while social security, one of my responsibilities is to say the secretary to the social security board of trustees. the trustees consists of six members. the secretary of the treasury, labor, hhs and commissioner social security along with those for our two public trustees nominated by the president and confirmed by the senate. unfortunately over the career switch over to the trusty reporters, we didn't have the benefit of the trustees. those positions were vacant. an unfortunate circumstance i'm glad it's been wrecked beside a confirmation of charles bob wallace and robert reischauer. before he introduced a series blahous and reischauer, 50 million americans rely on social security for a dignified and secure retirement and about 47 and leaving americans with in 2010. approximately 150 million people are payroll taxes. these programs are just for the old. spouses, spouses of deceased workers and children and social security is also disability insurance program. i thought the trustees of social security and medicare released their annual update on the financial status and health of thes

social security, i live off of social security because i am a disabled vet. i had to do that because of my back. because of social security, it is ludicrous. host: we are going to leave it there. did you, iowa, and next call comes from brian. -- dubuque, iowa, next call comes from brian. caller: i wanted to say that i like the show. and the person who called in about social security disabilities, he claims he can tell at the grocery store are completely capable of working -- i wanted to say that that is a falsehood. there are a lot of people out there struggling, a lot of people have mental illnesses, and there are a lot of people -- a lot of things that people are struggling with. it is not good to label anyone any particular thing. host: this is from the "wall street journal." the justice department expected that out the head -- ousting the head of alcohol, tobacco, firearms and explosives. c-span has covered two hearings in the past week that have to do with operation fast and furious. if you want more information about those hearings, go to our website, c

check i'm not exactly sure what's going to fix social security when social security came into being one hundred thirty four of the leading causes of death about elderly people were so severe with poverty you had over sixty percent are going to tolerate as they were sixty five you know i'm i agree with you and and and people are dying from hyper. from the truth malnutrition and heat and now because of social security the poverty rate for people over sixty five has gone below twenty percent used to be really really high i've had to do was a third of all the payments the social security makes of the things like what stanley is getting from people like my friend michael hutchison who is out jogging a couple of years ago and said if they felt broke his neck and has been paralyzed that i found he lives on social security ok and there's a few friends of his who you know kick in a hundred yards from here and having a system he's not gaming the system and that's the point is that if a third of the payments that social security is making are literally going to disabled people and widows and o

. >>> social security misspent billions of dollars. the agency's inspector general outlined the costly mistakes to congress. now in 2009 social security overpaid recipients by $6.5 billion. $4billion went to people who didn't qualify for a program to help the poor. nearly $60 million americans received social security benefits. >>> last night the san jose city council approved mayor chuck reed's budget proposal to close the city's $115 million budget deficit. in a last minute agreement police officers voted to take a pay cut to save 156 jobs. despite concessions from police and other city workers that will save $39 million. about 100 officers are still scheduled to be laid off next month. >>> five san francisco smoke shops are now facing a midnight deadline. the city's attorney's office has ordered them to stop selling glass pipes by the end of the day. the city contends there's no

lobbies for seniors and has always held social security sacred. in fact, just last month it said making political deals that cut hard-earned benefits is the wrong way to address these challenges. but today a subtle change in language may have profound effects on the future of the national pension plan. here's our congressional correspondent, nancy cordes. >> reporter: washington woke up to a new political reality this morning: the nation's most powerful seniors' group telling the "wall street journal" it was ready to deal on cutting social security benefits. the a.a.r.p.'s policy chief, john rother, admitting "some of our members will no doubt be upset." so upset that within hours the a.a.r.p. was insisting this was always their position. >> we can make changes that are modest and we can make changes with a great deal of lead time so that we don't need to affect anybody who's currently retired today or near retirement. >> reporter: but the group has long opposed such cuts. >> a.a.r.p. has been working to preserve social security for 50 years. >> r

i had to do as far as five and identity theft affidavit with copies of my drivers license and social security card. calling the federal trade commission, filing a police report, contacting the credit bureau and social sturdy office. once i finish speaking with him, i call the federal trade commission and spoke with an employee whose name was mark. he took a complaint and gave me a confirmation -- a confirmation number. i called social security and was informed that had called the federal trade commission and i informed the representative that i just talked to someone. she said okay and wished me good luck. that day she said that i was the fifth person that should spoken with who had their identity stolen. on february 28, 2011, i found an incident report with the york county, pennsylvania, district attorney's office. on march 1, 2011, i followed a police report with york city police department. a detective found out who did it but he could not charge the person because that person is reportedly located in the state of new jersey. he was told the irs would bring charges against them. on march 1

social security straight. i had to wait four years with no money and have worked 20 some years at my last job. the government jobs -- they do not even pay out temporary disability. they do not even recognize that. somebody is screwing up the money. it is not our fault. everybody knows people that have worked all of their lives. a person died a few weeks ago that was 64-years old. he was still working and never collected his social security. somebody is using that money. what is going to happen to people that are 47 -- are they going to get a big check? guest: a there are some people that unfortunately died before they reach 62 or 65 and 67 soon. that money goes into the $2.70 trillion alleged trust fund. the woman that called earlier, i think from oklahoma, that trust fund is an allusion. it is a transfer between government. there is no lock box or trust fund in which this trillion that is set off from other spending. when we talk about that excess, that $2.70 trillion, take that into account. they say we will

>> well, social security is an example you don't hear very much about. and we all remember 1983, or most of us do, when president reagan and tip o'neill got together and made decisions that made social security solvent for a long period of time. and nobody paid a political price for it. mr. reagan was re-elected in 1984. social security is an area where we should be able to agree pretty quickly. while it wouldn't save too much money, it would be a signal that we could deal with entitlements. you can look at the simpson-bowles debt commission and see where some democrats and rrps came to an agreement. and you can even look at the gang of six, now the gang of five centers, where they had some agreement. so you put any group of democrats-republicans together who are working in good faith, they ought to be able to figure out how to stop spending money that we don't have. >> democrats have been resistant to changing social security, resistant to medicare changes. the republicans have always been ruling out tax increases. is it realistic to think that democrat

nancy cortis how aarp stirred a hornet's nest when it comes to social security. in the meantime, anger over budget cuts spiled out on to the streets of oakland today and landed more than a dozen protesters in police custody. scores of demonstrators marched through downtown this afternoon. stopped in front of oakland's public library to protest coteds to libraries and other city servicesment they also criticized service like banks that profit off of our debt. no injuries or damage reported. >>> also in the east bay, pets poisoned on purpose. two dogs died after eating some meat balls laced with poison. mark sayer has more on the neighbor dispute that apparently led to the canine killings. >> these are photos of dogs that were killed by poison laced meat balls. died that same day and two days later, cocoa also died of poisoning. >> i was pretty shocked. >> tom lives next door to the victim and believes the borne allegedly spiked the meat balls may have gained access to his neighbor's yard through his backyard. >> this guy apparently doesn't like dogs, for one. and

the amount of social security benefits being paid out now exceeds the revenue that social security is collecting. the trustees, when they gave their report a month or so ago, said that to increase the assets, you could increase taxes right now. the payroll tax on employees and employers could go from 12.4% to 14.5% right now during this jobless economic situation. madam president, i wouldn't vote to raise taxes on our social security payers now or our employers. it would be unthinkable. the other thing suggested by the trustees that would meet this shortfall is that you could have a cut in benefits right now, an immediate cut of $150 a month from core benefits would do it. well, what kind of option is that? it is no option. we are not going to do that. everyone knows we're not going to do that. we're not going to raise payroll taxes, and we're not going to cut benefits now. we have more time today than the race against the clock that occurred in 1975. we have the option. for 25 years of doing something that will have a gradual reform to shore up social security and give future retiree

we're committed to not just saving money year to year but to ensuring that medicare, social security, that these social safety net programs that are so essential to our nation are there for the future, for our children and grandchildren. we're going to do everything in our power to make sure that we have done our job in a fiscally responsible way this year when it comes to military construction and veterans' affairs or homeland security or transportation or labor health and human services, all the various subcommittees of appropriations, that's year-to-year dollars that we have direct control over right now but we're also thinking long-term. we also want to eliminate that threat that the joint chiefs of staff identified, the greatest threat to our long-term national security, they identified as the national debt. much of which is held by nations hostile to the united states. deeply, deeply disturbing, mr. chairman, that the -- that the communist chi meeze government buys so much of our debt, they're the largest purchaser today of gold. the chinese economy is thundering, they have a ve

social security isn't. it has its own trust fund. second, it's solvent until 2037. our deficit problem is more immediate than that. and caused by other things. so we ought to,... here is my view of what we ought to do. i don't know if it's that different than aarp. they sort of backtracked a little bit yesterday. but my view is we ought to first solve the deficit problem and get america working again. once we do that, we should look at social security because it does have to be dealt with, but the way to do it is the way we did it in 1983 when democrats and republicans led then by moynihan and greenspan get together, figure out a plan and present it to all of us. anyone who says do this, don't do that ahead of time is making it harder to solve that problem. >> schieffer: senator, we're about out of time. let me just ask you quickly about afghanistan. the president has got to make hard decisions here pretty soon about whether to make a minimal withdrawal of our troops from afghanistan, which seems to be what the secretary of defense is talking about these days, or ma

while at social security, one of my responsibilities was to serve as the secretary to the social security bored of trustees. the trustees consistent of six members. the secretaries of treasuries, labor, hhs and the commissioners of social security. along with those four are two public trustees nominated by the president and confirmed by the senate. unfortunately, over the three years in which i worked in the trustees report, we didn't have the benefit of public trustees. those positions were vacant. unfortunately circumstances where i'm now very glad has been rectified with the combination of charles blahous and robert rice -- reischauer. before i introduce them, i'd like to say 47 million american were covered by medicare in 2010. approximately 150 currently pay in. but these programs aren't just for the old. social security also provides protection for spouses, spouses of deceased workers and children. social security is also an disability insurance program. last month the trustees of social security and medicare released their annual update on the financial status and health. though i

i am on social security. if you tax the social security and medicare, i have a feeling nobody needs to run for dog catcher if they run again. host: what is your definition of rich? caller: millions. host: millionaires. guest: i will agree with the caller but i want to add to something she said. i agree with the caller that president obama inherited a terrible mess from the previous administration. but it doesn't matter if you look at unemployment or the budget deficit or the price of gasoline -- all of these things have gotten tremendously worst under president obama. so, no doubt, she is right, it wasn't good when he took office. but there isn't a statistic that you might point out that president bush where he was on things that it is worse now. very much worse. host: our next call comes from tennessee on our line for republicans. caller: thank you for taking my call. senator grassley, i appreciate you. i watch you all the time and you have good common sense. what i believe in life is simple -- we will not g

changes many lawmakers, like georgia senator, johnny isaacson support. >> we can fix social securityw and not take a penny away from anybody, but move the eligibility out to be more reflective of life expectancy. >> risk angering the nation's most consistent voting block, seniors. >> social security is an insurance. it's not welfare. > negotiators would like to wrap up their talks by july 1, because that would give party leaders about a month to sell the plan to their members before the u.s. is set to default on its debt. nancy cortis, capitol hill. >>> oakland police arrested 16 people during a protest over budget cuts. dozens of people marched through downtown to demonstrate cuts to libraries and other city services. they criticize businesses like banks, which they claim profit off their debt. police arrested 16 protesters for blocking traffic. no damage was reported. >>> more than 100 people looked for michelle lay tonight. they fanned out across an area in southern alameda county. the 26-year-old nursing student has been missing for nearly three weeks now. kristen has the story.

. >>> and it was a day of backlash, anger and confusion about social security. of the most powerful groups in the country, the aarp, made headlines with word that they are actually debating a seismic shift, accepting the idea of some cuts in social security. here's ron claiborne on the backlash and the questions. >> reporter: aarp has been fighting hard against any move by congress to trim social security benefits. >> some in congress want to cut medicare and social security, cutting your benefits so washington can pay its bills. >> reporter: but the powerful lobbying group for older americans is now quietly accepting that some cuts are inevitable to save social security from going broke. >> aarp understands there are going to have to be some changes. >> reporter: at what was described as a heated meeting of aarp's policy council, the panel reportedly acknowledged it would have to accept that the retirement age, now 66, will have to be pushed back further. benefit levels reduced and contributions raised. >> we know there are going to be pieces we don't like. we'

we think we need to have a separate debate on social security and strengthen social security for thehanges we make to social security should be the strengthen it. >> if it's not cuts in social security benefits, what are you talking about? >> well, everybody knows we need to look at a package of different changes to social security to make it strong for the long term. we have more people older and living longer, so we need to make changes. everybody recognizes that. and we're willing to talk about a package of changes that will keep social security strong. >> what kind of changes are you talking about? help us to understand this. >> there are a number of options people talked about, from changing the benefit structure to raising retirement ages to raising the amount of money contributed to social security. what we need to do is have a big conversation, not with our own members but with the american public about these changes. we need to make sure that the financing is there to maintain current benefits and that's what we're going to be fighting for. we're willing to have a conversati

i am on social security. if you tax the social security and medicare, i have a feeling nobody needs to run for dog catcher if they run again. host: what is your definition of rich? caller: millions. host: millionaires. guest: i will agree with the caller but i want to add to something she said. i agree with the caller that president obama inherited a terrible mess from the previous administration. but it doesn't matter if you look at unemployment or the budget deficit or the price of gasoline -- all of these things have gotten tremendously worst under president obama. so, no doubt, she is right, it wasn't good when he took office. but there isn't a statistic that you might point out that president bush where he was on things that it is worse now. very much worse. host: our next call comes from tennessee on our line for republicans. caller: thank you for taking my call. senator grassley, i appreciate you. i watch you all the time and you have good common sense. what i believe in life is simple -- we will not g

a lot of our viewers either are on social security, they're getting ready for social security, many of them are members of the aarp. they want to know, what is this lobbying organization really up to right now? >> a huge story, major ramifications. millions of people on social security, wondering if it's going to be there for future generations. aarp is trying to clarify and say, look, in the short-term, they don't think there's a crisis for social security, and so there will not, should not be short-term cuts to social security benefits. but when you listen closely to what they're saying, they're saying, long-term, that maybe there will be cuts to benefits and maybe you should have to lift the retirement angel for when americans can start collecting social security. take a listen at how one of their senior officials today tried to clarify here on cnn. >> the board is in sync with its membership. in fact, the board is trying to figure out exactly where the membership is and what kind of changes we can make to keep social security strong. as we look forward, we see people are living lon

two days later i received word that the irs rejected my return because my social security number was used more than once. scared and and shot i took measures to secure all my personal assets, credit reports and accounts. i attended police report, filed with the federal trade commission and mailed in hard copies of my returns to various irs addresses as instructed by different units within the irs. after 12 months of back and forth confusion, the irs is identity protection specialized unit assigning to an incredibly rude and hard to reach taxpayer advocate where i had to explain my situation, resubmit the documents, improve my obscenity all over again. it took a painstaking 14 months until i finally received my $6604 refund. refund. meanwhile, i to take on a second job to support myself and spend a lot of time, money and energy drafting letters and sending in the necessary information. in 2010 i was unaffected by still remained extremely anxious. when i finally received both my 2009 and 2010 tax refund a few weeks apart, i hope the worst was over. but this year i learned i fallen victi

caller: i don't think they ought to cut medicare or medicaid or social security. social security. moving in the aged to 67, we need to take care of our older generation. we will need those programs when we get older. i have been a taxpayer all my life spans and i'm pretty sure all americans agree with me that there are other things we can cut besides these programs. i am one of the workers that will need the programs as we get older. host: john, you are 32. there was an analysis that shows 25-year-olds will get less than $1 in benefits for every $1 they put in. by the time you get to receive medicare, and you will be getting less than what you have put in over time. caller: i understand that. the government needs to figure a way to cut some other things instead of cutting those programs. i know i will need those programs when i get older. that is a simple fact. we need to realize that. that is why we are getting taxed for now. host: i want to show you two editorials before we go. editorials before we go. this is in "the washington post" this morning. talking about reducing deducti

social security is not broken. even presenting to the american people that, you know, you're living a lot longer. a larger fraction of your total adult life is being spent on social security. do not think we should raise the normal retirement age along with a longer life you're going to be leading? a huge opposition to that. and you wonder, where can you really start this conversation, because what we have to do is tell the american people they're going to get less for more. they're going to pay more and get less. we have been in a sense living beyond our means as we look forward, and that is not an easy thing to do. we have been having a great sale on government services for the last 20 years, and you do not want the sale to come to an end. so, i think it is going to be hard to get reason to prevail. in this discussion. the fundamental change that has taken place since the last big budget deals is the communication revolution that we have. cable television was not around the way it is. news broadcasts that were mo

[applause] than social security and medicare. no one in my party has proposed any change to those programs for anyone who is retired or near retirement. the question is, what are we going to promise people in the 20's, 30 boss, 40's, and 50 +. let's not give them promises that we know cannot be met. it is not the same as what i will of the pullout, bring out. but it takes a step forward. how do we make these programs sustainable? i do not want these programs to be jeopardized. we want to make sure that we put out programs that we can honor and commit to. what entitlements will make sustainable, we will cut dramatically our discretionary budget. if i am president of the united states, i will get america untracked for a balanced budget. [applause] thank you. anyone over here? coming back, this is the front row here. >> i wrote down some notes as well. i do not have a good memory. something that is going under the radar screen is education. it does not seem to be a topic in this campaign. i am going to ask a question about the natio

so security is not about cutting social security it's. about making a system that is that is neat well it's a system that needs to take in more money than what it pays out so without raising taxes when it comes to social security you could raise the retirement age you could have a means testing you could change the escalator built into social security from a from a from the wage index to the inflation index that in itself would make social security solvent in the future i think that what we need to understand here in this kind of a bitter pill and it's and it's not such a the upbeat message is this let's unplug the computer let's reboot it and let's let's set this country country up for hundreds of years of future prosperity but if we don't fix this right now we're going to all be left with nothing we've never had that fire sale the criticism has been that we are in a free market and that we should have regulated this i would argue that no we've had a highly regulated system that picks winners and losers and the free market has not been a

pay social security. you should pay medicare. they should prioritize. >> the g.o.p.get hit hard on this if they think that is a winning hand. >> thank you, panel. see you next week. don't forget to check out panel plus, where the group picks up with the spirited discussion on our website foxnewssunday.com. i can hardly wait. we'll post the video before noon eastern time. up next, setting the record straight about our interview last week with jon stewart. with the strength to maintain maximum horsepower 60% longer than castrol syntec in our extreme tests. castrol edge, now with titanium fluid strength technology. it's more than just oil, it's liquid engineering. to build a new generation of airplanes to connect the world. ♪ airplanes that fly cleaner and farther on less fuel. and make nonstop travel possible to more places. ♪ [ female announcer around the globe, the people of boeing are working together -- to bring us together. that's why we're here. ♪ >> chris: now, the surprising fall-out from our interview last sunday with jon stewart. i figured it would get some r

we all believe -- raise the social security -- >> no, i would say this is up to the congress. to work together with the president to come up with the reforms needed. >> interesting idea. here's what we're going to do. i want you to come back when we have more time and i want you to tell me exactly where those cuts are coming, because that's where the rubber meets the road. >>> coming up, with yemen's ailing president abroad, can al qaeda take advantage of the power vacuum? former member of the counterterrorism unit helps e.d. sort through this. mom: max. ...maxwell! gg mom: you're home piggy: oh,cool, thanks mrs. a. anncr: gei. mutes could save you 15% or more. red lobster like this before. your own complete four-course seafood feast for $15. start with soup, like our hearty new england clam chowder. then enjoy a fresh salad with unlimited cheddar bay biscuits, followed by your choice of one of seven entrees, like new shrimp & scallops alfredo, spicy coconut & citrus shrimp, or wood-grilled fresh tilapia. then finish with something sweet, all for just $15. right now at red lob

and say you know you don't need to you know need to receive medicare you don't need to receive social security and that everybody else which is a huge portion of the american population is still going to need to get this so we don't need to pay into it right now i don't think that everybody everybody is you know really happy we're out of that. unfortunately we can't make it through the show without talking about wiener gate a new poll shows a wide majority of voters in anthony weiner's congressional district fifty six percent actually want him to stay in office it r. and c. chairman's reince priebus is demanding his resignation. palosi needs to do our job and be a leader of her caucus and tell anthony weiner to really hit the bricks and go home i don't think here's the problem i don't think we need to spend taxpayer dollars investigating whether or not anthony weiner is a creep or not nancy pelosi debbie wasserman schultz who is obama's hand-picked leader of the democratic party to sit down with him and tell him that he needs to leave i don't know considering the voters and winners district sp

we need to create manufacturing jobs in america still have a lot of people paying into social security, that we have people on role so that we have a cash flow -- so security is a pay-as- you-go program, adopted in 1935, started shortly thereafter. we had 15 people, 16 people supporting one person. now we have about three people supporting one person. that is why we have a financial challenge in social security, which we have got to solve. but we need to make sure it is available, even if it is not as much as we would like, but we have got to do with this fiscally responsible for our children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. at the same time, make sure that we have a guarantee for our seniors so they can live in dignity. yes manfred >> -- yes, ma'am. >> it to me three cards to get my madison the other day. i came home and called the lady they gave me this insurance. i said, she says, your in your donut hole. i said, i'm going to eat mine donut hole and then my sugar is gonna go up. [laughter] >> you're going the yard donut hole? >> you know, the hole that comes out of the donut

well if it was stifling if social security and medicare were stifling growth so i want to say seen the zero zero deficit spending that we had under under bill clinton and you did say that those were the driving problems and i don't know that's where we should cut yes because the baby boomers are twenty years older than out and then they're going to retire and we're going to get a little let's talk about the impact of viscosity though i mean seen what about in the u.k. where they've imposed fiscal austerity and kind of get one look at the cost that it's taken on the economy but what do you say that's all that it's a computer game day just let me ask you this first consumer spending has contracted people are predicting that their recovery is going to be pushed out further as a result of us kerry measuring it when he was a driver of the united states yes it's not what's causing the you would prescribe that for the united and down the. order for austerity you know you're linking two things that are fundamentally diametrically opposed to one another government spending. too much really dama

i really don't agree with that when you talk about medicare and social security going broke in a kind of liability set her own boat on it you still have to put it in the context of the unemployment situation in the united states there's almost thirty million americans who are not paying social security taxes or medicare taxes because they're simply out of were when you have thirty million people out of work in the united states social security and medicare will go broke really think that's the problem is we've been dealing with symptoms and not the root causes of the problems for the past three years it sounds like you're arguing that this has been a revenue crisis which is something that a lot of people do but we are not seeing major moves to add jobs we're not seeing any kind of major hiring by the private sector in the pipeline or public jobs program so at this revenue crisis continues then according to your logic it seems like you know these medicare medicaid and social security could face more dire situation down the line absolutely and it's all because we're going in the wrong d

>> i'm talking about medicare, medicare and social security. a l of people wanted to discount social security but we're going to have to borrow borrow $2.6 trillion. that's what we've stolen and spent out things. even if you have all that money or have the capability of borrowing it which i doubt seriously we have the capability of borrowing right now, if you do that you still have to reform it. our life expectancy has gotten longer so the number of people supporting each person on social security has gotten much smaller. so it doesn't work. there's no way you can make it work. and even though eventually we're going to $168,000 in terms of social security taxes in this country, you could raise it -- you still won't solve the problem. because for every dollar that you increase the taxes on social security, you're going to ultimate pay it out. so the way to solve it is to fix it to where it becomes a means tested available program that those that absolutely need it and actually need more than what we're goingto give it today, we're going to bump

social security is not broken.ven presenting to the american people that, you know, you're living a lot longer. a larger fraction of your total adult life is being spent on social security. do not think we should raise the normal retirement age along with a longer life you're going to be leading? a huge opposition to that. and you wonder, where can you really start this conversation, because what we have to do is tell the american people they're going to get less for more. they're going to pay more and get less. we have been in a sense living beyond our means as we look forward, and that is not an easy thing to do. we have been having a great sale on government services for the last 20 years, and you do not want the sale to come to an end. so, i think it is going to be hard to get reason to prevail. in this discussion. the fundamental change that has taken place since the last big budget deals is the communication revolution that we have. cable television was not around the way it is. news broadcasts that were most

we have to slow the growth of medicare and social security. the democrats don't want to talk about that by and large. we have to have taxes rise as a share of gdp when we double the number on social security and medicare. something that paul ryan or the republicans don't want to acknowledge. that will include higher taxes on people under $250,000 a year as we double the number of seniors in this country. something that the president and the white house won't acknowledge. so we are caught in the dualing charades with obviously the ability to make a solution, you know, stuck through all of this. >> thank you. >> sure. >> y'all think it will be increased, i think it will be temporarily or sometime and then they'll have a conversation about dealing with the real problem that we are all talking about here. but let me tell you about a little scenario on december 24th, 2009. and we were in a situation where we were asked to increase the debt limit. and the pressure on all republicans was to vote no. they have the 60 votes and their going to have to d

then we've got -- now we've got rick santorum going after social security as the reason that he's running and then we've got all of the other republican candidates attacking mitt romney for romney care the newest polls out of massachusetts show more than 60% approval of people actually living with that policy. how do you make political sense out of running against all of these very, very popular policies? >> first of all, rachel, you have to understand that rick santorum who i've covered for many years, he's from my hometown of pittsburgh, rose as the anti-abortion guy. that's he got his initial support in the state legislature and so forth. he's a cultural issues guy, but he knows that this year is an economics issue year. the one thing mitt room romney has going for him, he's in the wrong guy but many the right spot on economic issues, economic management. rick santorum is trying to get on the economic side. but grately so. he's reaching for the one that i know that is even, you know, less popular than going after medicare which is going after social security and i think he's going it a

i could ask you the color of the sky and you get back to the social security issue. i understand that's your job. help me understand, those who talk to congressman weiner say over the last 24 hours he sounds did i different, a little more in charge of himself, than perhaps he did a week ago. is that fair? >> that is fair. look, the past several weeks have been difficult for the country. difficult for the congress. difficult for weiner and, more importantly, his family. obviously he was going through a range of emotions over the past several weeks. when i did speak with him yesterday without going into the details the conversation, i think it's fair to say he was more clear, more firm, than i had heard him in previous conversations. >> steve israel is one of the democrats who nudged anthony weiner into his resignation decision today. i appreciate your insights tonight. >> thank you. >>> still ahead, the former massachusetts governor mitt romney discovers that joking about unemployment isn't very funny. perhaps not smart politically either. next what you need to know a

we have to slow the growth of medicare and social security. the democrats don't want to talk about that by and large. we have to have taxes rise as a share of gdp when we double the number on social security and medicare. something that paul ryan or the republicans don't want to acknowledge. that will include higher taxes on people under $250,000 a year as we double the number of seniors in this country. something that the president and the white house won't acknowledge. so we are caught in the dualing charades with obviously the ability to make a solution, you know, stuck through all of this. >> thank you. >> sure. >> y'all think it will be increased, i think it will be temporarily or sometime and then they'll have a conversation about dealing with the real problem that we are all talking about here. but let me tell you about a little scenario on december 24th, 2009. and we were in a situation where we were asked to increase the debt limit. and the pressure on all republicans was to vote no. they have the 60 votes and their going to have to d

it is what happened in 1982, 1983 on social security, 1986 even the tax reform was neutral but raise taxes on some work on others. in 1990, 1993 and then 1997 even though there were not new revenues there was an agreement to continue their revenues from 1997. prime minister cameron has in his serious field far budget cutting in the u.k. includes a dollar of revenue for every $2 of spending cuts or about $3 in spending cuts for every dollar of revenue if you count savings. the reason this is important is for three reasons. one, it is hard for the members to work without revenue. i think some of the most unfortunate parts of the house budget agreement, the house budget plan driven by the fact without revenue they were forced to cut far too harshly in some areas particularly affecting the least fortunate in the most formidable. but beyond the numbers not working out, for those that have been involved in major deficit reduction plans we know the following. it is never popular to read it succeeds because this kind of equally painful for everyone in a way people think is fair. that sense o

campaign committee, texas, introduced legislation last week that would allow workers to pull out of social security payments, of their workers by, and employers after 15 years, depriving social to carry out the money they needed to pay it beneficiaries. it got no attention. why? because of anthony weiner. >> let's move on. seven republican candidates presidential nomination met for a debate in new hampshire. they had little to say about each other, but a great deal to say about the current occupant of the office. >> anyone of the people on this stage would be a better president than president obama. >> the failure of leadership. >> this president has failed. >> that will give you some idea how the debate went bid with eight months before the nominating process begins, according to the latest nbc news poll, only 41% of the republican primary voters are satisfied with the current line of candidates. compare that to 72% four years ago. why is that, evan? >> the obvious a guy who should be at ahead, romney, is it kind of maladroit. there is nobody else, except the guy who is not on stage, huntsman, who

social security is deficit spending.eason why -- the gentle man did not say that the the great congress that takes care of us has a stolen $2 trillion from my social security trust fund. i am paying for it now in my third reduction. the difference is being transferred to medicare which our congress has dipped into. what we put in for less, are congress uses it for themselves. why am i paying for the money that are great congress has taken from it because it is causing deficit spending. guest: i do not disagree with the gentle man. i think we have an obligation to respect of the contract that we made with senior citizens when people begin to pay into social security at a much younger age. social security is a guarantee. it needs to be there. over the years, congress has dipped into the social security fund for different things. we have to make some adjustments so social security is there not just for the gentleman, but my kids, my grandkids, and my great grandkids. social security is one of the most important and successf