negative repercussions perhaps extending to 2012, but also the burden and pain in the population is enormous. you know, there is no secret to me why you have all this anger, this bitterness, this frustration, this anxiety expressing itself in a politics of resentment. that's what has happened every time in our history when you get so many people so concerned about their jobs. >> if the bush tax cuts expire for those making more than $250,000 a year, what kind of an impact would you expect on consumer spending, incentives to the business community to create jobs, produce more products? tell me the impact of that? >> well, i take a different position than your colleague larry kudlow on this. i think they should be extended for the bottom 98%, but for the top 2%, save a much larger proportion of their income than they spend. to give them an additional year, just even one year would be $36 billion. that's a big hole out of the federal budget, and we cannot really afford it.

millionaire families would get a $31 million windfall. again, because they're saving so much more than everybody else, they're not spending all that much, they're not going to invest in business capacity in an environment when consumers are coming out from under huge debt and are not going to consume very much. the short answer to your question, i do think the right thing to do would be to extend the tax cuts for the bottom 98%, but not for the top 2%. >> you know, here we are in this point of the recovery where we really should be talking about growth. we should be talking about a little more vibrancy than we're actually seeing. and i wonder if the president made a mistake by not making job eation a real job creation program his number one themen his agenda, rather than pushing health care reform so aggressively and making that his number one point on the agenda. was that a mistake? >> i think the real mistake, maria, to the extent there was a mistake, was not connecting the dots and showing the public how

health care reform actually related to the underlying crisis of stagnant middle class wages and benefits, and how reforming wall street also was necessary to actually revive middle class wages. and why the stimulus was very important. in other words, there are a lot of initiatives out there that republicans took up and said oh, the president is spending so much money, and causing the economy to go under because of all this spending. where the president could have and should have explained in very dramatic and obvious terms to the public that all of this was about reversing a trend that is a long-term trend that actually reached in fact -- kind of demonstrated itself finely, was unmasked by the great recession, and people in the middle have not had a raise in 30 years. the median wage of the male earner today is less adjusted for inflation than it was 30 years ago. how can the middle class, maria, how can the middle class

actually turn around and spend enough to keep the economy going when there has been such a hollowing ou >> robert, great to have you on the program. with we so appreciate it. >> thanks, maria. >> thank you so much. robert reich joining us. turning charitable promises into a reality. my conversation with president bill clinton about the economy, jobs, and innovation at the clinton global initiative. and from clinton to bush. former first lady laura bush will join me to talk about life after the white house and her focus on women's education. as we take a break, take a look at how the stock market ended the week.

president clinton has been a busy man since he left the white house. he is turning promises inta reality, working with businesses and political leaders across the globe to improve lives after

establishing the clinton global initiative to help realize change. this week i sat with him before a live audience at the cgi. we talked charity, taxes, and jobs. >> i think we have to target the areas where we know we can grow more jobs. we have to find ways to finance them and go where the money is. and we have to make sure we have people who can do those jobs. the areas that are most likely to produce big job growth are small business, because it's always the number one job generator, anufacturing, because there is lots of evidence we can bring back manufacturing after a long dry spell, and clean energy, which is related to manufacturing technology and a lot of other things. the first thing i think we shld do is to pass the package to give small business a bigger write-off if they actually expand their operation. so you spend the tax cut for more jobs, expansions,

equipment. the second thing is i think we should pass this package of thing to keep us more competitive manufacturing here. we can't have any more stimulus and the deficit is big and all that and everybody is concerned about it, where is the money going to come from? banks have about $1.8 trillion in cash reserves uncommitt alone. american companies have $1.2 trillion in cash in their treasuries. that's a total of $3 trillion. about 80% of, that $1.2 trillion is held by 75 companies. the one thing that nobody is talking about, if it were me, i would sit down with all 75 of them to see whether if there was a consensus of what four or five things cane done to get them to invest that money here. and even more significant, we need to figure out what it would take to get the banks to loan money. because as you know, at conservative ratios, banks can loan ten times their uncommted cash reserves. so they could loan $18 trillion, and it would be far more

conservative than what happened that caused this ltdown. >> where are you on the extending tax cuts for everybody? the bush tax cuts? would that help the ecomy right now? >> wl, as compared with putting the money in the bank and doing nothing with the money, i would vote to extend them. however, if i knew the money -- and i'm in that category. so we're talking about extending my tax cuts. if i knew that my money would instead go into creating a fund to train all the workers, i would rather do that. so we can do it that way, i'd love to give up my tax cut, as long as i knew it was going to train unemployed workers to go to work because it could create a lot more jobs. >> in 2009, corporate giving accounted for only 4% of total contributions to charity. 4%. why is this number so low, mr. president? >> if you're going to give money from a corporation that is

publicly held with investors, you have to be able to make a case that in an interdependent word, you've got to improve the environment in which you operate, whether it's around the corner or around the world. and one of the things that i'm proudest of was when we started this, only 35% of our commitments six years ago had any corporate involvement. this year 54% do. they've got to be able to say that doing good also helps the people who believe in them, not just investors, their customers and their employees do well. i believe that in and interdependent world, but it's a case they have to make. >> mr. president, when you were in office, the innovation was coming from technology. where is the innovation coming from next? >> i was very fortunate when i became president. information technology rifled throughout the economy. it got out of corridor 128. it got out of the interconnect companies in the washingn, d.c. area, the video game areas in texas, and it rifled.

in silicon valley, it rifled through every aspect of the american economy. 35% of our wage growth. >> wow. >> every big country needs a strategy to have something like that every five to eight years. and my view is that we already know the answer to that for america by look at what happened in this last decade. there are four countries that will beat their clean energy targets in the kyoto protocols -- denmark, sweden, the uk, and germany. all in different ways. every e of them had a lower unemployment rate, a higher growth rate, and less inequality than the united states because they embraced the clean energy future, all in different ways, and their economy ploded. so we can still -- [ applause ]

we can still tap that. in the next decade, ainge lot will come out of biotechnology, nanotechnology, all kind of things yet to be perceived. >> my thanks to president bill clinton. cutting a coury's deficit. it's what international political leaders were talking to me about thiseek. here they are in their own words. >> we're on target. we took very difficult measures, a lot of pain. we cut our budget target for end of 2010 40%. we're on target by cutting the deficit 40 >> we have to really look at the age and see how we can develop buying as a services club, how we can grow the streth of our base, diversify our economy and really compete on a global level. >> i don't believe that to have a single currency in europe now for 16 countries is a rational

way how to do biness, and how to run the economy. the currency for totally -- different countries. >> up next on "the wall street journal report," laura bush has turned a new page since leaving the white house. find out her goals for global literacy, and what she is literacy, and what she is ading i was driving in northern california. my son was asleep.

i really didn't see it coming. i didn't realize i was drifting into the other lane. [ kim ] i was literally falling asleep at the wheel.

it got my attention, telling me that i wasn't paying attention. i had no idea the guy in front of me had stopped short. but my car did. my car did. thankfully, my mercedes did. [ male announcer ] a world you can't predict... demands a car you can trust. the e-class. see your authorized mercedes-benz dealer for exceptional offers through mercedes-benz financial. ♪ lady bird johnson once described america's first lady as an unpaid public servant elected by one person, her husband. since leaving the white house last year, laura bush has focused on the social issue she is passionate about, education and economic women's empowerment around the world. i spoke to the former first lady about her work and her association with the clinton global initiative. >> a panel talking about harnessing human potential. there were two parts of it that are most important to me.

obviously literacy. if people are literate, if they can read, they're much more likely to be able to be a part of their economic lives in their communities or in their country. we know when we look around the world at where women are marginalized, where they're not allowed to be a part of civic life or the economic life of thr country, usually we look at a failing country. >> tell me about education today. because everybody is looking at, you know, the world and how it's changing so dramatically. china growing as fast as it is and india, and latin america, brazil in particular seeing an enormous amount of money float. people are trying to figure out how am i going to do well. how is the average american going to do well when you have such competition around the world. do we teach our students the right skill sets that are required to navigate this new normal? >> i think that's somethinge need to work on. there is no doubt about it. we need to make sure the basic

skills that you need to be able to succeed and read, so we need to make sure that all children in our country learn to read and read wisely. but also, we need to look at what we're teaching. we need to teach more science, more math. and we need to emphasize those. and instead of just having one size fits all curriculum across the united states, we need to o size fits all curriculum across the united states, we need to figure out ways to have upper-level science and math classes, even for high school students. because when they go on, they're real prepared to compete worldwide. >> you've been spending a lot of time on these issues, and thank you for that, by the way. tell us what else you have been doing with your time, and how you feel about the current political landscape. >> well, george and i are both working on policy, continuing to work on policy. george said we're through with politics, which is a great relief, really in a lot of ways. i don't have to comment anymore on politics.

but we do want to continue working on the things that we were most interested in, which include economic opportunity and education, global health and human freedom. and we're doing those through the bush institute. it will be part of the bush library at smu in dallas, my alma mater. we have already srted the institute. we have had a number of conferences, including the u.s. afghan women's council meeting in march, last march with a focus on literacy and education for girls. >> are you happy with where the country is right now? would you like to see change in terms of policies, in terms of education? >> you know, of course. i think everyone wants to see a change in the economy. and i think that's what people worry about the most. obviously, when they're losing jobs or losing their homes, it's very, very worrisome. my dad's generation lived through the depression. and they were very frugal because of that. you know, they were much more

frugal than my generation is. they were savers. and we need to do that again. we also need to make sure that young people, high school age students have financial literacy, that they know how to make a budget for themselves and they know how to live within a budget. it's very important that we add financial literacy to high school curriculum. >> and you're sh a proponent of reading and literacy. i'm interested. do you have a digital e-reader or are you still sticking to paper? >> i have a kindle. george has the new ipad. >> okay. >> we're both reading that way. and of course have i such a big stack of books on my bedside table, i read those as well. but i really enjoy being able to read on the screen to make the font bigger now that i'm a certain age. that's a lot nicer to be able to read and see well. >> technology has changed everything. >> the other great thing is being able to get that book in the middle of the night in 35 seconds. that's really terrific. >> it is. mrs. bush, thank you so much for

your time today. and thank you for the service to our country of course. >> thanks. >> laura bush. uprewarding good citizenship. recognizing the best of the best at the global initiative. workers who lost their jobs to the spill. i'm iris cross. we'll keep restoring the jobs, tourist beaches, and businesses impacted by the spill. workers who lost their jobs to the spill. i'm iris cross. we'll keep restoring the jobs, tourist beaches, and businesses impacted by the spill. we've paid over $400 million in claims and set up a $20 billion independently-run claims fund. i was born in new orleans. my family still lives here i'm gonna be here until we make this right. we need directions to go to... pearblossom highway? it's just outside of lancaster. sure, i can download directions for you now. we got it. thank you very much! check it out. i can like, see everything that's going on with the car. here's the gas level.

i can check on the oil. i can unlock it from anywhere. i've received a signal there was a crash. some guy just cut me off. i'll get an ambulance to you right away. safely connecting you in ways you never thought possible. onstar. live on.

for more on our show and our guests, check out wjsr.cnbc.com. hope you will check it out. now a look at the stories coming up in the week ahead that may move the markets and impact your money this week. tuesday the s&p case shiller

home price index will be released. this index tracks the housing maet in 20 stays cross the country. and the latest reading on consumer confidence out on tuesday as well. thursday is the last day of september and the third quarter, and the final reading of the second quarter gross domestic product will be reported. third quarter readings are just a few weeks away. friday auto companies will give us their total sales for the month of september, and the latest figures for personal income and spending also out on friday. finally, i was honored to participate in the clinton global citizen awards at this year's cgi. the star-studded nightcaped off this week's event. the honorees are chosen on their approach to addressing global challenges from the public and private sectors. avon's ceo andrea jong and the president of the dominican republic among others accepted rewards for their leadership by example that will do it for us today. thank you so much for being with us on the program. next week we'll be taking a look at retirement. getting past the roadblocks to secure your

>> announcer: the following program is a paid advertisement for the big boss grill, brought to you by emson, incorporated. imagine making delicious grilled meats and veggies, tasty stuffed sandwiches, golden brown waffles or scrumptious snacks and desserts in a flash without turning on your oven. well, now you can with the big boss grill, the amazing countertop cooker with interchangeable cooking plates to make all your favorite foods, from pancakes to paninis, from breakfast to midnight snack. attaching and removing the interchangeable plates are literally a snap. and the big boss grill cooks both sides at once, so it can cut your cooking time in half. join us today as emmy award-winning comedienne, beloved tv personality, and

former legendary cast member of the carol burnett show, miss vicki lawrence, shows us how this one easy-to-use, easy-to-clean, and easy-to-store cooker is the most versatile kitchen appliance you'll ever use, and stay tuned to discover how on this terrific tv offer you'll also receive two additional new cooking plates so you can make fluffy omelets, even delectable mini doughnuts. and here to tell you more is our host, rich hollenberg. [applause] >> these days, everyone's lives are so hectic. we're all on different schedules, and we all just have a lot less time, so it can be difficult to prepare quick, tasty, and most importantly, healthy meals and snacks for our family. oftentimes, we end up resorting to fast food, which, as we all know, isn't the healthiest, or we end up settling for microwave cooking, trading good taste for faster cook-time. but now i'd like to introduce you to someone who promises there's an easy way to prepare delicious, nutritious meals any time of the day and in half the time. the star of stage and screen and everyone's favorite mama,

miss vicki lawrence. vicki, how are you? [applause] >> hey, rich. hi, kids! >> great to see you. and i look at this table and i think, "wow, that's a lot of food." >> isn't that something? i made pancakes and bacon and some beautiful blueberry waffles for breakfast. this is a tuna melt. this is a beautiful ham and cheese grilled panini sandwich for lunch. how about a juicy steak and some grilled veggies for dinner, and because i personally can never forget about dessert, i have a baked apple strudel. >> baking, grilling on the stove... how do you manage to find the time for all this? >> you know what, i love to cook, but just like so many of us, it's so hard to find the time, isn't it? and we want food that's delicious and that's healthy for us, and that is why i am so excited, because i did all of this, rich, without going anywhere near a stove. all of this beautiful food today was made with one incredible countertop kitchen appliance-- the big boss grill. >> this grill made all this food? >> this is not just any grill, rich. this is the unique big boss grill, and it comes with its own

set of interchangeable cooking plates, so you can go from a grill to a griddle to a waffle maker, even to a sandwich maker, and watch how easily the plates snap in and out of place. so you can change up your cooking method just like this. if you think about it, rich, this one unique little appliance could replace dozens of the appliances that are in your kitchen, and you know what the best part is? i guarantee you you're gonna use it every single day. so, should we do some cooking? >> sounds good to me. let's go. [whoosh] >> first of all, we must grill the all-american burger, right? >> hey! >> i added some crumbled bacon and some cheddar cheese to our ground beef, but you can put whatever you want in them. you can do nothing at all. you can use turkey meat, which is great, if you prefer that. you just close the lid down, and because the top is also a cooking surface, our burgers are gonna cook on both sides at once, so there's no turning. >> oh, that's great! every time i grill burgers, they break apart and stick to the grill. >> well, exactly right, and because these cooking plates are

nonstick, what could possibly be easier? so now let's do something a little fancier but eve bit as fast. i have boneless, skinless chicken breasts, and i cut a pocket in them, and i stuffed in a little bit of feta cheese and some spinach. i'm just gonna throw a little bit of salt and pepper on our chicken breasts. i'm gonna load 'em onto the grill. you know how sometimes chicken breasts can be a little bit dry or bland when they're on the grill? >> sure. >> well, wait till you see these. they are gonna be so good so fast. close the lid down. they're gonna be done in about six minutes. >> and listen to that sizzle already. >> yeah. here's another favorite of everybody's-- the kabobs. i used shrimp for these, but of course chicken, lamb, whatever you want. just throw those on the grill. close it down. and again, so fast, so easy. >> and they smell great already, vicki. >> now, as i said, rich, this can do the work of many different appliances, so now we're going to use the griddle. >> oh, great! so it goes from a grill to a griddle.