steve forbes has tirelessly pushed that idea for years. you failed miserably. >> we are still trying to persuade every april 14th he we get more support. there is a growing consensus and they will be on the table in 2015. >> even democrats realize the code is undefensible. they quote-unquote on the idea if you de clutter the code you can touch tax rates across the board. there's no group in america other than maybe a lop iest w-- quest wes -- lobbyist that defends the code. >> why flat? flat means everybody pays after a certain point. poor people don't pay income tax and everybody pays the same. that's not the most complex part of the code. >> if you have more than one tax rate you open it up for them to clutter the code again. >> they made a stab at simplification two tax rates 15 and 28 percent. 40 years later there's a third rate and off to the races. we have had 14,000 changes since 1986. with the single rate everyone knows if you are doing something. today you can make a change in the code six months later people may discover what act

thank you, steve forbes. >> thank you. >> i'm too scared to do my taxes. i'm sure i'll get something." wrong and my enemies i government will prosecute me. so i hired bob. he's myxe accountant. i don't want to have to have anm accountant. i don't want to spend time talking to bob. w but i have to. and i have to pay him, what, several thousand dollars a year? >> that's nobody's business. >> probably true. but what a waste! think of what i could do with the money. i can have this delicious steakb dinner 200 times a year. i can buy this cool motorcycle. i couldd take this cruise ship all the way from new york to venice and back. or better yet, i could do some y good for the world. the same money i waste on bob, i could buy two habitat for humanity homes overseas. or i could pay three kids' tuition at this catholic school. i could go on torturing myselfin about the good things i could do with that money, but instead, let's move on to the size of the tax bite. former "new york times" reporter david k. johnston just wrote a b book called "divided, the perils of

steve forbes? finigan goes to show the problem if you look at europe subpar growth with a very high tax rates where to get that money from? people who created to have capital to invest and they don't get economic growth. looked at the world's richest people two-thirds are so starters you see the same thing in the united states we have more cap and creation of the we do our best to visit but with capital and creation people are not punished to try to get ahead good things are getting done. neil: it is amazing how creative people can be but not cut the spending but then to add insult to injury it is double jeopard >> it is like taking a vice how to play bessel bullwhacker -- basketball from spike lee a. and not michael jordan. [laughter] but steve "forbes" is write the real lesson is thathe european countries have been in a free-fall and the asian countries have led the world economy why would we want to chase the losers? i am off this afternoon to go see heraldry and in oklahoma he is a billionaire

john: not well received, he is leaving congress i guess in frustration, thank you staoeuf steve "forbes." "forbes. john: i'm sta too scareed to doy taxes, i hired bob, he is my accountant, i don't want to have to have an accountant, i don't want to spend time talking to bob, and i have to pay himself several thousands a year. >> that is nobody's business. >> i could have this delicious stake dinner, and take this cruise ship from new york to venice and back. or better yet, i could do good for the world, the same money i waste on bob i could buy two habitat for humanity homes overseas. i could go to tortureing myself about what i could do with that money, but, let's move on to size of the tax bite. a book called divideed. perils of our growing income ineqaulity, he wants to address that with higher taxs on rich people, will mcbride does not top do, that david, you want higher taxes. >> i want higher -- the thing that you talked about, it is not rate that make system complex. it is all those rules that are unreadable that allow people to make money they don't pay taxes on. very wealthiest

now, the flat tax that was championed by steve forbes in a couple of presidential campaigns actually involves a postcard return. and my view is that the crucial thing to call people's attention to their fiscal citizenship is having them file a tax return. and as long as they're filing a tax return -- actually, the simpler the return, the better, because the more likely they're going to end up with a warm glow of -- oliver wendell homes said -- holmes said with taxes i buy civilization. well, maybe if you file a simple return, you'll will think that, you know, you're paying the price of civilization, and you're happy to pay that. and if it takes you an hour or two to do that instead of the 27.5 hours that on average it takes people today according to an irs study, you're going to feel better about that. so there are some reform proposals which keep the requirement of filing a return for most people, including as it happens the flat tax, that i think are consistent with my defense of the current system. there are other reform proposals, in particular what is called the fair tax which i

now the flat tax that was championed by steve forbes and a couple of presidential campaigns actually involves the postcard return and my view is that the crucial thing to call people's attention to their fiscal citizenship is having them file a tax return and as long as they are filing a tax return actually the simpler the returned a better because the more likely they will end up with a -- all over wendell holmes famously said i like paying taxes to cut his taxes are subrogation. if you file a simple return you will think you are paying the price of civilization and you are happy to pay that and if it takes you an hour or two to do that but said the 27.5 hours that on average it takes people today according to an irs study you are going to feel better about that. so there are some reform proposals that keep the requirement of filing a return for most people including as it happens the flat tax that i think are consistent with my defense of the current system. there are other reform proposals in particular what boards in lender called the fair tax which is the national retail sales t

. >> but hold on there, steve forbes there is, better than any poll is what people do with their feet. they vote with their feet very often and they're not moving out of texas, they're moving into texas. they're moving out of the places raising their taxes like california and like new york. >> businesses are. >> and david, one of the things that hurts people is an unstable weak dollar. we trashed gold and made the dollar weak and that's when the inequality gap started to grow and you have a huge payroll tax, huge estate taxes now. so that's why it takes two incomes to have a middle class existence. >> now radicals have cut the government cut taxes. we have a government bubble going on. 2 trillion in cash parked over seas. that's the cheapest stimulus. >> got to be the last word. thanks gang. coming up next in the dog house, a government watchdog caught altering his investigations at the request of senior administration officials. is this proof the administration is trying to bypass the checks and balances on big government? >> we pound out that this inspector general charles edwards h

now, steve forbes is right to be harping on that tune. i mean, why, after all, if you have a kid in college should you be filling out a form that asks you for your american exclusion and then domestic activities deduction. that's absurd but i don't think flattening the rate structure and taking 40% down to 20% is going to simplify anything. we still have all of the absurdities and the question is how much do the rich pay and the poor pay. >> if you can get rid of all of the absurdities and all of those things everybody would love the idea of putting your taxes on a postcard. that's a beautiful conception. >> and you would free up the american people. last year 6 billion people were spent filling out tax forms. 3 million full time jobs and for what? bill is just making the case, get rid of everything. have a simple flat rate and you want to include investment income and knock it down to 12 or 15% and if you make it you pay it. >> and catch all the rich guys the thing is too you unlock economic potential in this country. that's what he is t

plus steve forbes is here next. audio recording exploding racism in the nba.lippers owner caught on tape. caught off the record. i will tell you what i think. >>> new report showing the nation's total employment shot above prewe session level. don't pop the champagne not yet. according to the national employment law project. the so-called recovery created no low pay job than higher ones. editor and chief steve sphocious joins us. good be with you, greta. thank you. >> this is distressing. more low he paying jobs. 1970, early 1980s, goes back to policy. the federal sphrerve has hurt credit creation allocation to small and new businesses which is where the new jobs are created. tomorrow's microsoft and apples. splending splurge took resources out of the economy. higher taxes same thing. all together this is why the recovery has been the weakest in american history from a sharp downtown. this year after the rotten weather from the first quarter we're going to do better like a baseball player. still better but still subpar. >> people are happy when they see the un

steve forbs is here on what is to blame for that. >> and gunman storm a bus depot not far from where the world cup is and the olympics will be coming up >> a man on trial for killing to teens that broke into his house. when it comes to home defense, how far is too far? >> people have mixed opinions. but they were 17 and 18 and didn't deserve what happened to them. hotel with a wet pool, i go to hotels.com. you can get up to 50% off with their private sales. that man's privates are no longer private. ♪ [ male announcer ] help brazil reduce its overall reliance on foreign imports with the launch of theountry's largest petrochemical operation. ♪ when emerson takes up the challenge, "it's never been done before" simply becomes consider it solved. emerson. ♪ [ chainsaw buzzing ] humans. sometimes, life trips us up. sometimes, we trip ourselves up. and although the mistakes may seem to just keep coming at you, so do the solutions. like multi-policy discounts from liberty mutual insurance. save up to 10% just for combining your auto and home insurance. call liberty mutual insurance at... to

the new push that has steve forbes very worried. >>> celebrating the survivors, mourning those who didafter the boston bombings. that's what is going on today. maybe someone should tell the "new york times." you wouldn't know it reading this article today. people join angie's list for all kinds of reasons. i go to angie's list to gauge whether or not the projects will be done in a timely fashion and within budget. angie's list members can tell you which provider is the best in town. you'll find reviews on everything from home repair to healthcare. now that we're expecting, i like the fact i can go onto angie's list and look for pediatricians. the service providers that i've found on angie's list actually have blown me away. find out why more than two million members count on angie's list. angie's list -- reviews you can trust. >>> just regroup and build. ♪ and the rocket's red glare >> the scene today in boston one year after twin bomb blasts tore through the city leaving three people dead and more than 260 injured. this is how "the new york times" is marking the anniversary, and i quo

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>> would i play off of what steve just said or mr. forbes play off of that, kelly, about the loans and so forth. commercial and industrial, yes, but, still, joe and jane are not getting the loans. the money is really tight, and, in fact, the underwriters are a real pain right now. i've heard this across the board. >> are you talking about mortgages specifically? >> mortgages, any kind of loans that an individual may get rather than a corporation. >> apple can go out and get $7 billion by snapping their fingers, but just go out and try to get $7,000 or $70,000 or finance a home. it's a completely different story. that's something that could accelerate dramatically into the second half of this year, and if it does that bodes very well for the market. if it doesn't, it's the polar opposite. >> is that a matter of banks being very cautious about lending and regulators still having an impact there? at what point does it start to ease up? >> could be regulators, marry. >> it is regulators. >> regulators have a good -- >> underwriters -- >> you guy

steve forbes on that today. u.s. troops on the move in eastern europe. what what are they up to?hing but wrinkle in it. the perfect fitting no-iron fortless shirt in 4 styles and 31 colors and prints. visit the shirt boutique, only at chico's and chicos.com. (announcer) from the company that invented litter, comes litter re-invented. (woman) hey! toss me that litter! (announcer) tidy cats lightweight. all the strength, half the weight. >>> there has been a lot of turnover on "the view." probably because it's such an intense place to work. i'm not sure you know it, before every show, before the show, they opened by throwing a microphone in the middle of the stage. whoever comes up with it alive gets to talk that day. >> she knows that well. debbie matenopoulos is one of the original co-hosts, here making us laugh and smile. welcome. good morning. you have a lot to discuss. >> we do. >> this reunion of sorts at "the view." >> what is going on with that. >> steve and brian are training me for that. what are you most afraid of? >> how are we going to be able to speak? it's going to b