your friday feedback stuff. we want to know what you think about the gamestop frenzy. e-mail us, varneyviewers@foxbusiness.com. gamestop, what do you think? market frenzy, what do you think? you've got to tell us, and we'll put it on the air for you. time's up for me. neil, it's yours. neil: all right, stuart, thank you very much. we are watching a couple of things happening right now. of course, janet yellen, the newly-minted treasury secretary, talking with other regulatory agencies including the sec, the federal reserve and on and on at a time when the likes of gamestop and amc are all getting scattered in this market, down at least 20% for each of them. what kind of ideas she's going to come up with and what kind of hearings we're looking at on capitol hill regardless if she does or does not come up with anything at all. then those american airlines

furloughs, they either get an extension of federal money by the end of march, or thousands could lose their jobs. then the big hullabaloo over apple and an autonomous car. what it's doing with kia that's certainly helping apple's stock, as if it needed that. welcome, everybody, i'm neil cavuto, this is "coast to coast." jackie deangelis with the very latest. >> reporter: hey, good afternoon to you, neil. treasury secretary janet yellen is calling this meeting of regulators, including the fed, to get some answers on the extreme market volatility that we've seen in recent weeks in names like gamestop, as you mentioned. now, the treasury secretary the wants to explore some of the questions pro-short selling rules which basically started this because these were the names that were heavily shorted, and the reddit investors wanted to squeeze those shorts out, but also how robinhood restricting

trading and needing to raise capital to clear trades the, how this all impacted investors. we're watching american a airlines -- airlines, warning that 13,000 employees could be furloughed by march 31st. now, american cut 30,000 jobs last fall when the first round of aid experienced, and american's ceo blamed vaccine distribution and restrictions on international travel requiring negative covid-19 test as the culprit hampering flight demand now n. a memo to employees, it stated we will fly at least 45% less in the first quarter compared to the same period for 2019, and based on current demand outlook, we will not fly all or aircraft this summer as planned. con wently, we will have more team members than the schedule required as the federal payroll support expires april 1st. okay, now the apple car that's making a lot of buzz too, apple

close to finalizing a deal with hyundai kia to produce an apple brand electric vehicle. the car's expected to be fully autonomous if as well. the expectation is it would be rolled out around 2024, but the company's kept the details under wraps, just another example of how apple is trying to use its power and technology to diversify all of its businesses, neil. neil: all right. that's a big divergence, we'll follow it. jackie, thank you very, very much. back to this meeting right now, it's going to be a teleconference to kick things off, but janet yellen wants to check in with the heads of all of regulatory agencies. what do we do about this market mania around gamestop and the amc, the nokias, you've herald this go on and on about it. should they be involved in this, and should they be looking add this and -- at this and should they be policing this?

carol ross, gary caught bomb. -- gary kaltbaum. you could look at the whole market, i'm wondering what signal she might be sending or what even washington might be sending on this. >> well, look, for me it is unfortunate that yellen, powell, the people that have really enabled and caused this mania with the 0% interest rates and the printing of trillions of dollars are the ones to go and oversee all this. and let me be clear, this is a gargantuan mania. it's not just in the short squeeze z which, by the way, gamestop down 87% from the highs. but we're seeing it in these spacs, we're seeing it in record trading for penny stocks. any number of things right now. i don't know what they should do, but all i can tell you instead of going after robinhood who prevented people from buying

gamestop in the 400s, they should go after the people that were touting everybody not to sell in the 400s after it was up twentyfold. and i can tell you right here at the college in central florida, they're putting up a billboard saying don't sell your gamestop stock. i'd like to know who these people are, and if their in my -- they're in my industry, they need a talking to. neil: interesting. you know, carol, one of the things that's interesting about this is it highlights where investor attention is going. because it's seen such a rich market, so many seek out undervalued stocks. what got us into these, you know, stocks that have been shorted including the gamestops and the amcs and even for a while american airlines, but it broadened out. look, all right, what's the next group that seems to be under some selling pressure maybe by the shorts, maybe by these big hedge funds including the

biotech stocks. just a few of them, but enough that it's like a, you know, revolving machine gun here where they just try to take out or explore opportunities in one wave of shorted stocks after another. so when the attention goes away from gamestop and some of these others, i wonder is the next stage we go from round to round with other shorted stocks? >> yeah, i mean, the money has to go somewhere, and there should be a big mirror being held up here by yellen to her colleagues because the fed has completely distorted risk in the market. i mean, this is what happens when you have a fed that prints $7.5 federal on its balance sheet that has kept interest rates near zero for the greater part of the last decade. where are people going to get this yield from? and if you add the stimulus on top of that, you know, what has happened, people have been saving that money. the personal savings rate was

13.7% still in december. and so we have these asset bubbles being created, of course that's what's going to end up happening. and it's hilarious that they want to regulate it when they're the ones that caused this problem to given with. neil: all right. well, gary, to that point -- and carol makes a good one there -- short of the federal reeverybody suddenly -- reserve suddenly hiking interest rates which doesn't seem inevitable, what do you tell your clients when they look at these market averages, some of them revisiting old eyes and wondering if this is a chance to get in? >> i've been saying for months to anybody who would listen to me, which is like three people, that we were in a melt-up, and i think it's the late inningses. what we're going to see is some massive froth and speculation. neil, i have never seen more stocks go up three, four, fivefold and even more that have no sales. i didn't say no earnings, i said

no sales. these spacs are just turning into one big, gigantic money grab. companies are being invented out of think about air -- thin air, all doing the same thing to be put into these spacs. they're either electric vehicles, batteries or solar-celled, i don't think there's going to be the 400 companies being able to selleck trick vehicles. so that's where i think the big bubbles are going to be. it's going to end with a lot of pain just like you've seen in gamestop and amc and some of these others, but i think we have a ways to go. and you're seeing it every day right now in the nasdaq and the small caps. the micro caps are on fire right now. the pink sheet stocks are going berserk to the upside, and that's usually the end game. just a word to the wise, a warning shot to all the viewers out there. we may be months away and there may be a lot more fire works, but just beware that eventually valuation is going to matter.

it always does so be careful. neil: all right, these spacs are special acquisition companies making market debuts, they've become sort of the new fad here. and, you know, a lot of people point to that, carol, as yet another sign of froth. but i can remember a lot of people early on when we were coming back after the financial meltdown, you know, every time we hit a level in the dow that it had gone from 6,000 to 8,000, 10,000, they were getting worried, and here we are now in and out of 31,000. so these things can last a long time. are we ripe right now for something, or is this just a sign that without any other place to go, stocks are the game in town? >> yeah. gary kaltbaum is a very smart man. it always makes me angry when i can't argue with somebody on here, neil. if i knew the exact timing, i would be on my yacht in the

mediterranean and obviously not talking with you fine gentlemen. we don't know the timing. but if you look at valuations, you look at market capp to gdp, you look at the level of you euphoria, the multiples, this just isn't sustainable. i think if you are somebody who has a one or two-year time horizon and you're thinking about retirement, you should be talking to your financial adviser and really thinking about adding to your portfolio because we don't know -- there's a whole list of things that could make it go sideways, but we just don't know when that's going to hit. if you have a longer time horizon, maybe you're a little bit more patient. but this will end. i wish i could tell you when, but i'm still waiting on that crystal ball. neil: i still think you would be talking to me and gary whether you were on your yacht or not. i don't think money would have anything to do with it. [laughter] that's wishful thinking. guys, don't go anywhere, i do want to pick your brain on some other stuff. in the meantime, congressman ken buck, the republican colorado

congressman, sits on the house senate trust subcommittee, the ranking member there. congressman, good to have you back. i'd be remiss if i didn't, you know, get your thoughts on this teleconference that the treasury secretary's going to have with all the heads of the major regulatory agencies including the federal reserve. she's concerned about this market mania. are you involved and want to do something? >> we'll see. i don't know what she's defining market mania as. i am concerned whenever the government interferes in the marketplace. i also think we have seen some things in the last few weeks that don't make much sense. i'm concerned about protecting the small investors. the hedge fund managers, obviously, protect themselves. i'd be interested to see what the end result is. neil: do you think, congressman, that sometimes people have to take their own punishment if they get greedy or they get too far and they make mistakes, it's

on them, it's not on washington to protect them? >> yeah. i think that, you know, the entire system, our criminal justice system works that way, our finance system works that way, and i think when people take risk, they understand there's a downside and an upside. and if they have made a poor choice, there is a great downside financially to their risk in the financial markets. neil: you know, the parler ceo says he was fired. no one knows the exact details on that. do you have any comment on that? obviously, all but taken off any social media venue, so it was suffocating on just the rack -- the lack of exposure. of what do you think? >> i don't know that they have any revenue coming in at this point. i don't know that the parler ceo should be paid for a company that really, in essence, doesn't exist right now. ing i don't know what the discussion was on the board, but

certainly, one, parler offered a great service when google and amazon and others were shutting down conservative speech; two, the alternatives don't exist anymore. so that's unfortunate. but parler should have done a better job of regulating the content on its platform and not giving an excuse to those that want to censor speech, give them that opportunity to crack down on that kind of speech. neil: you know, congressman, while i have you here we're learning that joe biden might not want to wiggle too much on the price of that stick stimulus package at $1.9 trillion. he is open to limiting exactly who gets those $1400 checks. but it really won't move the needle on the overall price of this. as things stand now and if a $1.9 trillion plan were presented to you, would you vote for it? >> no, i wouldn't vote for it. [laughter] we've spent $6 trillion on covid

relief. there's a lot of money left to spend. while i believe strongly that americans who are out of work should be cared for and i believe that those small business people who are out of work as a result of the governors' actions of shutting down their states should also receive some type of relief, i don't think that $1.9 trillion necessary to get the job done. neil: all right. now liz cheney will stay in leadership, you know, the republican conference. still don't know what's going to happen to marjorie taylor greene. do you think she should be strep stripped of her committee assignments given all the comments and the controversy they've generated? >> yeah, i think that the precedent of allowing the majority party to decide who serves on committees from the minority party is one that hasn't been done in over 200 years in congress. it would be a serious mistake to start that precedent now. the democrats have already

lowered the bar on impeachment, they have lowered the bar in other areas. if they decide that the majority party determines where republicans can sit and on what committees they can sit, it is something that they will regret in the future when republicans take over. so i am not in favor of the bill that will be on the floor later today or tomorrow stripping marjorie taylor greene of her positions. i do not condone her remarks. i think a number of the statements that she made and liked on social media were inappropriate. she has apologized over and over again for those, and i think it's clear that she is a freshman, and those statements were made before she came into congress. we have a lot of people, we have a member of congress who had been impeached for taking a bribe as a federal judge before he got here. there was know republican effort to strip him of his committee assignments. this were members of -- there were members of congress who were leaders of the ku klux klan

before they got here. to single out marjorie taylor greene is inappropriate, in my view. neil: so you would keep her where she is. >> i trust ken mccarthy -- kevin mccarthy, i truths our leadership team, and -- trupt you trust our leadership team, and i trust she understands that she has hurt people by her remarks and that, and she is remorseful for those remarks. so, yes, she's been given two committee assignments, i would leave her on those committee assignments. neil: are you okay with liz cheney maintaining republican leadership role? she asked for a vote on this, it was 145-61. how did you come down on this? >> i was not present. i was on tv at the time, but i think it's really important that the majority of the conference

spoke. i think it's also important to keep that whole discussion in conference. she will be in leadership, and i think that she received a strong message about the role that members in this republican party expect leadership to play. neil: yeah. i don't want to belabor the point, sir, but it just seems she got a lot more grief -- liz cheney -- than congresswoman greene got. a little weird, right? >> yeah, i don't think she got more grief. i think she had a very good interaction with the members that she leads, and she got a lot of good feedback from that. she will remain in her position. marjorie taylor greene may or may not remain in her position. neil: got it. congressman, thank you very much for taking the time. by the way, we were talking about that stimulus measure, and the congressman was talking about what he would like to see in it, what he would not like to see in it. some movement on the part of mitt romney who seems to be open

to a stimulus package, not necessarily this size, but that he wants to expand the child tax credit to $3,000 per child. whether that could be signaling that republicans could be onboard with something that is pretty hefty, and in the past they have clearly, clearly had problems with it. remember that senator romney was among those entertaining a package of $618 billion rather than $1.9 trillion, but he is open to more generous provisions on child tax credits and the like. so movement, albeit glacial movement, after this. ♪

living with metastatic breast cancer means being relentless. because every day matters. and having more of them is possible with verzenio, the only one of its kind proven to help you live significantly longer when taken with fulvestrant, regardless of menopause. verzenio + fulvestrant is for hr+, her2- metastatic breast cancer that has progressed after hormone therapy. diarrhea is common, may be severe, or cause dehydration or infection. at the first sign, call your doctor, start an anti-diarrheal, and drink fluids. before taking verzenio, tell your doctor about any fever, chills, or other signs of infection. verzenio may cause low white blood cell counts, which may cause serious infection that can lead to death. life-threatening lung inflammation can occur. tell your doctor about any new or worsening trouble breathing, cough, or chest pain. serious liver problems can happen. symptoms include fatigue, appetite loss, stomach pain, and bleeding or bruising. blood clots that can lead to death have occurred. tell your doctor if you have pain or swelling in your arms or legs, shortness of breath, chest pain and rapid breathing or heart rate, or if you are pregnant or nursing. every day matters.

and i want more of them. ask your doctor about everyday verzenio. ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ new projects means new project managers. you need to hire. i need indeed. indeed you do. the moment you sponsor a job on indeed you get a short list of quality candidates from our resume database. claim your seventy five dollar credit, when you post your first job at indeed.com/home.

when you switch to xfinity mobile, you're choosing to get connected to the most reliable network nationwide, now with 5g included. discover how to save up to $300 a year with shared data starting at $15 a month, or get the lowest price for one line of unlimited. come into your local xfinity store to make the most of your mobile experience. you can shop the latest phones, bring your own device, or trade in for extra savings. stop in or book an appointment to shop safely with peace of mind at your local xfinity store.

neil: here's how bad this whole schoog is getting in san francisco. the city now is suing its own school district to reopen. apparently, it's a lot easier said than done. claudia cowan, what the heck is going on there? >> reporter: well, what's happening here, neil, is that basically city hall has had enough, and now with this lawsuit the city is forcing school district leaders to lay out a comprehensive plan to get

students back into the classroom as soon as possible. take a listen. >> the plan prepared by the san francisco unified school district and adopted by the board of education is ambiguous. more than 54,000 san francisco school children are suffering. they are being turned into zoombies by online schooling. enough is enough. getting kids back in school needs to be the only priority. >> reporter: in recent months many districts and even san francisco's private schools have resumed in-person learning, but public schools remain closed even though the city's own health d. says they could reopen safely with proper precautions. officials say the district's thousands of students are suffering academically and emotionally and that the school board's priorities are misplaced. last week the board announced it would rename 44 schools that some consider offensive

including abraham lincoln and george washington when those very same schools remain closed. the district superintendent says there is a plan in place, but with covid transmission numbers changing, they're having to reassess safety protocols. the head of the school board calls this lawsuit frivolous. >> we understand that this is painful, and we all want to get back, but this is an embarrassing day for san francisco. >> reporter: much of what happens next depends on labor unions and what kind of working conditions the teachers here in san francisco will accept. previously they said they wouldn't want to return to the classrooms until san francisco had moved into the less restrictive orange tier. neil, that's two full tiers away from where we are now. mean tile, vaccinations for school staff also remain a sticking point in the ongoing negotiations with the district. back to you. neil: claudia, thank you very much. the cdc director weighing in on all this saying teachers really don't need to be vaccinated for schools to safely reopen.

i'd rather talk to a doctor right now who knows his stuff, dr. roger kline, certainly tops in that field, health policy expert, much, much more. so, doctor, help me with this. if the cdc is saying that getting all the teachers vaccinated is not really necessarily going to change things in one way or the other and that schools can safely reopen without that, is that true? >> yeah. hi, neil, thanks for having me. yes, it is true. and i think at least as far as we know, it is, and i think that tends to be a con seven is us among those who have looked at this objectively. sure, children can get it, no question, and they can even spread it, but they're certainly not more likely to do so. and schools can be opened safely, you know, certainly as safely as other environments. and i think, you know, i think the objective view of this is that the harm caused by school closures far outweigh any

potential benefits that may arise from that. neil: while i have you, doctor, you were talking about vaccines and all that. we know about 20-27 million americans have gotten at least one dose of a vaccine, but better than 55 million have been distributed. so what explains that gap? >> there are a couple of things. first of all, there is the issue of requiring two's doses, so there may be a desire to preserve some level of vaccine supply in order to give second doses to people. but i think there's also been some bureaucratic snafus, some states have handled it better than others. look at west virginia, for example, they've distributed 80% of the vaccines that they've gotten. others are much lower. but 50% of the vaccines that the federal government has distributed have been given to

people. i think, you know, i think we're actually doing a pretty good job. neil: i don't know how it's breaking down, doctor, in terms of who is getting which vaccine. there are, you know, four or five major players, moderna, pfizer, astrazeneca, johnson & johnson, one type of treatment out there or another. how do you recommend a vaccine, and which one do you choose for your patients, or do you just say get the vaccine, the common theme are they're all vaccines to deal with in this. >> you know, i think -- first of all, i think the elderly and vulnerable should be prioritized first, and i think, i think the states that have done that have found it's both more efficient and more effective or will be more effective at saving lives. i think that's the first issue. this pfizer vaccine is possible may be a bit more effective among older patients. we really don't know for sure.

and i would encourage people to get whatever vaccine they can, certainly would encourage older and vulnerable people to get it as quickly as possible. you know, i'll give a shout-out to the governor in ohio where i am right now. he prioritized elderly folks, and it's readily available at a lot of pharmacies and other stores. people have to make appointments to get in, some hospitals as well. but i, you know, people i've talked to are getting the vaccine. and i think it's really, really important that these older folks and the vulnerable people get these vaccines so that we really stop the serious infections, you know, mitigate the hospitalizations, reduce the death. these things are going to plummet as the older folks and vulnerable folks are vaccinated. and, again, as i said earlier, this is going to be, in my view, the crisis is going to abate once we do that.

although the virus will continue to be with us. neil: how long, do you think? >> how -- did you ask how long? neil: yeah, i'm sorry, doctor. how long do you isn't the virus will be with us? -- suspect the virus will be with us? >> well, you know, it could turn into one of our normal, routine respiratory infections. i think the problem is this unrealistic view of this virus, somehow apart from every over infection with which we deal, we haven't seen it before, we need to develop immunity. we can do that through vaccination and infection. even though it may change and evolve, we're going to have a residual immunity that is going to stop this from being a major threat, and that's really what we have to look for. i don't know -- nobody really knows is it going to disappear, is it going to hang around. we don't know that for sure. but what i do know and what i can promise is that as soon as we develop some level of immunity, it's going to be like

others respiratory infections, and we won't be afraid of it. we'll go on with our lives. in general, we'll live with it. neil: dr. roger klein, thank you and good catching up with you. dr. roger klein, following all of this, from the heartland institute, much, much more. by the way, remember we were covering this american airlines' fear that it was going to have to lay off thousands of workers if it doesn't get extension of federal aid that one runs out on march 31st. blake burman is passing along some comments from jen psaki that apparently the president has not allocated money for the airlines per se. when asked about additional help for american and united because they might have to furlough additional workers, she said that, and i'm quoting here: i think the president's priorities are already in the package. that package does not include, as things stand now, airline industry relief. after this.

♪ money, money, money. ♪ money, money in a rich man's world. ♪ money, money, money, always money. ♪ in the rich man's world ♪♪ obsession has many names. this is ours.

the new lexus is. all in on the sports sedan. lease the 2021 is 300 for $359 a month for thirty nine months. experience amazing at your lexus dealer. at t-mobile, we have a plan built just for customers 55 and up. saving 50% vs. other carriers for thirty nine months. with 2 unlimited lines for less than $30 each. call 1-800-t-mobile or go to t-mobile.com/55. i knew about the tremors. but when i started seeing things, i didn't know what was happening. so i kept it in. he started believing things that weren't true. i knew something was wrong, but i didn't say a word. during the course of their disease around 50% of people with parkinson's may experience hallucinations or delusions. but now, doctors are prescribing nuplazid. the only fda approved medicine proven to significantly reduce hallucinations and delusions related to parkinson's. don't take nuplazid if you are allergic to its ingredients. nuplazid can increase the risk of death in elderly people

with dementia related psychosis. and is not for treating symptoms unrelated to parkinson's disease. nuplazid can cause changes in heart rhythm and should not be taken if you have certain abnormal heart rhythms or take other drugs that are known to cause changes in heart rhythm. tell your doctor about any changes in medicines you're taking. the most common side effects are swelling of the arms and legs and confusion. we spoke up and it made all the difference. ask your healthcare provider about nuplazid.

♪ neil: all right, we're following developments with the major airlines. as you might have heard, american airlines sent out a warning to thousands of its workers that a good many could be furloughed if, by the end of march when a federal lending program ceases, is not extended. they don't get more aid. united has already hinted at something similar here, but banner there's not going to be -- apparently there's not going to be relief in this latest package if we're to go on what the press secretary just outlined. this is not among the priorities in the package as it stands. chad pergram on these fast moving developments.

chad, if there is no airline aid, of course, airlines have already telegraphed jobs are going to go. do we know in the final package whether that will be part of it. >> reporter: we don't know definitively. they're still writing this package, and jen psaki, the white house press secretary, said the president's priorities are already in this package. but keep in mind they've only put together some broad parameters here. they haven't gotten down to specifics. and that's why, you know, watching the next few weeks what they actually put into this bill or take out, it's going to be an interesting process. this is really about the second preseason game on an nfl schedule, where they are right now. we're really not to the first of september where they start the regular season. it's going to take a couple of weeks here. democrats see the covid relief measure as a way to jam through the $15 minimum wage. the current basic wage is $7 at any time 25 per hour, it's been locked at this level since 2009. democrats argue this is a way to boost workers amud a wrecked

economying -- amid a wrecked economy. >> it starts with a $15 minimum wage and paid leave to help insure women, workers of color, workers with disabilities can be given the pay they deserve. >> reporter: democrats long promised their base they would increase the wage. failing to do so could infuriate the heft. he palins are in near lockstep opposing the increase. >> federal mandate to small businesses that are struggling all across the country to double the minimum wage. the small businesses in wyoming who are struggling today, it's going to be almost impossible to make payroll. >> reporter: the big question is whether democrats could stuff it into the coronavirus bill. such a provision could lie outside. special budget conciliation rules, the wage increase may not work in this particular piece of legislation. it takes 51 votes to advance the coronavirus bill via reconciliation, but they need 60

votes to break those rules and shoe horn a raise into that package. house speaker nancy pelosi says the wage increase doesn't have to be in this particular bill. neil? neil: the president seemed to intimate this will have bipartisan support. by that, i guess he means at least one republican senator. i know it's hard to handicap these things, they're constantly are changing, can you see a republican senator supporting this? >> certainly, you could see one or two, and you might not know until the very end because, again, the contours of this bill haven't been crafted. the house of representatives, it might be a little more dicey. they seem to be more in lockstep, particularly after their conference meeting last night where they reaffirmed support for liz cheney. they said we're all together, we're on the same team. they are looking to pick up the house in 2022, so it might be in the interest of house republicans to oppose this. but senate republicans generally, they've been more engaged in this process with the white house so far, and you

could see maybe two, three, four republican senators vote for it or, as you say, maybe just one. neil: real quickly as well, they're going to kill me, my producers, chad, but the 61 who voted against keeping liz cheney in leadership, is that something she has to worry about? is that a tempest in a teapot here? >> reporter: it's something to watch, but the math, as we always say, is paramount on capitol hill. there were some conservatives saying that she had more than 100 republicans who wanted to push her out of that leadership position. that definitely did not happen. so watch to see if that number grows or dissipates. you're always going to have, you know, a lot of people making noise about leadership. you know, those who get into leadership, they get articles attached to them -- barnacles attached to them, and it kind of weighs them down. those are some of them that she has to watch. neil: including the impeachment vote. thank you, chad, very, very much. chad pergram. as you know, a big push for

forgiving student debt and that sort of thing. a lot of democrats are pushing for up to $50,000 of such debt. joe biden apparently has another plan. take a look. >> the president has and continues to support canceling $10,000 of federal student loan debt per person as a response to the covid crisis. he's calling on congress to draft a proposal, and if it is passed and sent to his desk, he will look forward to signing it. neil: all right. the devil's in the details and whose debt do you forgive, how do you handle that. back with carol roth and gary kaltbaum. gary, now learning that, you know, up to $10,000 of it for a lot of kids are going to get a pass anyway, maybe $50,000, i like look a -- look like a fool, don't i? >> oh, yeah. they're not canceling any debt, they're transferring it to other

taxpayers who had nothing to do with that debt in the first place. and it begs the question if you start canceling students' debts from today, what about new students going forward? if you cancel, say, 25,000 right now, students going forward, are you going to be canceling their first 25,000? and then who's going to pay for that. and the last part of the equation is they're doing nothing to fix the real problem, and that is the out of control the upside of the cost of colleges that has been going on for a couple of decades because they're guaranteed to be paid no matter what. so their target again is a big miss. i guess it's a noble thing to say to somebody, hey, we're going to just hand you over $10,000, but in the end somebody's going to pay for it, and it's always somebody else that did not incur the debt, and i'm not so sure that's a good thing. neil: carol. >> yeah, i mean, let's be clear, students have been taken advantage of, but let's go through whose fault it is. first fault is the university.

second fault is the politicians who have disrupted risk in the underwriting of college loans. then it's the high schools who say you have to go to college. it's the parents, the people who the taxpayers or people who didn't go to college, who chose a cheaper college, who paid their college off. so i'm all for canceling student debt if you go back to the colleges and say, college,, pay this back. when the reality is they get all kinds of breaks. they get federal funding, they get tax-free status, so let's play hardball and go to people whose fault it is so they have some skin in the game. and then we can focus, as gary said, on the real problem which is getting government out of student lending, going back to an underwriting process allowing for discharging of debt like we do for every other student and let the colleges have some skin in the game. neil: all right. carol, gary, want to thank you. by the way, we're just getting

news right now -- this is good news -- concerning the coronavirus that for the 24th straight day, hospitalizations have declined. that is the longest streak we've seen since the pandemic arrived in the first place. stay with us. trelegy for copd. ♪ birds flyin' high, you know how i feel. ♪ ♪ breeze drifting on by you know how i feel. ♪ ♪ it's a new dawn... ♪

if you've been taking copd sitting down, it's time to make a stand. start a new day with trelegy. no once-daily copd medicine has the power to treat copd in as many ways as trelegy. with three medicines in one inhaler, trelegy helps people breathe easier and improves lung function. it also helps prevent future flare-ups. trelegy won't replace a rescue inhaler for sudden breathing problems. tell your doctor if you have a heart condition or high blood pressure before taking it. do not take trelegy more than prescribed. trelegy may increase your risk of thrush, pneumonia, and osteoporosis. call your doctor if worsened breathing, chest pain, mouth or tongue swelling, problems urinating, vision changes, or eye pain occur. take a stand and start a new day with trelegy. ask your doctor about once-daily trelegy. and save at trelegy.com.

in these uncertain times, it's important to own physical gold. ask your doctor about fortunately, there's an easy way to invest at the source right here on american soil. we're golden independence and our

advanced stage nevada gold project is located within the largest gold producing complex in the world with an historical resource of over one million ounces and active drilling to expand even further. time is now for golden independence. ♪ ♪ neil: all right. this pandemic has put a real number on business types of all, you know, focuses and the way businesses run, but particularly minority-owned businesses. doesn't edward lawrence know it, he's been talking to the head of ben's chili bowl in washington d.c. edward, a lot to put up with, huh? >> reporter: it really is. they've been hit very hard. it's been a staple here since 1958. now they have multiple locations, but all of them

closed except this one, the original location and one other. the bowl, as it's called, they've cut back hours, but you see they're still working, and their customers are trying to make sure this business does not go under. there's been donations as well as steady orders of to-go orders. the owners are promoting other businesses like the brazilian-american cultural center down the street which moved lessons online. >> it's applying for grants at night, getting financials together because you need to be ready for whatever comes in terms of applying. can we refinance the loan on the building and trying to find a lender who will refinance. and that has been, you know -- >> reporter: and according to a survey by the federal reserve, 54% of white-owned businesses say their financial condition is fair or poor. that percentage goes up for other minority groups. specifically, 77% of black-owned

businesses describe their financial condition as fair or poor. now, that could be seen as a reason that stanley mace, who owns a divine shine, did not take a payroll protection loan. one requirement to make a grant is he still needs to be in business, and he didn't know if he could survive. >> it's emotional for me. because some of these people, they don't -- it's not like everybody's flush, but they all are saying, look, you know, here's a piece of my bread, you know, so that you can make sure you stay there and eat. >> reporter: and what his customers actually did was went into their closet, got old shoes and just took it to his shop in order so he could have some business. he's also getting orders flown in, people mailing their shoes to get them shined so he can stay in business. it's a community effort, and that's what i'm hearing. back to you, neil. neil: that's something, in the

middle of all of this to think about others like that. amazing. edward lawrence, thank you very much, my friend. you've heard a lot about forgiving folks' rent. that seems to be a big call throughout the pandemic and even now. hearing from a new york state legislator who has another idea. how about helping out the landlords so that those renters are helped in the process in. ♪ money changes everything. ♪ i said, money changes everything ♪♪ h■ñsrú ■nga■■

♪ neil: all right, talking about politicians who think outside the box, amid the clarion call to cancel everybody's rent, along comes state senator michael generis with a novel idea. how about finding a way to address both the landlord's and the tenant's concerns? senator, very good to have you. >> sure. thanks for having me back on. tenants are certainly in need. they have been unable to pay their rent, largely through no fault of their own. we've restricted the economy, in fact, taken away their jobs for the time being, and yet we're still expecting them to pay rent. one with of the ways to deal with this is to just help them pay their rent.

without helping out these smaller homeowners, just pushes the problem onto another class of people. they still have to pay mortgages, utilities and what have you. and since this was a government action, these restrictions were government mandated, it's only fair to provide some subsidies, some assistance to these folks to help make everybody whole and get the recovery moving as fast as possible. basically pay the rent for those who are unable to pay their rent and, hopefully, with the economy kick starting soon, we can get everything back to where it was. neil: all right. it's $2 billion. do you make those who are behind on their payment current and does this extend into the future? how would you do it? >> yeah, the idea would be -- the estimates are that 2.2 the billion is what the rent arrears number currently is. so effectively, making everyone current to the present day from when the pandemic started almost a year ago. neil: all right. it's a novel idea. i wish we had more time, senator, but i wanted to bring

this to people's attention because there's a lot of common sense on both sides to address those behind on their rent and the landlords who are losing money as well. keep thinking outside the box, as they say. new york state senator trying to look at the same problem everyone else is, a little bit differently. we could use more of that. after this.

i knew about the tremors. but when i started seeing things, i didn't know what was happening. so i kept it in. he started believing things that weren't true. i knew something was wrong, but i didn't say a word. during the course of their disease around 50% of people with parkinson's may experience hallucinations or delusions. but now, doctors are prescribing nuplazid. the only fda approved medicine proven to significantly reduce hallucinations and delusions related to parkinson's. don't take nuplazid if you are allergic to its ingredients. nuplazid can increase the risk of death in elderly people with dementia related psychosis. and is not for treating symptoms unrelated to parkinson's disease. nuplazid can cause changes in heart rhythm and should not be taken if you have certain abnormal heart rhythms or take other drugs that are known to cause changes in heart rhythm. tell your doctor about any changes in medicines you're taking. the most common side effects are swelling of the arms and legs and confusion.

we spoke up and it made all the difference. ask your healthcare provider about nuplazid. ♪upbeat music♪ transitions™ light under control. ♪upbeat music♪ transitions™ signature gen 8™ available now, in 4 vibrant style colors. transitions™ ♪ ♪

neil: all right, top of the hour and, man, oh, man, oh to be a fly on the wall for this teleconcern. of course, if you were a -- teleconference, you would probably follow very quickly is what janet yellen wants to hear out of the top regulators including the head of the federal reserve, the sec, the cftc is how to address this market mania. is it something they should address. we are on on top of that. as soon as we learn what came of that we'll, of course, pass that along. markets are watching airline stocks amid indications we're getting that the biden white house not keen on still more airline aid. that could cement the fear that american airlines put in thousands of workers' minds that if they do not get an ebbs e tense of that federal aid, thousands of those workers are going to lose their jobs. united hinting at the same.

we'll be following that for you. also following joe biden. the president will be at the state department. this was something that was scheduled last week. then, of course, that doozy of a snowstorm hit. he's going to be thanking them, but he also might take this as an opportunity to outline his sort of global vision plan. when he speaking we are there. in the meantime, what we can expect to hear off the president, kristin fisher, with more on that. kristin, what are your hearing? >> reporter: neil, it's very clear, foreign policy front and center today. and ahead of president biden's trip to the state department in just a few minutes, the national security adviser came to the briefing room and spoke alongside white house press secretary jen psaki. he said it is no coincidence that president biden's first trip to a cabinet agency was, indeed, the state department. it was deliberate and here's why. >> he wants to send a clear message that our national security strategy will lead with

diplomacy. once we have established this position of strength, we will be able to compete more effectively with our competitors across the board and especially with china in every domain; economic, diplomatic, technological, security, you name it. we'll be able to counter russia more effectively. >> reporter: now, during that briefing jake sullivan made a few big announcements. he announced an end to american support for offensive operations in yemen, effectively ending u.s. involvement in that country's civil war. he also announced a freeze to the drawdown of u.s. troops from germany, something former president trump had, of course, initiated. and a presidential memorandum on protecting the rights of lgbtq individuals worldwide. so the big picture today, i mean, president biden's going to be offering a very zoomed-out view of his foreign policy, but jake sullivan went a bit more granular during the briefing and answered some questions about north korea and iran. >> iran proposed allowing the european union to negotiate a

smuggles return to the iran -- simultaneous return to the iran nuclear deal, the idea being -- in exchange for iran coming into compliance. is that proposal at all being considered? >> we are actively engaged with the european union right now. those consultations, i think, will produce a unified front when it comes to our strategy towards iran and towards dealing with diplomacy around the nuclear file. >> reporter: so a lot of foreign policy news but, neil, i'm going to get slightly off track because i know you're a big space guy, like me, we're both space nerds. jen psaki, the white house press secretary, made some big news, i asked a question about nasa's artemis program yesterday, whether or not the biden administration supported it. she said she wasn't sure, but today he said that the biden administration fully supports nasa's artemis program to return american astronauts to the moon hopefully by 2024. neil? neil: thank you, fellow

astronaut, kristin fisher. thank you very much. by the way, she did sort of mimic the whole, or just read the whole -- ribbed the whole space force thing. and she's taken a lot of heat for that. how has she come off the that? out of that? okay. i guess we lost her there. all right. weaver following that. we're also following right now the president of the united states. he's going the to be at the state department pretty soon. he is going to thank workers there. this was on the schedule last week before the big snowstorm. we're looking forward to hearing from him, but almost every former foreign policy adviser has been indicating the fact that the u.s. is sending warships through the taiwan strait, of course, a response to china sending a whole bunch of ships into the region. scary times. dan joseph back with us. dan, do you agree china's our biggest threat, our biggest challenge right now in. >> definitely the biggest

challenge. probably the biggest threat as well, although i think you can attribute more civility to china an some of -- than some of the other threats that might end up spiking. certainly, the size of china, their footprint around the world and the fact that unlike most of our major identified add adversaries, china is also integrated into the global economy, into our economy. so we have to cooperate with china while at the same time confronting some of the behaviors china has that don't coincide with our strategic objectives. so it is the greatest challenge, there's no doubt about that. neil: you know, dan, i think it was "the washington post" today that got into how this administration responds to china because it's like a team of rivals' response. you have john kerry, the climate czar, who wants to work with china to help deal with the climate accords and, you know, obviously to make this a cleaner world and all of that. and you have others who are a bit more bellicose, the defense secretary who is not, you know, very trustful of what the

chinese do any day. so can they speak with one voice, and what would that voice be? >> well, they're trying to here in the early going to kind of lay out the benchmarks, you know? the broad strokes. as with any administration, the devil will be in the details down the road. what we're hearing so far is there's not going to be a huge shift. we're going to maintain a rather ardent position on things key to our national security and economy. the tariffs aren't going to be rolled back until the biden administration has done a thorough review. so it doesn't look like there's going to be a big change. china will welcome us working with them on things like climate, but i think those type of issues to a large extent stand alone. that'll be something we can point to to say, see, we're still friends, but we're still going to have areas where the conflicts are going to be difficult to re, -- resolve. neil: so you could score a trade

deal or complete one that the prior administration left and still talk tough on whatever's going on in the taiwan strait, right? >> i think we can. that's what we were doing for years. of course, things have -- the trajectory of the relationship changed over the last few years as china's taken a more aggressive, assertive global footprint. and then, of course, donald trump really changed the narrative by coalescing opinion around the idea that we need to push back on china. but for years we've had differences on foreign policy while trying to work together on the economy, and we've been able to keep them apart which i think has been good for both countries. it would be nice to get back on that track. i think we can while protecting our economic interests and also national security what what not. that'll be one of the things we'll be looking at to see, if we can push in that direction given the tumult of the last few years. neil: thank you very much. dan joseph of the china learning

curve, ahead of a lot of these things. certainly most in the established press and elsewhere. want to go to liz peek and jack mcintire with us, liz peek, of course, good read of the markets, jack, a portfolio manager. we're looking at stimulus, guys, as you know. i always find it interesting that what republicans want, a bipartisan effort, and joe biden says it will be a bipartisan effort. it always seems that wall street, liz, doesn't care whether it's bipartisan just as long as it's big. [laughter] which is a novel, you know, change from where we used to be not that many years ago. what do you think of that? >> well, i think you're absolutely right. investors are basically driving the market higher every time it looks like we're going to get a giant number, every time it looks like the democrats, for example, want to go through the reconciliation process which'll lead to a $1.9 trillion spending program, wall street is happy

because that will drive in the short run economic activity and earnings. and today we're seeing that earnings still are incredibly key. the companies that are doing well are getting bid up, and the ones that have fallen short are not, obviously. but i think the thinking is on wall street that the more tunnel plus money that's out there -- stimulus money that's out there, the more consumers will spend, the more the economy will move forward, and who cares what the future looks like, what debt looks like, what interest rates might do down the road. they're all about short-term results. neil: you know, jack, looking at stimulus here and the possibility that it will not include -- it's still early -- but it'll not include airline industry relief or measures that would prevent them from firing workers, american's the first to say if that isn't extended beyond march 31st, thousands of you could go. what do you think? >> yeah, it's, i think it's a little bit of payback from the

biden administration. but, neil, one of the things i'm just thinking about, you know, and i think it's quite important for investors to think along these lines too because, you know, biden was instrumental in the stimulus package of 2009. probably didn't think we went big enough, yellen definitely did not think we went big enough. so they're in this mode, i think, of just getting as big as they can. the mistake would be to go small. maybe they just don't want to be quite perceived as helping out certain key industries such as airlines. that might not play well with the left side to have democratic party. neil: that's interesting. liz, if i could switch gears a little bit on this teleconference, zoom call, how they're going to do it -- however they're going to do it with treasury secretary janet yellen talking to her counterparts about what she's described as the market mania lately in the likes of gamestop and amc that caused all of those

issues. down smartly again today. should they have a role on this, or is it the hearing out what happened? can you envision with all the hearings that are planned right now on this in the house and the senate that washington can help but get involved? >> you know, neil, i really hope that no one would ask me about this, because i don't think what the regulators should be doing about this. we've all looked forward to, i think, a greater democratization, if you will, of the markets along with the advent of social media allowing groups of people to talk to each other and to create bidding strategies and so forth. we've seen that that ability for a lot of retail investors to pile into stocks together can move markets and cause mayhem. but, you know, what really is a regulator position here or authority here? so far as i can see, markets were basically functioning the way they're supposed to

function. robinhood had to shut down as it did because it needed capital. so i think the government has to be, i think yellen has to be very careful here not to appear though they're on -- as though they're on the side of hedge funds, of big money players because, after all, joe biden has presented himself as a champion of the little guy, and yet his campaign was by far and away the biggest re. sip cent of big wall street money. -- recipient of big wall street money. i think they've got a really challenging path forward and, frankly, i don't think there are any heroes in this story, and i don't think there are any victims either, frankly. so i think it's really kind of a dicey political situation, and, you know, i don't really know what they should be doing. neil: i like that analysis. you know, jack, one of the things i've noticed since this whole hullabaloo is how there's a new kind of industry booming,

taking a look at stocks shorted or targeted to go down. it's extended to biotech, airlines or at least person airlines, and that's the -- american airlines, and that's the new game in town because these markets are so rich. that's where you seek out potential value. what do you think of that strategy? >> yes. i think two things. and i actually, i think this is an example of markets being efficient, you know? you're looking at anomalies, and when you see stocks that have a large short base, hey, they become susceptible. the other point, neil, is we are all just sort of sitting at home in front of our screens looking at how to make money in stocks. we're getting money from the government. it's not all being used for consumption. personal savings is off the charts. you can't earn anything by keeping it in a savings account, so i think as an unintended consequence of trying to help

consumers to get through the pandemic, we are kind of creating this speculative froth. so i, yeah, i think, hey, everybody should assume there's going to be risk in any type of investment that you do. neil: all right. final word there. guys, we'll have you back a little bit later to look at some macro issues that are weighing on the market. i've gotten a couple e-mails, so i just want to clarify something. helen writes, neil, did i hear you say that you and kristin fisher are former astronauts? the yes. kristin might be the more legit, her mother and father were both astronauts, both commanded separate space shuttle flights. they used to call her, in fact, because she was a toddler at the time, the nation's first as astro-tot. me, knowing of my interest in the space program, a little pin

that said i'm an honorary astronaut. so if any of you smart alecks doubt the fact that i am, i leave it at that. [laughter] ♪ out here in the fields, i've fought for my meals. ♪ i get my back into my living ♪♪ living with metastatic breast cancer means being relentless. because every day matters. and having more of them is possible with verzenio, the only one of its kind proven to help you live significantly longer when taken with fulvestrant, regardless of menopause. verzenio + fulvestrant is for hr+, her2- metastatic breast cancer that has progressed after hormone therapy. diarrhea is common, may be severe, or cause dehydration or infection. at the first sign, call your doctor,

start an anti-diarrheal, and drink fluids. before taking verzenio, tell your doctor about any fever, chills, or other signs of infection. verzenio may cause low white blood cell counts, which may cause serious infection that can lead to death. life-threatening lung inflammation can occur. tell your doctor about any new or worsening trouble breathing, cough, or chest pain. serious liver problems can happen. symptoms include fatigue, appetite loss, stomach pain, and bleeding or bruising. blood clots that can lead to death have occurred. tell your doctor if you have pain or swelling in your arms or legs, shortness of breath, chest pain and rapid breathing or heart rate, or if you are pregnant or nursing. every day matters. and i want more of them. ask your doctor about everyday verzenio. at t-mobile, we have a plan built just for customers 55 and up. saving 50% vs. other carriers with 2 unlimited lines for less than $30 each. call 1-800-t-mobile or go to t-mobile.com/55. the lexus es, now available with all-wheel drive. this rain is bananas. lease the 2021 es 250 all-wheel drive

for $349 a month for thirty six months. experience amazing at your lexus dealer. ♪upbeat music♪ transitions™ light under control. ♪upbeat music♪ transitions™ signature gen 8™ available now, in 4 vibrant style colors. transitions™

♪ ♪ neil: all right. parler's ceo is out, and we're not quite sure exactly why, just that he's out. susan lihas a lot more on this. >> surprising analysis, in his memo to staff matze saying he was fired last saturday by parler's board, decided to terminate hi position as ceo of parler. i did not participate in this decision. now, herrer is -- mercer is parler's main financial backer and facing constant resistance on his vision and strong belief in free peach. however, dan bongino says that's actually not the case. >> he claims he was a real advocate for free speech, and he was a real advocate for product

stability and he was let go. folks, that's not accurate. some terrible decisions were made in the past that led to this, that led us to getting pulled down by amazon and others. it is me and by co-owners tar resolutely committed to a free speech site. >> reporter: parler has been offline since january 11th after being kicked off of amazon web services. matze says he was actually close to restoring service on parler before his friday firing. now, before being shut down, parler had as many as 15 million users, the number actually spiked after president trump was kicked off twitter. but also of we have parler being blamed for content that some say helped spark and plan the january 6th capitol riot. parler has also moved over their domain name to a russian hosting company which has also now made for calls into an fbi

investigation. he's not the first high profile founder to be kicked out of his own company. steve jobs and jack dorsey and uber's travis kalanick among some names. some say he's in some high quality talent, shall we say, in names. neil: yeah, that's interesting. i didn't realize, there is a history to this, you're quite right. thank you very much, susan li, on those developments. now the very latest on some of these efforts on capitol hill to deal with antitrust reform, to deal with a host of things in washington. charlie gasparino following all of these developments and all in the middle of this teleconference that's going to try to crack down on some of the market mania that the treasury secretary is discussing with everything from the head of the federal reserve, to the heads of the sec and the cftc. charlie, what have you got? >> thanks for calling me a young man, i need to hear that at

least once in a while. neil: well, i do too. [laughter] >> let's take the klobuchar proposal first that's on a broad antitrust legislation, essentially, would want to break up companies. neil many, very low chance this thing gets throughment it obviously can't be enacted through reconciliation, it's not quite a budge -- it's not a budget issue. you would need buy-in from republicans. and as much as republicans hate big tech and would lo to break -- love to break up amazon, facebook, twitter possibly even though that's not quite in the same category, apple, google, they also like free markets even more. so this thing is going to have to get whittled down dramatically before it gets applied to every company in corporate america. so, again, makes for a good headline. i think klobuchar is a smart -- klobuchar's pretty smart, you know, we covered her during the

campaign. she was a very tough prosecutor before she was the senator from minnesota. my guess is she's doing this and a lot of wall street democrats, she's doing this just to get the conversation rolling about antitrust and see where it goes and see if possibly some form of this bill in the future gets proposed. so that's where that's going. again, not something i think the markets are really worried about because democrats on wall street are saying, not so fast. in its current form, not happening. now, the janet yellen issue is fascinating meeting with all these various regulators. since the reagan administration -- according to dick grasso -- something called the president's working group on capital markets. and i think that's what this is. it's a group of regulators that meet regularly when markets get crazy as they are now, particularly in these sort of massive swings in a bunch of penny stocks that went from trading at $3 a share a couple

months ago to now $300 and heading lower. gamestop the, the last i looked, it was below $70 a share, so it went from $500 a share to below $70. you're going to get some sort of reaction from regulators whenever that happens, and i think that's where we're going now. in terms of legislation, lots of stuff is bouncing around on capitol hill. something we were first to report yesterday thanks to lydia moynihan, my producer, was ending or sort of curtailing the practice of payment for order flow. that's when companies like robinhood, like charles schwab take their buys and sells order, and they sell it to third parties like brokerage firms. citadel is one of those. there's a lot of sinister motives attached to that sort of practice because it gives citadel and those other brokers an inside, like a private insight into a retail order flow. we could spend all day talking about that. remember, if it wasn't for order

flow, neil, there wouldn't be discount brokers. people couldn't trade for free on robinhood, because robinhood gets paid by selling the order now. and that order flow is matched pretty seamlessly, you get the price of what you want to put boo it. so that is one of the issues that is being bounced around, curtailment of short selling, and i'm sure they're going to talk about all of this in these discussions. because, again, whenever something like this happens, we start talking about there's always a response from the regulators of some type. it would be really a shame if they get rid of payments for order flow. i'm going to get a lot of heat for this, but the democratization in wall street does not exist if the average guy's got to pay each commission, and that's how you offset those commissions, neil. back to you. neil: yeah. there's an infrastructure around trading stocks. you can talk all you want about the democratization, but you have to have the wherewithal -- >> absolutely.

neil: -- and the means and the money to orchestrate that. there's nothing despicable going on here, you have to be set up to handle that. if you're not, you're not. you're hurting rich investors and poor investors alike, bottom line. great reporting on this, charlie. thank you very much. charlie gasparino. we're hearing right now that house democrats have formally requested former president trump to testify under oath for that senate impeachment trial. republicans are not keen on the trial in the first place, saying he can do whatever he wants to do, but he's not compelled to do that. obviously, democrats feel differently. we'll are have more after this. many. ♪

neil: all right, we are back in the ps climate accords here, but the numbers have been looking good for the united states. co2 emissions and all of that. and despite our being yanked out of it by the prior

administration, apparently it has not hurt as much as some people have claimed. anyway, jackie deangelis is here with the latest on all of that. >> reporter: hi again, neil. one of president biden's top agenda items, as you said, it was climate change. and one of the first things he did, in fact, on day one, rejoined the paris agreement. president trump withdrew us from it, and as you said, it hasn't hurt that bad. here's why it matters, it's an agreement between global nations on climate change mitigation, adaptation and finance. under this agreement each country has to lay out a plan and report on its progress and contributions to mitigating global warming. but here the problem, not all the countries are committed to its guidelines in the same way. it's one thing to sign the agreement, it's another to actually live by it. germany and japan, for example, are much better at making strides than china, india and russia. and here in the u.s., despite dropping out, the u.s. is down 5.42% in co2 per capita

emissions, a little evidence that you don't necessarily needed to have signed the paper to do the right thing on emissions. now, biden's climate czar, john kerry, he spoke last month on rejoining the agreement and said this: >> president biden is deeply committed, totally seized by this issue as you can tell by this executive order and by the other, the initiative getting back into paris immediately. that's why he rejoined the paris agreement so quickly, because he knows it is urgent. >> reporter: now, one of president trump's issues with the agreement was the fact that all the players, including some of our biggest foes, weren't necessarily doing their part. you know, revamping industry and the economy to support a carbon-neutral footprint costs a lot of money. and while it is a lofty goal, it doesn't accomplish much if we make the change ands do it here at home when no one else is abiding by it abroad, neil. and that's one of the biggest criticisms of this deal. neil: yeah. everyone's saying if we're doing

this and making these improvements without contributing to the climate accords, we must be doing something right. jackie deangelis, thank you very much. want to get a quick read from liz peek and jack mcintyre on this. liz, we were improving our environmental stance to not beig part of this acold. a lot of people are saying then why are we going to fork over a great deal of money to get even better numbers if we can? >> well, it's a good question. and people should be asking that. the reason our emissions have gone down, neil, over several years now is because we have been substitute thing natural gas -- which is very clean fuel -- for coal in our power industry. that switch has caused america to have a really substantial drop in co2 emissions which, of course, then was even more compounded by the fact that we've had a pretty crummy

economy for the past year. all of that worked together to basically make us probably the best performing developed country over the last decade despite not participating in this big, giant accord. people should know -- and, by the way, jackie talked about emissions per person? s that is really not the metric we should be looking at because that allows china, in effect, which is the world's biggest polluter by far, to get away with murder. you look at their pollution per capita, it doesn't seem that bad. we should be talking about america as a whole, and it's much, much smaller than china. china is the problem. it's not the united states. neil: you know, switching gears on money raised to make things happen, pennsylvania's governor, guys, has proposed raising income taxes to the tune of $1.5 billion to help out schools. now, this is at a time when most of those schools, of course,

like pretty much a lot of places are all being held virtually. so, jack, i'm wondering, this is the first of such requests i think we're going to see. i don't think the governor's alone in that request. what do you make of all that? >> yeah. so i'm sitting here in pennsylvania, neil, so, yeah, it's a big issue and very close to my heart. but, yeah, and i get it, you know, we need to figure out how do we raise revenue. we've been spending like drunken sailors here for the last year. and, you know, education is extremely important. but there are always, again, the concepts of unintended consequences. we are in such a competitive environment within the state that you're seeing state thes like texas, florida, lower tax states do extremely well. i mean, i worry about the flight of people, the flight of businesses out of that, out of the northeast. and, you know, we aren't making any progress on that s.a.l.t.

deduction as well. so it's a tough situation. one thing, you know, i just think in general back to your prior conversation, i just think the cost of doing business in the u.s. is just going to continue to increase. so i'd be with shifting some money outside the u.s. neil: it depends where that's happening. the latest news with krogh or -- and, liz, you're probably well aware of this -- two southern california schools would have benefited from this extra $4 an hour for hero pay. ask so workers in these two southern california locales would have to pay their workers more, $4 more an hour, to thank them for pretty much all they're doing. kroger opted to close those stores. and i'm just wondering what signal this is sending. it's one thing for a government to say we think you should pay people more money because they're heros. it's quite another to force the

company to do that. what did you make of it? >> neil, it's the oldest story in the book. this is basic economics. if you raise the price of something, you're going to have less of it. so whether it's the minimum wage or whether it's extra pay of this kind, small businesses in particular but even large companies can't afford it. these are very low margin businesses. that is to say, the cost that they put -- what they spend is not that different from what they take in. so if you tell them they have to up their spending significantly, guess what? they're not going to be able to make a living. but i want to also just comment on this pennsylvania tax hike. isn't it always the case that governors talk about raising taxes, and they always say it's for schools even though in pennsylvania's case i believe that schools is really the least of their problems. they've got big pension problems with their public employees, they've got big medicaid growth problems and aging population. it's just always easy to get

taxpayers to think, oh, yeah, i want to spend more for our schools. it's a little bit of a falsehood, in my view. neil: that's a very good point, jack, because i'm old enough to remember when the lot i started to be -- lottery started to be a big thing in states. a lot of that money was earmarked -- no nasty term intended -- to go to schools. and i always thought the billions raised through these lotteries that every kit would have, like, a gold-plaited mac book. didn't turn out that way, but that's a popular way to sell it, you know? >> neil, you could add in casinos, it's easy money. everybody -- rendell said, hey, other states are doing it to raise revenue, we need to do it. so, yeah, it's a redepressive way of raising revenues. and one of the things -- i get raising tax on consumers is never a good thing, but keep in mind we're going to go through some inflation here and without wages increasing. so the consumer is going to get

hit on having to pay higher prices for goods that we're buying and actual higher taxes. that's not great for economic activity. neil: final word on this. guys, thank you both very,. very much. liz peek, jack mcintyre. and to both of these fine investors' points here, we're very creative with ways of getting more money, right? raise taxes, excise if taxes, investment taxes. not a one, not a plan that i've seen anywhere from anyone in any state or at the federal level tries to get equally creative with the spending. they could spend less to so you don't have to be taxed. more after this. ♪ ♪♪

♪♪ ♪♪

♪upbeat music♪ transitions™ light under control. ♪upbeat music♪ transitions™ signature gen 8™ available now, in 4 vibrant style colors. transitions™

♪ neil: all right, gamestop, there's some el selling pressure right no as you can see, down an

additional 35% today. a lot of like-minded sort of short plays that were done in the reverse, amc also taking it on the chin. kristina partsinevelos has been following this close wily and looking at the far-ranging impact of all of this. kristina. >> reporter: neil, you've got retail investors that piled into these stocks like gamestop to pretty much, you know, battle it out with wall street hedge funds. but they could have an unintended target, your pension fund. pension funds support millions of americans in retirement. they also invest as assets on behalf of workers like teachers, police officers, fire work -- fire firefighters. and a lot of these pension funds do have exposure or to hedge funds. so when a hedge fund takes a hit, it could trickle down to american retirement funds. let's take, for example, new york. since i live here, new york newk state. according to the recent 13 filings with the sec, the most

recent quarter, they held 469,000 shares of gamestop. if anything, that is actually lower than what they started out in the year which means that they probably sold to the tune of 600,000 gamestop shares just other the course of ten years -- over the course of ten years. i'm hoping somebody's not regretting missing that rally. the rest of the one, there's about $4.5 trillion invested in tate and local pension funds, and 7% of that goes towards hedge funds. that's the average. and that's a conservative ratio. it could actually be much, much more. >> 20% or more and also a lot of endowments, university endowments are well known for investing in hedge funds. now, individuals with a 401(k) or ira really are not affected. >> reporter: i don't want to be all doom and gloom because not all these hedge funds are

taking bets that these reddit-fueled stocks will fall, but the movement on wall street could have a trickle effect on main street. neil? neil: all right, kristina, thank you very, very much. in the meantime, i do want to take you to the state department right now, get things all cleaned up and ready for the big cheese and the vice president as well as the secretary of state outlined some of the goals that the president will have when it comes to foreign policy. this is the president's chance to thank, you know, individuals at the state department while they're hard at work. at the same time, he has been talking up a strategy and a plan to deal with some of our biggest threats including from china. we're going to sneak in a quick break here as the secretary of state wraps up his follow-up remarks before the president. stay with us, you're watching fox business.

♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ keeping your oysters business growing has you swamped. you need to hire. i need indeed indeed you do. the moment you sponsor a job on indeed you get a shortlist of quality candidates

from a resume data base claim your seventy-five-dollar credit when you post your first job at indeed.com/promo

(announcer) back pain hurts, and it's frustrating. you can spend thousands on drugs, doctors, devices, and mattresses, and still not get relief. now there's aerotrainer by golo, the ergonomically correct exercise breakthrough that cradles your body so you can stretch and strengthen your core, relieve back pain, and tone your entire body. since i've been using the aerotrainer, my back pain is gone. when you're stretching your lower back on there, there is no better feeling. (announcer) do pelvic tilts for perfect abs and to strengthen your back. do planks for maximum core and total body conditioning. (woman) aerotrainer makes me want to work out. look at me, it works 100%. (announcer) think it'll break on you? think again! even a jeep can't burst it. give the aerotrainer a shot. pain and stress is the only thing you have to lose. get it and get it now. your body will thank you. (announcer) find out more at aerotrainer.com. that's aerotrainer.com.

research shows that people remember commercials with exciting stunts. so to help you remember that liberty mutual customizes your home insurance, here's something you shouldn't try at home... look, liberty mutual customizes home insurance so we only pay for what we need. it's pretty cool. that is cool! grandma! very cool. only pay for what you need. ♪ liberty. liberty. liberty. liberty. ♪ neil: president biden is at the state department right now addressing workers there, thanking them. of let's listen in. >> -- how you comport yourself and how you deal with the folks that you're dealing with in that particular country. i find it -- many of you among the most -- and, by the way, i

think what we don't do enough, we don't thank your families. we don't thank your families for the sacrifices they make. they make real sacrifices. i don't know how many times i have moveed, again, move to see to it that your spouses, they give up their careers, many times, to follow you. many times their careers are as consequential or more consequential as yours, but they do it for the country. and they're to be thanked. but the main message i want to communicate to you all is that whether you're part of the newest class of foreign service officers or you've worked for decades in the civil service or foreign service or you're locally employed staff, you're vital, and the strength and success of our nation depends in no small part on you. later today i'm going to go up on the eighth floor and send a clear message to the world, america is back.

america is back. diplomacy is back. you are the center of all that i intend to do. you are the heart of it. we're going to rebuild our alliances. we're going to reengage the world and take on the enormous challenges we face dealing with the pandemic, dealing with global warming and, again, standing up for democracy and human rights around the world. again, as i said, you're the face of america abroad. and in our administration, you're going to be trusted and empowered. trusted and empowered to do your job. but i ask each of you to abide in integrity this all you do -- in all you do.

transparency and accountability to rebuild trust in america around the world. working in the service of the american people, not self-interest. and promoting diversity, equity, inclusion, accessibilitying across the board because our diplomats at all levels should reflect the full diversity of this great country. i know how much we ask of you and your families, and i mean that. i do know. it's been a long time i've been dealing with this building and all of your predecessors. the sacrifices you make are real and not recognized much by the country as a whole. they don't know all that you do. i also know that you've never let us down. i believe in you. i believe in you. we need you badly. i trust you. and i'm going to have your back.

that, i promise you. just like you're going to have the backs of the american people. what i always point out to people in years when i was chairman of the foreign relations committee, i'd make sure that my foreign relations committee staff came to my home state and worked in constituent services which many thought was sort of beneath them. i am a foreign policy specialist. but it's all about who you work for, who i work for, who we work for. the foreign policy is about promoting the interests of the people of the united states when a rubric and a set of principles that treat everyone with decency. so i promise you i'm going to have your back. i promise you. and i expect you to have the

back of the american people. i've got a lot of work to do and a lot of catching up to do, a lot of rebilling to do, and i can't -- rebuilding to do, and i can't think of of any group of people that are more capable, more ready than all of you. so thank you, thank you, thank you. i look forward to working with you, i look forward to seeing you and look forward to coming back when this auditorium is filled and no one has to wipe down the podium. [laughter] so again, folks, thank you. you are the heart and soul of who we are as a country and the rest of the world is looking to you to help them understand us and so we can help them as well. so thank you all very much. may god bless you, and may god keep you all safe when you're abroad. thank you. [applause] neil: biden speaking at the state department. this was put off last week with the storm, that monster of a winter tomorrow that hit the washington area as well. joe biden making it very clear

that diplomacy is back, america is back, working closely with the state department and all its key operatives to make sure the world hears us. eliza collins, "wall street journal" political reporter. you know, this continues a sort of a complete about-face from everything that the prior administration was. the president likes to remind folks of that not only through his 40-plus executive orders, but some of the actions and some not so subtle like, you know, constructing a foreign policy program with the help of the state department. it's all part of a method. how is it being received, eliza? >> well, so far polling shows that he is coming in with strong support from americans. we'll see how that goes on as time goes on. but biden really came in sort of promising to return back to normal, and we heard in that speech he was talking about his time in the senate, you know, in foreign relations. that's been a really important thing for him for a long time.

he's basically returning back to the obama era, even before that, his time in the senate. that's what he campaigned on. that's what voters chose him to do, and that's really how he's starting the beginning of his term. neil: a lot of it too, and you've written extensively about this, you know, this olive branch of republicans to work on bipartisanship even on this $1.9 trillion stimulus plan. we're told that he might tighten some of the restrictions around those $1400 stimulus checks, but when it comes to the size of the overall package, close to $2 trillion, that seems to be where he draws the line. he wants it big and so do democratic leaders. how does this all play out? >> so he wants it big. i think yesterday on a call with house democrats, he said he wasn't married to the number, but i think we can expect that it's going to stay around $1.9 trillion, maybe just a little bit different. but he outright rejected a republican plan earlier in the week that was about a third of

what he had proposed saying it just didn't meet the moment. while biden is, you know, he had that meeting with republicans, it was two hours long, they are sort of making the pitch for unity. they definitely are moving forward. i mean, they started the process for a partisan democrats-only bill. and i mentioned polling showing that biden is pretty popular coming into this. even more popular is the idea of covid relief. and so the white house is all about that. they are going out sort of on offense pointing to all of those polls saying, you know, it might be bipartisan with the american people, not necessarily in congress. they feel like they're on sort of the right side of this, and they're going to go a forward. of we might see some of those tweaks, you mentioned joe manchin's one of the democrats who is definitely negotiating tweaks, and we might see something tightened up, but i do expect it to be big, and i expect it will probably just be democrats. neil: in the meantime, focusing on republicans right now, the battle over how to handle marjorie taylor greene.

democrats want to strip her offer her committee assignsments -- assignments. liz cheney survived a challenge to her leadership role, although 61 republicans didn't want her. this battle between trump loyalists and those wanting to move on, where is that going? >> i mean, i think it's going to continue to simmer. you know, kevin mccarthy, the minority leader, was able to basically keep everybody together, keep liz cheney in leadership and keep the republicans from voting to take marjorie taylor greene off the committees last night. he came out and said, you know, we're really unified. but a party is not unified if, you know, a big chunk of them are trying to remove one from leadership and others are outright criticizing. i mean, marjorie taylor greene. mitch mcconnell called her loony, he's been very critical of the things she said. this is a party that is very divided. i wrote a little bit about this.

it's happening at the state level too. arizona governor doug ducey is sort of this moderate, pro-business republican, he was censured a couple of weeks ago from his party for what they feel like was coronavirus overreach. neil: sorry to jump on you, i want to go to my buddy charles payne to take you through the next hour. hey, charles. charles: good afternoon, everyone, i'm charles payne, this is mt. -- this is "making money." the february rally continues to roll on. we'll look at what's behind the big move, plus the stock of the day is best buy, a reminder that beaten-down stocks often do rebound. the dos and don'ts with high risk investing, we're going to share those with you. and the rally sparked by assurances of more free money, but as robinhood traders are learning the hard way, is anything really free? expert analysis on the true cost. and i'll also ask texas congressman lance goodenbo