social security is not broken but the social security disability insurance program is starting to face a major difficulties this program pays benefits to workers who have lost earnings due to a disability and the social security administration itself projects the fund to be depleted in just three years here's what brian dawe is the chief actuary of the social security administration has to say about that. for disability trajectory cannot be sustained not only cannot be but it will be i mean that's that's that's pretty clear and the projections were made you know. today over ten million americans. currently collect disability insurance from the government which is three hundred percent higher than what it was just forty years ago but at the same time we have seen advancements in working conditions and medical technology to cruising the causes of disability so why is it that so many more americans are receiving disability payments from the government while on one side they claim that the biggest factor driving the expansion of disability is demographics this can most notably be attributed to the aging baby boomer population but others claim that statutory requirements relaxing the definition of what a disability is has target

the social security administration apparently does. >>> if you click it, should you be taxed for it?he senate passing a bill paving the way for states to collect sales tax on online purchases. they say brick and mortar stores collect sales tax so why shouldn't online retailers also. jonathan, just another tax. is this fair? >> it's not only unfair, eric, but it's destructive to the economy. i mean freedom creates wealth and force, which taxes are, destroys it. this is simply the government taking more of your money. it's more regulatory costs and expenses for retailers. it makes trade harder, it makes trade more expensive. how does that help anyone except the big spending government. we've only had a sales tax in this country basically since 1930. rather than adding new taxes, why not take them away from the bricks and mortar stores and let the economy thrive and fly. >> i struggle with this one because i do not agree with adding one single additional tax to this economy. >> what about the kids? >> if i'm barnes & noble, brick and mortar, it annoys me that you can go onto the website

the social security administration apparently does and the costs will kill you. >>> new detail0s of a massive bank heist are out. why you may never look at an atm in the same way again. t their o. with scottrade's smart text, i can quickly understand my charts, and spend more time trading. their quick trade bar lets my account follow me online so i can react in real-time. plus, my local scottrade office is there to help. because they know i don't trade like everybody. i trade like me. i'm with scottrade. (announcer) scottrade. voted "best investment services company." [ whirring ] [ dog barks ] i want to treat mo dogs. ♪ our business needs more cases. [ male announcer ] where do you want to take your business? i need help selling art. [ male announcer ] from broadband to web hosting to mobile apps, small business solutions from at&t have the security you need to get you there. call us. we can show you how at&t solutions can help you do what you do... even better. ♪ . [chanting] >> to new york,y a fight over flaking is underway. the governor has put it on hold and that could cost billi

the point is the current projections by the social security administration and the congressional budget office and what you see in the media all the time that in 2033, the latest estimate they have come a social security will run a run in the trust fund. that means i will have to pay benefits as the current payroll tax revenue coming in. what that means that projections are correct and remember these are only projections for social security would only have enough money to pay 75% of benefits in 2033. what that means is that congress would either have to -- how was it has to be sent in to balance the books because social security is not legally able to draw from other sources. it has to use the income it gets from those two sources i mentioned. congress would have to cut benefits, to match the money coming in or have to raise payroll taxes or figure out some other source of income to adding to make up the difference. so that is what we are talking about when we talk about a fiscal crisis. a few things to keep in mind to put this in context. first of all, some of you may have heard me exp

it's on the new list of popular baby names from the social security administration. also on the list -- i think this is strange, messiah and major? >> that's weird. >> as for frank, by the way, that's 319th. >> as for baby girls, michelle is popular by 162. >> and by the way, lawrence is not popular. 453. captions by: caption colorado comments@captioncolorado.com ,, >> steffy: how long have you been here? you were here the whole time. you heard thomas and me. >> bill: you are really getting into this, aren't you? pregnancy, looking after your woman. >> liam: that's a very 1950s way of putting it, but, yeah, i am. i'm getting into it. >> bill: i'm proud of you. >> liam: look at us. couple of guys, couple of

>> thanks reporting glitches by the social security administration, it's likely that dead people are getting benefits paid out, eric. just add that to the list of wasted government money. >> yeah, dead people, people in prison are also getting it. >> people that shouldn't be getting it. >> craziness. what do you say? wayne, you're up. >> well, i'm looking at - i think that some of the best in pharmaceuticals and the health care are good. i want to look long term at pc rx, higher sales, lower earning this last quarter. good in the long term. >> very good. pc rx. jonathan, you've been hot, are you staying hot? >> thanks. i know i sound like the below cries wolf, but now is the time to bet against rates. over half my hedge fund are short in the bond market including shares of tps. there is a leverarage fund that bets against tips. tips have been a popular investment in the last couple of years. i think n is the time to phase the crowd. >> i have a few seconds, where do you see rates going? >> there's no floors in a bear market for bond. i'll let you know whether we get there. i think th

social security administration have popular baby names dating back to 1880. among fastest rising names are for boys are king and messiah. >> if you're showing up with a name like messiah you better be bringing something special to the party. >> i'm thinking. >> can a collection agency intercept funds from a tax resnund. >> they can, but only under specific conditions and reasons. overdue child support, income tax owd and student loans. a basic car loan or something from a credit kafrd they're on their own. >> an auto dealership ran an ad for a vehicle. i went to look at the vehicle they told me they won't sell it to me at the advertised price. is this right? >> in california there is a law saying any consumer buying an advertised car has to get the lowest advertised price even if they don't know bit. they have to give it to you no matter what. sheer what i'm concerned about. if you notice there is a vin number at the bottom that says one. >> right. >> so show up early saturday morning if there is a very good deal you're waiting for you'll see it on pickup tru

[laughter] but from the social security administration.ility causes 50 percent of mortgage foreclosures of that is the reason. >> you don't think it happens to you and so it does. just insurance you don't buy it until you needed and you can't. gerri: the government offers at. >> but it is beerbohm's very disabled very badly elman hundred dollars is the average and not enough to live on. >> a lot of companies to offer group disability that will pay for maybe 6 percent of your salary. gerri: you can buy individual. >> and supplemental on top of what your company may give you that may get you up to 80% they will never do 100 percent because they want you to go back to work. gerri: but this is expensive >> it could be several hundred thousand but it depends on your salary one of their biggest assets is their salary if you were earning $50,000 over 20 years that is a million dollars it is bigger than your car or your house. gerri: but it can be difficult to get. >> you have to be in good shape and you cannot be old and sick. it is difficult to

. >>> the social security administration released the list of the most popular baby names for 2012.sofia is the number one pick for girls. emma is second followed by i beth. for boys jacob is top pick. mason, e ethan, noah, and william. i think i know kids by all of those names. >> very popular names. >> they are. >>> let's go out and take a look at the commute now. northbound 280 getting up to highway 17. that looks pretty good. hello steve. >> hello sal. >> how are you? >> i'm doing very well. >>> we have a lot of low clouds in place. rather windy coast and some of the hawaiier elevations out to the delta. it will be a little warmer but that is away from the coast. pam. >> thank you, steve. >>> coming up on 5:30. putting the finishing touches on an iconic power. there is a live picture of what happened in the last hour as the world trade center in new york city. >>> a music festival expected to draw thousands this weekend has some neighbors fuming. we're live where a tent city has also gone up. >>> and remembering the sailor killed while training for the america's cup. how the dea

i'm encouraged bit fact that the social security administration, in a letter they said that 3.2 billioned to this bill. as well as increasing the gdp 1.63% and even stated that the social security trust fund would be bolstered by $300 billion over the next ten years. there's a lot of important reasons why we need to keep immigration reform moving forward and the economic interests are really important. and you believe those numbers are enough push-back to what the heritage foundation put out where they said trillions were going to be spent in order to make this bill happen? >> no one has given the heritage foundation report any sense of credibility. it's been disputed mostly by republicans and conservatives. >> grover norquist and former governor haley bay barber have out. and one of the editors of the report had been accused of some fairly controversial thinking that was really quite insulting to many in the hispanic community. around eugenics. i don't think the heritage report is going to see much in the light of day in terms of credibility. >> janet murgula, head of la raza, thanks f

. >> the social security administration. >> bill: what do you use the deer antler spray for.ught to get some. >> cures what ails you. >> bill: what's it for? >> if you have chronic pain ba because apparently it's banned in the nfl and ray louis was using it for a back injury or a neck injury but if you have chronic pain, they say it helps. i a tiny bottle is like $80. so i am not going to be using it. >> bill: probably from the canadian pharmacy is cheaper. >> less than $80. >> the social security administration has released the most popular baby names for 2012. and once again, jacob and sophia top the list same thing as last year. top five boys after jason, mason, ethan, know he a and william and the top five girls, emma, isbella, avia and ella. in 1912, the top three boys' names john, james and william were the top 3. and for girls, it was -- >> bill: william hanging in there. staying power. >> for the girls, it was mary helen and margaret were the top 3 back in the early 19 hundreds. the. >> that was mile girlfriend's name, mary helen martin. >> the whole naming thing. i d

. >>> social security administration's annual list of top baby names is out. at number five, william for boys, ava for girls, know a and onoah and olivia, et isabella, number two, mason and emma. andcob andcob has been number o 1999. ...so you say men are superior drivers? yeah? then how'd i get this... [ voice of dennis ] ...safe driving bonus check? every six months without an accident, allstate sends a check. silence. are you in good hands? ♪ the middle of this special moment and i need to run off to the bathroom. ♪ i'm fed up with always having to put my bladder's needs ahead of my daughter. ♪ so today, i'm finally talking to my doctor about overactive bladder symptoms. [ female announcer ] know that gotta go feeling? ask your doctor about prescription toviaz. one toviaz pill a day significantly reduces sudden urges and accidents, for 24 hours. if you have certain stomach problems or glaucoma, or can not empty your bladder, you should not take toviaz. get emergency medical help right away if your face, lips, throat or tongue swells. toviaz can cause blurre

social security. one of the republican architects of the senate bill, senator rubio sent a letter to the social security administration's chief actuary asking for the net effect of comprehensive immigration reform on the social security trust fund. in his reply, the chief actuary stated that they are developing 75-year estimates, but quote, and this is actuary goss sfeg, overall we anticipate that the net effect of this bill, meaning immigration reform on the long balance. ue article and it states over the next 10 years, comprehensive immigration reform will prevent two million illegal border crossings and create 3.2 million jobs and increase our gross domestic product by a third. opponents don't understand that many of the undocumented immigrants in this nation are already working. yet because of their legal status, they are forced into the underground economy with no labor protections and no way to pay into the system. put plainly, undocumented immigrants are often paid cash under the table and often drastically less than the minimum wage. allowing these individuals to come out of the shadows and put them on the pathw

it's on the new list of popular baby names from the social security administration. list, get this, messiah and major. >> top for boys, jacob, girls, sophia. lawrence came in 756. >> what? >> sorry, pal. >> back in the 50s. >> it's probably more popular than that. sophia is beautiful. >> messiah and major?! hm. >>> 5:56. in the next half hour we're following breaking news. >> a van crashes into a hospital in san jose right into the lobby. it's a major mess. what we're learning about the driver coming up. >> reporter: we're live in san francisco where a bay area landmark goes up in flames. we'll tell you what the owner tried to do to save his restaurant. yacht crashes during practic the search to find out whatt wrong. >> an olympian killed after an america's cup yacht crashes during practice. the search now to find out exactly what went wrong. ,, ,,,,,, we've made major advancements in reducing the incidents of broken bones in seniors. we've received recognition for getting hypertension under control for over 80% of our members. we've made significant advances in asth

the point is that the current projections by the social security administration and the congressional budget office -- and this is what you see all the time -- niksch in 2033, the latest estimate they have -- social security will run of our money in the trust fun and all it will have to pay benefits the current payroll taxes and what that means irif the proresques are correct, and these are only projections -- is that social security would only have enough to pay 75% of benefits in 2033. now, that means is that congress would either have to -- congress would have to do something to balance the books because social security is not legally able to draw from other sources. it has to use the income that it gets from those two sources i mentioned. congress would have to cut benefits, to match the money coming in, or it would have to raise payroll taxes or figure out another source of income to add in to make up the difference. so that's what we're talking about when we talk about a fiscal crisis. a few things to keep in mind to put this in don text. some of you may have heard me explain so

administration of healthcare policy. the irs cuts all of our checks for social security. it does not set policy. it is an administrative agency that is involved in the implementation of a particular piece of legislation. as always, attention has to be paid to safeguards, avoiding serious mistakes, but this is no different in my view than a lot of other situations. i think sheila really put her finger on the critical question. you have an all out effort in maryland, a unified government working on behalf of the legislation. in the state of massachusetts, you have bipartisan cooperation in implementing something very like the federal legislation. as i mentioned, i am on the district exchange and i can assure you that this effort is receding in that same spirit. i am sure this all happen in a number of other states. michigan,mention florida, texas, it is maybe not so much. [laughter] what i think is going to end up happening him a not so much october 1, but january 1, march 1, as the legislation begins to success will have stories in some parts of the nation, and a royal screwup in other parts of th

socials getting number may have been compromised. once they confirmed as the department of homeland security and the social security administration must log that social security number so no one else can you support employment eligibility purposes. the bill also creates a program through which parents or legal guardians can lock the socia sos getting numbers of their minor children for work eligibility. this is to combat a rise in number of deaths of children's identities. but there are other changes that should also be made. for instance, award to prevent identity theft, the uscis created and utilizes a photo much to of which photos from green card, documents and passports can be seen during the use of e-verify in order to open sure that the person submitting the identified acumen is, in fact, the person owns that document. but i've recently learned that uscis materials regarding the use of e-verify, specifically state that a photo displayed in e-verify should be compared with the photo in the document that the employee has presented and not with the face of the employ. what good is the photo match tool to prevent identity theft if t

social security administration may have to furlough people which will slow down payment of social security. four million fewer meals on wheels for seniors, 600,000 people dropped off at women, infant, and children program. less dental assistance vouchers. unemployment insurance has been cut 11% for 2 million out-of-work americans we now have no safety net for them. the fda will have 2100 fewer food safety inspector. obviously putting at risk our food safety. we'll furlough and equivalent to 1,000 fewer federal agents. fbi, we know the boston marathon bombs, border security one-third of impaint air units have been grounded. i mention all of those simply to say that in the context of the those consequences of the sequester, does the gentleman have any -- i see it's not on next week. we have a week after that will be in session. does the gentleman have any information with with reference to whether or not we will deal with trying to familiar identity the adverse consequences of sequester before we leave for the memorial daybreak. i yield to my friend. >> thank you for imreelding. as you remem

. >>> the social security administration released the list of the most popular baby names for 201.is the -- 2012. sophia is the number one pick, emma, number two, followed by isabella, olivia and eva. boys, jacob, mason, and noah. >> i didn't see dave or sal on there. >> tori, it's salvador. >> salvador. >> that's what i was called when i was in trouble. >> salvador! >> david! [laughter] >>> let's take a look at the commute. no trouble here. it's light. traffic on the bridge itself is looking pretty good. we've had an easy time of it this friday. westbound bay bridge looks good. so does the san mateo bridge. and interstate 880 in oakland also still looks pretty good as you pass the coliseum. no major problems there. if you are driving in livermore, traffic has been pretty slow this morning. a couple of earlier crashes kind of spoiled the commute which had been going well. as we move to the south bay, slow traffic approaching capital and sunnyvale. 85 and 280 are decent alternates. >>> let's go to steve. >> a lot of low clouds and fog. already some sun for some. some of the fog is c

result in 0,000 children not being on head start, only three or four years of age once, social security administration may have to furlough people which will slow down payments of social security. four million fewer meals on wheels for seniors, 600,000 people dropped off the women, enfants and children program. 00,000less h.u.d. vouchers for people who are homeless or struggling to keep a home. unemployment insurance has been cut 11% for two million out of work americans. who now have no safety net for them. the f.d.a. will have 2,100 fewer food safety inspectors, down 18%, obviously putting at risk our food safety. and we'll furlough an equivalent to 1,000 fewer federal agents, we know the boston marathon bombings, how critical f.b.i. was, border security, one third of combat air units have been grounded. i mention all those simply to say that in the context of those consequences of the sequester, does the gentleman have any, it's not on next week, we have a week after that we'll be in session, does the gentleman have any information with tronchese whether or not e will deal with trying to ameliorate

social security and medicare systems. it will make our country stronger both today and in the decades to come. i would like to turn the podium over to the active commissioner of the social security administrationnk you. good morning. the social security and medicare programs are crucially important for the millions of americans who receive benefits, and for the roughly 95% of our population that is receiving or can expect to receive benefits from the program in the future. as trustees, we are responsible for overseeing and annually reporting on the status of two programs. the defined social security trust fund reserves are projected to become depleted in 2033 if no legislative changes are made between now and then. at that time, continuing income would be -- would be sufficient to support 77% of program costs. this is unchanged from last year's report. lawmakers should act soon to address this imbalance. in necessary changes gradually, and give workers and beneficiaries time to adjust to them. actuarial status shown in this report, represented by the actuarial deficit, is slightly less favorable than that shown in the 2012 report. the estimated long-range actuarial deficit for the combined soc

you have to submit an application either to the state medicaid agency or the social security administration, you know, fill out an application. wait and get it approved. it's certainly a factor. then i think some is knowledge. i think the doctor talked about people who weren't aware there were these subsidizes available. and we need to do a better job of building awareness about the existence of the subsidies so people know they have options available. >> i'll wrap up, if it's okay with you all. you mentioned, senator warren, the burdensome cost to seniors, and i had mentioned the excess cost to the u.s. government in trying to afford the prescription drug benefit. the inspector general has come out with a study that says that medicaid as compared to medicare with regard to drugs that medicaid collected two-thirds as much in rebates as medicare part d. despite having only one quarter of the expenditures that medicare has in their drugs, and the most shocking part about this finding is that the ig did this study with data before the accountable chair organization -- act mandated the medicaid

when i was a teenager my father worked for the social security administration, and his job was to writethe training materials for medicare. and he wanted to be very clear about how he was writing those materials, and so every night he brought them home and he had me read the materials and answer the questions. so i do believe i was the only 15-year-olds in america who knew how to determine medicare eligibility. [laughter] and i don't know that i could have figured this one out. dr. sharfstein, maryland is one of the all-star states that every press account says that maryland is way ahead of everyone else in planning for this, and lamenting it, et cetera. could you tell us when you started and what was accomplished and there's many of them, idaho, that just last month decided to start working on this, where would you have them begin or how would you, how would you have them, what triage advice would you give a state that issues getting into this? >> sure. welcome thank you and apologize to everyone for coming in a few minutes late. >> that's all right. >> it was not a health reform relat

just ahead of mother's day the social security administration releasing its annual list of the most popular baby names. top three names for girls. isabella, emma is second, sofia tops that list. for boys it's ethan in third place followed by mason and for the 14th year in a row, jacob is the most popular name. and the name justin bieber only makes a lot of people sick, not literally but in a new public policy poll. he was the most broadly disliked music star. democrats, republicans, and independents united in their disdain for bieber. those are your number ones here on "weekends with alex witt." with the spark miles card from capital one, bjorn earns unlimited rewards for his small business. take these bags to room 12 please. [ garth ] bjorn's small business earns double miles on every purchase every day. produce delivery. [ bjorn ] just put it on my spark card. [ garth ] why settle for less? ahh, oh! [ garth ] great businesses deserve unlimited rewards. here's your wake up call. [ male announcer ] get the spark business card from capital one and earn unlimited rewards. choose double miles

the social security administration sent me a letter in response to my letter. immigration reform as we have structured it will grow the economy of the united states. it will add jobs and it will help -- a net positive for social security. we got that letter yesterday. the fact is if we do immigration reform right, it will be good for america. it will be good for our economy. it will make us safer and it will protect our sovereignty. >> steve: the ball is in the senate court right now. let's see what happens. senator marco rubio joining us from capitol hill. sir, thank you very much. >> thank you. >> steve: you bet. dozen minutes before the top of the hour. we're awaiting the arraignment this morning of cleveland suspect ariel castro. we're going to bring that to you live. but first, country music legend still working hard, dolly parton, and she's waving. you're about to make a big splash, aren't you? yes, you are. first on this date in 1986, "addicted to love" by robert palmer, number one song in the world. ♪ you're addicted to love look what mommy is having. m

social security, many americans are experiencing somewhat of a deja vu. president obama's term began with proposed cuts to social security through chain cpi. the obama administrationle with the future of social security, but they are proposed cutting earned benefits for some of the most vulnerable americans. liberals, don't take your eye off the ball. republicans still want to destroy the new deal. senator bernie sanders put it this way on our show. >> the american people are saying loud and clear, do not balance the budget on thelderly the sick, and the poor. why is he doing this? i think the president continues to some very, very strange idea to keep believing if he makes major concessions to the republicans, that somehow he's going to get something back in return. >> eight years ago, president bush tried to strengthen social security by privatizing it, and then of course, the market went down. how would that have worked fw it had gone through. he got hammered in the midterms. democrats won back the house and added six new faces in the senate. if president obama gets his way with chain cpi, he could face the same fate. democrats run the risk of a poor turnout if

legislation doesn't mean that it stands as a potential malefactor in the administration of health care policy for all of our social security it does not set the social security policy. it is an administrative agency that is involved in the implementation of a particular piece of legislation. as always, attention has to be paid for safeguards and avoiding serious mistakes. i think she love really put her finger on the critical questions. you have an all out effort in maryland, a unified government working on behalf of the legislation. in the state of massachusetts you had bipartisan cooperation in implementing something very like the federal legislation. as i mentioned, on the district exchange, and i can assure you that this effort is proceeding in that same spirit and i sure that this is going to happen in a number of other states. but one could mention michigan, florida, texas, it's maybe not so much so what i think is going to end up happening is that not so much october 1st of january 1st, march 1st as the legislation begins to bite. the question will be whether our political system is able to focus on the fact that th

the data, including i.r.s., department of justice, department of homeland security, and social security administrationthis means that government bureaucrats are gaining access and power over the american people's financial health, personal information through the implementation of obamacare. >> your time has expired. >> may i have 30 seconds? how can president obama and the congressional democrats support obamacare? it is a law that gives more pow torle the i.r.s., ultimately, the i.r.s. scandal is another example why obamacare must be repealed for the sake of our health care, economy, and our constitutional freedom. i yield back. >> the gentleman from michigan is recognized. i yield one minute to the distinguished gentleman from massachusetts. >> the gentleman is recognized for one minute. >> today, i rise in opposition the repeal of the patients' rights act. 71 million americans have taken dvantage for things preventive measures. young adults can stay on their parents' health insurance until they are 26. 98% of the people of massachusetts are insured. the number regularly polls in the high 70's for

my father worked with the social security administration and his job was to write the training materials for medicare. he wanted to be very clear about how he was writing those materials. every night he brought them home and he had me brought the materials and answer the questions. i do believe i was the only 15 year-old in america who knew how to determine medicare eligibility. [laughter] i don't know that i could have figured this one out. maryland is one of the all star state. press accounts as a maryland is way ahead of everyone else in planning, implementation, etc. can you tell us when you started, what you have accomplished and, then, if you were to talk to a state's, let's just say idaho who just in the last month decided to start working on this, where would you have them began? set up?d you have them in aapologize for coming few minutes late. >> that's okay. >> it was not a health reform related program. i think that we are very excited for october 1st next year in maryland. everything we can. i do not know whether we are an all-star or not, but our goal is to deliver. from my

our actuaries offices are indispensable in both the social security administration and the office ofhe medicare actuary. this is the third report in which i and my co-public trustee have participated. this is a process that is serving well. i continue to be impressed by the professionalism and quality of work you see behind me. the process of putting together reports is complex. there will be disagreements along the way, but it is striking how these disagreements are matters of analysis. they are not driven by policy views, at least not that i have been able to tell. obviously, only time will tell how accurate or inaccurate our projections turn out to be. but i believe they have been put together in the highest traditions of public service. i think all the departments up here deserve enormous credit for all they have done to safeguard the objectivity and integrity of the projection process. thank you to all the secretaries behind me. i will leave it to bob to discuss the more complicated medicare program. of the various trust funds that we report on, social security he faces the larg

legislation does not mean that it is it attentional malefactor and administration of healthcare policy. all of our checks for social security. .t is an administrative agency it is involved in the implementation of a particular piece of legislation. attention has to be paid to safeguards. mistake sick.us -- mistakes. i think sheila really put her finger on the critical question. you have an all-out effort. unified government working on behalf of the legislation. in the state of massachusetts, you had bipartisan cooperation in implementing something like the federal legislation. as i mentioned, i am on the district exchange. i can assure you that this effort is in that same spirit. i'm sure this'll happen a number of other states. -- one couldon mention michigan, florida, texas. in those so much places. what i think will end up octoberg is not summit as thejanuary 1, march 1 legislation begins to bite. we will have a royal screw up another part of the nation. the question will be whether our lyrical system is able to focus on the fact that this program can and will work in some places and use that, euros -- use those success

by macneil/lehrer productions >> woodruff: the obama administration said today the financial outlook for medicare improved slightly and social security has not worsened. but new data shows americans still struggling to recover from the recession. good evening, i'm judy woodruff. > own: i'm jeffrey brown. on the newshour tonight, we examine the report from federal reserve economists finding the average household has regained less than half its wealth since 2007. >> woodruff: then we debate what's to be done about student loans as president obama pressed congress again today to prevent a doubling of some key interest rates july 1. >> brown: we get two stories on syria's civil war and its impact on the wider middle east. margaret warner is on

the obama administration announced the outlook for medicare has improved modestly, and social security is unchanged over a year ago. a separate federal reserve study found some americans are rebounding from the economic recession, but others continue to struggle. and, president obama pressed congress to prevent student loan rates from doubling in a month . >> woodruff: online, sizing up the state of economic inequality. kwame holman has more. >> holman: is the 99% falling even further behind the 1%? one of our readers posed the question, and so we put economics correspondent paul solman on the case. he picks up the discussion on our "making sense" page. all that and more is on our web site, newshour.pbs.org. judy? >> woodruff: before we go tonight, we'd like to remember one of our own. julian dawkins worked as a shuttle driver at the newshour for the last three years. he was fatally shot in the early hours of may 22 by an off-duty police officer. last night, that sheriff's deputy was arrested and charged with julian's murder. since julian's death, friends and family have created a make

administrative costs. you cannot find that in the private sector. dennis: i never heard anyone make this argument. >> two things, number one, if you extend the social securityayroll tax all income and turn it from a social insurance program into a welfare program, that undermines support for the program and imposes a huge over 12% marginal tax rating on top of the tax increases obama already give us as part of the fiscal cliff. another thing that your viewers need to understand, the so-called trust fund that is out there with that trillions of dollars, that is nothing but ious. it is money that one part of the government opposed to another part of the government. your kids' piggy bank, taking the money, going to vegas in writing and i know you to yourself. it is not of real asset. even the present administration admitted that. dennis: he has a point. all of those wonderful figures you point out are based upon the government actually paying for all of the interested goes to the social security fund. that is not real money. >> these are federal bonds backed by the full faith and credit of the united states. the same status as the money we go to china and all

administration? guest: it was a first step. sort of like social security or certain degree -- to some degree sism rights. -- civil rights. things come in increments. and so arthur's support of that and ended up being the very first major piece of legislation that started to make the first real prevention of the spoil system of basically the political system -- remember, federal employees could be fired. people who worked in the treasury building, people who, you know, we think of today as career bureaucrats or people working as federal employees, could all be fired. and whoever was in power would then, you know, appoint -- it was -- whoever they wanted. not only unfair, but it was inefficient. and so arthur really takes the first steps. and he also puts the first efforts in in terms of building up a modern u.s. navy. and while the chinese seclusionary act was really an awful thing in terms of just an outright act of bigotry, arthur -- arthur had supported something that was far less strict than -- which passed. there was a worse proposal out there. and so,

social security money and put it into personal account where they can actually invest in the market. those kinds of things would actually reduce the income inequality in the country we're worried about. >> and something the bush administration touted for a long time and the market fell apart and people said isn't it a good thing you don't have a lot of people with money in the stock market. >> you can't have it both ways. you can't say on the one hand if the market goes up. >> i know. >> so, look, over the long run this is an important point, christine. over the long run, especially for young people, where do you want to put your money? in the stock market. the long-term return is 8%. >> here is the issue. you and i, all of us here have been talking about the long-term benefits of stock market investing for years. we report this week shows a record low percentage of the american people who are invested in the stock market. how do you change that behavior? >> you change that behavior through education and we're woefully under educated despite steven's efforts at the journal and mine through my columns over the years. the fact is according to the market historians there has never been a 0 year period going back to 1926 when y

social security and what's called mandatory spendings? that stuff not only sticks around, but grows very quickly. to just give one example, the obama administrationemiums for wealthy folks in medicare. that would only save 25 or 30 billion in the -- my understanding is that it saves mo are than $200 billion in the second ten years. those are the policies that make sense. but there are policies that have been completely left off the table. and much dumber long-term stuff for the deficit, too. we've installed this in the absolute dumbest way possible. >> ron is not ed ra klein, thank you as always. >>> coming up, salacious tabloid frenzy check scandal, check. time served in political purgatory, check. rehabilitation campaign roll-out and ultimate victory, check, check, and possibly. we will discussion anthony weiner's road to redemption and whether or not howard wilson will vote for him, coming up next. ♪ [ laughs ] whoo. ♪ oh. nice! great! [ laughs ] a shot like that calls for a postgame celebration. [ male announcer ] share what you love with who you love. kellogg's frosted flakes. they're gr-r-eat! see, i knew testosterone could affect sex drive

raised to pay bond holders but the administration attacks it saying it averts technical default but not actual default if we have to defer payments to people like social security recipients so it's going to get raised and interestingly there is some pressure on republicans on this front, too, because remember they're up for election in 2014, president obama is not. that was part of what was hanging over him in the 2011 debt limit fight he wanted to push it past the election. republican members know they've got to come up with some sort of budget cuts to appease some of the more conservative members so they can pass it because they need to pass it. >> interestingly enough, nia, i want to go to you right off the gate here. what i find interesting is that with this being pushed back to the fall, paul ryan said this, "the debt limit is the back stop. i like to go through regular order and get something done sooner rather than later but we need entitlement reform." the debt limit is the back stop, pretty much admitting that only through crisis can actual action occur. i mean we've admitted that now. >> that's right, and you know, there were some thinking that peopl

the obama administration argues that that would create default, in fact, if not legal default, by deferring payment of other obligations from the government, things like social securitys and other benefits or other obligations incurred by the government. so the two sides are on display, these arguments, and they're part of the ongoing debate about whether or not we're going to get a budget deal later this year. odds are very much up in the air about that, and i know that you're going to talk about that, tyler and maria, with gene sperling right now. >> we certainly are. john harwood, thank you very much. what does the top white house economic adviser gene sperling have to say about the latest moves in the ongoing debt drama. he joins us now from the white house to talk about that and the president's focus today, as on so many days, on jobs. mr. sperling, let's talk first, though, about this debt prioritization. the president has vowed to veto the legislation that would prioritize debt repayments and the white house is against it, but prioritizing how you pay your bills is something that every american family has to do. tell us why you don't like this plan. >> well, n

bush administration, rising opposition to the iraq war, katrina came along, the president not only had a problem with democrats, republicans wouldn't support him on social securityesident, bad news. >> is it too early to start thinking of the political ramifications down the road, mid-term elections next year? >> yes and no. it's never too early. this is washington, after all. the president, a lot of his top officials met with law enforcement officials to talk about immigration reform. that's what they would like to be talking about. there was actually good news on the deficit today. the deficit down a little bit. it lengthens the period of time where they have to worry about the debt ceiling again. the good news is getting overwhelmed. you talk about that midterm election, what are those about? base, right? base politics. now they see a government, administration, yes, the white house will say it was the irs and independent agency, but the federal government targeting the tea party. who is that going to mobilize? the conservative base. we'll have more fights over the tea party. you have the justice department and attorney general who the republicans have long b

social security number that they carry is valid that will be a huge advance from where we are right now. >> reporter: expect a tougher version in the house. as for fraud some lawmakers point out the administration'shas approved 99.5% of those applying for legal status under the president's nondeportation for young adults, a rate unrea ununrealistically high they say and you'll see the same thing here. martha: there is a startling report that outlines how much this immigration reform bill could cost the country if it passes, at least in the opinion of this report and based on its work. we'll be joined by former republican senator jim demint that warns the american taxpayers could be on the hook for trillions of dollars. listen to this. >> there is no reason we can't begin to fix our many he congratulations system so tha our immigration system. the bill presented is unfair to those who came here legally. it will cost us trillions of dollars and make our unlawful system worse. martha: steven moore is a writer for the "wall street journal." trillions of dollars? is this right. >> her tapbl is a very well respected research organization, i think it leaves the impression, martha that immigrants are a c