always. thanks for joining us on "risk & reward." "money" starts now. melissa francis over to you. >> thank you so much. congratulations america. we have officially spent ourselves to a new record. national debt busting through the 18 doctor troll ceiling for first time ever $18 trillion. good luck convincing your wallet. the basic living costs squeezing middle class families. jeff bezos unplugged. why the amazon founder says don't worry about the stock price. we're just a humble startup. waging the war on dolls everywhere. the campaign against evil dolls marketed to girls and boys. even when they say it's not it is always about money. melissa: the national debt crossing a historic threshold under president obama, surpassing the 18 doll trillion mark for the first time ever. enough to make you pine for the good ol' days of 2009 when we

were only $10 trillion in the red. i mean it was a fraction of this. the national debt has risen by 70% since president obama took office. if you're a u.s. taxpayer, your individual share now tops $153,000. that is your share. here to discuss, our very own charlie gasparino, james freeman from the "wall street journal" and chris very says. charlie gasparino, $150,000 is your share. >> really? melissa: do you have a check? pay up and send it to the government. >> we should point out it is not all the president's fault. stop, let me finish. let me finish. >> burying the lead. i'm afraid you're going to make comment about a cat. >> i promise not. don't be imus here. but, you know, he inherit ad bad situation. he had a plan to grow the economy that failed.

and you know, one of the problems with the debt is the fact that it is not just that we're spending. is that the economy isn't growing. if the economy was growing, this wouldn't be so much of an issue. obama-nomics essentially has failed, right, whose fault is it the economy isn't growing? james, what do you think? >> i want to go back for the debt for a moment. melissa: one of the reasons why the debt is so huge because the economy isn't growing. >> well the debt is the fault of congress and the president spending all kinds of money. the good news is that. it is not highest in real terms. higher than it has been since world war ii. melissa: i feel so much better. >> this will make you feel so much worse. this only counts, the amount government, doesn't count unfunded liabilities for soes security, medicare, medicaid and obamacare. all the commitments the government made to spend, which it can't unmake unless congress votes to reduce entitlements. we're talking about hundreds of

thousands of. melissa: 18 trillion, what is another trillion? that is number that doesn't make any logical sense. >> i think it's a big drag on the economy. to answer your question earlier is it president obama's fault or not? when we look and see lack of job growth. more people out of work than working. we look at shrinking taxpayer base. we're upside down on that. number of people grown on entitlements. huge problems there. melissa: okay. >> we should point out a couple things here. we have much higher debt-to-gdp. is that what you meant during world war ii. >> right. >> but we were fighting world war ii. reagan racked up huge deficits and debt but we were fighting communists. we are not -- my point is we're not getting a lot for our money. melissa: talk to me on twitter, melissaafrancis or facebook, melissafrancisfox. tell me what you think about the 18 trillion-dollar debt. some have been great so far. the american family getting hit

from both sides. stagnant wages combining with increase in health care and other basic costs to put a hurt on household budgets. according to analysis bit "wall street journal." chris, what did you think of this one? >> you know, simply confirmed what i've been saying for years, about the cash-strapped consumer. lack of wage growth. higher costs they're having. dollars not going as far. when you look at it, people are undersaved whether for retirement, what have you. it's a huge problem when it comes to the economy really consumer driven. melissa: we haven't done anything to contain health care. that is big one for all of the talk. >> look at those numbers. start, playing devil's advocate here. start in 2007. so what the supporters of obamacare would say, well, you're counting in the old costs, the costs that occurred before the health care act went into effect. melissa: ever talk to anyone who is paying less for health care right now? >> they would say, i agree with you, but they would say there have been some declines in costs to health care. >> charlie, remember they're not counting price increases we're

going to get. >> i know. >> price controls do not reduce prices. melissa: yeah. amazon may look like a multibillion-dollar retail giant. jeff bezos is here to tell you that is sachsly not the case. defending the volatile stock price claiming that amazon is just a startup. do you feel like amazon is startup, james? >> original slogan was world's biggest bookstore. i guess now the slowing ban would be the world's biggest start up. melissa: that makes sense. chris? >> all things they're trying, drone delivery, grocery delivery there is startup component to it. we think of amazon more than books but online shopping destination. melissa: their competition is the monster that strong arms and dominates everyone around them and shovels the little guy out. they're hardly a startup. >> if you talk to target, macy's some of the others, barnes & noble this is big gorilla. this is not a startup. melissa: in every category. >> when i fell for that trap on

"imus" got on the cat conversation, my wife is with me, i'm really 18 years old. i'm not 52. i'm 18. i can say that sort of stuff. melissa: on that note, north korea stayed coy about the recent cyberattack on sony pictures with a cryptic quote, waist and see, when asked about the country's involvement. they said is that your fault. they said wait and see. fbi more forthright. that u.s. businesses could be targeted with a similar scheme. i don't know, is that normal, diplomatic procedure when your country is accused of a major crime and you say is it you? they say wait and see? >> i will say no. i don't think it is. i don't think it is at all. this is simply more of what we're seeing, ongoing attack. growing cyber attacks this is nothing new other than the fact they're playing coy. i think they're a little upset about the new movie coming out, the inter"view." melissa: what do you think? >> i just finished kissinger's book, world order, what is

fascinating about his description of north korea. they're really like a wounded animal in a corner with rabies. they're about to die. melissa: wounded and they have rabies. >> they're about to die but you don't want to go near it because you don't want it to bite you because they are dangerous. melissa: dennis rodman is only senior official. >> i thought he was ambassador to north korea. melissa: i think he is. here with the village people at russian orphanage. >> village people? melissa: no, they're dressed like the village people. i'm not sure if those are the actual village people. that is peculiar picture. out doing our international diplomatic policies. >> dennis rodman -- melissa: that doesn't bode well. >> how do you deal with a country that is, does have some nukes, can inflict damage? it is really an issue. because they are dangerous, they are wounded. you know, you always think they will collapse. if you screw with them they can make the world -- melissa: not paying attention to them. we have some problems going on, blowing up all around the world. we have some situations we're

trying to focus on, that north korea is pretty low on the list after russia, isis -- >> i think only country that can get them in line is china. china has a responsibility and by the way, a strategic, strategic interests. >> cyber attacks on american -- melissa: here is one of my favorite stories of the day. engineers at mit throwing down the nerd gauntlet to robot makers everywhere, developing a cheetah-like monster that can run more than 10 miles-an-hour and jump 16-inches high. probably devour your loved ones at the same time. look at that thing. >> that is what? melissa: this is robot from mit. >> that -- what does it do? melissa: you ask it and it jumps. >> can it pour me a martini? >> mit scientists call it the ferrari in the robots world. okay. >> seems like transformers mights military spending. melissa: yes. it is not a waste of time. this will replace jobs everywhere. they're figure out -- >> it will be a drone.

melissa: yes, definitely will be a drone. guys, thanks so much. fireworks on capitol hill as the homeland security secretary defends the president's executive order on immigration. plus drawing on papers so 20th century. we'll show you the pen that put as 3d printer in your hand. that is one of the coolest gadgets topping our christmas list. more "money" and very cool things under your tree coming up. ♪ she's still the one for you. and cialis for daily use helps you be ready anytime the moment is right. cialis is also the only daily ed tablet approved to treat symptoms of bph, like needing to go frequently. tell your doctor about all your medical conditions and medicines, and ask if your heart is healthy enough for sex. do not take cialis if you take nitrates for chest pain,

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melissa: president obama seems to be one step closer to picking a new defense secretary. reports now out that former pentagon official ashton carter, is likely to be chosen as chuck hagel's successor. that is according to administration officials who stress that the president has not made a final decision. ashton carter's name rose to the top of the list after several leading contenders pulled themselves from consideration. carter was deputy secretary of defense until december of last year. two hearings on capitol hill evaluating president obama's executive order on immigration. the homeland security chief is in the hot seat testifying about how the department will secure the border against a new flood of immigrants.

meanwhile a second hearing in front of the hoist just underway. fox business's rich edson has the very latest on all of this. rich? >> melissa, republicans are hosting a couple of hearings on president obama's immigration executive order. one this morning with homeland security secretary jeh johnson and ongoing hearing in the house examining what republicans say is the president's executive overreach on immigration. white house and democrats contend the president has the power to allow millions in the country illegally to stay. republicans contend he has no such authority and say they're devising legislative strategy to respond. >> we are looking at a number of options in terms how do we address this? now this is a serious breach of our constitution. it is a serious threat to our system of government. and frankly we have limited options and limited abilities to deal with it directly. >> house republicans appear ready to respond next year.

congress miss pass a government spending bill by next thursday or the government shuts down. leadership aides republicans plan to vote on a bill that funds the government through next september except dealing with immigration enforcement. they would fund activities early next year, giving the new republican congress a chance to respond next year with immigration policy changes attached to the funding bill. melissa? melissa: a lot to dissect, rich, thank you very much. i want to go to our panel. chris stirewalt, fox news digital politics editor. we have also guy benson who is political editor for townhall.com. he is a fox news contributor. chris, let me start with you. what do you think will come out of all these hearings? >> nothing. but maybe later, maybe later it will. why you have these hearings. get people on the record so later you can say, ah-ha. the main point of hearings in washington so lawmakers can give speeches that will get clipped into sound bites that will get played on their hometown tv stations so they can say i took this person to task while the

guy on the other side drinks a glass the water. melissa: we had a huge election that showed american wasn't happy with the direction we're going in. you start to hear people sounding on different themes, seems like we're making some progress, guy, no? we're all stuck in the same trench as before? >> basically, right. the principle power dynamic, stays the same. republicans take over the senate. which means they turn up the heat, congressional republicans can on the president forcing to veto things rather than having bills and initiatives stall in harry reid's senate. harry reid is being demoted. that will change a little bit. you have a democratic president and i would argue a very arrogant one sit negotiate white house. you have a republican congress with expanded majorities in the house and a new majority in the senate. and we're going to have i think a lot more divisiveness and sort of, acrimony moving forward because of this dynamic. melissa: meantime, chris, last night on "the kelly file," bob

goodlatte was saying president obama's executive amnesty, quote has to be one of the largest unconstitutional power grabs by any president ever. a lot of people saying same thing. does anybody happen to respond to that? >> i think that republicans will probably end up warming up to the idea of a shutdown. doing it now as opposed to later, just don't have very many options. they don't want this to carry over into next year, when they start with the clean slate in the senate, with the new majority in the senate. this is harry reid's last grinch turn basically to get to threaten christmas and shut down this and shut down that. the republicans take control of the senate on the 1st of january. i think increasingly as you get closer to the shutdown date next thursday, it becomes more appealing for republicans to test it. melissa: this sounds promise. "wall street journal" council governor jeb bush dropped not so subtle hint for his plans for the presidency. >> i'm thinking about running for president and i will make up

my mind in short order, not that far out into the future. >> guy, is the republican best hope? >> i don't so. melissa: why did that make you laugh? >> well, because, to say, to say that anyone is the republican best hope, we're still in 2014. elections are very long time. melissa: you think somebody new will spring up nowhere we never talked about before? >> there are a lot of people who will run for president in a very quality field i think is going to emerge. look, i have respect for what jeb bush did as governor of a major swing state. he was very popular there. he was very effective governor. pretty strong conservative when he was down there. he has major problems and fences he might need to mend with the republican base if he wants to get nominated. melissa: guy, a name a possible candidate we haven't talked about you think could enter the field to be a frontrunner? who is out there that we haven't discussed? i'm curious. >> we haven't discussed discusss exact segment? melissa: that hasn't been talked about the in public arena.

you say there is lots of time. like people could come out of the woodwork. who could come out of woodwork? >> when i say out of the woodwork there will be a lost governors, senators, members of congress we talked about who will run. i don't think there are many secret potential guys who will come out to take the country by storm and win. i'm saying there is already, what, 16 difficult republicans talking about running for president. melissa: yeah. >> jeb bush is one of them. look, as an american setting aside politics and partisanship, there is something depressing about the prospect of a bush versus clinton 2016 race. there just is. melissa: i mean, he has got a point. chris, what do you think about that? i like jeb bush. i think he seems like an honest fellow. he seems different from the rest of his family but if it becomes bush clinton again, are these only two families we have out there? >> well, here's the deal. 72% i believe of the ceos surveyed bit "wall street journal" said that they would like jeb bush as their candidate. >> that is not going to help him. everybody hates ceos in

america. >> sure it will. you know why? you will need a couple billion dollars behind you to run for president in 2016. hillary clinton will have that and more. weville to raise money and need organization. not to say that makes him a good candidate but that is to say this. whoever is running in 2016 will be running under the banner of, i'm not like barack obama. and that goes for the democrat and that goes for the republican. jeb bush certainly can make a argument he was not like barack obama. as guy points out very rightly, conservative base will want answers on common kerr and immigration before they let him off the hook. melissa: good stuff. we appreciate it. >> thanks, melissa, chicago officials green lighting a minimum wage hike. what is next for the windy sy? detroit is in the dark after a major power outage forces him to evacuate. we have all the details next. do you have too much money? ♪

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melissa: light slowly dom coming back on in detroit. pow arer went out in several buildings. people were forced to leave justice buildings and classrooms. wayne state chose to dismiss classes. the detroit mayor said in a news conference moments ago. >> well, thank you all for coming. today is another reminder of how much work we still have to do to rebuild the city and, a bankruptcy order doesn't solve the decades of neglect in our infrastructure and that is what we saw today in the pld system. melissa: meanwhile detroit

officials say that its electric grid suffered a major cable failure that caused a large part of the city to lose electricity. they're looking to restore the power just as soon as possible. meanwhile, chicago's bitter battle over minimum wage comes to an end today. the city council passing a proposal to increase the minimum wage to 13 bucks an hour by 2019 in a 44-5 vote. our very own jeff flock is there with the latest. so, jeff, it passed. >> yeah, he did it. that was mayor emanuel who pushed this through. the state is also considering a increase in the state minimum wage. he wanted to trump them to do it sooner and he did. current federal minimum wage, 7.25. take a look, melissa how this breaks out. 8.25 in chicago currently but goes to $10 in july of next year and 50-cent increases for two years, to $11 by 2017. eventually by 2019. , it will be $13.

not miest minimum wage in the country. that seattle recently pass admin mum wage that in seven years will hit $15. a lot of people here wanted it to be $15. this mayor, mayor emanuel, has been facing, he face as re-election battle right now. a lot of people call him mayor 1%. he hangs out with all the rich people they say. he wanted to push this through to emphasize that he cares about working people. that's where it stand. melissa: jeff flock, thank you so much for that. for more let's bring in rob basso, advantage payroll services president. charlie and guy are back with us as well. it is a very different economy. they compare themselves to seattle and say, you know, that in seattle they're making 15 bucks an hour. chicago is very different. rob, what do you think about this? >> i think that all it will do is raise prices for consumers in the chicago marketplace and the reality is, if they don't raise the actual minimum wage on the outside counties, it is going to

do damage to their livelihoods. i think i ace big mistake. i think it is a vote grab, is what it is. melissa: yeah. charlie gasparino, they have 6.1% unemployment in the city of chicago. not like it is 8% or 10%. maybe their labor force is tight enough for this. >> the economics on raising minimum wage is really bad but this is political story. this will be economic story. small businesses will hire less. every study shows, doesn't matter where you are in the small spectrum. that kills small business. this, sr. with the democratic party is going. rain emap an all was a clinton democrat early in his life. he is president obama's chief of staff. he was a centrist democrat. centrist democrats are moving very far to the left. this somewhere hillary clinton is going to go in 2016. do the same sort of stuff. melissa: guy, you're our political expert. you agree with that. >> that is absolutely correct. i lived in chicago for seven years. look, you always like the idea, voters love idea of folks at

lower levels, in entry level positions getting paid more for their work and bringing home a bigger paycheck. that is something that sounds good and feels good to people. now when you get into the actual economic arguments which are much harder to make, you need not just a quick sound bite but a couple of paragraphs to explain why it is not a good idea in the broader picture, raising cost of creating jobs, creates fewer jobs. that is a harder thing to explain to people who on some intuitive level love how it feels to say, why, yes, let's increase the minimum wage. >> but democratic party is against all explanation and rationality on this. it is moving to the left on some issues that defy explanation. melissa: that's true. we have got to go. i want to bring your attention to the markets. we have breaking news because the dow is climbing nicely. we're hitting session highs. up 90 points. all three major averages up half a percent on the day. good day for the markets. no gender december.

some active its throwing themselves to remove all gender from toys. that means no more girlie barbie dolls. no more action figures for boys. what do you think about this? has political correctness gone too far? maybe you don't like barbie anyway. follow me on twitter and facebook, melissaafrancis. tell me what you think. $18 trillion and counting, our national debt surging under president obama. our household owes $150,000. how do you feel about that? do we really have anything to show for it? i'm waiting for your your feedback on that one too. join us on social media. "piles of money" coming up. ♪

melissa: cyber monday has turned in to cyber week. look at the e-mails we all got this morning. it is likely because they expect it is a bigger boost in sales than they actually got. it was not half of what it was last year. when sales soared 20%. ibm crunched the numbers. it was because of the earlier start. the holidays would not be complete without new tech knowledge etoys. how did we live without them? >> here now to break down the studs from the duds is editor in chief of gadgets. let me show you this first one that we found. this may be my favorite.

whenever i am eating a waffle, if only it was shaped like a keyboard, it would taste even better. >> i must have five of them, at least. >> i think old blueberry would fit in the middle of each of those keyboard pieces. >> there is the runway alarm clock. $55. this is actually genius. it rolls away from you. it will roll for 10 seconds no matter what before you can silence it. what do you think? >> first off, thank you for having me. i would not call myself a morning person.

i am not one of those people that really struggles. i went to college with a few folks -- the hardest part is getting out of bed. melissa: it is $99. it looks like a giant mess. $85. you put it on the front of your bike. that is $85.

but even better one, you had a folding kayak which makes all kinds in manhattan. there is nothing better than a beautiful day out on the bay with the sunshine. >> okay. gentlemen, thank you to both of you. happy holidays. gas prices are still dropping. we will explain what you can get now that you do not have to

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this with your fox business brief. because of faulty headlights vehicles are being recalled. gm says it came suddenly and permanently. housing analysts are worried that many homes across america could be seriously overvalued. a report says that an estimated one in seven conducted in the past three years had inflated home values by 20% or more. energy typhoon has lost as well. it has been wiped off the fortune. that is in addition to the billion dollars he stands to lose in his divorce settlement with his wife. ♪

here's a question for you: when electricity is generated with natural gas instead of today's most used source, how much are co2 emissions reduced?

up to 30%? 45%? 60%? the answer is... up to 60% less. and that's a big reason why the u.s. is a world leader in reducing co2 emissions. take the energy quiz -- round 2. energy lives here. melissa: my future from capitol hill where a hearing is getting underway, jay rockefeller is holding a hearing examining professional sports. they are scheduled to intensify. the nfl players association will not be pleasant. the dow is now at its session highs.

let's go to the cole petallides on the floor of the new york stock exchange. >> each gaining more than a percentage point. royal caribbean will move into the s&p 500. carnival cruise up five and a 3% right now. they cracked the s&p 500. they will have to purchase this stock. it will be the change after the close on thursday. melissa: thank you so much. oil is back in the red today. how much of this slump has saved americans by comparing it to the almighty american burger.

it is enough for a big mac value meal every week. if oil came this low, that could quadruple. that is a mcdonald's meal every week. i can feel people writing in right now. the point is, and lots of good money in everyone's pocket. >> i think i'm already bought my iphone six, to be honest. melissa: that is a valid point. >> there are reasons to think that it day. growth production in america. the problems that russia is having in different countries.

>> they will not give up market share. there is a lot more supply. russia could be in a recession, maybe. >> a few stories on the radar right now. it helps to drive traffic to show rooms. steve jobs is due to make an appearance. the former apple ceo made a video just before passing away. the new jura times -- they had offered packages. >> speaking of auto, have you

seen that cheap? let not just get the head of chrysler in. let's get the guy who is head of cheap design. all time iconic brands. what is next for jeep cherokee and the rest of the jeep

how much money do you have in your pocket right now? i have $40, $21. could something that small make an impact on something as big as your retirement? i don't think so. well if you start putting that towards your retirement every week and let it grow over time, for twenty to thirty years, that retirement challenge might not seem so big after all. ♪

melissa: whether it is on wall street or main street, here is who is making money today.

the venue for 27 team. defending champion oracle team usa. the right to choose the next location. it will be the first time a u.s. team has chosen to defend the cup and foreign waters. making money in a most unusual way. paid to break-in pairs of jeans. the employees are called breakers and they where you do them every day for up to six months. that includes cycling in them, exercising and him. even going to the beach in them. breakers get 20% of what ever they eventually sell for. spacex, that you mod bus firm is looking to recruit.

before you go to mars, you will have to work. >> getting behind the holiday season. you maybe could better collect being warm coats for families in need. before you warm up, there is a bigger evil at work that needs to be stopped out immediately. the group calls itself no gender december. they are asking people to not buy gender-based toys. no shopping for anything that had a social message to children about what they should and should not be playing with. i have two boys. they play whatever they like.

they are angry members demanding to take the pledge. the m form children's feelings about whether it is socially acceptable to show interest in toys. back to my boys. just go ahead and scroll up, please. my son wanted a doll. i bought it for him. he lost interest in it immediately. that is just how it goes. we as parents can only really shape and. market vegetables like nobody's business at home. remember, on the list of things

you need to spend your energy on this holiday season is helping those that are less fortunate. it seems like an embarrassing waste of your time. >> amen, sister. >> i did a number of commercials. it had no impact. >> i have a 19 month old daughter. i cannot wait until she gets older. i am not assigning gender roles. no gender december. >> gravitating to the toys they want to play with. leave it to us, the parents. they are perfect until -- >> we put these things into their heads. you look cool. be my friend.

your last friend request was in second grade until you joined facebook 15 years later. melissa: i bought a doll for my friend. >> it was subtle genius. look at the national debt clock. we had the payments to see what americans think about being put on the hook for it. we share some of the best one right after the break. at the end of the day, it is all about money. ♪ how could a luminous protein in jellyfish,

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melissa: let's check out the markets. the dow roaring to a new all-time high of 17,897, inching closer to 18,000 than ever before. on all-time high, our national

debt reaching $18 trillion. money took to streets of new york city to see what you thought about all this. take a listen. >> i mean, it's going up, but it is one of those numbers you can't really get your head around. >> an incredible number. we've got to do something to get it back manageable before it's too late for the next generation. >> it's just so big, it doesn't mean anything anymore. >> it means something. >> why's that? >> because it's a lot of money. >> it's crazy, and they keep on spending and spending and spending without -- you know, it's people like us that have to pay for it. >> i think it's a shame they've allowed it to reach those numbers. >> we've got to tackle it, because it's going to destroy our country. >> i'm embarrassed at our u.s. government, that they don't bear down and fix it. it's time for us to take care of ourselves. melissa: i mean, it's really amazing. you out to people in the street, they all have the same reaction. everyone is outraged about it. at the same time, you know, you've got to ask yourself where is all that money going, because

our infrastructure is crumbling, watching "60 minutes," they're talking about how the bridges are falling down and how we're in disrepair. the answer's always to spend more money, but we're spending more money than we ever have before. >> it's been 70% increase in the last decade, and basically since 2009 since obama has taken over. now, it's not totally his fault. he inherited some policies, but here's the challenge, this is the thing we should be talking about: why is it so important for us to pay attention? is. melissa: right. >> because once the debt gets higher and higher and higher, the interest payments are going to increase. we're going to have to increase taxes and lower social services, and no party's been interested in doing either of those things. melissa: i have been loving your answers on social media. on twitter, paul o'brien says it makes me want to throw up. i agree with you. it's legend at this point, i'm afraid our kids won't be able to pay it all back. it is irresponsible. bob powell says: ticks me off,

but then i realize the numbers will likely be 20 trillion before the president leaves office. a lot of good responses there, thanks to all of you for joining us today. keep an eye on the markets. liz claman takes it away right now. liz: we're so focused on it, melissa, the dow just hit a brand new lifetime high. but want to really know how the economy's doing? how about asking people with skin in the game? chief executive at the largest u.s. companies say they expect to step up hiring over the next six months, but there is one key area where they plan to cut fat. stocks, the larger economy and, of course, yes, the ruble tanking. oh, we feel so badly for the russians right now, don't we? and they call themselves guardians of peace, but are they really the devils of digital? the fbi warning businesses about a brand new type of malicious software that could shut down entire computer systems like