brian beutler and eric bates.to start out with the financial trend financial packs that i mentioned earlier in the show. dan, would that be a bad idea? a good idea? something that we should think about and hold in reserve for another day. >> i actually think it's a good idea. the economists say if you want something less of something tax it more. if we want less speculation and less out of control training by these crazy machines that are doing hundreds of thousands of trades a day to capture a fraction of a penny in economic gains, taxes it would discourage those and raise a fair amount of money in a fairly painless way in trading. >> eliot: would this be an useful compromise point? you want the capital markets to be liquid. you want to allocate capital efficiently among businesses and he cansectors. all of that used to happen before the hedge fund that were driven by computers. you could butt a transaction tax it on, do what financial markets are supposed to do and raise money. why wouldn't this be politically g

strategy, and talk about the business of guns with senator barbara boxer, ryan grim, kurt anderson, eric batesplus, the edge of compromise or the brink of disaster? we'll ask luke russert about the latest fiscal cliff back and forth. >>> and sister simone campbell joins us for a discussion on faith, fairness, and community. all of that when "now" starts after the break. and cut! very good. people are always asking me how we make these geico adverts. so we're taking you behind the scenes. this coffee cup, for example, is computer animated. it's not real. geico's customer satisfaction is quite real though. this computer-animated coffee tastes dreadful. geico. 15 minutes could save you 15 % or more on car insurance. someone get me a latte will ya, please?

washington bureau chief for "the huffington post," ryan grim, and eric bates. you are looking live at the white house where president obama is scheduled to speak any minute now for the third time since friday's massacre at sandy hook elementary school. he's scheduled to announce vice president joe biden will lead a task force to combat gun violence. obama's announcement will come against the back drop of four funerals and three wakes to be held today for victims of the shooting. the nra announced it will hold a news conference on friday. it's unclear what the group will say or what it will do, but a statement said in part, "the nra is prepared to offer meaningful contributions to help make sure this never happens again." in recent days, the gun industry has faced pressures. gun makers have seen their stock prices fall and yesterday a major equity firm announced it would sell the company that manufactured the gun alleged used in the shooting by adam lanza. in california, lawmakers introduced legislation to require background checks on anyone who purchases ammuni