-- terry keenan and shinshin -- and "cashin' in" starting right now. >> did wal-mart just make the national conversation about reform irrelevant? >> this conversation can serve no purpose anymore. goodbye. >> why the world's number one retailer may have just saved taxpayers trillions of dollars in a government health care fiasco. and forget death panels. the health care bill could mean america will have fat panels. >> i don't know why i'm trying to lose weight in the first place. we ain't all supposed to be the same size. we're supposed to be all different. big, small, medium, you're supposed to have all of that. >> big brother making sure you don't get too big. are you ready to be monitored for what you weigh and what you eat? plus bar the door. there is a storm brewing that could hit you in the wallet. >> it's coming! it's headed right for us. >> it's already here. >> a global warming bill that could cost billions, have no

impact n on the climate and send food prices into the ozone layer. only congress could pull that off. only this show is on the case. all that, and it's the ultimate economic indicator. sex no longer sells. >> do you guys want to make out or what? >> so what would people rather have? tracy byrnes goes undercover with another "cashin' in" exclusive. your money, your life, your show to stay ahead of the game. "cashin' in" starts right now. terry: wal-mart now offering mail-order prescription drugs for just 10 bucks. is this proof the free market can get the job done and the government should just butt out? i'm terry keenan and welcome to "cashin' in." our crew this week, the boys are here. wayne, jonathan, and jonas. along with tracy byrnes.

also joining us the editor of op-ed news.com, steve lazer. ok, jonathan. is wal-mart's prescription price drop proof that the free market can actually fix this health care mess? >> absolutely, terry. there are already estimates that wal-mart saves the average family $2,500 a year. that was before their push into prescription drugs. whenever you see wal-mart or capitalism, for that matter, you always see massive wealth creation, employment, and lower prices. so what we need for health care is more private profit-seeking business, not bigger government spending and an even larger entitlement stake. terry: steve, wal-mart has the answer? >> this is more smoke and mirrors from the private health insurance industry and big pharma. the reality behind this, there is 300 generic drugs being offered here for $10 apiece. if you have ever gotten prescription drugs in the past, you know there is not a whole lot of generic drugs that cost much more than $10 apiece. this is smoke and mirrors.

it really doesn't add a whole lot to helping with health care. >> i don't know. i think if nothing else, it's getting people in the door. it's helping people. it's making them feel like somebody is looking out for them. look, all we hear about is how the pharmaceutical companies are robbing us left and right. wal-mart comes out and offers this plan. at the end of the day you do save money. they did have prior to this the generic pay $4. wal-mart has been trying all along to help people out. i actually think to jonathan's point, they are doing a pretty good job at it. terry: wal-mart care better than the white house prescription here? >> i don't think it's a question of wal-mart versus the white house or anything like that. i think it's a question, i'm saying that the free market competition is better than regulation. in other words, if you have competition in the marketplace, prices will come down. consumers will get the best deal. if you have it dominated by one entity, in this case the federal government, you're going to have price fixing in a way that you can't -- there is no control over it. competition will control it.

regulation get rid of. let the competition do it. for example, teva pharmaceuticals, a great worldwide, if you will, pharmaceutical company that does all of these generic drugs. they do very well. terry: the israeli company. do you own it, wayne? >> i happen to own that stock. yes, i do. terry: i thought you might. jonas, everyone who has tried to compete with wal-mart knows that it's hard to beat them on competition. so why not let them into this arena? maybe they should manage the whole thing. >> there is certainly a component of keeping costs down both in regular items and in health care. this is an example. they don't do shoulder surgery at wal-mart. to some extent there are limitations to what they can do. i will say it's actually a case of where a large single payer could drive down prices. at wal-mart, one of the reasons stuff is so cheap at wal-mart, not the union busting so much. it's actually they are so big that they dictate prices to say a paper towel company.

let me finish. terry: let him finish. >> so in theory, if the government was one of the world's wal-mart, that's in theory, they could dictate and get low prices. i'm not saying it is happening because the government doesn't run wal-mart, but it does show the power of being a single payer in the system. terry: jonathan, a case for the government getting into this, according to jonas? >> they are already in it. that's the problem. guys like steve would have you believe that the free market has failed when it comes to health care, but of course the federal government already accounts for more than half of all the health care spending in this country. health care is one of the most highly regulated industries in the country. so i do think that a free market solution -- forget the fact that it's moral. it is more practical. i wish wal-mart would get into the hospital business. i wish they would perform shoulder surgeries. patients and doctors, the whole country would be better off for it. >> i think the doctors would get paid $20 an hour. terry: if this is such a great profit-making business, why

don't more innovative companies get into the business of shoulder surgery? >> they haven't been forced to. there has been so much profit in the industry without government coming in and smaug some people afraid that they are going to come in and do something. it's interesting. this hasn't happened until -- until -- terry: that's your whole thing? >> why is everyone so afraid of wal-mart? wal-mart is capitalism at its best. it does something right. everyone gets down on this country for doing something right. >> i'm not getting down on wal-mart. >> there is an interesting answer to your question. when wal-mart sells you some defective merchandise, it doesn't immediately turn into a $40 million lawsuit. there are problems in the business as to why competition comes in at the scale of big box retailers. terry: wayne, give you the last word. >> i was going to say do you argue with the kaiser permanente plan?

that's a very successful way in which doctors are put on the payroll. they are paid by the plan. what's the matter with that? >> nothing, there is nothing wrong with that. >> ok. then why would you argue against it? >> well, kaiser permanente is one thing. if you're expecting wal-mart to come in and sort of take over hospitals, i think you would see a lot more objection from the american medical association. terry: thanks, everybody. coming up next, food prices, are they set to soar? wal-mart and other places. why something congress is considering could have you shelling out more green the next time you head to the supermarket. plus who says that sex sells? american has spoken. we'll have the surprising results. carol, when you replaced casual friday with nordic tuesday, was it really for fun, or to save money on heat? why? don't you think nordic tuesday is fun? oh no, it's fun... you know, if you are trying to cut costs, fedex can help. we've got express options, fast ground and freight service-- you can save money and keep the heat on. great idea.

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. >> murray's vineyard is affected. the warnings through tomorrow morning. there is also chaos at a meeting on security in kentucky. prison video from the north point training center to show you where prisoners are rioting and setting fire to at least six buildings including a kitchen medical center and a

visitors area. a prison spokesman is saying the damage is so severe that more than 1,200 inmates had to be transferred to other facilities. i'll see you at 1:00 p.m. eastern for america's news headquarters. "cashin' in" returns right now on fox. terry: here's food for thought when digesting the benefits of going green. a plan in the house climate bill gives farmers incentives to plant trees on their farmland instead of planting crops. that has some predicting a major spike in food crisis. on farm lands. >> it's another case of the government micromanaging the environment again, like thinking they can control how much carbon dioxide we breathe. they don't see the forest behind the so-called trees because all they are thinking about is right now. if these farmers use their farmland for forests instead and they are looking for about

18 million acres worth of forests, that will dramatically increase the price of our food because, well, there will be less of it out there. >> wayne? >> no way. let me tell you, the biggest determinant in food pricing from a farmer's point of view is weather. weather and the availability of land. there is tons of land out there to plant. farmers are smart guys. they do not go out and plant trees where they are going to have crop land. those trees will be in other places. it's not going to affect the price of food one iota. distribution, weather, and those things affect food prices much more. >> didn't we see this happen with corn? everybody went and replaced their crops with corn. >> was that the private market? >> that's not true. that does not hand up to the analysis. that's not true. >> jonas, wayne saying it's as

old as the farmer's almanac. it depends on the weather. >> i italy there could be some issues. there have been times in history where farmers overfarmed lands and we had problems in shortages as well. the global warming issue in theory could lead to major food shortages because it affects weather to wayne's point. this might rise prices up in the short run. woord about the 50 to 100-year weather of flow. >> this has nothing to do with global warming. this has nothing to do with farmers. this has everything to do with the environmental movement. they are against once again any use of the earth. any man wants to use the earth, whether it's corn or oil, they are against that. they pass carbon tax limits or cap and trade or simply limit supply. the last time the government got involved in micromanaging our culture, there was rye oths for rice. the more they get involved. the more expensive it's going

to ultimately cost mankind. >> i don't know than, you're making a big philosophical argument here when it's a factual argument. you couldn't be more wrong. it's the weather that controls this. this doesn't have anything to do with the green evolution. >> wait. you don't think the bush administration -- you don't think the bush administration'sette elmo policy pushed up corn prices, wayne? >> that doesn't have anything to do with farmers. that has to do with some moron. >> ok. all right. >> but steve, if they do have some perverse incentive for farmers to plant trees instead of food that we can eat, what do you think will happen to food prices? >> managing the amount of food that's produced is nothing new in the united states. about 8% of farmable land in the united states is already set aside to be idle by government programs. it's just something that has to be managed properly. i don't think it's going to affect food prices. if supplies start to get short, you can cut back on the amount of land that's being left idle.

8% of the farm land is an amount the size of new york state. that's how much is currently left idle. there is plenty of land left to produce. >> they are talking about 18 million acres, the size of west virginia. we have to be concerned about this. while the inflation bubble is not hitting us yet, it will hit us in food prices, absolutely before it hits anything else. so you go and decrease supply. >> it's weather related. >> wayne. >> the price of farming, the biggest cost in farming of guys is the oil and gas that they use in their practice. >> none of you get it. >> i'm a close observer of farm prices, yes, and i'm sorry, but a government policy has a lot to do with it. when that government policy is being dictated by environmentalists who specifically are against man's use of the earth. do you think it stops with

paying people not to plant crops? any time man wants to use earth, a green is there to stand in your way. that's unfortunately the policy of the administration. terry: so our food prices are going higher, jonathan? >> i think no question, no question. terry: ok. you heard it. coming up next, forget death panels. what about fat panels? we have the skinny on a government plan to monitor what you eat and what you weigh. someone here says it's about time.

>> who wants to look like a big fat pig? terry: height the twinkies. part of the health care bill could pay community organizers to show up at your house to monitor what you eat. jonathan, this might literally be the fat police. >> and that's the problem, terry. when you make health public, all of a sudden your body, your health really becomes public property. so yes, whether you eat the turkey leg or the alfalfa sprouts. do you smoke, do you get high, do you exercise? all of a sudden this becomes the public interest. essentially you're no longer free to live your own life. every move you make is either influenced or controlled by the state. it's the road to surfdom. terry: but if the government is paying for all this health care, then maybe somebody should monitor whether you're living a healthy lifestyle or not. >> you're absolutely right. regardless of health care reform, we're all paying who have health care or who pay taxes, we're all paying for

people who are overweight to the tune of -- the cost of being -- having diabetes, the cost of heart disease is over $500 billion a year. we're all paying that now. i think that's something that should be looked at. that's even forgetting having compassion for people who have a horrible quality of life. >> how am i paying for your diabetes? >> jonathan, about one in 10 dollars spent in health care is straightup obesity related. whether you have any government health care or not, it's passed on to the private sector health care. >> let people pay for their own obesity. >> exactly why they need the fat police. if you could charge extra if you're overweight like you're a bad driver, which is exactly what they should do. unfortunately they have all these problems with doing that. that would be great. you need the government. because you can't sue the government for discrimination that easily at least. that is why we need to do this. these people need to pay their way. >> the point is there is a productivity issue as well. that affects the entire economy. if people are obese. they tend to get sick more.

that means they can't get it to work, things don't get made. to the point that there should be some sort of surcharge. i don't think that's out of the realm of craziness. >> we have an average 32-hour workweek. i guess the productivity thing isn't a problem now. terry: wayne, where do you come down on this? >> you are all missing the question. the problem with this particular bill is it is allocating certain dollars to community-related organizations. there is no definition of how they are going to get these grants. there is no definition of their powers to go in to measure you and weigh you and do all of that. the whole bill is a come glom rat of stupidity if you really want to know. this is another thing of where the congress has hatched something in a broad generality and the details are not to be spelled out, so nobody knows that. they even asked kennedy about that. he refused to answer. they asked chris dodd about it. he said i can't explain it. it's the congress who legislates this, can't explain it. >> that's the whole point,

there is no legislation. your health is your right. your health is your responsibility. if you want to eat hot wings and the beers all day long, i think you should have every right to do it. for a community organization -- this is twole like a health care acorn coming to your house and telling you that your b.m.i. is 20% over some line. >> it's not right to make other people pay your health care. but wayne is right, the problem is the idea -- >> let's stop that. >> the idea is sound, make people pay their way. of course the way the government is going about it doesn't make any sense. wayne is exactly right about that. it should be no more complicated than you have to pay a lot more if you're heavy. why can't we have a health care system like that? >> do you want someone to come into your house for what you eat. >> that comes under the stupidity clause that wayne said. >> we have an obesity epidemic. something has to be done. >> i get that. there should be some sort of standard. some chart that if your weight gets above a certain extreme level, you potentially should

have to pay more because you are unfortunately hurting the rest of us. >> remember the last time the government gave advice on nutrition, we got the food pyramid with eight servings of carbohydrates at the bottom. >> they have less health care costs today because of government involvement in cigarette smoking, taking cigarette machines away from children. those things can lower health care costs for private insurers as well as you because someone else is smoking, not paying their way. terry: wayne, we're going to live you the last word. >> as i said, i think this is dumb legislation again. this is somebody where they are trying to legislate something where the devil is in the details. you cannot quantify or give criteria to how people should behave and you can't ask them to do that. it's just outrageous. once again the government is interfering in something they shouldn't be into. terry: ok. voice of wisdom as always. thanks, wayne. coming up, what's more

important to americans during this recession, saving a few bucks or saving your sex life? the surprising results next. 3... 2... 1. ever wonder how cheez-it bakes... so much real cheese in such small bites? ♪ baking complete! well, now you know. cheez-it. the big cheese.

okay. time for what do i need to know for next week? tracy, you're up first. >> shortcuts.com, service by aol, they did a survey and it showed 57% of the people surveyed would rather save $50 a week rather than have sex or lose weight.

one, people are afraid. two, a lot of to cranky people are walking around if they choose to save money instead of entertain themselves. >> for $50. that is sad. steve, what do we need to know? >> for next year you need to know unemployment will be below 7.5%. if not, in honor of wayne, i will come in dressed as clinton. >> wayne, what the you think of that and his prediction? >> steve. that's great. you ought to come in as klinger. i would love to see that. look at him. perfect. perfect! >> i'm not buying any chiffon yet. >> okay. >> okay. waynua, do we need to know? >> you know, aarp lost 60,000 members recently because of their opposition, rather than opposition to people who are opposed to the health plan because they didn't realize stuff about the death clause

if you will in the health plan. they're going to continue to lose people because the people running are out of touch with their constituents. >> bad news for aarp. jonas? >> cash for clunkers ends at mi midnight on monday. but cash for appliances is kicking in and that's good for sears. they barely made it through this recession. everyone goes out and buys dishwasher and americans will do this. if you give them money they will buy something. it will work. >> waiting for something about jewelry. donovan, what do we need to know? >> september is usually a bad month for stocks. if you worry about the market, check out aok. 75% bonds. 20% stocks. i think this is a good choice for retired or income oriented investors. >> you own it? jonathan? >> i don't own