gerri: hello, everybody, i'm gerri willis. right now on "the willis report", eat this, not that. nutrition labels get the first of ever makeover. will it change the way americans eat? also a big win for drivers. cities put the brakes on red light cameras. fast-food wars, we put the new breakfast menus to the test. we're watching out for you on "the willis report." gerri: nutrition labels are getting a makeover for the first time in 20 years. the fda is touting the proposed

labels as reality check to america's expanding waistlines. will enough consumers check out the labels to tipscale i the war against obesity? here to weigh in, john fund, writer for "the national review", and margo woten, director of nutrition policy at center for science in the public interest. welcome to you both. margo, i will talk to you first because this is something you study all the time. how will these labels be different? what is the big change here? i know your organizatn wants to go further but tell us about the changes we're seeing and we'll show those labels as you speak. >> as you said this is the first time the labels have been updated in 20 years..3 so we learned a lotver time abouhow people use labels and science of nutrition continues to evolve. one of the big things is that calories, are going to be in a bigger font. they will be easier to see, easier to read. that is the information that people are most interested in. there are some thingsscoming off the label that are not so necessary, that aren't big problems in people's diets like

the percentf calories from fat. there will be important new nutrition information added like potassium and vitamin-d. gerri: we got a lot of stuff john, what do you make of the new labels. is it an improvement? >> well, everyone wants people to eat healthier and obviously some people do look at tse labels and some people do derive good information from them but let's not think this is a pacea. educational campaigns, people actually reaching out to talk to people are far more effective and remember, when it comes to childhood obesity we have to make sure parents read labels because children certainly aren't. gerri: that's for sure. these labels will be open to public comment for about 90 days. they will take some time to write the rules. it is possible we won't even see these on products in our grocery store until 2017. they're a long time coming. margo, the fda is selling this on the idea there will be 20 tt

consumer.on in benefits to the what do they mean by that? >> well what people eat has a profound impact on their health. eating too much saturated fat contributes heart disease. not eating enough whole grains can increase the risk of heart disease. knowing what is in your food and tools in order to make healthier choices is really important for preventing cancer, heart disease, diabetes and the other big, costly diseases that are affecting americans health. gerri: i see your point, but, john, that sound like a whole lot of money, 20 to 30 billion over 20 years. these little labels are boeing to make that big of a difference? really? >> we don't know. i think thaa is a very soft number. that's a very soft number. let me tell you what is a hard number though. obviously there are benefits to better labeling but let's not pretend there aren't costs. of the costs is over $2 billion. $2 blion doesn't sound like a lot of money.

that is more than americans spend on every purchase for entire year. companies will do this, big companies will be ail to absorb the costs. small companies, kraft beer that sells a thousand bottles a year, woman who sells cookies. 20 or $30,000 how small a batch you ke. >> there are small business exemptions. gerri: let john finish. i think he di margo, your response. >> there are small business exemptions. and the costs, for those folks already labeling, they will just change the format. it will still be the same size on the package. they use their computer to change the design a little bit for nutrition information they already have. the ct is rlly quite modest for most companies. gerri: john, you disage with that. >> grocery retailers association which knows the business says it is over $2 billion a year. are they wrong? >> well the last time around there were lot of estimates how much labeling would cost and ended up not really having big effect on businesses. >> that was 20 years ago. >> this is going to be, still,

things have you know changed ov time. >> health benefits. >> 20 years. >> benefits are so much greater than the cost to industry. people really come to expect to have these labels and they want to make sure that the information is on it is most up-to-date and easiest to use gerri: here is my question about these labels. so as you know, nutrition and nutrition information seems to me to be aot about fashion. one week we're anti-wheat. the next week we're pro-wheat. we think cholesterol is important. we don't think cholesterol is important. so the labeling that we see right now is sort of what is in fashion now but in another five years, all these companies will have to rewrite these labels yet ain. margo, you first, then john. >> it has been 20 years and we haven't asked for any updates. i think it has been a very long time. there are changes what the headlines say about nutrition but the core nutrition advice from usda and department of health and human services has changedery little since 1980.

still same basic thing. @at plenty of fruits, vegetables. whole grains. not too much saturated fat and salt. those are the same since 1980. gerri: john, what about the pyrammd and all that? didn't we turn everything on its head about what ou're supposed to eat? didn't the federal government, we remember the pyramid but we don't want you to do that anymore. >> same thing, just a circle instead after triangle. gerri: give, john a chance. >> labeling is good in general but let's not forget this is one of several new costs that are going to be added on to business. we have food safety regs come on. ban on trans fat. we have restaurant menu labeling. center for the science in public interest supports all of these things and many of them are fine but if you do too much of them, and do them too quickly costs do add up. not just labeling. there are a whole bunch of food regulations that will increase price of groceries at the store. gerri: margo, i want you to weigh in something we've been talking about on this and revamping serving sizes. that is part of the labeling issue. they're going to, instead of

saying that a pint of ice cream is two to four servings will say two which is more like reality. there is concern there will be downsizing of packaging along with this and increase in food prices. what do you say to that? >> i say the last time nutrition labeling went into effect there wasn't increasen costs passed on to the consumer even though a lot of people cried wolf and said that was going to happen. so i'm not expecting to see that. customers want a certain size package, they're used to that it will just mean that they will have more accurate nutrition information for what is in that package. bag of chips was about the same size. going to be more honest labeling of it. >> well the food experts i talked to today, including around 20 years ago change was made, flatly disagree there were no extra costs and repackaging. we've seen in europe when they have some of these costs imposed on businesse they do get passed on and consumer does have to pay more. gerri: well, you know, i wonder

as we sit here and talk about how influential this will be on american's habits. if this will really change the way people eat. margo, you first. >> this is just a piece of the puzzle. that having accurate nutrition information is the basis for people being able to make informed choices about what they want to eat, and what their kids eat but there still be other things that will play a role. for example, we've been working on getting healthier food into schools. and, healthier food into, you know, restaurants for children's menus. there are other kind of policies which also have effect as well as increasing physical activity. nobody is saying that changing food labels is cure to obesity. just a piece of the puzzle. >> i'm in favor of all those good things, just remember you have to be carefully considered. usually have too many healthy food choices for children and take away things they like the kids won't eat t food. we've seen over and over again children revolt atchools when

they get carts and tofu rather than meals they are used to. we want all of these things. we have to think about them carefully. we have to weigh while there are benefits there are also costs involved. gerri: john and margo, great job both of you. thank you so much for your time. >> thank you. gerri: now we want to know what you think. here is our question tonight. will the new nutrition labels will they make a difference, will people eat less? log on to gerriwillis.com. vote on the right-hand se of the screen. i will show the result at the end of tonight's show. saving calories, saving money, the recovering housing market is having omeowners eager cashing in on their home. vera gibbons, personal finance expert joins me. welcome to the. >> i like to save money and calories. gerri: home values rising. home equity loans, lines of credit. >> very much in style and very much back in vogue. last year in terms of capturing lost home value, 1.9 trillion is

what we captured. sop of these markets saw double-digit growth, in excess of 20%. los angeles, san diego, new york, did quite well. now we have equity and lenders are more willing to lend because they're feeling more confident. they're undermore pressure to get revenue boeing from investor standpoint. they're back in the gain. very much back in style. gerri: people got in a lot of trouble last time around. what they were doing is using their home as a piggybank really, taking all kinds of money out of it. you know, i have a feeling that this time it's different. is it? >> this time it is very different. this is not the easy money when people actually borrowed against value of home and took elaborate vacations and other luxuries that didn't give them any return on investment. these days, you have to have income. you have to have substantial savings. u have to have equity. you have to have at least 20% equity in your home. gerri: vera, what is the right thinto invest in, use that money for if you're getting loan? >> most use it for home improvements. a new roof for example, or that type of thing. other people use it to

consolidate their debt. home improvement was big one last year we spent 130 billion on renovations and remodeling. a lot of people going forward will continue to use loans for that. gerri: can you do it for debt consolidation? >> you can use it for debt consodation. that is second biggest use. people that in markets that grew quickly, using home line of credit, to buy more real estate. people are doing all different things. gerri: that sound dicey. talk about what you need to know and what the downsides might be. there are always fees. always charges that people have to be on the lookout for. >> you nee to pay attention to the details. fees, annual fees. you need to know about the repayment terms. you really do need to read the fine print a lot proves that come with the territory. there are negativ. biggest negatives using your home as collateral. if you don't make repayments there goes your home. there is a risk that definitely comes with this territory. if they are used properly they can be used quite effectively.

gerri: now is the first time that door is open. numbers from last yearrare impressive. do you expect this year's numbers to be as good? interest rates frankly are not as good as they were last year? >> home values, high as last year, went up like gangbusrs. expected to go up albeit slower space. still tapering off buttill going up. home values continue to rise we'll see out more people taking out home equity lines and lines of credit. gerri: vera, thanks for coming on the show. >> nice to see. >> we have more this hour why hosts of cities across the country are taking down their red light cameras. take a look at that. next i'm joined by congressman jeb hensarling to the lead to the fight to rein in on the consumer finance protection bureau. the latest on his fight coming up. ♪ [ male announcer ] did you know

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gerri: the consumer financial protection bureau has the power to control virtually every financial transaction in the u.s. and our next guest is pushing to bring greater acuntability and transparency to this new bought entity. joining me fresh off the house flr is chairman of the

financial services cmittee, republican congressman jeb hensarling of texas. congressman, thanks for coming on the show tonight. i know you have not been a fan of this organization. you have big questions about it. this law that you're introducing, would really, in some ways i think defang it. why do you think it is so important to corol this agency? >> well, the cftb is arguably the single most powerful and least accountable government agency in washington. it is a uniquely unaccountable to the president because the director can only be removed for cause. it is uniquely unaccountable to congress because they don't have their funding source through congress. we lose that check and balance. they're uniquely unaccountable to the courts because under something called thehevron doctrine, the cfpb's rulings on consumer financial issues have to be given deference.

kind of like putttng your thumb on the scale. the cfpb is uniquely unaccountable to themselves because there is not a them. there is just a he. one unelected, unaccountable director, who really has discretionary power to declare any mortgage, any credit card, any pay -day loan as abuse sieve and essentially take it off the market. that is abuse of power. gerri: congressman, let me interrupt you there, because they are powerful but i don't think they're the most powerful entity in the country, not by a long shot. here is what i find confusing about them, concerning, didn't we have a federal trade commission? don't we have a consumer products safety commission? don't we have attorney generals in almost every state? isn't this just redundant if anything else? >> partially it is redundant, all new powers is given to the agency, uniquy theecombination of how powerful it is and at the

same tim how unaccountable it is what makes it so unique. so true consumer protection has everything you do with the fostering transparent, innovate i've competitive market, vigorously policed for fraud and mislead advertising. what this agency does it takes away the economic freedoms of the american citizenry to choose their own mortgages and their own credit cards. gerri: to your point, to your point, i understand the point you're making but, here's the question, so this, the idea for this agency and its ability to roll through congress and get approved by democrats was because of the mortgage meltdown. let's face it. that was the one product, one issue that convincdmost of congress we needed more contro. congress could have stopped that. congress could have stopped the mortgage meltdown. congress could have gotten involved and gotten in the way and put the brakes on but it didn't. so, i mean at the end of the

day, doesn't congress have itself to blame for some of thes problems? >> well, washington, in general has to belamed. les facet. the great public policy crisis of the of our public policy lament of the financial crisis was not that washington failed to prevent the crisis. in many ways washington led us into the crisis. gerri: right. >> it was rules like the affordable housing goals of the government sponsored enterprises, the community reinvestment act, that incented, cajod, mandated financial institutions to loan money to people to buy homes that ultimately they couldn't afford. it ws the total erosion of traditnal prudent underiting standard that ultimately broke down the financial system. so you can't say that the was a lack of regulatory authority. what is so unique again about this cfpb bureau is, one individual, we now have a national consumer product czar

or nanny to make these decisions for us. gerri: well, let me tell you what i find concerning, and i know you're trying to fight this, the cfpb, boy, do they need another name, they're in the business of data collection. apparently they want to collect more information on consumers than anybody else has. >> yes. gerri: so imagine all the folks who data mine out there, all the companies that make it their business to know our private business, the cfpb would like to be even better at that. what do you want to do about that? >> well, they're collecting hundreds of millions of personal consumer financial data. theoretical it is not supposed to be traced to the individual. for example, their mortgage database the person who p it together said it is easily, easily reversed engineered. soin some respects you could argue that cfpb is ina race with nsa to see who can collect the most personal financial data and other data on ameriian citizens.

the american citizens are saying hey, we want to be protect here but who will protect us from washington? what house republicans are doing, you know what? any consumer, if the cfpb will collect certainnal financial data they need permission of that consumer before they collect that data. that is common sense reform. most americans, they don't trust government. i mean we have these data breaches. it is not just private business but government as well, incredible data breaches and americans are rightfully concerned when washington is collecting massive, massive quantities of their personal financial data. and that is what the cfpb is doing. gei: congressman, we'll have to leave it there you have to go vote on this thing and get busy. >> i'm looking forward to it. gerri: thanks for being on. appreciate your time. later in the show, it is boomer retirement day on fox business as we tell you how nottto crack that nest egg. and next, are red light cameras

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gerri: we haveome good news for drivers. the demise of the red light camera could finally be on the horizon. gone will be the days of these hilarious that captured on red camera because of these cameras going away. other nsaids americans have

pulled over the years have gone viral. on a serious note, dozens of communities are concerned about these very lucrative progams. mayor john ducey is with me now. >> thank you for inviting me to your show. gerri: why are we getting rid of the red lights? >> i took office on januy 1. i wanted to take a look at what is behind these cameras. so the companies came in and they made their pitch and i said i wanted to take a look at this data. so iot the data to see what allies. this is the reason for the cameras with safety. gerri: these companies, what they do, they put cameras in that watch the cars and then the cops can give you a ticket without even being there and these companies share and revenues. >> yes, they did paid first.

gerri: wow, what did you find out about crashes? >> crashes went out. crashe when up and t-bone and right angle accidents went up. we have one section in town that was 35 total in one right angle t-bone went up to 36 and five. 400% increase. and then we had 13 total and five t-bone accidents. when up to 28 total and eight t-bone accidents. so the safety is not promoted by these cameras. thirty-one you know, there's a similar study out of fla @%at shows that riordan collisions in a 35%. gerri: it is human nature once you see that you lam on the bra. >> you're going to be nervous

and set to have an accident. gerri: 800,000 comes out of traffic revenues. >> yes, i thought it was wrong to balance the budget based upon punitive measures. especially when tis is touted under the terms of safety and the safety isn't there beyond people probably love you for taking these out. so let's say you don't even have a cop there. you have a camera there. >> yes, and it's supposed to be about safety. the situation is 3:00 o'clock in the morning and someone is making a right on red and it may not come to a full stop. but still they're going they are going to get a ticket in the mail. and they can say it ii safe for them to go. these cameras are not that

choice. still in five states including ohio and florida. they are getting on board with you here. do you think this will help you get rid of these altogether? and i am encouraging this around the country. beyond one quick question. your community was hard hit by hurricane sandy. >> we have the most waterfront properties in new jersey and we lost about $545 million and its slow coming back. it'll take you back in their homes and they will have to raise their homes or because because of the slow insurance

rate going up. and individual families and schools and schoolkids have houses that are being destroyed. >> lots of continuing problems baratz recounted on the show. thank you for coming on. and good luck to you. coming up, which fast food chain will win the battle over breakfast. and covege all day long on what you need to know coming up next. major monuments makes to

cto of cracking your nest egg. our networkwide special continues on "the willis report." we have the money moves that can wreak havoc on your golden years. joining me now with mistakes to avoid, financial planner paul

simon of the paul simon financial group. it's great to have you on the show. people go out and they first get into retirement and they make a big purchase that they always have wanted. and a lot of financial advisers say that is not the right time to do it. >> when you hire a financial advisor, the advisor must keep his objectives and his integrity to save your money but i don't agree with that. >> and over me i wouldn't do that. >> i tell them that all the time another problem that i the comment saw this big time after the financial crisis, people operate entirely from

emotion. i can tell you from looking at our twitter feed in our e-mails here, people are operating out of that same emotion of fear. what do you think you meant to come a lot of the worthat we do is a girl finance. put together a plan and you determine what someone's goals or objectives are, then they have a financial model so that we can see what we are doing with regards to all of the different variables and form abilities. gerri: when ou see the market from it, that's not reassuring. a lot of it will have a gut reaction that i have to get ou. i sat tight through the whole thing and made no changes. but my husband, e thought it was the smart thing to do by getting totally out. >> so you're educated in what you have to realize is that it

was money that i don't need right now. one account goes up, one goes down, the correlation between the assets. very often. gerri: intert rates went to zero. what you say to thy? >> it just shows that they are at the all-time lows for. the emphasis is more on the individual today to not only save enough for retirement but also to protect that income. very often they are prone to want to do this early, maybe it

makes sense for them to delay taking social security. and all of asudden there is a paycheck that is missing. and then they have to replace that and they need to replace it with something come. with financial planning to use a word of healthy income and risk income. very often looking at social security and government pensions and also insurance contract as opposed to the fluctuating program in the markkt. gerri: but otherwise you don't have what you need to get there. thank you for coming out tonight, it's great to meet you and thank you for being with us. the lead us on a couple of stories that we have been

following. whether geeral motors were linked to 33 crashes and 13 deaths. they open a probe to determine whether gm properly followed the process and requirements for the recall. it's a move that will surely be welcome news for one family whose daughter died in one of these crashes on the 29th birthday. his famils attorney, lance cooper, spoke with me about this on yesterday's show. >> we know about this in 2007 and they investigated a crash and they never followed up. he submitted this letter after they announced the recall saying that it was not broad enough very fortunately yesterday gm responded by broadening the recall.

at least 13 people are dead, obably more. especially within five days under this act. this is almost a decade. gerri: another story that we told you about. reports from the daily caller, dealing with a growing backlog of medical files by simply destroying them in los angeles. the daily ller even had telephone nversations to back up this information.

gerri: he told a house be a committee hearing that no one who needed care what my care. this is a carefully thought out review and there was no attempt to lemonade the records. he says that only about 300 cases were closed and no files were destroyed. when we come back, how the rise of messaging services have made even texting passé and taco bel introduces a new manual. we'll take a look at the current competition in the morning next.

gerri: to all of you breakfast sandwich lovers out there, taco bell is unleashing their new morning menu that includes the waffle talk i'll and the a.m. crunch wrap red joining me now is terry

graham. let's talkabout what taco bell is doing. >> there is a waffle wrapped around eight and an egg. kinds of good things. cheese and lots of stuff in there. youcannot. >> i'm not suue it's the best and start your day. because it has so much saturated fat in otal fat and i've been burd in the average person n a 2000-calorie a day diet, that's about 56 calories total. so doesn't leave much for the rest of the day. and so the a.m. conch wrapped has taken and eight.

the big problem without one is th sodium. the average person only needs 2300 milligrams of sodium per day. having that much salt is interesting for sure. gerri: let's talk about the egg white light muffin. it's definitely a healthier choice. the saturated fat is low. if calories are only about 250 calories. so that is definitely not bad at all. >> here's something else that i ve had. spinach and feta breakfast wrap. >> it is also a etter choice

than a lot of other options out there. at 290 calories. total fat over 10 grams. compar to taco bell, much better. you can't go wrong through fiber and you actually get about 20% of your calcium needs per day from that as weel. >> this ring some bells for me. >> i know, i'm shocking you. it's low, the sodium is little bit better than some of the others. these are great, you're on the go, you need something. and i will tell our viewers what you told me.

and i don't know, that waffle, you get some syrup with that. and it's great to have you, thank yofor your time. now we want to know which fast food place has the best breakfast and lunch. the biggest fast food chain. sales have been on downward spiral for the next few years. and the next one is pizza hut. number three is starbucks. it ranks high on th list thanks to nearly 11,000 stories across the country. it's only number two when it comes to locations in theunited states. just over 14,000. and the number-one biggest fast food chain is the subwwy.

we talked about it before. nearly 25,000 ocations. gerri: however you base this list, mcdonald's comes out on top. still to come, my "two cents more". do people just talk to each other anymore? we will find out coming up next.

gerri: by more and more

gerri: we have the technology right at her and her kids are in -he full interaction for mobile devices. internet messaging soared to 300 billion messages last year. joining me now, welcome back to the show. it's great to have you here. i was asking about how does this impact people's relationships. all of this mssaging and twitter and social media. >> just might think that it has an impact. because you have some of the physical world that we live in. e-mail, text, everything like that and people in the physical world urging them to the and

they are not spending time with the people they should be spending time on it. >> that is an example of people being focused the virtual world. and it is a once-in-a-lifetime experience. >> if people are having several conversations. yes, i'm having a conversation with my mother, even face-to-face.

and i think it is very important to make sure that when you are face to face keep hat social interaction. >> what you do about it? >> the areas where we need to really think about is the home, whether you have family or you jt live by yourself. sconnecting is really important. create boundaries, drop your phone in a bowl when he walked in the door. don't keep a phone beside your bed because you have this thi always there. and you take out your phone, have you ever heard of this? >> no. >> put your phone in the middle of the dinner table. the first person to grab their phone consciously or unconscious weight has to pay for dinner. so all of a sudden you're forced to have some fun and it's a financl penalty. we are seeing this with high-profile celebrities they

ban this at any function that they have. gerri: at night, maybe over dinner, having a convrsation. >> exactly. from thegreat ways to connect with people. i think it'smportant to i think it'smportant to disconnect. there's this kid. coach calls her a team player. she's kind of special. she makes the whole team better. he's the kind of player that puts the puck, horsehide, bullet. right where it needs to be. coach calls it logistics. he's a great passer. dependable. a winning team has to have one. somebody you can count on. somebody like my dad. this is my dad. somebody like my mom. my grandfather. i'm very pround of him. her. them.

gerri: the fda says the companies will have to spend a lot of money to change the nutrition labels and the obama administration says that it will help us to be healthier. we ask the question on gerriwillis.com. 17% said yes and otherssaid it will make no difference at all. finally tonight, food labeling in particular.

a free society, people have to be allowed to make their own choices and eggs. do you remember when everyone smoked? help in this is that it was the government's program to eradice smoking to cut te numbers. i believe something different is going to happen. let's face it, it's harder to breathe when he smoked. but the tipping point for me came when everyone else stopped smoking. more people will be encouraged to eat healthier. i see no reason why sould be prevented from having them. that is my "two cents more". and that's it for tonight "willis report." thank you for joining us and have a great night and we both be right back here tomorrow.

♪ ♪ thank you for being here. neil: welcome. i'm neil. that is not what got my attention. it was what really a of said after that. not of the president but why we keep choosing the same kind of guy for president. think about it. senators, governs, politician by prevention to the exclusion of others. why not venture ouside that political dish. go outside the capitol to look at folks who are pretty good, you know, capitol. how about billionaire and