laid off employees as governor rendell noted, we've closed some welcome centres. we've cut hours at historic sites. we made cuts to all kinds of prompts and that's happening across the nation. but the sad irony of a recession is that when revenues are soft the demand for the safety net social services is even greater, so for the first couple of years after the end of the recession people aren't back to work. they don't have the resources to pay their families bills. and so we have to help them get through that difficult time. >> margaret a lot of thosecos that you referred to, and he is absolutely right, they are mandated. so for example if people are eligible to sign up for medicaid, we can't turn them away, nor should we. we have to pay for that. if the judges send additional prisoners to our state correctional institutions, we have to pay for that. so these are mandated costs that we really have no discretion over. we can't say no to. >> warner: now governor rendell, we should point out to our viewers that unlike the federal government, states are absolutely re

rendell, thank you for taking the call.u mentioned about -- a couple of things you mentioned was the last budget balance -- balanced budget under clinton. well, clinton was not responsible for the balanced budget, it was controlled -- both houses of congress were controlled by the republicans, and they were the ones that balance the budget by forcing -- guest: i want to interrupt to say it was a combination of things. less spending, which president clinton went along with but it was also the tax increase on the wealthiest americans that generate revenue that allowed us to reduce and eliminate the deficit and reduce the surpluses as well. it was a combination. caller: but it was still the republican congress which caused the thing to be. clinton could not override -- guest: the republicans did not put up one vote in 1993 for the increase in taxes on the wealthiest 2 percent of americans and that was the trigger to let us eliminate the deficit and balance the budget, so there was not republican -- one republican vote. we have

rendel came in. he faced a structural deficit of 10%. he is bequeathing to his successor 60% worse than he got. at least a moderate area of pennsylvania state governments, the introduction of the two- termer governorship in 1970, i believe that is the worst anybody gave to a successor in terms of the general fund budget. in the 1970 lines, one governor borrowed a great deal of money when the state credit rating was not particularly good. his successor complain about the debt load. in terms of walking in and having to find, in this case, 15% of your budget -- there has not been one i am aware of since 1970 when we introduced the income tax. host: what has been the leading businesses, employing generators in the state, and how are they trending? guest: natural gas drilling has been a big plus, and they have supplemented to some degree very helpfully because more or less the pattern in the economy in pennsylvania the last couple of years is the coasts are doing well in the middle of the state is doing poorly. in eastern pennsylvania, south

but ed rendell has his ideas. chris: he might have to go raise the money.hen we come back, will bill clinton be the most effective democrat this year? chris: this week's big question -- democrats will be desperate for a happy warrior this november. could bill clinton make the difference and cheerlead the democratic congress on to victory? >> first of all there's no question that bill clinton is still an effective surrogate. we've seen it all throughout this year. races where he's pulled people across the finish line. the white house likes the idea of him out there in certain district and i think the white house knows that in some of the most vulnerable districts, bill clinton is a lot more effective campaigner than the president would be. there are conversations going on. terry mcauliffe said there are active discussions going on. >> i absolutely see this but the problem for bill clinton is the same one that president obama has, which is what do you sell? how are you going to make voters in that district happy, beyond saying he can talk to the voters in a w

but ed rendell has his ideas. chris: he might have to go raise the money. when we come back, will bill clinton be the most effective democrat this year? my mercury moment came when i got caught in this insane dust storm on the way back from vegas. the paint had been completely sanded off my new truck! i called my mercury agent, sarah, but i didn't really expect to be covered for dust damage. mercury was cool though... they took care of everything including a brand new paint job. in the end, switching car insurance saved me hundreds of dollars, and three coats of fire engine red. and someone put their sticky hand on it. not cool. call 888-4-mercury or visit mercuryinsurance.com to get a fast, free quote and start saving today. chris: this week's big question -- democrats will be desperate for a happy warrior this november. could bill clinton make the difference and cheerlead the democratic congress on to victory? >> first of all there's no question that bill clinton is still an effective surrogate. we've seen it all throughout this year. races where he's pul

and were governor rendell or governor schwarzenegger here, they would probably make the same pitch. and then you mentioned briefly the issue of lk, and we've got to find a way to pay for quality and not just pay for quantity. and you mentioned it briefly, but i do think that there's a disproportionate amount of money in there. and if we dent figure that out, it's going to be really difficult to get to some of the targets that you're trying to get to. >> i certainly agree with both those comments. this health care is the big even lada. just to tell you how big it is, today medicare and medicaid spending amount to approximately 5% of gdp. if we don't fix it, medicare alone is on a glide path to get to 22% of gdp. now, remember, i said i want to hold all spending to 21% of gdp. and the average revenue in this country historically has been at about 19% of gdp. so we've got to get it under control. and because medicare and medicaid are growing at such a fast rate it causes the interest on the debt, our deficit, to cause us to have to borrow more and more capital. and interest will be at

rendell, thank you for king the call. u mentioned about -- a couple of things you mentioned was the last budget balan -- balanced budget under clinton. well, clinton was not responsible for the balanced budget, it was controlled -- both houses of congress were controlled by the replicans, and they were the ones that balance the budget by forcing -- guest: i want to interrupt to say it was a combination of things. less spending, which president clinton went along with but it was also the tax increase on the wealthiest americans that generate revenue that allowed us to reduce and eliminate the deficit and reducehe surpluses as well. it was a combination. caller: but it was still the republican congress which caused the thing to be. clinton could not override -- guest: the republicans did not put up one vote in 1993 for the increase in taxes on the wealthiest 2 percent of americans and that was the trigger to let us eliminate the deficit and balance the budget, so there was not republican -- one republican vote. we have to k

let's talk about governor rendell's pennsylvania and university of pittsburgh medical center. very innovative approach. the committee consolatory care units were " extremely well. you see it in north carolina, university of north carolina health care analytics improves the quality of patient care, support research, and manages adaptations. records of every patient can be quickly examined for blood pressure or illness or drugs that have been administered. you can see it in massachusetts, where the university of massachusetts is building a from exchanges that will centralize patient and provider registries and connect the physician community, providing faster, safer, more comprehensive care at reduced cost. i can give you tons of examples around the world. we also see a lot of what business is doing. at ibm we're working with the major primary-care societies, the american medical to secede oncologist, a.m.a., and. fortune five other countries. it is aimed at helping doctors think of themselves as a business, continuous quality, efficiency in the office, and demonstration project

pennsylvania governor ed rendell told msnbc there should be quote, a little bit of dignity to the presidency. the president's full interview airs on "the view" this morning, right here on abc. >>> still ahead, a horrific bear attack in the middle of the night. >>> plus the grueling firefight in california, whe usands have been removed from their homes. >>> and the newest e-reader comes with a low price tag. burger that's a mouthwatering masterpiece? it's all in the pepperation. we hand-season fresh never-frozen usda choice beef and cook to order. new handmade burgers with fries starting at just $5.99. like the rojo burger, drenched in rich, smoky hickory sauce. for a little more, enjoy the new avocado burger or the ultimate stacked, with twice the meat and cheese. wrap your hands around the perfect burger. and now get chili's to-go with new online ordering at chilis.com. hi, may i help you? yes, i hear progressive has lots of discounts on car insurance. can i get in on that? are you a safe driver? yes. discount! do you own a home? yes. discount! are you going to buy online? yes! discount! is

and he's taking a little bit of heat believe it or not from a democrat, pennsylvania governor ed rendell. he says, presidents should have a bit more dignity and appear only on serious programs. he compared this show so jerry springer saying that in his opinion he thought it might be best for president obama to avoid these types of showses i the future. >> just after the taping of that interview, the judge in arizona made the ruling on the immigration law. she took out some of the most controversial elements, but of course a lot of people are still talking about it. what's the sense and reaction from capitol hill today? >> reporter: well, you know, what's interesting about this is that the federal government went in, they sued. so far they've won the reaction here in washington is whether or not this is going to be end up you before the u.s. supreme court and a lot of pundits, a lot of economic of academics sa well could end up being decided in washington. for now, some of the most controversial provigs as you said on hold. police cannot stop people in the middle of the street and require

governor ed rendell, who is another democrat, by the way, said that the presidency should have a little more dignity. he also compared "the view" to the jerry springer show. ouch. back to you. >> thank you very much, kristen. >>> meantime, an electric car battle is shaping up in the south bay between general motor's volt and knnissan's lea. >> we have two reporters who are plugged into the competition. bob redell is at the plug-in conference. but first, scott mcgrew is here with a look at how much these cars will cost you. >> laura, both the nissan leaf and the choevy volt are going t be available soon, this coming winter. the leaf itself, truly electric. it has no gasoline engine at all and is priced at $32,000, on sale in december. all right, this, the volt, is a plug-in hybrid. general motors announced it will hit dealerships in november at $41,000. now, bob redell is at the plug-in conference. $41,000, this is a lot of money for a chevy, no matter what it does. >> reporter: but it does come with a lot. right here what you're looking at, scott, is standard in what would be the new ch

let's talk about governor rendell's pennsylvania and university of pittsburgh medical center.innovative approach. the committee consolatory care units were " extremely well. you see it in north carolina, university of north carolina health care analytics improves the quality of patient care, support research, and manages adaptations. records of every patient can be quickly examined for blood pressure or illness or drugs that have been administered. you can see it in massachusetts, where the university of massachusetts is building a from exchanges that will centralize patient and provider registries and connect the physician community, providing faster, safer, more comprehensive care at reduced cost. i can give you tons of examples around the world. we also see a lot of what business is doing. at ibm we're working with the major primary-care societies, the american medical to secede oncologist, a.m.a., and. fortune five other countries. it is aimed at helping doctors think of themselves as a business, continuous quality, efficiency in the office, and demonstration projects with

and were governor rendell or governor schwarzenegger here, they would probably make the same pitch. and then you mentioned briefly the issue of lk, and we've got to find a way to pay for quality and not just pay for quantity. and you mentioned it briefly, but i do think that there's a disproportionate amount of money in there. and if we dent figure that out, it's going to be really difficult to get to some of the targets that you're trying to get to. >> i certainly agree with both those comments. this health care is the big even lada. just to tell you how big it is, today medicare and medicaid spending amount to approximately 5% of gdp. if we don't fix it, medicare alone is on a glide path to get to 22% of gdp. now, remember, i said i want to hold all spending to 21% of gdp. and the average revenue in this country historically has been at about 19% of gdp. so we've got to get it under control. and because medicare and medicaid are growing at such a fast rate it causes the interest on the debt, our deficit, to cause us to have to borrow more and more capital. and interest will be at

and were governor rendell or governor schwarzenegger here, they would probably make the same pitch. and then you mentioned briefly the issue of lk, and we've got to find a way to pay for quality and not just pay for quantity. and you mentioned it briefly, but i do think that there's a disproportionate amount of money in there. and if we dent figure that out, it's going to be really difficult to get to some of the targets that you're trying to get to. >> i certainly agree with both those comments. this health care is the big even lada. just to tell you how big it is, today medicare and medicaid spending amount to approximately 5% of gdp. if we don't fix it, medicare alone is on a glide path to get to 22% of gdp. now, remember, i said i want to hold all spending to 21% of gdp. and the average revenue in this country historically has been at about 19% of gdp. so we've got to get it under control. and because medicare and medicaid are growing at such a fast rate it causes the interest on the debt, our deficit, to cause us to have to borrow more and more capital. and interest will be at