gerri: thank you. all right, buying made in america is not just patriotic, but you can make money at it. lost half the manufacturing base in the past 60 years, we still, still, make close to a fifth of the world's products. that's what it means to be the worldest biggest economy means invest in the company that sell to the other $65.billion people in the world. highlighting the companies making it here in america. caterpillar, ge, ford, whirlfool are just -- whirlpool are just a few that come to mind. in seven years, america is the biggest oil producer. we have the cheapest natural gas. wages another factor, stagnant here, but in china, for example, rising 15% to 20% a year. next time you buy made in america, you're not just supporting jobs here at home, but helping your retirement portfolio too. well, later in the show, it's not the sunshine state drawing new york executives to florida, but the fact there are no taxes. one former new yorker tells you his story. can an ad publicly shame you out of bad

we appreciate your time. >> okay, gerri. gerri: thank you.tics of the new rules are worried about regulation overkill. joining me now, the president of capital management and greg mcbride, senior financial analyst for bankrate.com. greg, starting with you. is this overkill? >> i think it is, gerri. i mean first of all, the apeople -- appeal here to individual investors, it's not high return. you can get to the money when you need it and for every hundred dollars you put in, you get a hundred dollars out when you need it. if you take they way or restrict those appeals, frankly, people have alternatives to put the money elsewhere, in a nonlife savingsing the or short term bond fund where, you know, they can go, oh, by the way, get better returns than what they get in the money funds right now. gerri: greg makes the right point here. if you want to be in cds, have the money tied up, whatever, you could, but people are in money market funds because they want to be able to get out whenever they need that money, and it seems to me at the very point

gerri: hi, everybody, i'm gerri willis. president obama disbands the jobs council, why it failed, and why nothing it taking its place. also, the "new york times" says chinese hackers broke into its computers. china about to unleash a new cyber assault on america? it's almost super bowl sunday. super reports is here with the best flat screen tv, even if you're not a football fan. tonight "the willis report" is on the case. ♪ we'll have all of that and more coming up, but, first, where are the president's big ideas to get the economy going? more than 12 million people without a job in the u.s., our economic growth sputtering, below 0, now one day until the new jobs report is expected to show the unemployment rate no better, flat. president obama dismissed the jobs council. with more, brian westberry, the chief economist at first trust advisers. i'm going to start with you, jason. what are the president's new ideas? >> ha-ha, on jobs? i don't think he has many new ideas. i don't think job creation is much of a priority. the jo

gerri: what about wal-mart? the news for bribery scandals and it has been highlighted. are they trying to buy their way back into people's hearts with a made in america campaign? >> you cannot buy your way back. it's going to be what they do and how they actually deliver products to consumers. so i think there are a lot of companies are gettg good at this and i think wal-mart will be one. gerri: what are the elements of that if you're trying to promote yourself as a made in america producer? >> you have to embrace the good qualities. it is success in entrepreneurship and good qualities and craftsmanship. i think when they surround themselves with those qualities as brands, they sell a lot better. sam adams beer, a lot of good american companies. gerri: andrew, thank you for coming on. i think a lot of people care deeply about this topic. >> thank you the one on this day in history, play-doh has been loved by children and adults. but not as much as egos. if all of the bricks were distributed equally among the peo

gerri: hello, everybody. i'm gerri willis. tonight on "the willis report" the white house runs out of excuses and the keystone pipeline. president obama must now decide, approve or kill it. the faa stepping up its probe of boeing streamliners. of the quest to go green pushed the new jet too far. and this season's most important earnings report. apple, america's love affair with the iphone over? "the willis report" is on the case. ♪ gerri: all those stories coming up. first, we are asking, what is the holdup? now that your second term as well under way it's time to revisit something that should be at the top of your priority list after all, is something that would add hundreds of millions of dollars to the state economies and create tens of thousands of jobs right your home. the icing on the cake, it would help us as a nation become more energy independent. what is it? well, drumroll. approving the keystone xl pipeline. it is not just me. today senators on both side of the aisle have written a letter urging the president not to

gerri willis is up next. ♪ gerri: hello, everybody. i'm gerri willis.onight on "the willis report". >> is hello kitty really terrifying to some of us? why is one pennsylvania kindergartner in big trouble over his toy gun that only shoots out bubbles? we will have the details on this extraordinary case next. and as president obama celebrates his inauguration day, what will another four years mean for us? >> new ideas and technology. >> that, if you have just a cold? died missing themselves instead of going to the actual doctor. but is this safe? we will ask dr. mitchell brooks. "the willis report" is on the case. gerri: tonight stop -- top story takes us to a suburb located about 90 miles northwest of philadelphia. officials at an elementary school have suspended a five year-old girl over what they called terrorist threats. after the kindergartner reportedly told a classmate that she wanted to share with the hello kitty bubble gum. the kind that shoots soap bubbles. the girl received a suspension. the girl has since received a psychological evaluation an

gerri: hello, everybody. i'm gerri willis, and tonight, on "the willis report," the mutual fund industry wants to punish you for taking out your own money, trillions of dollars at stake. will you pay more this weekend for using a credit card rather than cash? find out. and, illegal immigrants are not supposed to get medicare, but a new report says, yes, they can. "the willis report" is on the case. ♪ all that and more coming up later in the show, but, first, our top story, a new warning for investors tonight. if federal regulators get their way, you can soon end up paying a big fat fee for withdrawing your own money from your money market mutual funds. currently, there is no fee. the feds say it's all in effort to reform the $2.7 trillion money market mutual fund industry which 61 million retail investors are a part of. regulators say they are going too far. senior washington correspondent peter barnes joining us now. peter, what is the industry proposing tonight? >> well, gerri, this all goes back to this wh

gerri: i agree.talking tell us about how people should think about college and college debt. thank you so much for coming on. appreciate your time. >> thank you. gerri: and on to this stay in business. it was this day back in 1913, the first in a closed car. a hanson said and went on display at the 13th annual automobile show in new york. a detroit businessman started the hudson motor car company with one goal, producing high-quality medium priced car. the entrepreneur founded the companthat was of a shot -- eventually named after him. one of the first of low-priced cars selling for less than $1,000. my second year production the company was ranked the 11th largest of a company in america, and in 1925 he was the third largest auto manufacturer in the u.s. behind ford and chevrolet. hudson motors fifth merged to form american motor company in 1954, but by 1987 american motor company no longer existed. today sedans make up three-quarters of all motor vehicle production and more than 60 million passenge

welcome to the well as report. ♪ gerri: hello. i and gerri willis.very night we show the waste and fraud of capitol hill and the abuse and over reach of government tonight we have a doozy imagine if you came home to a letter in the mailbox saying you are in violation of city code. get rid of the vegetable garden or pay a massive fine. my purse to gas say orlando city officials told them that are faced a fine of $500 per day. here is their story. jason, what happened in a nutshell? >> first of all thank you for having us. but we started a front yard garden for obvious reasons. we only had the front yard because of sun. that is just where nature dictated. but it started with the landlord that lived 1,000 miles away to visit his property and complained and went back home. >> you own the property? >> yes. it is not condominium rules, said townhouses. here is the letter that you got. violation from the land development co has been identified code has been established to improve the character of our city. are you bringing down orlando? [laughter] >> unders

we'll have great show ♪ gerri: hello, everybody. i'm gerri willis.ur video games -- are video games to blame for gun violence in this country? vice-president continuing his week-on meetings at the white house seeking ways to reduce gun violence in this country following last month's massacre in newtown, conn. today it was the video-game industry's turn. in those talks were publishers of some of the most violent games out there including electronic arts, activision blizzard his violent game, call of duty, one of the biggest moneymakers ever. this is what it is like to play one of these games which brings him back to the question i started this show with. are video games really to blame? for joining me now, a psychiatrist to things video games are responsible for gun violence. a gaming blogger with sentinel who says they're not to blame. travis, you say your video game player. you say they are not to blame. how so? >> i have been playing video games for around 17 years. at plated number of video games, and at the end of the day when we talk about sandy

gerri: yes.he money does not matter but if you come after me ought to be able to prove your case people don't understand when it comes to this kind of debt it is bought and sold like a commodity. some of these companies that collect the debt are light car salesman. >> and banks don't have the original documentation but they will spit out a different balance they don't provide that to the debt collector. are these numbers accurate? believe the got a letter that said 54 paying off your debt then chased by deck collectors for the next three years. gerri: there are mills for this? >> there's a crack between the regulators and the state's. typically these go to state courts but they're not too strict about the documentation. they don't ask where is the original document? they push it through. if they go to court this suit is withdrawn beuse so few are contested it is a numbers game. gerri: so few even show up. >> said the judge will put a lien on the property then people pay off even though they don't

gerri: est. double standard some of those work in india to say we get rid of the guns and bob schieffer actually comparing dealing with the nra to dealing with synopses. >> surely defeating the nazis was a much more formidable task than taking on the gun lobby. this is a turning point* in this country. %-more than make a speech this is one of the best speeches i heard him deliver. >> he went after countries that did not have weapons. we went after countries that did not. it is so enrages to do that and say those things and hollywood stars getting on board with the president. they have armed bodyguards. do you think you could walk into the golden globes without a metal detector? gerri: double standard. the entertainment industry said we support the goals of reduced gun violence but they are protected by armed guards and the material they put out is full of people shooting each other with a top movies. >> last night gangster's god. there is no shooting in that show. gerri: 65 characters die. >> my

gerri: all right, you agree to gerri: all right, you agree to disagree at a dry cleaner, gerri: all rightou agree to disagree we replaced people with a machine. what? customers didn't like it. so why do banks do it? hello? hello?! if your bank doesn't let you talk to a real person 24/7, you need an ally. hello? ally bank. your money needs an ally. gerri: medicare. the largest expenditure in the federal budget, our country's debt problems deepening by the day but many democrats fail to acknowledge elephant in the room. our next guest says there's a lot of tough talk and little action on that front. i recently sat down with former republican senator of florida. >> you don't reform the way we pay out medicare, to be one of the things that breaks the bank and makes us unable to mt our obligations, so we absolutely have to reformat and the legislation i wrote back in 2010 that we passed with bipartisan support signed by the president went o after something everybody is against, and that is fraud. gerri: let's get to that in a second, but i want to spend one more second on this idea, democrats

gerri willis is up next with a giant, sugary soda. watch. ♪ gerri: hello. i'm gerry willis.n less than a week president obama will be sworn in for his second term, but it is the last days of is first stern that are raising alarms from demanding republicans immediately raise the debt ceiling and lori about that pesky out of control spending later to considering as many 19 different gun-control measures that he could in force as he gears up for his comprehensive plan tomorrow. our president seems to think of himself like a king and said that our elected officials. joining me now, former adviser to president george w. bush. senior fellow at the cato institute. i will start with you. here is the president back in 2006 on the idea of raising the debt limit. he said, the fact that we are here today to debate raising america's debt limit is a sign of our leaders failing in the u.s. government cannot pay its own bills and i intend to oppose the effort to increase the debt limit to and here he is begging for the debt limit to be raised now that he is president. >> i think that he was

. ♪ gerri: hello, everybody. i'm gerri willis.onight on "the willis report" the battle over prescription drugs. drug companies fight to keep generic brands out of your medicine cabinet. also, big banks is sticking it to taxpayers again. this time skinny tie skimming millions in fees from welfare payments. the new report that as parents thinking twice about sending their kids to college. "the willis report" is on the case. ♪ all that and more coming up, but we begin with an issue critical to the millions of americans, the high cost of prescription drugs. the big drug companies are in a new push to keep generic versions of some of there blockbuster medications off the market. the latest fight is not just happening in washington where the drug lobby spends most of its money. in state houses all across the country. the effort to limit generic competition also calls into question the promised savings that are supposed to come our way through obamacare. with us now, andrew man johnny from the association amateur american citizens. welco

. ♪ gerri: hello, everybody. i'm gerri willis. this is the things we get.ailed out insurance giant aig now considering suing the federal government after it received a $182 billion taxpayer bailout, just a few years ago. why? well, it claims shareholders were cheated. fox business liz macdonald joins me with the inside scoop. >> reporter: you know, the inside scoop is that basically this has d.c. reacting big time. we have congress saying, wait a second. you guys got a big taxpayer bailout. nell you guys are basically the poster company for corporate greed. now you're the poster company for corporate heads but, and actually, it was a letter sent to the board and ceo of aig that said, don't even think about it from the congressman. gerri: they don't like that. >> did not like that. and for this to be going on, it has really gotten d.c. in an uproar. the white house is weighing in saying it defends the aig bailout. we have a life jicama and skied democrat saying this is sort of like suing the paramedic who gave the cpr for not giving you a pillow in the proce

gerri: all right. well, before warned. you know, these companies are trying to take your generics off-the-shelf. thank you for explaining it to us. appreciate your time. >> thank you. gerri: and other big problem for obamacare. very few states will have health care exchanges set up by october. now, that is what was required by law. exactly half of the state's 25 are a definite no which means that nearly two-thirds of the country, the federal government will have to step in and run the system. what does now, former cbo director. great to have you on this show. what do you think that this means, half of the states are saying we don't want to play. >> i think there are two lessons. the first is that this is simply nogoing to get over the finish line in time. they're way behind -- gerri: october. >> yes. it will not get there. from a subsequent review this will be a disaster. you live here word of that out of the administration. they will make every effort to declare victory come january. anyone who has an

gerri: medicare.l budget, our country's debt problems deepening by the day but many democrats fail to acknowledge elephant in the room. our next guest says there's a lot of tough talk and little action on that front. i recently sat down with former republican senator of florida. >> you don't reform the way we pay out medicare, to be one of the things that breaks the bank and makes us unable to meet our obligations, so we absolutely have to reformat and the legislation i wrote back in 2010 that we passed with bipartisan support signed by the president went o after something everybody is against, and that is fud. gerri: let's get to that in a second, but i want to spend one more second on this idea, democrats from illinois saying on tv he would like to see $400 billion in entitlement cuts. defee and interest. the ones grown the most are medicare and medicaid. we have to do something to stop the increase in the amount ort will swallow the rest of the budget. continuing to run these huge gerri: it will be

i'm gerri willis. consumer financial protection bureau rolling out new mortgage rules today, and as we do whenever the government issues new regulations, we take a look at the true impact on you , not the promises. here are the basics on today's new rules. they prohibit a borrower's total loan payments from exceeding 43% of income. no more of those high-risk mortgages like no income verification loans that played a part in the housing bust. skeptics ask whether these hurt the people they're trying to protect and damage the delicate housing recovery. joining me now, resident fellow at the american enterprise institute and former executive vice president of fannie mae. and director of housing finance and policy for the center for american progress. i will start with you. these rules are crucial. why? and do they go far enough in your point is you? >> it seems like common sense that if you are a mortgage lender and make a mortgage, you're going to check to see if the borrower can afford the mortgage. that

gerri: i see a lot.orry about people being been pointed. >> that they have a gun, but they have a gun. >> you might be crazy. don't let your kids go there. they have begun. your talking about permit holders have done nothi unlawful. sex offenders, have them lited. all of that. but rifle gun owners. gerri: absoluty a safety issue >> if this is a big issue the legislature makes it clear. to release th information. >> at like to say we have settled this. gerri: we haven't. thanks you for coming on, both of you. appreciated. great conversation. i feel edified. coming in, the atest of report gives no indication when the unemployment rate will begin to fall. are we entering a new economic phase? and if you thought the last congress was bad, aren't they? destroyed until you hear what is on the agenda for the new congress. i'll break it down next. c, afc, offensive lineman, defensive tackles, quarterbacks and cornerbacks are all working with united way. for a million little reasons. the kids of our communities.

. ♪ gerri: hello, everybody. i'm gerri willis.onight on "the willis report", first paycheck goes down. now the cost of everything you buy could go up. starting this weekend we will take a look at a new credit card surcharge directly hitting your wallet. and after new york passed a sweeping new gun reform laws, the attorney general greg abbott is here to tell you norquist to move to the lone star state. they like guns there. plus, some of the top personal finance voices in the country altogether on this show. "the willis report" is on the case. ♪ gerri: well, we will get all of that in just a second. first, our top story. it's about to cost a whole lot more to use a credit card instead of cash. a big settlement between retailers and credit card companies means stores will start charging you extra every time you swipe your credit card. and this all begin sunday. up until now, retailers' pay that surcharge or slight fee to the credit card companies directly. now stores will be allowed to pass the extra cost on the you, like a tax. up

welcome to "the willis report." ♪ gerri: hello, everybody. i'm gerri willis.ur debt keeps ballooning, but our economic recovery might be full of hot air ending 2012 with a whimper. in the month of december 155,000 jobs were created, but our national debt grew 780,000 times faster. with more on this former governor mike huckabee of arkansas and host of fox news. welcome back to the show. great to have you. >> happy new year. gerri: happy new year to you. let's talk about some things that are not so happy, this nation's debt. racking up something like 16 trillion total dollars in debt, but every month its $120 billion which is just unbelievable. what do you make of that? >> $15,000 per second is what we're running a been debt. when you think about that, i mean, the most adventurous shopper could not go on fifth avenue in new york it's been that kind of money on any given day in december, no matter how hard it tried. it is staggering, and i don't think the average american understands that it means every man, woman, boy, and grow in this country who freed america

gerri: holy cow, what do you say?democrats suck all those tax credits into the fiscal cliff deal and they say they want more tax goals. they want to close the loopholes. it's big oil. when they close the tax loopholes, there are special carveouts for big oil. >> maybe they should take away all these benefits for green companies they have taken out the back yes, all of the corporate tax credits. they had cuts foreople like general electric. i don't think we will see the democrs looking to get rid of these tax credts. >> they need to raise the debt ceiling, but if we don't raise it without a plan to get out of debt, while the should be fired. >> even to get rid of some of the special interest tax rates,. >> if you are a republican trying to get good media coverage, you're playing the wrong bit game that is the only time that you have leverage. if you don't raise the debt ceiling right away, it's not defaulting on their loans. the treasury secretary can cut other spending. it is basically a government shutdown. republica

. ♪ gerri: hello, everybody. i'm gerri willis.resident obama pushing for immigration reform, democrats say that will be up top priority in the near term. some speculating that obama will lay out the plan next month. also, remaining as someone security secretary. so far, both sides of the aisle are disappointed in how the president has failed to address immigration reform his first term. will president obama second be any different? turning me now, congressman bob good lad, chairman of the house judiciary committee which oversees immigration reform. okay. congressman, we have a list of things that apparently the president wants to push for, one requiring businesses to verify new employees in the country legally. two, create a guest worker program of low-wage immigrants and three, make immigrants seeking legal status pay fines and back taxes. can you support any of that? >> oh, all of that is well worth looking at very carefully, and that is exactly what we will do. republicans in the house are very enthused about doing immigration

gerri: right. it's almost, i mean, the list of things he's interested in are so divorced from the day-to-day needs of most americans. it's almost astonishing. >> well, that's right. look, we've had a 7.8% unemployment rate, and, of course, if you include discouraged workers, it's well into the teens. this is not a strong economic recovery at all. it is a glacial economic recovery. president talks so much about global warming. i wish he would talk about the glacial recovery. pace it, by this time, gerri, the economy, it's not his field. he's interested in basketball. he's probably got pronouncements about the super bowl coming up. gerri: not one you or i put at the top of the list, probably, like developing green energy on the public dime. i mean, let me ask you this, though. let me ask you this. he said the economic recovery has begun. do you agree with that? the recession has actually been over for well over two years. it's in the past. it's in the rearview mirror, but it sure does not feel like t

gerri: hello, everybody. i am gerri willis. tonight on "the willis report", the new push for immigration reform. critics say it's amnesty and multiply. also ahead, green energy bubble. has the bubble already burst? and the wall street pros call it dumb money. small investors. are we about to get burned once again? "the willis report" is on the case. all of that and more coming up. but first, to our top story. immigration reform. or is it amnesty? bipartisan senators reviewing their plan for immigration reform. critics are wondering if this path to citizenship for the 11 million immigrants in the united states is actually a fast-track umc. what more can we have chris stirewalt,. >> welcome as always, it's in the details. that's what counts. in 2,702,000 page bill. it just tells me that that is a very convenient pretext. gerri: we will have a lot of debate on us. taking a look at this list, you have to verify everything that happens. enforce new hiring procedures, a farm worker program and better tracking of defense. will the pre

gerri: wait a minute.efore you go to that i want to mention, we ould acknowledge your that there is still a possibility the senate will vot on these ideas that we have described ad nauseam today about extending tax cuts for single ardors of 400,000 less couples, families of 450,000 less, that could be voted on in the senate tonight. a couple of senators have said it could happen. anything could go. brad coming to you now. what is the lead like on this? how would you rate the president in particular? >> i have to give him a yes. many came to power in 2009 shortly thereafter put together a bipartisan commission on the debt with a charge to find out what the recommendation is to be for short-term and long-term debt. it is openly. we have spending decreases. we need to tackle entitlements. tough love for everyone. the president put on a show. he didn't like it. he was facing reelection. nothing was done. what to the house to in may of this year? e past a spending bill. in order to avert the fiscal cliff and pa