the president of the united states, warren g. harding, who's for it, nevertheless has a boot leger coming to the white house. you know, at the end, the combination of the depression and hypocrisy we said, so why did we enthe fifth largest industry? >> it's such a radical social experiment to even conceive about this country but to have done it for 13 years. >> yeah. >> is astonishing. now we know more about it had you not decided to take this on. thank you for doing this documentary on this subject. i'm fascinated by it. i couldn't be happier that you've done it. i think it's great and so entertaining. thank you. >> you know, i also have to shout out, lynn novak, co-director and co-producer in this, who's been my long-time collaborator. she added an interesting dimension. this a fooef dream of 14 years of, this is us? >> seriously. >> ken burns, director and producer of the new documentary "prohibition," the first episode airs this sunday 8 p.m. on pbs. i can personally recommend it. it's awesome. thanks very much. good luck. >>

if warren buffett is feeling guilty that he isn't paying enough tax, warren buffett can go on a website and fill out his credit card which will accept any number he puts in there and pay a billion dollars to pay down the deficit if he wants to contribute more to the american government. the idea because warren buffett wants to pay more taxes that we are now going to create a new tax structure for people like warren buffett, again, he isn't going to pay those taxes if we raise the tax on income. we would only do it if we raise tax on capital gains and if we do that, we'll hurt more people than warren buffett and hurt this economy. >> if i'm watching this as ordinary joe on the street, i would say why isn't warren buffett paying income tax and what are you going to do about it to make sure the super rich like him do pay income tax? >> yeah. that's a great point, piers, and a really great question. most americans know the answer to that question. if you're rich enough, you can structure the way you receive income in the most tax preferential way. he says i'll pay more income taxes, then --

but he took a shine to warren. and war and was headmaster of their private school sistan and manage to learn his way into position of leadership next to his father. when his father started becoming ill when he was old, started having a series of strokes and warren was able to kind of nuclear himself into a position of power, sort of like a medieval power struggle. he was able to move himself into when his father died he was the gatekeeper for his father and just made himself the new prophet. >> where is warren jeffs now? >> warren jeffs is in jail in eldorado, texas. he is for the past four years has been moving around from one prison to another person to another. he was getting utah, being an accomplice to. that conviction was overturned on a technicality in utah by the utah supreme court, which was in my opinion a shameful decision that should never happen. >> of the century construction, right? >> it would e. a pity me of a bad ruling. the jury instruction that the jurors didn't even understand. a lawyer would u

we will get to the warren buffett issue.but the wealthy democrats, have they been paying their fair share the last two, three, four years? >> i think people who are getting special tax preferences are not paying their fair share. they are not sharing the responsibility and trying to address the challenges that our country faces. what the president was doing is laying out a long-term deficit reduction plan and says over a period of time, we have to reform our tax code in a way that eliminates preferences that benefit certain special interests and have disproportionately benefited very wealthy people. >> what do you think would be a fair share percentage of earned income that the wealthy should pay? >> well, if you go back to the 1986 reagan tax reform proposal, they had the same rate applying to both income on capital gains and dividend and earned income. so the last time we had a big tax proposal under president reagan, that was the result, an equal tax rate applied to folks who earn most of their income through investments

(laughter) >> jon: is warren buffett a socialist?lue what socialist is, do you. hey, that george clooney always banging different broads what a year. (laughter) -- what a queer. (laughter) >> jon: so closing a few corporate tax loopholes and returning the top marginal tax rate to the 90s economic boom time levels is class warfare. and if there's one thing the rich have learned, it's that class warfare is hell. >> he invoked the corporate jet class. >> so that's a whole new category of people to demonize, right. >> soak the rich, it's their fault. >> barack obama's tax on these evil, disgusting corporate jet owners. >> demonizing the rich as evil, as lazy, as inheriters of their wealth. >> he's saying fat cats. >> it's disappointing. it's class warfare and the kind of language you would expect from a leader of a third-world country, not the president of the united states. >> jon: true, because united states of america is not a third-world country. by any measure. except perhaps income in equality where we rank-- worse than the ivory c

>> i don't really have a beef with warren buffett. if he thinks that he's paying unfairly low taxes, largely because he takes advantage of

>> i don't really have a beef with warren buffett. if he thinks that he's paying unfairly low taxes, largely because he takes advantage of capital gains, and then puts his money into foundation so he he doesn't pay taxes on the capital gains and gets a he deduction on the money that he

the rich already lost their superhero, warren buffett, to the other side. in indeed, the president named his tax notion the buffett rule after he revealed he paid a lower tax rate than many of his middle class employees. a billionaire wrote on his blog while some people might find it distasteful to pay taxes, i don't. i find it patriotic. i'm not saying the government's use of tax money is the most efficient use of our hard-earned capital. it obviously is not. in a perfect world there would be a better option. we don't live in a perfect world. we don't live in a perfect time. we live in a time where the government plays a big role in an effort to help lead us out of this great recession. that's reality. today republicans shifted their rhetoric from class warfare to trying to portray the president as a quitter at the game of government. boehner's spokesman said "divided government is difficult and at times ugly but with 9.1% unemployment and more than a year until the next election i don't think americans are going to approve of the president taking his ball

what is elizabeth warren known for? she is known for government regulation.s the pro-regulation candidate. republicans are saying everything, you know, that's wrong in our economy is about regulation. it seems to me that if she is going to run strong in that state, which is capable of voting for a republican, it's shown that it is, then there is a kind of policy lesson for where democrats should go which coincides with many president obama is going in his recent messages about, you know, in effect not trying to do some sort of compromise business with the house of representatives, the republicans, but going straight where he thinks he should go. >> well, lawrence, if she makes the election about regulation, per se, she'll lose, but if she does what the president is now finally trying to do, which is to connect up his vision of government with the idea of producing jobs for the middle class and fairness in the economic system overall, then she has a chance. now, scott brown thinks he protected himself in the senate by voting in favor of the wall street reform

warren buffett's secretary shouldn't pay a higher tax rate than warren buffett. >> welcome back to "hardball." though president obama made that speech in the rose garden, it was effectively the kickoff to the 2012 campaign. and he made clear that fairness will be a pillar of economic reform in his 2012 message. today in a column entitled why warren buffett is conservative enemy number one, e.j. dionne writes, "maybe only a really, really rich guy can credibly make the case for why the wealthy should be asked to pay more in taxes. you can't accuse a big capitalist of class warfare, and that's why the right wing despises warren buffett and is trying so hard to shut him up." will obama's buffett strategy pay off? that's the question right now. e.j. dione is a columnist for "the washington post." and sam town house is the author of "the death of conservatism." you first, e.j., and thanks for being with us. this thing about buffett, is this going to be big? the fight about the very rich paying maybe 15% in capital gains compared to a lot of people paying 35% in taxes? >> well, thanks for having m

. >> sam brower, who's warren jeffs? >> warren jeffs is the self-proclaimed prophet of the fundamentalist church of jesus christ of latter-day saints. he followed his, in his father's footsteps who was the prophet before him, um, and kind of, um, took that religion and its idiosyncrasies to new levels and new heights. >> and what do you mean by that? >> um, their, they practice polygamy for one things -- >> legally? >> it's illegal in all 50 states. >> it's now illegal? >> >> it's illegal in all 50 states. >> in utah too? >> in utah as well. and because of that, i think as an outcropping of that there's this caste system of marrying underage little girls. kind of a reward system that's been going on now, well, when warren came into power in 2002, it just started mushrooming and getting worse and worse and worse. >> now, when you say he came into power, how did he come into power? >> his -- when warren was a young man, he was kind of a, this odd duck. but he was his father's, um, favorite son. he was, his father took a sh

i'm warren buffett's secretary and i pay a higher tax rate than my billionaire boss i'm warren buffett's secretary warren buffett's secretary i have three kids make forty thousand dollars a year and i contribute a greater percentage of my income and many billionaires and millionaires most americans want congress to raise taxes on the wealthy but the g.o.p. refuses to do it while i call congress and tell them restrictions on millionaires and billionaires so all americans pay their fair share you get the message to call congress. it's time for a daily poll your chance to tell us what you think here's the day's question will the buffett rule get passed your choices are yes we will tax the oligarchy or no that's class warfare in america as warren buffett said it's his class the rich that's what any i'm going to tell marva dot com let us know what you think the poll will be open until tomorrow morning. crazy alert move over birth errors there are l. walls in iceland according to a new report out of the university of iceland a majority of icelanders believe in elves sixty two percent of respon

>> warren buffet said it himself.he gets most of his income through cap fall gains and dividends through investments. in our current system that is taxed 15%, a much lower rate than a middle income taxpayer would pay someone at the 28% tax bracket now. the point buffet is making is that it is not really fair to tax income that is earned through dividends and capital gains at such a lower rate than wage income earned by people who are requesting to work everyday and earning their living through the sweat of their brow. there's nothing wrong with earning your money obviously through capital gains and dividends. the question he properly raised was why should people benefit from such a lower tax rate on that income, compared to income earned from people making wage income? >> greta: i think some of the gripe with some of the wealthy that i've spoken to, by the reference of fair share it suggested they've been cheating when they've been paying everything that has been asked of them that's a little bit of a rub to create, i

elizabeth warren has done no so thing. tenacious should be her middle name. she's really pushed for reform over credit cards and over mortgages. unapologetic about the cfpb's role in consulting with the states attorneys general over fraudulent mortgages and has gone to bat every time on this stuff. >> she kind of brings out the passion and emotion of the left and the right. look at what happened in her hearing with the congressmen talking about and to miss warren. >> you had no agreement. >> we had an agreement for the time this hearing would hurt. >> you're making this up. this is not the case. this is not the case. >> mr. chairman, you just did something that i -- i'm trying to be cordial here, but you just accused the lady -- >> she's accusing me of making -- >> this is a republican from north carolina. he seemed a little less than being civil. >> yes. i mean, at that same hearing she was schooling. there was fighting over the length and the -- the start time for the meeting. this is someone that the right does not like, and elizabeth warren, to her credit

. >> sam brower, who's warren jeffs? >> warren jeffs is the self-proclaimed prophet of the fundamentalist church of jesus christ of latter-day saints. he followed his, in his father's footsteps who was the prophet before him, um, and kind of, um, took that religion and its idiosyncrasies to new levels and new heights. >> and what do you mean by that? >> um, their, they practice polygamy for one things -- >> legally? >> it's illegal in all 50 states. >> it's now illegal? >> >> it's illegal in all 50 states. >> in utah too? >> in utah as well. and because of that, i think as an outcropping of that there's this caste system of marrying

president obama hopes to enforce the buffett rule on the nation's wealthiest working people like warren buffett's secretary who pays about thirty six percent in federal income taxes shouldn't pay more than billionaires like buffett who last year paid about eighteen percent just how much longer will we have to listen to republicans insist if we just keep taxes insanely low on the rich and donors then the jobs fairy will one day visit america and thousands of victims of the recession took their concerns to the street wall street to be exact so will justice be served for the people screwed by the corporate bankers. you need to know this president obama gets his way than the gravy train is over for america's millionaires billionaires and transnational corporations today the president unveiled his deficit reduction plan a proposal that will slash four trillion dollars out of our nation's deficit over the next ten years and completely pay for the american jobs act that was introduced in congress last plan does this primarily by ending special tax breaks for millionaires and billionaires inclu

ok i'd like to go to mike first in boston warren buffett says he's being coddled by . a congress that is controlled by billionaires is he being coddled and all our other billionaires being coddled and should they pay more in taxes. salut lee. you know responsible wealth has been making this point for about ten years now. that the bush tax cuts need to go particularly for upper income folks. more than half of those bush tax cuts went to people in the top five percent like our members and there are people who realize that we want investment in our country that the government investment in education and infrastructure etc is really important for business for a healthy economy and that having more money in their hands doesn't necessarily make a healthy economy. you know so. it's long since time that we should get rid of those those bush tax cuts ok david if i go to you in washington we just heard that. if you if you have these tax cuts these bush tax cuts and tax cuts it doesn't necessarily mean they're going rich people are going to grow the economy doesn't necessarily me

and not just warren buffett blood because it was a multimillionaire hold on our. block tax group yeah yeah a tax grew like henry block who by the way is also a lifetime registered republican even he came out in the news last week and said you know the rich have a debt to this country they can afford to pay it and they should i would also remind david lucan that the bush tax cuts while they affected all income filers over the last ten years of the of the bush tax cuts and income filer between twenty thousand and thirty thousand saved ten dollars a year well income earners above million saved four hundred thousand so it's very clear who benefits from those tax cuts and like henry block said the idea that those tax cuts create jobs and trickle down is baloney. mike you want to jump in there the big issue here is clearly you know clearly everyone along the spectrum is benefiting but most of the tax cuts have gone to the very wealthy and i would say the biggest issue here is that capital gains are taxed at fifteen percent so the very wealthiest are paying you know tax

warren buffett's secretary shouldn't pay a higher tax rate than warren buffett. there's no justification for it. it is wrong that in the united states of america, a teacher, a nurse or a construction worker who earns $50,000, should pay higher tax rate than somebody pullingn 50 million dollars. >> a very busy week for the media began with the president pitching his latest tax plan, citing what is now referred to as the buffett rule. so, let's start there. the media theme, judy, seems to be that the, you know, it's time to soak the rich and ask them to pay more money, but the rich do pay an awful lot of taxes. >> right, it's true. it was very interesting, the disconnect between the media and the people. the american people seem to like this speech, but boy, the media certainly didn't and some of the most stallwart liberal columnists deserted the president on this and said, you know, hey, wait a minute, this is not what we wanted, this isn't what we had signed up for. so, it was an odd week. >> jon: jim, the president, the line he keeps using about warren buffett's

>> i'm warren buffett's secretary. >> is it her? >> i'm warren buffett's secretary. >> is it him?uffett's secretary. >> joe johns gets to the bottom of this much talked about and apparently overtaxed assistant. >>> and a self-proclaimed pot head about to get rich off of netflix? dude! the news starts now. >>> welcome back. if it's interesting and happening now, you are about to see it. beginning in california where a millionaire is asking the state's attorney general to review the deaths of not only his girlfriend, but his son as well. detectives say she committed suicide after learning his son wasn't going to survive. the 6-year-old suffered a severe head injury after falling down the stairs in her care. he says he has no reason to doubt the outcome, but i'm quoting, speculation is causing pain for the families. he adds quote -- >>> the involuntary manslaughter trial of michael jackson's daughter is ready to go. this is after a key witness now found is reportedly ready to testify. we're talking about the pharmacist that has already testified that he shipped more than 15 liters of

scott fitzgerald could mean warren buffett. in "the rewrite." >>> and later, is america safer now than it was before 9/11? richard engel will join me. important phone call i made. when i got my medicare card, i realized i needed an aarp... medicare supplement insurance card, too. medicare is one of the great things about turning 65, but it doesn't cover everything. in fact, it only pays up to 80% of your part b expenses. if you're already on or eligible for medicare, call now to find out how an aarp... medicare supplement insurance plan, insured by unitedhealthcare insurance company, helps cover some of the medical expenses... not paid by medicare part b. that can save you from paying up to thousands of dollars... out of your own pocket. these are the only medicare supplement insurance plans... exclusively endorsed by aarp. when you call now, you'll get this free information kit... with all you need to enroll. put their trust in aarp medicare supplement insurance. plus you'll get this free guide to understanding medicare. the p

scott fitzgerald could mean warren buffett.>>> and later, is america safer now than it was before 9/11? richard engel will join me. when we design any well, the groundwater's protected by multiple layers of steel and cement. most wells are over a mile and a half deep so there's a tremendous amount of protective rock between the fracking operation and the groundwater. natural gas is critical to our future. at exxonmobil we recognize the challenges and how important it is to do this right. an accident doesn't have to slow you down. with better car replacement available only with liberty mutual auto insurance, if your car's totaled, we give you the money for a car one model year newer. to learn more, visit us today. responsibility. what's your policy? >>> buffettism is spreading. warren buffett's idea that the rich should pay more in taxes is being picked up by the european super rich. that's in "the rewrite," next. and later, nbc news chief foreign correspondent richard engel be premiering his "day of destruction decade of war" w

this issue on what he said in just a month and later why it's so important that elizabeth warren makes it into the united states senate and ideally take ol echo her recent call for a new social contract in america. president obama spoke to the united nations general assembly today act with leaders from around the world the message he delivered is one of peace but one which of knowledge the reality of a world right now gripped by war and strife. the fact is peace is heart but our people demand it over nearly seven decades even as the united nations helps of hurt a third world war we still live in a world scarred by conflict and plagued by poverty even as we proclaim our love for peace and our hatred of war there are still convulsions in our world that in danger us all up but the president did herald the many achievements the world has seen over the last year and the emergence of an independent south sudan a successful democratic transition of government in the ivory coast so the arab spring the middle east and libya and there were some tense moments when the president called out those a

you got to stop with warren buffet. you got to stop with warren.n is 88 years old or something. he says his secretary pays more tax. it's not true. he's talking about -- >> the secretary pays -- >> bill: no. you know it's true, jay. don't try to fool me. don't try to fool me. >> i'm not. >> bill: he's talking about capital gains, warren buffet. the secretary pays federal income tax. it's two different taxes. but warren and the president are trying to fool us. stop it. not good. we all got it. >> effective tax rate, as you know, is significantly lower than the top marginal rate -- >> bill: because he's paying cap gains, not income tax! >> what the president is saying is that over the last ten years, as you know well, bill. there are folks in your audience you speak to every night, as you said, millions of people, who understand that the middle class in this country over the last decade flat lined. that was before the recession. >> bill: jay, i know you know what i'm talking about. warren buffet pays taxes on capital gains. not income tax! so the pre

solvent, if he thinks it's a worthwhile bet i will put my money with. >> neil: you absolutely love warren buffet. >> i love warren buffett. >> if he thought the bank was going to be insolvent or even if there's a remote chance he would not have put his money there. he's a very smart guy and trust him ahead of moody's any day of the week. >> but, ben. >> well capitalized and great shape. >> and the fact they had to give him a deal. and at these levels, why are they doing that? >> they want to be better capitalized. they're well had-capitalized and they want to get more capitalized. >> neil: adam, get into that. >> well, in a way things are far better than 2008 for the american banks in particular and this is key, the capital levels are higher. that means they're in a safer position. they're not in threat of going down, as charlie correctly said. going down by which i mean dying. on the other hand what we're seeing to answer your questions, charles, these banks are trying to shore themselves up, shore up the balance sheets, but the businesses are bad. >> why are they bad? >> and they're lay

warren buffett's secretary shouldn't pay a higher tax rate than warren buffett. >> all right, you saynt is wrong on this. tell me why. >> well, first of all, warren buffett's secretary doesn't pay a higher tax than warren buffett. warren buffett is the largest shareholder of berkshire hathaway, that's the majority of his wealth and berkshire hathaway pays 35% corporate income tax, that's his money, warren buffett's money. if his corporation didn't pay that tax, it would have been able to pay that money out to him in dividend. it's ingenuous to pretend that warren buffett isn't paying a lot of taxes and of course the taxes he's paying is in capital gains and that's because warren buffett chooses to work for no sally. if he paid a salary through berkshire hathaway he would have paid a tax rate. >> i'm paying well over 40% of my income in federal and state income taxes right now. how much more do they want to take? >> a lot more, have you not been hearing the president? he wants to take all of it. >> medieval serf as only got elevated to the lord. >> and you would think that the governme

is you've got people like elizabeth warren out there running on that. you've got president obama out there running on that. you've even got rich guy warren buffett now being drafted to go campaign for president obama on this issue starting next month. this is the fight going on in the country right now. these are the two sides. koch brothers and the republicans on the rich people just need more side, and the democrats pushing the tax the rich, warren buffett rule on the other side. here's the thing, though. here's the thing that's new this week that you need to know. on that new "forbes" 400 list, the koch brothers combined are now a lot richer than warren buffett. many billions of dollars richer. game off p. >>> in front of the a bridge between ohio and kentucky president obama was kind of fired up today. did you see this? >> we used to have the best infrastructure in the world here in america. we're the country that built the intercontinental railroad, the interstate highway system. we built the hoover dam. we built the grand central station. so how c