tv The Ed Show MSNBC October 5, 2011 7:00pm-8:00pm PDT
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good night. good evening, americans and welcome to "the ed show" tonight from lower manhattan in new york city. america has lost a technological giant. steve jobs is dead at the age of 56. we will talk about his impact on our lives. and here in lower manhattan, the wall street occupation protests continue. it's all coming up tonight on the ed show. stay with us. let's get to work. one of the greatest inknow rate issers of american technology, the thomas edison of the 21st century, steve jobs has lost his battle to pancreatic cancer at the age of 56. this man impacted almost every facet of our lives and changed communication forever in this
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country. jobs he jobs' impact will be felt for generations to come. his life and time, let's review it here tonight on msnbc. >> he was the father of the iphone, the ipod and the am mac computer, turning elech tropic gadgets into on joeskts desire. >> i think if you do something and it turns out pretty good, then you should go do something else wonderful. >> reporter: as he was fond of saying, wait, there's more. >> today, apple is going to reinvent the phone. >> reporter: and people did wait. in long lines for the first iphones in 2007. then, three years later they lined up for the ipad, changing the way people consume media. >> design plus function equals the right lifestyle and that's what he filled. >> reporter: in 1976, jobs co-founded apple computer and within a few years, was worth $100 million. in 1984 he was showing off his new pride and joy, the macintosh.
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>> and it has turned out insanely great. >> reporter: as critics hailed the mac, jobs was on the losing end of a power struggle at his company and left a al year later. he went into computer animation, acquiring pixar studios and striking pay dirt with a string of hit movies, starting with "toy story." >> to infinity and beyond! >> reporter: jobs came back to a until 1996 and began reinventing the mac, dressing it up in a variety of colors. >> they look so good, you kind of want to lick them. >> reporter: concerns about the health of steve jobs began in 2004 when he underwent surgery for pancreatic cancer a year later, he spoke about that during a commencement speech at stanford university. >> this was the closest i've been to facing death. and i hope it's the closest i get for a few more decades. >> reporter: an intensely private man with a quick temper, jobs kept reporters at bay, saying his health was nobody's business. >> guys. >> reporter: but jobs was losing
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weight, something revealed in these photos taken in 2007 and 2008. in april 2009, he underwent a liver traps plant. five months later, back on the job at apple, he expressed his gratitude. >> i now have the liver of a mid-20s person who died in a car crash and was generous enough to donate their organs. and i wouldn't be here without such generosity. >> reporter: on august 24th of this year, he stepped down as apple's ceo. back in 2005, he offered this bit of advice to the stanford university grads. >> your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. don't let the noise of others'. s drown out your own innervoice. >> reporter: steve jobs, a man whose own innervoice led him to create some of the most visionary products of the internet era. jobs leaves behind a wife with
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and four children. george lewis, nbc news, los angeles. joining me tonight to talk about the life and impact of steve jobs, two of the best, jonathan alter with us tonight, msnbc contributor and gazemodo.com, matt buchanan. the impact of this man, steve jobs, the impact he had on our lives, what was it? >> incalculable. in computers, music, film, design. marketing. this was one of the great figures of american history. it's hard to understand this when he is a figure of our time. but he is up there with henry ford, thomas edison, one of the great figures in the whole history of the united states. >> from a business perspective, he changed our economy in many respects, and the way people did business. >> oh, absolutely. i mean, you can -- we could talk
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all night about the way he changed not just the daily lives of americans, but the way businesses operate and the way he -- his products contributed to productivity in this country. and also, to the way they changed our aesthetic. you know, one of his underappreciated contributions was as a designer, the look, the feel of the apple products the way we look at the world. anticipated actually gave a speech once where he attribute it had to learning calligraphy. he took a calligraphy class in college he thought would have no impact at all on his life. people said why do you want to take calligraphy? because he understood that design and the way things feel and look are at the center of the way we experience things. >> matt, let me ask you, the younger generation in america grew up differently than other generations because of steve jobs. >> certainly. i mean, he completely changed the way computers worked, like
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pretty much every computing device you use now from your computer to your phone to the tw is because he changed computing. he took scary computers made for institution and made them for people. >> this protest here tonight, it was made possible by his innovation. it was made possible by the very things that, you know, he created. >> yeah. totally. the -- you know, the way that these kind of things came together, half the people here have i phones and tweeting and talking about what they are doing out here and sort of modern computer, the fact everyone has a computer in their pocket now, more or less, because of the i phone from apple. and that is something that is going to impact the way we use computers forever, basically. >> jonathan alter, would you take a look at steve jobs and the company apple, he left the
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company, he was in the middle of a power struggle, came back and did his best work. where does the company go from here? >> oh, i think that he has created a corporate culture that will survive him. you know, there was a time this summer where this company had the highest market capitalization of any company in the entire united states. it passed exxonmobil. this is a company that just 20 years ago was flat on its back, badly managed. they pushed jobs out. he was fired. and he said later it was the best thing that ever happened to him because he started to look at life a little differently. he was able to come at things from a new angle and he came forward with one with succecessl product after another, not just the ipad that i have here. but the iphone revolutionized cellular phones. think about what that has done. or think about the things that were possible because of what
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jobs and bill gates and obviously a lot of other people that we don't have to time to mens in this industry, but there were three or four real pioneers who changed the world and he was one of them. >> and may i ask you, matt, what did he do for education? education in america changed wait kids go to school. it changed the way they prepared it changed the way they learned, didn't it? >> for sure, especially with the way apple's focused on education. i think what may be more fascinating is the way -- change education. hear stories the way schools are using ipads as new tools and teaching children in new ways when moving from say textbooks to interactive, like, fully featured learning. his impactment is just today or yesterday. it is like what's going to keep coming from everything he's done. >> matt buchanan, jonathan alter, great to have you with us tonight. thanks so much. we report to you tonight live from lower manhattan, where
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the occupy wall street protests are take willing place. congress is starting to react. we will talk about that and also we will hear from a millionaire who says it is time to raise taxes on the wealthiest americans that's all coming up on "the ed show." stay with us. covergirls -- set your lashes free. new natureluxe mousse mascara! we took out a heavy synthetic and put in a light touch of beeswax.
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a lot more coming to you from "the ed show" tonight on in lower manhattan, where the occupy wall street protests were taking place. i was with the protesters today. we will define their mission, who they are and what they really want. we will visit with laura flanders. stay with us with. commentary coming up here on "the ed show" on msnbc.
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welcome back to "the ed show" and thanks for watching tonight, live from wall street. the occupy wall street movement is about to reach critical mass and the republicans can't do anything to stop it. an estimated 30,000 protesters joined this protest movement today. big labor is now officially on board. some democrats in congress are getting on board. i was with the people as they marched this afternoon. here's what i saw. >> the priorities of government, both on a state level and in washington are absolutely upside down and against what working families need. the government is no longer for working people. the government is for the wealthiest people in this country and that has to end and that's what these protests are about. >> we have nurses here who every day in their hospitals at the
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bedside are encountering patients who are destitute, who have to choose between medicine and food, who have to choose between medicine and paying the represent rent. >> this is not about a party. this is about a movement to take it back to the people. give us something. we are supposed to be the middle class. i don't feel middle class. >> why are you here? >> why am i here? my husband was out of work 18 moments. thanks, america, tried to foreclose on our house, we never missed a payment. battled with them 18 months. we had to start our own green jobs company to find jobs. so this is about job? >> yes. >> this is about change in america? >> yes. >> this is about jobs for the middle class. working people. we have to bring back jobs for the middle class and get the college kids back to work.we are all in this together. >> they are taking over our lives, everything they do is sucking money out of the middle class it is sucking money. they are not going to give up until there is nothing left to suck out anymore. >> is this america's middle class march? >> you belt it is. it is about all of us prospering together.
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when the disvib rbi bugs of wealth in this country was more even, everybody made out better. when it got skewed up to the higher levels, all of us suffered. we are in it together or we are not in it at all. >> there is no doubt the republican party is afraid of the 99% message and now they are attacking the protesters. >> when i was 10 years old, i was more self-sufficient than this parade of human debris calling itself occupy wall street. >> well, i said on your show, and it was picked up all over the place, a lot of them are down there for dating purposes. it is true. they are down there to meet people. >> i don't have facts to back this up, but i happen to believe that these testimony mop stakes ares -- demonstrations are planned and orchestrated to distract from the failed policies of the obama administration. don't blame wall street. don't blame the big banks. if you don't have a job and you are not rich, blame yourself.
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>> i'm just trying to get myself to occupy the white house. >> the more outrageous the right-wing talks about this protests and the protests that are taking place across the country, the more of a impact these people are going to have. the vast unknown about all of this is what does it mean and where does it go? will the obama administration and the obama campaign be able to turn this energy into votes next november? are they even satisfied with president obama? you have a congress right now with an 11% approval rating. i think you can start with the other 89% right here in lower manhattan. they are frustrated about no action on jobs. they are frustrated about not a very good health care bill. they are frustrated about jobs going overseas. they are frustrated and very angry about who is gaining in this economy and who's being left behind. this is the official start of
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the 2012 campaign. if their message is heard by some candidate, this just might be the movement that starts a major change in this country. get your cell phones out, i want to know what you think. tonight's question, do you support the occupy wall street protests? text a for yes. text b for no to 622639. we will bring you the results later on in the show. joining me right now is justin elliott, reporter for salon.com and laura flanders, host of free speech tv. great to have both of you with us tonight. justin, the definition of this protest is starting to really take shape. you're reporting to america tonight. what would you say about it? >> look, i think there's a debate going on here. i mean, we saw it with the unions today. one of the most popular chants is how do we end the deficit, end the wars? tax the rich. i think there is another strain here that is not ready to define
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goals yet. they want this thing to grow around generalized anger at wall street. so i think it is still sort of being determined. >> laura, when you take a look at this crowd, how it started, how it's gained and how it has grown nationally, the inequity in the economy seems to be what has really spearheaded all of this? >> absolutely. i mean, we saw 27 cities with occupy wall street demonstrations this weekend and that is growing by the hour. there were nine people arrested at fannie mae in los angeles today and more at the chicago reserve. these folks are not going away and given license for people to say you know what we want more change than just a change of personnel in the white house. we need a change in our lives and they have also opened up a space here for people to talk about this country and this whole planet being on a crash course with the ecology that we have to handle and with the human systems of human relations. i spoke to people who are losing their homes, losing their health care, face nothing jobs in their
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future. and as you mentioned this is election season kicking off. they are saying it is not the about one party or another.we have got to get bigger. we have got to think bigger. we have got to build a better vision of what this country's promise can be about. and that's what you're hearing here. that is because it is thinking big. >> what about the union now being involved? does this give them a bit of credibility they might not have had before? >> absolutely. i mean, the unions, what happened here is bottom-up movement, created space for unions to come and join n the unions sat back like a lot of america saying is this gonna last is this something real? they stayed here long enough against the media that ignored them, against the disdain that was poured on them, long enough for the unions to say, you know what we're getting on board and that's huge because that gives a whole other group of people license to join this movement to change not just who's in the white house or change any individual electoral result, but
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to change the direction of our economy, 'cause that's what we got to do to save our lives. justin elliott what is the political aftermath of this? i hear the crowd shouting they are not going away. how long will this last? >> i mean, i think to some extent that depends on mayor bloomberg and nypd. nypd, i easily saw hundreds of officers today, scores of varngts least three nypd helicopters in air. but they let this march go on and the people in the square have been here for about two and a half weeks there's no sign that they are leaving. this thing is growing, even though there are no well-defined goals yet t has caught the imagination of the public and it is still growing. so i think it is impossible to predict right now where it goes. >> many of the themes that i heard today, justin, were that of the democratic platform, not to overstate or simplify the frustration of people, but some of the major issues are right from the democratic platform. are threat winners here? >> maybe. i think there's a mix.
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i haven't found many obama supporters in this crowd. as i said, one of the chances i kept hearing is how do we cut the deficit, end the wars, tax the rich? haven't done any of those things. >> i think there are obama supporters, but i think they are frustrated obama supporters. >> there is a strain of obama supporters but a strain of people who are far to the left of obama here and very dissatisfied. >> i was here all day for free speech tv and what i heard is people wanted change. they wanted an toned war. they got more war. they didn't want to see drone attacks, even taking out people who were considered to be threats to this country. they didn't want to see a little bit of health care reform. they needed to see profit seekisee -seeking out of health care. four years ago this channelled in electropolitics. this has been channelled into a global movement that is what is exciting we need global change. >> so, where's the change? let me ask you had this they are
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not going to change the government of the united states. but they can change who runs it. >> they can change who runs it and they can raise the question, which i think is what's happening here, that we need to think bigger. i heard from hedge fund folks today and from stock blockers said we understand this economy doesn't work. we are aware that this recession is longer and deeper that we anticipated. simply recovering this economy is not going do it it is not going to do it for these for example not going to do it for the 99%, not even going to it for the 1% because we are on a crash course with the planet. >> all right. justin elliott, laura flanders, great to have both of you with us tonight. thanks for sticking around. i appreciate it so much. coming up in "psychotalk," the hypocrites over at fox news who just won't accept what is happening down here in lower manhattan and around the country. later, congresswoman betty shut.of ohio and larry hanley of the atu union and more on the protesters. stay with us. we are right back on "the ed show" on msnbc. [ male announcer ] you are a business pro.
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and in "psychotalk" tonight, fox and friends can't stand the comparisons between occupy wall street movement and the tea party. they think the tea partiers just popped up out of nowhere. >> the big question is occupy wall street and tea party, they are actually equating the two? one was an organic movement that started across this country without any one definitive
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leader, just talked about getting spending in order. occupy wall street, you can't get a def nuggets anything of what they stand for. >> the tea party was an organic movement, he said. the tea party was funded and organized by righty groups. there was a sponsor promoting the hell out of the tea party events. get ready to tea party. >> all across the country, steps are standing up. >> here in d.c. what i'm could have energy lafayette park, tomorrow, 1 million tea bags will be delivered by, like, 9 a.m. >> fox on top of tea parties, full steam ahead. >> americans outraged over up fair and crippling taxes. >> how to get involved in the hundreds of tea party protest. not happy with how the government is spending your tax money and taking from you in tax money? you are not alone. >> angry tax payers are going online and attending tea parties. >> how about you? would you go to one of these tea parties? >> it is unlike anything we have
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ever seen before, at least in recent history. >> hundreds of thousands of outraged americans may turn out. >> we know of at least 500 cities. >> hundreds of up tos and cities. >> hundreds of these tea parties. >> talking about 500 cities tomorrow. >> we are tracking 760 cities. >> look at all of them that is where they are expect osama bin laden tomorrow. >> more evidence they are just getting big and bigger. it has touched a a nerve in america. >> people at a ground -- you niece grassroots level are fed up. >> is a grassroots movement. >> >> the big question will be whether or not weather mainstream media will cover it. >> the main stream immediate gentleman not report it. >> will the main stream media cover these tea party cities in think they may be forced to. >> i have seep the other networks kind of mention them but in a mocking way. >> yeah. because they don't understand. >> i'm as mad as hell and i'm not gonna take this anymore. >> okay. well, people are machltd. a couple of between the twitter, think could be the start of a real revolution. >> might end in a revolution. >> taking a stand at the alamo. step reese volt against more
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taxes. >> sean happenity is getting 8,000 people in atlanta. >> sean happen sit going to be in hotlanta. >> sean is on the scene with newt gingrich, jolt plumber. >> rick and bubba, mike huckabee, kneel bore thes and special performance by singer john rich. >> look at all the hit shows at fox covering the tea parties. neil cav absolute stow live in sacramento, glenn beck in san antonio. >> powerful tea party coverage. >> aim going to one, you going to be at one of these? >> i'm covering one. >> people go to the tax tea party and i have said that there's -- taxes are -- >> i'm attending. >> fox isn't sponsoring any of this stuff, just realizing there are a lot of people across the country who are not happy. >> there's a big difference between covering something and promote it. >> april 15th as tea parties sweep the nation on tax day. we are there with total, fair and balanced network coverage. live. >> this administration has changed the direction of the economy toward more government and less private enter prize. that's what's happened and
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that's what these people are protesting. and there's nothing wrong with that. it is not a sham. and it is not a fraud. it is now my great duty to promote the tea parties, here we go. >> pleasure talking to you. >> for brian to call the tea party a organic movement when his own network relentlessly promoted it is unbalanced "psychotalk." up next, the protests are spreading from wall street across the country and support is growing, with everyone from labor leaders to congress joining the fight. and later, we will hear from some folks to out here tonight, fighti fighting for the 99%. stay with us. we're on the move. ♪ and we don't want anything, ever, to slow us down. so it's surprising that most women aren't getting enough calcium. but thankfully, with over 25 great flavors, like strawberry cheesecake and blackberry harvest, only yoplait original gives you 50% of the daily value
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with the same emissions as many other oils and that's a huge breakthrough. that's good for our country's energy security and our economy. the occupy wall street protests continue here in manhattan we continue to cover the story. this is such a diverse group, you will find every walk of life, you will find every
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special interest group, but there is an underlying theme throughout all of this. it is the economic injustice that has taken place in this country, which i think has been the big motivating factor to bring all of these people here. they are not all fans of ed schultz, they are not all fans of the ed show, but that's all part of the territory. the fact of the matter is the big unknown about all of this is what does this mean and where will it go politically? how long will it last? there is up questionably new credibility to this protest because organized labor is now on in full force. joining me tonight is a couple of gentlemen from the algamated transit union, bruce hamill top and larry happenly. thank you for your time. >> thank you. >> what does this mean? is this a sea change in american politics? what is this? >> i think it is probably the beginning of the sea change. i think this shows us that young people understand not only
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what's happening to them in their bluff who caused it. and i think the fact that they have come here and they have stood up and that they are ready to sacrifice and be out here tells us that they know just how deep the problems are in america and they understand that the rich people have made it happen. >> larry, how much -- how much anger is out here? >> i can tell you there's loads of it. they are angry and i don't blame them. we represent transit workers in the united states and canada and they are just as angry. they haven't had a chance to come down here but they will. i think all over the country there is going to be growing to opportunities for people to speak out. our union and our members are going to be there. >> mr. hamill top, how would you characterize this crowd and what has taken place down here? >> absolutely a fantastic crowd. i don't see how it could possibly be any better as far as spirit of this as far as forward-looking. everybody is really very
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positive. we believe they can get together and make constructive changes. >> who are these people for? i mean, there's such a wide array of interest groups here. who are they for? >> the 99%, all right? so, we are for everything the 1% is not for. it is a diverse group. we know what they are against and they are against wall street taking everything. >> what is union involvement going to do for this? >> union involvement is, you know, some people are saying that the unions are now -- you know have come into the fight. the fact is the unions have always been in the fight and we are extremely happy to see that the young people and others have come together and, you know, started this action and, you know, we, in a way, we consider that they are coming to the union point of view and union action. >> larry, i mean, if you've got -- if you've got every organized labor group in this country behind this, how can congress not get the message and
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respond? i mean, the -- the leg slatetive response is the most powerful thing that can take place in our government. that's the push for change. now, you know, here in new york, in albany, things are going to start happening in december them could do something about the millionaires' tax in december. but even before that, in november, in ohio, there's going to be senate bill 5, which is issue two on the ballot. i mean, is this going to spark maybe some kind of enthusiasm, carryover to have something happen on a legislative level in a state? >> well, we certainly hope so and i think what we are hearing from america's young people is that if it doesn't change, they are going to make a change. and i think that over the course of the last 30 years, so many we wills have been driven in the american population and your point about diversity is really true. this is a hugely diverse crowd. and as our unions become involved and connect with them, i think you will see a coming
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together of the 99% that they are talking b. >> there is a new poll out showing public, the public in this country has a favorable opinion of this movement. rasmussen poll. view of occupy wall street, favorable 33%, up favorable, 27%, 40%, they have no opinion. how do you get those people? it would seem to me that you would have to stay on the job, on the site and continue to tell the story. >> i think spread it around the country. just as people all over the globe stood up and fought back this year it is time for americans to stand up and fight back what we intend to do not only our union but the entire aflcio is get to out there and make it happen. >> is very clear in the last election that president obama and the democrats benefited from organized labor. does president obama, who now says that he is the underdog in 2012, does he benefit from this the long ter goes? >> i think he will benefit from it if he gets out in front of it
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and leads it. >> you invite president obama here? >> i think the president belongs here with us. these are the people who elected president obama who gave the democrats a majority. these are the people that are suffering now. >> but there are a lot of people here tonight that aren't obama supporters. >> well, he need come down here and cop vert them. i think he needs to hear from our president these sympathetic to the cause. >> mr. hamill top, if the job rate in this country is better, this doesn't take place is that a fair statement? i mean, if we had four and a half, 5% unemployment works this be taking place tonight? >> i think you're probably right. >> you think it is about -- that is the core thing, the up employment and the frustration? >> it certainly is a huge part of it yes. the reason for concentrating on wall street, obviously, is that the richest 1% are taking an increasingly large percentage of the wealth that's created by working people. >> and i want to add, ed, that these are young people who can't get jobsment our members are
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suffering all over the country because the johns they have are being stripped away. their wages are being cut. their pensions have been taken away. our members were struggling every day and working hard. and these are their children. these are our children who are out here saying america must change. america must take care of its people. >> i have to admit i'm not proud of all of them. but then if you've got 99% of americans, you're not going to proud of all of them. >> these right. >> i think it is the jegeneral message that is important. gentlemen, i thank you for joining us. appreciate it so much. senate democrats want the president's jobs bill to be fired with the millionaires tax. harry reid is on that story. and up next, we will duke a millionaire who thinks that is great way to pay for t stay with us. you are watching "the ed show" on msnbc. regenerist day and night duo. the uv lotion helps protect skin and firms during the day. with us. you are watching "the ed show" on msnbc. e eam hy. stay with us. you are watching "the ed show" on msnbc. stay with us. you are watching "the ed show" on msnbc. stay with us. you are watching "the ed show" on msnbc. , om olay.
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they stay will pay for the $447 billion in its entirety. we will talk to a millionaire next who thinks that's hell of an idea. we are bang on "the ed show." [ tires screech ] ♪ oh, it was the first time i fell in love ♪ ♪ the first time i felt my heart ♪ [ man ] people say i'm forgetful. [ horn honking ] ♪ ...all through the night [ man ] maybe that's why we go to so many memorable places. ♪ [ male announcer ] the subaru outback. love the road you're on. [ male announcer ] the subaru outback. diabetes testing? it's all the same. nothing changes. then try this. freestyle lite® blood glucose test strip. sure, but it's not gonna-- [beep] wow. yep, that's the patented freestyle zipwik™ design. did it just-- [both] target the blood? yeah, drew it right in. the test starts fast. you need just a third the blood of one touch.® that is different. so freestyle lite test strips make testing... easy? easy.
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millionaires' tax to fight welcome back to the ed show we come to you live from the occupy wall street protest down in lower manhattan. president obama's jobs bill got a boost from democratic leaders in the senate today a new proposal to tax people making more than $1 million a year would offset the cost of the jobs plan in its entirety. joining me tonight is a millionaire who approves of the democratic plan, daniel berger is an attorney from philadelphia and a member of the group patriotic millionaires who advocate for the expiration of the bush tax cuts for those who earn $1 million a year or more. mr. berger, good to have you with us tonight. i appreciate your time here on msnbc. >> good to be here, ed.
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you know, in terms of sports talk radio, first time, long time. >> well, thank you. i appreciate that it's good to have you with us. what would work in your world? you're a wealthy man. what would work? what should the congress do to pay for this jobs bill? >> this was the whole impetus of our group, the patriotic millionaires. we felt the expiration of the bush tax cuts of 2001 and 2003, which as you know, would restore the rate that existed before that, and would increase the highest tax bracket marm nal rate from 35% to 39.6%, which represents a 4.6% percentage point increase, or 13% in terms of the highest mar gypal tax bracket, was a modest way of addressing what was described as
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a fiscal crisis. and in no way, shape or form and -- by the way, our proposal would only apply people who earned $1 million a year or more. so only that part of the bush tax cult would be permitted to expire. and we thought this was a modest way of dealing with the fiscal -- so-called fiscal crisis and to make a contribution and share the sacrifice necessary to address and redress the fiscal imbalances that had grown up during the -- during the bush years. >> dap y'all, what do you think -- mr. berger, what do you think president obama should do? he has got now polling on his side. the public is on board with t s this. isn't this -- if you're going to do this, if you're going to
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get more money out of millionaires, there has to be a political move. apparently, by these polls, there's no political downside. what should the president and the democrat does? >> i agree with you. as a matter of fact, they should endorse this and push for the expiration of the bush tax cuts only on persons earning $1 million a year or more. and you know, the whole debate on taxing the rich -- by the way, i consider the rich, you know, as persons who -- who are in the top 1%. and that is roughly equivalent to people who earn $1 million a year or more. you know, it's -- the debate on this has been mischaracterized. it is not class warfare. it is not even -- it is not even math or accounting. it is a question of basic fairness. and if you look at the tax rates, it's true, the rich pay somewhat more, moderately more,
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the top 1% pay moderately more than persons in other income groups. but they earn disproportionately more, even taking into account the fact that earn moderately more. so, that's very strong indication that the relative tax burden on the public is more on people in the lower income groups that the higher income groups. and you know, ed -- >> yeah, go ahead. go ahead. >> that can be demonstrated by a very simple question. would you rather pay 70% more in income taxes than other taxpayers in other tax groups if you could earn 1500 to 3,000% more in income? the anticipate is on swer is ob would you pay more to have the opportunity to earn 15 to 30 times more. well that session actually the the situation that the top 1% is in versus the other 99 %.
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it is a strong indication that the relative tax burden, you know, on the rich, is less than on the middle class and on the working class. >> and daniel, what do you say to those who oppose this? you can't raise taxes on the job creators. i don't know but you, but that infuriates me it is so simplistic, but americans out there repeat it to over and over again. where are the jobs, the jobs were not created when the top 1% got all the tax breaks. you can't raise taxes on the job creators. what's your -- >> that's one of the myths of -- that's -- ed, that's part of the folklore of capitalism. >> it is? >> the idea that the 1%, you know, create the wealth in the country. it is simply -- it is simply not true. that's the whole basis of the republican philosophy of trickle down. and you know what the problem is there is no empirical support
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for their position. you know, when you think about it, the taxes were increased during the clinton administration to address a fiscal crisis that existed then. from 1991 to -- i believe in the m mid'80s to 2001, taxes went up, reagan increased taxes in his second -- in his second term. >> '94 congress that did it. >> here is the thing. during that period, as warren buffett pointed out in his op ed piece in the "new york times," 40 million jobs were created. from 2001 to 2008 when the financial crisis hit and there was a severe economic downturn, you know, the bush tax cuts created 9 million new jobs. and then the recession destroyed
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15 million jobs. so we are in the hole, you know -- we are in the hole now, you know, about 6 million jobs. yeah, no doubt. >> so there is no empirical support to the idea that tax cuts will ipso facto create jobs. what they really do is increase the savings of wealthy people who invest money, not necessarily in new businesses, some of the money would go into new businesses but most of it goes into financial assets and has caused a boom in the financial mark elets and financ assets and jobs. what we need are people like steve jobs to create real jobs. >> you bet. daniel berger, thank you for being here tonight. you say long time, first time. i say first time, many more time. wonderful to have you back.
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>> delighted to be back any time. >> always nice and refreshing to have an unselfish american who realized that the treasury needs more money to fiscally save this money. i appreciate what you and your group are doing. thanks so much. daniel berger of the patriotic millionaires. we will be right back with more from the 99% here on wall street. stay with us. we're america's natural gas and here's what we did today: supported nearly 3 million steady jobs across our country... ... scientists, technicians, engineers, machinists...
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welcome back to the ed show. tonight in our survey, i asked, do you support the occupy wall street protests? 94% of you said yes. 6% of you said no. co coming up, you will hear from the crowd tonight on "the ed show," live from lower manhattan, as the protest continues. stay with us. hmmm [ male announcer ] for half the calories -- plus veggie nutrition. could've had a v8.
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upset, or burning. if you have afib not caused by a heart valve problem, ask your doctor if pradaxa can reduce your risk of a stroke. for more information or help paying for pradaxa, visit pradaxa.com. so, what do you think of th this? how real is it? >> it is very real. i'm a new father and a new american. and it's just beautiful to see democracy in action. i grew up 99%. i came to this country with a canadian dollar and a dream. i believe in capitalism and a level play williing field. >> all walks of life in this crowd. matthew sway is with us tonight, a protester, he is an american. he has a statement to make. good to have you with us. where are you from? >> philadelphia.
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>> why are you here? >> i'm here because i feel like we are entering a postbureaucratic age in which active participation is going to be more than just going to the polls every once -- once in a while. but really getting on the street, holding a sign, be willing to put your beliefs on your shirt and walk with it and face the fact that a lot of the things in this country that we see as separate are actually together. there's a lot of sip these cis that needs to happen. >> there have been a lot of protests in american history. >> yes. >> what's different with this one, if anything? >> well, i'm a product of the american school system. so i haven't studied any of the protests. i know nothing about -- i didn't even know to bring a throat lozenge tonight, it didn't occur to me. i was fault up in of this it is new to me. i think it is wonderful to have ale
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a leaderless movement where women and previously disenfranchised groups are -- their voices are heard. >> the unions are they disenfranchised? they are a part of it now? >> the unions, they have been refurbishing their lob business for a long time and i think they are now getting active. i think the democrats abeen a doning them over the last year, the unions are really awake to the fact that they need to speak directly to the youth. i think they have got a great group of, you know, millions and millions of unemployed young people who are going to hear their message and they are taking it directly to the people and not worrying about the politicians. these kids are used to voting every day upup to, i like it i don't like it. i like it i don't like it. i'm doing surveys and petitions every day, online. i don't -- politicians, we know they are bought and paid for. we are not -- we are not looking to put somebody new in era where what we want can be brought indefinitely, not
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someone who can mark up our message. >> how else will you move the government forward? washington has a house, the senate, the presidency? >> this is the governmentship. government. this is the people. this is the people. we are the 99%, you know? it is about to get cold. we will see if this -- if this persists. but i isn't it is going to be here for a long time. it is here. 160 other cities, you said? >> there's all kinds of numbers floating around a. >> the main thing is the media needs to start to do research on this. there's books on consensus that are published largely overseas but many, many books, very intricate process being participated in here. this is not random. it is chaotic but not random. a very intricate process. there is a book
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