state education system state? uw system. technical colleges? k-12. we - are we in better condition than 12 years ago. does it help for job development? >> i think it is. i have two sons that go to public high school from down where we're standing and for them and every other kid i want to make sure every other kid no matter where they come from a state have access to education. one of the positive things about reform is not just savings but benefits provided to traditional things across the state. schools all across wisconsin had to bye their health insurance from one company. tens of millions of dollars on that health insurance plan instead of putting that money in the classroom. that's changed because of our reforms. we had an example long before i was governor here. a young woman was named an outstanding teacher of the year. exactly the one you would want across the state. couple of weeks after that she found out she was being laid off because of cuts in the past. the reality was over the old system of collective bargaining the last one hired it was first one fired and the mayor and his a lies want to restore that system to keep in place seniority. i want merit to drive hiring and we should pay based on performing. we can put the best and bright nest the class rooms. even the statewide teachers unit said this is why they want to

they deserved a chance to have education within the state at a state supported school. that brought an end to the dual education system in higher education. once admitted to ou, that didn't end everything because she was admitted on segregated basis. state law still applied. in my mom's case, they had all the other students in the law school to come to the front of the class. they had theater style seating. it was like sitting in a theater, walk in, step up a row. they put all the other students at the front, lower part, front of the class. at the top of the classroom in the very back, they put a single chair with a sign saying colored, and a chain around it, to represent a separate classroom. wasn't a separate classroom, that was their representation of a separate classroom. that's the conditions in which my mom was actually admitted to oklahoma university law school. and she was admitted in summer of 1949. and she said that she could not have survived that first summer class had it not been for the white men in law school that helped her at the time. i say men, she was not only the only african-american at the law s

education within the state at a state-supportedel school. and so that basically brought an end to the dual education system in high education. now, once admitted to ou, that didn't end everything, because she was admitted on a segregateded basis. the state law still applied. so what they did in my mom's case, they had all of the other students in the law school come to the front of the class. and they had theater style seating so it was kind of like sitting in a theater e you walk in, step up a row, and so they put all of the other students at the lower part, front of the class. and at the top of the classroom, in the very back, they put a single chair with a sign over it saying colored and a chain around it. now, that was to reprent

state of the state's educational system? uw system, technical colleges, k-12, in better shape than two years ago and is it well positioned to help with thing likes job creation and economic development? >> i think it is. and i said i have a vest the interest throughout this whole process. i have twol sons, matt and alex, go to a public high school where we're we're standing today. no matter what zip code, where they come from across the state have access to a great education. one of the most underreported things positive about our reforms isn't just the savings and budgetary issues bts the benefits provided to our pub luck scho public schools across the states. tens and millions of dollars spent on health insurance plans instead of putting that money directly into the classroom. that's changed bawd of our re230r78r reforms. on top of that, a young woman in the milwaukee school system name wund of the most y0ud outstanding teachers in the year. exactly what you want across the state. a couple months after that announcement was being laid off long before i was governor, but because of cuts made in the past. under the old collective bargains statement. the last one hire, first one fired. last in, first one out. the mayor and his allies want to restore that system, replacing seniority and tenure. i want a system that says merit should drive this. put the best and the bright nest our classrooms. even the survey conducted by the

state of the state's educational system? uw system, technical colleges, k through 12, are we in better shape than two years ago? and is it well positioned to help with things like job creation and economic development? >> i think it is. and i said i have a vest the interest throughout this whole process. i have two sons, matt and alex, who go to a public high school a few blocks down from where we're standing today. no matter what zip code, where they come from across the state, all have access to a great education. one of the most underreported things about our reforms isn't just the savings and budgetary issues but the benefits provided to our public schools across the states.

state park and provides police with two million dollars for gang prevention. >>> we find out today whether cal-state faculty members approved a strike. the leaders of california's three higher education systems are predicting future economic doom if the state doesn't restore college funding soon. the executives of the uc, cal-state and community colleges say they support the governor's tax plan that plan would include hikes on people who make a quarter of a million dollars a year or more. school officials are urging lawmakers to cut spending on prisons. >>> bars, clubs and restaurants in walnut creek are about to face new rules. a council approved a controversial new ordinance requiring the businesses to follow specific alcohol regulations. if they don't, those businesses could have their hours of operation cut or closed down. the law is meant to give the city a way to go after and shutdown problem establishments opponents say it violates their rights. the law comes after several reports of drunken violence at several downtown hot spots. >>> we started the week warm then baby steps down. >> no hot spots this morning, cool spots. >> absolutely, cooler weather this morning. good morning. we have breezes blowing in there's a small wind chill,

state park and provides police with two million dollars for gang prevention. >>> we find out today whether cal-state faculty voted to approve a strike if a contract stalemate is not resolved. leaders of three higher education systems are predicting future economic doom if the statedoesn't restore college funding soon. the executives of the uc system, cal-state and community colleges say, they support the governor's tax plan that would include tax hikes on people who make a quarter million dollars a year or more. school officials are urging lawmakers to cut spending on prisons. >>> very busy morning weather-wise. sorry about that. >> that is not the breezes is it? >> no, it is cooler. >> cooler and breezy once again good morning. partly cloudy, clouds are not dropping rain may not be the case tomorrow, drizzle in the forecast for tomorrow's morning cute. winds blowing out of the west at sfo 15. west oakland 10 and south wind concord 12 southwest wind fairfield 10 we still have an onshore breeze even with the clouds, visibilities are fine. hopefully we won't have any delays at sfo this morning nor oakland and san jose. 8:00 this morning, everybody in the 40s except for oakland probably around 50° by noon high clouds taking over and temperatures staying cooler than

education system. not only oklahoma, but every other university of higher education that knew they had the same problem. up until that problem, states had been using what they called the out of state tuition. this was a plan where if african-americans wanted to study a discipline that was not available in their state at the black colleges, they would offer to pay a stipend for them to go out of state to go to school. they were using that for decades, but this supreme court decision said that was not good enough. they were in the stayed & they were in high eldication and that didn't end. she was admitted on a segregated basis. what they did in my mom's case is they had all of the students and the other students in the law school to come to the front of the class and they had theater seating and it was like sitting in the theater and you walk in and step up a row. so they put all the students down and at the top of the classroom in the very back, they put a single chair with a sign over it and a chain around it to represent a straight classroom. that was their representatn

state continues to cut education, it could impact the state's fragile economy. the csu and uc system have been cut by $1 billion over the last two years while community colleges have lost $800 million. and now, students are trying to get their education at community colleges have another challenge, cuts to summer school. let's bring in nbc bay area's marianne favro who joins from san jose city college. marianne? >> reporter: raj, many students here at san jose city college say they are frustrated because they need specific classes this summer in order to transfer to san jose state or another four-year university. and they say if they can't get those summer classes, it will cost them valuable time and money. ♪ out of my mind, how could i ever have been so blind ♪ ♪ i was waiting for an education ♪ ♪ it was hard to find >> reporter: what's really going to be hard to find for brian bautista is the summer class he needs to transfer to san jose state. san jose city college is cutting 40% of its summer courses. >> i believe that's very worrisome because i'm not sure if i will be able to go get the classes i need to get the credits. >> reporter: evergreen college is looking a at 40% cut in summer offerings. the cuts will save the college district $2.5 million and impact 3,000 students. students hoping to take remedial math and english classes this summer will be hit the hardest because those are some of the first classes to go. but marina garcia is worried too. >> i need to take psych 92. and i mean if they don't have it then it's gonna basically stop me from getting,

state of the state's educational system? technical colleges, k through 12, are we in better shape than two years ago? as a well-positioned to to help with things like job creation and economic development? >> think it is. i have a vested interest throughout the whole process. i have two kids to go to public high school done away from where we're standing today. i want to make sure that every kid a matter what district they live in or where they come from across the state has access to a great education. one of the most positive things about reform is the benefits provided to our traditional public schools throughout the state. for years, schools all across wisconsin essentially had to buy their health insurance from one company. that meant tens of millions of dollars they had to spend on health insurance plan instead of putting the money directly into a classroom. on top of that, we had an example years ago where a young woman in the public school system was named one of the most devastating new teachers of the year. a couple of weeks after that she found out she was being laid off, long before was governor because of cuts made in the past. the reality is under the old system, the last one hired was the first one fired. deferred -- the last one in is the first one out. they want to restore the system. i want to say, merit should drive hiring. that means we can put the best and brightest in the classroom. a survey has said this is why they wanted to hi

state saturday department began an immediate process of sending out mailings, and creating educational requirements for all those licensed to practice in any way within the health system in the state of virginia and the rate of test positive reported cases of lyme in the state of virginia has skyrocketed. as it is also at cdc the highest rate of reported growth across 48 states at the moment. as it is becoming through health affairs, popular media, gubernatorial task forces. that is a disease that the infectious disease society treats as an acute disease. it can be easily cured, they say. and for those that think they have a chronic disease, who are in a wheelchair after treatment, who still can't chew after treatment, et cetera, these are all deemed to be non-lyme related and nontreatable. those that are told they have mls, chronic fatigue syndrome, et cetera. so this goes to the dual eligibles, the medicaid, the medicare, one of the fastest rates of increase in granting a social security disability, and with it medicaid coverage, is, in fact, lyme disease individuals who, according to the infectious disease people don't have lyme disease. but relative to the chronic conditions, do. so it's just to underline a number of the comments both on the treatment i

system of higher education be impacted? >> california, the golden state, now in a sea of red. as the governor asked state employees to take a 5% pay cut, he himself has cut his own paycheck by nearly 20%. the governor also warns if californians don't approve his tax increases, they will automatically face deeper and more significant cuts. >> this could get rough in california to come. miguel almaguer. thanks. >>> there's been an awful discovery on the side of a high way in mexico where gangs have been in a bloody turf war over drug smuggling. this just over the border with this country. dozens of bodies were dumped on the side of the road. mark potter has been covering this war next door for years and has our report tonight. >> the mutilated bodies were found along a busy highway in monterrey, new mexico. about 75 miles south of the u.s. border. the victims, 43 men and 6 women, had their heads, hands, and feet cut off. and are believed by mexican and u.s. authorities to have been killed by members of los zetas, an extremely violent drug cartel. >> they want to show they're the meanest, most sadistic, mos

state of connecticut has passed a bill that overhauls their education system. the state, which has one of the worst achievement gaps between rich and poor students, only achieved a small portion of the reform because the teachers unions, which are very powerful there, refuse to make any major concessions. will the legislation have any impact? let's talk to the former chancellor of dc public schools and the founder of a great organization called students first, michelle rhe, who is up early in sacramento, california. good morning to you. >> good morning. how are you? >> steve: doing great, thank you very much. in the nearby nutmeg statet governor, mr. malloy, proposed a number of wide ranging and far-reaching education reforms, which is exactly what you would like it see. and the teachers union came after him, didn't they? >> they did. they fought him pretty hard on his reforms, but he stood very, very firm and we were incredibly impressed with the fact that he introduced these bills to begin with. >> steve: and we should point out that now this reform, although watered down, has passed the legislature 149-0. and this particular governor is getting kudos because of what? >> well, he actually took on some very aggressive things at the outset and even though there was a real attempt to water the bill down from the union, the black and puerto rican caucuses stepped in and really made an effort to strengthen it back up because they were concerned about the achievement gap that exists in connecticut. so what the bill does is three very important things. one, it allows the commissioner of education of the state to take ove

education nation check in. how to reform failing systems is the big question and the big debate. the louisiana state legislature passed two bills that some call the toughest in the country. many of the state'sublic school teachers have protested some of the changes. joining me now is louisiana's republican governor bobby jindal. good morning, governor. >> great to be with you this morning. >> i want to start this on two parts on your education and some of the bills. some say these are tough reforms and others say they are needed reforms. with the charter school aspect. what have you built in accountability-wise? one thing i have noticed when it comes to charter schools there are great examples but when they don't work it takes a while to shut them down or to reform them? >> let's start off with louisiana's experience. pree katrina we had one of the worst public school systems. today 80% are in charter schools, the highest percentage of any city in america. the portion of kids on grade level doubled and the percentage of failing schools decreased. you see great models coming in there and getting kids at grade level and getting them to graduate. you are exactly right. not every charter school

states with lower levels. so it's really a preference that you have. >> what's interesting, though, john, is that even though california has fairly rowbust public system the educational outcomes are ranked at the bottom of states. >> well, the inputs are ranked at the bottoms. one of the things is that california of course most of educational outcomes comes from the family. we have known that since the coalman report in the 1960s. california is in the business of absorbing a massive waiveve of rural areas of latin america. it's hard teaching those folks. it's hard bringing them up. you know, it costs a lot more money than it does. when california, when your parents moved here california essentially was attracting people from iowa. la la used to have iowa days. it's one thing to attract anglo whites from iowa, you know, who come from backgrounds where there are a lot of books in the home and it's easy to attract people from an agricultural background in rural mexico. it takes more. but the people who come as immigrants overall by the very act of them coming taking a risk. if you invest in them >> you get incredible returns on that investment. and the question is: are we willing to invest in them? >> well so governor brown is going to the people on this because he can't get an increase through the legislature, and that's because of some unique laws that california has that prohibit the legislature from raising taxes without a super manhattan. >> right. brought to you by governor brown in his first incarnation. >> so he supported that. >> for a while he did. he was against proposition 13. and then when it lost he then turned around and said i will support the implementation. >> what would you say to those who are in the tea party who want to see a super majority on the federal level in the say way california has. ? >> you will get what you have in california. california always leads the nation. now, it's leading the nation in dysfunctional government in the sense that 60% of both houses of the legislature are liberal democrats. at least 60% of the voters are that way. but it takes 2/30s. theybly 2/3. >> are the cavils at all moderate or have they become a version of the tea party that you see in washington? >> more so. i have a post-doc working with me from the just of chicago who is looking at polarization statetate. and the state that is the most polarized in terms of the legislature, more polarize is california. >> because of redistricting? >> a combination. it's a whole series of things. historically, when we begin to have good data on this now polarization over time and we have good data for the u.s. congress going back to the founding of the republic for members of congress. polarization tracks two things, one, the percentage of foreign-born. so in the old days, when i first got here to california, california was an overwhelmingly anglo white state and then we have had massive immigration of latin 0s. so the percentage of foreign-born has gone up and polarization has gone up with it. >> that's interesting. >> the second thing it tracks, right on top of it is the rise in income inequality. and california, again, has become, leading the country until terms of being more and more unequal in terms of income. the third thing is what we academics call sorting. so at the national level what hap

education system in our state, that's hurting. when you say he saved $1 billion, he takes over 70 million from state aid shared revenue back to localipalities which have to in turn layoff firefighters and close schools and layoff employees, that's not savings. >> that sounds a lot like what the president has said in his campaign speech. why hasn't president obama gone to wisconsin and more vocally supported scott walker's opponent? >> i can't speak for president obama but i know any president, president obama has a very busy schedule. they have a lot of things on their agenda. right now we're concentrating on -- >> what about joe biden? >> he has been here actually. >> i don't think he has plans to go to wisconsin in the two weeks before this recall election. wouldn't that help? >> i don't know their schedule. right now what we're concentrating on in our last 11 days is getting out to the people of the state of wisconsin and making voices heard and making sure middle class citizens know they have a choice for tom barrett on the ticket. >> thank you very much. >> i think facts will stand for themselves and we'll see that governor wa

state health department began and a media process of sending out mailings and creating educational requirements for all those licensed to practice in any way within the health system in the state of virginia, and the rate of test positive reported cases of line in the status -- virginia has skyrocketed. as it is also at cdc, the highest rate of reported growth across 48 statesat the moment, as it is becoming through health affairs, popular media, gubernatorial task forces. that is a disease that the infectious disease society treats as an acute disease. it can be easily cured, they say. and for those who think they have a chronic disease, who are in a wheelchair after treatment who still can't chew after treatment, et cetera, these are all deemed to be non-lyme related and non-treatable, those that are told they have chronic fatigue system -- chronic fatigue syndrome, et cetera. so this goes to the dual eligible, one of the fastest rates of increased and granting of social security disability, and with it medicaid coverage is, in fact, lyme disease individuals who, according to the infectious disease people, don't have lyme disease. but relative to the chronic conditions do. so it's just to underline a number of the comments, both on the treatment issues, on the analysis and diagnosis issues, and to the technology issues of testing the fact that lyme testin

states from many other countries around the world. we've long had an enormous advantage in having one of the world's greatest educational systems, but as you know so well, mr. president, in your home state of vermont, in my home state of delaware, there are so many working families who today deeply question whether their pathway towards higher education for their children will be as predictable, as fair, as straight as it's been for the generation past. when i meet with business owners all up and down the state of delaware, these job owners have the same message. they're ready to hire people with the education and skills to compete and participate in the modern economy. so today with more than 12.5 million americans out of work, with more than 30,000 delawareans in my home state out of work, the question becomes, how do we make higher education, which includes skills training and vocational college, more affordabled and accessible? one thing we have to do is address the staggering debt that lingers with graduates sometimes decades after completing school. we're faced today, mr. president, with two problems, one short-term, one longer-term. the short-term problem is without immediate congressional action, student lo

states was much more dramatic than it was in western european countries, where you still have relatively strong labor movement. the other thing that's unique to the united states is that our education system. throughout the 20th century, we had one technological change after another. starting with a really big one, which was the advent of electricity. and every time that technological change occurred, there was a demand for more skilled workers, and the was ded for more workers and education always seemed to meet those demands. high school graduation rates rose and rose and rose until the '70s when they dipped off and then leveled off and then, of course, we had computers. the skill demands continued to increase but we weren't producing enough skilled workers. >> you know, just what you're saying, because we had edward conner on yesterday. do you know him? >> yes, i do. he loves inequality. >> yes. he says that income and equality, a million steve jobs are things that we need to improve the economy. what is more important? growth and jobs or income and equality. >> steve jobs was a great man. he was not a good job creator. most of the jobs were overseas. in the book i say, you can take every american involved in building ipods in 2006, you could feed them at your house a pot of chili. a lot of critics of critics say we need income equality. of course we need income equality. the question is, how much do you need? and the other question is, isn't it it worry some when we see over 30 years income inequality that continues to increase. >> when people start talking about how america has gone into the decline over the past decade are, i remember driving past the steel factories in upstate new york and northern pennsylvania and people going, oh, gosh, what's happened to america? i remember the jobs moving out of upstate new york. this is a battle we've been fighting and losing not since 1990 or 2000. since the early '70s. you know that. we've all heard it around the thanksgiving table every year for 30, 40 years. >> first of all, i want to congratulate -- this is the 50th anniversary of michael harrington, the other america. a great book. it influenced the great society and a new frontier even. by the way, there's something about conservatives that believe the best way to get rich people to work more is to make more money and poor people to work harder is to screw them. and i don't understand that theory. that's how we think. cut pell grants. want to make them work harder. why do you want to cut poor people to get them to work harder. >> little people have not had a piece of the pie. don't middle class people need to be incentivized, too? >> yes, they do. but do you think we're going to figure this out by saying conservatives want -- >> why is the cable industry televised? because they had the unions in new york and none in jersey. the unions have been broken. >> but, chris, turn down the music for one second. we're going to have to ask chris to stay. >> yeah. >> but hold on a second here. if all you say is conservatives are bad -- >> no. >> chris, let me talk and then i'd like you to respond to oh this because i think this is an important point. if you just demonize republicans are conservatives and free market people and you say, it's those bad guys that have broken the unions, you ignore a 50-year trend that has seen after the war, 30, 45% of the people were in the unions. why? because we were an industrialized nation. now that we're an i.t. and service nation, unions have been hallowed out. and i've always said, that's not good for anybody. but that follows the industries, though, and if we start getting more jobs from overseas -- >> you're better off with unionization? >> no. >> okay. that's what i'm saying. >> i've got to make this point. it's important. but unionization collapsed not just because of big, bad management and big, bad republicans, even if they were hostile. unions collapsed to 7% in the private sector because those jobs went away overseas. >> whose side are you on? >> i'm on the side of the middle class. >> i think the unions benefited the middle class. >> i do too, chris. >> but the fact is we've got to get those jobs back, the union jobs back. >> nothing happens in a vacuum. the unions have a stay in their market. you can't make this bold conservatives. this is a global issue. >> we're at the top of the hour. >> we're at the top of the hour. >> can we talk to you on the other side? >> do we support unionization or globalization? >> the great divergence and what we can do it. tim, thank you for getting caught in this crossfire. we'll be right back. rin) i've still got hours of battery life. it's an ultrabook. you bring great shame upon this coffee hut. with a long-lasting ultrabook, everything else seems old fashioned. ultrabook. inspired by intel. 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[ meow ] [ male announcer ] another example of volkswagen quality. that's the power of german engineering. right now lease the 2012 jetta for $159 a month. >>> oh, god. welcome back. >> it's great to have chris matthews on. >> welcome back to "morning joe." former rnc chairman michael steele and chris matthews. we've got to try to get the train back on the tracks. i thought the way to bring the ratings back up would be to flash one i am man on the screen. >> this is called flat friday. >> by the way, i missed this yesterday. >> no, you did not. >> seriously? what's rick stingle thinking about? >> i don't know. i really don't know. >> it's called news stand. >> really? >> yeah. it started an argument. that's what a cover is supposed to do. >> well, next week they will tell me that people want to get spanked. no. that was newsweek. >> what do you think about this? front page "the washington post," mitt romney held a kid down in high school. >> we'll have a story about mitt romney taking your advice but being a little slil shrills. >> they were pushing it but clearly they enterprise the story. >> how old is mitt romney? >> it's a question but obviously this is a person we don't know. >> how old was mitt romney? >> i don't know. 17 or 18. >> it was 1965. >> i think the part of it that is incredible, mika, whatever you judge in terms of the news placement, is does he remember? he clearly would remember. that's the part that i find incredible. i got the kids haircut, screaming and crying, anybody would remember that. what is kid about? you remember. you remember what happened in school. by the way, this does remind me of one of the novels. it's very much like that. what happened in high school does haunt you. >> of course. shapes you. >> the family of the young man who was held down and had his haircut is actually coming out attacking this story saying that their relative has been miscast and they hate that his memory is being used as a political football. so there you go. let's talk actually about something that might rate but also more importantly, might have an impact on the 3 to 4 to 5% of voters. >> fantastic. >> and we have chris matthews here. it doesn't get better than that. >> cutting edge. >> yes, cutting edge. >> and he's getting an honorary degree tomorrow. >> yes. a little bigger than today. what i love is commencement addresses. when you get to do one of the speeches, you'll meet the parents five, ten years later and it may have faded in your memory but they remember you were there for their kid. i mean, they may have spent 200,000 to get their kid to school but you're there for their kid that day. especially families for the first time, the first college graduate of the family. >> that's very exciting. congratulations. to the news now, do you know we're on the air? >> there's a new gallup poll that shows mitt romney has a slight lead over president obama relating to the economy. 61% of registered voters believe -- what, mika? >> they believe mitt romney would do a good job handling the economy. 52% say that of president obama. when asked who would do a better job on the economy, the candidates are in a statistical tie. when asked about issues like gay marriage and legalizing marijuana, he pushed back. >> should marijuana be -- >> aren't there issues of significance that you'd like to talk about? >> this is a significant issue in colorado. >> the economy? the growth of jobs? the need to put people back to work? the challenges of iran? we've got enormous issues that we face. >> you know, chris, i said this earlier, mitt romney's tone wasn't right. but he's right on message. >> let's focus on jobs. >> he also sounds like someone told him to do it. why does he always sound like someone gave him the line? >> he sounded defensive because i don't think this is someone that's been challenged his entire life. >> remember the swedish boxer, he -- >> i dream of him. he's fantastic. >> he had one punch. it was a sunday punch. this guy's sunday punch is jobs. no matter what the issue is, why don't we talk about jobs? >> if you've only got one punch, that's a good punch to have. you look at these polls though, chris, and the gallup poll will show you that mitt romney's not very favorite with people. yet he's in a statistical tie and here we see why, because right now it seems more americans trust him on the economy than barack obama. what does president obama have to do to turn that around? >> well, he's the pitcher in the mound. he has to get jobs. as long as we have this very weak growth rate of 2.2%, i really do think the sound of the engine, do you feel the purr, the roar of that engine? we don't. and as long as we don't hear that going through november, this election is going to be very dicey for november and that's the simplest as i can make it. >> by the way, jpmorgan lost $2 million because they were betting on the economy coming back. >> i say we talk about the billion dollars that businesses are going to put out. what about the 2 billion they are not spending. >> so much more important, why aren't the trillions of dollars that consumers are hoarding not being spent. that's a bigger question. the fed is borrowing from the people now. people have so much savings. people are being hesitant. business is being hesitant. i don't know who has to signal this demand situation. unless we have demand through investment and consumption, this election is going to be very tricky for the president. >> and here's mitt romney. i believe this is mitt romney's best argument. if you're a conservative you don't say, these are the 12 things i'm going to have the federal government doing. you're going to say, i'm going to put a business environment out there that corporations and small businesses can trust so that $2 trillion that chris is talking about will be invested in the economy. >> here's the problem with the president. he has a fixed variable. he's pulled all of the levers that he can. he's dumped his tool kit out. romney still has an opportunity to lay out a course of things laid out in the next six months to talk about his plan. he has nowhere to go but up and it's not dependent on the economy. >> you know, he could have a press conference and support simpson/bowles. even if he doesn't think it's going to pass the senate. republicans, now where are you? >> that would be fantastic. i've heard people -- >> he's not going to do that, though. because if he were, he would have by now. he has not evolved on simpson/bowles. >> he needs to change the equation on the economy. >> he's going to have to consider it. but the fact of the matter is. >> taxi quality and marriage equality. what simpson/bowles does, it gets rid of the difference between earned income and capital gains. the republicans will say, we can't do that. >> i'm not saying it has to pass. i'm saying if he puts it out there and then republicans start running for the exits, suddenly, john meacham, the president can say, wait a second, i'm being called the big republican liberal? i think that corners the republicans. >> absolutely. when you look back at the last three years, i think the president's failure to push the report at the time, you know, he ordered it up and then put it in the draw and we're all the people who talk about it. but even if he lost, i think that would have sent the right signal. >> coburn was for it. >> as you all know as well, if you walk through new york city or walk through boston, every businessman you run into will say the reason they are sitting on the money is because they fear an uncertain regulatory climate. they just don't know and they don't really feel comfortable with the obama administration and they don't know where regulation might come. and so i think that's -- leave aside the merits of it, that is the psychological reality among most business people that i've talked to. >> mika, and you hear that, not only among corporate leaders, you hear that among small business people and, more importantly, you hear that among progressive ceos that we know very well who supported the president four years ago who said, i'm not going to invest the money until i know there's not going to be a new regulatory scheme that's going to require me to go in and change my business plan for the next five years. >> it's such a good idea. it feeds into what i think exists fairly or not and with credibility or not mitt romney's narrative that he could really run with and i can think of four ceos that we've had lunch with or interaction with. >> democratic ceos. >> both sides of the aisle who would think that would be an amazing idea and who would be for that and think, wow, mitt romney stands for something. >> but the question i would have on that, what does that do to change the numbers between june and october for the president? >> it changes the narrative. >> there comes a point, joe, where the numbers begin to matter more than the narrative. and so for the question -- the balance of the president is, to chris' point, 2.2 job -- >> gdp growth. >> the unemployment numbers are stagnant, yet they go down half a point, a point. the question becomes, when do those numbers overcome the narrative. >> right. >> chris, i think the president's biggest narrative is, as mark mckennon has said, the stimulus is dead, the bailout of detroit which bush would have done. i'm not making this a republican or democratic thing but right after that -- and the president will admit this himself. right after that he did cap and trade. right after that he did health care and before he really got his sea legs, he was already painted not just among the right but among the independents as a big government liberal. doesn't he have to do something over the next six months? >> well, this is the sad thing about being president. you have fiscal policy. we're not going to run a bigger deficit. >> right. >> monetary policy can't get any more liberal. so what has the toolbox got left in it? >> simpson/bowles. >> long-term debt reduction. will that work to stimulate the short-term recovery? >> no, it won't. but it paints the republicans -- it paints the republicans, other than some other -- paul ryan and some others, it will paint the republicans as hip hypocrates and he will be against simpson/bowles. >> i think -- i think it would help the president. i know this. the president needs to change the dynamic and you can't do it by talking about -- >> there's one alternative. and that's a demand on congress to do something that he knows it won't do and take it up there and campaign for that through the debates. but i tell you what i'm going to do after watching the debates, 3 1/2 hour debates between president obama and mitt romney is going to be great television because we don't really know mitt romney. the moderate republicans are holding back. they haven't committed to this guy yet. if they come out and do it during the debates, he wins. >> can i ask you a question. this is just a gut question. is mitt romney a moderate? at heart. >> you said toolbox? >> yeah. >> he is a data miner. everybody tells me this. he's not ideological foreign policy. he's not on anything. le go to his staff and he will say, give me all the information i can get right now and i will make an analysis here and i will go with that. >> ceo. >> i think it's going to be that. it's an equity guy. do i buy this company? how do i make a sale here eventually? the problem is, the toolbox, he's going to say what have i got in my tools here? well, you're going to cut taxes again he will cut taxes again, bet he cuts taxes for businesses. will that work? >> you agree with me -- he doesn't really have an ideology. he doesn't have a world view. he's -- it's the situation. >> we have one-track record. he was for health care, worked in massachusetts. he did it that way, it passed, everybody likes it up there. he's formally pro choice. he shifted when he started running for president. talking about incrementalist, he's an incrementalist. he's very practical. he believes in his family and his religion and outside of that, it's business. it's business. >> i'm sure his record on taxes is very impressive, right? >> no. >> exactly. >> they say the president can control the unemployment rate, the president can control the debt rate. how much control does the president have? you know there's a business cycle. it's all over the world. it's the same pattern. it's everywhere. >> and the argument that we make -- >> and cutting things didn't work for merkel. >> and the argument that we make, this is not something that happened in the last 10 years or 30 years, we're part of a bigger cycle. >> business once that got us into trouble, deregulation. >> and one point -- >> deregulation. >> you say cutting costs and all of that doesn't work but spending doesn't help either. we've got to find that balance going forward between those two pillars, spending and cutting costs. >> chris matthews -- >> did this rate? >> just fine. >> it was monsterous. >> your book is doing very, very well. good luck tomorrow night at howard university. congratulations. is it tomorrow? >> tomorrow morning. >> oh, my goodness. honorary degree. >> thank you. >>> still ahead, we'll talk to the first man on the moon, astronaut, neil armstrong and mark kelly. >>> plus, willy's week in review. but, first, bill karins forecast. >> i think i'll put a smile on your face when you hear about the mother's day forecast yourself. trouble yesterday in texas. a train was derailed, high school was hit. this morning, strong thunderstorms, beaumont, rolling into louisiana. watch out around baton rouge and later today around new orleans. here's how the forecast is going to pan out. very heavy rainfall across texas in the next four hours. two to four inches is a lot of rain. east coast is great, west coast is great. i'm talking three days in a row for both ofhalves of our countr. louisiana, not the best of weekends down there. the rain goes into mississippi and alabama. and here's your mother's day forecast. if you have plans outdoors and want to treat mom outside, keep your plans iffy. down in tennessee, kentucky, alabama, that's where the worst of the wet weather will be. west coast looks very warm. 80s in seattle. who even know that you could hit 80 in seattle. gorgeous, clear morning in seattle. you're watching "morning joe" brewed by starbucks. recently, students from 31 countries took part in a science test. the top academic performers surprised some people. so did the country that came in 17th place. let's raise the bar and elevate our academic standards. let's do what's best for our students-by investing in our teachers. let's solve this. [ male announcer ] this is your moment. this is zales. the diamond store. take an extra 10% off storewide now through saturday. but when i was diagnosed with prostate cancer... i needed a coach. our doctor was great, but with so many tough decisions i felt lost. unitedhealthcare offered us a specially trained rn who helped us weigh and understand all our options. for me cancer was as scary as a fastball is to some of these kids. but my coach had hit that pitch before. turning data into useful answers. we're 78,000 people looking out for 70 million americans. that's health in numbers. unitedhealthcare. every communications provider is different but centurylink is committed to being a different kind of communications company. ♪ we link people and fortune 500 companies nationwide and around the world. and we will continue to free you to do more and focus on what matters. >>> welcome back. founder and ceo, jim stire, author of "talking back to facebook." the guide of raising children in the internet age. does this come with it? this is fantastic. every part should have this check list for how to handle computers in the house. >> that's right. whether we like it or not, it's all changed for our kids in the last few years because of facebook, cell phones, youtube, you name it. you have teens. it's how they communicate and act and everything. >> mika, talk about some of the numbers. >> so look at this. to set firm time limits, no screen time for tots under 2. unplug, you've got to have a family that has no media. >> like at meals, you shouldn't have your phone there. >> age appropriate platforms. go online and play games with your child so you know how they are communicating and you know how to do it and who they are talking to. >> you have kids that are older. you know that they are going to be doing this. >> that's how they talk. >> that's right. but then you talk to them about what the implications are, the pros and the cons. if your kid is sending naked picture of themselves to another 14-year-old -- >> and they have no filters. they didn't grow up without the technological -- we learn filters through lots of different experiences. i wrote an article about this because i had some problems in my house with my kids on this. i brought in an expert. i was really -- but location, location, location. keep family computers and games all in a common room. >> how important it s ths that? >> that's huge. don't let that kid take the cell phone to bed. it interferes with their sleep. and their homework. >> you have to model your own behavior, too. right? you know the adage, do as i say and not as i do. if you're always tethered to your own device, you're not giving a good example. >> you are seeing more and more studies changing the way our children think. the way they process, every 14 seconds they are interrupted by a text message or an e-mail. >> right. >> what i do in my house, i let my daughter go on the computer for 30 minutes. she's 8 years old but then i require her to read for 30 minutes. >> that's the right way to do it. it's very commonsense parenting but it's tougher now. simple rules make all the difference. the other thing i would tell you, the brains are changing. i teach. the kids don't write as well now. they actually can't pay attention. i have, you've got to close your laptops during my lecture rules. this is affecting cognitive and girls, social, emotional issues on facebook. kids are changing their body image, cure rating their photos. you're presenting your identity to kids who have anxiety. >> which leads us to number seven, teach your kid to self-reflect before they self-reveal. think before hitting send. >> you know, mark just said that. it's so true. we all hear about cyber bullying and the big, bad stories that -- >> just too much information. >> too much information. but the thing about it is, the companies today are in a data arms race. they are making their money off of you and your kids giving them as much information as possible and then they are going to sell it back to a third-party marketer. they are being encouraged constantly by facebook, google plus, and other companies to reveal themselves. >> right. what do you like, what are your interests? >> and here's what your friend said and here's this and this. the thing is, your kids don't have the ability to filter all of that. that's what you said, mika. and the point is, you have to give them guidance but also digital literacy courses should be in every school in the united stateswhen your 13-year-old is 18 going for their first job? >> you know, michael. there's been all of these laws in the last few months, we've been hearing about the ideas of employers demanding your facebook password because they want to know what kind of person you are? we always ask for an eraser button and the technology says, we don't need to do that. there's going to be an ipo by one of the big companies, those guys could build an eraser button if they wanted to. >> why don't they want to? >> the business model is, you give up your personal information and we use it and we give it to marketers. so there's a very -- look, this is the engine that drives the economy. so we're not anti-media or anti-facebook and google. what we're saying is, you need a balance. >> how long have you been teaching at stanford? >> 20 plus years. >> i ask you that question because when i was in law school i always say, the thing that i learned the most from law school was going from one book, finding a little