when i go over my statements, i've been going over them for a lot of years, i'm usually happy with the indexes. a bush tax cut stunner for president obama. the president telling a group of economic advisers he understands the argument to extend all tax cuts. it may be true, but the -- >> the president: the consequences of extending the upper income tax cuts, based on what we've already heard explicitly in the political environment, is that you do that now, you are going to do it forever. >> is the president sticking the economy now because he thinks it is his last chance to stick high earners forever? welcome to "forbes on fox." steve forbes is back.

steve, first to you. >> david, this isn't politics. this isn't economics. this is ideology. the president feels that business people are evil, profits are a form of plundering. that's why he doesn't want to have those tax cuts extended. that destroys capital. it is going to hurt the economy. but it is done for ideological reasons. it worked for kennedy, reagan, a little in the last decade. if you have a stable dollar and cut tack rates and allow capital formation the economy will grow. but he doesn't want to do it. >> we don't have a stable economy. when your economy is unstable you don't hit anybody with a tax hike. >> right. but it is a real hypocrisy to say tax cuts did anything for the economy other than create a class system in our society and make the rich the super rich. if you look at the middle class, which is eroding, their

incomes have stagnated over the last 10, 15 years. they've kept up by more people working longer, longer jobs at lower pay. it is also interesting david, that the same republicans who wouldn't to extend this tax cut are crying about the deficit. and what it is going to do to the deficit. >> everybody agrees jobs is the key to our recovery. we need to employ more people. you don't want to do anything that would up apple cart. >> well jobs are the key. as liberal blogger arianna huffington wrote, obama doesn't care about the middle class, he's just not into you. i'm glad mark used the word hypocrisy. you have a president who has taken more vacations, more golf outings, more parties, burns up more fossil fuel for his 747 and entourage than any president in history and he

wants to stick it to people who own three mcdonald's franchises. >> if you look from the join committee on taxation, nonpartisan group, what they say is of the 38 billion dollars in tax increases, we're talking about here, 31 billion would go on people who earn a million or more. if you are making a million dollars a year you are rich. we can't be living on credit forever. we've got to stop it somewhere. i don't think is a bad idea. >> my stats show 75% of the families that would be affected by this tax hike are making between $250,000 and $500,000 a year. a long way from a million. a lot of those people are small business owners and that would hurt job creation of >> the dollar amount would cover the annual pork spending. new irs data shows the upper bracket foots the bill for 40%

of all taxes collected in this country. i don't think the president is going to basically act here. he will do an extension into -- he may do an extension for the upper brach kept. the problem is his reelection this is political calculus. he's going to set himself up for a nasty reelection fight. at the same time when the worst parts of health reform kick in. >> that may be true in the future. right now congress left washington without deciding this issue a lot of businesses can't be assured there will be a moratorium on tax hikes. when you are unsure you don't spend or hire people. >> pelosi blocked it because she got orders from the white house. this will go into december, january, people are going to be certain about what they are gonna do. we'll see if the republicans have the backbone to get this

whole thing through. i think they can override the president's >> mark is what is wrong with a couple year moratorium on any tack hikes? >> i don't think there is anything wrong. but the problem is the tax cuts do not create jobs. we've been sold a bill of goods on this. all they did is make the wealthier wealthy, wealthier. >> have you been selling a bill of goods on this? >> mark should open history books. in the nine taoebgs -- in the 1960s, tax cuts created a boom same with ronald reagan. what did in the economy was not tax cuts it was cheapning the dollar. >> where were the jobs created? [ talking over each other ] >> you are for getting there were jobs created during the decade of the bush tax cuts. also we have to deal with the recession and 9/11. look, the lame duck session

democrats are piling up. there's going to be gridlock they have 20 legislative pet projects. that's a problem. >> what to mark's contention that tax cuts only help the bottom layer jobs the ones the least number of people are interested in getting? >> everybody who makes a yes or no decision on creating a new job is by obama's definition a rich person. we are talking about small business owners. top managers at corporations. do you want to kill their man al -- kill their spirits or lift them up? we want to live them up and get unemployment back down to 6, seven percent. >> i don't see democrats or republicans growing spines and cutting spending. if we don't get the deficit under control, the unemployment we have right now is going to look like -- [ talking over each other ] >> there are no spines inside the beltway steve, you've had

a little experience in washington, you know that. as much as you believe in taxes staying the same or going lower, congress is doing nothing about cutting spending, right? >> right. but the fact of the matter is even if congress remains in its derelict ways when you reduce tax rates you get a stronger economy. we had increase in spending in the 80s but those tax rates were cut and we had a great boom and extended up to the last decade. >> when we come back last word. >> biggest bang for the buck when you do food stamps and unemployment insurance. >> speaker pelosi claiming put more americans on the dole and you will create more jobs in america. >> nation's largest bank stopping all foreclosure and foreclosure sales. why some fear the government is behind it and it means a huge new bailout is coming.

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a major breakthrough literally for the 33 trapped miners in chile. a rescue tunnel has reached the men who have been underground for more than two months. before bringing the miners out engineers must determine if more work is needed to shore up the shaft. >> hungary's prime minister warning the wall of a reservoir holding toxic sludge is cracking and likely to collapse at any moment if it does send a new wave of red mud into several towns. evacuations are underway right now. >> today marking what would have been john lennon's 70th birthday. the former beatle was killed 30 years ago outside his new york city apartment. fans are gathering in central park at the strawberry fields memorial. a benefit concert is also on tap. i'm rick folbaum. join me at 1 p.m. eastern time for america's news

headquarters. now back to forbes. >> the nation's biggest bank bank of america now stopping all foreclosures, all over the country. exactly what the democrats want as americans fall behind at 1.4 trillion worth of mortgages. you say it means we the taxpayer heading towards another several hundred billion dollar bailout? >> absolutely could be headed there. there were foreclosure abuses we don't know how big the scale is. stopping foreclosures, nationwide will pose balance sheet problems. the four top banks, 30 billion dollars in annualized net income alone all four in just 30 billion dollars in 2008, based on fdic figures. stopping all those foreclosures is 1.4 trillion worth of problematic loans. if you don't let the system correct itself you are going to put that problem back on to

the banks the banks will put it back on to the government meaning back on to the taxpayer. >> the reason housing is stuck we don't have movement of inventory this is going to get it stuck even more, no? >> if we have the banks that are in foreclosure mode and foreclosing on millions of homes it is going to help the housing market? i don't think so. the banks in the second quarter made the biggest profits they've made since 2007. 22 billion dollars. they are minting money with the interest rates we have now i wouldn't be worried about a taxpayer bailout it is good news if you are having trouble paying your mortgage because the banks aren't going to come after you. >> i'm worried. >> there is going to be a taxpayer bailout. this started with tarp which was supposed to be 700 billion dollars used to soak up toxic assets. instead they said instead of using it to soak up toxic assets, use lend. the lending hasn't happened. what is happening with the

banks now is bad loans on their books being they are having to market down to market values that are unreasonable. of course they are going to require more bailouts. the government is still supporting new mortgages to people who can't afford to pay them. >> mark, do you see another bailout coming? >> i don't. i think the bangs are in the best shape they've been in -- the banks in the best shape they've been in, in years. actually it is a prudent move they are stopping foreclosures. why are you going to for close on more property if you can't sell it? are we going to start giving it away? the whole system is clogged. that's the best way to go. we have a good banking system now. >> it is true the banks have been doing great because they've been getting free money from the federal reserve they take that and gamble it on gold and other things. >> part of that second quarter profits was banks taking away

reserves. we have a three-t ered system on banks. community banks are in deep trouble -- in terms of housing, letting the market clear, letting -- making a distinction, let the market clear and it would. before david in -- before the financial panic, place like las vegas and phoenix housing was starting to sell again because people thought it reached the bottom. >> the new financial reg bill benefits all the big guys, jp morgan, goldman sachs used their lobbying power to get what they wanted. >> this is all at the tax pairs' expense. tea party movement and the voters coming into the midterm elections are thinking we are in a national identity crisis. the economist said capitalism without failure is line

religion without sin. volcker said, look the market is a subsidiary of the u.s. government that is now happening with the banks. if you do not let the system clear the taxpayers will be on the hook for some time. >> given the history kneel, of the past year or two, if the -- neil, of the past year or two, isn't it inevitable we'll have calls for another bail out? >> if if the big banks get in trouble the government will have to bail them out. >> the real trouble is the small banks the fdic says of the 8,000 banks that it oversees 10% are in a danger zone. yes, you are going to see a lot of failure. >> tell me please, mark we are not going to see another middle class bail out? >> these banks pay premiums into the fdic. it isn't a government -- i don't see where this is a problem.

[ talking over each other ] >> the feds have been buying these bad mortgages and putting it on its balance sheet. [ talking over each other ] >> i'll tell you something, look at the u.s. dollar this is another [ talking over each other ] >> the dollar is plunging to 15 year lows versus other currencies this is a real problem. will the dollar be able to come become up in value. that's the issue. >> next, after sending billions in stimulus, building ramps and bridges to nowhere. washington now wants to tax drivers by the mile to fix roads and bridges everywhere. brace yourself. this one will rev up your nerves.

a new plan to tax you for every mile you drive. what happened to all those billions in stimulus we just spent? stocks jumping this week.

first the gas tax. now the mileage tax? as president obama pushes congress to pass another 50 billion dollar in infrastructure spending. a bunch of transportation bosses recommending that each american pay a tax for each mile they drive. rich wants to pull the emergency brake on this one, so do it. what is your reason rich? >> it is dumb ands that dumb to raise taxes of any kind during a recession. politically nasty. blue state democrats sticking the middle class who have to drive longer to work and people who live in smaller states, a/k/a red states that aren't serviced by chief airlines like southwest. >> the government wants to put

these little machines in our cars. i don't want the government in my car! >> rich is worried he will have to pay more for his airline fuel in is sort of unworkable putting scary devices in our cars. but i like the idea of you pay for what you use. since we have a tax system where we reward and punish certain behavior, we don't want people driving their own cars all over the place when we can use public transportation. >> steve, you know this is going to be layered on top of other taxes, right? >> sure, they use any problem as an excuse to pick your pocketbooks even more. on this tax there is a real enforcement problem many are they going to check your odometers each year? you have to send a picture to the irs each year to determine how much your tax is? how about stop raiding the trust fun for mass transit, higher speed rails which don't work and use it for what it is intended to, road repair and

maintenance. >> mark is this workable, this plan? >> i think it is workable there. is no free lunch we have to pay for the highway some way. let's put together a progressive plan and tax based on tonage. the people who have the most weight pay the most. why not force rich to get rid of his gas guzzlers and people pay more that's a fair system. >> they all have to get rid of their gas guzzlers with what about the idea there is no free lunch -- nobody seems to understand there is no free lunch. >> that is what i was going to say. you will see what we've already seen in california, this year. a portion of our gas tax was jury-rigged so now it is covering our deficit, instead of going to roads and bridges. you will see that happen on a national level.

you can trust politicians because they do think there is a tree lunch. we have to give credit to rich because he bikes a lot. no gas, no carbon footprint. >> mark, i'm 56 i've never owned a car in my life, i'm more grown than al gore. the bottom line is first they build these bridges to nowhere with our tax dollars. now they want to pay for the up keep with our tax dollars. when does it end? >> it ends when taxpayers rise up and say no more. you get governors like christie putting a stop on projects that keep spiralling out of control. the trust fund has been raided time and time again. >> we want to go directly from steve forbes to this. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ paparazzi,

>> there's going to be more paparazzi following lady gaga because forbes magazine just named lady gaga one of the most powerful women in the world. pick up a copy of the new forbes and then get ready to go gaga over the cost to freedom website. the cost of freedom website. while there take our poll this weeks question: do you think lawmakers will spend or -- more or less of your money after the elections? >> and the three stocks that are ready for the next talk. >> we've got a flood. hits the road, the nose the angels start second guessing where they tread. ♪ cl 1-800-steemer

we are bag many huge deal closing between johnson & johnson and crusell this week. you might have missed that one. we have the picks that may be the next to takeoff on take

over news. mike what is it? >> i like fei. >> they make electron microscopes, neil, do you like it? >> i don't see a lot of growth. it is high meaning kind of expensive. >> talk about growth and big things, you like imax jeans. >> i do. there has been talk for several -- months. someone is going to come in nor this sexy stock. >> good time to buy i max? >> i don't think it is. the bet is we'll get 3-d television. sorry neil i don't want to see you in 3-d. >> vicki you have your head in the clouds. >> i do. a target rackspace. >> they are doing cloud computing. >> mike you like it? >> chairman and ceo they've been selling. i don't think they would be seg