lose that coverage if republicans actually manage to succeed in their thus far fruitless attempt to blow up the law. the idea of a more equitiable society which lies at the root of the affordable care act informs the president's 2014 strategy, promoting economic fairness to is a dress society's increasing historic imbalance while also putting republicans on the defensive. first on the list, unemployment insurance. the senate will vote this afternoon to extend for the 1.3 million americans who saw it run out over the holiday period. a direct result of republican ap paththy. >> it is plain cruel. we're a better country than that. we don't abandon fellow americans when times get tough. we keep the faith with them until they start the new job. >> the president will reinforce that message tomorrow at the white house. standing alongside unemployed americans who lost their

insurance and follow it up with a campaign to increase the federal minimum wage to $10.10 an hour. both issues that will form the core of his state of the union address later this month. as for republicans, the gop made sure that 2013 was a legislative waste land. it looks likely they will adopt the very same strategy again in 2014. looking to trim the agenda, the lower chamber will be in session a mere 97 days before november's midterm elections. but that's not to say the matchup between a progressive agenda that seems ambitious largely in contrast to the my op myopic one, won't have the political high jinx with an all important election year. joining me from new york, "time" editor at large, a man who loves the vine app. mark halperin, co-author of the

best selling book, "doubledown." and from the brookings institute, the wonderful e.j. deon. >> i would like to go to you first. i know you're not a betting man but we encourage illicit behavior. as we look ahead to the calendar and the return of president obama to the white house, are you bullish or bearish with regard to his prospects in 2014? >> first of all, happy new year, no bad marijuana puns and nothing about how cold it is here. >> why are we doing this? >> the republican party is still divided and and on the defensive on the issues the president wants to drive, unless he proves he can simultaneously do -- hate to compare him to bill clinton, but what bill clinton did, beat opponents about the head and

shoulders with winning issues for him while still making common cause with them on other things, i don't think he'll have a very good year. i'm not optimistic about the chances of getting things done because he still has the problem of republican house. >> right, and you know, i guess e.j. when we talk whether one is bullish or bearish, i suppose you could say bullish or bearish with regard to 2013 or democratic prospects writ large. and we have talked about the rise, perhaps resurgence of the progressive left. you wrote today on resurge ent progressives for a long time the american conversation has been terribly distorted because an active uncompromising political right has not had to face a comparably influential left. i couldn't agree with that more. but i guess some part of me would caution, what the president is asking for at this point, which is say liveable working minimum wage, and basic

unemployment insurance that has been in place for years and years and extended under republican presidents. those are not wild progressive asks. those are sort of basic very moderate centrist democratic asks. >> i tote sally agree. happy new year. i love the use of your word high jinkz. it's good. >> we're trying. >> you're absolutely right on that. i think there is an overlooked social justice majority in the country. extending unemployment benefits is overwhelmingly supported because most americans know these aren't folks who want to stay on benefits. these are folks who much rather would have a job and raising minimum wage, most polls show around two thirds support for that because it's a fairly conservative value to say that if you work hard, you ought to be able to make at least a half

decent living and support your family. people with con sirve tif views on social issues nonetheless support both of these things. the rise of this progressive voice will really change the debate. if you take health care, if you take obamacare, this is a very middle of the road proposal based as we've said a million times on heritage foundation ideas, romney care in massachusetts. yet it's been cast, as soon as obama bought into relatively conservative ideas, the conservatives ran away from it. i think you need the pressure of the left to say, wait a minute, the alternative to obama care isn't nothing. it might be single payer. and you can go down a whole list of issues and i just think that changes the debate for the better because it broadens it from where we are now. >> mark, to e.j.'s point about action on the left, if none of these sort of big progressive agenda -- if none of the big

progressive ideals that are written on the agenda, single payer, i don't think people will think will happen and even things on climate change and energy reform. if that doesn't happen and minimum wage doesn't happen, the president has still opened up a conversation about what he wants to do with the country. and one could argue that the republicans, if you take away the arrow, only arrow they have in the quiver, which is obama care, they are left with little or nothing. i'll quote josh barrow. conservatives favor the same set of policies when the economy is work and when it is strong. the implication is conservatives believe there is nothing in particular the government should do about economic cycles. this is a big problem. i would tend to agree with that, mark. >> look, the president right now is losing in some ways. if you look at his approval rating and chances of moving his agenda against a very weak team. there's no doubt there's frustration not just in the white house and on the left but

in people who judge these things as political theater, barack obama very talented guy. he is pushing popular things now. there are elements of the affordable care that are popular. he's still not having that much success, i think because unlike e.j. who can spin a narrative that is less microand more overarching. he still has not found his voice and state of the u.nion is a great opportunity to say what is it about going forward the successful implementation of the affordable care act that fits together in the case of not just justice and economy, but a political agenda that the country can get behind. maybe he can do better in the midterms for his party if he makes that argument. the clock is ticking on him to achieve some of the things that are left undone. energy, immigration, other big things that the president promised to do and he'd like to do before he leaves office. he's got a much better chance if he makes a down payment on them

in washington legislatively this year than if he waits until after the midterms. >> go ahead, e.j., i would argue there's a down payment he's making for the health of his party too. the republicans have nothing in the bank. >> if mark is saying that these specific issues have to be linked to real benefits to real voters, i totally agree. it can't just be about a grand theory about equality, although, i think that theory about equality is helpful to obama because one of the places he's lost ground is chris cillizza pointed out in the "washington post" is among democrats. he's got to shore up his core support before he rises elsewhere. but i think that if obamacare starts working reasonably well, and you showed that big number of 9 million, and he'll probably go above that nice round number of 10 million, then it becomes harder, i think for republicans to go at it. they are still going to go at it

and find other ways to attack it. but they really need some answers to the problems large numbers, majority of americans face out there. and i think that's what some of these reform conservatives are trying to push them to do. >> answers to solution -- solutions to problems. those would be nice, would they not? mark halperin, i expect to see your time on this show -- >> got an extraordinary shot of the empty chair across the studio. >> that's what the people want to say and "washington post's" e.j.dionne. >> thanks. >> the never ending battle against the affordable care act. we'll discuss the contraception challenge with cecile richards and howard dean join us next. plus, from chicago and the great lakes to the northeast, and parts of the south, historic low temperatures are putting millions in a life threatening deep freeze.

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first, the affordable care act came under fire from the relentless rauk us caucus, next came the supreme court. then almost a year later healthcare.gov. with those hindrances largely behind them, the administration must now deal with this latest threat to the nation's health care law, these ladies. the little sisters of the poor. they are a group of denver based catholic nuns who run nursing homes for the elderly. and they are opposed to the so-called con tra septemberive

mandate requiring most to cover insurance policies that cover contraception. sot to maier was asked to lift the junction, saying the contraception requirements under the law did not impose a substantial burden on the nuns' exercise of religion, essentially because the nuns could opt out of the requirement by simply signing a form. with the stroke of their own pen, the solicitor general wrote that the nuns can secure for themselves the relief they seek from this court. but the stroke of the pen is precisely what the nuns object to. the little sisters say that by merely signing the form stating their religious objection, their faith is being violated. they say such a signature makes them kplis it in providing contraceptives. the form designates a third party to provide con ttraceptiv

coverage. if the nuns refuse to sign the form, they will be forced to pay steep fines. now that the government has responded to sotomayor's judgment, they must decide to keep it, dissolve it or refer it to the supreme court. the little sisters of the poor is one of 45 similar cases pending in courts across the country. joining me now from new york is the president of planned parenthood federation of america, cecile richards and former governor of vermont and chair of the dnc, howard dean. cecile, happy new year to you both. >> and to you. >> what do you make of this case in particular and the little sisters objecting to what should be a settled notion, this idea of contraception, but their

issue is on religious grounds. it would seem the administration has bent over backwards to ensure that people can exercise their religion. your thoughts on this case? >> yes, the important thing to understand is this group of nuns are not required to provide birth control to their employees in any way. so that issue really should be put aside. it really is a question of how they notify the government that they are exempt. as has been stated on the show before, there is a very broad group of religious organizations and churches that are exempt from the birth control requirement, including these nuns. so it's -- i'd say it's an administrative question that the court is looking at. the much bigger question is of course, women's birth control coverage at large, part of a whole preventive care benefit in the affordable care act. as of january 1st, the good news is that more than 27 million women in america now got this benefit. it means women's preventative

care and birth control and cancer screenings are covered at no co-pay. that's separate from this particular case. >> governor dean, cecile points out an important point. millions of women are benefitting, healthier, and lives being saved because of provisions in the affordable care act. now that this, the aca is no longer an distraction, i wonder how hard the republicans can fight it, in so far as it is something real now going to be taken away if republicans get their way? >> there's a bunch of problems they have here. first of all, this is an argument about whether the sisters of poor have the right to enforce their views of religion on all their employees. they are trying to make this an argument whether to sign a paper or not. if the court should decide they don't have to sign the paper, they essentially get to enforce their religion on all of their employees. so the second problem -- this is a big problem, the republicans now find themselves once again

waging war on women. that is a fact they hate that term because it's true. the average person thinks it's a good idea for women to have birth control. we did focus groups among pro-life women in western pennsylvania during 2004 among pro-life women, the average person in those focus groups thought that mccain's position on birth control pills, which was not to fund them, what's crazy. they were completely out of touch with reality. they said this guy is out of touch. the republicans once again put them in the position of alienating more than 50% of the electorate. that's what you get when you get ideology which supplants common sense. >> yeah and cecile, i want to follow on what the governor just said. the fact we're litigating and fighting not over abortion, which is as you know, contentious issue, but birth control. i'll read an exert from wendy davidson, is there any other form of health care around which

one could build a suit based on the supposed taint of proximity? the suggestion here is that birth control has such a dirtiness to it that even the formal and financial separation of religious procedures from the coverage, they don't manage it or pay for it even though their employees get it is inadequate. what she says there, the notion that birth control is so unbearable, there's such a dirtiness and taint to it, that employers can be nowhere near it, we have moved decades back in terms of women's rights and health care to be talking about something as basic as birth control in such a manner. >> it is such of extraordinary when you look at the affordable care act, which is a major change for this country. somehow we keep getting back to women's health. that seems to be the most contentious issue. i think it's important to remember one as we've said, there's a huge religious exemption on birth control already. let's put that aside. the second is 99% of women in the country use birth control. this is for them not a religious

issue. this is a health care issue, a financial issue. why this coverage is so important. i think the thing you need to focus on is that this spring the supreme court is going to take up a case which actually is really important. and that is the hobby lobby case. this is a case in which we essentially have a multimillion dollar for profit company that employs thousands of low wage workers saying because the ceo himself opposes birth control, he should be able to deny it, that coverage for all of the women that work at hobby lobby. that to me is a case we should focus on because that is a fundamental change would be a fundamental change if the supreme court found in their favor. >> governor dean, you alluded to that, the hobby lobby imposes its religious beliefs on its employees but the argument is rarely framed that way. why have not done a better job of saying you may have objections to contraception, but you're not entitled to map your

objections on to hundreds of employees? >> well, i do think we should frame it that way. but the average woman in this country frames it that way herself. she doesn't have to be told with republicans and fox news and all of these people are doing. they know what they are doing. we found this out when we did focus groups in western pennsylvania. they don't vote democratic but going to start now. you see this enormous gender gap particularly among single women, in for example, in virginia governor's election last november. i just -- it's amazing to me to watch the republicans, here they nail democrats because the website didn't work right and now giving up all of that ground they just made in the last three months from a political point of view, it's astonishing to me they cannot get out of their own way in terms of winning elections. >> that's a fair point, but cecile i want to go to you last on this. while it is not winning them elections in virginia and there are plenty of republican candidates who have rewound the

clock for their party, there is the reality that more abortion restrictions have been enacted in the past three years than the previous decade. 56% of american women now live in states restricting abortion rights and only 30% live in a state supportive of a women's right to choose. the landscape is changing. >> i think the political landscape is changing in terms of who's in the legislatures but access to reproductive health care has never been stronger. what we're beginning to see is certainly women and men recognizing the impact now of these very, very extreme laws. and on the birth control piece, i would say at planned parenthood, we're seeing women every day coming in our health centers ekz static that the birth control and preventive care is covered at no co-pay. this is a huge benefit and sinking into the average woman recognizing what the affordable

care act is doing for her and her family. >> planned parent hood federation of america, cecile richards. thank you for your time and howard dean, as always great to see you. >> thanks, alex. >> 12:21 and 32 degrees zero. these are some temperatures forecast for major cities across the country. but windchills are expected to make it feel even colder. we will get the latest on the polar vortex. i'm going to say that again a lot in the next minutes, sweeping the notion. coming up next. if i can impart one lesson to a

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more than half the country is facing dangerously cold temperatures today with 26 states under windchill warnings or advisories. to be clear, this is not your typical cold snap. an arctic polar vortex is creating historic chi low and life threatening temperatures. public schools are closed in minnesota for first time in 17

years. windchills across the midwest and plains are dipping to 50 degrees below zero and montana has already reached minus 61. in those temperatures, it can take just minutes for frostbite to set in on any exposed skin. emphasizing just how desperate this situation is, there is a code red travel warning throughout half of the indiana making it illegal to be on the road unless you have an emergency or are seeking shelter. in frigid temperatures are not isolated to the northern parts of the country. nashville, tennessee is in the single digits and it is colder in atlanta, georgia than it is in anchorage alaska. joining me now is nbc meteorologist rafael mir an da. what is causing us and can you explain what a polar vortex is precisely? >> polar vortex, trending on twitter. everyone is talking about it. it is a normal thing that happens every winter. the problem is usually it stays over the north pole. think of it as a swirling mass

of frigid air. what happens sometimes it breaks off or piece weakens and dips down into the united states. here's a look at the white colors there. that's the polar vortex, the arctic air mass sliding on south across the plains. this is sunday into today, watch what happens tuesday in the northeast, we'll feel this polar vortex. eventually it swings back around and makes its way back to the north pole. by friday, saturday and sunday, looking forward to that polar vortex to get where it should be again this time of year, back in the arctic. for now, of course, feeling the worst of the chill, 35 states right now from florida all the way toward the dakotas, montana under a windchill advisory and warning. only 15 states without these type of cold weather warnings. they stretch from the south to the plains. and look at these windchills. this is right now feels like 41 below in chicago. feels like 44 in new york city but this is the last of the mild weather. we have a windchill difference

of about 85 degrees from chicago to new york. but you can see where the arctic front is sliding into pennsylvania, pittsburgh, we have a windchill of zero. it feels like 20 below in lexington. atlanta, also the arctic air moving in there. feels like 14 degrees for you. and it feels like 20 down in new orleans. now, tomorrow the northeast starts to feel the worst of this. new york city's high temperature tomorrow, only 10. we were close to 60 this morning. a major change tomorrow as you're heading back out there. still frigid across the midwest but beginning to slowly climb out of it. windchills will be brutal across the northeast and even atlanta, it will feel like 10 below and more of the same expected for the northeast. everyone begins to slowly warm up as we head into wednesday and especially by the end of the week. alex, over to you. >> rafael, it is not a coincidence i'm in california during this polar vortex. i noticed on the map there is a little carveout, the west coast looks it will be exempt from the polar vortex. >> easy breezy out there out west. that's the place to be. tomorrow 73 in l.a., painful to

look at here in new york city and 70s in phoenix as well. this is a central and eastern part of the country weather event this time around. >> my friends and people in new york and the middle parts of the country, we feel you. but we're happy to enjoy the sun. thank you for your time. coming up, as al qaeda takes control of a major iraq city, and the country descends into deadly chaos, we're waiting for the latest comments from the u.s. the state department is set to hold its daily briefing and we're expecting more information about iraq. we'll bring you any new developments as we get them ahead on "now." it was different than the other times i tried to quit. [ male announcer ] along with support, chantix varenicline is proven to help people quit smoking. it's a non-nicotine pill. chantix reduced my urge to smoke. that helped me quit smoking. [ male announcer ] some people had changes in behavior, thinking, or mood, hostility, agitation, depressed mood, and suicidal thoughts or actions while taking or after stopping chantix.

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more than 1300 americans soldiers died fighting to keep al qaeda out of anbar province, making up one third of total troop death in iraq. now two years ach the withdrawal

from the country, the black flag of al qaeda was raised once again over anbar province in the city of fallujah. according to "new york times," black cloud sunni militants destroyed the headquarters and mayor's office and planted a flag atop other buildings and declared it to be their new independent state. a police official said fallujah was completely under the control of al qaeda. militants also secured major areas of the city of ramadi but reports say iraqi security forces have reclaimed parts of that city. over the weekend, fighting in anbar province left 40 civilians dead and nearly 200 wounded. after launching air strikes in anbar, iraqi prime minister nuri al maliki urged tribes to expel the al qaeda militants. the fill tants are members of the islamic state of iraq and

syria, growing reminder of the threat next door. this comes after a year when more than 8,000 people were killed due to violence across iraq. yesterday secretary of state john kerry made it clear that the u.s. would help the iraqis fight al qaeda but that the help was not without its limits. >> this is a fight that belongs to the iraqis. we're not contemplating putting boots on the ground. this is their fight. we're going to help them in their fight. this is a fight that is bigger than just iraq. >> joining us now from washington, d.c., senior correspondent and associate editor at the "washington post," thank you so much for joining us. i want to ask you with the latest news about fallujah, in your mind was in inevitable is the spread of radical islam and falling of fallujah, if you will, an inevitable outgrowth of the destabilization of the region? >> this has been building for

some time, alex, it's essentially the growth of two radical strains of islam. what we have going on there is sort of a proxy war, a proxy war between the shiite led government of prime minister al maliki in baghdad backed by the iranian regime and then sunni residents out in fallujah in that part of the country, who essentially get aid and support from saudi arabia. this is to some degree a proxy war between the saudis and r iranians playing out in iraq. it's a problem that's been made much worse by al maliki's m miscalculations. so al qaeda has seen that as an opening. these al qaeda fighters who have been resurging in syria, many of them transiting back and forth through that part of iraq, now sort of see the sunni population in cities like fallujah as ripe

picking grounds. they see the residents there as having been alienated by the government. so they swooped in, seeing an opening. and now we see the -- what will likely be another very pitched bloody battle to take control of that city. >> and i think the "new york times" would echo what you just, which is that this is a proxy war between the saudis and iranians. at the same time, the "times" makes a point of this is a power vacuum in the middle east. the bloodshed in the past two weeks exposes something new and destabilizing, the emerge's of a post american middle east, that would seem to shift the burden onto the americans in some way? so far as look what happens when there's no power structure there. you've written a book about the green zone and about the american presence in iraq, the

imperial life in emerald city. to your mind, what could, can, should the u.s. do in situations like this? the obama administration has been defensive about not being overly involved and secretary kerry seemed to have set fairly clear lines on that. >> there are things we could be doing that don't involve sending american troops into iraq. one of them is to take a harder line with prime minister al maliki. he wants more american weapons. we've given him some. sent some missiles there in recent weeks, but as a condition of providing him some of the support he wants, we need to ensure that he's more inclusive with the sunni population. this is not just a military conflict in iraq, it's a political struggle. and there needs to be more equitiable sharing of power. also the u.s. government could take steps to patch up its relationship with saudi arabia. the saudis are the ones bank rolling a lot of the al qaeda linked fighters in syria.

they are supporting some of the hardest line elements there. we could try to rebuild our relationship with that once key american ally to try to get them to be a more constructive player in the region. none of this is going to yield major results overnight but it could help to start to destabilize or start to rach et back some of the destabilizing forces in the region. last question, which is the question of syria, where we have sort of danced around various outcomes and the situation seems to worsen by the day. how much of that is exacerbating what is going on in iraq? how much of that is har binger of bloodshed to spread across the region? where do you place syria in sort of the con sen trick circles of the middle east? >> there's a direct connection between iraq and lebanon where we've seen car bombings and other violence occurring there. the syria conflict is spreading

across the borders. these fighters who have been involved in attacking the assad regime now see new opportunities in iraq. and those iraqi communities there have been sources of support for the syrian rebels. and now those rebels in some ways see themselves as trying to help out the people who have been helping them for a couple of years. this is all linked. and it -- this is why a comprehensive effort to try to address the violence in syria is not just important to stabilize syria and help the civilian population there, but also to help the neighbors countries, which is as we see in stark relief in these last few weeks, really getting drawn in in a much more dangerous way into this conflict, alex. >> thank you so much for your time. >> good to talk to you. coming up, while the stock market hits record numbers, so too does the gap between the rich and poor. we'll discuss the highs and lows

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[ male announcer ] commute your way with the bold, all-new nissan rogue. ♪ in a post 2008 world, the definition of get rich is just a little bit different. but so is the idea of what it means to be poor in america. we will discuss the disparties when cnbc's jim cramer joins us next. and a big programming note for you and for me. "now" is moving to a new time slot starting a week from today, january 13th, mark it on your calendars. watch us each and every weekday at 4:00 p.m. eastern starting next monday here on msnbc. we'll be right back. i was going to the library to do my homework.

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this administration today, here and now, declares unconditional war on poverty in america. >> wednesday will mark the 50th anniversary of the president lyndon b. johnson's first state of the union address to congress, in which he dechaired an all-out war on poverty in america. 50 years later the battle continues. officially the poverty rate has fallen just 4% since president johnson's speech from 19% to 15%. right now poverty is close to its highest level since the 1960s. but viewed in a larger context, the war on poverty has been a successful one. as this chart from the new york times indicates, the poverty rate would be nearly twice as high were it not for programs like social security, food stamps and home heating assistance. social security alone cuts poverty by 8.5%.

but skyrocketing inequality and republican attempts to tear apart the social safety net have slowed the progress made in the '60s and '70s. since 1979, income for the top 1% has increased over 200%. while the bottom 80% has made only the most modest gains. before going home in december, congress allowed long term uninsurance benefits to expire. senate democrats plan to hold a vote to extend the benefits this evening, but if republicans will not listen to their colleagues on the other side of the aisle, perhaps they should listen to jim cramer. >> is this bad for the economy, to extend this? >> no. >> don't you want to help people to keep spending money? >> have to do it. not even an issue. >> with the disparity between rich and poor and republicans in congress stonewalling any effort to address that crisis, how long can the millions of americans

struggling to get by help themselves? in the new book "get rich carefully" jim cramer hosts a cautious path. the host of "mad money" and colleague and friends and compatriot, welcome. >> it's a fantastic time, 4:00, i'll be able to watch it now. >> that's why we did it, jim. i thought your comments on "meet the press" this weekend were great. very rarely heard by folks who know wall street. i ask you, how important is a functioning safety net for a healthy american economy? >> look, we -- i cannot believe we even debate something like this. and if anyone would be against extension of these benefits. we still have a high jobless rate. we're trying to hard to create jobs. in the interim, if you can't put food on the table of people, how are they going to find the time to look for a job? it's crazy. >> why -- i guess there is a

sense that those on wall street, those at the very top, don't believe in that idea that you just articulated, which is that people need someone to help them as they get -- climb up the ladder, that most americans want to climb up on. why is that not shared by more of your compatriots. >> wasn't this settled in 18458 with the irish potato famine, let them eat potatoes even if they are rotten. this issue of lays faire was buried more than 150 years ago and it's infuriating for anyone who studied history. this is not some sort of -- hey, listen, it's time for boot straps. this was decided many years ago by queen victoria against the irish. i'm not kidding. >> when we talk about wall street, i think there's a sense that the markets no longer

reflect how regular americans are fairing. do you agree with that? and if so, why is that the case? >> yes, the markets don't because the way you move your stock price up is to get more profit. until this economy is really moving the best way to get more profit is to fire people. what i'm hoping in 2014, the good tidings is that now this is getting so much better, the hiring will begin and that's why i'm so optimistic for 2014. but when i go back and listen to the great society speech by johnson, one of my heroes, i'm hold enough to at met that, with the exception of a horrible vietnam war, he favored expanding the pie and growth. i wish there were more politicians who agreed with what lbj was doing. safety net is the strength of our country. >> you know, when we talk about sharing and the pie, you talk about bankable ceos, jim and those are -- i'll quote you, i want to salute these individuals for all they've done for customers and shareholders as

pleasing the shareholders flows out of the success in winning over the other two constituencies. talk about these bankable ceos. >> there are people like terry lund gren at macy's and howard shultz at starbucks, do you know how much jobs they've created? they are about getting people who are doing okay and making them wealthier. i love the ceos that are about empowering workers. as the ceos of costco would tell you, the way to have able to have prosperity is to pay people more. a wealthier worker produces a higher stock price. isn't that counter to what everything you hear about on wall street. the best performing stocks are the ones where the companies pay the workers the most. i salute them for doing that and great for cap it willism too.

>> that is a hugely under discussed point. you're telling us the very opposite, i mean, jim, that's great news and we wish more companies would raise workers wages. and i think part of that is also maybe lowering executive compensation in some way to get the scales back, not even, i don't think anybody is proposing that all walmart work aers make the same as executives, it would take 930 years for a mcdonald's crew member to earn what the company's ceo took home last year. that's just untenable, that type of dispair tri between the top and bottom, does not only make for a stable economy. >> no, we don't want two classes. we don't want best of times, worse of times. we don't want dickens and where some are benefitting and some doing very poorly. this has to do with the compensation at the top the

boards, the people want to tend to be favored by the ceos. it's a virt uous circle if you're extremely rich and vicious cycle down if you're not. >> the last thing i want to talk about is offshore holdings, fortune 500 companies that keep their profits overseas, as of 2011, there were $1.6 trillion held overseas. if we talk about corporate responsibility, bringing some of that money home would seem to be incumbent on american companies and yet you do not hear a lot of that from either the right or left. >> no, it's insane that this isn't a much more important issue. let me make this clear. if we cut the tax rate to 8% and take one -- do what's known as a leverage ratio, for every one dollar we get back, we put $5 in an infrastructure bank, that would be amazing for america. they don't realize the executives want to bring back the money. do something. tax it and but much less than it would be taxed otherwise and put

it in an infrastructure bank to hire more people. eisenhower did it. he was a republican. >> infrastructure banks, i love when we can get jim cramer on the record about income inequality in infrastructure banks. it is awesome to have you on the show. "get rich carefully", i wish you many book sales and good 2014. that's all for now, i'll see you back here tomorrow at noon eastern, 9:00 a.m. pacific. "andrea mitchell reports" is coming up next. like a ramen noodle- every-night budget. she thought allstate car insurance was out of her reach. until she heard about the value plan. see how much you could save with allstate. are you in good hands? is your tv powered by coal? natural gas? nuclear? or renewables like solar... and wind? let's find out.

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i took medicine but i still have symptoms. [ sneeze ] [ male announcer ] truth is not all flu products treat all your symptoms. what? [ male announcer ] alka-seltzer plus severe cold and flu speeds relief to these eight symptoms. [ breath of relief ] thanks. [ male announcer ] you're welcome. ready? go. keeping two grills going. >> we've never experienced weather this cold ever. >> it is brutally cold. >> right now on "andrea mitchell reports." the big chill, an arctic blast plunges the country in a deep

freeze. we'll have a live report from chicago where the negative temperature with the windchill feels like negative 42. president and congress return with a big to do list. the battle over unemployment insurance, what could be the opening salvo in the midterm elections. >> if on the first day of the new session the republican party says they won't even support unemployment benefit extension, the original round was started by george bush when unemployment was 5.6%. they are going to show themselves so far out of the mainstream it's going to hurt them in the election. >> and the shadow campaign, hillary clinton supporters secret preparations for another run for the white house. if she agrees, maggie's exclusive reporting, how close is clinton to saying yes?