and their debt load percent g.d.p. is joy is two hundred percent are you honestly that is one hundred percent your position tom is if we lose our aaa right it is the that is my position is that this is crazy to see eighteen percent of that and to say a two thirds supermajority that it's crazy we need to balance the budget we need to do it now fine and we should have started when with ronald reagan so that he was going to triple our debt we should have said no then and we need to say it to every every republican forever can cause he thanks for dropping by complicity with you but it's very hard to argue with what we're seeing here is an effort by republicans to enshrine their tea party ideals into the us constitution at best in my opinion it's a gimmick at worst it shreds our nation's social safety net and could lead us all the financial ruin. still to come up on the big picture before you cast your next ballot you may be asked to show photo id after the break i'll tell you why this will not only does a lot like this wil

the main things that -- thing that gets our debt to g.d.p. ratio down is that g.d.p.grew at a sustained basis and made a big difference. so we've got to live within our means. we've got to cut, we've got to think about the entitlements, but that is an issue that we have known about for 30 years and that cannot be done in a partisan way. so if the argument was, why doesn't president obama just come forward and say, here's my partisan plan to just go ahead and change entitlements, change the formula, we went through a period in the health care bill in which it wasn't -- it was a cut to private subsidies, the medicare advantage program was not even medicare and that was transformed into the president wants to kill your grandma. in an environment like that we are not having an adult conversation about the aging of the population and accelerating -- acceleration of health care costs. we can't be in that environment. now, there are heartening things. in the fiscal commission you had sitting senators from both parties say, look, let's hold hands, let's confront these issues,

by 2015 to 2.6% g.d.p. the president asked us to get to 3% g.d.p. it takes us to 2.6% g.d.p. i came here today to ask you to -- i know these cuts are politically difficult. thank you, mr. chairman. thank you for allowing me to come. >> thank you. i sympathy you've made the case -- i think you've made the case about as clearly and persuasively as it can be made, and i want to thank you for the leadership you've provided. let me ask you this. what happens if this doesn't get done? in other words, erskine, i didn't give all the things when i introduced him but head of the o.m.b. head of the small business association. has been the administrator for the college system, in the state of north carolina. pretty good set of bonefieds. and every place he has served, he's produced results. let me ask it again, what happens in your judgment, to the united states fetishes we fighter -- if we >> what you said about me reminds me about when my you thinkal sam died in north carolina and the editor called ask about him, and i occupant went on and on about the things he had done and he said yo

as a share of g.d.p. g.d.p. which want to happen until two thousand and twenty seven keep in mind the program is solvent until twenty twenty seven and then it pays about seventy percent of what it's paint and will forever but to bring it back up to one hundred percent there is that shortfall of what is that it's about seven tenths of g.d.p. which by coincidence the social security shortfall seven tenths of g.d.p. is an identical about a money as the cost of extending tax provisions exclusively for upper income taxpayers we're talking about the bush tax cuts for rich people we simply did a way with those then and then you've got the problem social security shortfall solved. and solved rather poorly frankly look at all these other kind of this is the o.e.c.d. the developed countries there is a should economic cooperation development this is the economic country sixty percent of your lifetime salary that's your retirement average in sweden switzerland italy hungary austria spain turkey denmark. the slovak republic

as we move into the election on top of that the republican plan will cut g.d.p. by half a percent this year chief economist of moody's mark zandi so this is about the g.o.p.'s efforts imposing additional government spending cuts as house republicans want would be taking an unnecessary chance with a republican with a recovery even the g.o.p. is banks three buddies are at odds with a proposed budget cut last week goldman sachs warned that republicans could cut economic growth by up to two percent this year with the budget plans so what the heck is the g.o.p. trying to do here there were some answers i'm joined in feel those federal budget budget policy analyst in at the economic policy institute andrew welcome thank you very great to have you here. i saw an article in the financial times last week with the goldman sachs analysis and we talked about here in the program where they were saying basically you know anywhere from a half a percent to two percent of increased unemployment loss or actually lose loss of g.d.p. or loss of growth rate and and that would of cour

which by coincidence the so scary shortfall seven tenths of g.d.p. is an identical amount of money as the cost of extending tax provisions exclusively for upper income taxpayers we're talking about the bush tax cuts for rich people we simply didn't way with those then then you've got the problem social security shortfall solved. and solved rather poorly frankly. look at all these are the kind this is the o.e.c.d. the developed countries there is a should economic cooperation development this is the economic country sixty percent of your lifetime salary that's your retirement average in sweden switzerland italy hungary austria spain turkey denmark. the slovak republic norway finland but it will hit where's the united states where the united states go oh it's a down there on the bottom forty percent we we are billionaires pay the lowest taxes we have the greatest inequality in the world and our working people get screwed the most when they retire. so but nonetheless the money is still going to be there this is so security reduces if if the number right

g.d.p. for other experts, it's simply too early to say how much of an impact friday's disaster will have on economies around the world. the devastation struck the northeast region of japan, which by some estimates accounts for 7% to 8% of the nation's g.d.p. experts say it's likely to take years to rebuild that area. what worries economist bob brusca is what we don't yet know about what comes out of the area's plants or factories. >> the question is beyond that whether there is anything made in this region that is specific or unique to industries that the world now is going to be without. there are semiconductor plants in this area, and we don't really know if there are any plants or suppliers of those plants that make unique goods that go into other people's products. >> reporter: even with the world focused on japan, many economists say political unrest in the middle east remains the biggest threat to the global recovery. that's because of what it means for energy costs. >> we know there a

g.d.p. grew 3.1% in the last three months of 2010, up from an earlier estimate of 2.8%. but more recent data on the consumer from reuters and the university of michigan finds sentiment fell to 67.5 in march. its lowest level in about 18 months. >> tom: the key question for the economy now-- is how confident are consumers about spending, especially as they pay higher prices at the pump? erika miller reports. >> reporter: if you want to know the mindset of american consumers, patricia pao is a good woman to ask. as a retail consultant, it's her job to recognize changes in spending patterns nationwide. so, it may surprise you that pao does not think rising prices at the pump are making shoppers nervous. >> i think right now, everyone is kind of used to it. because this is not the first time oil has hit over $100 a barrel. it was actually more traumatic in 2007 when it started, and everybody was caught by surprise. >> reporter: she believes the urge to spend is so strong, that most americans wou

that's the g.d.p. that's how you measure g.d.p. how can these folks sit here and say if you cut the government spending, you're not going to cut the g.d.p., which is what every major economic analysis has said. so, yes, we have to cut waste. yes, we have to cut some spending. yes, we have to be responsible. but let's be responsible in a responsible way. by looking at the overall budget and the places that we can reduce at a tempo, mr. president, that doesn't do injury to our ability to be able to invest in america's future, create the jobs for the future but nevertheless send the right message to the marketplace and to the american people. we've done that before. we saw the longest expansion in america's history staring us in the face, mr. president, is the largest economic opportunity of a lifetime. the energy marketplace is a $6 trillion market with 6 billion potential users today rising to about 9 billion over the next 30 years. we're not engaged in that. years ago china produced 5% of the world's solar panels. today they produc

for us a position after which was a poll of fifty five percent of g.d.p. and theories of why we did see the dollar being climbing below eighty i think secondly to deal with racial related fears and it was very wise from the central bank to draw a line in the sand but again it is not there's a level last year which is decisive it is the size of the japanese response and as long as there's risk premium remains elevated you'll see for us in perth mention in the market naïve us longer to arm the japanese yen is going to suffer a significantly better cost necessarily to deal with the earthquake or was other factors it is simply the demographics of its inability to say federal fund. to our twenty three percent of g.d.p. so over a. deficit. so you have to watch out for. in the medium term meant as a rebuttal argument force never a very convincing one how much do you think the current levels of the yen we're seeing right now are undermining japanese exports as if that is actually a factor right now compared. well our first rule is solar demand just why expend more

it's inconvertravertible that it hurts g.d.p.. it sets back g.d.p.. we will lose 700,000, 200,000, 500,000 jobs, whatever we lose. 200 to 700, it moves against the recovery that we've worked so hard to achieve. i think it is not... it's not a real discussion of america's needs. we need to be doing social security, medicare, medicaid. we need to have defense spending on the table. we need a comprehensive approach. but we cannot eat america's seed corn in terms of our competitive capacity for the future. >> schieffer: senator kerry, thank you so much. we'll get a little different take i suspect on that question. >> no doubt. >> schieffer: because now we'll go to the republican leader in the senate, mitch mcconnell, down in his hometown of louisville today. senator, i did want to ask you about what senator kerry just talked about, but first you have to ask you about libya and this whole idea of maybe setting up a no fly zone in libya. what is your take on that? >> well, i think it's worth considering. the other option that john kerry alluded to in passin

japan do you see interest rates at seven percent i mean these guys have two hundred percent debt to g.d.p. and people like recruits have been talking for ten years that japan has some sort of you know massive debt spiral it's not so great there you have the evidence it's actually not true well let the market decide how about what why not part. of their bunny how do they know let me get in here. is my question let's say why don't we have the market step up how the fed step back and see what is the true demand for us ten year now it's in five year now that's out there in the marketplace now if you take the fed which is the biggest buyer of its own paper you've got bill gross of pimco saying you know what the fed is removed from the equation and japan is no longer buying china's no longer buying it's no longer this artificial market who's going to be buying u.s. treasuries i don't keep interest rates artificially cheap then as i just told you if interest rates are zero percent you will have buyers at a minimum let's just say the scenario is just research your percent the fed stops buying tha

stops buying asset prices stop being elevated you have systemic crisis of some sort united states g.d.p. swoons the media. people will go to treasuries as you know because of the flight to safety you know they'll go to treasuries are risky assets give a perfect scenario rate there for a decrease in interest rates as i say it could if the fed says you know twelve months out the economy's looking bad we're going to have rates at zero croisset obviously if you're buying a twelve month a one year treasury why would you pay three percent for the treasury when in fact the fed has already told you that. rates will be zero percent it doesn't make any set for you to do is do them and do the math ok when you end up with negative interest rates and that's a loss of purchasing power and that's a reason to buy gold and silver and that's the reason for hyperinflation as people completely lose faith with these currency magicians and scoundrels in your town washington d.c. no wonder you're viewing this in this way you're being corrupted by inside the beltway thinking you know it all but the reality is

when we were in the depths of the depression the ratio of debt to g.d.p. in the depression was about fifty percent about the same as it is right now and by the end of world war two it went up to or better hundred twenty percent much more than it is right now and that was because the american people were borrowed from their self from themselves to completely reinvest it was the united states by the end of the war the united states was the most economically powerful country in the world we had almost fifty percent of the world's g.d.p. if it's such a bad thing to spend money because the economy is in terrible shape how do the opponents of increased spending increased investment in alternative energy explain that. it's nonsense economically and that's the economic part other part which i mentioned before is the vision for how do we imagine a future everything that exists in this world had to exist first in the manmade world and to exist first and somebody has money and that's probably the most important resource already unfortunately we are out of time at som

i'm sorry around fifteen trillion dollars a year the g.d.p. the entire planet is sixty five trillion dollars here we have u.s. banks that have generated over eight hundred trillion dollars in money and in c.e.o.'s and derivatives that just like it was literally zero in one thousand and nine phil gramm decriminalise this and it went to eight hundred trillion dollars the banks in europe you know a few more buying these things but they were create them like the american banks were shouldn't we go back to some kind of regulation or make this stuff illegal well we've never had the. odd regulation would be during the bush era we had sarbanes oxley which made it you know incredibly tough for smaller public companies to list so i mean yeah we should certainly revise regulation but i think everybody deserves deserves a due process here ed ever a lot of people made misjudgments during the crisis including the governor by which it would sort of encourage the the wode the people. with the alan greenspan was just insane and lower interest rates everything

here both between thirty and forty percent i think right now it's forty one percent of the entire g.d.p. of the united states is happening over here and you know it's like people providing for their own police are part of their own fire department their public schools their public parks the bike the the septic systems the water systems the power systems forty percent of g.d.p. is a heck of a lot. so these companies started saying you know let's reach out and grab some of these let's let's let's nail down the natural monopolies first things like you know cable systems into people's homes how many cables can you have in your house basically one ok so that's it in france by the way they get a law that says of the wire coming in your house is irrelevant a cable company can provide cable to you it's a cable is about thirty bucks a month in france how much do you pay and by the way that includes all those channels plus telephone plus all kinds of calls that ok parking meter chicago privatized their parking meters bypass public parks they're reaching out and basically buying these things off t

financial services was about 10% or 11% of g.d.p. in these 30 years that position has almost flipped, that financial services is over a quarter of our g.d.p., manufacturing is only 10% or 11% or 12%. that's why the president, with his push on exporting, is so important. not that we export manufacturing goods. of course we export services, as we should. but clearly manufacturing is a majors component of that. i sit on the president's advisory council on export -- export advisory council with leaders in the administration and some of america's koas of some of america's largest companies and many successful midsize and small companies. we had a meeting last friday with secretary locke, under secretary sanchez, secretary clinton, jim mcnierny of l. of - mcnierny of boeing. in ohio, i have put together an export advisory council. we let in columbus today. that was what our meeting was about to talk about ideas. we heard from albert green of kent displace, william dawson, phillip irwin, randall which williamson of command alcon inc., linda

it's this kind of debt where your debt is over 100% of g.d.p. that puts you in a position where you could have a debt crisis kicking us back into another recession as witness after witness has warned us. so i would say that what we have got to have from the president really and from our democratic leadership here in the senate is an honest evaluation of where we are. the president needs to look the american people in the eye and say we are not on a course that we can sustain. federal reserve chairman bernanke told us in january, we are on an unsustainable path. we have to get off of it. we said these numbers that project out here for ten years, the doubling of the debt, mr. bernanke said we're not going to get there because we'll have a debt crisis before we get there, and there will be much, much harder time in getting our finances in order than if we act today to get them in order. he said we won't get there with these projections. they are too severe damaging to our economy. so, madam president, i don't know what's the time left on this side?

china is growing 10% year over year and in the 15-20 years they will have a g.d.p. the same as ours. i consider that a national security threat. we have got to outgrow china and not sing it kumbaya out with them. [applause] the third thing -- they shift the subject, ignore the facts and they named col. -- and they name call. i have been associated with their tax movement, americans for prosperity, the tea party all of them. because i describe myself -- i do not like people to label me. i've labeled myself. this is america. i used to tell my callers when they wanted to call up and assign a label to me i would say, "let me tell you how i described herman cain. i am an american blackett, conservative -- -- black conservative a b c and proud of it." i'm an a-b-c. because i had been affiliated with the conservative movement and had the audacity to do a radio talk-show and grow conservative principles, i have been called a racist. go figure. i have not figured that one out yet. i have been called a whole lot of other names as well for being conservative because i will not

include this chart to show that the percentage of debt service has actually gone down as a percentage of g.d.p. that's right given enough slices of pizza and cups of coffee you can look at a chart upside down and draw completely separate in opposite conclusions that i'm just you know i'm just going to put the chart up and all of that speaks for itself it'll be the chart of the day no doubt business it will be the chart of the day that i'll get rid excuse to run this video too i notice also you have the chart of the day that did make it to being chart of the day these are the also ran charts of the day i thought experiment that actually people didn't end up caring about that i thought people would be excited to know what my other thinking was as i was doing the site but it turned out people didn't care so i haven't brought that one back well i noticed on alexa the traffic over their business insider is a zoo. looming higher and i'm sure you all are looking forward to your own little event as they say in some point if this market continues to be hot but in the meantime job we i.p.o. maybe then y

., not increase our g.d.p. i thank the chairman for his comments. >> thank you, mr. neugebauer. mrs. maloney. >> thank you, mr. chairman. mr. bernanke, would you compare and contrast the recovery that's under way in germany with ours? are there any lessons there? are there any steps we should be taking to emulate or in essence achieve germany's results? >> that's a tough question. germany did not have quite as -- i was going to say not as deep, they didn't have as much job loss as we did, that was because of policies they had to subsidize firms to keep workers on even when they weren't fully utilized. i think the recovery in germany has brought them about back to where they were before the crisis, which is comparable to what's happened in the united states. germany has benefited, unlike the u.s., germany has benefited substantially from the rebound in global economic activity because they are very much atrade oriented, export oriented economy and they worked a long time to develop those markets. so i guess if i

it will exceed 100% of g.d.p. by the end of this fiscal year. amazingly surging debt load for the whole country. we -- we cannot keep spending what we don't have, borrowing what we cannot pay back. we cannot do this. our crushing -- crushes debt burden is like an anchor dragging on our economy. it slows growth. as rogoff and reinhardt's study showed, as secretary of treasury geithner acknowledged in the committee, it's already slowing our growth, and also he added it's worse than that because it puts us at risk as mr. bowles and simpson say for some sort of debt crisis. it's unpredictable when and how it might occur. that's president obama's secretary of the treasury. the presiding officer: the member's time has expired. mr. sessions: mr. president, i would ask unanimous consent to have two additional minutes. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. sessions: so we can't keep delaying. we can't keep promising to do something tomorrow. we have to have a vote. we'll have a vote today. we need to act today. a vote for the democratic proposal

the extraordinary government debt burden-- about 200% of g.d.p.-- is another major concern. >> reporter: the last major earthquake in japan was in kobe 16 years ago and caused $100- billion in damage. this one is expected to cost less because it was not in a major industrial region. plus japanese companies were better prepared for this disaster. massive amounts of government spending for rebuilding will likely help the japanese economy short term. >> there will be a short term economic upside if you have billions of dollars in public works contracts flooding into northeast japan to rebuild airports and rebuild highway systems and bridges. >> reporter: there are, of course, negative long-term consequences because that spending will be financed by debt. japan is the world's third largest economy after the u.s. and china. still, some economists don't expect the quake will have serious economic ripple effects on the u.s. >> i'd expect very little impact on the u.s. economy, frankly. we export about $60 billion a year to japan or about 5% of our total merchandise exports" >> reporter: one of

happen weir and smarter and live in a country that is higher national income and higher per capita g.d.p. and more secure, then you want to have immigration of all sorts, too. that's the funny part and that's the final point. we know that cultural, but particularly economic development isn't so much about keeping the wrong people out of a country. it turns out that it is as much or maybe dominantly about letting the right people in to a country. and the right people, as it happens, is a very broad swath of people. it is not just outstanding researchers, it is this broad spectrum because there is no gene for the human spirit, but there is a little signal. one of the signals is someone who gives up so much to take such a huge risk and to come here despite our recent signals of not particularly welcoming them is someone who has something that we probably want. and if you give me three years, we'll have that quantified a little bit better. thank you. [applause]>>t. that was excellent. we do have headsets and translation services available. if you require translation assistance, please see sa

broadcasting live from our studios in central moscow this is our g.d.p. the week's top stories right here british special forces soldiers are released by libyan opposition as fears grow of foreign military intervention in the country experts claim any military action in libya would be driven because of skyrocketing fuel prices in the u.s. . winning hearts and minds abroad hillary clinton asks for more funding to spread the u.s. message overseas as more people turn to alternative sources for news the u.s. secretary of state says america is losing an information war to many foreign outlets including our t.v. . and in a bid to regain public trust major reforms to see the russian police force remain and officers retrain selection that will be more rigorous and paid increased in the hope of turning out more professional officers. and up next it's our special report focusing on the history of the car bomb a weapon that has become synonymous with terrorism of the twentieth century. i am i have known many of you know i repeat my. homemade explosives slipped acros

sure the kids because information technology is going to be bigger and bigger if you sort of global g.d.p. does that mean that money will be will be drifting from real business from real life into into virtual life into virtual business because more money more opportunity. i or thing sold when i say virtual will be will become a part of real. or the real. basically a virtual is another way for real life to express itself so i think we're kind of really talking about the same thing. media do you think media will exists. newspapers television radio does anybody need them and what i think so i think it will exist i hope it will of the. consumer that there. never was something generational gap he watched news on t.v. yes i think much news on t.v. all the news are out in the net and they are faster. and then you can choose to select them you can tell who is going to wait for another three hours where the news bulletin goes on and then you hear something about here just like fifty seconds when it will go of what's interesting and then have the rip thirty minutes is about nothing i agree on a li

$100, if you were to go to a $110 and stay there for a while, you could start to see some affect on g.d.p. and ultimately on the stock market. >> reporter: others say equities appear to made of teflon, shaking off europe's sovereign debt crisis as well as persistently high u.s. unemployment. >> we will continue to get headlines that are negative headlines. it just seems that the market is so resilient at this point that it digests the headlines and it really takes just a day or two to shake it off. >> reporter: and, experts say it's a lot easier to shake off those headlines if the u.s. economy is on strong footing. suzanne pratt, "nightly business report," new york. >> tom: for many businesses, it's gasoline prices that are worrying. and those prices are expected to continue climbing following the sharp rise in the price of crude oil. the national average price for a gallon of regular gasoline is now $3.35. that's up nearly 20 cents from a week ago, and 65 cents higher than a year ago. economists say higher fuel costs could force some consumers to pull back discretionary spending. as dian

that the kids because information technology is just going to be bigger and bigger piece of global g.d.p. does that mean that money will be will be drifting from real business from real life into into virtual life into virtual business because more money more opportunity. things so what they're saying virtual will be will become a part of the real. converse of the real. world basically virtual is another way for real life to express itself so i think we're kind of really talking about the same thing. media do you think media will exists. newspapers television radio does anybody need that many would say i think so i think it will exist i hope it will exist because i am a big consumer of that here. maybe because of the generational gap you watch news on t.v. yes i can watch news on t.v. all the news or are in the net and they are faster. and then and you can choose how you can select them live on television to wait for another three hours when the news bulletin goes on you you're there now and then you hear something about it here just like fifty seconds of when what will or what's interes

number one, our debt is almost at 95% of the g.d.p. it's the highest debt we have ever had in history. last year alone the deficit was $1.5 trillion. we are borrowing 40 cents for every $1 that we spend. now, if you and i were doing that in our host hold, or business was doing it, or anybody else, you would say ok, we've got to change our spending habits. but somehow there are those in congress who think that we can continue to defy the laws of gravity. we have got to get our house in order. number two, why are we here? we are here because the democrats last year did not pass a budget, did not pass appropriation bills, and did not complete their work on fiscal year 2011. that's what we are doing. we are trying to clean up the mess that was left to us. and in doing that we are mindful of our financial situation in trying to reduce some of the spending. number three, let me say this, this bill was passed with an open rule. indeed, i believe we had 127 votes on different amendments. democrats and republicans offered a myriad of amendments

they are spending within their means and, since consumers make up 70% of our g.d.p., it's really important to have strong, healthy, sustainable consumption. >> reporter: last month, many people were forced to boost spending as a result of higher food and gasoline prices. that meant less money to put in the bank, and the nation's savings rate slipped to under 6%. but economist cary leahey says that's still a vast improvement from dangerously low levels a few years ago. >> ironically, right now, you can make the argument that maybe it's a little too high, because consumer spending growth appears to have slowed to something less than 2% so far this year, and you might want the growth rate to be a little bit higher. but-- all and all, 6% is not bad. >> reporter: but over the long run, economists say a higher savings rate would be good for the country. that's because without domestic savings, the u.s. government has to borrow more from abroad to finance operations. still, for many people these days, saving money is a luxury they can't afford. >> i try not to think about it. but when i do think