give us your sense of the state of the american economy. there is some good news. a couple days ago there were jobless claims that were 100,000 worse than expected. what's going on? >> it is better, but we still face enormous challenges, and it's going to be a while before we're confident we're going to have any sustained recovery in place. but we have an economy falling at a remarkably rapid rate. we were losing jobs at 600,000, 700,000 a month. the rate of the declining economy is still dramatic and the rate of job losses still very significant. those are encouraging signs we're seeing improvement in the financial markets, more confidence by consumers, and businesses here and around the world, and that is due to the strength of the policies that this government working with the congress and countries around the world have put in place. the policies have been

if you shock the american economy by raising gas prices to $2 to $4 a gallon in a short period of time, which is what happened, and people, working class people have to take money that they spent on other things and put it in their gas tank, in order to heat their homes, you take the money out of the overall economy. you soften it up, ok that's

americans are out there trying to get the economy going again -- the american economy is resilient.reta: all right, this is random. maybe everybody knows, but i do not. what was your small business? >> marketing and strategic planning for a lot of companies, hospitals and doctors' groups, nurses. healthcare has been one of my passions, and i have been working on health-care reform since i got into congress, so it is really frustrating for me to see the obama administration block all of the real reforms and then say we need the government to take it over. that really makes me want to pull my hair out. greta: if you pull your hair out, see if you can get everybody to read what they are voting on. anyway, we have got to go, senator. thank you, sir. >> thanks, greta. greta: here is what is coming up after the show on "the o'reilly factor." bill: this glenn beck guy, we want to know why he is wearing leader rosen. he will be here. and kids stripping in bars. -- he was wearing a german outfit. greta: 11:00 p.m. eastern time. up next, and report on the budget battle in california. some big

a dozen means that if technology becomes a larger part called the american economy which is very well could we won't need more candidates. and technologies particularly were blessed with far more blue chips than we have iv. an ax to about bank of america this company has received $45 billion in government aid more than a hundred billion in loan guarantees the think bank of america still deserves to be in the dow is the third worst performer in the dow. is obviously a company that has its challenges there's no doubt about that. the only reason we took out eight i g and city group was because the government to influence on the operations of the company in question was really quite substantial. aig the government own the majority of the common shares. in the case of city group the majority ownership wasn't there but the influence when the board of directors and on the strategy for disassembling and spinning off some of the parts of city group were very much bear. and the case of bank of america we are starting to besieged see some indications of government influence on management's in on

we cannot allow or nation's security and health of the american economy to rely on the whims of unreliable and hostile governments. if we refuse to address our single-grist point of vulnerability, we fail in our duty to protect this nation. so it's clear that we need to end this addiction. we need to be energy self-sufficient. but how are we going to get there? one answer which we heard chanted in rallies across america last year was "drill, baby, drill." and it is true that we could increase production from american reserves in the short term with an aggressive drilling strategy. in fact, i support changing leases on hundreds of thousands of acres already approved for petroleum drilling and bringing those into use-it-or-lose-it leases. they're signature on them without doing a thing. nevertheless, drilling is not and cannot be a long-term strategy for security of our nation. for one simple reason: america uses a lot of oil but has, globally speaking, limited reserves. in fact, the united states has just 2% of the world's oil reserves, as this chart shows right here. here we are down her

we're talking about with this cap-and-trade legislation actually putting a new tax on the american economy at a time when we ought to be trying to get small businesses invested again, reducing the overall tax and regulatory burden that they face. and in trying to create jobs and expand the economy, rather than putting a new crushing mandate, top-down, heavy-handed bureaucratic mandate cap-and-trade program on top of an economy that is already struggling. and as we saw last week, unemployment rates now topping 9%, 9.5%, perhaps going higher before it's all said and done. what's interesting to me about this is there doesn't seem to be any debate that this is going to raise energy taxes or energy costs. you know, so when people get into this argument, it's not a question of if. it's a question of how much. and there are even some on the house side, representative john dingell for many years was the chairman of the energy and commerce committee in the house of representatives said -- and i quote -- "cap-and-trade is a tax and it's a great big one." representative charlie rangel said "whether y

the american economy is again progressive. thank you very much. [applause] [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2009] >> i know back home when a diet coke is provided it's provided at the podium. i would be happy to respond to questions. yes, sir? >> i'm from george washington university. thank you for that great presentation and for your excellent work over the last several months. my question is about trade policy. you didn't say much in your talk about trade policy. and i'm wondering whether the administration thinks that trade policy is part of rescuing and rebuilding the u.s. economy. did you say at the end of the speech that you want the u.s. economy to be more export orie oriented. so does the administration, therefore, favor sending the pending free trade agreements to the congress so that they can be approved and help promote imports? >> somehow i had a feeling that i wouldn't get in and out of the peterson institute without that question being asked. the president made

the american economy is that strong. the question is -- is a gigantic spending program that is going to last for 10 years going to be good for the economy, or was it a target, timely, focused effort like the republicans' that would have done better? i know what my answer is. shepard: thank you for joining us. that peace is in today's edition of the "wall street journal," which is owned by the parent company of this network. astronaut's space shuttle -- astronauts of space shuttle endeavour finally in space, but not everything went as planned during liftoff. the classic flavors of tuscany inspiration for... dinner bell sfx: ping ping ping fancy feast elegant medleys tuscany entrÉes restaurant inspired dishes with long grain rice and garden greens is it love? or is it fancy feast? shepard: right now at nasa, they are trying to find out how much damage the crew of space shuttle endeavour will have to deal with. everything seemed to be going well at the start, and really, it did, but about two minutes into the flight, nasa sa

it's crazy for a group of mere mortals to try to design 15% of the american economy. >> it is arrogant and crazy. and it's con seat that we the elite in washington d.c. can run your life better than millions of free people compete iing is insane. i agree with you. >> robert reich, you heard him, arrogant, handful of people never been in business trying to redesign the economy, what's your response to the distinguished john stossel? >> i would have hoped for a little bit more trenching and insightful criticism. health care now spending 16% of the economy a couple decades ago was only 8% of the economy. most americans are paying through the nose directly and indirectly and most people barely holding on, co-payments, deductibles, skyrocketing. not elite in washington, talk about elites, elites in a very narrow range of private insurers and major drug companies and kind of the elites of the ama, these people are control of our health care system. most americans are not. if our democratic system means anything, it means getting some control so the system works for people instead of people b

bailout money could amount to just about two years of the american economy. we'll have that story. also, "lou dobbs tonight" has learned new details of the president's plan to tackle what is a worsening swine flu outbreak in this country and around the world. >>> rising anger and concern at the way the taliban is treating one of our soldiers captured in afghanistan. only one a day men's 50+ advantage... has gingko for memory and concentration. plus support for heart health. that's a great call. one a day men's. >> deference secretary robert gates today said he's disgusted the way the taliban hases treating one of our soldiers they captured in afghanistan three weeks ago. releasing a video of private first class bowe bergdahl in cap activity. >> secretary state clinton called it outrageous, secretary gates said it's disgusting. other words we've been hearing out of the pentagon is this is a humiliating way to treat a prisoner and violation of international law. here is a little bit of a few hours ago of how secretary gates summed up the situation. >> our commanders are sparing no ef

. >> president obama has launched a sweeping defense of his efforts to stimulate the american economy, saying the u.s. may now be seeing the beginning of the end of recession. the market was up, meaning the financial system was also a -- was no longer on the edge of collapse. he also defended the bailout of car maker's gm and chrysler. the imf has announced it is sharply increasing funding to poorer countries to help them deal with the global economic crisis. they plan to increase lending to developing nations by up to $8 billion over the next two years. that is $2 billion more than was called for by the g-20 summit in april. microsoft and yahoo! have announced an internet search partnership in an effort to take on google. under the deal, microsoft's new search engine will be used on yahoo! sites while yahoo! will use microsoft computer technology. the police in spain are blaming the vast separatist organization for a car bomb in a northern city that slightly injured more than 50 people, who were hit by flying glass. from madrid. >> the terrifying aftermath of the early morning attack

driven and he predicted way ahead of his time that there was a terrible dilemma awaiting the american economy. where were the roberts preparing us for what came in the last few years? thank you. >> starting with robert triffin who live down very well. the last ten years of his life he didn't do economics anymore. he was just interested in history, just as a sideline. but did triffin say? the world has a dilemma because you're dependent on the dollar to keep the machine going and if you don't create another mechanism to get the liquidity for the world economy you will always depend what the americans are doing. that is basically what he said and basically where we are today. it's a little too easy and that isn't because i'm here in the american audience to blame the united states for all these situations. there was nobody obliging european banks to buy the sub prime, you created it, the american banks created but there was nobody holding a gun to the banks in my country saying you have to buy these. we bought them because we wanted more profit, the banks wanted more profit. more broadly, if yo

that we don't continue with an indefinite, long-term ownership of the american economy by the federal government. that, madam president, is not consistent with the american way of doing things. that is not consistent with free enterprise and the free markets and the freedoms we enjoy in this country which have served in the foundation and made this american economy the strongest in the world. we need to return and get the federal government out of the ownership so that it's not controlling the day-to-day decisions made by these businesses and creating all of the inherent conflict of interest that comes with government ownership of private economy. i hope that we will move away from that ownership and that we will not use that as just the precursor to a take over of one-sixth of the american economy by having the government take over the health care system. we all know that we have issues with the health care system. we need to get costs under control. reform our system and make it more affordable to more people in the country. but the one thing that we don't need is to have the govern

if you shock the american economy by raising gas prices to $2 to $4 a gallon in a short period of time, which is what happened, and people, working class people have to take money that they spent on other things and put it in their gas tank, in order to heat their homes, you take the money out of the overall economy. you soften it up, ok that's exactly what happened here. >> i'm not certain that's exactly what happened. bill: speculators did it. >> it is not beyond a reasonable doubt. look, last summer, when this was all happening, we had record high demand worldwide which has now since softened. the chinese were big every bit of oil production coming on the market. bill: then why would the government their report today? >> let me finish. bill: why did they say it? >> they didn't issue the report today. one commissioner leaked to the "wall street journal" what he may hope is written in the report in august. we also had supply disruptions last summer, including problems in my gearia, one of the largest supplier to the u.s. you take all of those things and that drives up oil prices. now,

that you believe that the american economy can respond when americans are able and allowed to do those things we've always done, we know how to invest and we know how to invent and we know how to create jobs. somehow, this idea that washington, d.c. knows how to do it better than the local small businessperson, just doesn't make sense. >> jamie: all right, congressman lundgren -- >> -- stimulate the economy and give the american people a tax cut -- >> jamie: i'm so sorry, i am out of time, we'll talk a little bit about money, that may come to small businesses, later in the show, thank you so much for being with us and i should mention the white house says there is no politics involved in any of this spending, we'll stay on it, fox news reporting. thank you. >> eric: talking about budget troubles, california lawmakers could be close to a deal that will try and close the state's $26 billion budget gap. negotiators at work again today, sunday, discussing governor arnold schwarzenegger's social service reform proposals and other possibility to try and fill up the gap and the state has begu

job as a government is to do what ever we can to unleash the great generative power is of the american economy by encouraging their efforts. i am absolutely positive that we can. i am confident that we are not only going to recover from this recession in the short-term, but we will prosper in the long- term. to do that, we have to act now to build a new foundation. energy is one of the pillars of this new foundation. essential both to our recovery in our long-term prosperity. i am pleased to say that we have achieved more in the last few months to create a new, clean energy economy than we have achieved in many decades before. the recovery plan will double our country's supply of renewable energy. thanks to a new partnership between auto workers in states, we set in motion a new policy to decrease in carbon emissions from all the trucks and cars sold in this country, which will save us 1.8 billion billionarref oil. this will prevent the worst consequences of climate change, and it holds the promise of millions of new jobs. jobs that cannot be outsourced. the ceo standing behind me know a lot a

. >> a lot of money has been pumped into the american economy. >> you have hit the nail on the head. he is talking to the big leaders regarding the sovereign wealth funds, pumping billions into the u.s. banking system. look, this is a reassurance trip, just like we saw in china about one month ago. the money is safe with us, many people worried about the huge deficit. we are likely to hear that the u.s. deficit has hit a landmark year, $1 trillion, a big pr job indeed. >> we will see you then. coming up, a grim forecast of the world debate for climate change. one village in bangladesh prepares for the monsoon. he is accused of murder, rape, torture, the former president of liberia is beginning his defense. charges arrive from the civil war in sierra leone. more than 100,000 people died during the conflict. >> on trial for murder, torture, using child soldiers, it is now his turn to defend himself in court. the former liberian president is the first african head of state to be tried in an international criminal court. he denies the charges against him. the accusations relate to the ci

there's a sea change on fears of a worsening american economy and maybe global disappointment as welll is at its lowest level since mid-may, probably poised to descend through 60 bucks. our question this evening -- could it psibly get to $20? talk about a tax cut. holy cow. that's almost as good as drill, drill, drill. so, let's hear this story. we have phil verlager, who is professor of business university of calgary, he is the proud owner of the $20 oil forecast. on the other side of the trade, we have dave percell, manage director attituder, pickering, holt and company securities. hello, gentlemen. phil, it's good to see you. i apologize right up front for not quite getting your name right on the program last night. >> you got it fine. thank you. >> i've been well briefed, believe me. i fried to francophile you, but you're phil verlager and you had a lot of great experience. in brief, give me the $20 oil scenario. i tried this out on the morning show. i got mbrains beatenin, but i'm not running, phil, i'mall ears. >> larry, i heard you on the moing show. the $20 oil story is relati

if you shock the american economy by raising gas prices to $2 to $4 a gallon in a short period of time, which is what happened, and people, working class people have to take money that they spent on other things and put it in their gas tank, in order to heat their homes, you take the money out of the overall economy. you soften it up, ok that's exactly what happened here. >> i'm not certain that's exactly what happened. bill: speculators did it. >> it is not beyond a reasonable doubt. look, last summer, when this was all happening, we had record high demand worldwide which has now since softened. the chinese were big every bit of oil production coming on the market. bill: then why would the government their report today? >> let me finish. bill: why did they say it? >> they didn't issue the report today. one commissioner leaked to the "wall street journal" what he may hope is written in the report in august. we also had supply disruptions last summer, including problems in my gearia, one of the largest supplier to the u.s. you take all of those things and that drives up oil prices. now,

what we want to do is build a record of what has happened to the american economy and then make recommendations in addition to those that may have already been put into place to avoid repetition. >> suzanne: it may be confusing i think to some of our viewers to be examining the system that failed while at the same time we're currently trying to rewrite the rules. how do you see those two processes working sort of side by side. >> i think it's a little bit like a position. the first thing the position tries to do is listen to your comments, test -- take laboratory samples and then diagnose what your problem is. once that's determined, then you move to the question of recommendation. so our job is going to be to look at what has happened, to build a historical record, to try to understand what that record says in terms of the future and make recommendations as the pikora commission did that has served the nation very very well. >> suzanne: i would be remiss if i didn't ask you what types of reforms that you would like to see see come out of the financial crises we've all been living through in th

the president has had plenty to do in the last five months, working to bring our american economy that, properly a range are frears with the world and make our kids safe, create equity for women. he's not failed to pay attention to virginia. he has not failed to pay attention to fairfax county. in february he and i stood together at the eastern edge of the fairfax parkway and long dreamed project that still was not done. we talked about the recovery bill pending in congress. thanks to the support of our representatives from congress, that bill has passed and was signed by the president. today of the dollar is going to virginia for transportation infrastructure from the recovery act, the single largest project is two sections of the fairfax parkway, that happened because of this president. and in may at mount vernon i stood together with lisa jenson, the president's cpa administrator as she announced the first-ever presidential executive order about the chesapeake bay, coordinating all the activities of numerous federal agencies to save the bay. it was a historic day. it happened becaus

given the fact the president does have plans to try to revamp health care, 20% almost to the american economy, i suppose you can argue the press were proper in asking all those questions. did we get answers? do we know any more now? >> this was bill, my understanding this was a health care press conference, so would it make sense that they would be asking about it, possibly the biggest issue on american's mid. i didn't think obama was asking the questions he was asked completely. i think the set-up unfortunately the reporters don't feel they can be as confrontational with the president as they are say with the white house press secretary so he kinds of filibusters. >> marie seems to be nodding in agreement. he has had four of these primetime news conference, as many as george w. bush had in two administrations. how were the ratings? >> ratings have dropped. this one down 14% from the last and that was down from the previous one before that so, what he does with these he tries to talk over the heads of the reporters and go straight to the voters this is such a morass, this health care reform i

this is one-sixth of the american economy and all we're hearing from the government is more taxes, more government, more spending, and more budgetary deficits. that's why when the budget committee chairman, doug elmendorf, who was appointed by democrats and who is a terrific guy, when he came out and said, look, all you're going to do is add more to the deficit, you're going to have to have more spending, and in the end you're not going to do as much as you're doing now, in all honesty we've got to work together in a bipartisan way if we're going to solve one-sixth of the american economy's problem. >> if you're going to get a lot of young and haemy people to join this health care system, and i'm for it myself, my kids should join, if they would join they'd be healthy and young and a good bet for the health care system. what about tying that together with something like you have on the hill, a credit union, it's a cooperative. it would be full transparency. you'd go into it via shared risk. a lot of healthy people in it. it might be a good deal for everybody. what about that kind of a c

this is one-sixth of the american economy. and all we're here from the president is more taxes, more government, more spending and more budgetary deficits. and that's why when the budget committee chairman, doug elmendorff, who was appointed by democrats, by the way, and a terrific guy, very honest, when he came out and said, look, all you're going to do is add more to the deficit, add more spending, and in the end, you're not going to do as much as you're doing now. in all honesty, we've got to work together. you know, bipartisan way. if we're going to solve one-sixth of the american economy's problems. >> if you're going to get young people and healthy people to join this health care system. i'm for it myself. my kids are in their 20s. if they join, they would be healthy and young they would be a good bet for the health care system. what about trying that together like something you have on the hill like a credit union. something that's a cooperative without -- it would have full transparency. you go into it, it would be a s

, the american economy is suffering. big corporations can't control the health care costs. we have major hospitals, rural hospitals on danger of collapse because of the high cost of health care. >> can this bill solve this problem? >> no, the point is -- >> no, it's not. it's not the point is at this point. the point is if you have to get the work done and they want to get the work done now, before the political season kicks in for 2010 -- >> you're saying that the bills don't solve the problem. >> no one's saying it solves it in its current form, chris. they're saying we have the opportunity to work on it now before politics becomes so large that it would block any potential solution. >> what i thought was significant on friday, the president did not repeat his call to have both houses pass bills by august. usually he does. he said hurry up. there are six senators who signed a letter that said we need more time, republicans and democratic senators. i think this does raise questions about the white house's legislative st

>> well, if the consumer is 70% of the american economy, some of the details in this report indicated that the savings rate which was at 0 a couple years ago -- increased further in the second quarter to about 5%. so people are fearful. they are stockpiling cash, rather than spending it. they're worried about their jobs which, you know, they should be given where unemployment is. and so i don't think the prospects of a consumer-lead rebound are great for the next couple quarters. >> and stuart hoffman another thing people lack at, of course, the stock market which in the last few weeks has been going up, up and up. what do you make of that? >> well, the stock market is a classic leading indicator. it actually hit bottom in march. and as dan said, if the economy was in that freefall feeling and the market wasn't sure, i think the fact that the market has regained some part of the ground since march and has had a good couple weeks, it's like a scout it went out scouting for an economic recovery and i think it's finding one. i agree that consumer spending won't be strong but it's good to

there are too many things left to know about the american economy.he financial sect sector's woes are fully known. the consumer led economy is in turnaround you have to hedge and be in the market so overseas markets you get a little protection against the weaker dollar and better bounce on the markets. stuart: so you are fund is fidelity international discovery. >> it is not bad but it is fairly expensive. u. you can get be a index or e.t.f. for one-fifth the price. i like van guard total bond market. we did a story in forbes that said if you look long-term bonds are a better buy than stocks. they own a lot of corporate bonds and some government bonds. you get a hedge and it is probably going to be pretty stable. stuart: do you like that, mike? >> i think you are too young for a bond fund. we need some return right now. that why you go with royce value. up 5% a year over the last five, small cap value stocks will lead us out. stuart: quentin, what do you think of that? >> it does beautiful hard work but when one sector is hurt, everything in stocks i

the president has had plenty to do in the last five months working to bring our american economy back, regulate credit cards, regulate tobacco so our kids will be safe. so many issues, pay equity for women. but in the massive issues, he has not failed to pay to virginia. he has not failed to pay attention to fambing -- fairfax county. we stood at the edge of the fairfax parkway, a long project, and thanks to the support of our representatives from congress, that bill was passed, and the president signed it. and today of the dollars going to virginia from the transportation infrastructure, the two largest projects are the two sections of the parkway. that happened balls of this president. [applause] >> and in may, at mount vernon, i stood together with lisa jackson, the present e.p.a. administrator as she announced a first, the first-ever presidential executive order about chesapeake bay to truly save the bay. it was a historic day and again, it happened because of this president right here in fairfax county. today her here to talk about an important issue, the issue of health care. we

. >>> up next on "the wall street journal report," health care spending is one-sixth of the american economy. is now the time to overhaul and it how much will it cost? nobel laureate paul krugman weighs in. >>> guitar hero and other hot american brands with one tng in common. their founders became the richest men in town. what can we learn from their journeys? >>> as we take a break, look at the stock market at the end of the the week. hi, may i help you? yeah, i'm looking for car insurance that isn't going to break the bank. you're in the right place. only progressive gives you the option to name your price. here. a price gun? mm-hmm. so, i tell you what i want to pay. and we build a policy to fit your budget. that's cool. uh... [ gun beeps ] [ laughs ] i feel so empowered. power to the people! ha ha! yeah! the option to name your price -- new and only from progressive. call or click today. >>> a week when president obama has made several historic visits abroad, take is turning to two ofis front-burner issues on the domestic front, health care reform and the stability of the broader economy

and hear from the white house, bill, the american economy is suffering, big corporations cannottrol their health care costs we have major hospitals, rural hospitals on danger of collapse, because of the high costs of health care. >> chris: would the bill solve the problem. >> no, because -- the point is -- >> that is a good -- >> no, it's not, it's not this pointed at this point. because, the point is, if you have to get the work done, and they want to get this work done now, before the political season kicks in, for 2010. >> chris: you say the bills don't solve the problem. >> no one is saying it solves it in its currents form, chris, what they are saying is we have the opportunity to work on it now, before politics becomes so large that it would block -- >> it already happened. look, what i thought was significant on friday, the president did not repeat his call to have both houses pass bills by august and usually he does and he said hurry up and there are six senators, signed alert saying we need more time and republicans and democratic senators, and i think the -- it raises

>> tonight president obama said the american people and the american economy will benefit most from health care reform. but he did not give a clear answer as to how that reform will be paid for. although he did say he supports taxing the wealthy, and keeping the financial burden of reform off of struggling families. >> president barack obama took his case for health care reform to prime time america. >> if we do not control these costs, we will not be able to control our deficit. if we do not reform health care. your premiums, and out-of-pocket costs will continue to skyrocket. >> while key congress can al committees are still working out details of the legislation, the president emphasized points of agreement. americans happy with their current insurance would get to keep it. insurance companies would not be able to drop someone for getting sick. and they won't be allowed to deny coverage due to preexisting conditions. >> i have also pledged that health insurance reform will not add to the deficit over the next decade. and i mean it. >> how to keep that from happening is a key concern for

that means he may not be able to redo the 1/6 of the american economy in this experiment in social engineering. i think he is prepared for a bill at the end which will be heavy regulation of insurance companies so that you do not get a pre-existing condition requirements and all that stuff. that would be a fallback. there is one other hint. he said he would not impose a tax in which it would fall primarily on the middle class. until now, he said he would put nothing on the middle class. i thought that was a hint to max baucus that perhaps he would go along with some kind of taxing to help benefit -- taxing the health benefit you get in your employment, a $300 billion a year tax shelter. >> you are going to have to get control of medicare payments out of the hands of the congress and into the hands of professionals. >> but the commission has to be, you have to do something to ensure that the commission is apolitical. that is a trick. >> i have seen congress reluctantly give up those kinds of powers before. going back to a senator jim demint, and he is a gift to president obama and those who wan

to gain control over markets in ways that threaten to stifle the energy and intensity of the american economy, and to vary significantly reshape the relationship between the citizen and the government in our country. this is our foremost challenge right now and will remain so for a while. a great deal of the inner -- intellectual conservatism needs to turn. i do not mean just for a focus on the size of government. this is a moment for making the case for american capitalism, for understanding and explaining in a series way what has happened in the past 18 months and why, for making a case for democratic capitalism we have not had to make in 25 or 30 years, a case for economic freedom, for consumer choice, for competition, innovation, and economically, for capitalism. a philosophical and moral case. it is a case we think we know, but one we have not made to the american public and a longtime. we have not had to make it to ourselves in a very long time. this sort of case is the essence of an effective opposition to what the democrats are now bringing about to our economic and political life. th

he said small business is the heart of the american economy, the heart of the american dream, the job creators, responsible for more than 2/3 of jobs over the last 10 years. and on capitol hill the lobbying operation of small business has kicked into gear so, the thinking is that in the end mall business won't be hit as hard as the house bill might suggest. >> couric: all right, chip reid, thank you. in his interview with the president today, dr. john lapook asked him about one element of his health care proposal, about which the president has had a change of heart. >> reporter: do you believe that each individual american should be required to have health insurance? >> i have come to that conclusion. during the campaign i was opposed to this idea because my general attitude was that the reason people don't have held shoompbs is not because they don't want it, it because they can't afford it. 'if you make it affordable, then they'll come. i'm now in favor of some sort of individual mandate as long as there's a hard ship exemption. if somebody truly can't afford health insurance even w

that means he may not be able to agree to the whole 1/6 of the american economy with a huge experiment in social engineering, which was plaed a. its not goingo happen. prepare for a bill athe end what will be heavy regulatn of insurance companies so tha you di not the pre-exiing insurance -- pre-exisng conditioequirements and all that. e other thing -- he said he would not impose a tax in which the burden fel primarily on the middle class. up until now, he said he would but nothing on the mile class. i think that was a hit to max baucus tha rhaps he will go along with some kindofaxing -- the health benefit you get in your employmen a $300 billion per year taxshelter if yogo afterhat he will have a re source of money. >> y will have to control medicare paymts, out of the hands of the congress come into the hands of prossionals. you have to dosomething to sure that at commissioner -- that that commission is apolitical. >> i have seen congrs reluctantlgive up thatind of power fore. going back to jim mint --e has a ft to president obama d those who want health care, because he has reduceth

the proud legacy of the american economy and the ability to increase prosperity through robbed industrialization. david: last word from jack. states cutting government jobs to save money, and that's great news? sounds leak a forbes "flip side," but stick around for the contrarian "cashin' in" crew for that one. up next, a legal prison break of sorts. tens of thousands of criminals about to get a get out of jail free card. çwçww?wçwwçÑcçÑwñ david: tens of thousands of prisoners may soon be walking the streets of a neighborhood near you. broke states like california and michigan getting ready to release thousands of criminals to help balance their budgets. and for good reason, state spends nearly $50 billion a year on keeping bad guys behind bars. but should our safety trump saving money? jack? >> look, i encourage everyone to go to california's website and check out all of the facts and figures in the california state budget for fiscal 2010, because look, it's a travesty that they're spending $10 billion on welfare, $10 billion on prisons, and they're going to cut the prison program, which actua

american helds hostage. home. >>> and he may be a popular man, sliding. >>> tonight on "nightline," body of work. with the sagging economy, americans are spending thousands on plastic surgery. extreme measures they say will improve their resume. but can going under the knife really help you land a better job? and american h >>> good evening, i'm cynthia mcfadden. we begin tonight with the nation's bloated unemployment rate and the extreme some people have been willing to go to to land a job. all the way to the operating room. now, we all know nearly 10% of americans are out of work, that's a 26-year high and president obama says he expects the number to go even higher. no shortage of advice for job seekers, but tonight, sharyn alfonsi probes a radical remedy. >> i work out. really big on the fitness and nutrition aspect of it. i don't see myself in the mirror, i feel like i'm 20 years old. >> most people could kill to have this body, but he sees problems. >> yes, that drives me crazy. >> lately, smith has started to think that the little bit of fat and the deepening wrinkles might be holding him back. >> i have been out

>> i still believe in the american economy. still believe we are going to make it, as long as we remain capitalist. neil: angry. >> angry? neil: i can say that as an italian-american. one person is thinking that the cash for clunkers program will run out of money in a matter of weeks. and congresswoman is with me. you probably just heard my buddy, dave -- a congresswoman is with me. >> i heard him. i do not agree with him. i tell you, the world is full of naysayers, but this is a program that is working. it is a government program that is working. but if we really want to get the government out of, say, the pockets of general motors and chrysler, this is the way we want to do it. ñthis program is mildly incentivizing. successful. -- wildly successful. neil: why do we pick and choose who we want to incentivize? >> we need to incentivize, neil, because we are in a terrible recession, and i tell you, neil, in michigan, which have gone from a -- we have gone from eight repression into something close to a depression. where they have