professor feldstein to you first, if these initiatives the president announced today samed at helping the middle class child care tax credit retirement savings accounts at the workplace, and so forth, if these were enacted into law how much difference would they make ? >> well, it wouldn't make much difference at all. i like the workplace retirement plan , automatic retirement in workplaces, i think that would make a big difference-- . >> woodruff: professor, i'm going to have to interrupt you, unfortunatey we're having an audio problem here. we're going to get that fixed and come right back to you. and while we do i am going to turn to professor reich. same question, if these initiatives were to become law, how much would they help the middle class? >> judy, i think they're all worthwhile. they are small steps in the direction of helping the middle class. i don't think anybody's sense of anxiety and unhappiness and worry would be changed dramatically. but doing such things as capping repayments that students have to make when they are deeply indebted to student loan authorities with

secretary alan krueger and economist martin feldstein are among those talking about the economy. >> this is the andrew brimmer economic policy forum. we are described in the handbook on page 81. this for elma was organized in the spring of 2008. the forum itself a start in boston in the year 2000 and since that time the association has been good enough to sponsor this four of every year since so this is the 11th occasion. excuse me is there a light of here?

if it is preemptively before comment on the marks of professor feldstein.on the stress test, i have a different interpretation from secretary krueger. i believe that they are best considered as a successful, highly successful public relations exercise. they led in effect to a case of engineered adverse selection, the signal was not the banks were solving, but that they were too big to fail and there is no question that the government can support the banks of it is determined to do so. it's not a question of having enough capital. banks do not lend capital to come back to kamensky is used to save eggs are not moneylenders they do not too have money in order to land. the issue is rather whether the financial structure that we are building through this stabilization program is one which is going to be effect to in producing a strong and rapid economic recovery going forward your alan krueger concluded by saying that we need to think in terms of rebuilding the economy. and what i would urge that given the stages in this crisis does is a very long-term propositi

if it is preemptively before comment on the marks of professor feldstein.on the stress test, i have a different interpretation from secretary krueger. i believe that they are best considered as a successful, highly successful public relations exercise. they led in effect to a case of engineered adverse selection, the signal was not the banks were solving, but that they were too big to fail and there is no question that the government can support the banks of it is determined to do so. it's not a question of having enough capital. banks do not lend capital to come back to kamensky is used to save eggs are not moneylenders they do not too have money in order to land. the issue is rather whether the financial structure that we are building through this stabilization program is one which is going to be effect to in producing a strong and rapid economic recovery going forward your alan krueger concluded by saying that we need to think in terms of rebuilding the economy. and what i would urge that given the stages in this crisis does is a very long-term propositi

woodruff: gentlemen, we thank bout, martin feldstein robe reich. >> thanks, judy. >> thanks. >> ifill: w, the other news of the day, here's ha sreenivasan in our newsroom. >> sreenivas: an ethiopian airlines pla crashed early th morning just off beirut, lebanon. 90 peoe were on board, but there wano sign of survivors. the boeing 737 caught re and plunged in the mediterranean sea minus after taking off. plane debris washeup on shore, d search and rescue crews recovered at least 21 boes. investigators said stormy weather could haveeen a factor inhe crash. banese president michel leiman said there was no sig that trorism was involved. in iraq, baghdad was hit ba series of bombgs on the same day that a notorious henchman saddam hussein w executed. we have a report narrated lindsey hilsum oindependent telesion news. >> tee suicidear bombs in baghdad today. all targetedt hotels where foreigne stay. the bombers di't get right inde. bustill managed to kill mo than 30 people and injure 70 others. reporter: neighboring houses are were bln apart. fireghters helping suivors to safety. as iraq hea

unfortunately, said repuican martin feldstein who warned of the sere crisis two yrs ago -- >> the is always a ndency in washington to be optimistic, to thinkhat things areoing to improve. reporter: in the end, then, every peon in the game had an inrest in keepg it going. a central lesson is that this is a ki of -- where thexplanation of the tragedis human failings deep within what it mes to be human. and wh it means to be human is sometimes to go to excess. toasically not pay enough attention to risk. humans make thoskinds of mistakes consiently. and it's leato some of the great ises in history it also leato some of the grt accomplishments in history. but it is all about us a people. the tragedy of underestated risks takes us to the last stop on t cae car line. and for this piece. market street. scene of another panic a century ago. >> thearthquake of 1906 was precededy many lifornia earthquakes. and there we architects and urban signers who were sayingou needed to prepare betteror the next one. threason it was so bad is cause they didn't prepare. the problem was nody wanted to thina

i'm in the camp of people like marty krugman and marty feldstein, expecting the recovery to be extremely subdued. i commit talking about this both at the u.s. and global levels. i would be rather concerned in policy-making circles before us all with a massive stimulus we have had a fiscal stimulus unprecedented and monetary ease -- 2.2% growth in the third quarter of the year -- the big question arises as to what happens when the stimulus fades? it certainly will fade in the second half of 2010. there's a real risk for double- dip recession . there are extraordinary strong headwinds against u.s. recovery right now. the most notable is the situation in the labour market. not only do we have 10 percentage points of americans out of work, but if you include those working part-time on an involuntary basis and nose discouraged. and if you look of the labor department's -- we are at 17.5%. that will exert a strong downward pressure on wage and income growth. without that growth there is no possibility of getting a meaningful recovery in consumption. additionally, what federal reserve officials

electively emphasized, cents addressing martin feldstein's point about the capital expansion. potential. >> excuse me. you notice i have been holding up this time sign. i am going to say address your question to one of the panelists and respondent please be conscious of the time. hillam do you choose? >> allen krueger. >> that was the right choice. [laughter] >> there are issues with the timing and you will see the nature of the recovery act change over time as more of the money goes into infrastructure spending. most of the initial money went into tax cuts in unemployment insurance benefits which jamie alluded to. but, i think you will see more the stimulus spending going into infrastructure and going into renewable energy. the vice president announced to very large grants for batteries. we eliminate some of what i consider a justified tax subsidy to the oil and gas industry, and i mean that is part of the administration's approach to an energy policy. i think you will see more of the stimulus money going towards try to stimulate jobs in the job sector. >> first off i am glad

i'm in the camp of people like marty krugman and marty feldstein, expecting the recovery to be extremely subdued. i commit talking about this both at the u.s. and global levels. i would be rather concerned in policy-making circles before us all with a massive stimulus we have had a fiscal stimulus unprecedented and monetary ease -- 2.2% growth in the third quarter of the year -- the big question arises as to what happens when the stimulus fades? it certainly will fade in the second half of 2010. there's a real risk for double- dip recession . there are extraordinary strong headwinds against u.s. recovery right now. the most notable is the situation in the labour market. not only do we have 10 percentage points of americans out of work, but if you include those working part-time on an involuntary basis and nose discouraged. and if you look of the labor department's -- we are at 17.5%. that will exert a strong downward pressure on wage and income growth. without that growth there is no possibility of getting a meaningful recovery in consumption. additionally, what federal reserve officials

donald kohn assistant treasury secretary alan krueger and economist martin feldstein are among thosetalking about the economy. >> this is the andrew brimmer economic policy forum. we are described in the handbook on page 81. this for elma was organized in the spring of 2008. the forum itself a start in boston in the year 2000 and since that time the association has been good enough to sponsor this four of every year since so this is the 11th occasion. excuse me is there a light of here? why can't see. [laughter] this year's for rahm was titled the national economic policies of president barack obama evaluation after one year on the trail. the speakers in the book will appear as the order in which they are listed in the book except a few days ago christine a romer sent me an e-mail saying because the work of the council of economic advisers and the president's state of the union message economic reports and so on she couldn't possibly come today. so, she instead asked the program, assistant secretary of the treasury and chief economist was coming to the matter and he would be prepared

[laughter] i am very much in the camp of paul krugman, marty feldstein come expecting the recovery to extremely subdued. and i can be talking about this both at the u.s. level and at the global level. i would be rather concerned in policymaking circles if i saw with the massive stimulus that we've had, you know, for instance in the u.s. economy but is go stimulus that's unprecedented monetary ease though we managed to register something like 2.2% growth in the third quarter of the year. you know, the big question arises, what happens when the fiscal stimulus fades as the fiscal stimulus certainly will fade in the second half of 2010? and there really is a real risk that we do get a double dip recession as that faith. another reason i say that is there are extraordinarily strong head winds against u.s. economic recovery right now. the most notable of those headwinds is the situation in the labor market. not only do we have 10% interest point of americans out of work, but if you and those who are working part-time and on an involuntary basis in those discouraged. if you look at the labo