executive rewards in the face of all the economic mess they helped cause. >> the white house payczar is ordering companies to slash salaries by as much as 90% for the 25 highest paid men and women of bailed out banks and auto companies. all seven firms still owe the government from their -- for their t.a.r.p. funds. >> let's get right to lisa myers, senior investigative correspondent for nbc news. you look at payczar, kenneth fineberg who made this announcement offs a short time ago. what else have we learned since then, lisa? >> reporter: contessa we know at a for these 175 executives who are impacted by this, these pay cuts may seem painful. still, some executives are going to be paid millions of dollars. one of them, we are told will get almost $10 million, which may seem modest by wall street standard bus to most americans, is still a whole lot of money. the latest pay controversy involves citigroup and its $100 million man, star energy trader

andrew hall, whose contract entitled him to as much as $100 million this year. because the government now ounce one-third of citi, the obama administration's payczar would have to aof prove the payment, which the president's spokesman thinks is a tad high. contessa, that was the wrong spot that while ago what restrictions today will do, they will cut overall comp pen at these seven firms, on average, in half. salaries, which are the cash payments, will be reduced by 90% on average. now there are those who believe that in the way the administration ruled this out that some of the details may not be quite as tough as the headlines, but we are going to -- there is a briefing going on right now and we will learn that soon. it's important to note that these new restrictions, these pay cuts, will not impact other

wall street firms, such as goldman sachs and morgan stanley, which receive significant government bailouts, paid them back and are now on track to pay billions in bonuses this year. for those firms, the party on wall street continues. it's as though the meltdown never happened. now, one other important development today is the federal reserve is proposing today, for the first time that it will be allowed to review compensation at banks in the future, to police pay to be sure that packages respect encouraging reckless behavior, contessa. >> lisa myers, thank you very much for that we appreciate that joining us now, connecticut democrat chris murphy, sits on the house oversight and government reform committee. it's good to talk to you today. is there any recourse here for banks who feel like this is unfair, to go in and to take away their justly earned compensation? >> well, why would there need to be any recourse here? these banks, especially the

topself than we are talking about that have these new pay restrictions exist only because the united states government and the united states taxpayers decided it was in the best interest of our economy to intervene, lend money to them to keep our financial system running. my constituents back home just have absolutely no tolerance for these banks, which are in operation today by the generosity of the american taxpayer, to be giving out these type of salaries. >> right. >> so, i don't -- i don't see that there needs to be an avenue of resource here. these are the folks that got us into trouble and shouldn't be profiting off of the crisis that many of them have created. >> here is one of the problems, representative murphy, i certainly hear what you're saying, you take a guy like robert ben low shea, new ceo of aig, just brought him in he was not there when it happened. we own aig, the company. we need someone really good to go in and turn it around, fix it up, so that it can sell off its parts and pay me, the taxpayer back so, now we are bringing in this new ceo who can get a million other johns somewhere

else for as much money as he can possibly make and say we want you to do this for the taxpayer but want you to do it out of the goodness of your heart, we are not going to give you the money would you make elsewhere. isn't that going to be a problem? >> well, listen, the goodness of your own heart, $200,000 cash payment many year to many of my constituents is a little bit more. >> he can make 10, 20, 30, 40 times that somewhere else. why continue in the job when he can make so much more than anybody else. >> as i understand it the restrictions passed by treasury still allows him and other executives to make pretty handsome rewards should their company does better. still aflowers fairly generous stock options that can be exercised over time so that we start aligning compensation with actual success and profit. >> so it is not really a pay cut then. it sounds like it it is not ral pay cut then. if he can make the money down the road it sounds like it is the same pay day they always got before, just a little bit later down the road, nothing's really changed except the time horizon. >> again, i don't have a problem

with ceos, major financial institutions making salaries based on the performance their portfolio, based on the performance their business. that is what we have to get down to doing. where weather it is with a recipient of t.a.r.p. funding or other major institutions, we have got to start aligning compensation with performance. i think my constituents can buy salaries in accordance with performance. >> congressman murphy, let me ask you one more question. the president yesterday was out with this big speech on pushing small business reform, he wants small business to grow, give them some of the t.a.r.p. money so they can turn around and lend to other small businesses. are you worried that small banks, community banks, may not want to take i have no that t.a.r.p. money, because hell, they can go in and chop their salaries? >> yeah, well, again, so long as the salvi aligned with performance, i think that small lenders and small businesses will be willing if it makes sense for them, to take advantage of this assistance.

again, we are not talking about people being restricted to making $100 a year. $200,000, even in connecticut, is still a pretty decent living. and if you match that with some stock options that are aligned with how you do, i think that there will be a lot of folks that want to take advantage of that and start to get lending going in our small business community going forward. >> representative murphy, thanks so much for coming on. we appreciate it. >> appreciate it. >> let's bring in cnbc contributor, ron insana. >> and the director of the afl-cio office of investment, dan pedrotti. good to see you, gentlemen. >> good to see you, contessa and melissa. >> i'm sure you heard the question i posed to senator murphy, they haven't paid back the t.a.r.p. money this november business giving their executives big bonuses. at the same time, off situation like aig, brought in a brand new high-priced guy to turn around the company. now you are not going to pay him? is he going to stay? how do you deal with this

conundrum? >> i have slightly contrary views on some of this i really don't think the -- certainly outside the t.a.r.p. world the government's job to regulate pay. by the same token, i understand the populist outrage on main street versus wall street. it is palpable. some people have made what appears to be ungodly and unseemly amounts of money. i think none of this addresses the fundamental issue, if you are going to be in a risk-taking institution it should be transparent how leffered you are, should be transparent how much your people make and you should be separated from places like commercial banks were you are putting depositor money at risk that is a bigger issue that has to be answered. and if somebody wants to take risk with money that is voluntarily given to them that is entirely different deal, so long as it doesn't affect the system as a whole. i don't think the -- >> this argument that you can only retain great executive talent if you pay them an

astronomical amount, it just doesn't seem to hold fair. >> that's right. >> if you look at executive pay, 1965, executives earned 24% higher than your average worker. jump to 2005, 400% higher than your average worker. go ahead, dan. >> even more so the top five investment banks in the five years leading up to the crisis paid out $145 billion in bonuses. we got that kind of talent where three of those five banks are now gone? i think what we are not talking about here is the central role that pay played in driving the economic crisis in driving people through the incentive structure to take too much risk. so, we want to talk about competitiveness, why is it that credit suisse, a company not taking bailout money is shifting their compensation scheme to more of a long-term orientation? what the government does -- >> do you think it's the government's role, daniel, the government -- i get the t.a.r.p. money, take that aside. do you think it is the government's role and put into laws compensation caps for publicly held companies? >> the government putting in compensation caps for aig for a

specific group brought the company down. what the government is saying and seems to be missed in this debit, let's put it up to the shareholders, for instance, our members' pension fund was to an advisory vote, a say on pay, to shift compensation away from cash to long-term restricted stock, putting the governance in the hands of the people who on the company, which is a good thing. >> ron is there a downside to that shifting so much of your pay to stock? >> depends how old you are. >> i'm sure they have pensions too. >> a long and distinguished career in the insurance industry and elsewhere and on wall street, you know, assuming then it just becomes an estate planning issue, i guess it is not that big of a deal. look, i'm all for pay for performance, i think that is really important, i'm all for alining the interests of management and employees with the interests of all stakeholders, that makes a lot of sense. i'm not sure that capping pay is the way it to do it i think that is the way to invent advisor

firms to aim in that direction. by the same token there is a role in private institutions that do not use depositor money and safely separated from risk to take as much risk necessary to create entrepreneurial opportune at this times or even to trade in the financial markets. >> ron and i are in agreement on that separating commercial banking and investment banking. >> a whole other debate though. >> the american people have been asking the tax pay for hundreds of billions of dollars to backstop these businesses. the same american people are suffering record unemployment, skyrocketing foreclosures, 201 ks and disappearing pensions they deserve accountability. >> we still want our original investment back. we want the t.a.r.p. money we gave to companies back. we got to leave it there, guys. we will continue it on another day. we appreciate both of your opinions. >> in just a few minutes, we expect to hear from president obama about the new executive compensation rules for the bailed out banks, we will have it for you live when we see it. quick break. we will be right back. 750 bottles of water.

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developing right now, you are looking at the east room of the white house and we are expecting president obama to speak momentarily about the new executive pay rules for those head honchos at firms that received bailout money. he also signed the veterans health care reform and transparency act. we will have the president's remarks as soon as he begins. as we wait for the president, let's bring in nbc's mike viqueira at the white house. mike, let's talk about, first of all, what the legislation does for the veterans. what is he expected to sign into law in terms of veterans medical care? >> this is a something that has been a continuing source of controversy in the veterans afairs community irk the department of veterans affairs, funding for medical programs under that agency. what this does will forward fund, in other words, fund a year in vans two years in

advance medical programs for veterans in this country. and what that will do will allow the agency to plan better for the care of veterans. this is part of an ongoing promise that the president has made to take care of veterans in this country. of course, after some of the scandals involving walter reed, continuing problems at veterans hospitals across the country, the president fulfilling a campaign promise here, ever popular veterans programs in this country, lots of legislation over the past several years aimed at veterans this one, another one, a big hurdle and cause for celebration in the view of this white house. >> mike, let me ask you about the house judiciary committee, the panel voted 20-9 to curb the insurance industry's antitrust exemption. senate announced intentions to strip insurers of the exception. does harry reid -- i'm sorry, is this a white house-led power play, would you say? you know this is a very interesting thing. it was the president who first brought this up to my knowledge in his internet radio address, where he simply made allusion, he mentioned the fact that there was legislation in congress that

would strip the antitrust exemption from insurance industries. remember it is the baseball -- major league baseball and the insurance industries, pretty much the only two major entities in this country who still have such an exemption. this has been going on for 65 years now in this country. yesterday with the backing of three conservatives, very partisan committee in the house of representatives passed the anti-trust exemption 20-9, expected to be included in a final version of house health care legislation. over in the senate, harry reid and chuck shumer are leading the charge saying there will be amendment on the floor when health care amendment does get to the floor. i asked robert gibbs whether the president backed that legislation. look it would outlaw bid-rigging yourkt law price-fixing, outlaw come lugs. robert gibbs said we are checking with the national economic councils looking over the legislation. he wouldn't answer whether the white house, in general, favors revocation of anti-trust legislation. >> huh. it is unclear what they are doing. could be they are trying to keep

a stick to go with the carrot to, maybe bring the insurance people back in line, become on board with this effort, just don't know at this point. >> mike, one more question, we are talking about chopping the executive compensation for these wall street executives -- >> i thought you were going to say fat cats. you were thinking it, weren't you? >> i don't want to overuse it, i don't want to beat to death. here is the thing. there is some suggestion today this might have been a decision solely made by kenneth fineberg who is at the treasury department. he is charged with overseaing compensation for the bailed out company cans. how -- did you have any sense of how involved the white house was, president obama was, in making the decision to claw back some of that compensation? >> they weren't involved at all, at least according to robert gibbs and the briefing we just h he was asked that very question, contessa. ken fineberg is supposed to be an inpen accidently appointed payczar, as the phrase goes. as the independently appointed payczar, this decision is up to him. he notified treasury when he made that decision but not the white house that in had any hand

in this. >> interesting. mike viqueira, thanks for joining us. republicans angry over a move by a florida democratic, accuses republicans of supporting a health plan that encourages people to die quickly, remember him? he launched a website. politico reports representative alan grayson calls it names of the dead.com, honors 44,000 people who die every year because they don't have health insurance. >> all of us who lost somebody close to us, because they had no health coverage and because they died, i propose we go to this website, names of the dead.com and we name this. the national congressional committee calls it alan grayson's most shameless stunt yet. amazing what a little television exposure can do when you have an insurance issue that is for sure. the baits family appeared on msnbc as well as the "today" show to tell the story of the little colorado girl turned down

bayou nighted health's golden rule subsidiary for not meeting height and weight standards. >> they said at 22 pounds, the 2-year-old was too skinny. by last night -- >> pretty cute. >> just like the baby who was too big. >> too fat. >> after the family's media exposure what the company says is an additional review of the medical records, they are now ready to offer the family coverage. good for them. >> there you go. coming up, president obama's comments on health care and the nation's veterans. his comments we will have for you live. >> later, new numbers out today from the housing market show a big bite into recent gains, the full story on that is just ahead. it's the economy, right here on msnbc.

any moment now, president obama expected to make remarks about the new plan to cut the

pay of companies that received bailout money and have yet to pay it back. we will have the president live when he begins speaking here in the east room of the white house. gee went stumping in new jersey for governor corzine there and governor corzine need it is. barack obama's approval rating among that state's democrats, according to the wall street journalal, 87%. jon corzine's 64%. that is among democrats. the president got thunderous applause, praised core zine as the first governor not to raise property taxes. see if it helps in a tough re-election campaign against chris christie, a republican. dick cheney taking aim at president obama again this time over afghanistan n a speech before the conservative national security organization, the former vice president stays is time for president obama to do what it takes to win the war in afghanistan. >> the president made a promise to america's armed forces, i will give you a clear mission, he said, defined goals and the equipment and support you need

to get the job done. that's my commitment to you. end quote. it's time for president obama to make good on his promise. the white house must stop dithering while america's armed forces are in danger. >> just a short time ago, white house press secretary robert gibbs responded to the former vice president's remarks. >> what vice president cheney calls dithering, president obama calls his solemn responsibility to the men and women in uniform and to the american public. i think we have all seen what happens when somebody doesn't take at a responsibility seriously. >> president obama has ordered a review of goals and strategy for the war in afghanistan and has been meeting with advisers to determine the next step in the 8-year-old war. former president george w. bush greeted by anti-war protestors ahead of a speech

today in canada. former president speaking at the elizabeth hotel in montreal, the same place with john lennon and yoko ono recorded "give peace a chance" 40 years ago. the former president was invited to speak in quebec by the board of trade of metropolitan montreal. first lady is a woman of many talents. who knew she was a pro at this? our first lady showing off some mad skills with a hula hoop. the "washington post" points out her 142 swivels. this was all part of a white house event to encourage kids to get more exercise and eat. hula hoop, excellent. then she went on to the double-dutch jump rope, apparently, that was a big failure. >> doing that by the way. >> you can double dutch? >> yes. yes. been a while. before i brag i can do that maybe i should try again. >> you know that is just begging to have you come on, show off your double dutch skills. >> she is so cool, because she tried the double dutch, couldn't make it. she threw off her shoes, tried it again. when that didn't work, tried the single rope, didn't work.

she says, i gave it my best shot, now it is time to find something i can do better, did the hurdles. >> nice. >> quick break here. we will be right back.

here's president obama at the white house. >> i have always believed that our system of free enterprise works best when it rewards hard work. this is america. we don't disparage wealth, we don't begrudge anybody for doing well. we believe in success. but it does offend our values when executives of big financial firms, firms that are struggling, pay themselves huge bonuses, even as they continue to rely on taxpayer assistance to stay afloat. that's why last summer, we gave ken type berg and his team the task of making an independent judgment on the executive pay packages for firms that received extraordinary assistance from the federal government. he was faced with the give cult task of striking the proper balance between standing up for taxpayers and returning a measure of stability to our

financial system. under these competing interests, i believe he has taken an important step forward today in curbing the executive influence on wall street while still allowing the companies to succeed and prosper but more work needs to be done which is why i urge the senate to pass legislation that will give company shareholders a voice on the pay packages awarded to their executives. and i urge congress to continue moving forward on financial reform that will help prevent the crisis we saw last fall from happening again. now, in just a few days, a few weeks, we will be observing veterans day. we will pause again to pay tribute to all those who have worn america's uniform. we reflect on their sacrifices and those of their families. steps who ha citizens who have done their duty and fulfilled their responsible

response i will -- responsibilities to their nation. our commitment to the our veterans is a sacred trust and upholding that trust is a moral obligation. on that day, on veterans day after all the parades and all the solemn ceremonies, a lot of veterans may ask, does america really mean it? will america keep its promise, not simply with words but with deeds? since taking office, my administration has worked hard with many of you to make sure that america fulfills our obligations to its veterans and their families. with the secretary in the lead, we are building a 21st century va, harnessing technologies to cut the red tape and backlogs, we are investing in mobile clinics to reach rural areases, we are moving towards a single lifetime electronic health record for everyone in uniform. we are making a top priority to end homelessness among our veterans. we dramatically increase funding for veterans health care, more

care for women vet traps, for our wounded warriors from iraq and afghanistan suffering from posttraumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injuries. for 500,000 priority aid veterans, we are restoring va health care coverage. all told, we have made the biggest commitment to veterans the largest percentage increase in the va budge net more than 30 years. [ applause ] this includes funding the post-9/11 gi bill, so our newest veterans have a chance to pursue their education and live their dreams. we are keeping our promises, making real progress for our vets, like those with us today, including maryland lieutenant governor anthony brown, the

highest ranking elected official in the nation who has served a tour of duty in iraq. thank you, colonel brown. [ applause ] we are here today because of a problem that has gone on far too long, the delays and uncertainty that often plague funding for veterans health care. over the past two decades, the va budget has been late almost every year, often by months. at this very moment, the va is operating without a budget, making harder for

the new programs for medical care that are delayed. this is inexcusable t is unacceptable. it is time for to stop. and that's just what we will do with this landmark legislation, the veterans health care budget reform and transparency act. i want everybody to know, today is a victory for all the veterans' organizations who are represented on this stage, who fought for years for reform. [ applause ] they deer is of a huge -- congratulations. today is a tribute to those who led the fight in congress, senator and world war ii vet, danny akaka, representative bob

filler, thank you for your leadership. [ applause ] all the leaders made this possible, starting with speaker nancy pelosi who made this commitment to veterans' organizations when she became minority leader. and i was just told -- [ applause ] i was told some people didn't believe nancy when she made that promise. nancy keeps her promises and i want all our vets to remember that is senator tim johnson for his great work in the senate somebody who has been fighting for veterans since he entered in the congress and is just tireless on this issue, chet edwards. please give chet a big round of applause.

le other members of congress who worked so hard, michael meshaw, phil hair. phil's right here. harry brown. harry brown did great work on this. and so many others. this is a reminder that what is possible when we come together, democrats and republicans to do right by our veterans. and let me say that i take special pride in this legislation, because as a senator, office proud co-sponsor of this legislation, i served on the veterans affairs committee. in the campaign last year, y'all remember, i made a promise to pass it and today, as president, i'm fulfilling that promise and i'm going to sign it into law. [ applause ]

so, with this legislation, we are fundamentally reforming how we fund health care for our veterans w advance aid prop preyations, veterans' medical care will be funded for a year in advance. for the va, this means timely, sufficient and predictable funding for year to year. for va hospitals and clinics, means more time to budget, to recruit high-quality professionals and to invest in new health care equipment. and most of all, for our veterans, it will mean better access to doctors and nurses and the medical care that they need, specialized care for our wounded warriors with posttraumatic stress and traumatic brain injuries and the staffing to welcome back to the va those half million priority aid vets. in short this is common sense reform it promotes accountability of the va it ensures oversight by congress t

is fiscally responsible by not adding a dime to the deficit and it ensures that veterans' health care will no longer be held hostage to the annual budget battles in washington. so -- [ applause ] of course as we all know, keeping faith with our veterans never truly done. today's veterans deserve the highest quality care, as will tomorrow's veterans, especially those serving in iraq and afghanistan. should we ask this veterans day will america back up its words with deeds, because of everyone in this room, because of this reform legislation, the answer will be yes. the united states of america will keep our promise to our veterans. we will fulfill our responsibilities, we will uphold our obligations to all who serve. and that's why i am thrilled to be signing this legislation into

law right now. thank you very much. god bless you. >> president obama there in the east room of the white house. and as you can see, taking time now to set -- sign the bill with the veterans affairs folks watching. >> let's bring in mike viqueira. contessa and i were commenting to each other during this, kind of amazing you need to enact legislation in order to guarantee funds that are supposed to be there, to make sure that they are going to arrive on time and be there, isn't it? >> well, i mean it is really kind of a green eyeshade kind of thing, but as you heard from the president, very important to plan ahead for some of these medical programs for veterans. institutionally, you know in congress, appropriators typically, very powerful, don't like to have to go to do this for once every two years. they want to have a say in this once he have year. they were prevailed upon this time to change the law so that there could be this forward funding that the veterans

affairs -- that the veterans' affairs administration could plan ahead for veterans' health care. it is interesting, because veterans affairs, the va has been held up as a model of how government health care actually works, along with medicare. >> a great point. >> the problem is in many cases, when we see our investigative reporters go undercover, they go inside these hospitals, it's not always what it's cracked to be. yes, there's medical care for veterans but sometimes, and i'm not always and i don't mean to paint with a broad brush the whole system, some times, it doesn't work. is there a lot of optimism that this kind of legislation is what helps move things along? >> i think there is. and i think you mention the veterans' health care programs is a government-run program along with medicare and of course, medicaid. people criticize them but they don'tment with to live without them. i think the veterans value the health care that they get very highly as well as obviously the over 65 population in this country. as we mentioned earlier coming into this speech, you look at

some of the scandals, some of the criticisms of veterans hospitals around the country, starting with walter reed, just up 6th street here from the white house a couple of miles. and yes, there are problems. but, you know, the administration is going to hold this up, hold up some other programs. you heard the president mention that they have done more in terms of percentage increase, 30% increase in veterans programs than any to other administration in the past 30 years. and he cites the work they have done with such issues as posttraumatic stress disorder and other issues. obviously, always politically popular to help the veterans out, particularly at a time when we are fighting two wars, obviously, contessa. >> mike, interesting to note that he did start with a little bit of something on executive compensation, right? >> he did. you know, more work needs to be done. we talked about coming in, the president did not have a direct role in this, aside from apointing ken fineberg to the role of executive payczar. he mentioned the fact that there's legislation in the senate that would restructure corporations to give shareholders a greater say in

executive compensation packaging. he endorsed that of course, he never misses an opportunity to endorse the financial reregulation or financial regulation package that just passed a big hurdle, incidentally, if the house financial services committee that has a long way to go as you know, melissa. >> mike viqueira, thanks for joining us. >> we take a quick break here. we return after this. "it's the economy" on msnbc. so heading to the doctor

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just a few minutes ago in the east room of the white house, the president was signing the veterans health care budget reform act but before he got to that did he make a few comments about executive compensation and a new ruling today from kenneth fineberg who is the payczar about pay for the seven -- seven of the companies that are still left paying back their t.a.r.p. money. here's what he had to say. >> you know, i've always believed that our system of free enterprise works best when it rewards hard work. this is america. we don't disparage wealth. we don't begrudge anybody for

doing well. we bea live in success, but it does offend our values when executives of big financial firms, firms that are struggling pay themselves huge bonuses even as they continue to rely on taxpayer assistance to stay afloat. that's why last summer we gave ken fineberg and his team the task of making an independent judgment on the executive pay packages for firms that received extraordinary assistance from the federal government. he was faced with the difficult task of striking the proper balance of standing up for taxpayers and restoring a measure of stability to our financial system. under these competing interests, i believe he has take an step forward today in curbing the executive influence of compensation on wall street while still allowing these companies to succeed and prosper. >> that was the president a short time ago talking about new rules to limit the pay for bank of america, airport. g, general motors, chrysler and citigroup. >> so, from making a little less green -- >> to making a lot more green by

going green. how do you like that? >> very nice. >> all right. a new law gives a new boost to a segment of the environmentally friendly marketplace. go ahead. >> san francisco will now require residents to separate their food and yard waste into separate compost bins or getting fined for included it with -- >> yes! >> contessa loves this for small businesses that make composting products. wendy bounds from the "wall street journal" tested some of these out. >> you know what i think this is a great idea. one thing, how else do you encourage people like melissa -- >> right. >> i don't mean to call you out. >> i'm the bad apple. >> you are. >> remove your compost. >> i do not compost. >> here is a way to encourage you, if would you get a big fine for dumping your tomatoes in with your glass jars. >> i might risk it. that is just me. >> innovations just out there for people like melissa who don't want to necessarily get their hands dirty. >> you want to touch it. >> the ipod of composters, eight different colors, $299 to 399

bucks, stick it in your kitchen it does the work for you, automatic, put your composting materials in, push a button, turn it is for you. >> how big is it? >> we got to get your hands in there so we can get a shot. it is about i would say this long and maybe off this table about this high, small enough it can fit in a kitchen cabinet. not for you, a sputnik-like globe called the e-composter, sits on wheels, dump your stuff in it give a spin, every few days. >> awesome. >> how much is that? >> i'm rolling that now that is the e-composter, don't have to roll it up a hill. look at that effort i'm putting into that. >> you should get together and have composting parties. >> does it the old-fashioned way, don't you? >> i have my bin that i made myself out of recycled materials. we showed at earth day. you guys remember when i showed you how i built my own bin. here is the thing though, if -- like the ball, that makes it easier, right now, i'm carrying my kitchen waste from manhattan to the woods upstate.

>> no, you're not. >> dumping it in -- >> yeah. by the way, every time you want to get your pitchfork out. you go into the shed. that is my compost -- >> these are pitchfork-free solutions. this is going to get the rest of the world into it. this is the next wave of recycling. >> making money off this. >> nature mill sold 10,000 last year, double or trip that will last year. 20,000 the e-composters already. >> we keep talking about the kind of exportable goods that we could manufacture here and take our nation -- >> compost? >> couldn't you export composting stuff to -- composting units. we have a trash problem in this country and in the world. where are we going to put it all? dump more in the ocean, more in the landfills, nobody want it is. this is one way to cut back. >> k leave without getting what i'm getting contessa for christmas, worm factory 360. >> tell me about the worm factory. >> put the worms in the bins shall feed them the food, quiet, hard working, don't need to be

walked what, else do you want in a compost bin there they are there. >> contessa, i ordered this for you. it was expensive -- actually wasn't expensive now that i look at my receipt, only 109 bucks. >> find out melissa -- the receipt happens to be the script. >> contessa would use t. >> thank you for coming in. >> i like it. >> you guys are going to bond over the whole green thing. we love t. coming up, she was groundbreaking in her time but has the role of women on tv really evolved since mary tyler moore hit the small screen in that's next on "it's the economy." i'm lindy.

and i'm joni. we've been best friends since we were two. we've always been alike. we even both have osteoporosis. but we're active. especially when we vacation. so when i heard about reclast, the only once-a-year iv osteoporosis treatment, i called joni. my doctor said reclast helps restrengthen our bones to help make them resistant to fracture. and reclast is approved to help protect from fracture in more places: hip, spine, even other bones. (announcer) you should never take reclast if you're on zometa, have low blood calcium, kidney problems. or you're pregnant, plan to become pregnant or nursing. take calcium and vitamin d daily. tell your doctor if you develop severe muscle, bone or joint pain or if you have dental problems, as rarely, jaw problems have been reported. the most common side effects include flu-like symptoms, fever, muscle or joint pain and headache. nothing strengthens you like an old friendship. but when it comes to our bones, we both look to reclast. you've gotta ask your doctor! or call 1-866-51-reclast. year-long protection for on-the-go women.

look, i was just about to have a drink and i wouldn't mind some company. want one? >> oh, no thank you. >> i said i wouldn't mind some company. >> well, all right, i'll -- veil a brandy alexander. >> yeah, back in the '70s, mary richards faced down a rough lou grant and got that associate producer job, basically a step

up from an intern. flash forward here to 2009. tv's female leads are likely to be women in charge. >> that's right. the running homicide vexes like kyra sedgwick, operating rooms like the women on "grey's anatomy," according to a study, "woman's nation" the top jobs are secretary and nurse. why is tv forgetting the real women? >> courtney hazlett reports on the entertainment industry and writes the scoop for msnbc.com and wrote about this what happened to our real women in look at roseanne connor, she was real. >> she was very real. essentially what we have is from mary richards to meredith grey to on "grey's anatomy" on warp speed. we have roseanne conner in the middle, she was conpleatly left behind. one of the interesting things about the study, part of the woman's nation study, roseanne connor then and now really is the most representative image of a woman in america because of the job she holds, because of what she's juggling between, going to work, making her marriage operate under some

semblance of normalcy, trying to raise -- >> children. so it was surprising to me not only that roseanne is still the most accurate image but the fact that we don't have more accurate images, this study contends that is actually detrimental to real women in america. >> although it is television. >> sure. >> supposed to be fantasy, is supposed to be interesting, supposed to take us, escapism, a place we normally don't do. >> dr. bailly, the boss doctor on "grey's anatomy" she still is trying to juggle family and her career and getting a divorce because she is never at home. those are all issues this real women, no matter what their careers. >> dr. bailey one small example in a much larger picture. he agree to a certain extent. actors are at the end of the day putting on makeup, costumes and playing make belief. we should understand it this when we turn on our television sets, however, when you don't see these images on the screen it gives this idea that what do you mean women still have issues? we have the issues taken care

of. if you are one of the women in the wide swath of population left out, don't see an image of themselves on tv that can be defeating. >> top jobs for real women, secretary, nurse, elementary and middle school teacher, cashier and retail sales. compared to television, surgeon, lawyer, police lieutenant, district attorney or cable news pundit. >> much rather have a career, i think, on television than the real world. >> i think that's what we are referring to. >> nothing. >> powerful, powerful. >> i just play a woman on television, i'm not one in real life. >> this there is this powerful interaction between the media and every day life and when people who really are experiencing every day life don't see something they can resonate with, it is difficult for them to know how to prioritize. >> courtney, thanks. >> sure. >> that wraps up this edition of "it's' the economy," i'm contessa brewer. >> i'm contessa brewer. david hall and tamron hall pick things up next. ♪ yeah!

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who killing somer thompson? details of an autopsy today as police focus on more than 160 sex offender living in her neighborhood. the latest on the search for her killer. going it alone, the pay master who is slashing executive salaries made the decision without briefing the white house and the white house wanted it that way. we will look at the politics and dig into the fine print. are the restrictions on ceo pay as forceful as they sound? president obama now seems afraid to make a decision. >> not going away, dick cheney accusing the president of "deathering" on afghanistan what is the reaction from the white house and what are republicans actually in office saying? all that plus developing news on a massive raid against the most violent mexican drug cartel in the united states. support is growing for a compromised version of the health care publi