cynthia gordy. a week ago there was a meeting meeting with valerie barnes. you moderated the fits cushion, a lot -- discussion, a lot of it focusing on the economy. what did you hear about the administration about the economy and the jobs situation? >> it was timed with the report on the effort the white house has done to combat poverty and targeted efforts for low-income communities, and part of that was trying to advocate for the american jobs act. we talked about what is in the bill to build on the efforts but they talked about the efforts they have already done over the last 2 years to address the long-term unemployed. it was a pretty multifaceted conversation. >> you just mentioned long-term unemployment. arguably the jobs recession is one of the biggest problems facing america right now. 27 of the last 29 months, the unemployment rate was over 9%. the african american rate was 16.7% last month. you have hear frustration from readers in general, did you hear it at the open forum? >> there were questions about specifically what they can do for them. even