thank you mother nature for providing copious amounts of snow on this wonderful wintry wednesday. >> yes. >> we don't see any moderation in sight. we just lost our live picture in massachusetts. and we're snowed out in detroit. is it so it is crazy stuff. >> big winter storm. >> piling it on. >> as you see this suv slid right off the roadway there. >> let's start to dig out just a little bit. and you can see just how much snow has fallen. >> we got a gorgeous day in los angeles today. a high of 61. >> and by the way, have you heard about sunday funday? let's just say this weather puts the hooray in t oochlt oochltoo.

>> i'm one of the ones feeling the burp from mother nature. we'll start here in the midwest where it has been misery to drivers. this is indiana. it was all about spinning and skidding on the roads. in new england, not much better. here is a look from behind the wheel in boston. and back here in new york city, the streets are still pretty slushy and slippery. we picked up another 4 inches or so of snow before it turned to freezing rain. a real mess. and you just heard al roker questioning the mayor of new york for not closing the schools here in the city today. well, this afternoon bill de blasio said new york can handle it. >> we knew there would be delays, but we knew they would get there. we knew there would be challenges, but we knew we could operate the schools well and safely. so we made the decision to go ahead with school. >> and our weather coverage starts right here in new york city. chris pollone is in brooklyn for us. what have you got? you can hear me, chris?

chris looks not that cold. but i don't think he can hear us. >> reporter: no matter what you do if you're the mayor or chancellor of schools here -- yeah, i i can hear you just fine. yeah, it's actually quite -- >> all right. looks like we're having some -- >> reporter: if you're the mayor of new york, it's not an easy decision to close schools or keep schools open. you'll make people upset no matter what you do. but today it seems like mayor de blasio have upset parents because officials have said if you don't have to go home, stay home. if you do have to go out, use public transportation, stay off the roads. however, he left school open so many parents had to figure out a

way to get their kids to school. and now they have to get the kids from school while people are saying to stay home. obviously it's a tough situation either way. about 60% of students did make it into school today and he also said they feel the need to keep school open when they can because for a lot of students, first of all, their parents count on them being in school on they can go to work and for many students, that is the only hot meal that they will get during the course of the day is when they go to school. so he's coming under fire. it's been a tough month for him. he's had to deal with several storms already and he received a lot of criticism on the first one for some snowplow issues. so it just seems to keep on coming from mother nature for mayor de blasio. >> all right, chris, thank you so much for that report. and here in new york, even walking has proven to be a bit of a challenge today. and for people behind the wheel, the roads have been more like an

obstacle course of snow and ice. clearly will not every has the skills of ron allen on the road in northern new jersey for us. >> reporter: good afternoon, guys. yeah, we've seen the whole gamut of it today from waking up at 6:00, a fresh cover of snow and then sleet and freei inin infrin and now we're on blacktop roads and the mail men have been out all day. sleet, snow, whatever that saying is. but now we're getting just light rain. and the latest obstacle is flooding. we just went through a kip he will couple intersections where there is slush and melting snow causing flooding. there have also been reports of mower outages. not this part of new jersey, but other part, tens of thousands without power because trees are heavy with ice and snow, limbs have fallen down. worst seems to be in the suburbs

of philadelphia where there are hundreds of thousands without power. the utility there is calling it one of the worst storms that they've ever had to deal with. so now we seem to be getting towards the end of this thing. again, the conditions are evening out. the temperature is now around 31 degrees as it's been all day. so we're not getting the intense icing that was feared. at least not yet. because the temperature will drop this evening and stay below freezing for the next couple of days. so not a complete he said to this story. and of course the question is what will the next storm bring. a lot of local communities in new jersey and other states are feeling the strain because there have been multiple storms, their budgets are being pushed, a lot of reports of concerns about municipalities running out of salt. but here the roadways are doing just fine. but again, concerns about icing as we go into the night. but quite a day from snow to sleet to freezing rain to just

plain rain to just about everything here in northern new jersey as we've gone through quite a day here. now back to you guys. >> thanks, ron. we appreciate the multitasking. and here is julie martin. >> we've seen widespread impacts from the snowstorm. in fact about half a million people plus without power as a result. most of them in pennsylvania, new jersey, and up through delaware. the good news is here in pennsylvania, this is now switched over to rain. the philadelphia area hit very hard earlier today. but you'll notice the purple on the map still showing up. and this is freezing rain we're dealing with in places like new york city up toward southern connecticut. all of this expected to turn over to rain, though, as the afternoon goes on. in boston, it will tip to becon be a snow event for you. they have picked up more than 9 inches already. northern new england, as well.

take a look at the time line. we can expect the storm to exit by this evening. by about 11:00, mid night, that's when the storm finally exits offshore and we're looking at clear conditions for the commute come tomorrow. but we're tracking another winter storm, as well this, one setting up for the weekend where the same areas could get a few inches of snow according to the latest model runs by sunday. >> all right, julie, thanks so much. just like there are a bunch of the delays on the road, sometimes there are delays in our feeds. you just never know what it will look like when you walk out the door in the morning. i left early this morning from d.c. to obviously be with you guys here in new york city. and i will say sometimes the best time to travel is when people are afraid to travel because i was the only one, one of the only ones on the train this morning. and i got here five minutes early. >> you got here five minutes early? that's huge.

>> which is huge. >> it is. >> breaking new, five minutes early. >> but the most challenging part of my executcommute -- >> but who is counting. >> i was because you never know. and the hardest part was crossing the street going from the train station to the subway station. you know i'm clumsy, i i slip and fall. but i was okay. i can't say that for everyone out there. it's treacherous. >> we're glad you made it. >> did you get in five minutes late? >> i got in right on time. brooklyn was very slushy. it was not -- everyone likes the snow i think. i know you've spoken about your snow position. and it's nuanced. but most people just start with i like the snow. i like the snow. in brooklyn, it was not really snow. it was what our weather folks out there in the cold all day were saying everything is freezing over, obviously that is a mess if you have kids, if you're trying to get to the

schools. >> ebl you called it crunchy. >> it was crunchy. it was crunch which i. >> although that is the safest kind. the scary part is the ice. >> there you have it. >> pro crunch. i can see the headline now. >> five minutes early and pro crunch. >> that's it. >> if you can handle the crunch, then you know you won't be five minutes late. >> i have to say in this whole new york city public school controversy, i'm glad actually that they were open. i was fully expecting them to be closed because the ice is a bit nastier to deal with than just straight thousnow, but it does w their life into total chaos when school is canceled. if you don't want your kids to go, if it's easy for you to keep them home, do that. but for me, i was grateful to be able to walk the couple of blocks with my daughter to school.

>> you're right. for every kid who didn't go to school, there is at least one parent who has to stay home and take care of them and do that whole thing. >> you just bring yours to work. >> my daughter does come to work on her off days which everybody loves. you're so sweet. >> i bet she wasn't five minutes late. >> but every day my son is like i want a snow day. that's something that just happens randomly? you're not guaranteed it. >> i like when your kids think you have supernatural abilities. >> i actually like to keep them thinking that i do. you have to keep the dad image nice and high. >> this has been a real productive chat. >> high level spit. >> schools are open and the cycle school is open and lessons to be learned. but sdpts mean the show is over. the show is not over. >> we just started. >> up next, we have a topic that is even murkier than some of the weather and that is the new cb opt report. it's on the ac chlt krchltaca i

labor market. we'll get to the bottom what it really says. it's hip-hop.

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you might have seen any number of headlines in the past 24 hours all boiled down to this. obamacare will cost 2 million workers their jobs. it steps from the new cbo report on the budget and it prompted instant gop reaction like this. if you read past the attention grabbing headlines, you would learn employers rp s aren't han

out pink slips en masse. the twist is, though, those out of work americans would lose health care insurance subsidies if they do return to the labor force. and as republicans will argue, that lack of incentive might keep them out of the workforce loner. it was the topic of today's house committee hearing with cb off the director douglas elmendorf. >> there is a critical difference between people who would like to work and can't find a job or have a job that is lost for reasons beyond their control and people who choose not to work. >> the equivalent of 2 million full-time jobs are people that look at the benefits they're getting under obamacare and say, look, it's better for me just to stay and not work. because i get those benefits. is that right? >> to not work or to work fewer hours, yes. >> the white house is also pushing to clarify the report. that is where we find nbc's peter alexander. what is the latest? >> reporter: obviously that

hearing certainly turned into a lot of partisan finger pointing. republicans used words like devastating and terrible. the white house obviously is pushing back because there is so much more nuance than the headlines unusually published. and the three key words we heard today from anyone you speak to including jay carney are freedom, opportunity and choice. that is the way they want to frame this debate, frame what was indicated by the cbo. one fact we know that is not in fact the case is the argument republicans have made that obamacare is a job killer. there is nothing in there that indicates it will take away 2.5 million jobs. in fact what it says is that more people may choose not to work or may choose to reduce their hours. jay carney brought up a point to sort of demonstrate this. in specific he was referring to medicare where americans get their medicare coverage at age 65, he saw statistics that indicate that 63-year-olds are far less likely to start a business than 65-year-olds. not because he said more people

have good ideas, just when they turn 65, he said but when they become 65, they have that greater sense of security because they have health coverage. and he said that can be translated into the conversation we're having right now. that more americans will have in the words of the white house that freedom and opportunity to pursue other opportunities. what is also significant here to note, though, from the cba report is what it says about america in terms of it's being an aging population right now. it's ob yusly the ageing of the population will over time be a drag on the economy. you have to pay no more and more people's needs for social security. and for medicare. it will increase government spending on those things, as well. so while the deficit goes down in 2014 and 2015 according to the cbo rn, when you look furth down the line, it goes back up over a trillion dollars. one issue that really requires some change. why some are raising the top he can of immigration that would bring in a new influx of younger workers.he

can of immigration that would bring in a new influx of younger workers. >> for more, let's bring in peter welcwelch. always great to have you here. the reality is there will be at least a portion of the 2 million people who drop out of the workforce entirely because they will essentially receive the same benefits without actually having to work. so what do you say to the many republicans who are saying, look, this is just incentivizing people to work less? how is that productive to our economy longer term? >> well, two things. first of all, let's be honest. they have been saying this will kill jobs and that is flat out not true. so the advice they gave to us when we were passing the bill, read the bill, i say read the report. but secretary of defensely, you know, americans have to have some freedom of choice. they work hard. but by this logic, if you have health care, why don't we -- and you won't work, why don't we take away medicare. where don't we take away medicaid. why don't we have debate about lowering the minimum wage rather than raising it.

and make people so desperate that they have to work for two bucks an hour. so there is really no logic to this where you're talk about minimal incentives as opposed to giving people choice. in some level there's security. the other thing i'd like to see us focus on is there is a demographic bulge. the country is aging. and that is where we'll have as a country republicans and democrats a challenge because if we had more people on retirement, fewer people working, then that is a challenge to our economy. and we ought to be trying to address that. both from the perspective of bringing down health care costs number one, and number two, this is a real argument that we have to do something on immigration reform. >> i think that's right. and congressman, i think it's a great benefit of the affordable care act that people are no longer tied to their job, that they can leave if they're ready to retire other than for fear of not being able to get health care for themselves or for a sick family member. i think it's great that people

feel more able to go out and start their own business because they don't have to be tied to their employer through health care. but i haven't heard much of that messaging from democrats up until this point. do you think that we've done a good enough job of explain to go people who i think a lot of whom would understand that freedom and opportunity that come with the affordable care act? >> i would not accuse the democrats of having done a good job on messaging on health care. the rollout was a mess. and then a lot of the good things that are right there we should be talking about. obviously our kids on our adult policies until age 26 has been incredible because that first job our kids get usually is without health care, stips sometimes an unpaid internship. pre-existing conditions. these things have been tremendous. and now that folks will be eligible for medicaid or to get affordable health care, they will have flexibility about what they do that will involve

choices around do they want to change a job and take a risk in starting a business, do they want to be able to spend some time taking care of a sick family member. so there will be family conversati considerations for lots of americans and career opportunities for lots of americans. so we have to do a better job in getting that word out. >> i think that's right. but then there is it the other side who seems to hand us unforced errors all the time. now the house gop talking about linking a one year extension of the debt ceiling to changing provides provisions in the acp. do you think they didn't really get the message of a ter tafter the shutdown? >> they didn't get the message, but i think speak are ber boehn been clear he doesn't want to come near default. so what you're seeing is a cathartic purge of bad idea after another. but i'm confident we'll have an opportunity to do our job and

that is to pay our bills and vote on a clean debt ceiling. and i think what they will do is put a bill on the floor, hold their nose and let the democrats step up and pass it. >> and picking up on that point, there were reports about making it tied to the aca or keystone. this morning there was a report republican leadership determined they wouldn't win the necessary report for either proposal with gop votes alone, and as you mentioned, if didn't work last time. i'd say there is diminishing returns, but from a political perspective, returns recently a been at zero. >> it was a dead end tactic and a dead he saend policy. i'm so grateful to the president and secretary lew for saying you don't met with the debt ceiling. presidents have to be the adults in the room here and we need some adult supervision around here when it comes to just the basics of paying our bills.

>> the adult in chief. >> always helps. congressman, always good to have you. thanks so much. >> thank you. and up next, what major u.s. pharmacy cvs is pulling from its store shelves. will more chains follow suit? we will roll through the news cycle next. time for the your business entrepreneur of the week. kelly started her company loverly in 2012 with one mission, to make wedding planning easier through her bridal search engine. with retail partners approaching daily and content increasing, she clearly hit a nerve and her company is growing. for more, watch your business sunday mornings at 7:30 on msnbc. if i can impart one lesson to a new business owner, it would be one thing i've learned is my philosophy is real simple american express open forum is an on-line community, that helps our members connect and share ideas to make smart business decisions. if you mess up, fess up. be your partners best partner.

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texas a& texas a& there are new developments in the death of philip seymour hoffman. four have been arrested. an unusual move because new york state law does not allow for dealers to be held liable, but cops appear to be hoping to learn more from these guys about where the bags and bags of heroin came from. tonight on broadway, the lights will dim to honor hoffman. meanwhile america's second largest drug store chain is snuffing out cigarette sales. the retailer is pulling all tobacco products off its shelves, a move that will cost

cvs $2 billion in revenue every year. president obama expressed his approval. officials with the company say the decision is part of the chain's plan to further promote healthy lifestyles. he made have been voted off of "american idol," but clay aiken is hoping america will vote him into congress. he took to youtube to announce his candidacy for north carolina's second congressional district. it is a seat currently held by a republican. aiken served on president george w. bush's commission on special education. he's also performed on the greatest stage in the world in broadway shows. and he has released five albums. wow, what an overachiever. really important for politics. speaking of achievements, the seahawks landed in nfl history sunday night when they captured their first super bowl championship and today a victory lap through seattle. are you excited? >> so excited. >> some fans camped out overnight to beat the crowds. they have waited nearly 35 years

for any team to bring home a trophy. last time was this 1979 with the supersonics. >> it is sighting being but the season is over. >> no, we don't. >> everybody does the parade thing. congratulations. i have to keep it real. i want to turn to politics. we have the largest overall of federal drug sentencing in 30 years and it's ready for a vote. the bill was introduced by dick durbin and republican mike lee. what does it do? it would redwuce plan todayer t minimums and equalize jail terms for people incarcerated under older laws that have now been changed. editor and chief of global grind

joins us. thanks for coming back. >> thanks for having me. >> i know you were in washington for this vote last week. you've been working on these issues. why why is there a shift away from some of the harsher mandatory minimum sentences? >> i think there has been tremendous leadership from eric holder and certainly the president on these issues in the past year, year and a half. the attorney general has alluded to making these changes in many speeches he's been give and now you see great bipartisan support. libertarians and mike lee and rapped paul joining sides with dick durbin and patrick leahy to pass theseee seeing good-bye pa start support. >> let me devil's advocate you a little bit before prosecutors are saying mandatory minimums are a valuable way to compel defendants to testify.

back in the day they would do it, now they're facing basketball sentences, 60, 70, years. no, i'm going to snitch, i'm not going to do this time all by myself. so what do you think about prosecutors saying that losing mandatory minimums would cost prosecutors a key tool in the war on drugs? >> i think this tool that the prosecutors -- look, prosecutors in the letter to attorney general, it's a small fraction who disagree with the attorney general on this issue. but those who do disagree, this is not a tool that they should have to use to lock up mostly black and brown people. the judge should be able to judge those who are before him or her and sentence thm accordingly. the fact the prosecutors have this tool to use against nonviolent drug offenders, we're not saying this should change for those who carry a gun, but those who are nonviolence. if you you look at the super bowl, you talked about seattle, there is a player on the broncos demaryius thomas are sitting in

prison, watched the super bowl from their prison cell. one is doing 20, one is doing 40 years because they wouldn't snitch and they got slapped with a mandatory minimum sentence. these are the mother and grandmother of a super bowl player from the broncos. >> that is awful. well, i have to think one of the more controversial parts of this bill would be the retroactive piece. so not only the sentencing going forward, but some of the folks who were sentenced under the older tougher guidelines would be released from prison through this bill. and i have to think that a lot of politicians out there are very afraid of what i would call the willie horton effect. that one of these people would be released from prison, commit some horrible crime, and then it would be used in an attack ad against them. >> certainly. if you look at the retroactivity, many of the republicans on the bill and democrats actually agreed on the retroactivity on the fair sentencing act which got rid of

the disparity. we're looking at 8800 potential federal prisoners coming home if this act is passed. 90% of them are black or latino. so i think those who are afraid of the willie horton effect, mike huckabee had a very damming case when he was governor of arkansas, he came out and killed somebody, he survived it. i don't foresee this happening. these are nonviolent drug offenders. certainly nobody should be punished if this law has already been changed. >> and it's a concern i think a lot of people have. and also why there needs to be sort of this bipartisan effort when it comes to the smart on crime reform. otherwise in the long run you'll have republicans blaming democrats or vice versa. it's one of the things we need to take each other's hands, jump off the bridge together and we deal with it as it comes. >> our federal prisons are at 137% capacity. we are spending a quarter of our department of justice budget on the federal prison system. this money that could be spent

for the fbi, for rehabilitation programs, could be spent for reentry programs. we can save money and spend this money much more wisely, save lives, protect lives, protect those who work in federal prisons because they're so overcrowded. and that's where we're seeing a consensus especially by some of the libertarians. >> and there is progress here, it is bipartisan, it doesn't always get washington's attention or quite frankly the media's attention because it's not conflict, right? they're working together as we mentioned. a pretty broad consensus coming out of judicial area committee. thanks for sharing some of your thoughts with us today. up next, we'll talk about the invasion, 50 years after the beatles rocked american music for the first time, there is an in-depth look at the very early years. john, paul, george and rmingo before they were stars. that's next. in the nation, we reward safe driving.

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beatles. ♪ ♪ close your eyes and i'll kiss you, tomorrow i'll miss you ♪ ♪ remember i'll always be true >> that was the moment america fell hard in love with the beatles and nothing would ever be the same. their first major performance in the states and it was on the legendary ed actualyou will sul. despite half a century passing, the beatles remain the most important and most influential group in music history. let's be honest, if we were the beatles, i'd be john. >> you think you'd be john? >> maybe you'd be like paul, the cute one. >> maybe more like ringo the

clown. >> anyway, let's celebrate the anniversary with the author of tune in, the first in a frilltr about the fab four. welcome, mark. the book is fantastic. 800 pages. extraordinarily well written. strard st take ordinarily well researched. and you talk about the relationship between john and paul. you say it was formed in john's image but without paul, they wouldn't have made the progress. >> they were both ambitious boys. they were both writing songs before they met. they were probably the only songwriters in the south he said end of liverpool where they lived and they happened to meet. i don't think they wanted to change the world.of liverpool w and they happened to meet. i don't think they wanted to change the world.liverpool wher they happened to meet.

i don't think they wanted to change the world. no ambition other than to do music for as long as they could. they each refined each other's rough edges and gave each other the excitement that they really needed. >> george parker certainly saw -- martin, yeah. certainly saw something in them often referred to as a fifth member of the band. he gave them the sense of freedom when they were recording that was sort of ground breaking for that period evof time. was that a big part of their success? >> george martin was a fantastic player in their story because he gave them freedom in the studio. the beatles were very restless and they never wanted to repeat any triumphs. they wanted to do something else. and in george martin, theyed that the perfect producer because he worked really well with original talent. and as long as they brought original ideas to the table, he would match it with his own.

so perfect comcombination. >> and you have a quote from john where he says we were the best fing rock band in the world and that confidence was part of what enabled their success. >> yes. they had vulnerability. sometimes they could be a little bit unsure when they went to hamburg for example in germany, they would tell their audience please write to us because you might forget us when we're away. there we are right there. the girls in the front row would write to them in hamburg and they gave out the address from the stage because they felt people might forget them. but of course they were unforgettable. and the beatles are the perfect combination of all the things that you would want. every bit of talent and humor. >> and that charisma was very potent when they evolved into a much more spiritual phase later with the band. we were looking at some of the photos of them with the maharishi. this was unapologetic, earnest.

and of course it fit with the period of history that they were in as people were having much more fundamental discussions about what is meaningful, what are we doing on earth. speak to that and their impact on that. >> well, they were fitting in, but by very great september they were the poplar risers of things. because they went to india, that gave other people the inspiration torisers of things. because they went to india, that gave other people the inspiration to look at things differently for their own lives. they didn't invent meditation or going to i sandia and looking inside for the answers, but because they did it, so many other people felt they coukocou it, too. so a very important part of their department. >> the they became super popular because of what looks to me like fairly simplistic songs as compared to the later songs. buld i say nyou you say not so .

>> you look before i want to hold your hand, the singing up in was the fastest selling record. and then a record called there i said it again. that's like 1940s music. and then suddenly this guitar band arrives. how many guitar bands have been top of the american charts before the seattles? the answer is i think one which is buddy holly and the crickets. so the beatles introduced the guitar band of the idea that the rock band we've had for # 50 years is right there. they were the start of that. they weren't the first guitar band, but they were the populariz popularizers. >> you can't get tedeeper than this thing right here. thank you so much. our facebook fans are voting on their favorite beatles song.

so far "yesterday." i can't pick just one. like us on this facebook thing. it may be as big as the beatles. up next, we hear it all the time from big business. corporate tax breaks are good for everyone because they help industry create jobs. is that really true or are the rich just getting richer on your dime ♪ [ female announcer ] new pantene brings new repair & protect. first ever pro-v antioxidant systems. clinically proven to make hair healthier. healthier with every wash. healthier looking hair every day? i want that. ♪ [ female announcer ] new hair, new you. new repair & protect from new pantene. hair so healthy you shine.

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eight million new jobs. new businesses. new factories.. anncr: you're working hard. all day. every day. and it shows... new hope. still, it's harder than it should be to raise a family... save for retirement. so president obama is urging congress to give america... a raise. his plan raises the minimum wage to ten ten an hour. and requires equal pay for women to boost family incomes.

. conservatives tell us the government doesn't have money for education and our infrastructure or even food stamps. just recently, the congressional bunch the office released a report determining the best way to cut military health and retirement benefits, all at the direction of the conservative congressman paul ryaryan. you but we apparently have plenty of money to give tax breaks to corporations as part of an interstate competition to lure jobs away from each other. and there is no transparency as the corporate well fair is rarely audited to determine whether it actually creates any jobs at all. so says greg leroy. you have a new study and we hear

all the time about these burdensome pension obligations, how expensive they are, how public employees need to take a haircut. meanwhile you find that we are actually giving out more money in corporate sub is ysidiesubsi. >> we looked at ten states and compared the annual costs of those pensions to the am costs of state giveaways in the name of economic development and just out right corporate tax loopholes, delaware and nevada, passive income loopholes, failure to tax income of certain kinds loopholes as well as big subsidies targeted to certain industries like film production and certain kinds of manufacturers. and we found in every case that the lost revenue to states far exceeds the pension obligations. and in some cases in six of the ten more than 2:1 ratio revenue lost. >> people say these tax breaks

are valuable because they lead to jobs, but you're saying we don't get as many jobs as we actually think. >> and that is a big thing. we released two studies and the second one we looked at how well do states actually disclose what happens to the money. who gets the money and what comes out the other he saend. how many jobs are created. and we found only one in four even tells taxpayers how many jobs actually got created. and only one in 11 of the programs tells you about wages actually paid. so taxpayers can't even begin to do a cost benefit analysis on even the most crude level for three quarters of major incentive programs in this country. >> and let's talk about states competing against each other to try to make their state be most attractive to bring jobs over. my dad as governor, that was a big priority of his and you make the argument it is actually a zero sum game nationally. texas has reaped from these rewards. look at more than 1.75 million

new net jobs from 2003 to 2013. the united states as a whole accounted for 5.3 million net new jobs. obviously texas is doing very . i would argue every governor, including yourself, if you were one, would do that very thing. what's the alternative to that? >> you got my blood pressure up now. we did a study a year ago where we looked at texas. we looked at states like missouri and kansas. those two states in recent years have spent more than a quarter of a billion dollars to pay companies to move very short distances across the state lines. just creating different commuting patterns for the work forces who already live in that metropolitan area. texas gets jobs through growth and startups. there are data sets that give you extreme detailed analysises.

governors should tune out pirating jobs from other states. it's all about startups and expansions. >> if these large corporations are getting massive incentives, that discourages the startups that you're mentioning. it creates an unlevel playing field. >> it's absolutely true. there are certainly unpublished studies. we have covered studies done in the past making this very clear that small businesses, even though they create the most jobs, get the short end of the stick. >> if it's a race to the bottom, we think about the national minimum wage setting some kind of floor. >> we think that the model that

the federal government that encouraged the states to raise the drinking age to 21 is a good model. states would certify they would not longer actively pirate and solicit. >> you have my blood running now withholding some of my money. >> thanks for joining us. up next, do not mess with al roker. >> i do have a little skin main the game calling out the mayor of new york city. >> roker is not the only one questioning new york's newest mayor. there is no map.

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i thought maybe you and i could break bread. we could share a slice. would you like a slice? >> i would love a slice. >> what are you doing? >> thank you, jon. >> i've got to teach you everything. >> i want to say as mayor of new york city -- >> yes. >> -- we are always ready for our pizza. >> oh, my god. don't even. come on. >> the new mayor is making waves and not just for talking pizza on "the daily show."

he's a mainstream mayor who has populous credentials. so while d.c. has a debate about inequality, here in new york de blasio is pushing a plan to address it. universal pre-k for all children. that's a huge equalizer for middle class and all families. his plan would add a tax to people making over a half a million dollars. only the governor can approve that kind of tax. after winning with 73% and offering this plan for the 99%, you might think very few people would stand in de blasio's way. is it the millionaires or the republican holdouts? no. it turns out the main obstacle is the biggest democrat in new york, andrew cuomo.

he refuses to give this plan a try. he's not against pre-k, but he worries about any taxes hitting the upper crust. >> let's continue to make our state more competitive. let's cut more burdensome business taxes. >> in fact, cuomo has repeatedly proposed deals to benefit the wealthiest. he's been punting on campaign finance reform. now, you may have not have heard much about these deals because cuomo positions himself as a liberal on social issues. quote, for mr. cuomo, who has found common ground with republicans on fiscal issues, the shift in marijuana is the latest in instances where he has embarked on a policy effort to

bolster his popularity with his political base. maybe. but i think this will run into a 6'5" wall. his ploy of saying he supports pre-k without funding it won't work if people aren't paying attention here. you're not a candidate anymore. you're in charge. if you support things that you're not doing in office, it doesn't count. and it's pretty insulting to our intelligence. governor, i want you to hear this. you can't claim to support de blasio's inequality plan while ignoring the inequality part. the goal is to address inequality in one of the most unequal cities on earth. you know that. so do we. we see you, governor. if you don't want to do this for the children, consider doing it for yourself. after the speculation of you

running in 2016, there's no place in the democratic primary for a one percenter. freeing americans from job lock. a republican health care priority for years until it became associated with a guy named president obama. it's wednesday, february 5th, and this is "now." >> the white house has a new health care battle on its hands. >> capitol hill is buzzing over a new nonpartisan report. >> the president's health care law are discouraging work. >> when one misinterpretation gets out of the box early, it takes the truth an awful long time to catch up. >> fewer people are going to be working and the econo