where do you turn to transform both the american military, but also to get the u.s. economy after a decade of depression geared up for this kind of production record? well, the place that you turn is american business. and that's what roosevelt did. roosevelt hated business, he despised businessmen, he had campaigned two presidential elections against business blaming them for the depression, blaming them for the prolonging of the depression. he saw them as their, as his bitterest enemies, yet he had no choice. there was no one else to turn to. he's given the army, the war department's national mobilization plan to get the economy geared up for war across the country that comes to 18 typed pages. double spaced. -- double-spaced. he's got nowhere else to turn. and so at the advice of his wall street fundraiser, bernard baruch, he calls this man: bill knudsen. bill knudsen, danish immigrant who had come over to america, started work in a bronx shipyard with a riveting gang there, worked his way up, got a job with a company that was making spare parts for ford, works his way up

europe is a very important trading partner to the united states and troubles in the european economies have an impact on the american economy because of that relationship. our financial systems are very integrated and trouble in the european financial sector can have an impact on the american economy. this is the head wind that the president has talked about in the past. now, that's why we need to take the steps that we can take, that we can control entirely, here in washington, to insulate the american economy, to insulate the american people from these kinds of challenges posed by europe and elsewhere. >> and you mentioned he was closely engaged. if he was talking with other world leaders and presidents, you would read out those calls, correct? >> not necessarily. i think you might expect that he has conversations that we don't always tell you about. i'm not trying to be sly here. i would just say, you know, it certainly is the case and has been in the case, as long as i've been press secretary, that the president has conversations that we don't read out to you, either with, you know, american business leaders or

." >>> let me start with this horrific day for the american economy. the stock market dropped 275 points today wiping out all of the gains of e were in january. why? because the jobless rate rose today for the first time in the year that vital number went up instead of down. the underlying news is worse. the american economy created 69,000 jobs last month, and less than half than predicted and seemed that the economy produced less than one-third of that number in the combined two months. this recovery has run out of steam. we are ina stall. what is the power of this? what will the president do? what are the american people interested in? action. that is what i'm interested in. what action can we expect and what can we hope for? let's go to the people who know the answers. let's welcome robert reich, author, and governor ed rendell. let's start with robert reich, if you were in the president's ear and you had the authority to recommend policy recommendation steps, what would they be? >> well, chris, if the republicans were not going to join me, i would p

this would be terribly destructive for the american economy. unfortunately this isn't the only one the epa has withdrawn that has destroyed the livelihood of hard working americans. in 1995, the government revoked the permit -- $4 billion investment would have created thousands of jobs, generated tens of millions in revenues for the navajo nation and suppli s jobs to hundreds of sands of home. that permit after being issued was withdrawn by the epa. the obama administration's war on coal could be felt throughout the country. americans should be deeply concerned with this friend and the administration's ongoing effort to retroactively pull permits, destroy jobs and hurt the committee. they would we will learn from folks that will talk about other topics than the reference for the law as demonstrated by the epa in this instance. none of that is the topic of today's hearing. >> mountain top removal mining can be one of the most destructive practices on earth for the health of local communities, our climate and our environment. according to the envi

in the same way, bryant and populist minded democrats and republicans thought that the american economy was being run for the interest of those who already had property or had money, those who already had banks so it's really a class divide in america at that time. now we have a lot of anger about the economy. the anger wasn't focused the same way it is then. every dollar people had in their pockets could be redeemed for a dollar in the federal treasury, versus gold. that could be redeemed in silver as well. a lot more dollars could have been minted and coined, because there is more silver in circulation than there was gold. really a call for cheaper money, lower interest rates, and greater economic opportunity for a small business person, a farmer, a worker who wanted to be a small business person or farmer. >> you talk about his charisma and what he wasn't at that time. he essentially became a celebrity. >> yes, rewas recei. >> he was receiving as many as 2,000 letters during the campaign. >> yes. >> he campaigned the office as opposed to william mckinley who had the front porch strat

given the signs of weakness in the world economy, not just in europe but also some softening in asia, it's critical we take the actions we can to strengthen the american economy right now. last september i sent congress a detailed jobs plan full of the bipartisan ideas that would put more americans back to work. it had broad support from the american people, it was fully paid for. if congress had passed it in full, we'd be on track to have a million more americans working this year. the unemployment rate would be lower. our economy would be stronger. of course congress refused to pass this jobs plan in full. they did act on a few parts of the bill, most significantly the payroll tax cut that's putting more money in every working person's paycheck right now. and i appreciate them taking that action, but they left most of the jobs plan just sitting there. and in light of the head winds that we're facing right now, i urge them to reconsider. because there are steps we can take right now to put more people back to work. they're not just my ideas. they're not just democratic ideas. they're ideas that independent, nonpartisan economists believe would make a

." >>> let me start with this horrific day for the american economy. the stock market dropped 275 points today wiping out all of the gains of the year, and we have fallen back to where we were in january. why? because the jobless rate rose today for the first time in the year that vital number went up instead of down. the underlying news is worse. the american economy created 69,000 jobs last month, and less than half than predicted and it turns out the economy produced less than a third that number in the combined two months earlier. this recovery has run out of steam. we're in a stall. got it? what's the political power of this? what will the president do? what will the fed do? what will the american people demand they do? action. that's the word i'm interested in, action. what action can we expect? what action can we hope for? let's get to the two people who should know the answer. robert reich, who authored the book "beyond outrage" and ed rendell. robert reich, if you were running the show, in the presidents's and had the power to set or recommend

economy, she's tasked with managing its recovery. se does not effectively manage the situation, the european economy could crash causing the global economy to crash and the americanmy to crash. if the american economy crashes so, too, will president obama's re-election chances. read this in "news week" where neil ferguson wrote about it or in the "washington post" where dana milbank wrote about it or over the weekend in "politico" where ben white wrote about it or read it on my blog today where i brought together some of the people writing about it. if fact, if you tuned into the "rachel maddow show" eight months ago you could have heard me say it here, too. if europe doesn't get its act together we're likely to have a global recession next year and going to make it very hard for barack obama to get re-elected. good point, past ezra. that's one very important caveat that handsome fellow didn't emphasize as much as he could have. that is this. europe will decide the american election if and only if we let it. if we fail. if we have done a bad job. by we i mean economic policymakers of which i'm actually not one. what an economic policymaker does for a living is ma

congress especially if there are republican and ask why they support stimulating the filipino economy over the american economy. in the best of the rest of the news the michigan house recently passed s.b. six nineteen a so-called cyber schools bill and while supporters of the bill argue that it will improve the quality of education students in michigan receive really couldn't be farther from the truth in fact the bill is not about providing a better education at all it's about padding the already packed wallets of for profit education companies companies and put the bottom line ahead of quality education and put a little money into michigan republican politicians pockets but corporations haven't destroyed public education in michigan just yet the michigan house has the ability to bring s.b. six nineteen back up for reconsideration or a simple majority can trigger a new vote on the bill and it could allow it to be defeated so who is behind such as b six nineteen and just how much damage would it do to education in michigan if it were to become a law joining me now is fran brennan michigan director of wo

this would be terribly destructive for the american economy. unfortunately, this permit isn't the only one the epa has withdrawn that has cost jobs and destroyed the livelihood of hard-working americans. they withdrew the permit for the energy plant on the navajo nation. that $4 billion investment would have created thousands of jobs, generated tens of millions in revenues, and supplied power to the hundreds of thousands of homes in the west. one added bonus would have been the lktification of a broad section of the navajo nation where people currently live without electricity. but that permit after being issued was withdrawn by the epa. the obama administration's war on coal can be felt throughout the country. east, west, appalachian, logan county, west virginia, and farmington, new mexico. americans should be deeply concerned with this trend and the administration's ongoing effort to retroactively pull permits, destroy jobs, and hurt the economy. today we'll hear from folks interested in talking about other topics than the addition regard for

one of the president's top wa worries is tt this european crisis, if not solved, could send the american economy into a tail spin. so that's why the obama administration today set up this call with a group of seven nation which is include great britain, germany, other countries. and we've learned that the people who organized that call are actually the treasury secretary tim geithner and fed chairman ben bernanke. now, look, the u.s. and the europeans have been trying for over two and a half years to come up with the solution but the white house now says there is a heightened sense of urgency. spain has that banking crisis, the elections in greece are now just two weeks away. so they are hoping for some accelerated action here at the white house but it may depend on whether president obama can convince germany's chancellor angela merkel to help underwrite some of europe's bad banks. and, scott, a senior advisor to the president told me today they are also hopeful that the upcoming g-20 summit later this month in mexico could help force a deal. >> pelley: an urgent problem for u.s. jobs. norah, t

given the signs of weakness in the world economy, not just in europe but also some softening in asia, it's critical that we take the actions we can to strengthen the americanght now. last september i sent congress a detailed jobs plan full of the kind of bipartisan ideas that would have put more americans back to work. it had broad support from the american people, it was fully paid for. if congress had passed it in full we'd be on track to have a million more americans working this year. the unemployment rate would be lower. our economy would be stronger. of course, congress refused to pass this jobs plan in full. they did act on a few parts of the bill, most significantly the payroll tax cut putting more money in every working person's paycheck right now, and i appreciate them taking that action. but they left most of the jobs plan just sitting there. and in light of the headwinds that we're facing right now i urge them to reconsider. because there are steps we can take right now to put more people back to work. they're not just my ideas, they're not just democratic ideas. they're ideas that independent, nonpartisan economists believe would make a real d

was trying to confront with the silver issue and gold standard was the great contraction of the american economy. we lived through a similar contraction in the american economy recently, and so i think it's not surprising that some of these issues are coming forward when they are right now. i think that the difference is, of course, that bryan's efforts to broaden the money supply were mainly aimed at trying to rescue a class of americans who were struggling deeply with their financial well-being in their situation. so i don't see that quite playing out today in the same way when the gold standard is brought up. >> our two history professors representing georgetown university and the university of nebraska at lincoln, michael casson is the author "a godly hero: the life of william jennings bryan." he teaches history here. he's also the author of iron way. harold is joining us from youngstown, ohio. good evening. >> caller: good evening. it seems rather ironic that many of the parallels from william jennings bryan's day is our day, it's just amazing where, again, we're arguing soft money versus h

the fdic took down american savings banks very successfully without damaging the american economy. there are examples. it's just a bigger, more complex world. it's going to take a little more time. >> but it could be done under dodd-frank? >> i think it can be done. it's going to take foreign jurisdictions, particularly london, working out common sets of rules and how it would take place. >> now -- and you know, we also are concerned with reference to the american taxpayers being stuck. in 2009, weme wanted a fund to resolve big banks. i think a number of individuals, maybe jpmorgan was against it. >> the gentleman's time is up. thank you. mr. garret for five minutes. >> i thank the gentleman. before you came here, the previous panel, one of the cute analogies used was keys to his daughter, he wanted to make sure that there are rules and regulations out there. if not regulators, maybe a cop on the beat. the only problem with that, to try to compare to this analogy, was there was one, two, three, four, five regulators or cops on the beat. each one of them gave basically the same ans

it's my opinion, anyway, that the obama proposals and the obama record would be far better to the american economy and most americans than those that governor romney has laid out. >> mr. president, we'll be right back and we're going to talk about a proposed balance on the clinton global initiative when we come back. thank you mr. president. >>> i'm back now with america's biggest movie fan. june 7th and 8th in chicago, the clinton initiative begins, tell us what you're planning to do this year mr. president. >> we're going to bring in people from all over the country to talk about the american economy, the meeting we have in chicago every year, we started it last year, just to talk about those of us who are not voting congress can do to accelerate employment, to prepare people to take the jobs that are '. we're going to focus a lot on advance manufacturing, clean energy, infrastructure and training people to do the jobs that are open. a lot of americans don't know this, there are more than 3.5 million jobs posted for hire today that aren't being filled very fast and it's because in the areas wher

we have to allow a big bank to fail that does not damage the american economy and the taxpayer never pays. myrick think we are on our way to working for the things that would allow that to take place. >> thank you. two more minutes and i will conclude our hearing. >> on april 6, bloomberg had an article and you're familiar with that article. i think "the wall street journal" had an article the same day. were you aware that the regulators had come into your shop on april 9 and expressed concerns about this article in the trades? >> i don't know if they can more we called them. we share with them so i believe some of our people spoke to irregulars and describe what they thought about it, yes. >> on tuesday, april 10, that particular position lost $300 million that day and subsequently, next tuesday and wednesday, it was smaller losses. were you familiar with those? >> yes. >> on april 13, you made a statement that it is no big deal, it is a tempest in a teapot. was that an accurate reflection of that transaction? >> it was a positive accurate reflection. at the time, people had done wo

olsen, has just told you of collective effort, of government directing the resources of the, of american economy towards a single collective end and achieving in the process an outpouring of american wartime material of the like the world had never seen before. 70% of all of the war equipment used by the allies in world war ii came out of american factories. it's an incredible story. it's the industrial miracle of the 20th century, what occurred there. but what i'm going to tell you is a story that shows that the usual version has this backwards. that where we usually start is where it should finish. and where it should start, actually, is not in factories like wichita's b-29 plant, but back in the spring of 1940. and i want to put you in the place of the man who would, in

my opinion, anyway, that the obama proposals and the obama record would be far better for the american economy and most americans than those that governor romney's laid out. that's what the election ought to be about. >> mr. president, we'll be right back, and we're going to talk about a proposed ban on sugary drinks in new york by major bloomberg and the clinton global initiative when we come back. thank you, mr. president. i love to eat. i love hanging out with my friends. i have a great fit with my dentures. i love kiwis. i've always had that issue with the seeds getting under my denture. super poligrip free -- it creates a seal of the dentures in my mouth. even well-fitting dentures let in food particles. super poligrip is zinc free. with just a few dabs, it's clinically proven to seal out more food particles so you're more comfortable and confident while you eat. super poligrip free made the kiwi an enjoyable experience. [ charlie ] try zinc free super poligrip. >>> i'm back now with america's number one movie fan. my special guest, former president bill clinton. on june 7th and 8th in ch

." ♪ >>> let me start with this horrific day for the american economy. e stock market dropped 275 points today wiping out all of the gains of the year. e have folen back to where we were in january. the jobless rate rose today. the underlying news is worse. the american economy created just 69,000 jobs last month, less than half of the number predicted. the economy produced a third of that number in the combined two months earlier. this recovery has run out of steam, we're in a stall, got it? what will the president do? what will the fed do? what will the american people demand they do. action. that's the word i'm interested in. what can we expect, what can we hope for. let's get to former clinton secretary robert reich, and ed rendell, they both join us now. let me start with robert reich. if you were running the show in the president's ear and had the power to recommend economic policy action steps, what would they be? >> number one chris i would say even if the republicans will not join mely propose number one that the first $20,000 of income be exempt

americans. we'll talk specifically about what you have in mind. but let's get to the issues right now, the economy, jobs. you've caused a stir, as you know, by appearing to suggest that you would be open to temporarily extending the bush tax cuts even for the wealthiest americans in that cnbc interview. you backed off of it a little later, but where do you stand right now, if necessary, to keep the economy robust? >> well, first of all, i don't think it's necessary to keep the economy robust. what i was saying yesterday, which is apparently not accurate, is that if this fiscal cliff comes through the president and the congress and the country before the elicks, he can't afford to give up his position, and he shouldn't, that we're going to have to have some new revenues to deal with this debt long term and we ought to begin to ask those in high income groups to pay taxes. i support that position, i always have. but the republicans may not feel they can afford to indirectly ratify it. i was talking about whether they needed to put it off after the election, but they still have until the first of the

the economy. >> first of all, i think they said he has to do more to share with the american people his vision for the future rather than talk about how we avoided this armageddon. >> no one believes the economy is getting better. >> i want to agree with you. i do think governor romney is the most conservative republican to run in a long time. i think the president is a moderate. i love saying this because it makes you crazy, but the president is a moderate. he's a centerist and the voters will see that. you know, that's really going to be the choice. it's about trust. the choice will be about, you know, are we moving forward? are we going back to the bush policies? >> richard, my love. you're terrific. i just want to say all the clinton people are deserting obama now. you see it all the time beginning with president clinton himself. >> i don't think that's true. >> archer davis. >> i'm a clinton guy. i'm very excited about the president's re-election. >> the clinton wing is in revolt against obama's anti-business policies. >> i don't think that. >> you're going to vote for romney. >> that will ne

he did a diagnosis of the american economy and said it isn't the american sector flagging it's the big cut backs in teachers, firefighters, et cetera. that needs to be addressed. it's a dr. obama saying what's wrong, here's how to fix it targeted to the teachers and of course the firefighters and other government employees at the state and county level that have been laid off. that is one of the ironies of the recovery, it's a battle between growth in the private sector, offset by cutbacks in the municipal and county and state employees which doesn't sound right because nobody talks about. about oi think he stole the headline with the iranian story, the need to maintain secrecy and whatever we're doing to on strukts the iranian nuclear program. he said it involves peace and war, meaning the stakes couldn't be higher in terms of avoiding a war by destroying their system, if that's what we're doing. he was talking about plugging leaks and punishing people who leak. that was very serious. i think you could read the president's thinking there in a rare way, very transparent and being very

they are right in the wheel house saying the american economy is not fair. you know what? right. they're reacting to the fact that the american economy is gained to the powerful, gamed to people who have disproportioned access to the tools of government that can turn public policies in their favor, too big to fail, tax bailouts and things that normal people, ordinary people, most of you, don't have. that's what they bridle against. where nay are wrong is the diagnosis of the problem. the problem is not that we have too much free enterprise, but that we don't have enough free enterprise. start by saying you're right in your discomfort and moral outrage, but you're wrong is that where the problem comes from. let's discuss it. start off with fairness, and then you talk from basically the same moral perspective, and this can, in my experience, can be a very constructive conversation. >> i recommend your new book coming out june -- >> 12. >> june 12th. his new book about the opening up of the soviet union. it's one of the most powerful defenses of the culture of freedom, and it'

they say the american economy is not fair. they're right. ey're reacting to the fact that the american economy is games to the power it's game to people who have disproportion gnat access to the tools of government that can turn public policies in the favor that are too big to fail. that have tax carveouts and bail yowlts and things that normal people most of you don't have. that's where they bridle against. the diagnoses of the problem is wrong. and we need to start by saying you're right in the discomfort in the moral outrage why you're wrong is where the problem comes. let's have a discussion. start with fairness and talking from basically the same moral perspective. in my experience it can be a constructive conversation. leon aaron? before he gets the mike we recommend his new book which is coming out june -- june 12th. his new book about the opening up of the soviet union. one of the most powerful defenses of the culture of freedom and the power around the world and not just in the united states. truly he understand the moral case for fr

my opinion, anyway, that the obama proposals and the obama record would be far better for the american economy and most americans than those that governor romney's laid out. that's what the election ought to be about. >> mr. president, we'll be right back, and we're going to talk about a proposed ban on sugary drinks in new york by major bloomberg and the clinton global initiative when we come back. thank you, mr. president. the twenty billion dollars bp committed has helped fund economic and environmental recovery. long-term, bp's made a five hundred million dollar commitment to support scientists studying the environment. and the gulf is open for business - the beaches are beautiful, the seafood is delicious. last year, many areas even reported record tourism seasons. the progress continues... but that doesn't mean our job is done. we're still committed to seeing this through. the key is to have a good strategy. the same goes for my retirement. with the plan my financial advisor and i put together, a quick check and i know my retirement is on course. [ male announcer ] with wells fargo advis

. >> the greatest headwind that the american economy is facing right now is uncertainty in europe. >> last july? >> and economy has experienced tough headwinds. >> more than a year ago -- >> our economy has been facing some serious head winds. >> they want congress to take action on the to do list. >> my message to congress is that now is not the time to play politics. now is not the time to sit on your heads -- sit on your hands. >> mitt romney accused the president of passing the buck. >> the president always finds someone to blame. but the truth is that the job of the president is to get america back to work. >> recent polls indicate that nationwide and key battleground states, voters are split on which would do better on the economy. >> let's talk about this a little bit more. right now, we have jonathan allen. what impact will this have on the campaign trail? >> we have seven more months to see how the jobs report comes out and where the economy is headed. i do not think this necessarily has a real impact on what happens in november, other than to -- the president has been talkin

the u.s. and then in europe, and in our economy, the american economy, we've had a few bright moments here and there but mostly we have struggles. and we continue to struggle. >> japan he belie doing this now for over 20 years. i'm of let me stress-- heaven forbid we see the social tensions become, newscast yore but there aren't mean positive models that doesn't involve a lot of stagnation or pain or sacrifice. >> rose: i had to leave it there, but thank you. >> so do we. >> thank you, charlie. >> rose: back in a moment. stay with us. >> rose: sergeant shriver is often remembered as a kennedy era of idealism. he was the founding director of the peace corps. he championed civil rights by integrating the city school systems and with his wife unis shriver advanced the special olympic games. "could anyone really be that good?" in a new book "a good man: rediscovering my father," his son explores the guiding principles of his father's life. i am peaseed to have him here at this table to talk about a good man. welcome. >> thank you very much. thanks for having me. >> rose: tell me first about the eu

because the american economy looks healthy by comparison. foreign investment in the housing market which has been the most troubling of economic matters for the president. as you know, he has said several times that the administration has tried several things with respect to the housing market and nothing has worked. but here when you have foreign investment that is always a good thing for our economy. >>neil: i talked to realtors in florida and the ground zero cities and markets that were getting pounded and you hear about european money coming in, brazilian money coming in, it obviously is looking for a place to park cash and a lot of the guys, in fact, real estate do pay cash. so, short-term, at least, as we sort this out, that could be a boon, right? >>guest: of course. it will drive up the housing values in some of the markets and housing values have been going way, way down but this investment seems to suggest that housing values are back on the rise or they will be faster than in europe. so, again, it is confidence in this market oppo