winning argument, that he is making. we have seen this play out in some polls, that when he makes this case against congress, essentially saying they're standing in the way of progress on issues like this, and the electorate really does seem to respond. you're right, president obama quoting the spokesman for house speaker john boehner and saying they're standing in the way of progress on this issue. again, republicans for their part accusing the president and democrats of playing politics with the issue. this is certainly something we're going to see the battle lines drawn over in the next several weeks as that july 1st deadline gets closer. martin. >> i guess, kristin, the other problem for so many students, those who are not yet at college is many of them are receiving acceptance letters even as we speak and yet they're facing the prospect of paying loans that are going to be vastly more, at least $1,000 a year more according to estimates, unless this proposal, the president's

proposal to hold the interest rate at 3.4% unless this is decided. now, i am hearing there is not going to be a vote on this until something like may the 7th at the earliest. >> right. well, it is not unusual for congress to sort of take it down to the wire. what's interesting about the point you bring up, martin, is that president obama talked about the fact that 7 million students would see basically their loan rates go up by $1,000 a year. the language he used was very interesting. he referred to it as basically a tax increase, so he used that term tax increase whiches has been so electorate so far in this campaign season to try to make his case, that congress really should act. as you know, that word taxes gets both sides going. president obama using that to frame this argument today to make his case that congress should act but, martin, as usual, i don't think anyone is

expecting them to act until we get closer to the july 1st deadline. >> indeed. a match for the iowa university band. thank you so much. meanwhile, as the president takes his message to young voters, the man even newt gingrich now admits is the republican front-runner is now trying to pivot back to his once moderate self. mitt from massachusetts inaugurated the campaign in new hampshire, very close to two of mr. romney's severely unconservative homes and perhaps it was nice to be back in new england where canned corn is more prevalent than canned talk of grits because it wasn't the latest polling that has the president holding a 9-point lead. mitt used his speech to reintroduce his moderate mannequin to america. taking a leap to the right from the past several months. >> i spent my life in the private sector, 25 years. >> i was in business for 25

years. i happen to have spent 25 years in the private sector. >> yes, yes, yes, we remember, mitt, and now mitt is out with a new pitch to the american voter. >> this america is fundamentally fair. we will stop the unfairness of urban children being denied access to the good schools of their choice. >> fairness indeed. this from a man who we know cares deeply about those poor urban children. >> by the way, i am in this race because i care about americans. i am not concerned about the very poor. we have a safety net there. if it needs repair, i will fix it. >> of course, of course. he does now. >> for every single mom who feels heart broken when she has to spla into her kids she needs to take a second job and won't be home as often, for the mom and dad that never thought they would be on food stamps. >> i mean, it is like the

wimbledon finaling with mitt. back this way, back this way, and i am sure we will now see mitt the moderate fighting his gop brethren in the house who are trying to cut billions from the food stamp program, probably not, and you see, mitt, for people to believe you actually understand their problems, they have to know you have lived through something similar. >> michelle and i, we know about this first hand. this is not something i read in a briefing book. this is not something abstract idea for us. we have been in your shoes. we only finished paying off our student loans about eight years ago. think about that. i am the president of the united states. >> you see, mitt, the easiest pivot to make is the one you never have to because you have actually held some steadfast beliefs for most of your life. let's get right to our panel of esteemed men of moderation. welcome to you both.

julian, has mitt romney forgotten newt gingrich and rick santorum essentially wrote the president's playbook for him or does he think that the entire nation is now going through a widespread experience of memory loss as we head toward the election? >> well, he is hoping on memory loss which is what i think the etch-a-sketch comment was really about and sometimes that does happen, but it is not just gingrich and santorum that have boxed romney in. it is really the tea party that has boxed him and the republican party in. you see with the president's speech on student loans, for example, the republicans basically are boxed into this position of austerity, a go eat cake approach, when it comes to anything whether it is student loans or helping the auto industry where as obama's position is let's do something smart and sensible and helping students with interest rates in the same way he did with the auto industry. so every election is about a choice and every viewer looks at it as about what does this mean for me. the republicans don't seem to have very much to offer to people in distress where as

obama has something that makes a lot of sense. it is kind of point one. point two is this ability to personally relate. every candidate has to be able to personally relate to the voters. obama showed that skillfully yesterday when he talked about his own loans and clearly romney can't do the same. the final thing is the coolness factor. when he went on jimmy fallon last night, this is a guy that people like, and while that may not be determined -- the single most important factor in an election, wanting to have somebody inside your living room for the next four years is really a significant factor and i think obama beats romney on that as well hands down. >> john, are we supposed to now believe that mitt romney is concerned about fairness and that he is up standing for people and receiving food stamps and that he is really deeply concerned for the poor and the safety net? is that what we're supposed to believe? >> it is not just that he can't relate because he hasn't had the personal experiences. neither did franklin roosevelt or john f. kennedy. >> of course. >> if you're not going to be somebody with a background that

gives you an ability to relate, then your policy positions must be consistent with the interest of the vast bulk of the public. when he talks about food stamps, for instance, and having concerned for people on food stamps, he supports the ryan plan. that would slash food stamps. >> right. >> when he talks about how bambi implication, you know, wants to deny choice for charter schools to urban parents, first of all, that's not true. obama has had a have pro and when asked whether there was anything that he liked about barack obama's record as president, mitt romney replied i support him on education. i think it was a little strange it make that one of his top issues last night. he was trying to fit it into a pattern of making this charge that obama and the democrats are unfair. why is he doing that? to neutralize and fuzz up the fact that that's exactly what

the democrats have been running on. so when obama said that the republicans want to end medicare as we know it, romney turned around and said exactly the same thing, the same words, to try to confuse the voters. that's part of what's going on. >> julian, we have seen rick santorum share in a beer while he was in wisconsin. do you think he needs to throw back rather -- maybe six or seven shots before he offers his unequivocal endorsement of mitt romney now? >> well, i think it would make him a more interesting guy if he did that. i don't think it is about being drunk on alcohol. i think that it is that the inebriaston. money that's the factor here. they won't endorse until they cut a deal to pay off the significant campaign debt and at that point they do the rebuilding. the problem for the republicans is they were swept in in 2010 on

the backs of the tea party, this idea that the government was the problem, was not the solution. >> right. >> and they became wedded to the idea we need to go into european style austerity where the answer is shrinking government. >> good luck with that. >> that ain't going to work in 2012. >> we have the evidence in europe now, julian. >> we have a lot of evidence. >> john, i want to go to you. the president as we have seen and julian was just saying has no problems connecting with people. last night he was on jimmy fallon. i want to play a part of that. then a response from fox and friends. watch this. >> you should listen to the president. or as you like to call him the presi of the united stasi. >> a bunch of former presidents are like, huh? that's what we do when we're president of the united states? >> when you want the kids. >> i don't care. i think it is nuts. >> really? i thought it made perfect sense. >> really?

look, it has been many years now -- >> if you're trying to reach a demographic that has been broken up into small pockets and niche markets in broadcasting, isn't that what you do if you're trying to reach them? >> of course. going back to 1968 when richard nixon went on roe and martin's laugh in and said sock it to me. >> he wasn't president. >> no, he wasn't, but candidates and presidents have taken part in popular culture. obama has taken it a little further. he has gone on more late night shows than his predecessors, but you have to hunt where the ducks are. since the pivot aole moment wal when they told him to go on arsenio hall and play the sax, and he was running third at that incident positive behind p.e. rot and george h.w. bush and they realize the the days that you could float above were over

and whether you are a candidate for president or president you had to take part in some measure of popular culture. >> indeed. thanks so much for joining us. stay with us. much more ahead.

1

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care reform the case pits federal against state hours and has profound political complications in a presidential election year. indeed it is already a flash point on the cam trail. >> should there be aggressive seek them out find them and arrest them as the sheriff advocates. >> i think you see a mlgds here in arizona. the right course for america is drop the lawsuits against arizona and other states that are trying to do the job barack obama isn't doing. >> we now have a republican nominee who said that the arizona laws are a model for the country, that these are laws that potentially would allow someone to be stopped and picked up and asked where their citizenship papers are based on an assumption. >> the arizona law advances what it calls a policy of attrition through enforcement. in other words, if the going gets tough enough for illegal immigrants, they will pack their bags and leave.

the question before the court today does arizona's law encroach on federal immigration authority? the state defending four provisions of the law, most notably the so-called show me your papers provisions. the part that authorizes warrantless arrests when an officer has probable cause to believe someone is illegally in the country. the part that requires state and local police upon reasonable suspicion to detain anyone stopped or arrested for any reason no matter how minor until the immigration status of that person is determined. to spark the controversy and fears of racial profiling the governor said today she is very confident the court will uphold the law. >> i am very encouraged what we all were able to view today and hear. i thought the hearing went very, very well. i feel very confident as i be walked out of there that we will get a favorable ruling in late

june. >> and according to many court watchers she may well be right. straight to washington for analysis of the arguments today. joining us is university law professor jonathan turly. good afternoon, professor. >> hi, martin. >> we should note that racial profiling fears were not part of the argument today. this was strictly about whether arizona is stepping on federal authority. do you agree with governor brewer that the justices comments appeared to be sympathetic to arizona's argument? >> i think to a certain extent that's correct. if you just go on the oral argument, it does not appear that the administration is going to get what it wanted, what it asked for, which is a clean sweep of the law based on this idea that there is no room for state concurrent jurisdiction when it comes to these types of provisions, that it is just simply saying we occupy the field and these laws in arizona conflict with our policies, with our own laws, and that's the

argument of implied preemption. it did not appear to be many justices that sub subscribe to that broad view. on one extreme you had justice scalia arguing very profound states rights argument they could close their borders effectively to illegals and most of the other justices were trying to sort of thread the needle once they accepted that arizona can legislate in the area. i think one thing that was clear is inquiring as to status did not appear to be problematic for many of the justices. >> right. governor brewer alluded to the grave dangers as they put it of illegal immigrants when she signed the law two years ago. have a listen to what she said. i want to ask about it. listen to this. >> we cannot sacrifice our safety to the murder us on greet of drug cartels. we can't stand by as drop houses, kid up thattings, and violence compromise our quality of life. >> she paints a truly dire

picture. government says this is the type of crime that could be neglected if the system is simply overwhelmed and glutted by every person, even such as myself, being detained if i happen to stop without my documents. is that fair? >> i think this is part of the argument with the administration has the upper hand. the president has actually deported more people that his predecessor, about 900 people deported each day, and the argument they made in court is half of those people are people that committed crimes, that they want to focus on the danger of illegal immigrants. it is a two-edged sword. politically it shows most americans support tougher enforcement but in court the administration is saying, look, part of our policy frankly is not to depart all illegal aliens or immigrants but to focus on and prioritize those that we consider to be dangerous.

>> illegal immigration is one of the most did i vice active issues and no doubt going to come up in the presidential election campaign. we have already seen the president, mitt romney, weigh in on this, but you said that upholding of the law could actually help the president. i read your piece. why do you say that? >> i wrote that in the "u.s.a. today" column yesterday that the best thing frankly that could happen to this president would be to lose. there would be nothing that would galvanize latino voters more. this would happen right before the political conventions and most of the political commentators are saying that romney needs to get at least 40% of latino vote in order to prevail. right now the president is actually above where he was when he was elected in terms of his support with latinos which is very high. more importantly, florida appears to be positioned as the swing state and this is a galvanizing issue in that state. so the best thing that could happen would be for him to lose.

that could very well swing florida and swing the election which would be ironic. this is almost at the anniversary of bush v. gore. this case could have the same effect of selecting the next president. >> wow. remarkable. amazingly coincidental. thank you so much for joining us. >> thanks, martin. >> stay with us. much more when we come back. >> if mitt romney was in the room with you right now, what would you say to him? >> i would say, hey, mitt. >> good. that's good. yeah. do you know mitt romney? >> i have met him. we're not friends. he seems like somebody that cares deeply about his family and his wife is lovely. t'ar insurance x.

this one does save people a lot of money and it's very affordable. it was very delicious. could you please taste car insurance y? this one is much more expensive. ugh. it's really bad. let's see what you picked. oh, geico! over their competitor. you are a magician right? no., oh. you're not?, no., oh, well, give it a shot. i am so, so sorry. it was this close.

it is over, my friends. it is really, really over. or is it? there are conflicting reports today as to whether the big bear with the big taste for gummy we bearing newt gingrich will return to his role as a citizen next tuesday. after fail to meet the christine o'donnell test and being defeated in the primary last night they stug the former speaker will finally at long last concede in six days. unless, of course, he doesn't. if you didn't think the former speaker would just bow out like a normal candidate, did you? no, no. he needs at least six more days to drag his zombie campaign around this great nation. indeed you can fly to the moon and back in the time newt needs to put the brakes on the campaign that he once predicted would end very differently. >> you're going to be the nominee.

>> i am going be to the nominee. >> it almost hurts to watch that. before you book the next group cruise to drown your sorrows, we can hope for six more days of candidate newt to experience our notice stall gentleman in realtime. we get him today throwing out the first pitch the garden webb university's baseball game after stopping for lunch of course we get more of callista reading her children's book with ellis the elephant in tow and newt wouldn't dream of missing a tour at the penske nascar facility or the fayetteville azalea festival or the north carolina zoo in ashville. and will we taxpayers also get six more days of the secret service protecting the ghost of christmas newt? the campaign says they notified officials and it is up to them when to end the gingrich detail. we called the secret service ourselves. they won't comment. really, who would want to miss out on another zoo visit with

mr. cheerful? i am sure they will stick around. until then, see you next tuesday, newt. stay with us. today's top lines are coming up 6789. >> you just endorsed mitt romney. >> if that's what you want to call it, you can call it whatever you want. >> has he just endorsed mitt romney. >> not at this point, no. we're working through it. we're talking about it. you can't argue with nutrition you can see. great grains. great grains cereal starts whole and stays whole. see the seam? more processed flakes look nothing like natural grains. i'm eating what i know is better nutrition. mmmm. great grains. search great grains and see for yourself. to provide a better benefits package... oahhh! [ male announcer ] it made a big splash with the employees. [ duck yelling ] [ male announcer ] find out more at... [ duck ] aflac! [ male announcer ] ...forbusiness.com. ♪ ha ha!

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schools flourish and students blossom. that's why programs like... ...the mickelson exxonmobil teachers academy... ...and astronaut sally ride's science academy are helping our educators improve student success in math and science. let's shoot for the stars. let's invest in our teachers and inspire our students. let's solve this. endorse him, endorse him not, legalize it, not quite. here are today's top lines behind every good man. >> after 43 primaries and caucuses. >> hey, mitt. >> a better america. >> is this campaign going to get ugly. >> americans are tired of being tired. >> america is tired of being tired. >> distractions and disportions. >> isn't that something i read in a briefing book. >> it is still about the economy

and we are not stupid. >> we only finished paying off our student loans about eight years ago. i am the president of the united states. >> this america is fundamentally fair. >> the barackness monster ain't buying it. >> i am not in the race anymore. >> he is going to be the nominee. >> you just endorsed mitt romney. >> if that's what you want to call it. >> you're ready to endorse governor romney. >> are you going to legalize weed or what? >> does the secret service have a facebook page. on four, square, too, checking in at the president's previously i know disclosed location. >> she got very excited and spilled yogurt on me. >> you got me. >> you have a good story. >> it was mine. obviously i took the blame. >> do you know mitt. >> i have met him. we're not friends. his wife is lovely. >> my wife ann and her council. >> my sweetheart, ann romney. he is not going to take ann's place. for a lot of reasons i wish she

were here. she is the love of my life. >> after you hear her speak you won't want to hear me anymore. by far the most important thing in my life. >> i told him i would never do this again. mitt reminded me i said that after every pregnancy. i have five sons. that didn't work out so well. i know what it is like to struggle. if you're the house, the children, the bills, some people think that i didn't work. those were things i was very busy doing. >>et get right to the panel now. welcome to both of you. crystal, you first. hard to admit the election strategy is he goes off and secures the billionaires and ann wins everywhere else. >> shame there aren't more billionaires. he might have a better shop 6789 it is true. she is good on the stump and i think he is smart to use her.

the whole thing is you captain just say i know a woman, i am married to a woman, so women should like me. you have to have something to offer the american people and policies that are going to help women and help empower women and so far he has failed to articulate anything that would help the american people and he has put his name behind, for example, the paul ryan budget plan which would be devastating to millions of women. programs that help the poor like programs that help the elderly, social security, medicare, those are predominantly helping women actually. that's what the numbers show. he wants to cut back on those. if he doesn't get on the ride side of the issues there is nothing ann romney can say. >> we know that ann romney has had suffering in the form of multiple sclerosis and also breast cancer. do you think he is intentionally using her to close the gender gap that crystal makes the point about, that the president is so far ahead with women. >> absolutely. i think the romney campaign does recognize his problems with

women which began before the quote, unquote war on women and the contraception issues, he is want polled well with women period, particularly with women that work and even breaking even with barack obama with suburban white women which traditionally something republicans do well with. the issue for romney that if there was no google, he probably could be very effective just having ann romney because she is very personable and presents herself well. the problem when she tells wonderful heartwarming stories people like us google and find out whether or not there is truth behind for instance did they struggle? when they said they had to also struck we will bills and sell stock in order to do so. we were talking about that at the break. when you google -- >> how disadvantage us that tax treatment was, the short-term capital gains, martin. >> my up mind and now going back to the 2008 elections because the first lady was subjected to fairly nasty criticism when she

said she was very proud of america for the first time and she was dressed up and charactered as an angry black woman and she is a tremendous asset to the president. >> she is incredible, and i think per popularity eclipses just about anyone in this country, i think, and as you say, she has been subjected to some of the nastiest attacks you can imagine. i mean, saying that she needs to layoff the french fries. these body image attacks that i just can't even believe and yet she is handled herself with grace and is an incredible asset and also you get a sense from her she is a little reluctant to throw herself into the political fray, and i find something appealing about that. i think ann romney needs to be a little careful. her first big for a was make a lot of hay about the hilary rosen comment which was a political news of the week kind of thing.

if you're going to jump into the political fray have you to be willing to take heat coming back at you. >> a question to both of you then, starting with you, joanne, given that mitt romney has chosen to put his wife out there so much, does that mean that criticism must be allowed because on the one hand you can't kind of as crystal says go out there and then say any creditism is is not allowed and we're not allowed to critique the person. >> the obama campaign is definitely laying off the spouses and made it very clear. >> the president himself said. >> yes. >> family is off limits. >> off limits. i don't think you will see overt attacks from the democratic side, at least not from the presidential campaign official. i think that you have to really say that the romneys are more of a traditional political couple. they come across more formally. the obamas were very in every way non-traditional. i think this year that helps them where as when they were first being introduced to the country people tried to care ka sure michelle obama and this year everything says

approachable, just like us, right, when they talk about the student loan struggles and talk about struggling out of college and comes across as more authentic than the romneys. >> that's because it is true. >> i think so the problem for the romneys is, yes, it is legitimate to try to have the wife humanize him. the problem is the reality doesn't resonate with people. >> i think it is wrong to say that just because someone hasn't had the exact same experiences you can't relate. >> of course. >> it is the fact that they are out of touch that makes them out of touch and the fact there is no warmth kpuded there, particularly from governor romney. ann does a better job of that. they feel out of touch and that's the problem, less so than their actual wealth. >> thank you so much for your expertise. next, britain falls into a double dip recession for following the practices of paul ryan and the things that he wants here. stay with us.

the president took his student loan pitch to the university of with a where he was greated by throngs of cheering students. the president wasted no time slamming republicans for having little or no understanding of what's happening to average americans. >> you have the spokesman for the speaker of the house who says we're, meaning me, my administration, we're just talking about student loans to distract people from the economy. now, think about that for a second. these guys don't get it. this is the economy. this is the economy. >> congressman peter welch, good afternoon. >> what i see as arrogance and complacency, the senate isn't even planning to vote on the college loan legislation until after another recess next week.

we have high school seniors getting acceptance letters all over the country at this moment. how can they possibly know which school to attend when they have no idea if they will be able to pay for it? >> they can't. martin, i have had parents come up to me in vermont. this issue is just huge for them. they're sitting around the kitchen table and trying to figure out how to put the money together to put the grants together and borrow the money and to be able to go to college and it is a very relevant decision for most american families, what the cost will be, and these grants are really critical and the interest rate question has to be resolved yesterday. >> right. speaker boehner was asked his ideas on the student loan program. he used the opportunity to take a shot at you and your party. listen to this. >> our members are talking about the student loan problem, created by democrats, and trying to find responsible way to fix it. >> given that it was democratic congressman george miller from california that came up with the

current loan system in a bill passed under president gork w. bush, what is speaker boehner talking about? >> that's called dodge and deflect. he is not talking about the facts. bottom line here, the republican house in the ryan budget just doubled the interest rates. they had a chance to deal with it. they chose to do other things. lower taxes for millionaires. they did that in the budget. increased spending for the pentagon. they did that in that budget. this is an explicit decision and really is starting to unpeel what the ryan budget is all about and essentially it is just giving up on the middle class and embracing fully the ideology that if you make the rich richer, that somehow will make all of us more prosperous. it doesn't work. >> it also doesn't work if you under mine the prospects of education for everybody else. >> see, that's the astonishing thing. thissal bo tros debt is real for students. 70% of the kids in vermont graduate with debt. the average debt, mafrt in, is

30,000 dollars. that's a lot to start out with, especially in an economy where it is not clear what your job will be, your entry level job is certain to pay less than you need to basically get started, and to pay these bills, and also it hurts the economy because those young people starting out, they're consumers, responsible consumers, but they do need to buy a car. they hope to buy a condo or house and if they have an anchor of debt they won't be able to do it. i just don't get where the republicans on this are coming from. >> i hate to suggest that mitt romney has a fixed position on anything but now says that he supports the president in wanting to keep interest rates for loans at 3.4%. how does that square with his performness aas governor of massachusetts where the costs went up 63% and he slashed state college budgets by 14%? >> well, good point. you know, as they say, watch what i do, not what i say and if do you that with governor

romney, he did increase the cost of college for kids when he was governor. that's number one. number two, he is in love with the ryan budget. he says it is fabulous. how can he be in love with the budget that doubles the interest rate on loans and say you're not for raising interest rate on loans? he has to put up or shut up basically. >> sounds, sir, as if there is a baby crying behind you. thank you for paying attention and concentrating on on this interview. final question. what happens to romney now? does he support the president even though republican members of congress don't support the president on fixing the interest level of student loans, many of them or go with the congressional republicans? is he going to swing in a matter of two days? >> well, you know, he is just going to watch the polls on this, and what's happening here is the contrast between what you saw with president obama before the students where there is wamplt, there is understanding, eight years ago he had just finally finished paying off his loans and now he is the president of the united states. i mean, he comes from the real world that most of these kids

are now living in. governor romney has different circumstances. if he is serious about supporting the president's position on student loans, then he has to get tough with mr. boehner and the republicans and tell them i am serious, you guys have to fix this. i haven't heard that. he has given a sound bite but hasn't taken action. >> i think we'll be waiting for some time for that, sir. thank you for joining us. >> thank you. >> next, double dip recession in britain. could the ryan plan cause the same here? stay with us. everyone in america depends on the postal service. i get my cancer medications through the mail. now washington, they're looking at shutting down post offices coast to coast. closing plants is not the answer. they want to cut 100,000 jobs. it's gonna cost us more, and the service is gonna be less. we could lose clientele because of increased mailing times. the ripple effect is going to be devastating.

congress created the problem. and if our legislators get on the ball, they can make the right decisions.

♪ [ auer ] this is our team. and unlike other countries, it's built by your donations, not government funding. and now, to support our athletes, you can donate a stitch in america's flag for the 2012 olympic games in london. help raise our flag, add your stitch at teamusa.org. speaking in the the after g of his primary victory, mitt romney says his emphasis will be on the economy. since he described the budget as marvelous, it is interesting to see what will come home to roost if romney becomes president.

the home of harsh austerity measures, measures that now plunged the british economy back in a double dip recession, and placed prime minister cameron on the defensive during today's parliamentary questions. >> today we had the catastrophic news that britain is back in recession. i'm sure the prime minister spent the last 24 hours thinking of an excuse as to why this is nothing do with him. so what is his excuse this time? >> it's his catastrophic economic policy, his plan for austerity, cutting too far and too far, that has landed us back in recession. >> the complacent arrogant posh boys just don't get it. >> wonder who he could be referring to. bill cohen is the author of power and money how goldman sachs came to ruled the world. good afternoon, bill. the british government slashed 25% of its housing expenditure.

25% of its other expenditures, social programs and so far. and now find themselves double-dipping into recession. yet we read in paul ryan's budget that it would cut $120 billion over the next two years from discretionary programs and 284 billion from mandatory programs. why do we believe this a ryan budget will do anything but what has happened in britain? >> there's no reason to believe that it won't be exactly the same thing. you cannot possible, martin, cut that much spending out without some sort of corresponding increase in taxes. we all know what they are at this point. they have been renumerated repeatedly. after the election, because of the expiration of the bush tax cuts, because. see quester that everyone talked about, there will be in the next few years, up to $7 trillion in cuts that we are going to lose in spending in this economy. which means that we have a

perfect blueprint in what we saw in the uk with the double-dip recession. if that happens without congress taking action then well face the exact same thing here. >> you know what is incredible in britain is that last week, the head of the treasury, the chancellor as he is known, announced he was cutting the highest rate of tax from 50 to 45%. here we have an economy where austerity is the number one default approach, where cutting taxes is seen as the right thing do and double-dip recession and the projected expectations for the next quarter, another disaster. >> and you have mitt romney talking very much the same thing. if he is adopting the paul ryan budget. talking about cutting taxes for high wage earning people again. i mean, without any corresponding increase in tax increases, you know, you are asking for trouble. it is just -- there's no question about it. you can see it coming. it is not even slow motion any more. it is totally irresponsible to see this kind of fiscal crisesi

come at the enof the year. >> this is mitt romney last night. he offered his few on how to fix the economy. take a listen. >> those who promise to spread the wealth around only ever succeed in spreading debt around. >> others have choeds chose this path. it led to staggering debt and decrease in wages. >> this is just reverse of what we just discussed. what is he talking about. >> he is talking about a vision for america that is not practical or realistic any more. we are being financed, frankly, by the chinese, who are absorbing our budget deficits. irskin bowles gave this example last night. we protect the tie wau hemnes in the chinese invade. to do that, we have to broer from the chinese it pay for what it would cost for the military

action in tie taiwan. if the chinese change their mind about financing our budget deficit,er with out of luck. >> economy is forecasted to drop to below 8% by the end of the year, down from an early projection of 8.2%. do you agree with that assessment? >> i think that markets and the economy are cyclical. we have been through a very, very rough patch for the last four years. i don't want it minimize that in any way. >> you haven't. >> i haven't. but you have to admit that things are beginning to pick up. unemployment numbers are beginning to go down. the economy is picking up steam. the markets are stronger. the stock market is better. jobs are being created in the private sector. i see this momentum continuing slowly and that is going to trickle into demand and then some of the trillions of dollars that is on the balance sheet of corporate america will be

reinvested into this country and i think we will get into a virtual cycle shortly. don't know if it is in time for president obama. i don't know if it is in time to save him or not but i think these things are cyclical and we are under a better place than we have been for four years. these things are great, but it is getting better. >> finally, and briefly if you can, bill, briefly what we know about europe and given what we know about the paul ryan plan and mitt romney, what should they do in terms of offering alternative economic plan for the country? >> they should do what they are incapable of doing, which is admit that we need to raise taxes on the wealthiest and balance our fiscal situation and get our budgets back in order again. >> not in a month of sundays, i bet. >> not mitt rm knee. >> thank you. necessary and thank you for watching. dylan ratigan is up next. so stay with us. cat homes. purina tidy cats. keep your home smelling like home.

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well, good wednesday afternoon to you. i am dylan ratigan. nice to be seeing you. thank you for giving us a slice of your afternoon. the final move of the term, the supreme court today, hearing oral arguments in arizona, versus the united states. that is the suit over the state's controversial immigration law. the law targets illegal immigrants abiallowing local and state please to check the immigration status of anyone they pull over if there is quote reasonable suspicion they are here illegally. the definition of legally suspicious opens a sorts of grate ways to racial profiling and the rest of it. critics say it is about that, and an argument that court seemed to dismiss today was that. the government says that this state law interferes with federal law. but the state argues it has a disproportionate burden of illegal immigration because of what it calls lax enforcement. can the s