the white house's promises, well, vice president joe biden took it upon himself to spin it in a way only he can. >> i think that although, you know, initially we talked about by the end of this period having seven million people lined up, we might not get to seven, but we're going to get to five or six, and that's a hell of a start.

gerri: here to weigh in, ovik roy of the manhattan institute. do you agree, ovik? >> well, there's a lot we don't know because there's a lot the government isn't telling us about what these people who are signing up are doing. are they actually paying the premiums? if they don't, they're not actually enrolled. were they previously uninsured, or were they previously insured? the surveys suggest that more than two-thirds of the individuals signing up for coverage previously had coverage, which means the dent we're making on the uninsured population is very, very small. gerri: well, you cite a lot of problems there, and i think private employers are seeing these problems, and they're choosing private health exchanges. a third of employers saying they're going to provide health care benefits through private exchange, and it's companies like, let's see, who does this? aon hewitt does this. so they're making choices away there obamacare. what do you make of that? is that a surprise and a trend

that will continue? >> they're one of the companies that sponsors the private exchanges on behalf of employers, so some of the employers going this route include walgreens, for example, a number of large employers. it's a way of having fiscal certainty in your company. if you're a large employer and offer coverage for a lot of your employees but the cost of that health insurance has been going up, up, up much faster than inflation, this is a way of saying i'm going to give you $5,000 a year, you shop for the plans you like among these choices, and then if you want to have a fancier plan, you're going to pay the difference. and that's a much more cost effective approach. it's an approach that can keep the cost of health coverage down more those large employers, and they have a lot of incentive to go that route, because obamacare has a cadillac tax that heavily taxes plans that are really expensive. so this is a way more employers to avoid that cadillac tax and still offer coverage. gerri: and still lots of changes for companies that have the cadillac plans, you know, expensive, big plans.

they're going to get kneecapped here in the coming year. i think those private exchanges are going to catch on, and you're going to see more and more of that. that may be a business that obamacare sets on fire. >> yeah. and it's a good thing, because if there's one thing, again, that all people, economists of both sides and certainly conservatives have long said, it's that we'll have a more efficient health care system if people are shopping for their own coverage instead of just having it handed to them with no sense of of how much it costs, how much they're paying for things. consumers can decide do you really want a more expennive plan? -- expensive plan? that's fine, go ahead and choose it. gerri: i've got to talk to you about this investigation being launched by republicans. they're taking a look at some of these obamacare exchanges, three of them in oregon, maryland and massachusetts. big problems there. what is going on, and what is the investigation going to uncover? >> well, each of these states is its own thing, but the oregon situation, the maryland situation in particular are

absolute scandals. there's been hundreds of millions of dollars in each case that have been spent to set up these state-based exchanges so that people can buy obamacare-sponsored insurance, and the money has gone completely down the drain. a lot of people have been getting rich off this, but nobody's getting insurance. almost no one has signed up in these states. in massachusetts the problem is that the old massachusetts exchange under romneycare isn't compatible with the obamacare exchange. so these three states, democratic states that supposedly were going to be the pathbreakers, that led the way, they're having some of the worst problems. the states that didn't set up their own exchange, one that the obama administration has been criticizing, they've actually enrolled more people than the democratic states that have set up exchanges. gerri: that's unbelievable. that is just shocking and amazing and not what you would have expected. are these states going to be held accountable? what's going to happen? i mean, did they -- >> well, they haven't so far, and because the democrats

control the government in each state, they're not, you know, they're going to throw the problems under the rug. it's up to congress and that inquiry that you mentioned at the open, congress is going to have to crack down, see what's going on with federal be taxpayer dollars. gerri: thanks for coming on tonight, really appreciate your time. great to see you, come back soon. >> thanks a lot. gerri: when we come back, more on obamacare as a new survey shows just how bad this law is for workers. and valentine's day continues to be a thorn in the side of 1-800-flowers as customers continue to vent their frustration for not getting deliveries, no flowers. details, next. ♪ ♪

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he's interviewed small business owners, hiring managers, hr professionals. joining me now, bob funk, chairman, ceo and president of express employment professionals, that is the largest privately-held staffing firm in the u.s. bob, welcome to the show. i've got to play this sound from health and human services secretary kathleen sebelius that came out this week talking about the impact of obamacare on jobs. here she is. >> there is absolutely no evidence, and every economist will tell you this, that there is any job loss related to the affordable care act. gerri: so we mentioned that you've talked to a ton of people out this about what the real world impacts are. what did you find? >> good evening, gerri. express is out here on main street. we deal, basically, with medium and small companies, and we took surveys of the small companies, and the obamacare is a reason for the small companies are telling us they're not going to go beyond 50 employees. 70% of them said they were not

going to go beyond 50 employees, 10 percent said that they were going to cut their hours back. and so it is going to affect it, and it has already. and that's why, of course, the staffing industry is growing so rapidly. gerri: well, here are the numbers right here. from your survey, will it negatively impact business? yes, 53%. will it lead to less job creation? 60%. what are the numbers when you dig? what does it mean to overall employment growth? >> well, companies are not hiring full-time employees. now, our ambition, of course, with express is we try to put many of these people on temporary, and it eventually goes full time. 40% of them will go full time in a normal economy, and because of obamacare they are not going to hire them full time, and they're going to put them on temporary payrolls. it's good for our business, but it's certainly not good for our country as a whole. gerri: well, and you think about the fact that small business makes up 99.7% of u.s. employer

firms. they are the big kahuna. they are the people who employ most of us. and if they're not hiring, it's got to be bad for the whole country. >> small business entrepreneurs is really what's holding up this country, and we need to encourage small business and large businesses to hire more people and put more jobs, more people to work. so it's a disincentive, if you will, and has been ever since it's been announced. because people just don't know what their costs are going to be. gerri: they don't know what their costs are going to be, but we're not done rolling out obamacare, right? we could get more bad news. do you think that this effect that you're describing tonight is going to get worse? >> i think it's going to work -- i think it's going to work against the average business, and we're hopeful that sometime, someplace we'll be able to figure out how much it's going to cost. and as has been in the past with other governmental programs, it's going to take five to ten years before we know exactly where we're at.

and businesses can't afford to take care of that, can't afford to do that. they need to know where they are from day to day so they know what their bottom line's going to be at the end of the year. gerri: i think that's what's wrong with employment growth period in this country. it's not just the small companies, it's the big ones and everybody in between. bob, thanks for being on the show today. appreciate your time. >> you're very welcome, gerri. gerri: thank you. all right, do you remember valentine's day about a week ago? at 1-800-flowers. the company's customer service lines are flooded, and social media channels are stocked with complaints of flowers that have never arrived, or better pictures of damaged or wilted flowers that came from last friday. take a look at this. 1-800-flowers is based in new york and blame's last week's blizzard for all of the problems. the company is trying to save face by retweeting the few positive images it received, and they apologized on facebook, but the words may be falling on deaf ears at this point.

now, company apologies is nothing new, and that's our top five. other ceos who have had mania call pas, here they are -- number five, netflix. back in 2011 ceo reed hastings wrote customers an e-mail with the first line, "i missed up," for people whose rates got hiked. however, the company went ahead with splitting them anyway. we're sorry, but we're going to continue. number four, barclays, the ceo of the world's third biggest bank said we are sorry, and we recognize we are disappointed our customers following the libor rate-rigging scandal. remember that? number three, bp. ceo tony hayward told those on the gulf coast he's deeply sorry and we'll make this right after the huge oil spill in 2011. number two, coca-cola. now, their mistake has become a popular punchline for anybody who lived through the 1980s when the company introduced, remember this? new coke. the first change to the soda in

nearly a century after getting 1500 complaints a day, the company returned to the classic taste less than three months later. of course, now they have all kinds of of brand extensions. and the number one corporate apology is apple. who could forget the disaster was apple mac? tim cook has apologized not once, but twice saying we are extremely sorry for the frustration this has caused. remember that? they would send you, like, out of the country, crazy places? all right, other corporate apologies include a recent one for jcpenney for doing away with discounts. more to come, my two cents, and next, despite the spring of lackluster economic reports, some -- including my next guest -- are predicting a stronger economy for 2014, but is 4% growth really possible? ♪ ♪

gerri: an economist with a good track record says the economy will get much stronger this year, but how can he make such a bold prediction?

♪ ♪ gerri: well, you and i both know the economy's pretty punk right now. i think we can both agree on that. but a trio of economists, two europeans, one american, are breaking with that conventional wisdom. jason benderly, the american economist from applied global macro research, he joins me, and his numbers show lots of positive news on the horizon. jason, tell us why you're so optimistic about housing. >> we're optimistic about housing for just a very simple, fundamental reason which is we're underbuilding housing. the adult population in the u.s. is growing by a million and a quarter per year.

there are teardowns in housing that are roughly 300,000 per year, so just to keep up with underlying demand, we need to build housing at about a one and a half million rate, and we're not. we're only building it at about half of that rate. so fundamentally, housing has a long way to go just to get back up to anything approaching a normal level. gerri: all right. but, you know, we've had some bad housing news lately. housing starts in january finish. >> not just housing. gerri: sorry? >> i said not just housing has been bad news lately. gerri: right. we've had lots of bad news. >> yeah. of the problem right now is, i mean, the last set of numbers that were not affected by what has been extremely severe winter weather across the u.s., the last set of numbers that were not affected by severe weather were november, and in november new home sales and permits and starts were all very strong month to month and year to year, and consumer spending data through november were very strong -- gerri: so you're part of the

crowd that believes that it's all about the weather, mother nature is hurting this economy. you know, the fomc in the minutes that they just released this week, they were also cautious on housing and not because of the weather. they think there might be some fundamental problems. people talk about all kinds of issues when it comes to housing, will first-time home buyers come back to the table, will rising rates hurt buyers in the marketplace? will people opt to get into apartments and rentals instead of full-time housing? seems like there's a lot of headwinds, but you remain bullish. you say this can propel broader economic growth to higher levels. tell us about that. >> yes. i was going to say all of those things that you just listed are things which can affect kind of the contour of how housing recovers, but none of those things are of sufficient magnitude in terms of headwinds to stop the housing recovery. they'll just change exactly when it occurs, how much it occurs and in what shape it occurs,

whether it's single-family housing, multi-family, owner-occupied or rental. but the fundamentals are the housing stock is aging more rapidly than it has -- gerri: we need more houses -- >> -- since the early 1960s. jer yr we need more houses, and builders will have to come online and do that, yet their most recent confidence survey shows them pretty depressed, frankly. they're not upbeat about what's going on. how do you explain that? >> those home builder numbers, the survey of home builders which shows, you know, what they're seeing in terms of sales and traffic, those numbers were rising extremely rapidly, again, until november. and then in december and january those numbers fell off very, very rapidly. some of which, i think, is due to the weather. some of which may just be some retrenchment from what were very high numbers. gerri: right. >> and even though the numbers have come down, if you look back a year ago or two years ago or three years ago, even with the decline in the last couple of

months, they're still high compared to where they were at the trough of this recovery. gerri: so your view is 4%gdp tbroapt, and yet we're seeing some of the firms cutting their growth expectation, right now barclays is saying 1.9% for the first quarter. that's what they see. you know, jason, i've got the tell you, to be honest, i hope you're right. i hope we don't do 4%, i hope we do 5%, but not everybody is as upbeat as you are. why are you so optimistic? >> because of fundamental reasons. it's not just housing, it's also that housing in the past has always been an impetus for other things to happen to the economy as well. and what's been missing in this recovery until the last year, year and a half has been an absence of a housing recovery because of all the idiosin rah says of this housing cycle. housing tends to spur other consumer spending. housing wealth tends to encourage homeowners to spend a little bit more. and all of those things in the

past when they were occurring created much more than 4% growth. 4% only sounds really high right now because we've gotten used to not having 4%. gerri: well, that's a great point, because i think that we've gotten ourselves so adjusted, our sights are set so low we think 2 or 3% is a reason for throwing a party, a celebration. but, in fact, the reality is that previous growth has been far higher. i'm waiting for the consumer to @et back involved. you can't have a housing boom without having the consumer on trend. but, jason, we gotta go. thanks for your time today. great job. >> you're very welcome. gerri: and, again, i hope you're right. >> we do too. thank you. gerri: time now for a look at stories you're clicking on tonight on foxbusiness.com. facebook dropping $19 billion on another popular messaging service for smartphones called what's app? the deal is by far the largest one ever done in the tech world. what's app had 450 monthly users, 70% of whom use it every

day, and it's adding around a million new users every day. stocks closing higher today, investors digested positive manufacturing data from the u.s. and disappointing news from china. consumer crisis barely rising last month, a sharp rise in energy costs was offset by cheaper clothes and cars, food prices were also flat in january. and walmart can't seem to catch a break. the world's biggest retailer reporting a 21% drop in profit and the current year won't be much better. walmart is blaming the weather, growing competition and the expiration of a boost in food stamps for the weak outlook. and those are some of the hot stories right now on foxbusiness.com. we'll be right back with my two cents more and the answer to out weather forecasters, are they clouded by their own prejudices? stay with us. ♪ ♪ [ park sounds, sound of spray paint ]

♪ we asked people a question, how much money do you think you'll need whenou rire? $500,000. maybe half-million. say a million dollars. [ dan then we gave each person a ribbon to show how ma years that amount ght last. ♪ i was trying to like pull it a littlfurther. you know, i was trying to stretch it a little bit more. [ woman ] got me to 70 years old. i'm going to have to rethink this thing. [ man ] i looked around t everybody el and i was le, "are you kidding me?"

dan ] it's just human nature to focus on the here and now. so it'sard to imagine h much we'll need for a retirement that could last 30 years or more. so maybe we need to approach things differently, if we want to be ready for a longer retirement. ♪ ♪ ♪ dad has atror afib.illation, he has the most common kind... ...it's not caused by a heart valve problem. dad, it says your afib puts you at 5 times greater risk of a stroke. that's why i take my warfarin every day. but it looks like maybe we should ask your doctor about pradaxa. in a clinical trial, pradaxa® (dabigatran etexilate mesylate)... ...was proven superior to warfarin at reducing the risk of stroke. and unlike warfarin, with no regular blood tests or dietary restrictions. hey thanks f calling my doctor. sure. pradaxa isot for people with artificial heart valves. don't stop taking pradaxa without talking to your doctor.

stopping increases ur risk of stroke. ask your doctor if you need to stop pradaxa before surgery or a medical or dental procure. pradaxa can cause serious,u sometimes fatal, bleeding. don't take pradaxa if you have abnormal bleeding or have had a heart valve replaced. seek immediate medical care for unexpected signs of bleeding, like unusual bruising. pradaxa may increase your bleeding risk ifou're 75 or older, have a bleeding condition or stomach ulcer, take aspirin, nsaids, or bloodhinners... ...or if you have kidney problems, especially if you take certain medicines. tell your doctors about all medicines you take. pradaxa side effects include indigestion, stomach pain, upset, or burning. if you or someone you love has afib not caused by a heart valve problem... ...ask your doctor about reducing the risk of stroke with pradaxa.

♪ ♪ >> well, earlier in the show you probably heard me criticize the national oceanic and atmospheric organization, noaa, for getting their weather forecasts all wrong for this winter's weather. the agency forecast higher than usual temperatures, and, well, you know what it's been like. the poe or lahr very text caused more than 4400 record low temperatures and more than a thousand record snowfalls. think about it. but there was an alternative out there, the farmer's almanac, which accurately predicted a bitterly cold winter. we paid $1 billion for the federal government's forecast. you could have had the farmer's almanac for 4.95. which one do you want? [laughter] that's my two cents more. and that's it for tonight's "willis report." don't forget to dvr the show if

you can't catch us live. have a great night, we will see you back here tomorrow. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ neil: so the white house is looking to twitter to monitor what folks are saying about the health care law. i could save them the trouble, they hate it. welcome, everybody, i'm neil cavuto. and is sebelius serious, or after doing sufficient a botched job is on health care, she's moving over to the nsa to work her magic there. hard to say, but sebelius wants full access to twitter's historical data so she can gauge public reaction to the health care law. the agency calls it ongoing monitoring. i call it kind of creepy, and i also call it a waste of time. secretary, we already know how folks are feeling