[applause] >> now we will hear from my bashful colleague, alan reynolds. >> all need i can figure thishing out. -- only if i can figure this thing out. i am going to focus on the numbers. that is what i do. let me give you an example of misuse of these numbers. in this use would be the price of inequality called "america 1% problem." he does not present data. he talks about the data. "the simple story of america is this. if the rich are getting richer, the poor are becoming poorer and incomes of the middle class are falling, why is that a misuse of the data. the numbers only cover the top 10%." the congressional budget office does a much better job of including everybody. and they found the average incomes of 1 topped% fell by 37% from 2007-2009. that is rough. they found that real median income rose 48.8% for 1980-2009. including a small rise between the height of 2000 and the peak of 2007. as for the poverty rate, we would get back to that. the second major error in use of these numbers all relate to for getting these are pre-checked numbers. they are also pre-transfer numbers. they

we will then be hearing from alan reynolds, who is a senior fellow at the cato institute.was formerly the director of research at the hudson institute and national commission on tax reform and economic growth, and most important for today's topic, he was the author of income and wealth from greenwood press in 2006. and then batting cleanup, scott winship at the brookings institution. before that he was a research manager at the economic mobility manager. and a senior policy adviser for the ways and means and he was educated at harvard and northwestern. without further ado, i'm going to turn the program over to brian. >> thank you so much, dan. it is good to see you again and it's great to be here at this institution, the cato institute, which in my mind just becomes more and more content more relevant with every passing year. for years into the failed recovery from the great recession, we now know what the 2012 election is going to be about. incredibly, it is not going to be about -- it is going to be about economic status. that's right, not about recovery or growth or sol

we'll then be hearing from alan reynolds, senior fellow here at the cato institute. he was formerly director of research at the hudson institute, research at the national commission on economic growth and most importantly for today's topic, the author of income and wealth from greenwood press in 2000. and then batting cleanup committees of the third, a scot winship come a senior fellow in economic study at the brookings institution. before that, research manager and economic mobility at the trust and senior policy adviser for third way and was educated at harvard and northwestern. so without further ado, i'm going to turn the program over to brian. >> thanks very much comedienne. it's great to see you again and it's great to be here at this institution, the cato institute, which in my mind just becomes more and more relevant with every passing year. it really is amazing all the challenges we face are the ones that cato has been studying for a long time. four years into the failed recovery from the great recession, we now know what the 2012 election is going to be abo

then alan reynolds a senior fellow at the ku institute former director of research at the hudson instituteand most importantly the author of income and wealth. then batting cleanup is scott and who is a fellow of economic studies at the brookings institution then research manager for fifth at the charitable trust before that and educated at harvard and a northwestern. so i will turn the program over to brian. >> thank you. is a great to be here which in my mind becomes more and more relevant with every passing year. with all the challenges we face. four years into the failed recovery we now know with the 2012 election will be about. incredibly it will not be about the issue will be about economic fairness. not about recovery, growth for solving the problem which is the 800 pounded guerrilla but gdp expansion that this nation has been suffering since year-end this run of five straight down quarters. forget about those real concerns. the question at hand with the incumbent president's whether there are rich get more than their fair share. until the republicans changes the terms of their deba

reynolds, cbs news williamsport pennsylvania. >> and that is the cbs evening news. four scott pelly, i am nora o'donnell. thank you for joining us, and good night. >> good evening i am alann. >> i am dana king, one of the largest wild fires in the west burning in northern california and it has grown to 15,000 a.. the ponderous of fire threatens 3500 homes and has already destroyed seven. cal fire has ordered two dozen people to evacuate. it is burning in the steep rugged terrain east of redding. joe vasquez is in red bluff at the command center. >> unlike the many other fires roaring through the state today, this one is putting homes in jeopardy as you mentioned. let me show you video, you mentioned 3500 homes and i just spoke with cal fire officials and they tell me that they're concerned that this fire is spreading south along highway 36 and they're about to go out and warn residents for what they call a pre evacuation morning, essentially telling them, look out the fire may be headed this way. the whole thing started with a lightning strike saturday mornin