i don't see it as any different particularly of the boeing mcdonald douglas merger. >> tom: we'll watch with great interest. larry korb with us from the center for american progress. >> susie: new numbers out today on poverty in the u.s.; 15% of u.s. citizens were living in poverty in 2011, the census bureau said today. that's basically unchanged from the year ago period. the report surprised many analysts who had expected the poverty rate to rise. but as sylvia hall reports, it's little comfort for the country's poor. >> reporter: 46 million americans lived below the poverty line last year. and that number remains stuck near a record high. >> there have only been a few years since the mid-60's that the poverty rate has been that high. and its much higher than it was before the great recession. it's gone up by, about 2.5% points. >> reporter: the median household income dropped in 2011 for the second year in a row, down 1.5% from 2010. stacey smith sees the faces behind all those numbers. he leads a program in washington, d.c. that helps those in need, get ready for employment. the prog

>> i assume she was supportidecision on mcdonald-douglas. i assume she was supporting the decision to sell those airplanes. was a good decision. i took heat for it, but i think it was the correct decion to do. we worked it out and we're moving forward all around the world in a much more peaceful way. that one we came away with creating jobs for the american people. i would say, look at what the president proposed on j. when you cut back on defense spsome people are going to be thrown out of work. if you throw 150,000 kids on the street, you're going to put a lot more out of work. i would say, look at the job retraining programs we're proposing. therein is the best answer to her. another one is, stimulate investment and savings. i mean whave big economic problems, but we are not apart at the seams. we are ready for recovery with interest rates down and inflation down, the cruelest tax of all, caught up in a global slow down right now.atwill change if with the programs i've talked about aif you help with job retraining and education. i am a fi