i'm joe joe kernen in for larry kudlow. the fiscal cliff, gun control in detroit dominating the news. >> there's no question about it. if you want a deal on the fiscal cliff, today was a very bad day. only duelling press conferences. no progress behind the scenes. we'll talk about it a a few minutes. >> i'm hampton pierce earson. >> and gm shares got a nice pop. is this the end of government motors. "the kudlow report" starts right now. >>> first up tonight is president obama and house speaker john boehner escalate their war of words, new signs the fiscal cliff talks are on the brink of collapse. chief washington correspondent john harwood joins us from washington with the details. i look away for two seconds, john, and everything's falling astart. >> it looked a couple of days ago as if the two sides were getting closer. when president obama had a news conference at the white house today, he came out to talk about gun control measures in the wake of the connecticut tragedy, but the questions were mostly focused on the fisc

i'm larry kudlow, your old pal. there won't be spending cuts, entitlement cuts. >> every economist -- simpson, bowles say it has to be balanced, have revenue increases and spending cuts. you can't cut your way to prosperity nor can you solve the problem with revenues. everyone agrees the president and i believe speaker baner that it has to be a balanced approach. i do believe that the american public certainly supports the middle class tax cuts. that would be a nice, good holiday present to americans. >> and they have the polls that show that. >> 98% of america would be affected by this. >> i don't favor it. but politics are politics. i get it. the election spoke clearly. the american people spoke clearly. many republicans are signing letters that it has to be a balanced approach and they have walked away from the no new taxes pledge and said they would support a balanced approach. >> i understand, dave, that this is not the reagan supply side conservative position. i'm not jumping up and down about this. meeting th

i'm larry kudlow. this is "the kudlow report." a breaking story tonight with legal and financial consequences. the supreme court will rule on gay marriage. two separate cases scheduled for early next year. it's a social issue but also a big financial one. this will affect billions in federal and private benefit payments. >>> now to the really big financial story, the fiscal cliff. house speaker john boehner says president obama has wasted another week by not making a real proposal. meanwhile, republicans are divided and senator rand paul on this show last night may have made the most constructive proposal of all. >> i'm happy not to filibuster it. i will announce tonight on your show i will work with harry reid to let him pass his big old tax hike with a simple majority if that's what harry reid wants. then they will be the party of high taxes and they can own it. >> all right. without that kind of republican strategic retreat, the december 31st deadline is not likely to be met. in today's jobs report it was positive and it beat t

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i am larry kudlow. one week after the devastating school shooting in newtown, connecticut, left 26 people dead, the national rifle association is breaking its silence. the gun rights group is calling on congress to put armed guards at every school. it's a very interesting development. actually, we could bring in -- let's go right to nbc's danielle lee. she's going to join us with the nra details. good evening, danielle. >> reporter: larry, good evening. after a week long talk about gun control and protecting our children, the situation isn't fewer guns, but more of them on camp campus. the nra's leader blamed the media for a culture of violence. and also accused the country of failing to protect our children by not putting police on every campus with guns. >> the only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun. >> even supporters of the nra called the organization out of touch with america. lawmakers and top educators fired back. they say any solution also needs to include gun contro

john harwood, steve liesman and larry kudlow. let's start with john with the progress or lack thereof. >> we've had a bit after crack up here in washington, brian, as you may have noticed. last night the house of representatives tried to move on speaker boehner's so-called plan b which would have raised taxes or permitted tax increases back to the clinton era levels on million dollar incomes. he was explaining to the press this morning about why he wasn't able to bring that up for a vote. and he said it was because members of his caucus had the perception a mistaken perception, that it was a tax increase. here is the speaker. >> there was a perception created that that vote last night was going to increase taxes. i disagree with that characterization of the bill. but that impression was out there. we had a number of members who didn't want to be perceived as raising real taxes. thalt the real issue. >> democrats picked up the reasoning behind the speaker's statement. he is saying it wasn't a tax increase because tax rates are sup

i'm larry kudlow. the republicans may make another compromise with their latest counter offer on the fiscal cliff. not as many spending cuts as they originally wanted and slight entitlement reform. the white house has just reject this offer out of hand and once again it solely is because it doesn't raise tax rates on the rich. when is obama going to rise above that obsession? when will he lose that over rich people and tax rates? i don't know. tonight, i'm is going to try to call his bluff. anyway, also breaking tonight, potential catastrophe if syria uses its chemical weapons. president obama issues a stern warning to syria and i quote the world is watching. and there will be consequences if syria uses these wmds. have we just committed ourselves to another war? and the gun control debate is squarely back in the spotlight tonight after the murder/suicide by nfl player in kansas city, second amendment instead of blaming the sick people who use them. republicans have responded to a fiscal cliff counter

i'm larry kudlow. so a crucial moment for our economy and for our right to bear arms. high drama on capitol hill right now as house republican speaker john boehner looks to pass his plan b fiscal cliff bill in a million dollar tax threshold. votes aren't there yet. that's why we are following this live through the whole thing this evening. >>> and as the president's new anti-gun violence task force starts work, we learn that now outside experts have yet joined that panel. meanwhile, the debate on gun control rages across the country. tonight we will hear from outspoken tv host piers morgan and former new york mayor rudolph giuliani. "the kudlow report" begins right now. >>> first up, the latest on the vote of plan b. the plan b bill sponsored by john boehner that may decide how deep into january they have to go for a solution. may decide the fate of the economy and the stock market and decide the fate of jaohn boehne and ultimate lif the second term agenda of president obama. john harwood joins us now live with all the details. good evening, john. >> reporter: good eve

i'm larry kudlow. this is "the kudlow report." president obama goes before business leaders and says "we could get this done in a week" when it comes to the fiscal cliff. but tim geithner just told cnbc that we're going to go over the cliff unless tax rates go up. at the same time, two dozen republican house members signed a bipartisan letter with democrats defecting from the boehner plan. in the meantime, a nice game for the day for the dow, but a stunning selloff for apple. do you know what? fiscal cliff or not, the s&p 500 is up 12% year to date. that is a handsome gain for investors, an optimistic year, believe it or not. and we already bailed out detroit's auto industry. but now, at least one motown politician is telling president obama he should bail out detroit bankrupt city government, too. this sure isn't the free market, and i asked why should a texas taxpayer bail out detroit? >>> breaking news from syria, and it is a blockbuster. the assad regime is walking and loading its chemical weapons,

i'm michelle caruso-cabrera in for larry kudlow. a lot happened in just the last couple of hours. >> michelle, there's considerably more optimism after the white house meeting between the president and the four bipartisan leaders than there was earlier in the day. mitch mcconnell and harry reid say they're going to come out and try to hammer out a bipartisan deal that can pass the senate with enough republican votes to convince the house to act and even president obama who had been concerned that they were not going to act and challenging them for an up and down vote said he was optimistic. here's the president after that meeting. >> i just had a good and constructive discussion at the white house with senate and house leadership about how to prevent this tax hike on the middle class and i'm optimistic we may still be able to reach an agreement that can pass both houses in time. >> now what would be in that mini deal? we're talking about tax increases for people at near the top of the income scale. the question is the threshold, 400

i'm larry kudlow. this is "the kudlow report." we have late breaking developing stories starting with a surprise obama-boehner white house meeting on the fiscal cliff. we also have big changes in the obama cabinet, and more wild gyrations in the stock market. first, eamon javers is on capitol hill. good evening. >> good evening, larry. it was a showdown at the white house between the speaker and the president of united states. i'll bring you all the details here on who was inside that room over at the white house today. >> all right, thank you. >> and there was a twist this afternoon from president obama's favorite for secretary of state. ambassador susan rice withdraws her name from the running. i'll tell you coming up what lead her to make the decision. >> and i'm jackie deangeles. ongoing jitters over the fiscal cliff continue to keep the markets on edge. the decline is all across all ten s&p sectors. "the kudlow report" starts right now. >>> first up, we begin with breaking news out of washington tonight with just 18 days unti

i'm larry kudlow. in minnesota, we finally found a tax democrats don't like. both of that state's ultra liberal senators are speaking out about an obama care tax on medical device companies. 16 other democrats in the senate are joining them. geez, i may faint. now to washington, d.c. with fed chairman ben bernanke sent a chill down the spine of traders on wall street. bernanke said the fed's money printing should last only until we hit 6.5% unemployment. markets didn't like that one bit and a good rally was completely erased. and we go to damascus where the assad regime is firing scud missiles and where did those missiles come from anyway? >>> in a letter to senate majority leader harry reid, 18 democratic senators are requesting a sweetheart deal to delay a 2.3% medical device tax that is part of obama care. due to start january 1st. but you know what, may i with all respect, these guys are hypocrites. they're not supply siders. yes, the tax is a job killer, as they say, but it's only hitting their states. the senators claim the medical device tax kills jobs

and our thanks to larry kudlow.r, thank you for sticking around. >> oh, with the speaker and john, absolutely. >> we should note that the markets are off their session lows with the s&p 500 now down by about .9% of 1%. >>> stocks coming off session lows after speaker boehner's remarks. the dow now down by about .6 of 1%. art, great to see you. >> great to see you, melissa. >> are we off the lows because of what the speaker had to say a few moments ago, or are the buys higher in the last trading day before the weekend? >> i think the door wasn't slammed. i don't think boehner came out and slammed the door. i think there is a middle ground here still. fortunately the middle ground is going to be with bipartisan support. the ball's been tossed over to the senate. it's harry reid's turn now. but something will get over to the house to have bipartisan support. democrats need a chance to vote on something in the house. and i think that's why the market is moving forward a little bit here. i think that's what we learned at

i'm larry kudlow. this is "the kudlow report." so the blame game over the fiscal cliff grew a bit louder today with the president playing part of the anti-santa. going so far as to say he's keeping a list of congressmen. that sounds like an enemy's list to me. we're going to talk some more about that. >>> the president also saying if the republicans can't compromise, the holiday season might be an unhappy one. >> that's sort of like the lump of coal you get for christmas. that's a scrooge christmas. >> and the republicans they say that the democratic offer is not a serious one. check it out. >> let's not kid ourselves. >> so where do we go from here? and the business world itself is waiting to see if we drive off the cliff. they're taking action right away. deals are being done to sell companies. stocks, homes, dividends, almost anything to avoid a big tax wallop after the first of the year. you see, folks, as i've said for so long, taxes do matter. later on we're going to tell you exactly why. first up the president place santa c

whether or not it happens or not the fact that it's a headline, the fact that larry kudlow sat right here and discussed the possibility of going into a recession for the united states i think it makes everyone think about it again. >> all right. steve, thanks for stopping by. we appreciate it. >> merry christmas. >> merry christmas to you. and we sit here with the s&p 500 at 1425.5 down by 1.25 off session lows but this is going to be an interesting one to watch as we head into the session because we had those remarks from speaker boehner earlier and now we're taking a little leg lower. >> and shortened session on monday as well. >> that's it for "squawk on the street." let's hand it over to headquarters and the fast half. >> guys, thanks very much. welcome to the halftime show. four hours to go until the close. here's where we stand on wall street. off the lows of the day by not by that much though. the dow is still down almost 160. the s&p and nasdaq are selling off at this hour. here is what we're following on halftime. stock in motion. rim shares sink as the company surprises the

i'm michelle caruso-cabrera in for larry kudlow. this is "the kudlow report." speaker john boehner calls the house back into session for sunday night. that stokes investor hopes for a fiscal cliff deal and this coming just a few hours after harry reid's comments sent the dow into a tailspin. we have complete coverage in this developing story which is happening tonight as we speak. also, as supplies from the obama team, ep achieve lisa jackson stepping down. can the coal companies finally breathe a sigh of relief? guess what happened in britain when the uk banned handguns. the surprising result that could change the gun control debate. "the kudlow report" start ises right now. >>> the big news tonight, still the developments in washington on the fiscal cliff, eamon javers joins us with the details. >> good evening, meshel. capitol hill sources tell cnbc that congressional leaders are planning to go to the white house tomorrow to meet with president barack obama and it is not entirely clear at this point when that meeting will take place and details are still bei

i'm larry kudlow. this is "the kudlow report." the talks are back on. team obama and team boehner are back at the negotiating table. but there is still substantial disagreement on tax rates, tax revenues, domestic spending and entitlement reform and the clock is ticking. speaking of tax hikes, europe's grand experiment with taxing the rich more is falling apart, especially in france and britain. and here at home, california and new york are passing through the 50% tax rate barrier. is anybody looking at how tax hikes fail the test of economic growth? >>> back here in the u.s., could it be michigan which used to call itself the worker's paradise union state is now moving towards new anti-union right-to-work legislation and it looks like it's going to pass? but first up, budget talks resume between speaker john boehner and president obama today. with just 25 days to go, let's keep tabs on where we stand. reports of a conservative backlash against speaker boehner simply not true. he has the solid support of his leadership and the rank and file. but there i

. >>> and cnbc is taking to washington today as we send becky quick, larry kudlow and jim cramim cramerthe white . they'll be leading off with a special mission critical rise above d.c. report. it's part tax. read, becky? >> like you said, we are occupying washington. this is where we've camped out all night. there's been all this talk about the fiscal cliff. we know it is fact approaching. we know it is something that would threaten not only the united states economy, but the economies around the globe. if we go over that cliff, there will be steep cuts and spending and steep tax increases that would automatically kick in. what we're doing here today is talking to our elected officials, talking to people who are involved in these talks, trying to figure out what will happen, where we are and if there's any way to avoid that cliff, if there's a good way to come about with tax reform and a close look at what's been happening on the spending side, as well. we have a lineup of a lot of gets who are here. joining us this morning, early on we'll be joined by representative jeb henserling. he

anything or shouldn't do anything based on the tax consequences -- >> we talked about that on larry kudloww the amount of money that the government collected from capital gains doubled right before the capital gains went up to 28%. and then the next year -- they front loaded. the wealthy can manage their income much more than average ordinary income. >> they can when tax laws change. once you get into a situation where tax laws are more stable and not -- >> it's smooths out. it smooths out. but the point is next year as joe just pointed out we'll see in 1986 those gains fell by more than half. the government collected half what they did the previous year, so we're going to see a really spiky income and revenue situation for the next two years. >> the question is what would happen, though, if you had a simpson/bowles-type plan. it plans to take dividends to 28% along with ordinary income. but 28% is higher than it would go up under most of the proposals. >> but this all begs the question of a great example this whole fiscal cliff the conversation we're having right here around the table abo

. >> with friends like that -- >> with all due respect to my ex-partner larry kudlow with all due respect>> the treasury secretary talks about how he does not think that in the end the gop is going to prevent tax rates on the wealthiest from rising. this is what he said. >> what we're trying to do is make it more likely we come together on a good agreement for the american people that extends tax cuts for the middle class, brings our long-term deficits down. tough spending savings as part of that and invest in things that matter to the american economy. we think we can do that. we have a good chance to do it now. it's important that we do it. i think we're going to get there. >> given tough talk over the weekend, why aren't we waking up to down numbers, red arrows? >> europe is terrific. bond rates are phenomenal. a great run. china numbers are better. i think that there's a lot of people who feel like doug cast does who writes with me with a piece in "the new york times" saying that -- >> most stuff is nontaxable accounts any way. most stocks that people won't be as motivated to sell as

larry investigates. the kudlow report next on cnbc. bob, these projections... they're...istic. productivity up, costs down, time to market reduced... those are good things. upstairs, they will see fantasy. not fantasy... logistics. ups came in, analyzed our supply chain, inventory systems... ups? ups. not fantasy? who would have thought? i did. we did, bob. we did. got it.