this is a public service for people. >> it's great. >> j.b. says, because i didn't want to miss out on those slippers, joe. now my morning is complete. mine, too. >> morning's not complete until right now because right now "morning joe" starts. because r "morning joe" starts. and good morning. it is monday, december 23rd, the day before the day before christmas. >> the day before the day before. >> with us onset, we have mike barnicle. editor for new york magazine, john heilemann. >> look at this outfit. >> i'm looking at the fake christmas fire. the best thing. >> can we look at that picture for a second?

i have great news forever around the set here today. >> you look just like margaret thatcher. >> i tried to look like har get thatcher. this is parting gift. we're going to hang it over your fireplaces. >> we also have with us former treasury official and morning joe economic analyst steve rattner. >> i brought a present to go with that picture over the fireplace. >> can we open it now? >> you can open it right now. i know you love presents. >> it's a single shoe. >> if you like this, i'll get you one. >> can i open it for you, joe? i love presents. >> that's how you open presents? >> how she opens presents. >> what did you get? >> i have no idea. what is that? >> that's so good. that is so -- i need a camera. i need a camera.

bring the camera over here. joe, you'll see this along with everybody else. >> can we clear this first? >> oh, my gosh. >> what in the world? >> that is awesome in a very weird, weird way. >> a very it is turning show has just been made more disturbing. that's just embarrassing. >> i want one. that is the greatest thing i've ever seen. >> joe, what is that shirt under your pajamas? >> that's it is turning right there. it's christmas, right? >> that's kind of needy. okay. >> thank you. that is very nice. what is most disturbing is the thought that went into that. >> i mean seriously?

>> did you hand paint those? >> i've been working on it -- >> right here on the set, put it right on the set. >> that is just really disturbing. >> i'm going to put it on the mantle later. that is fantastic. >> who in the world is that about? >> what is incredible is that the little guys have little faces. the little eyes are painted and everything. >> so you are this guy. >> i love christmas. >> rog, where did you get these sures? >> k-mart? >> who knew. >> your finer retail shopping. >> there you go. do you want to read the news? >> i would think. do you want to read the news? >> joe got a present from rattner. >> i think it was more of a public like flogging, humiliation. >> a little sting in the tail.

just a slight little -- >> if you've sat on this end as often as i have, you do a little outgoing once in a while. >> the best thing i've ever seen. >> that is so funny. disturbing, too. >> very disturbing. >> the thought that went into this? >> oh, yeah. >> were you frisked before you came into the studio? >> somebody that put that much time -- >> 16 or 17 hours painting the eyes. >> take that, joe, take that, joe. >> unbelievable. wait a second, where is dylan's shaft robe? >> i thought we were supposed to change. >> i didn't know the rules. >> well, so next time you come out -- >> okay. >> go ahead, take the weather. i know there is a wild outbreak across the country. >> record highs, tornadoes, we've had ice, right now the ice is mostly up across maine where

temperatures are down in the 30s right around the 32 degree line. that's where you get that freezing rain. but in new york city, 61. matching that in philadelphia and washington, d.c., too. but it won't last that much longer. you see all this rain out ahead of a cold front that will cool us back down into the 30s right in time for christmas. now, we do have some snow. mostly lake-effect snow through the western great lakes and even back through parts of nebraska and kansas. it won't be that much, but it's still enough out there to make things a little slippery if you're out and about early this morning. we're looking at about three inches of rain in parts of virginia and north carolina and it is going to end up being a pretty mild day eventually. but we are looking at very cold temperature, especially back through minneapolis. it's 1 and it feels like 17 below. it will only top out in the -- oh, here we go. even though it's 60 degrees out and i'm already sweating in here. we are back in action. now i can go back to bed, right? day's over? bedtime? >> you need the chain outside

the jacket. there you go. >> we are in full effect now. all right. that's it. that's all i got. >> so dylan, let me ask you you really quickly. it's bizarre that you're wearing something that like -- because obviously it's like 80 degrees outside. >> i'm sweating. >> any record highs, like is this a record high? >> yesterday was. yesterday it got to 71 in new york city. 67 in central park yesterday morning. record was 63. >> and of course just last week, it was like 15 degrees. wild swing. so christmas eve? >> 30s, 40s. but christmas day, 36. so right back into what you'd expect. >> steve rattner had a record high when you can did that. >> that was good stuff. thank you, dylan. >> dylan, thank you so much.

all right. so i guess -- >> do you want some news? this guy likes news. >> it's the fact the that there are two joes and one mika in that shot. so much joe. >> just disturbing. >> and heilman, barnicle and rattner right there in front. >> look, one, two, three, four joes. >> really disturbing. all right. so you think about it way too much. you just have to go with it. all right. go ahead. >> are you ready for the news? >> don't do that. >> no one got everything they wanted in the budget deal. this is sort of like christmas. you don't get everything you want. and the lack of extended unemployment benefits stands out as a particularly sore spot for many democrats. emergency coverage for 1.3 million jobless americans officially expires on saturday. the length of unemployment coverage varies by state, but

amongst the worst hit, california and new york which will see hundreds of thousands lose out through 2014. democrats and liberal groups will kick off a national tv blitz the day after christmas, tried to pressure republicans, but some of the gchl op agree the budget plan is no cause for celebration. but for different reasons. >> the reason we're in trouble on deficits and debts is not because we didn't agree, but because we did. the story coming out of washington is we don't get along. i would dispute that. we get along just fine with the status quo of the government being ineffective and inefficient. so we pass a bill that raises spending and raises taxes and denies what we promised the american people and everybody says, oh, my goodness, how great? >> other republicans are angry over the plan's cuts to military pensions. paul ryan is defending the deal in a "usa today" op-ed saying retirement pay can't weigh down

the defense budget. he's promising to roll back cuts to those medically -- >> i have to stop there. mike, we all know how much -- you say nice things about paul ryan. i've been friends with paul for a very long time. i would respectfully request that sounds like a guy that hasn't spent a lot of time growing up around military retirees to say we can't have the defense budget weighed down by military retirees when as tom coburn would say it's wade down by waste, the pentagon budget, fraud, abuse? and again, one weapon system after another that we just don't need? i mean, i think paul has it backwards. we start with the men and women in uniform. we start with the promise congress made them. we start by taking care of the people that have taken care of us our entire lives. >> what about starting with the defense budget itself?

there is no line item in the budget i would submit that is more capable of being slashed, cut, than the defense department budget. but not with veterans and veterans benefits, pensions, medical care. not with that. >> for four years we've been complaining about this war in afghanistan that has droned on, which paul ryan was afraid to come out along with every either in congress, was afraid to come out and say as we were saying in 2010 it's time to get out and stop spending $2 billion. think about that. we have been wasting $2 billion a week in afghanistan for years now. and from 2009, 2010, it was obvious that it was a waste. how much would $2 billion a week for military retirees add up? >> how many defense contractors are there? >> it's nonsense. it's absolute nonsense. i talked about it last week. the process for passing thoe those budgets wasn't based on

need, it was based on jobs in military districts. p. >> that's right. weapons systems in pensacola or connecticut, you name the state, there will be a defense contractor with a line item in the budget that you can cut without getting to veterans pensions and benefits. >> i'm stunned. you -- >> let's not forget about the unemployment insurance situation. talking about liberals and democrats complaining about they lost in the budget deal. the people who lost are these hundreds of you thousands of long term unemployed who have been trying to get work now for three years and while washington has done nothing as we complained about for the last five years about the job situation in america, we've had this horrific jobs unemployment picture since the start of the administration, since the great recession happened. these people are the ones hardest hit by it and now for christmas they get cut in this budget, and it's not their fault? >> what do you do about rand paul's theory, it just makes them lazy not wanting to get a job? >> i tell him to stick it where it belongs. >> there you go.

>> so steve rattner, help me out. i look at a number like the readjusted gdp number for the third quarter and i see 4.1%. and as an american, i celebrate. i'm like, okay, we're coming back. this is looking great. but then you look at the numbers that mike and john are talking about, look at the fact that income disparity continues to grow, that the poor continue to get poorer, that the middle class -- they're losing as you know every year, they fall further and further behind. where does that number come from and what is the real situation? >> a couple points. first of all, 49.is% number which was a good number, it was revised up as you said, a significant piece of that was inventory accumulation, businesses putting more inventories into their stores. in other words, it's a one time thing. >> so they bought a lot to get ready for -- >> bought more than they usually do to get ready for christmas.

so it drives the gdp number up. on a sort of steady state basis, we're growing maybe 2.5% a year. which is not terrible, not great. but as we have talked about, the problem is that income is not getting to individual americans, it is going heavily into corporate profits, it's in the stock markets and places like that. we are becoming more unequal. we've talked about the statistic before about how the top 1% had a 30% pay increase over the last three years after inflation. bottom 99% had zero. >> you have some charts? >> i have some charts. remember we talked about economic mobility and the question of whether you can get ahead in this country or less easily than other countries. so i have a few charts to try to illustrate that. the first one compares inequality and lack of economic mobility in this country to some other countries mostly in europe. and so if you look across the bottom where it says inequality, this is the amount of income inequality that there is in the country and it goes from least

to post and you s post a to most and you see u.s. up here. the higher you r, the less like are you to move up. >> so when you combine those two, if urt united states or the united kingdom, you have the least amount of mobility moving upward. and the greatest income inequality. >> correct. it's called t"the great gatsby" chart. so you see a bunch of scandinavian countries down here that have relatively low inequality and they move up. >> so they're the most equal. >> they're the most equal and the most mobility. >> obviously we're talking economics. >> and of course there is still inequality, just less. >> so what do those scandinavian countries have in common? >> they have in common more of a social welfare state, maybe not what you want to hear, but a

government plays a more active role in maintaining people -- mika knows a lot about this. her brother is ambassador to one of them. so one other point, this is for kid twhos are in their late 20s today entering the peak of their career. if you would fast forward this and say to yourself what does it look like for a kid who is born today, a young kid today, that little red dot i put up there, that is what that kid's prospects are. more income inequality, less income mobility. >> how do we turn that around? >> we turn that around with a lot of policies that perhaps -- >> no, no, i ask you because i know that you understand because you you reported on thatcher's britain in '79, '80, '81. and you say it all the time, margaret thatcher saved britain from a terrible fate. so you understand as a democrat, i don't know if you call yourself a progressive, but as a democrat, you understand that we can't just raise taxes. that raising taxes, hiking

taxes, punitive tax rates on conversations and the rich, let's just say it, is not going to he bring income equality. >> i agree with that. but we have cut heavily as we've discussed many times on this show programs like education that contribute to greater mobility. taxes on the rich today have gone up a little bit lately, but they're still below what they were in you go back to the pre-reagan era. if you look back in american history, we have some of our most equal income equality in the '60s when we had some of our fastest economic growth. the two do not necessarily cancel each other out. i agree that you can't overtax people, but you can have a more level society. >> so what should the tax rate be then 12? we're looking at 39% and then new york city, you had on 4.5%?

so that's a real -- you're about 50%. >> but as you point out many time, kacht gacapital gains tax rate is 20%. >> really where rich people make their dough. >> so if we do what warren buffett says and what i think we should do and we have a minimum 30% tax rate on everything, which i said that and a couple republican governors almost collapsed, but if we have that 30% minimum tax rate, does that help? >> sure. if you had a minimum 0% tax rate and if you it some stuff for people at the bottom to give them more equality of opportunity, you can make some progress. >> but to be clear, though, that chart is like a nightmare. the chart you put up. it's a chart that sketches the death of the american dream in a lot of ways. a society wildly unequal and wildly impossible. >> and alan greenspan by the way for conservatives that are out there that haven't read into

this and say, oh, come on, alan greenspan and a lot of free market conservatives agree with that position. >> so that's a horrible chart. and the tax question gets to some september at the inequality part. the mobility part is not as easily fixed with fiscal policy. at least with just tax policy. so to get back to a more mobile society requires the kind of investments that steve is talking about. you're talking about a society right now regardless of how much redistribution you do on top, you need to start enabling people who are at the bottom of the income chain and bottom of the social mobility explain to start getting new kinds of opportunity or else you look more and more like a caste system. >> let's take giving people at the bottom the more opportunity. just one element of this hugely complex issue. we continue to read occasionally in the papers about a company starting a new factory, hiring new employees. the very issue of mobility, not

income mobility, transportation to get to a job is staggering for many, many poor people. >> can i just show an interesting chart on this subject? if we go to the third chart -- >> we can do that, but as we do that, i just want to say one thing about education. we spend more money per cheeild than any country on the planet. that means the status quo that bitches and monies all te moans about strangled education, you know what, there is a price to be paid. i don't mind paying more money per child than any other country on the planet in education, but we're not going to throw it down a rat hole anymore. and if some of these special interests that fight every change are going to go out there and complain, they will have to, you know, find another red herring other than funding because we fund public education and it fails in large part to keep up with the rest of the

world because of the special interests that keep us chained and keep market forces out of education. >> i don't disagree. but let me give you a simple statistic. if you're in the bottom 20% and you don't have a college agrdeg, you have a 45% chance of staying in the bottom. if your kids get a college agree, they have 16% of stay management bottom 20%. so the ticket out is more education. and better education. >> and this is what your friend michael bloomberg has been saying for years. why is it that rich liberals that oppose education reform can send their kids to any school they want to send them to, but you have liberal legislators that stand in the school room door like goreorge wallace did, and i will say it, and keep them in failing schools because they don't want to provide poor children of color the same

opportunity that rich liberals are able to give their kids? and i try not to be ideological, but if we're talking about an issue as important as this, then we need to be honest. there are rich liberals out there that want to send their kids to any school that they want to in america. but when a poor single african-american mother in new york city wants to do the same thing, rich liberals line up and they fought mike bloomberg and they fought one reformer after another. so while we're talking better education, let's be honest about it. >> i agree with that, but if you look at the countries on the good end of your chart, steve, you talk about countries like in scandinavia and sweden, finland, where they spend a lot of money isn't the kind of education you're talk about. they have huge job training programs in those countries for people who are not going to get degrees from harvard and they won't get degrees from ohio say the university. it they need to be in junior

colleges, in technical college, things that train people for that place in the labor market that is not about getting a four year college degree, but is about getting something that is not -- better than getting just a high school degree, not quite a college degree, and tons of money that can be spend on the government there. we don't do that here. >> i heard that in more places i've gone, whether it's talking to governors or ceos. what you you just said really is. and we've all talked about it. you talk about -- and this is critical. steve, how do we get there? by the way, do you agree everything i said on education, too? you actually do because like bloomberg has been killed for 12 years because he's -- >> and the transportation piece that mike mentioned also matters a lot. getting people to jobs. >> one quick chart.

this shows where income mobility is greatest and least great. so in the south or that dark orange, that's the least mobile parts of the country. also the upper midwest. up in the great plains and places like that the most mobility in all the light yellow sort of somewhere in between. and a whole bunch of factors that go into this including how people live. i thought about it when you mentioned transportation. that plays huge. >> i want to go back to that chart over the next hour. that is fascinating. >> thank you, steve. coming up, ray kelly will be here onset. also li gallagher. we'll talk to michael haney and up next, murray abraham. up next, the top stories in the political playbook.

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time toe tack a look at the papers. al qaeda is apologizing for one of its terrorist attacks. it says it never thoauthorized fighters to open fire at a hospital. the attack killed more than 50 people. a statement reads in part, we offer our apology and condolences to the victims' peoples. we accept full responsibility for what happened in the hospital and will he pay blood money for the victims' families. the terrorist group says it was still committed to waging jihad. >> wow. from our parade of papers, saelgts po seattle post intelligence, a

teen caught in cross fire was saved by her eyeglasses. she was sitting on her couch when gunfire broke out, one of rounds ricocheted off the bridge of her glasses and she escaped with only minor injuries. so far no arrests. usa today oidtoday, the fal the credit card breach continues to moupts. millions of stolen accounts are already on sale on the black market. victims filed three class action lawsuits seeking $5 million in damages. target offered a 10% it is count ov discount over the weekend and will provide free credit monitoring for at risk customers. and apple and china mobile finally reached a deal making iphones available in china next month. that's huge, isn't it? >> how many customers is that? >> unbelievable. you know it's a big story when you're driving -- i think i was

maybe somewhere friday night, saturday. and that came across as breaking news from the times. i mean, it's a massive deal. >> chinese living here would buy them and send them back to china where they would get hacked. so there is a huge demand. >> 760 million subscribe irs. >> anchorman 2 made almost $27 million. it's below estimates considering its marketing campaign. disney's frozen was which i took the kids to see, they absolutely loved it, a really good holiday

film. american hustle, which mike you say is really good. >> really good. >> and save willing bapgs whiin look goods. have you seen anchorman yet? >> i have. >> do we speak truth to power here? do we reveal the truth about the easter bunny? >> did you see it? >> yeah, i saw it with andrew this weekend. >> did andrew like it? >> i'm the wrong person to ask about will ferrell because i still laugh -- >> i like will ferrell. >> how many times did you laugh? >> a you few times. >> two hour movie? >> five or six times. it wasn't -- listen, it was not terrible. it really wasn't.

but you know what, they had a long time to write a better crypt. script? >> could you call it good? >> well, everything is that will ferrell does is good.>> could y? >> well, everything is that will ferrell does is good.script? >> could you call it good? >> well, everything is that will ferrell does is good.>> could y? >> well, everything is that will ferrell does is good.script? >> could you call it good? >> well, everything is that will ferrell does is good. >> it's not teterrible, but i don't think it's as good as you want to be. i don't think it even qualifies as good. >> is that the blush on an ad, it's not terrible? >> it's not terrible. >> sorry, it just wasn't good.r it's not terrible? >> it's not terrible. >> sorry, it just wasn't good.b, it's not terrible? >> it's not terrible. >> sorry, it just wasn't good.h it's not terrible? >> it's not terrible. >> sorry, it just wasn't good. it's not terrible? >> it's not terrible. >> sorry, it just wasn't good. >> i'm glad i saw it especially with all the hype. >> but i wanted to be awesome. >> are you ready to go to politico now? >> certainly worth watching on hbo or downloading on apple when the time comes. >> with us now, mike allen with the morning playbook. senator harry reid says his top

agenda item for 2014 is extending unemployment benefits. the day after christmas, liberal groups will try to shame republicans for failing to extend the emergency aid. this political ad is set to run nationally on cable. take a look. >> tune who had a merry christmas? the richest 1%. that's who. republicans in congress made sure of that protecting billions in taxpayer giveaways and for those facing tough times, republicans stripped 1.3 million americans of jobless benefit, folks who want to work but cannot find a be job, kicking them to the curb. so for for the 1.3 million, merry christmas from the gop. it's wrong to leave more than a million americans behind. tell republicans restore unemployment benefits now. >> i'm a little confused. didn't that deal pass through the democrat senate and get signed by the president? >> what we'll see is december

28th for people who have been out of work 26 weeks or longer, those are the people that will lose their benefits. so democrats are out saying republicans are bad santas. and are going to run this ad nationally for two days, remind people who are home for christmas that in a couple days some people won't be enjoying as much. right in you unemployment benefits for some people goes as long as 73 weeks. >> so harry reid will make this priority number one in the new year for democrats? >> he says that when he comes back, they of course will also do some nominations, they have made that deal to pass the fed chairman, janet yellen. but this is something democrats will start the year with. they think it's a way to push republicans back on their heel as they start the year. >> i think they're pushing the wrong button. politically i think they're pushing the wrong button. i think if i wereic party, i wo

other minimum wage and put guys like me in an uncomfortable position. $10 per hour, i think that's the way to go. >> how can you justify cutting off unemployment benefits to people who can't find jobs? this is where the unemployment problem is. not people out of work three weeks or six weeks. it's the the long term unemployed. >> all right, mike allen, thank you so much. >> have a great holiday week. >> you, too. >> did you hear him mention the movie everyone has to see? bad santa. >> classic. >> what is bad santa? >> it's foul and hilarious. >> is it out now? >> it came out many years ago. but it's like how -- >> is it porn? >> no, it's not porn.

>> yes, john heilemann is recommending porn. >> bad santa. >> there is no pornography in this, although there is reference to things that occur in porn. >> do you know who loves christmas? >> this guy. >> oh, yeah. he loves christmas. >> what is next? >> coming up, a record setting day for peyton manning. and while his broncos know their playoff position, there are more than ale few spots still up for grabs. "morning joe" is next. we're aig. and we're here. to help secure retirements and protect financial futures. to help communities recover and rebuild. for companies going from garage to global. on the ground, in the air, even into space.

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so sports. >> this guy will do sports. week 16 in the nfl, playoff picture still isn't set. bears and eagles fighting for division title. end the first quarter, eagles crushed the bears. nick foles, wide accept tight end. jay cutler throws a pick six. philly wins 54-11.

and they still booed this them in philadelphia. that's what they do. dallas and washington, tony romo.philadelphia. that's what they do. dallas and washington, tony romo. he was a hero yesterday. fourth quarter, down by six, cowboys on their own 28. he throws deep hitting terrance williams. a few plays later, fourth and goal, romo finds demarco murray who falls in for the score. great catch. dallas wins it, 24-23. nfc south, saints/panthers, less than a minute to go, down by three. cam newton steps up and does his best tom brady impression, hits ted ginn up the middle. sets up a 14 yard strike. pap thers win la panthers win late. seattle seahawks can't be beat at home, right? >> nobody will ever beat them at home. >> let's see.

fourth quarter, 31 yard touchdown. so cards beat the seahawks at home. >> what? >> at home. >> impossible. >> got the that wrong. >> here is the question. can anybody beat the seahawks in the nfc?he that wrong. >> here is the question. can anybody beat the seahawks in the nfc?e that wrong. >> here is the question. can anybody beat the seahawks in the nfc? that wrong. >> here is the question. can anybody beat the seahawks in the nfc?that wrong. >> here is the question. can anybody beat the seahawks in the nfc? who has the best shot? >> you know -- >> hard to say? >> carolina is really interesting. >> saints could beat them. >> i think carolina would have a better shot. they're hot, they're on a role. cam newton is spec tack you cuellar it turns out. >> and it turns out the cardinals can beat them, too. >> speaking of spectacular, the patriots. >> bill belichick's best coaching job ever. all new england yesterday. right from the start, down in baltimore, pats go up two

scores. rough day for joe flacco. here he goes. boom. >> wow. >> not good. >> that is just not a great way to spend -- >> watch joe. >> come on, stop that. that's not fair. >> patriots rib tcrush the rave home. how about peyton manning. he passed tom brady's single season tu touch down mark yesterday with this 25 yard strike to julius thomas in the fourth quarter against the text apes. it was his 51st touchdown pass of the season. the broncos beat houston to improve to 12-3. >> and there of course elway took a lot of criticism for not embracing another quarterback. but, wow. >> it this could be a playoff preview. andrew luck is everything that

he thought he would be.t this c preview. andrew luck is everything that he thought he would be. this co preview. andrew luck is everything that he thought he would be.this cou preview. andrew luck is everything that he thought he would be. colts won in kansas city 23-7. >> are they not going to make it through? >> they have had a tough month. andy reid is just incredible job, though. >>. >> the way this will line up is the way the one companies and patriots play for the nfc title game? >> yeah. >> depends how the black kets with set. >> absolutely that could happen. and you ever the ravens, chanlgers and steelers still in the hunt. what about ravens struggling to get in this year. up next, leigh gallagher is here. we'll take a closer look at that very telling chart steve showed us earlier on how where you live impacts your chances of getting ahead. how are things with the new guy?

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powering our lives... while reducing emissions by up to 60%. energy lives here. ♪ here with us now, author of the book the end of the suburbs, leigh gallagher with a present. >> i can do have a present. it's no yfor you guys and i kno you'll share it with everyone. >> i love presents. >> cash? >> it's not cash, no. how can i top steve's present. but this is a different category entirely. >> so while she's opening this, we have something really important to get to. steve showed a fascinating chart not so long ago showing how location matters when it comes to economic mobility.

explain this chart and i want leigh who has written an incredible book to follow up. >> the academics basically took income mobility data and theygr and loes. it's lowest in the deep south. >> the higher the number the better, right? >> the bluer the color the better, redder the worst. so for example in atlanta, if you were born in the born 20% has only a 4% chance of moving up to the top. if you're in new york, a child born in the bottom 10% as a 10% chance of moving up to the top. there are a lot of reasons, but it includes the way people organize. so for example atlanta is a city where people of low incomes or high incomes tend to be very aggregated.

distances are great. there is data where schools are better. so they plotted it place by place. >> what did you find? >> atlanta is really a case study for a number of reasons. the typ"times" did a great seri. people have a drive forget the nicest house the farthest we can go away or a house if we can only go farther. and that keeps people so are far away from their jobs that it is bankrupting them to get to and from work every day. if they have a job. so that's one point another thing is just the geeing on grief of prosperity in this country is so wildly diverse. if you look at for example today key dakotas, it was and you blue. california, much higher.

there a vast difference regionally.california, much hig. there a vast difference regionally. >> it was first agriculture and now energy. >> it's fracking. those cities there are 24/7 boomtowns right now. >> yet we have governors, for instance andrew cuomo, that is stopping fracking here. >> there is also natural gas exploration. what's happening in north dakota is a little different before the fracking department is fraught for good reason. i saw data the greater the income in-equal, not only is social moelt is hard, but teen pregnancies are high, education suffers more. all these other things happen when you have just the plain old

income inequality. it drives other things. >> i think that sort of sums it up. it is a problem that as you look at this data from around the country, you can see some of the factors we were talking be it beginning of the show and now, you can see them play out in real cities like atlanta and new york. >> but how depressing that i guess -- let's show the chart again. if you're a kid in new york, you only have a 10% chance of leaving the bottom? >> and get all the way to the top. you have 2.5 times greater chance if you're in new york. >> so l.a. and -- >> some of the best, yes, salt lake, san francisco, l.a., boston. >> what is also interesting is the persistent problem of urban

unemployment. >> suburban poverty has been through the roof. and think that reflects a lot of what we're talking about. >> but specific neighborhoods of large cities, boston, new york, chicago, philadelphia, there are people who no matter where the jobs are, they're not located near where they have lived for decades. they cannot get to the job. >> very true. >> leigh, thank you. this is very dish will you issues. i'm saying thank you for the christmas gift. >> the other side of me is italian, so this is a classic italian holiday cake. >> i love it. we'll have it in the break. everyone i think who comes on the show today should bringpaja. coming up, police commissioner ray kelly will be with us. are you ready grandma? just a second, sweetie.

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coming up, the a.p. top stories of 2013. we'll break down the whole list of the year's biggest headlines.

and which ones their editors picked as number one. honestly, i'm not looking for five-star treatment. i get times are tight. but it's hard to get any work done like this. then came this baby -- small but with windows and office. it runs my work stuff. ...and i can use apps like flipboard for news, or xbox video to watch the shows i'm never home to see... and i can still get work done at the same time. excuse me, do you mind if i... yep. ♪ honestly, i wanna see you be brave ♪

leaving your current job early next year. are you excited? in i'm excited to be hosting the tonight show oig as well as bringing it back to new york city. and thip five yethen five years

that the night"nightly news". and then carson daly. >> i'll be fulfilling a life long dreerm of enjoying a small soda on a nonsmoking beach. >> welcome back to "morning j " joe". with us now, here with the a.p. top ten stories of 2013. it's a long running tradition dating. >> a lot of stories. let's start with number ten. >> there were a lot of true crime stories. the one that stood out was the horrible case in cleveland, the guy ariel castro who had ob abducted three women, kept them for years. he hung himself in prison.abduc

for years. he hung himself in prison. that was number ten. number nine was syria, civilian casualties and you wove in the sub plot, a lot of aspects to it. that was number nine. >> and number eight, the tragedy in the philippines. >> there were big natural disasters. and this had a visceral impact on people in the states. death toll kept rising. so not over yet. >> number seven? >> it's hard afternoon for obituaries to make this list, but there was something about nelson mandela . he meant so much to so many around the globe. >> this is a story with huge impact around the world. >> list name is right up there with mohammed ali.

>> and the legalization of gay marriage. >> that is a story still having ripple effects. just on friday in utah, a federal judge declared same-sex marriage in utah of all states. cited the ruling that said the federal government had to recognize same-sex marriage. >> number five, a story that began as a leak case, edward snowden, has just continued for balloon. >> and change in dimension. >> and this month we had a federal judge saying what the nsa did was unconstitutional. >> so talk about a never ending story. we haven't seen half of that story yet. amazing ripple impact. >> and number four, divided congress. >> well, there is another story that never seems to end sadly. all year long, congress has kept

sinking in the polls. the debate over the filibuster having a that nas nasty after e. >> probably one of the top ten in 2012, as well. >> i think it was worst this year, but absolutely it doesn't go away. >> was shutdown part of that story? >> absolutely. >> so any reason to believe things will get better next year? >> no. in the context of the election year, i can't imagine that -- we know generally as a rule that election years are more political, more polarized, less producti productive. i don't see any reason to think it will be different this time. you have so many primaries in the states, senate races and congressional races that tends to push members to the extremes. so with the primary focus, as

bad as this year was, i think next year could be worse. >> number three is a stunner when they announced the election of the new pope, certainly there was news to this story that it was the first pope from -- in how many years? hundreds of years. this is another story. like the nsa spaying case. on the other he said of tend of spectrum, it keeps growing. >> probably would have made the list if it was just pope benedict resigning. then to have the new pope with a new tone and new way of talking, it's fascinated people. catholics and noncatholics. so i think that's part of why it is such a huge story. >> i think it's an example also how one person, one person can often a leader be the cause for

transformation and for massive, massive change. >> he broke the mold completely. he shattered it. >> no question we talked about edward snowden being "times" person of the year, but internationally, this guy is person of the year. >> you think about the previous pope and it will be like a historical blip. this pope seems to have made more change tohan the previous pope did this his entire tenure. >> benedict will always be remembered as the pope between john paul ii who played a role in the freeing of 100 million people behind the iron occur tip and this pope who is thirt ally shaking things up in a way. and i don't think we've seent biggest shocks. we've seen how he projects to

the rest of the world. it seems like inside the walls of the vatican, that is where the big change is coming. if what we've heard is the truth, he is going to shake things up in the vatican in a way they have not been shaken up. >> and save the church. >> and he's trying to get people on board as he does that. you can see that process going on. >> number two. >> number two, a sad story we all obviously all remember too well. but talk about this. >> what's interesting, there were a lot of horrible things that happened this year. there were other terrorism attacks, the thick in kenya. this one somehow seemed to stand out to u.s. news editors even though the death toll was not huge. but there was something about

where it happened, traditional sporting event. so something about the story that was different. wasn't just the death toll, but something else. and i think it really hit home to americans, how could it happen there. >> and also it struck at our greatest fear that terrorism could come to our shores and could be hatched by a couple of disaffected students who went on the internet to figure out how to shut down an american city. respond to the fact that the entire city of boston was shut down for several days. and i wonder whether in retrospect that was the last choice to make the message it sends. >> you don't want to second guess local law enforcement. they eventually found the perpetrators. certainly you're right about the fact that it strikes the home grown terror fear that has been with us in an intense way since 9/11 and this is the first big

manifestation of it. but this story although you can pinpoint to that day in april, it's a story that continued throughout the year. you see the way the city rallied after this over the course of the months later, around the team, around the red sox, but in general. you go up there, you spend a lot of time up there this fall, boston exhibited an extraordinary a resilience in the months that followed. they rallied around the team and won the world series. and we'll see this next marathon in a few months and there is no doubt it will be the biggest marathon ever. people will stand up and in a spirit of both resilience and resolute nance, they shoel it won't keep people down forever. >> you see it nationwide much in the way people rallied around morning after 9/11 and new orleans after hurricane katrina.

you see nationwide support of our cities and people really -- the boston strong message. there were t-shirts everywhere. >> they rallied around first responde responders, as well. but after the world series, all the celebrations. somebody wins something this boston, a car or two may be overturned, but after the series, we were filing out and the crowds were jammed trying to cross the bridge. and everybody was screaming, yelling, celebrating. and a line of cops went up the side of the bridge and everybody stopped and turned and applauded. it was remarkable. >> one of my colleagues said we should have had in effect a boston entry, the bearded ones he called them. but it was a good idea actually. >> so i've been trying to stall before we get to number one because unfortunately, we have had to talk about this too many

days. you talk about a slow motion train wreck when you talk about the launch or you talk about the response to the launch or you talk about the shutdown in washington or you talk about website or the backtrack by the administration. there are about 20 different strains to this story and every different one standing alone would be a big story by themselves. >> more than one story. at minimum, it's a political story. serious political story for obama and the democrats. and incredible consumer story at the same time for millions of americans. either the ones directly affected by this or others who are wondering how the whom national health care system is going to play out. so it is huge politically and consumer wise. >> where do we stand -- you can

talk sticker shock, but now the insurance companies who were handed this universal mandate and thought this would end up being good for them. now they're finding that the rules keep changing and they're complaining that the rules won't work. >> and they plan not only the rules changing, but they plan on the numbers that are estimated. you need these millions to offset the cost of other people that will cost more. so you need the people that will get the individual mandate. we all know that. but you have interesting people who have been supporting of this law from day one. ceo of aetna is a good example. there are people who are big supporters of it. >> appealing to the young and healthy. now i get it. thank you so much.

that's better effect. you dressed up like pajama boy. >> exactly. >> you look great. do you have the flap? >> i do. >> oh, my gosh. joe is pajama boy. thank you for helping obamacare, joe. >> okay took us an hour and 12 minutes to figure it out. can i have a latte? >> let's look forward because fortune magazine looked into its krystal ball for the year ahead and what did fortune tell? >> we did, we did our odds meter for 2014. so we had a number of different predictions all across the board. things like amazon will buy the post office. which of course isn't technically possible, but who is to say it wouldn't be privatized. >> who is to say. >> certainly not us. >> no one around this table. >> the arctic circle will be a huge hot bed, very hot spot next year because it holds so much

natural gas reserves and six different nations lay climb to slices of that pie. so that will be a bto big topic conversation. next brooklyns, we picked cleveland, ohio. i swear to god -- >> you're high on crack. >> it has three different neighborhoods this downtown cleveland that are kind of very hipsteresque and they are gordon square, ohio city and tremont oig. a huge downtown revitalization happening there. so is that one. another we picked is louisville, kentucky. there are food trucks everywhere, a flee market that yelp says came straight out of -- these are more hipster -- >> you you know what those cities are? the next hoboken. which is not bad.

we love hoboken. >> and we actually picked detroit as one of the next brooklyns. because there is so much activity happening in downtown detroit right now. there are companies moving in to get great deals. there is a great handcrafted watchmaker doing a lot of stuff there. dan gilbert is doing so much. but young college educated people are moving there. that population has actually grown in the last decade. >> and we were there obviously this past year quite a few times. and there is a core to downtown detroit that you go to downtown detroit, you look at the occupancy rates, you look at the $11 billion in investment, you look at the fact it's actually hard to find real estate in downtown detroit. they're building a core. and we were really surprised by what we saw. we have to go, but talking about

the three cities that are facing tough times. >> the next detroit. so we picked a part of rhode island, a one time textile hub and fell victim to deindustrialization. and a lot of cuts to state aid. so that's been hard. another one is puerto rico which has a long simmering fiscal crisis, a lot of debt, high unemployment rate. people are leaving. it's a place to advice i, bvisie is fiscal pcrisis. and fresno, california. it has and ongoing issue with gangs. foreclosures are still a problem although getting better. so there are many others, too, that are not in such great shape. >> all right. thank you so much. david, thanks for coming back. we love having you. up next, ray kelly's exit interview. what is next for new york's outgoing police commissioner?

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commissioner ray kelly, great shot of new york, like 80 degrees out there. >> unbelievable. >> so you'll be leaving us soon and we were panicked. it helps bill bratton will be following your foot steps. talk about bill. >> talk about bill? bill is more than able to -- >> say something nice about him really quickly. >> he's probably the most experienced police executive in america. he's headed the boston police department, los angeles police

department, now new york city. so i think we'll be in good hands. >> so let's talk but you. i have a lot of friends in the agency that always -- they don't complain because it's their job, but they say when the cia stops a terror attack, there is no headline. if we stub our toe, it's an -- since you have been in new york city, 15, 16 terror plots and they have all been stoppeded. how did that happen? >> it happened as a result of good work on the part of the fbi and nypd and shear luck. there were some people that simply weren't on our radar screen but happenstance made it so that we were able to stop them. but others were sopped as a result of outstanding investigations. >> so what do you do in your position to increase the odds that these are stopped? >> well, i think we --

>> a lot of it does come down to luck. >> it does. but we have devoted over 1,000 police officers every day or full-time equivalents to our counterterrorism efforts. we have honed our language skills. we have assigned our offices to 11 cities overseas to have their ear to the ground, to see if there is anything going on that can help us better protect new york. >> one of the most surprising stats has do with the fact that new york has picked up half a million residents since you became commissioner and yet crime has dropped 33%. it's dropped by a third since you've been commissioner despite the fact we have half a million more people and new york murder rates, we're on pace right now to be under 400 historically. we've seen nothing like this this new york city. >> we're at 329 now. so significantly below 400.

but i think it's important to point out we have 6,000 fewer police officers now than we had in 2001. >> what is the key to that? >> the reason for it is obviously budget pressures. but i think we've been able to do more with less as a result of good work. >> i'm sorry, i wasn't talking about the fewer cops on the street. i'm talking about the lower murder rates. >> well, one the thing that wor well is what we call operation crew cut. it focuses on the young gangs. about 30% of the shootings and murders are associated with them and i think that's one of the reasons why. last year was a record low year for murders. this year we're 20% employ that. i think that has been a major factor. obviously we pay attention to domestic violence, as well. so a lot of things are working. hopefully they will continue to work. >> i think we probably can't

have this conversation with at least touching on stop and fr k frisk. 90% of murders are domestic disputes, so that's not stop and frisk. >> 19%. >> sorry. 19%. so what is your advice, why do we need stop and frisk? >> it's not a program. it's a fundamental tool practiced throughout you law enforcement and it's done to a much higher rate in other major cities than done here in new york, a little known fact. it is something police officers have to have in their tool kit. if you see something of a suspicious nature, police officers investigate. so we have done a lot. we have and ongoing training program. every day police officers from the street go to our firing range, they're trained by

attorneys, by experienced police officers. we have the executive officers in all our precincts monitoring each stop. so i think we're doing everything that is reasonable. as you know, there was a lawsuit in which the judge found our practices to be incorrect racial profiling. an interesting term that had never been used before. that decision was put on hold, you might say, because the judge was found to have partiality in the run up to the trial. now, there is an appeal that hopefully will go forward. that's a decision for mayor elect de blasio. >> so it could go on forever, but let me ask you this way. if you had to make adjustments to the tool, what would they somebody if you had to make some -- >> we have made adjustments.

we'll see what new adjustments will be coming out. training is a key. we train every day. we have this auditing process that goes on for our executives every time someone is stopped and fors are filled out, then they're reviewed and the offices are spoken to if in fact there is any question based on it. so i think it is important again to emphasize, this is a fundamental tool, a function that all police officers must have. and they have it across america. and quite frankly, across the world. now, a lot of times it's simply not reported. cities are not required to report it or record it on paper forms. ours is in the day base. so to a certain extent we're being penalized for better record keeping. but it is fundamental to police. >> human nature, the scale and

scope of this city, its range, the numbers of different peems livie peoples living here, languages. can we look forward to increasingly declining crime rates or have we reached a threshold? >> interesting you say that because i think it's important to point out our police department have offices born in 106 countries. this is the most diverse city in the world. 106 countries. so we reflect the most diverse better than any other city agency. but no other police department reflects the population that they police like we do. hopefully we can continue to see declining crime rates. you're talking about income inequality earlier. those things all have to be factored in. >> how large is the force today? >> we have 34,800 officers plus

15,000 civilians. >> what was it when you took office? >> it was close to 40,000. >> so what has happened in new york city that since 2001 and since you've come on board where crime has dropped 40% in this city while we hear reports every day of another murder coming out of chicago? what have you done right that other cities could adopt? like for instance chicago. what could chicago do? >> you can't compare cities -- >> i understand. but you have to have some idea. >> the superintendent there is an outstanding police professional. what we've done here is focused our resources where the problem is. we have what we call operation impact where we take large numbers of police officers, even though the head count is going down, take large number of

officers and put them where the work is. sounds like a no-brainer, but it's not done in other places necessarily. operation crew cut that i told you about has worked very well. we're using technology. we put in a real time crime center. doesn't exist anywhere else. >> do you fear incoming mayor de blasio will reverse a lot of these policies? >> i don't know. i simply don't know. it's fair to say that a lot of things are unknown about the mayor elect. so we'll find out. >> does new york city become a more dangerous police without all the policies that you have in place right now including stop and frisk? >> well, it can never be eliminated. it will not be eliminated, i can assure you. so it will be a practice that will continue. we'll see what sort of changes or amendments can be done to it. it's very difficult to say we

don't want you -- or we want you to do only a certain number of them. it's very hard to sort of hc-- although it's reduced significantly now possibly as a result of training but also officers are somewhat reluctant to use it these days. >> has there been an explosion in crime since it was reduced? >> no, there is a trend, slight upward trend, but we complained associate that wi can't associate that with the practice. >> well, thank you so much for being with us. >> what is next, where are you going? >> i'm going to become a distinguished fellow at the department of foreign relations. and i'll be doing other things, as well. >> all right. thank you so much. great to have you here, mr.

commissioner. thank you so much on behalf of a very grateful city to for all you've done. >> f. murray abraham jones us at the table next. and an interview in the new issue of gq magazine that headlines last week. you may have heard about it, duck dynasty. michael haney weighs in on theity lem made. avo: the volkswagen "sign then drive sales event is back. which means it's never been easier to get a new passat, awarded j.d. power's most appealing midsize car, two years in a row. and right now you can drive one home for practically just your signature. get zero due at signing, zero down, zero deposit, and zero first month's payment on any new 2014 volkswagen.

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we sure had wild weather, but now things are starting to calm down. we just have to get through some rain on the east coast. look at the temperatures. colder air will work in once the cold front clears the coast. we still have spotty showers across new england and even freezing rain through central and northern new england. but you can see that heavy rain moving through western maryland and racing through virginia. that is going to take hold in areas like new york city town through philadelphia and into washington, d.c. before it starts to spread further to the east. we could have 1 to 2 inches of rain through parts of virginia

and the higher elevations back through north carolina. but everywhere else, it is going to start calming down. most of this week, we will see much quieter weather, much colder weather, too. we're going from about 60 today in washington, d.c. down into the 40s. and by christmas day, it will feel like it with temperatures in the 30s. don't go anywhere. you're watching morning joi joe oig. e oig.oig. . you make a great team.

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obama held in 2008 when he at the saddle back church with john mccain made it clear that he opposed same-sex marriage and he said he did so because he was a christian and because of his biblical views. well, if that position was okay in 2008, how come it isn't okay in 2013 or 2014? >> mike huckabee weighing in on the duck dynasty controversy. with us now, the man who started it, michael haney. i'm sure you're proud of yourself. we'll talk about that in a second. but hipster john heilemann, you have to comment on this cover. you nailed it. let's talk about this cover and what this cover has in common with every other cover of gq over the past year. >> guys in ties from the tie bar. >> he knows it's tie bar.com. >> i'm an avid reader. what can i say?

>> they all wear knit ties? >> we love the knit tie. very versatile. >> i have a couple. >> that's how i knew that the trend had hit that -- jumped the shark when i see barnicle with the knit tie. >> you know the housing market is about to collapse. so maybe getting in to real estate isn't the best idea. so i guess we just have to start with the duck dynasty controversy. did you have any idea it would explode like this? >> there is talk about making it dq, duck quarterly. i'm not sure. but, no, it's a great show. we were excited to do it because it has 12 million people who watch it every week. we knew that his comments were, what shall we say, they were going to get -- >> it would be explosive. >> they would get attention. >> what did you think of his comments? >> i think it's all in the magazine. the fact that it's dominated the airwaves, every has an opinion on it. >> mika was asking for your

opinion. which you artfully didn't give. >> gq is a fantastic magazine and -- >> come on. >> it's for the tv shows to decide. you get paid to sdecide. >> so did you think these comments would sell? >> he won't answer. >> we were excited to do the story. it's a huge show. >> that's like -- >> congressman haney, please -- the art of saying nothing. >> let's go around the table. what would you say? >> i'm excited about your next issue where you talk about a and e crawls back because they make so much money for them and they stopped out it too quickly. hollywood is about money. is a and e really going to flush this series away? >> the family owns the -- they want to walk away, but it owns their life rights. so it will be -- but like i say, there are 12 million people

watching every week. >> almost as many as watch this show. >> you talk about the new capital of cool in america. what is the new capital of cool? in los angel >> los angeles, california. >> is it really? >> i was driving around there and this is like the place to be. hotel california. why isn't it still the place? it's warm, it's beautiful. and it's hip now. >> you you can check out anytime you like but you can never leave. down up to l.a., a whole renaissance happening there. much like it's happened in new york with brookebrooklyn, a surk to the center of the city. >> as a native, there was a long period of time people talk about how you can stay west of the 405 and be in that part of town. now the down up to development

has been incredible for fashion, for food. the food straituation is off th charts there. i say this as a committed brooklyn and new york person. but the l.a. fo a. food scene i really the place. >> all of that might great, but no place is ever the coolest place in the united states of america where you have to live in a car in order to go anywhere. >> that's the advantage of down up to l.a.. it's actually walk were. >> we were talking about waltham the other day. >> so you think the hottest food scene right now is in los angeles? >> los angeles is out of control right now. and particularly downtown where you can still get cheap space. >> so help us out here, michael. for somebody that is going to

l.a. this year -- this is your magazine. don't be so shocked. so for somebody that is going to l.a. let's say between christmas and new year, like me who is poli policefully unaware of this, what would they do? >> withere is the ace hotel tha has opened up and then the map there lots of fantastic restaurants. many super cheap and innovative. in a town that you think their great contribution was the cobb salad, but -- >> don't make fun of the cobb salad. >> everything from the food tac off the trucks, the food truck phenomenon, the pop-up restaurant if a nom thon. >> you're right about all that. but let me ask you, in downtown l.a., and you have collision of all these great things occurring and the homeless. homeless population in downtown

has mushroomed over the last ten years. isn't there a collision of sorts? >> you look at new york, it's part of what the city is figuring out. the government there, they want the renovation, but part of if is sort of -- >> what you had before is downtown was basically a ghost town full of homeless pipe. now there is some economic development happening which can't be but for the good to be able to get jobs going down there. >> true. >> so michael, fascinating. broadly cooper, friend of the show. you say he is now an a-list guy. >> oh, it was the a-list. >> mika just woke up. >> look at that picture. what is important about that picture? >> no socks. >> no socks. >> so i can just say this.

you were mocking me for wearing no socks like four years ago. i'm so far ahead of the curve. >> we didn't mock you. >> you know what else is fascinating about this suit? it's the italian's answer to the american khaki suit which is -- >> it's green, that olive sort of -- >> which is the answer to the american khaki suit is the olive suit. read your own magazine, damn it. i know it may be a holiday, but -- >> hey. >> don't look at me for help. >> it's the holidays and he's swearing. do you kiss santa with that mouth? >> we did talk about the olive suit. >> it's very continental. this is a great option for the spring. it's december right now, but in march, april, may, joe will be wearing it. >> it looks great.

really does. >> without socks. >> and wear it with a mid tie and tie bar. >> mike barnicle is now wearing a night tie. that's like when my friend said invest in real estate, you knew it was time to get out, the market was about to crash. >> barnicle has socks on. >> i know we have to run. let's show one more picture. i love this look right here. of course i weigh 800 pounds, so that's why i was mocked, but that is a fantastic look. >> it's why we do gq to inspire to you look better. >> so will you answer my questions? the new issue of gq is out now. because you didn't answer my question today, michael haney. thank you so much. >> merry christmas. >> up next -- >> say hi to your mother. >> i will. thank you. >> our next guest went from the corporate board room to working in some of the world's poorest places. his inspiring push to break the

cycle of poverty next on "morning joe". [ male announcer ] if you can clear a crowd but not your nasal congestion, you may be muddling through allergies. try zyrtec-d®. powerful relief of nasal congestion and other allergy symptoms -- all in one pill. zyrtec-d®. at the pharmacy counter.

here with us now, founder, president, and ceo of a nonprofit organization that aims to break the cycle of poverty and illiteracy. he is the coauthor of the book walk in their shoes. can one person change the world? the answer is? >> absolutely. we can't do it alone, but if we unite behind what we believe in, we can make a change. >> we have been talking about income inequality and you took a trip that changed your life after college and saw it on a global scale in a big way. >> after college i worked a couple of jobs and saved money and backpacked and hitch hiked around the world and spent a lot of time in developing countries. i was overwhelmed when in nepal i passed through the village where they were celebrating the

building of a school they built with their own hands. instead of seeing the injustice of extreme poverty, i am seeing the hope around education and saw that same hope in inner cities and accounted to act on that. i chickened out and i took a job that took me over a year to get the courage up to do it. >> you quit your job and helped build over 500 schools. >> 587 schools in africa and 80 in nicaragua and nepal. >> you have been at this 20 years? >> 22 years. >> how do you fund this? how do you raise money? >> we have i generous supporters. we are running after school programs and 62 in detroit, chicago, oakland and san francisco. we are in the south bronx and harlem. >> are these charter schools?

>> these are challenged high schools. ge is a major supporter and we get a lot of donations from individuals and small and large gifts. we have a diverse base. we are fortunate and grateful for everyone who comes together. >> how much of a challenge do you have in getting the schools built and what are the best and worst places to work? >> good questions. we face less than you would imagine. the biggest we face is the first school we built in africa. by the grace of god my brother was able to take me and when i came out and went back to the village, they said two more hours away from the hospital i would have been dead. the community member when is they contract malaria, they don't have a near death experience, they die. the reason is extreme poverty.

they don't have $20 to get to a hospital and they don't have nets. we had to get the school built. if they could, they could break the cycle of extreme poverty through education. theest challenges are things like that. we have 150 kids and it changed the trajectory forever. >> it's hard to talk about what it's like, but you had an experience that gave you a clims. can you tell us about that? >> my son, jack, contracted encephalitis when he was 6 years old in intensive care and icu and spent 26 days in the hospital and didn't think he would survive and didn't think he would walk or talk again. he would come to it and he's in the third great and doing pretty

well. it gave me a sense for the challenges that people in our communities face. when they contract issues like this, they don't pull through. by the grace of god, jack is with us and do well. he's one of my heroes. >> you named him after your father? >> i did. >> you said deep your faithy faith and test your limits. >> he showed me and he passed away nine years ago from pancreatic cancer. he survived for almost two years. he just faced his own death with such courage and grace and inspired me and in a lot of ways he taught me how to die. if you know how to die, you live each day a lot more fully. >> the book is walk in their shoes. thank you so much. >> thanks for having me. merry christmas and happy

holidays. >> still ahead -- >> nobody told me. >> you may know him from the homeland series. f murray abraham will be here. his critically acclaimed new film. he writes to defend the cuts to military pensions. "morning joe" will be right back.

. and good morning. it is december 23rd, the day before the day before christmas. withes on set, we have m snbcms mike barnacle. msnbc political analyst. hi. good to see you. >> look at this outfit. >> i'm looking at it. >> this is the best thing. can we have a picture for a second? great news for everybody around the set. you look like margaret thatcher. this is going to be your parting gift. you get that hanging over your fireplace. >> for all of your homes. you have with us former treasury official and economic's steet

ratner. >> i brought this for you? >> can i open it now? >> it's a single. >> open presents. i need a camera. i need a camera. bring the camera over here. you will see this along with everybody else. >> can we clear this first? >> what in the world? >> this is awesome in a very weird, weird way.

i want one. >> that's just embarrassing. this guy. okay. that is very nice. what's most disturbing is the thought. are you serious? did you hand paint those? >> i have been working on it. that is fantastic.

i'm pging of that. >> the little guys have faces. their eyes are painted and everything. >> you are this guy. i love christmas. >> when did you get these shirts? everybody wants these shirts now. >> k mart? >> who knew. >> retail shopping. >> do you have a present? >> it was more of a public nothinging. humiliation. just a little. >> that's a good one. it's disturbing too. >> it's very disturbing.

if you hadn't frisked me. it's 16 or 17 hours painting the odds. wait a second. i didn't know the rules. the next time i came out. i know there is a wild outbreak across the country. >> record highs and tornados. always up across maine when temperatures were in the 30s. in new york city, 61 matching that in philadelphia and washington, d.c. too. it's not going to last that much longer. the cold front will cool back the 30s in time for christmas. we have lake effect snow and

back to parts of nebraska and kansas. it won't be that much, but it will make things slippery up and about. three inches of rain in parts of virginia and north carolina. it is going to end up being a mild day. we are looking at cold temperatures, especially back through minneapolis. it is 1 and feels like 17 below. here we go. even though it's 60 degrees out and i'm sweating in here. now i can go back to bed. it's over. bedtime. >> you need the chain outside. there we go. we are in full effect now. that's it. that's all i got. >> so let me ask you quickly. it's bizarre that you are wearing something like that.

it's like 80 degrees outside. did we get any record highs? >> yesterday. 100%. it got to 71 in new york city. 67 in central park yesterday morning. >> of course last just last week it was like 15 degrees. it's a wild swing. christmas eve. >> tomorrow is like 40, but christmas day 36. it will be right back into what you expect. >> the record high. >> that was good stuff. >> thank you. >> so i guess we are going to vo have to get to some news. >> this guy likes news. >> the fact that there two joes. it's just disturbing.

>> there is heilman and barnacle right in front. >> this is disturbing. really disturbing. you think about it way too much. you have to go with it. go ahead. knowing that everything they wanted in the budget deal, this is like christmas. you get everything you want and the lack of unemployment benefits stands out as a sore spot. emergency coverage for 1.3 million jobless americans officially expires on saturday. the length of unemployment coverage varies by state, but among the worst hit california and new york that will see hundreds of thousands lose out through 2014. democrats and liberal groups will kickoff a tv blitz to try to pressure withins. it's no cause for celebration for different reasons.

>> the reason you are in trouble is not because you didn't agree, but because we did. the story is we don't get along. i would dispute that. we would get along fine with the status quo with the government being ineffective and inefficient. it raises spending and taxes and denies what we promised the american people and everyone said my goodness, how great. >> other republicans are angry over the plan's cuts to military pensions. paul ryan is defending the deal saying retirement pay can't weigh down the budget. he is promising to roll back cuts for those who are medically -- >> you have to stop. we all know how much you say nice things about paul ryan. i have been friends with paul for a long time. i would respectfully request that sounds like a guy who

hasn't spent a lot of time growing up around military retirees to say we can't have the defense budget weighed down by retirees when as tom coburn said it's weighed down by the pentagon budget, fraud, abuse. one weapon system after another that we just don't need. he's got it backwards. we start with the promise congress made them. we start by taking care of the people that have taken care of us our entire lives. >> what about starting the budget itself. there is no line item that is more capable of being cut than the defense department budget. we are not veterans and not with that. >> after four years, we have been complaining about this war

that paul ryan is afraid to come out and say as we were saying in 2010, it's time to stop spending $2 billion. we have been wasting $2 billion a week in afghanistan for years now. from 20009, 2010, it's obvious that it was a waste. how much would that for retirees add up. >> we know about this. how many defense contractors? >> it's nonsense. the process, what is is it based on? it is based on jobs in military districts. >> weapons systems in pensacola or connecticut. you name the state and there will be a contract with a line item in the budget that can be cut without getting to veterans pensions. >> i'm stunned.

>> tell us about that, about the unemployment insurance. it's not about liberals and democrats. they have been trying to get work for about three years. while washington has done nothing that they have complained about, we have this prohisk j horrific situation, these people have been hardest hit and for christmas, they get nothing. it's not their fault. >> what are do you do about rand paul's theory? it just makes them lazy. >> my goodness, ho ho ho. help me out. i look at a number like the readjusted gdp for the third quarter. i see 4.1%. as an american, i celebrate. we are coming back. this is looking great.

then you look at the numbers that mike and john are talking about and look at the fact that income disparity continues to grow and the poor continue to get poorer and the middle class, they are losing as you know every year. they fall further and further behind. where does that number come from and what is the real situation some. >> the 4.1% number which was better as you said, a significant piece of that was inventory accumulation and putting more into their stores. it's a one-time thing. they bought a lot and more than they usually do to get ready for christmas. it drives the number up. on a sort of steady basis, we are growing maybe 2.5% a year. not terrible and not great. we talked about many times the problem is that that income is not getting to individual americans, but going into corporate profits and the stock markets and places like that.

we are becoming more unequal and we talked before about how the top 1% had a 30% pay increase on a 99% had zero. >> you have charts? >> i have charts. we talked about economic mobility. whether you can get ahead more or less seeasily. the first compared inequality and lack of mobility to other countries mostly in europe. if you look across the bottom where it said inequality, this is the amount that there is in the country that goes from least least to most. you see the u.s. up here. on this axis, we have immobility whether people are able to move up or down. the higher you are, the less likely you are. >> when you combine the two, if you are the united states or united kingdom, you have the least amount of mobility moving

upward and the greatest income inequ inequality. >> they design this as the great gatsby chart. the more unequal, the less chance you have for people to move up. the scandinavians have low inequality and they move up. >> they have the most mobility. we are talking about economics. >> economic and there is more inequality, just less. >> the scandinavian countries have in common? >> more of a social welfare state. maybe not what you want to hear, but the government plays a more active role. one other point about this chart, this is for kids who are in their late 20s entering the peak of their careers. what does it electric like for a

kid who is born today? that red dot is what the prospects are. more inequality and less income mobility. we started with a lot of policies that perhaps -- >> i ask you because i know that you understand. you reported on britain in 71 to 81. thatcher saved great britain from a terrible fate. you understand as a democrat and you call yourself a progressive, you understand that we can't just raise taxes. raising taxes, hiking taxes, punitive tax rates on corporations and the rich, let's just say it, it's not going to bring income equality. >> i agree with that, but we cut programs like education that contribute to greater mobility. we have reduced taxes and taxes

on the rich have gone up a little bit, but well below what they were in the prereagan era. if you look back in american history, we had the most equal income equality in the 60s when we had the fastest economic growth. the two do not necessarily cancel each other out. you can't overtax people, but you can have a more level society. >> what should the tax rate be if it's we are looking at 39% and you add on what is new york city? 4.5%? >> the state is over 10%. >> you combined together. you are about 50%. >> you point out many times the capital gains rate is 20%. the taxa dividends is 20%. >> let me ask you this. if we do what warren buffett says and what i think we should do and we have a minimum 30% tax

rate on everything which is what i said, we have that 30% minimum rate, does that help? >> sure, sure. if you had a minimum 30% rate and did stuff for people at the bottom to give them more equality of opportunity, you can make progress. >> to be clear, that chart is a nightmare. the chart you put up. it's a chart that sketches the death of the american dream in a lot of ways. >> yeah, and -- >> wildly unequal. >> coming up on "morning joe," a first look at a new ad to hit the gop and the economy. how the fight over jobless benefits could be a leading issue. we have that. you are watching "morning joe." we'll be right back. [ male announcer ] the new new york is open.

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>> time to look at the morning papers. al qaeda is apologizing for the leader of the group. they said they never authorized them to open fire in a hospital earlier this month. the attack killed more than 50 people. a statement from al qaeda in the arabian peninsula reads we offer apologies and condolences to the victims's families and accept full responsibility for what happened in the hospital and will pay blood money for the

victims's families. >> from our parade of papers, a seattle teenager, caught in the crossfire of a drive-by shooting was saved by her eyeglasses. she was sitting when gunfire broke out. it broke her glasses in half and she escaped with minor injuries. so far no raves had been made. >> the fallout over the target credit card breech continues to mound. millions of stolen accounts are already on 15e8. they opened the investigation and in addition, victims filed three class action lawsuits seeking damages. target offered a 10% discount over the weekend and said we will provide assistance. >> china and apple reached an

agreement. how many customers is that? it's unbelievable. it's a big story when you are driving. maybe friday night or saturday. that came across as breaking news at the time. it's a massive deal. er they get packed and unlocked. >> wow. >> 160 million. anchorman 2 took second place taking in more than $131 million. anchorman 2 made almost $27 million below estimates considering the aggressive marketing campaign.

40 million. disney's frozen, they loved it. it's a really good holiday film. american hustle that is really good. really good. saving mr. banks that looks really good rounded out the top five. have you seen anchorman 2 yet? >> i haven't. >> do we speak truth to power? do we reveal the truth? >> did you see it? >> i saw it. >> andrew. >> this was andrew. >> tell the truth. >> i will be be there with you. >> i'm the wrong person to ask about will ferrell because i still laugh -- >> you are kind of a big deal. >> i love will ferrell. >> how many times did you watch when you watched it? >> a few times.

>> how many times in a two-hour movie. >> five or six times. it was not terrible. it really wasn't. >> too much build up. >> you know what, they had a long time to write a better script. >> could you call it good? >> everything. everything that will ferrell does is good. i love those guys. it's not anything as good as you want it to be. >> as a blur. >> especially with the hype. you knew. i wanted it to be awesome. i crossed it off my list. >> it's worth watching on hbo. downloading on apple.

>> mike allen is here with the morning play look. harry reid said his top agenda item is extending unemployment benefits. the day after christmas, liberal groups will try to shame republicans for failing to extend the emergency aid. this is set to run nationally. republicaning in congress protected millions in taxpayer giveaways. they stripped 1.3 million americans. folk who is want to work and can't find a job, kicking them toll curb. 1.3 million americans losing benefits. it's wrong to leave more than a million americans behind. tell americans restore unemployment benefits now. >> i'm confused didn't that get

signed by the president? >> what we will see is december 28th for democrats are saying republicans are bad santas and tlun for two days. remind people who are home for christmas in a couple of days. unemployment benefits goes along with it. >> harry reid will make this priority number one for the democrats? >> he said when he comes back, they are going to do some nominations that they made to pass the fed chairman. this is something that they will push republicans back on their heels as they start the year.

>> they are pushing the wrong button. i'm saying politically. i think politically, they are pushing the wrong button. if i were on the democratic party, i would hammer on minimum wage and put guys like you in an uncomfortable position. when you have over 50% of tea party members. that's the way to go. >> how can you justify cutting off unemployment benefits. this is where the problem is. it's not what people have been out of work for three weeks. it's the long-term unemployment. >> mike allen, thank you so much. >> have a great holiday week. >> the great christmas movie. bad santa. the classic. >> it's a classic. >> tell mika. >> it's foul and hilarious. >> is it out now?

>> it came out many years ago. how the grinch stole christmas. >> is it porn? it's not porn? >> john heilman is recommending porn. >> bad santa. >> there is no porn, but reference to things that occur in porn throughout the movie. >> murray abe ram is next. we talk about the in show time's hit drama, homeland. keep it here on "morning joe."

>> you know me? >> no. >> i sent you my record about a month ago. >> oh, well. >> you like the record? >> i don't know. i didn't get it. >> here it is.

this is it, anyway. that will be $5. i'm joking. >> that was a scene from the golden globe nominated film. joining us on set he plays music promoter bud grossman in the film. his grand dad. she is 10 and gets too much homework. exactly. come over here. now that's what i like. >> immediately into ham mode. >> too much homework. >> will you help me interview your grant pa? what's the first question do you think? we can ask him anything. what haven't you asked him? >> can i have a puppy for christmas?

>> my goodness. >> your mother would kill me. >> the answer is no? what else would you like for christmas? >> a golden globe award for the film. >> yes! >> i guess that would be okay. >> do you think you say he called this his first movie. it's everyone is blown away. >> what a treat to hear that kind of thing. i work on a lot of them. some of them are no good at all. you have to go on these and pretend you like them. this one i really like. these two guys are, you have to meet them. if you have a chance, it's like the way you want to make movies. everything is so easy. >> your character is based on bob dylan?

>> yes and his among many, many others. he's a tough customer. i think he went for 60% of the take. he was responsible for making and he was until he came around. >> this was what year? >> towards the end of the 50s before the beatles. >> where were you in your life at the point of this movie? >> i was just a child. >> in new york city? >> i was getting into new york. >> this is captured in a particular moment. the new york folks are seeing. >> absolutely. >> do you have a personal relationship with that moment in history? >> i did because i was working at the time and what you see is just what it looked like. there was a freedom about that.

the whole thing about that. i was nonexistent then. things are much cheaper. i was a terrible waiter. i would forget thing, but i made enough to pay the rent. it was an innocent time. a terrific time. they captured that. it was tough. i think that's also what this film deals with. what it means to be a creative artist in a tough world. >> is the tough part different than being a creative artist? was it different then? >> i think there was more -- i shouldn't say this because it sounds like i am dwelling in the past, but more a sense of community and belonging to something. whether you could make it or not and you could survive on much, much less. the idea of living in the west village for $80 a month. that's possible between a couple

of guys. you could make it. on the folk scene or the music scene. it is almost impossible. you hear stories all the time. people who come to new york and they will be an actor or actress. the side jobs consume them. you can never get ahead. the intermingling of the disciplines. in that period, we get good stuff then. we. these guys did. >> before this movie is getting a lot of critical craze. a lot is being directed at the praise. you worked together and the shakespeare. what does he like and what is it like to work with him some. >> i'm delighted to say it was a treat. i'm happy for his success. you don't have to say that about

everybody. the other was that one. >> i love it. >> these two movies will buy you a puppy. >> yes! >> if i get an advanced screening, you get the puppy of your choice. go ahead. >> we will go to a rescue shelter. >> yea! >> we will go forever. we really do. the nice thing that happens.

you are near the end of a long odyssey for this struggling musician. pretty much shows you what it's like. this may be a bad week for him. he comes across darkly. we have the low points. >> they get around and promoting movies that he's not particularly proud of. it's great to hear that. before he got shot with rolling stone, you have been called the godfather of british rock. what's that like? they said it's better than being called a blank. your quote reminded me of that. this is the best film of the year. >> you have the presence and elegance and the voice of a great actor obviously. it's fun to have those on, but you are very funny.

very funny. >> nobody believes me. you want something to eat or drink? come on. >> you don't think you will get a puppy. you look skeptical. >> she's adorable. oh, my. you are just a little bit successful, that's all. >> what is going to happen in that series. no further than us. just between us. i can't wait to see it. i'm just as in the dark as you are. >> the movie inside llewyn davis. >> coming up, what's going on with today's markets.

>> michelle caruso cabrera joins us with -- >> business before the bell. bl

s. abc's michelle caruso cabrera. how are we looking? >> another positive day with the rally throughout the year. it looks like it keeps ongoing. the santa claus rally. december is often a positive time of the year for stocks. anything related to the consumers. we have data out a few moments ago and in line with expectations. good news in line with what --

>> consumer spending is up a bit? >> a half a percent in line with expectations. consumer income came in lower than expected, but was higher. in november everyone is pretty relieved. not a reason we drag the stock market lower. >> what are we going to say? >> apple shares deal with china mobile. 760 million china mobile subscribers. that would be double the number of subscribers in the united states. if apple is going to make it in china, we will see. we have been hearing about this for maybe a week. we are watching shares of tiffany. they had to make the swiss watch maker, $449 million for a deal they struck a couple of years ago. it looked like they were going to create this tiffany watch company.

for some reason, and they have to fork over money. they are private label maker. >> tiffany and watch is. >> michelle, thank you so much for being with us. we appreciate it. have a great holiday. coming up next, the best of jimy and justin on snl.

"stubborn love" by the lumineers did you get my email? i did. so what did you think of the house? did you see the school ratings? oh, you're right. hey babe, i got to go. bye daddy! have a good day at school, ok? ...but what about when my parents visit? ok. i just love this one... and it's next to a park. i love it. i love it too. here's our new house... daddy! you're not just looking for a house. you're looking for a place for your life to happen.

leading the franchise early next year. are you excited? bringing it back to new york city. i haven't seen late night for five years. five years after that, i hosted nightly news. five years after that, the "today" show. five years after that, the new

carson daley. >> i will be fulfilling a lifelong dream. you kidding me? that's how it's done. celebrating. a lot of good answers. they celebrate. celebrate, my man. >> only one way for a man to be

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>> welcome back. what we learned today, i want to thank all of you for coming into my home. it has been very special. >> good job with that. >> thank you so much. >> we have a picture of joe here. what i learned today, another picture of joe here. a lot of joe here today. a lot of joe. >> what we learn side steve ratner spends an amount of time. >> it's a detailed paintings on the faces. >> as do we all. >> what do we learn? >> i got here and the next time i saw mika's pj's.

>> i learned that. what did you learn? >> this has been another great year with you. so generous and so good. you won't let me tell people my secret. >> we will see you tomorrow morning on christmas eve. let's go to the daily run down. >> the world is being ripped apart by violence, helping