captioning sponsored by wnet >> brangham: on this edition for sunday, february 7th: in new hampshire: white house hopefuls knock on doors and rally supporters in advance of tuesday's primary. fact-checking last night's republican presidential debate. and in our signature segment, making a tax credit for low- income americans available to more people. >> we are mostly focused on poverty as a child problem. it's been very hard to build support for working poor who don't have dependent children. >> brangham: next on "pbs newshour weekend." >> pbs newshour weekend is made possible by: lewis b. and louise hirschfeld cullman. bernard and irene schwartz. judy and josh weston. the cheryl and philip milstein family. the citi foundation. supporting innovation and enabling urban progress. sue and edgar wachenheim, iii.

corporate funding is provided by mutual of america-- designing customized individual and group retirement products. that's why we are your retirement company. additional support has been provided by: and by the corporation for public broadcasting, and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. from the tisch wnet studios at lincoln center in new york, william brangham. >> brangham: good evening and thanks for joining us. voters in new hampshire are getting their last looks at the candidates on the ballot in the first-in-the-nation presidential primary. candidates still running have spent a total 444 days on the ground in new hampshire, according to manchester t.v. station wmur, while the candidates and super-pacs supporting them have spent a combined $84 million in the state alone, according to "the new york times." that's a lot of time and money

to win over the roughly 500,000 primary voters who're likely to vote. and last night, seven republican candidates shared the debate stage. leading in pre-primary polls, businessman donald trump stood center stage. >> we're going to win with trump. we're going to win. we don't win anymore. our country doesn't win anymore. >> brangham: the republicans expressed their near-united opposition to higher taxes, not even for people earning more than a million dollars a year, said florida senator marco rubio. >> i don't know of any problem in america that's going to be fixed with a tax increase. >> brangham: but rubio was a consistent target last night. new jersey governor chris christie led the charge, saying the 44-year-old freshman senator was too inexperienced to lead the nation. >> you have not been involved in a consequential decision where you had to be held accountable. you just simply haven't. >> brangham: christie, who's trying to break out of the pack, repeatedly attacked rubio, even when rubio listed his senate record. >> the fact when you talk about the hezbollah sanctions act that you list as one of your accomplishments you just did, you weren't even there to vote for it. that's not leadership, that's truancy. >> brangham: texas senator ted cruz, who once filibustered to

defund president obama's healthcare plan, got a chance to explain how he'd replace it. >> we will de-link health insurance from employment, so that you don't lose your health insurance when you lose your job, and that way health insurance can be personal, portable and affordable. >> brangham: when asked about north korea's latest rocket launch-- which was revealed right before the debate- most candidates said they needed more information. but former florida governor jeb bush was quick to say he would consider military action. >> the next president of the united states is going to have to get the united states back in the game, and if a preemptive strike is necessary to keep us safe, then we should do it. >> brangham: with the debates over, candidates are now focused on getting out the vote. ohio governor john kasich has held 100 town meetings here. >> we got the best army in new hampshire. they're going to knock on everybody's doors, whether it rains, whether it snows; it doesn't matter. >> brangham: democrat hillary clinton won this primary back in 2008. >> it's a beautiful day here in manchester! >> brangham: but the former secretary of state knows history may not repeat itself. she trails vermont senator bernie sanders here and

criticized him today for continually saying that she is beholden to wall street donors. >> what the sanders campaign is trying to do is link donations to my political campaign or really donations to anyone's political campaign with undue influence, with changing people's views and votes. i have never, ever done that. >> brangham: sanders today did credit clinton's experience, but repeated his view that her senate vote approving the 2003 iraq war showed poor judgment. >> i will do everything that i can to make sure that our young men and women in the military do not get sucked into a perpetual warfare in the quagmire of the middle east." >> brangham: that was a more serious turn than his self- deprecating cameo in a "saturday night live" skit inspired by the titanic. >> i'm so sick of the one percent getting this preferential treatment. enough is enough! >> brangham: the "newshour's" political director lisa desjardins is in new hampshire covering the presidential campaign and joins me now from

manchester. >> i know you've been at a bunch of these campaign events both democratic and republican events, what are the kinds of people who are showing up at these things? >> william it's fascinating. you see actually more than i ever have before on the public utilitpolitical tour. it takes ten, 15 minutes sometimes to find a new hampshire voter, people coming from new jersey, connecticut, indiana, wisconsin. it's hard to judge from the crowd sizes, whether a candidate is bringing in new hampshire voters. some are here for theater, some are here because they wish their states have as much influence as new hampshire does. also at these events i'm seeing undecided voters, who are wanting to make a decision but are having trouble. there are a lot of soft voters especially on the republican

side and i want to point out: i honestly do not trust the polls. i'm a huge believer in the polls but in this incident, they have not responded to pollsters and i have two pollsters who are just answering trump, they say what the pollster wants to hear and get off the phone. perhaps pollsters it's not something you can really put your entire faith in in new hampshire. there is a lot to be said and decided still. >> do you have any sense, sarnth doing saturday night live, or clinton visiting flint michigan, that has last any influence at all? >> i think it's a knowledge i think that the hillary clinton chain is dining great job trying to set expectations, if she

loses just by double digits they want to say that's a win. they are going on the attack, hillary clinton held a conference call regarding bernie sanders foreign policy, bernie sanders said wait a minute team clinton, you made that same attack on a man named barack obama in 2008, saying he wasn't ready for foreign policy and look what happened there. we are seeing clear strong positioning from those two democrats, i think more so that will give them the expectation game is really where it's at. one quick note i want to mention on the republican side, i want to talk about john kasich, i think he's important to watch, i just came from one of his events. he has the ability to engage with the crowd, low keyed but energy that a lot of new hampshire residents seem to like. a lot of people have notethat, you see a lot of political signs, when you look closely in the intersections you see tons of donald trump signs maybe tons of jeb bush signs you drive on the back roads of new hampshire

new hampshire you go the small little lanes, the signs i see most there are for john kasich. and that's a sign he's been here a long time and he has individuals supporting him and not just a large campaign team. >> all right, the newshour's political director, a lisa desjardins. thanks. >> brangham: last night's republican debate yielded a slew of statements that warranted fact checking. so helping us do that, again, is politifact, the online project run by the "tampa bay times." jon greenberg is one of their "truth-o-meter" monitors, and he joins me now, from washington. so jon, let's start with donald trump. when asked about his economic plan, trump offered this claim: >> right now, we're the highest taxed country in the world. under my plan, we cut not only taxes for the middle class, but we cut taxes for corporations. >> brangham: jon, highest taxes in the world? what's your verdict? >> the verdict on that is famtion. i will say there are two ways you can measure tax burden. one is comparing tax revenues to

the size of the economy.so when you do that, you find that out of the 30 wealthiest countries in the world, you see that the united states ranks 27th in terms of tax revenues, relative to the size of our economy. now, there's another way you can look at these things. you can take a look at tax revenues on a per capita, per person basis. when you do that, united states doesn't fare quite as well. it ranks 17th. but in neither case sit anywhere near the top, and so mr. trump duets it wrong. now there's one little thing i want to mention and that is that if trump were only talking about corporate taxes, at least the nominal the stated tax level on corporations in the united states, is at about the highest in the world. but effectively, that turns out not to be true either. >> there was also a lot of talk

about illegal immigration last night and trump and ted cruz are among those who proposed building a wall along the u.s.-mexico border. but cruz also made this assertion about undocumented immigrants. let's listen. >> put in place obiometric exit entry system, 40% of the immigration comes not on the border illegally but coming on visas and oversaying. >> the is cruz right? >> yes he does on the available data but the data is a little bit old. ins the government agency studied this and then pew research looked at it in 2006. not the most current data. we've been in touch with the researchers and they affirm that the numbers hold true. it's at least 40% of the undocumented in this country. >> one immigration fact that cruz did get wrong, while saying

he would deport the estimated 11 million undocument ed immigrants, he stated president clinton deported 12 million and bush eight million, president obama is the record holder deporting 2.4 is immigrants to their home countries. marco rubio was repeatedly attacked by chris christie. >> under chris christie's governorship of new jersey they've been down graded nine times in their credit rating. >> jon is that right? nine times down graded? >> if you want to count it nine times you're going to count it nine times and chris christie does hold the record for the number of sitting governor state down grades. the catch here is that christie really can't take full responsibility for it all. because it is largely, largely

based on the pension fund liabilities that the state has. they're around $33 billion. and essentially, the experts are saying they're only meeting about 38% of their obligation with their current set-asides. the issue here is that that pension problem has been building up for a long, long time. so it belongs to both democratic and republican past dproafns, and they just -- governors, and they haven't decide -- by the way not just governors, the legislature too, to put enough money aside. could christie have done more? sure he could have gotten the legislature to play along, it was nine times. that rating scale is mostly crew true. >> jon greenberg for politifact, thank you.

>> brangham: for more election 2016 coverage, watch our story on the complex delegate rules that lead to each party nominating a candidate, visit: pbs.org/newshour. >> brangham: the earned income tax credit is widely considered one of the most successful anti- poverty programs in the united states. it's essentially a federal tax refund for people who work, but earn below a certain income threshold. last year, more than 27 million individuals or families received the earned income tax credit, worth a total of $67 billion. in tonight's "signature" segment, special correspondent karla murthy reports on the movement to expand the credit and on an experiment here in new york city to see just how that might work. this story is part of our series on poverty and opportunity in america called "chasing the dream". >> reporter: donna soogrim works full-time as a prep cook for a manhattan catering company and earned $22,000 last year. >> it's hard, it's hard. especially in new york. >> reporter: she started filling out her tax forms in january with the help of a non-profit organization that offers free assistance to low-income people. there's a big reason she's

aiming to file early. as a single mother of a 10-year- old girl, soogrim anticipates a nearly $8,000 tax refund this year. a big part of that is from the federal earned income tax credit, or e.i.t.c. and what do you plan on doing with that money? >> she's going to summer camp. so it was just for summer camp, that's about $3,000. and then for her daycare expenses. >> reporter: so that money really makes a difference? >> yes, it does. >> reporter: but the e.i.t.c. doesn't help all low-income earners. it primarily benefits adults with children. so carmelo nieves is left out. he made about $20,000 last year working part-time as an aide for disabled adults. >> it benefits the single parents with the kids. and i'm not against that. i'm not against that. but you've got to show some fairness in the sense of, alright, we got single adults that are working just as hard as them. >> reporter: gordon berlin is trying to help people like nieves.

he's president of m.d.r.c., a new york nonprofit group focused on improving policies and programs for the poor. >> in the united states, we are mostly focused on poverty as a child problem. it's been very hard to build support for the working poor who don't have dependent children. >> reporter: berlin is an advocate for expanding the e.i.t.c. to low-income workers without children. >> i think we're facing a crisis in low-wage work, and it threatens the american dream. i know that sounds melodramatic, but i think the facts would bear me out. >> reporter: for example, berlin notes, that a male who only graduates from high school earns 14% less today than he did in 1975, adjusted for inflation, according to the u.s. census bureau. >> it's leading to lower employment rates. so we need to get work at the low end to pay again, and the earned income tax credit is one of the most promising vehicles for doing that. >> reporter: expanding the e.i.t.c. has bipartisan support in washington.

this was republican paul ryan more than a year before he was elected speaker of the house of representatives: >> we should make sure that in this country, it always pays to work. i would do that by increasing the earned income tax credit for childless workers. >> reporter: president obama reiterated his call for the same change in his state of the union address last month. >> i'd welcome a serious discussion about strategies we can all support, like expanding tax cuts for low-income workers who don't have children. >> reporter: currently, to qualify for the e.i.t.c., a childless worker has to be at least 25 years old and earn below $15,000 a year, while a single parent with three kids can earn almost $48,000. and the maximum credit a childless adult can get is about $500, one-twelfth of the more than $6,000 a single parent with three kids could receive. president obama and speaker ryan have made similar proposals: doubling the existing credit, lowering the eligibility age to

21, and increasing the maximum eligible income to about $18,000. that would make about six million more low-income workers eligible for the e.i.t.c. but it would come at significant cost: at least $5.5 billion a year in new federal spending, according to the office of management and budget. questions about how to pay for an e.i.t.c. expansion are one reason bipartisan efforts have stalled in washington. but here in new york city, expanding the e.i.t.c. for some single workers is already underway. it's a pilot project called "paycheck plus," and here's how it works: the existing e.i.t.c. for workers without dependent children is being supplemented. participants who earn less than $30,000 a year are eligible for a bonus of up to $2,000, depending on how much they earned. gordon berlin's organization, m.d.r.c., is running the three- year demonstration project of "paycheck plus." 3,000 new yorkers are enrolled, along with a control group of

workers not receiving the bonus. >> there's a lot of uncertainty about whether singles and men would respond in the same way that fathers and mothers of dependent children have responded. we don't know what effect it might have on poverty or income or hardship. and we certainly don't know what the effects on employment and earnings will be. >> reporter: the total cost of project, including the bonuses, is about $12 million, and is funded mostly by new york city with support from the federal department of health and human services and private foundations. while carmelo nieves doesn't benefit from the federal e.i.t.c., he received about $1,500 from new york's "paycheck plus" last year. >> i just put it away, rainy days. you know, paid a couple bills. but i'm single, so i don't have no kids or anything like that, so i put it away. >> reporter: how hard has it been just to find a job that pays enough so that you can live here? >> it's very hard. if you don't know nobody, that's going to hurt. and sometimes just your

education background also hurts you too, because nobody wants to hire people that just have a high school diploma. >> are you part of "paycheck plus"? >> i am. >> you are.. can you sign right here? >> of course i could. >> reporter: alvin martinez is another "paycheck plus" participant. he works as a transportation coordinator for a non-profit organization that provides shelter and jobs for the homeless. at tax time last year, he says some extra money would have really helped him pay bills. >> i had debts, you know. i was hardly bringing anything to the table here, because i was out without work prior to that job for about six months. >> reporter: filing his taxes as a single person with no dependents, martinez was not eligible for the federal e.i.t.c. he is a father of three children, but none live with him. about 12% of "paycheck plus" participants are non-custodial parents like him. martinez qualified for a "paycheck plus" bonus of nearly $500, but he didn't get to keep the money. like the federal e.i.t.c., the bonus is subject to child support claims. >> the check was intercepted, and it went to the child support

enforcement unit. i'm telling you, i smiled. i was really happy about it. i wasn't annoyed with it at all. it was fantastic. something was getting paid in that direction, you know. >> reporter: that wasn't hanging over your head anymore. >> exactly my point. >> reporter: researchers are studying whether the bonus' improves things like child support payments or reduces involvement in the criminal justice system, and, whether the incentive of extra money encourages people who aren't working to find jobs. >> i think the e.i.t.c.'s very successful. i certainly support it. but its main effect is to increase earnings on a part of people who are already working. >> reporter: lawrence mead is a professor at new york university and a visiting scholar at the american enterprise institute, a conservative think tank. his academic work helped inform the welfare reform act in 1996, which set time limits on how long people could receive benefits and required recipients to work. >> we tried work incentives in welfare for 20 or 30 years before the ¡90s, when we finally got serious about requiring people to work.

and that is the main reason they went to work: they were required to work. >> reporter: mead is skeptical that expanding the e.i.t.c. to childless adults and non- custodial parents will be enough to encourage such single low- income workers to get jobs. >> the evidence that i see is that the work incentive is helpful, but you also need staff people to say to those who are on welfare, or who could benefit from e.i.t.c., that they should go and do it. they need to be persuaded. they need to be shown that this is a good deal. that's what we did in welfare reform, and that's why it was successful. it was the combination of what i call "help and hassle." >> reporter: when it comes to raising incomes, the existing federal e.i.t.c. has been broadly celebrated. in 2013 the credit boosted 6.2 million people over the poverty line. but administering one of the largest benefit programs through the tax code is not without flaws. the internal revenue service concedes that as much as 27% - or roughly $18 billion a year of

e.i.t.c. payments- are issued improperly. mostly overclaims, due to complex eligibility guidelines, misreported income, and errors by tax preparers. but at the same time, many low- income people are missing out on the e.i.t.c.; only four out of five eligible workers claim it. and increasing awareness has been a focus of the i.r.s. >> if you worked and didn't make much money last year, find out about the earned income tax credit at irs.gov. >> reporter: "paycheck plus" is expanding to atlanta, where researchers will study its impact on a city with lower average incomes and a lower cost of living. here in new york, alvin martinez saw his income rise in 2015 to nearly $28,000. he'll still qualify for the "paycheck plus" bonus this tax season, but it will likely be only a few hundred dollars. >> i've done a lot of overtime this year, and i thank god for that. and i've never worked thinking, "oh man, i might make too much money and "paycheck plus" i might get nothing." no, what i receive, i'm grateful for whatever, two dollars, fine.

>> brangham: the united nations security council has strongly condemned north korea's latest launch of a long-range rocket, and pledged to consider new sanctions. after a hastily-called meeting today, the united states ambassador to the u.n., samantha power, said the u.s. will ensure the security council imposes, quote, "serious consequences" on north korea. the u.s., japan, and south korea said today's rocket launch could have been a test of a long-range ballistic missile, one that could strike as far as the u.s. north korea said the rocket is a peaceful part of its space program and carried a non- military satellite into orbit. north korean state-run media released these pictures of leader kim jong-un with cheering military officers in what appeared to be the launch command center. the a.p. captured this video of people watching the launch on a giant outdoor screen in pyongyang. south korea's president called

the launch an "intolerable provocation" and south korea and the u.s. quickly announced talks to deploy an advanced missile defense system in south korea. even china, north korea's only major ally, expressed regret that north korea chose to, quote, "disregard the opposition of the international community." in taiwan, the death toll from yesterday's strong, pre-dawn, earthquake has risen to at least 26 people. rescuers continue to search for survivors in the collapse of a 17-floor apartment building in the city of tiwan. 170 people have been rescued there. officials say more than 100 people remain unaccounted for. many are believed to be trapped inside the remains of the building. the united arab emirates said today it would be prepared to send its soldiers into syria to help battle islamic state militants if the u.s.-led coalition decides to deploy ground troops in that fight. the u.a.e. has a military of some 75,000, including a modern air force. but the foreign minister said any u.a.e. deployment would be relatively small. and only a few days ago, saudi arabia said it would also be willing to provide ground troops to the fight against isis if asked.

>> on the eve of tonight's super bowl the nfl named eight new members to its hall of fame. the class of 2016 include two quarterbacks, britt brett farve and the late ken stabler. and toifn dungee, whic a -- tony dungee, and a late night special results broadcast that night. then later in the week on thursday, gwen ifill and judy woodruff will host the next democratic debate in milwaukee. live on your pb your pbs statios for watching, i'm william

brangham. good night. >> pbs newshour weekend is made possible by: lewis b. and louise hirschfeld cullman. bernard and irene schwartz. judy and josh weston. the cheryl and philip milstein family. the citi foundation. supporting innovation and enabling urban progress. sue and edgar wachenheim, iii. corporate funding is provided by mutual of america-- designing customized individual and group retirement products. that's why we are your retirement company. additional support has been provided by: and by the corporation for public broadcasting, and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. captioning sponsored by wnet captioned by media access group at wgbh media access group at wgbh access.wgbh.org

[roadtripper #1] some people call us "at-risk youth" i don't know 'bout all that [roadtripper #2] the plan is to go on this roadtrip. [roadtripper #1] we're gonna be interviewin' all sorts of people to figure out how they've made it through the struggle. [roadtripper #2] there's so much out on the road. [roadtripper #3] it started clicking like, maybe i have a purpose. [male leader #1] we all come from someplace that we did not necessarily choose, but we can choose where we're goin'. ready to rise by roadtrip nation is made possible by the schultz family foundation. tapping into the talent and celebrating the potential of our nation's young people througts support of he start somewhere campaign. [roadtripper #2] this is the-the street that i grew up in, the block that i grew up in. this neighborhood did teach me a lot of things.