it's the holiday season in washington. president trump promises to deliver big tax cuts benefitting all americans by christmas. why that promise is sure to be broken. >> and workplace sexual harassment. from hollywood to silicon valley and the rest of corporate america, the allegations just keep piling up. the question is, what can companies do about it? >> good afternoon, i'm ali

velshi. >> and i'm stephanie ruhle. this week saw the first indictments in the russia probe. president trump kicking off an 11-day trip to asia, and the lowest unemployment rate in 17 years. but what we need to talk about, taxes. >> we've been waiting for this bill for a while now. lawmakers in the house of representatives have finally introduced it. they're calling it the tax cuts and jobs act, which is where we start. >> all right. there is so much in this bill, so let's begin with the good stuff for americans filing personal income tax returns. this bill reduces the number of tax brackets from seven to just four. 12, 25, 35 and 39.6%. and it generally lowers the rates under which people are taxed now. the bill roughly doubles the standard deduction to $12,000 for individuals and $24,000 for couples and it boosts the child tax credit from $1,000 to $1,600. >> for businesses, this bill slashes corporate tax rates down from 35% to 20%.

it also slashes rates on pass-through businesses in which owners report their earnings after expenses as personal income to just 25%. it taxes corporations on u.s. income only, not worldwide income, the way they're taxed now, and it gives business immediate write-offs on the full cost of new equipment. but these big giveaways to corporate america have to be paid for somehow and the tax writers do it off the backs of middle class families. the bill limits deductions on new mortgage interest and property taxes. it gets rid of deductions altogether on state and local income taxes, student loan interest and high medical expenses. >> so i don't know how we call this thing a program, a bill for the middle class, it's not. >> or the jobs part. we have heard a lot of promises about this reform. it's not the biggest tax cut in history. it is not a cut for all americans. it doesn't cut taxes extensively for the middle class, and it

does benefit the rich. now, we don't have a cbo score on it, which we're waiting for to talk about the long-term overall effect, including the effect on the deficit. but for most people they can run this through by their accountants and find out that the tax cut on the middle class while broad is tiny. the tax cut for business is huge. >> but it also depends on who you are, on where you live. when we hear from gop leadership, people are going to be getting $4,000, $11,000. where is it? it depends how many kids you have, where you live. if you live in a state like new york, new jersey, california, you lose the state and local tax deduction, it matters. if you're one of the 44 million americans with student debt, and i'd like to think that we're encouraging people to pursue degrees, you're going to have a cap on the deduction. >> even the medical deduction. most people don't know about it because you've got to use a lot of medical care or pharmaceuticals or in-home care or nursing home care to benefit from that. we are taking the sickest amongst us and taking away their

deductions. this is also -- let's just talk about how it affects the poor. with people whose incomes are below the standard deduction, $12,000 for an individual or $24,000 for a couple, most of them will see no change at all. some people in the lower income range will see no benefit or no disadvantage. but fundamentally, the middle class, you're right, it's not a giveaway to everybody. >> if the deficit soars, we're going to see programs cut, programs that serve the poor. carried interest is something that benefits private equity firms, real estate moguls like president trump or hedge funds. president trump railed against this on the campaign trail. you talk to people inside the industry and they say, man, this is just a loophole. we're seeing that remain. things like amt, alternative minimum tax. we know when we saw president trump's tax returns in 2005, the one reason he paid a sizeable amount that year was that was the regulation put in place to make sure rich people who know

how to swan dive through every loophole can't. when they simply have to pay. now that is going away. the question is why. how does that help america? when super rich people end up with more money in their pocket, you don't necessarily see it back in the economy. they don't need to go out and buy a washing machine, a car or a new home. >> but if you give money back to people who are middle or low income workers, you almost guarantee that that money goes right back into the economy. by the way, with all of these tax cuts, we haven't even gotten to the estate tax yet. the house bill also includes a provision for eliminate the estate tax by 2024. this has been a long-time obsession of republicans. here's what president trump had to say about it recently. >> to protect millions of small businesses and the american farmer, we are finally ending the crushing, the horrible, the unfair estate tax or as it is often referred to, the death tax. >> millions of american businesses.

it sounds awful. but for fact sake, the president has it all wrong. four years republicans have railed against the federal estate tax. it's levied on americans who transfer property to their heirs after they die, including real estate, cash, stock and other assets. long derided as the death tax, critics say it hurts middle class americans with farms and small businesses in their families. but that's incredibly misleading. just two out of every 1,000 americans who die in a given year end up with a tax bill on their estate. that means 99.8% of estates pay no tax. that's because it's assessed on property valued above $5.49 million for individuals and $10.98 million for married couples. anything above these amounts gets taxed at the statutory rate of 40%. even then, filers actually pay closer to 17% after loopholes are factored in.

and anything below the amounts doesn't get taxed at all. in terms of the number of people affected, that 0.2 of 1% actually paying the tax works out to about 5500 estates in 2017. that's according to estimates from the tax policy center. it's a similar story with farm owners and small businesses. an estimated 600 estate tax bills will fall on businesses and farms this year, but only 80 of them are small family enterprises. 8-0. so why is president trump talking about millions of small businesses and farmers? look, maybe paying a tax to transfer our wealth to our heirs offends a lot of people. that's a debate worth having. it's clear, though, that the estate tax isn't a tax on the middle class, it's a tax on the wealthiest americans. >> and those wealthiest americans are not rocking up to h & r block to have their taxes done. they have the most sophisticated, the most

expensive tax preparers so they aren't paying this giant tax. >> if your estate is worth $5 or $10 million you're going to have somebody looking at this. that's why the 40% death tax as they call it generally ends up being about 17%. >> there you have it. >> all right. that's what we've got on the estate tax. but there's a lot more on both the tax plan and the federal reserve. >> well, the same day that the tax plan came out, president trump nominated jerome, known as jay powell, to be the next chair at the federal reserve. if confirmed by the senate, he will replace janet yellen, whose term ends in february. powell has served as a fed governor since 2012 and is viewed as someone who will continue the course set by yellen on interest rates. while they have been inching up under yellen, rates are still at historic lows, which is one of the big reasons for the almost nine-year bull run in the stock market. >> yeah, you point that out a lot. by the way, janet yellen will be the first fed chair since 1979 not to be reappointed for

another term. i think that's interesting, because if you're not going to reappoint a fed chair for another term, why did you pick the first woman not to do it. and by the way, janet yellen enjoyed a very good reputation. there are people who said she did a really good job. she's not being removed for cause. >> by the way, powell generally follows the same principles she does. the one thing he's not is an obama holdover. we know that president trump doesn't want anything, anyone that touched president obama. the thing that is so important is for the fed to maintain their independence. for years, for decades, since the fed's inception, we have known they have been completely independent of politics, or at least tried to be. we also know the way president trump likes to govern, likes to lead, and so we're only hoping that he's not going to be in a position where he picks up the phone, hey, jay, remember, i gave you that job, guess what i need. we're hoping that independence stays. >> the presidency and fed chair are meant to be kept separate. you don't want a president influencing rates generally

lower. presidents like rates to be lower. people like that, the stock market depose up. we know the president talks about the stock market run about every week if not more frequently. we do too, by the way, so it's okay. he campaigned about not liking these low rates that janet yellen. i'm sure he's going to want them to continue. there are vacancies, by the way, on the fed, which donald trump can fill and reshape the fed to his liking. so it's something we're going to keep an eye on here and we want to be pretty careful about. coming up, facebook, twitter and google land on capitol hill in the hot seat over allegations that russia used their platforms to interfere in last year's elections. and sexual harassment is under the spotlight like never before. what companies should be doing to make the office a safer place for workers to thrive. all that's next. you're watching vels"velshi & " ruhle." are you on medicare?

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without hearing of another sexual harassment allegation involving a prominent figure. but sexual harassment has long been a problem affecting workplaces in america. >> and for a long time discussing the problem openly and frankly was really difficult, even taboo. but now it feels like this time is different, or we hope, hope that this change is happening for the better. from hollywood to silicon valley, from broadcast media to the rest of corporate america. sexual harassment in the workplace is in the spotlight like never before. recent allegations against movie mogul harvey weinstein launched the current outrage, but that was preceded by allegations at fox news, uber, and numerous other silicon valley companies. while estimates vary, a new poll conducted by nbc news and the wall street journal shows that 48% of currently employed women in the u.s. say they have personally experienced an unwelcome sexual advance or harassment at work. companies can legitimately claim

that they are not aware of how pervasive the problem is. the u.s. equal employment opportunity commission estimates that three-fourths of people who experience sexual harassment on the job do not report it to their superiors, but there is no disputing that employers can do more. a survey of 400 mostly female board members at public and private companies found that 77% of boards had not discussed accusations of sexually inappropriate behavior or sexism in the workplace. and despite recent revelations in the media, 88% of them have not implemented a plan of action to address the problem. i want to talk about this. joining us now is the author and former corporate executive who now chairs his own advisory firm. he's an expert at helping large companies transform their work cultures and core businesses in a way that creates more value for his clients. >> keith, good to see you. thank you for being with us.

>> thanks. >> unemployment, 4.1%. it's historically low. the lowest it's been in years. companies compete for new talent, much of which is young, half of which is women. these prospects go to these businesses and now in addition to the things that they ask their companies, i think they want to have some assurance, am i going to feel safe in my workplace? this is to me an opportunity for companies who can say other than whoever else you're interviewing with, this is going to be a safe and good place to be. >> that's a really smart question because we could spend all of this segment just talking about the abhorrent behavior, the narcissism and sickness created among these individuals. put that aside for a moment, it's bad. but here's the bigger question. in these organizations what is allowing the culture that allows this kind of behavior to perpetuate. i guarantee you there is water cooler conversation going on among women where there are microbiases and they're talked about but why do we not have the permission for transparency, candor and real inclusion. that's the bigger issue. i have to tell you something,

it's the same challenge that brought enron to its knees. people knew what was going on but they were conflict avoidant and fearful. it's the same challenge that drove general motors into bankruptcy the first time and exactly what mary ybarra has done to turn that company around. >> then it's the power paradigm. 90% of companies out there have diversity training and sexual harassment training, mandatory training that you've got to go through, you've got to watch those videos. yet when i read stories of big companies with employees who watch their bosses masturbate and can't go to anyone, what does it say about those companies? when an hr department -- when is an hr department going to be a safe haven for employees, not just for companies? >> a couple of things on this. first of all, training is not the answer. if understanding and knowledge was enough to change human behavior, i wouldn't have drank as much as i did last night or i wouldn't have eaten the hoho that i did before i came in

here. so the point is there's much more intrinsic change that has to occur. this happens everywhere at the microlevel that doesn't allow people to have these fluid dialogues to let people know when they're feeling unsafe and to have the respect that those -- by the way, this is exactly the same reason that upstart companies in the bay area are eating the lunches of large corporations because they're not innovating fast enough because they're not listening to their people on all fronts, right? so you're right. hr needs to be reinvented. >> they're not advocates for employees, they're advocates and protectors of companies. >> well, hr actually is given a bum rap. there's a couple of different pieces of hr. one part is running the plumbing and that's a big job and they spend a lot of time doing it. there's another part which is the transformation of shareholder value through uplifting human capital. most of them don't have time to do that or the acumen to do that. and that's what you're talking about. once hr starts realizing their

job is shareholder value creation through human capital creation, then they'll start worrying about these issues. >> at a low unemployment rate where you are actually competing for workers, that becomes important. >> critical. >> we saw this when you talk about silicon valley of the things they had to do for their employees when they realized -- >> the ping pong tables, the massages, the lounges. >> we need that now -- not just sexual harassment, but we need companies that are now competing because they feel they want you to want to work for them. >> we are moving toward the gig economy in every employee. every single employee is going to be an independent agent pretty soon if they aren't already in their mind. the millenials, 50% of millenials start looking for new jobs within three months, right? take that in. >> of starting a job? >> of starting a job. we can roll our eyes and say, oh, plimillenials. but they are demanding more of

their corporation and we've got to start providing it. beyond that a place where microbiases don't exist and people have a voice and inclusion. we've got to call that in the olden days when we reinvented finance, it was from bookkeeping to financial analysis. marketing, i used to be chief marketing office. we moved from shut up and advertise this to a robust market assessment, data assessment, et cetera. hr is the last vehicle and we've got to get more serious about it and thank you for bringing this not just for the table about knees jackasses doing abhorrent behavior but more important what does this mean to shareholder value. >> dear corporate america, we like all sorts of job perks. shoulder massages from bosses not on the list. >> thank you so much. keith ferrazzi. we have an update for you on trump booster robert mercer when we come back. the hedge fund tycoon we talked about last week, we might be

seeing more of him in washington, maybe. and facebook, twitter and google under fire in congress over russian-linked political posts that got hundreds of millions of views. boy, did they get a grilling on capitol hill. we'll talk about that when we come back. i don't want to sound paranoid, but d'ya think our recent online sales success seems a little... strange? na. ever since we switched to fedex ground business has been great. they're affordable and fast... maybe "too affordable and fast." what if... "people" aren't buying these books online, but "they" are buying them to protect their secrets?!?! hi bill. if that is your real name. it's william actually. hmph! affordable, fast fedex ground.

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welcome back to "velshi & ruhle." facebook, twitter and google forced onto the offensive -- the defensive this week on capitol hill after revising estimates several times on how many people were exposed to those russian-linked political posts. facebook says that at least 150 million americans -- >> say that again. >> 150 million americans on its site in the last two years leading up to the election saw these russian post ads. that's not a random 150, which is half of all americans, it's all targeted. >> targeted. >> twitter found nearly 37,000 automated accounts. >> automated accounts, bots.

>> they tweeted 1.4 million times and got retweeted over and over again, eventually generating 288 million views. >> the president himself responded to a complimentary tweet sent by a known kremlin-linked troll account. >> members of congress had a lot to say, by the way, to the social media companies. here's a taste of it. >> your actions need to catch up to your responsibilities. >> you've created these platforms, and now they are being misused. and you have to be the ones to do something. >> in the past election you failed. >> the political ad was paid for by rubles. isn't that a red flag? >> paid for in rubles, red flag. when are the facebook, twitter and google executives, founders, management, going to show up and answer these questions, not just their lawyers. i want to talk about another executive. an update on robert mercer.

we reported on this guy last week with very close ties to president trump. mercer sent a letter to investors at his renaissance technologies fund announcing his intention to step down as chief co-executive in january. in the letter, mercer defended himself against, quote, mischaracterized statements made of him by the press. mercer also indicated that he will sell his ownership stake in breitbart media. >> yeah, to his daughters. not to somebody else. >> one and the same, who like himself are active in far right-wing political circles. our report last week highlighted how his hedge fund came under fire back in 2014 for accounting moves that may have let his firm dodge more than $6.8 billion in taxes. quick reminder, there's no irs head. that is going to affect things. in his letter to investors and employees, he really tried to distance himself from the alt-right and from steve bannon except, of course, rebekah

mercer hosted a cocktail party to introduce steve bannon to the new york scene. sounds like they could be fund-raising. >> that was a great story. i'm glad we reported on it last week. a reminder, open enrollment for obamacare started this week. if you know anybody who needs it, let them know because they're not advertising it that much. that does it for "velshi & ruhle." >> you can see us each weekday together at 11:00 a.m. or me at 9:00. >> and me at 3:00. have a great afternoon. a basketball costs $14. what's team spirit worth? (cheers) what's it worth to talk to your mom? what's the value of a walk in the woods? the value of capital is to create, not just wealth, but things that matter. morgan stanley

good day, everyone, i'm alex witt here in new york at msnbc world headquarters. it is 1:00 in the east, 10:00 a.m. out west and here's what's happening. new revelations. what trump campaign aide carter page told house investigators raises more questions about just what he was doing in moscow. wait until you hear a member of the house intel committee tell me about page's memorable testimony. more to come. another one of president trump's men, the convicted one, is talking. how much more does george papadopoulos have to tell