the amt is just a small part of that. the irs is saying that we are going to change or computer programs because we really don't know what's going to happen. it could be chaos out there. >> they are expecting that they will find a patch. gerri: the past means they don't have to pay this. how many people would be on the hook, and what would it mean for them? >> there about 4 million people that are effective, that would go up to 30 some odd million people. about 20 million people would not be thrust into this. and if you remember, this is going back to 1959 and 1970 for 155 people, that's what they wanted wanted to get some of it working in a taxes. gerri: this was where the richie rich people. >> they are saying if you are expecting a refund, you're not going to get it. it's something we have been telling clients for years. we are getting a lot of revisions every year. you can't can file your tax return in february or march this is going to be more people who are expecting not money and just will be lucky if they can file

there are still high income earners who slipped through the amt. we need to find a better way to ensure that everyone pays roughly the same tax rate. host: robert in virginia on our line for independents. guest: i think it is remarkable in the discussion of the fiscal cliff that it always goes to the tax issue. the republicans are always put on the hot seat for having to explain what taxes they are willing to raise. democrats are never asked to explain which spending cuts they're willing to put in place. my question is primarily for set. can you list the top three spending cuts that the democrats are willing to impose ta? guest: is important to look back over the past two years. president obama and congressional democrats have already started the process of deficit reduction. it has been 100% on the spending cut side. in 2011, there was legislation to reduce what is called discretionary spending, not social security medicare part of the budget. the budget control act in the summer of 2011. what they did was put caps on that kind of discretionary sp

the amt patch protecting middle income americans. $50 billion in stimulus next year and in return, the administration would offer $400 billion in additional medicare and other entitlement savings next year to be spelled out as they negotiate. there would also be an agreed mechanism for allowing a vote on a debt ceiling increase for perpetuity. republicans not pleased with this. already publicly crying foul. the white house says the president has already signed into law one trillion dollars in tax cut last year. they're willing to compromise more, but rig now, both sides seem more dug in than before. >> a day that was pretty grim on that front. thanks very much and that 1.6 trillion, everyone, surprising republicans and a crucial number especially when contrasted with the 4 billion this entitlement cuts. i want to tell you the republican response as jessica indicated. they didn't want anything to do with geithner's plan. yesterday, john boehner moved the markets higher. it was joyful talk about a possible deal, but today, it was like a break-up over tax. he went from love to disgust. he

it willing months before taxpayers are hit with a higher amt, ditto for the scary spending kuts you'redual nature of the fiscal slope so important? because it means there is time after january 1st for congress and the white house to reach a deal, lots of time. and in one hugely important area, president obama and democrats can get a much, much better deal if they wait until after january 1st. this has to do with the bush tax cuts. actually, just a part of the bush tax cuts. those would affect the top 2% of income earners. obama was just re-elected on a platform of ending them on income over $250,000. he campaigned on this and he won, but already republicans from house speaker john boehner on down are saying what every single republican in congress has said for 22 years now, absolutely under no circumstance will we vote for any deal that raises income tax rates on the wealthy. this is not on exaggeration. there was a republican civil war over this issue in 1990 when george bush sr. broke that dumb read my lip pledge. ever since then the gop position has been unanimous, absolute, and imp

and so now many people don't understand amt, they don't know how to plan for it, they're not expecting it, and so exactly as you said, they're going to go in expecting to get a refund and not only not have a refund, but end up owing money. >> let's dig in a little bit more though. you bring up an important issue but here's the problem. 34 million americans likely going to pay this thing. it is too part of the revenue tore congress to do away with it. it was meant for 19 wealthy families in 1969. if it is not changed on a macro level it will soon encompass every family. >> that's exactly right. that's what's so interesting. this tax was originally envisioned to ensure that the wealthiest americans, who somehow otherwise didn't pay taxes, had to have some income tax that they paid. and so now because of this fluke of not having it paid for inflation, we're finding that each time it comes up congress has to come together, make a patch in order for people not to be impangted cted by it. >> when anybody talks about raising taxes on only those people who make over $250,000, and the people wh

we're talking about $3700 average for the person hit on their amt, and the investments, long-term capital gains, dividends taxed at a higher rate. that is why so many people are looking to sell assets now before the end of the year. and you're also talking about spending cuts that could be affected. so people unemployed, people getting unemployment benefits, before that got 99 weeks from the federal government and the state now will just see 26 weeks. and then there is some perks that you love like your home interest deduction that may go away or be capped. and that may be something that the average homeowner could get now. with the $2,000 savings are so that may change. so there are a lot of things to consider with the fiscal cliff so the fiscal cliff will affect everybody. >>> they're talking more about the gas tax, more money to fly, thank you, sharon. >>> sure. >>> and speaking of the economy and spending, a lot of spending is going on right now, in what most agree is a tough economy. today was the day they called cyber monday because of the volume of on-line shopping. tonight we have

generally it is a bullish tax cuts the patch for the amt, the death tax and huge spending cuts in defense. the cbo said it will cut growth dramatically as much as 1.3%. do you agree? >> yes. but the sequestration cuts are not just about defense may be disproportionately but it is education, every sector will be subject to ts. if you are the ceo and havv to plans, the first, i want to invest, part to identify will have federal funding for programs will be cut i may have to lay off employees how do plan for that? gerri: we have had people on the show that say i will not expand to the payroll. did anybody feel more confident? >> no. as the day played out to moody's and fitch list about. talk gained about and reaching across the aisle it was a little bit different tone but it is interesting to see how the market looks. >> they will be very short and nervous and sell-off the stock. >> uncertainty with business planning of? but company. even if it is short-term certainty wewill not go off the cliff it is helpful. >> you have a solution for the housing market? >> it is very complicated. how do d

but if you don't do something about amt in the fall, you're going to have to do something about amt beforepeople get into paying their full share of taxes unless you think you can get away politically with not, and i don't think you can. >> leader gephardt -- >> just one quick -- you're exactly right. but the debt ceiling is looming -- >> that's right. >> and that is a cliff. >> right. >> and that will get us right back into the same place we were before. >> right. >> but, leader gephardt, aren't there problems, too, with trying to do this retroactively? let's say, for example, that they leave right before christmas and go home and say our differences are too great, let's punt this to the new year. and then they try to do it retroactively. by then the markets are potentially in panic, and americans are wondering whether their taxes are going to go up. aren't there huge risks to that? >> there are. there is some technical problems in, you know, extending the tax cuts three months, six months because you've got withholding tables, and a lot of things have to go on. but i think the likelihood

be -- >> official documents show the healthiest quote best option is downgrading general hospitals, amt, maternity, children of acute services and cutting 550 of its 658 banks. how can anyone believe the prime minister when he claims nhs services are safe in this house for? >> i just point extraordinary patience us in this willful scaremongering. willful scaremongering. where she plucked up the worst case, as she knows no decision has been taken. and instead, and instead of frightening people from what's happening in nhs can why doesn't she celebrate the great work of our nurses and the doctors who are delivering an absolute world-class service? >> to the deputy prime minister confirm the government's commitment to renew renewable energy, especially in the south was? >> renewable energy is great and a with southwest has a natural advantage. it's one of the many areas renewable energy which are reflected in our diverse approach to renewable energy generation in the future because we got to win ourselves off and over lines of one kind of energy generation. >> [inaudible] called for equali

pretty closely, the minimum tax hitting, of all people, the most people who will be affected by the amt kicking in if congress were to let it happen. and you've been there, so you know that they'll blink at the last moment. but the most people of any state live in new jersey who are the middle-income people, people who make $75,000 a year and have two children will have to pay $4,000 more according to the irs and all of the tax studies. and the other thing about that is if they don't blink and if they let it go till january 1st or 2nd and then try to fix it, the irs says it can't be fixed in time for people to get their refunds in march or april. because it will take so many months to unwind it. not to be throwing cold water on the grand legacy arguments, but the reality of what this man faces, of what we as a country face is so sobering. >> right. >> i think that the emotion that he felt was in the moment, being in chicago, surrounded by those young people. i've been at headquarters. you have. you've seen that when you first walk in, it looks like an insurance company. really what they

. >> michael finney looks into an e >>> a santa rosa widowóu]) significant amt of money from her husbandsion of what to do with the money caused her problems.. >> that is until michael finney stepped in to help. >> the circumstances of the story aren't unique but reasons behind mistakes are unfortunately quitebozx common. >> you can call pee tea cup lady. >> joannea cared for her husband until he died after nearly 40 years of marriage. she had to make big money decisions she wasn't used to making he always took care of the main finances i knew a little bit like pennies but anything bigger, he did it. >> ?'Ñi decided to buy five large cash year's checks. we couldn't disclose the amounts for last name. >> i anythinged -- figured they were safe. >> this financial advisor co-founder marin support services.. >> elders are very nervous about what to do with their money. >> unfortunately for joanne that is what happened to her money. five years after buying her cash year's check, the bank said it couldn't find records of them. the bank refused to cash them for her. m t)÷ them. and i said how

be -- >> official documents show the healthiest quote best option is downgrading general hospitals, amt, maternity, children of acute services and cutting 550 of its 658 banks. how can anyone believe the prime minister when he claims nhs services are safe in this house for? >> i just point extraordinary patience us in this willful scaremongering. willful scaremongering. where she plucked up the worst case, as she knows no decision has been taken. and instead, and instead of frightening people from what's happening in nhs can why doesn't she celebrate the great work of our nurses and the doctors who are delivering an absolute world-class service? >> to the deputy prime minister confirm the government's commitment to renew renewable energy, especially in the south was? >> renewable energy is great and a with southwest has a natural advantage. it's one of the many areas renewable energy which are reflected in our diverse approach to renewable energy generation in the future because we got to win ourselves off and over lines of one kind of energy generation. >> [inaudible] called for equali

. >> im so glad you brought up the amt. nobody has really been focusing on this. that would be bigger than even extending the bush tax cuts. you are talking about $2 trillion in additional taxes on americans over the next decade if we do not fix this thing. of course, it is because they have not indexed this for inflation. it reverts to the level it was in 1993 where the level would only be about $45,000. think about this. when you mention those 30 million americans, those are rich people. those are people earning 100-150,000 dollars. they will let the payroll tax rise back to where it was before they temporarily suspended it. dagen: do you think, though, bottom line, we will get higher tax rates on wealthier americans? >> it really depends on the president. the republicans have put a pretty fair deal on the table. they are willing to put a cap on deductions. a lot of conservatives are not happy with that idea. if the president want to go to the man and say i insist those rates go up, then i am not sure if we get a deal. under that scenario, i think we go into 201

gei: we have no talked about the amt that has no patch. the death tax through the roof.e left that is all the want to talk about but we see a broad brush of taxes going up to people who care abo their future trying to invest or run a business. >> it is one of the biggt tax hikes in history. it is approaching $400 billion. by the way, it will harm the economy and still will not cut -- cover the deficit. we have to cut spending. i believe the most likely outcome is to kick the can down theoad or one year. cannot compromise they will take the middle road and we have serious negotiations 013 for the overarching simpson bowles type package. type package. gerri: [ male announcer ] at scottrade, we believe the more you know, the betr you trade. so we have ongog webinars and interactive learning, plus, in-branch seminars at over 500 cations, where our dedicated support teams help you know more so your money can do mor [ rodger ] at scottrade, seven dolr trades are just the start. our teams have the information you want when you need it. it's anothereason more investors are sayin

amt is often a deductions how many deductions you take. consider gifting now because taxes on gifting, of course estate tax are going through the roof. ashley: yeah. >> so, don't listen to all these personal finance people you're seeing on the web. take action. ashley: cbo also said, if we go over the fiscal cliff, the chance of the u.s. economy going back into recession is very high indeed. >> will rogers. ashley: people who hire, everybody associated with the economy. >> right. and i just don't see, all i see is posturing right now. i don't see a lot of action. the fact that the president himself isn't sitting down with congress, why is that? i don't get it. why isn't geithner, all due respect to the treasury secretary. at the end of the day the man who could do the deal is the president himself. ashley: i imagine you will talk a lot about this tonight on the show? >> indeed we will. we'll talk about that we'll talk about the auto show in l.a. which is a ton of fun with a friend of the show's from consumer reports. ashley: gerri willis,

all of the busheir raw obama tax cuts expiration of the two percent payroll taxes and not passing the amt. the states who's taxes drive residents as much as 7,000 dollars in some cases. new jersey, maryland, connecticut and massachusetts as you can see there and a bill of 3,000 dollars washington, hawaii, colorado, kansas. >> the northeast getting hit very hard. >> is this why many people are trying to make adjustments when it comes to the travel for the holidays. >> travel spending is down. we should think about the traffic. that's not down. before the tushg key the indigestion. 30 million of us plan to drive to our thanksgiving destinations. it is up since 2007 according to aaa. when it comes to flying there will be a 1.7 percent decline about 3 million of us plan to fly to our holiday destinations. we are spending 498 bucks on thanksgiving travel that sounds like a lot but it is less than last year because of the economy. >> thanks lauren. good to see you this morning. that brings us to our brew on this question of the day. is the current he can nom i gos situation effecting your trave

it's not just the amt at the end of the year. all the bush tax cuts. ge we don't know.e don't know what will happenu with that.ear, cap capital gains taxes, all of this changing. what are you telling yourre youu client? >> well, most of the calls we'rt getting in the discussions we are having a more about thel spenng because you realize that even if you get all of this spding. mone they don't come togethertht and everyone lies in the sand. everyone has to pay the $3,700td on average, you raise aboutnav 100 million. if you taxhe high-wage earners you earn another 80 billion. that's still only gets you soiln far to the 1 trillion. rri: it does not take is anywhere near paying off our dead. >> $3,700 to an average family right now oppose the average 2%0 you have to pay back to social security because that is no longer there. real money for people at a timef when you probably can ill afford to spend it. gerri: summarize what you're saying, don't pay your taxes early hoping to get that refund because it is just not going to happen. bere. and you have to check for it. you hav

the amt, this tax is supposed to be protecting people being sucked up into the inflation tax. going to get middle-class taxpayersgoing to affect 26 million people. extended unemployment benefits and. the security, social security payroll tax, that is another impact. $55 billion is the result of sequestration will hit at the end of the year, and those cuts will hit the defense department. what we are looking at is an amazing, an amazing set of possibilities and shaving 5 billion out of the pentagon budget next year, a million and a half jobs are at risk. as the president is so fond of saying, alexian's do have consequences. we had our election. here are just some of the consequences. another brutal blow to of victims of hurricane sandy. high wind, rain, and snow as potent nor'easter it dumps on survivors of sandy's devastation . president obama secures a second term with wins in crucial swine's -- swing states. what can we expect in the next four years? the "a-team" is here. where republicans go from here? governor romney fail to attract major voting blocs, women, youth, blacks

gerri: we have not talked about the amt that has no patch. the death tax through the roof.the left that is all the want to talk about but we see a broad brush of taxes going up to people who care about their future trying to invest or run a business. >> it is one of the biggest tax hikes in history. it is approaching $400 billion. by the way, it will harm the economy and still will not cut -- cover the deficit. we have to cut spending. i believe the most likely outcome is to kick the can down the road for one year. we cannot compromise they will take the middle road and we have serious negotiations 2013 for the overarching simpson bowles type package. gerri: never thought i said kicking the can down the road is a good option. but it sounds like it is. thank you for coming. we will be right back.io our support teams are nearby, ready to help. it's no wonder so ma investors are saying... [ all ] i'm with scottrade. well, having a ton of locations doesn't hurt. and my daughter loves the santa. oh, ah sir. that is a customer. let's not tell mom. [ male announcer ] break from th

and i think the political pressure then to fix it would be intense because of the amt shock. normally 4.5 million pay pay alternative minimum taxes. if we didn't fix this on the 2012 income, what's due in 2013 will be additional taxes of several thousand dollars by an extra 28 million households. 33 million instead of 4.5 million on 2012 taxes. if you're going to file your tax return in january and you expect a refind, if you're in the 75,000 to 300,000 income bracket, forget about it if they don't fix that amt. so i think senators will get calls from a good portion of 28 billion households saying what are you doing raising my taxes. i never withheld. are you going to penalize me because you didn't fix what you fix every year? i think that amt shock is going to drive -- if we go over the fiscal cliff, it will drive a very, very fast fix. but then we'll just have a small bargain later this year. there's not going to be a grand war bargain. >> that could be the worst case scenario is just letting everything ride. may not be bad news in the immediate future, but it does mean we'

the amt reminas. all they suddenly have a lot of revenue. you can spend money. thee you get there, and t president has made it clear that the rights expire, cut elsewhere. that will actually come he will try to back down. he put them in a squeeze for the year either for keeping up tax rates for the folks outside of the top rate racket sport not. he could absolutely play that game. it is clear that any of this talk of finding a chemical bipartisan solutions is going to be shot. if they're going to play it that way, there will be winners and losers. sequestration will start for other step that does not have the flexibility that others do. it will be a really harsh two years the next midterm. >> you'll never grow broke in this town betting on cynicism. everyone who has been in government knows you're always accused of these very electrified part conspiracy mousetrap schemes. it is not work like that. it is not that nobody wants to cut entitlements are raise taxes. one group wants to cut it. one groups want to raise taxes and one wants to cut spending. in general, m

this is the amt tax.t had to pay it before. 34 million more american households will be subjected to this ant tax if we fall off the fiscal cliff. they are saying don't fan panic about it. that many more households affected they are likely to come to some sort of agreement by the end of the year. >> that's good nis. why should we pay for next semester's tuition before the end of the year? >> you are still eligible for the tax credit even if you pay the spring semester tuition. this is something heather that could come off the table in the new year. even though you are paying 2013 spring semester you can do it by the end of the year and still be eligible. >> that's for college? >> that's for college. >> tell us about the 529 education savings account. >> this is tax free savings. when you deduct out of that account to pay for tuition that's a big benefit. so 401 k's, 529 plans, tax free shelters for your dollars something to take advantage before december 31st. >> everybody needed to hang on to every penny

they are going to -- you have to fix amt numbers. we will fix the sequester, about 110. they can come up with 220 billion, but if you think about it, it doesn't solve anything? it really does not. you then have the decoupling, but you have not done anything to reform the tax code to make it more globally competitive. you have not done anything to slow the rate of growth of health care. that is going to eat the budget of life. you have not done anything to make social security sustainably solvent. you have not addressed the dreaded debt ceiling. you bet your life when the ceiling comes up, when you have not done any of that stuff, you talk about the leverage changing in this town pretty quickly. confidence in the marketplace is a big deal. >> there is another thing. they do not have to come out here with a piece of legislation right now. that would be great. they need to come out with a sheet of paper signed by an equal number of democrats and republicans from each house, or pretty close. something that shows both parties were deeply involved in the plan. does not have to

that's the tax extenders, amt expiration, that would not be renewed if we go over the fiscal cliff.h tax cuts expiring. big hit here for this top quintile and less so as we move to the left. and the payroll tax cuts, they expire too, about $100 billion total here. we layer that back on. that hits the top quintile, and other aspects of the recovery act. the bottom quintile up by $412, $2,000 for the third quintile, and $14,000 if you're $108,000 and above. that's everybody, it includes the top 1%, which we're going to take a special look at now if we take a look at where these guys go. these are all the other elements in the top 1%. this includes people, by the way, who earn what? they would be $380,000 and above, all the way up to whatever it is, $200 million. their taxes would go up by $120,000 on average in that. becky? >> that's an average number. >> it's an average number. we don't know what the median is. now, another big part of this debate is what happens to small business. i will tell you that i spent about 20% of my time getting that other data together and i spent 80% of m

the estate tax as well, the amt. these are part of the mix as well.they factor in here as bargaining chips if you will as negotiating peace is as this conversation begins? >> i think what you are identifying as the state tax these are one of the reasons why it will be not impossible but challenging for this to come together so quickly, and i want to just call out the final thing you said which is the a emt. don't forget we do not have an amt tax for 2012 yet and the irs commissioner has already said without a deal by the end of the year that covers that tax for calendar year 2012, the irs isn't going to be able to have tax refunds until early 2013 for the 2012 calendar year until perhaps mid march. that means a lot of american households who go out and do their christmas shopping more of the shopping have the expectation they're going to get a quick refund early in the next year are going to either be called out or not doing as much shopping if they know it ahead of time just as one manifestation of the consequences of not having a deal in place by th

the rest of it, the amt, the farm bill, there are many tax issues besides just the income tax rate weave to resolve, too. i worry about the estate tax done and other ones done if we can, and then push the other matters to next year. >> thank you so much for your time. we greatly appreciate it. talk with you soon, hopefully. thank you. >> thank you. >> the first read team reports there's a sense in the white house they need a cease-fire negotiation in the middle east asap. it could come down to a test of the new egyptian government. nbc's deputy political editor mark murray will join us live. plus, new jersey governor chris christie, you might say he stole the show on "snl." >> you have been wearing that fleece a lot. >> yaeshgs it's basically fused to my skin at this point. >> we'll have more. it's one of the things we thought you should know. >>> welcome back. president obama now on the last leg of his unprecedented trip to southeast asia. the president went to the east asia summit after visiting thailand and myanmar, where he became the first u.s. president to visit the once isolate

democrats scale back on maybe dividend taxes and the tax i hear on the table, big-time for republicans is amt. alternative minimum tax, talking about a big number of people getting brought in, they are looking to scale that back. and that's where we are right now. the deal with the republicans i hear want to do is something to appease the tax hawks, like the grover norquists. let's see where that upper bracket is. i hear it moves up. maybe it's a million. that is done apparently. they're going to move that up and see what the democrats are -- we should also point out that a lot of people thought negotiations weren't going on. they were just taking the time off. i hear they are in washington, mcconnell, boehner, you name it, paul ryan, democrats, pelosi, reid, they are working today. maybe it will take tomorrow and thursday off. but they know time is of the essence. they have to do this before the christmas holiday because you don't want people thinking their taxes are going to increase during the largest spending time of the year. now let's get to steve cohen which is fascinating. i mean clea

we have to make sure the amt, alternative minimum tax, is not impacted. we also have to make sure unemployment insurance is extended. we have to make sure physician reimbursement is not drastically cut. we have to look at social security. we're going to have to look at entitlements. but to try to wrap all of this into one ball essentially is endanger us going over the cliff. that's what alan krueger is saying. that's what the public said in the election. so, i hope the republicans will listen to the public and listen to the facts given by the cbo. that is extend the middle income tax cuts, which has the most impact on gdp. do not extend upper income tax cuts because they're unfair, increase the deficit and not essential for economic growth. that's what cbo said. let's listen to it. it's an independent agency. >> congressman levin, good to see you. thank you for joining us. >> thank you. >> sandra levin of michigan joining us from washington today. >>> the other big story in washington, a shakeup at s.e.c. eamon javers joins us with details. >> a lot of ch

extend the patch for another year, two years while we come up with a permanent fix, bgetting rid of amt, which is universal agreement. the president said move forward on the pieces we agree with, including that. on the payroll tax cut i'm one who -- my personal view is that we should extend at least for a year the payroll tax cut or something that's equivalent to it, that provides a little extra money to about 160 million working americans and given the fact that the economy remains fragile, it's important to either do that or something like it for another year because you raise a really important point. in addition to coming up with a long-term plan to reduce the deficit we really need to focus on jobs and the economy, and that is an important piece of it extending the payroll tax cut or its equivalent. when republicans say extend the tax break for the folks at the very top for job purpose in the economy, that has been proven to be untrue and congressional budget office, which is a nonpartisan organization says, you do much more to boost the economy by a temporary extension of the payr

. $1.6 trillion in taxes, extend unemployment and put the amt patch.rtgage refinancing, $50 billion in stimulus. in return, he offered $400 billion in entitlement savings and said, if you do this, we have to agree on a debt limit. you might say there's no way republicans are going to accept this. let's see. kevin yoder is a republican of kansas. he's "outfront" and member of the appropriations committee. what do you say to secretary geithner's bid? >> i don't think it's a serious proposal. it's not the type of balanced approach the president's spoken about and i don't think it's the type of thing that's going to get our economy going again. it's just not that type of balance the american people are looking for. whey too high on taxes. not nearly enough on spending reductions. >> the president has said all the way along, if i give you a dollar of revenue, if you guys give me a dollar of revenue, that's $3 trillion in spending cuts. he's coming in with 400, so would you try to get him to 3 trillion here or try to bring down the revenue number? >> well, i

the white house is saying, if these tax cuts go away for the middle class and taxes rise and the amt patch goes away and taxes rise on the middle class, it would dramatically slow growth in gdp next year and would mean $200 billion less in consumers' pockets. what is this right out of the white house report? this reduction of $200 billion is approximately four times the total amount of the 226 million shoppers they spent on black friday weekend last year. they're trying to show you just how important all that money is in the economy if you have those taxes rise on the middle class. it's really, john, the latest from the white house. it comes on the same day warren buffett writing in the "new york times" in an op-ed saying rich is $500,000 a year, and let's tax them. let's have a 30% minimum tax for the income above $1 million of rich people. look what he said here. the "forbes" 400, wealthiest individuals in america hit a new group record. $1.7 trillion, more than five times the $300 billion total in 1992. he says you know, my gang has done pretty well. so leave the middle class alon

>> caller: american power, amt. >> i wish it would pull back so i can -- >> buy, buy, buy, buy, buy.it must be bought. one of the best stories out there. nick in ohio? nick? >> caller: jim, i'd like to give you a buckeye boo-yah. >> hey, congratulations on being undefeated. >> caller: no doubt. no doubt. i would like your analyst opinion on sprint. >> okay. remember, sprint's doing a complex deal with softbank. you're going to be able to get cash back whenever. suffice to say i like the stock. if you see it go down, that's because of the combination of the arbitrage, not because it's doing badly. i need to go to charlie in minnesota. charlie? >> caller: boo-yah, mr. cramer, from the frigid north on the edge of the prairie. how are you doing? >> real good. i'm kind of in the not so frigid northeast on the edge of nothing. what's up? >> caller: just curious what your thought is on hospitality properties. hpt. with the bountiful yield. over 18%. >> people are very concerned about that company not being able to make the numbers. i say we need to do more work before i opine on it. wheneve

but now you need to deal with the sequester, the amt, the medicare problem.en or there's a concept of a down payment. can you go into a little bit more about what you expect that to be? >> no, i really would rather not do that, because i don't want to limit the options that would be available to me or limit the options that might be available to the white house. there are a lot of ways to get there. and i don't really want to preclude anyone who might have a good idea about how we move forward. but it's clear -- it's clear that we've got to fix our broken tax system, and we've got to deal with our spending problem. >> mr. president, the core principle you would need to pay for turning off the sequester immediately, or could that be taken part of a bigger deal? >> nice try. >> mr. speaker, does calling it tax reform give you a better way of selling it to your caucus in terms of increasing revenues versus something that is revenue-neutral, which is a mantra we've heard in the past? >> we've had this discussion over the course of the last year-and-a-half. as you

those are things like amt, rnd. they build up the taxes. the bush tax cuts expire.hat raises them this amount. payroll tax cuts, they go away. some of the recovery tax relief goes away as well. here are your numbers. if you're in the 0 to 20,000 bucket of income, on average about $400 extra that taxes. 20 to 40, about $1200. 40 to 64,000, that's the middle group, about $2,000 up on average. 3500 in the fourth quintile. there, $14,000 would be in the final quintile. if you're in this area, don't get too worried. that's going to include also the top 1%. that's part of this last quintile. up $120,000 if you're in $380,000 in the top 1% or higher. that's all the way up to $200 million or more depending upon what you're making. so maria, that's real money coming out of people's pockets. total fiscal cliff would raise about $.5 trillion in additional revenue. >> amazing. all right, steve. thanks very much for doing the leg work on that. steve liesman. even before today's hard line from the president at his press conference today, reports today that the president wants $1.

that there's some low hanging fruit within the confines of the fiscal cliff like the patch for the amt the sequester that likely gets fixed before december 31st. and then you're just dealing with the tax hike. my big problem though with this whole debate is i don't think we're spending enough time talking about growth. and establishing conditions for the economy to grow. because we can argue all we want about what's the right marginal rate, do you do it through deductions or do you it on the rate side. wouldn't it be nice if we actually got another couple percentage points of growth? that would do an extraordinary amount of good in terms of the revenue side. so -- >> exactly. >> i also don't think we're having enough attendant conversations about the spending side. so i would like to see a little bit more discussion about other aspects of this, how you establish conditions for growth, what you do on the spending side in addition to just this tax debate which seems to be taking all of the energy. >> hopefully they will listen to you. you never know. that may and number those ceos at the

hundreds of millions of dollars of mri z and amts.age is varied in so many different ways and so deep. i was up on the 16th -- i didn't climb up that high, the 18th floor of a housing project. three elderly women had been there two weeks. they couldn't get down, no electricity, no elevators. and there they are. they don't have water. they don't have light. they don't have heat or plumbing. volunteers were bringing them food and clothing. it's just awful. it's just awful. >> tell us about this. i've been trying to bring attention to some of the groups i've gotten to know in the last couple weeks. tell me about the federal government. if you lose a house, if you have your electrical system destroyed, if everything around the house basic aally has to be rebuilt -- >> this is one of the problems. the most private insurance doesn't have -- is not flood insurance. >> it's only when. >> some people have flood insurance and some people don't. and then fema will pay a maximum of 34, $100. you can have a bungalow and 31, 400 isn't going to brin