here they are, tracey burns, jonas max bearis along with christian dorsey.race yourself for government-run health care? >> i think that's what they have been wanting and headed toward all along. and i'm afraid that's what they might get. here's the problem, single payer is basically like medicare is now. everyone pays in, everyone gets the benefits. the problem with medicare, to use an example, they are running a pyramid scheme. they are running out of young peoe to pay for the old people. the ratio used to be four to one. by 2013 it will be 2.4 to one. but that's not the only problem, it's running out of money. it's waste in fraud alone estimated by the government accountable office, $17 billion a year! it provides medicare that has ok coverage, it's just horribly inefficient. and if we get there, you want to talk about with social security, medicare and now a single payer system, completely bankrupting the company, that's the way to do it. >> right. the country. >> the country, sorry. >> all right. christian, you like the single payer system. >> absolutely

we have scott winship and christian dorsey from the economic policy institute. christian i let you begin because i know you don't like the entire wealth gap thing is. tell us what the problem with the wealth gap is. >> the problem is when you look at country that is have a large percentage of their people being for and having a lot of growth to get basic human need taken care of of course you could see faster growth with high inequality but that is not the case in the united states. we have a very educated community and what we have is rising inequality despite the fact that americans work harder and are smarter. well we have is a situation where the wealth that we accumulate is increasingly going to such a small percentage of people which leaves the rest of folks without hope, without the ability to actually improve their standard of living. dennis: so, scott, you've actually looked at this and looked a the a lot of studies and you believe this entire thing is rather overblown. tell us. >> yeah. i think that's right. if you look at the research, what it shows is

joining me, john hawkins, former burger king and walmart employee and i long with christian dorsey with the economic policy institute. john, i want to start with you because what you're saying is very explosive, after working a number of these different jobs you're against paying $15 an hour to people who aren't worth the money. why do you say that. >> well, i would say people are worth what they can earn and instead of trying to sit down and say, all right, we need to force the government to pay them more money, what we should be doing is encouraging people to build up their skills so they're actually worth more money. i think that is better way to go. if we go out and say, all right, we'll wage the minimum wage and force them to pay people more money what will happen? a lot of them sadly will lose their jobs. melissa: to drill down on your argument, christian, trust me, i will let you get in here one second i'm sure you're chomping at the bit. you make the says at first job in walmart no chance for advancement, your district manager was sleeping with one of his employees she was groom

christian dorsey, thank you, happy holidays. >> thank you, chairman. happy holidays. is a sector he thinks is king. he will tell us what sector that is. who has the title of king in chad's mind? can't find out. >>> bad weather causing trouble headaches for millions trying to head out of town right now. are you one of them? you want to stick around for this. as we go to break, take a look at some big winners and s&p. and facebook joining the s&p today. big day for facebook. we'll be right back. ♪ ♪ [ engine revs ] ♪ ♪ [ale announcer ] the merdes-benz winter evt s back, with the perfeehicle that's just right for you, no matter which list you're on [ santa ] ho, ho, ho, ho! [ male announcer ] get the all-new 2014 cla250 startingt t just $29,900. who fnd a magic seashell. it told him what was happening on the tradg floor in re te. ♪ the she brought him great fame. ♪ but then, one d, he noticed that everybody could have a agic seashell. indistinct talking ] [ male announcer ] right there in their trading platform. ♪ [ indistinct talking continues ] [ male announcer ] so th

christian dorsey, director of government affairs the economic policy institute. h us today. christian, let me start with you to boil this all down around the numbers. if we pay people more, will that be better for our economy? >> jenna, it absolutely will be. it is obviously better for those workers who will have more disposable income, be able to keep themselves out of poverty. will certainly lift the living standards for american families to a dramatic degree but it is also good for businesses as well. it reduces their turnover. it increases their efficiency. and it gives them a larger customer base of people who can spend money. also better for us overall, jenna, because we reduce the pressures on our social safety net. jenna: before i get to doug, let me ask you, christian, if you could raise minimum wagings, where would you put it on federally, at the federal level? >> the senate proposing in the senate to raise it to 10.10 an hour is rhinable. that level would put it back to the level it was approximately 40 years ago which i think is a good thing. >> the fa