joining us now is alan krueger, professor of economics at princeton university and former chairman ofil of economic advisers and ken duberstein. and former white house chief of staff to president reagan. alan, i'll get with you in just a second, let me just -- let me just start with you, though, ken because you were in the reagan white house. and i got nussle here and he always just sort of differentiate yourself from current tea party types by saying you're a small government, limited government reagan type guy and i ask him, well, how is that small government activity going for you at this point? how is it working out? is it working? and what did you tell me? it's tough. is it working? >> no, of course it's tough. >> you're losing ground. you're on a treadmill that's going -- >> hasn't given up, i know that's for sure. >> what can we do to get back? we did seem to -- i won't mention the 7% gdp growth or 800,000 people being added a month, what can we do to get back to normalcy? >> i think the president has to lead and congress has to realize they can't just dream the impossible drea

joining us now, alan krueger. at princeton university. >> you want to apply? >> i know some people that some day -- i'm trying to find an ivy league school with fair and balanced education. is princeton the one? >> there's no better school in the world than princeton university. >> when is the first break? 7:20. this is your first television interview since leaving. >> that's right. >> yeah. in person, you're no worse for wear from working in the white house. maybe because you refreshed yourself after leaving two months ago. it's a grind, isn't it? >> i have the glow that the president said that, you know, the alumni have who worked in the white house. >> because they're no longer there. no long, oh, god, why did i say yes? >> also head of equity portfolio strategy. i still think it's in everyone's best interest to let the other side off the hook to some extent if they can. sooner or later that's going to happen. and this reminds me of wrestling, almost. and it reminds me of the wrestling that, you know, where we

alan krueger. >> negotiations under the threat of default. >> former white house chief of staff johne need to move forward with some ability to move past that october 17th deadline. >> equity group investment chairman sam zell. >> if we do not reach consensus and bipartisan scenarios, we're going to have problems. >> energy titan boone pickens. >> this looks like it's a mess. >> we wrap up the week with one more management guru. jack welch speaks to "squawk" straight from the gut. "squawk box" where business leaders rise above the washington rhetoric. owe here at a ford dealer with a little q and a for fiona. tell me fiona, who's having a big tire event? your ford dealer. who has 11 major brands to choose from? your ford dealer. who's offering a rebate? your ford dealer. who has the low price tire guarantee, affording peace of mind to anyone who might be in the market for a new set of tires? your ford dealer. i'm beginning to sense a pattern. get up to $140 in mail-in rebates when you buy four select tires with the ford service credit card. where'd you get that sweater vest? your for

former council of economic advisers, chairman alan krueger, hasn't been out of the white house that longgendary oil man boone pickens. world's savviest investor some would say chanos and the one and only jack welch. ppened ppened so we could be a better, safer energy company. i can tell you - safety is at the heart of everything we do. we've added cutting-edge technology, like a new deepwater well cap and a state-of-the-art monitoring center, where experts watch over all drilling activity twenty-four-seven. and we're sharing what we've learned, so we can all produce energy more safely. our commitment has never been stronger. bny mellon combines investment management & investment giving us unique insights which help us attract the industry's brightest minds who create powerful strategies for a country's investments which are used to build new schools to build more bright minds. invested in the world. bny mellon. >>> when we continue this morning, we'll try and help investors rise above the debt threat and tell you what it could mean for your portfolio. mark zandy of moody's and neil wolin