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Issue Number One

Remembering Dr. King; Answering Your Questions; Quick Vote Results

Aired April 04, 2008 - 12:02   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

ALI VELSHI, CO-HOST: Thanks, Fredricka.
The state of jobs in the United States -- the March employment report is out, but what does it mean for you and your future?

Also, what more and more consumers are doing to put themselves further and further into debt.

And we're going to tackle the ultimate parent question of how to pay for college.

Issue #1 is the economy. ISSUE #1 starts right now.

Welcome to ISSUE #1.

I'm Ali Velshi. Gerri Willis will be along in just a moment.

The jobs report is in and here's what it says. The unemployment rate in the United States has jumped to 5.1 percent. That's the highest it's been in more than three years. And what's more serious, we've lost more jobs.

In March, the United States economy shed 80,000 jobs. That's in addition to 76,000 that it shed in January and in February.

So we are totaling now almost 250,000 jobs lost in the United States. Many of those jobs are manufacturing jobs. And this map will show that you there are only six states in the United States that actually added manufacturing jobs in the year 2007, which just sort of emphasizes the disappearance of the manufacturing industry in the United States.

Now, where does your state stand compared to the national average? Well, the national unemployment rate is 5.1 percent. Those states in green have an unemployment rate that is substantially lower, statistically lower than the national average. Those states in red have unemployment rates that are higher than the national average.

So you can see there is a big swathe of states right through the middle that are actually doing better than the national average. Still, almost 250,000 jobs lost in the first three months of this year. That has got a lot of people who are sitting on the fence about recession saying perhaps it really is here.

Let's go straight to Allan Chernoff. He's live in New Jersey with more -- Allan. ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN SR. CORRESPONDENT: Ali, you know, when somebody does lose their job, that is when they're feeling a recession in their own household. And there are, as you said, hundreds of thousands of people now suffering that stage of unemployment.

Let's have a look over here. This is a New Jersey employment office, employment resource office. And they've got some jobs listed. So there are jobs out there. Not many in manufacturing, though. You did refer to that.

The closest thing here, a forklift operator for Poland Spring Water Company. There's food service drivers, runners. The Philadelphia Police Department is looking for applicants, as is the New York City Police Department. The Transportation Security Administration, as well.

And there is a notice here for apprentices -- the Plumbers Union Local 14. But as you see, lots of these are government jobs. And it really is the government, frankly, that is holding up the employment situation because, as you mentioned, manufacturing, construction, housing, boy, those areas were all losing big time.

Let's talk briefly with David Socolow. He's the commissioner of labor here in New Jersey.

David, thank you for joining us.

DAVID J. SOCOLOW, COMMISSIONER, N.J. DEPT. OF LABOR: Good to be here.

CHERNOFF: How dire is the situation in New Jersey now?

SOCOLOW: Well, we certainly are seeing in the first three months of 2008 a reduction in employment overall. And as you've said, construction, manufacturing. Also in our state, finance employment in the financial services sector certainly seeing reductions.

CHERNOFF: And everybody is wondering, is this going to be getting even worse?

SOCOLOW: Well, this is not a good trend. We obviously are hoping that in the second part of this year the recovery begins. But employment, unfortunately, is a lagging indicator. Even after recovery, jobs are going down.

CHERNOFF: Lagging, meaning that if we are seeing some bad signs in the economy of companies seeing their profits declining, only after they see some bad news do they say, ah, we need to cut back. So it's a laggard.

SOCOLOW: Yes. And we are seeing now employers tightening up on hiring. However, it's not every sector.

The health services sector, with the aging of our population, there are a lot of good jobs that are still available. Same with education and certain other fields. So, we obviously encourage workers to find out here at the one- stop career center where there are jobs open, and if there is a need for them to improve their skills so they can get those jobs, we help them with job training, as well.

CHERNOFF: David Socolow, thank you.

Well, at least a few bright spots in the employment picture.

Ali, back to you.

VELSHI: And across the country, some leisure-hospitality- restaurant type of jobs have gained jobs there. But as you said, lost them in construction and manufacturing. If you took the government jobs out of equation, Allan, the picture would look even worse than it does today.

CHERNOFF: It most definitely would. We would be down 100,000 jobs for the past month. So, the fact is, it is government jobs such as the TSA over here, police department jobs. Those are government jobs, and those are helping to keep things at least a little better than they otherwise would be.

VELSHI: Allan Chernoff at an employment office in New Jersey.

Thanks for staying on this story for us, Allan.

GERRI WILLIS, CO-HOST: So, where are the jobs, and how can you protect the one you have? Here to discuss all that is Terri Cullen. She's with "The Wall Street Journal" online.

We have Stacey Tisdale. She is the author of "The True Cost of Happiness."

And Donna Rosato, one of our favorite writers for "Money" magazine.

Donna, let me start with you.

I think folks out there think one great strategy now, hey, why don't we just suck up to the boss? Because if the boss is thinking about us, he knows what we are doing, how good a job we are doing, we won't get laid off.

True?

DONNA ROSATO, SR. WRITER, "MONEY" MAGAZINE: It's not a bad idea. You know, you might think that if you just do your job and you do it well, you will be all set. But you really have to be visible.

You have to let your boss know that you are doing a great job. And by the way, let your boss' boss know you're doing a great job, too. A quick way to do that, if you get a great e-mail praising yourself from a client, send that on to your boss. Praise your team in meetings.

It's not too hard to do, but make sure your boss knows what a great job you are doing.

WILLIS: But can't your boss get fired, too? I mean, you know, in these layoffs, they take out whole departments.

ROSATO: Well, yes, that's true. That's why your boss might be just as vulnerable as you are. So make sure that your boss' boss knows what's going on. Go to company events, make sure that you're known. And when you are forwarding that great e-mail about that great job that you did, send it to your boss' boss, too.

WILLIS: All right.

Terri, you know, a lot of people out there, they don't know how to tell friends and family when they get laid off. It's an embarrassment. They don't know how to talk even to their wives or their husbands or spouses, certainly not their kids.

How do you do that? How do you have the conversation? And then how do you prepare with money?

TERRI CULLEN, PERSONAL FINANCE COLUMNIST, WSJ.COM: Well, I think a lot of people get afraid. They don't want to talk about it. They don't even want to think about it on their own.

But if you know a layoff is coming, the first thing you want to do is basically go to your family. You don't want to present it as an emergency. You don't want to present it as this being a crisis situation. You basically just want to bring all your kids, and even younger kids. At this stage they can really understand, you know...

WILLIS: At what age?

CULLEN: I would say 5 or 6 years old. They know mom and dad go to work. They know -- they've probably seen your office. They've been there maybe once or twice.

WILLIS: They've been to the ATM with you.

CULLEN: They've been to the ATM with you. And basically, you want to sit around the table and you want to say, listen, you know, things might be a little tight, but mom and dad are here and we're going to take care of you and everything is going to be fine.

As far as the rest of your extended family, you know, it depends on who needs to know.

WILLIS: Exactly.

CULLEN: You know, you don't want to be spreading the news around.

WILLIS: All right.

CULLEN: But also, remember, it's also a networking ability. You want to make sure that your friends and family who might be able to help you get work, or network you into another job, know that you're out looking.

WILLIS: You know, the money part of this is very difficult if you don't have an incoming stream. Some people get a home equity line of credit. It's harder to get those right now.

Any quick suggestions for things to do to prep your wallet if you're losing your job?

CULLEN: Even if you have no idea that you've got a layoff coming, right now is the time to look at your bottom line. If you've got a lot of debt, start cutting back and getting control of that debt. If you own a home and you have an equity, and you can get a home equity line of credit, get one now before the layoff, because afterward it's going to be almost impossible to get one.

WILLIS: OK.

CULLEN: And also, the other thing is your savings. A lot of people have a lot of retirement savings, but almost no emergency savings or other side savings.

WILLIS: You've got to have that three to six months worth of savings for the rainy day.

Stacey, I've got to get you to some more solutions. What are the good careers in a recession? Where am I looking for that next job if I've just lost this one?

STACEY TISDALE, AUTHOR, "THE TRUE COST OF HAPPINESS": Well, we just heard what we see in this report is that the health care sector and the education sector are still creating jobs. A lot of people really get pigeonholed in the industry they are working on. For example, if you're doing accounting at a financial company, those same accounting skills might be useful in the education sector and health care sector.

WILLIS: Right.

TISDALE: So you really have to look where the jobs are coming from, really figure out what skills you have that are applicable. And then take it from there. But you really have to keep your eyes open to other industries and keep an open mind, as well.

WILLIS: All right.

Education is a big deal, Donna. And folks are thinking, wow, maybe I could go back to school. But where is the money? How do I do that? You say online education is a good solution to that problem.

ROSATO: Online education. There are a lot of alternative education programs.

If you want to go back to school and become a teacher, you might not have a masters degree, but there's a lot of alternative programs that can help you use some of your industry experience to help you transition into a teaching job. Also, there are a lot of jobs just in the college environment -- administrative jobs, IT jobs. So you have to think about it that way as well. That's an industry that's growing, rather than one that's being cut back.

WILLIS: Stacey, does it worry you at all that there are cutbacks in services jobs now? You know, we're used to seeing manufacturing cutback, we're used to seeing construction cutback because of what's going on in the housing industry. Now we are starting to see some of these services jobs cut back.

Any words of advice for those folks?

TISDALE: It's a scary time, and it really shows you the difficulty that we are having in this economy, because people are simply not using their services as much. So, again, it's evaluating, where are my skills? How can they be applicable in other areas where they are creating jobs?

And really look at who your employer is. Look at companies that are hiring, look at companies that are in good financial shape themselves before you move into that next job, because you really have to create your own job security for yourself.

WILLIS: Well, that's a great idea.

TISDALE: And network.

WILLIS: Be sure to check out those companies -- and network.

OK. Stacey, Terri, Donna, thank you so much for your help today.

VELSHI: This show was created because you told us that the economy is issue #1. So we want you to stay involved. And one of the ways to do that is to weigh on in today's "Quick Vote" question.

For that, let's check in with Poppy Harlow at the money.com set.

Poppy, what have you got for us?

POPPY HARLOW, CNNMONEY.COM: Hey there, Ali.

Well, as you guys have been talking about for the program, with employers cutting 80,000 more jobs last month, people are really nervous about the security of their job. They are thinking, are we in a recession? And as jobs tighten, we really want to know how you feel about your current job.

Here is our "Quick Vote" poll question today.

In my current job I am, A, loving it, it's my dream job; B, unhappy, but it's a paycheck; or C, miserable, thank God it's Friday.

Please log on to cnnmoney.com to vote. We'll be back later with your answers. We'll also show you what's on tap for next week -- Ali.

VELSHI: All right. Great question. Thanks, Poppy.

HARLOW: Sure.

VELSHI: Gerri.

WILLIS: Coming up, how to pay for your child's college education. We're going to break it all down.

Then it's your turn to ask questions. Send us an e-mail to issue1@cnn.com. We're answering your e-mails next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VELSHI: Well, it's a busy day on the campaign trail. And for more on that, let's go to Bill Schneider, our senior political analyst. He's in Los Angeles right now covering the campaign trail for us and getting a sense how today's economic news is actually having an impact on the -- on what's going on in the campaigning.

Now, Bill, I just want to show you and our viewers the numbers that we got out this morning. While the unemployment rate in the United States jumped to 5.1 percent, let's look at where those jobs have gone.

January and February, we lost 76,000 jobs each of those months. And in March, right at the right of the screen, 80,000 jobs. This is a bad situation for the administration and it's a tough situation for candidates.

How do they retool to address this, Bill?

WILLIAM SCHNEIDER, CNN SR. POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, it's an emergency situation I think all the candidates acknowledge.

John McCain has not yet come out with a comprehensive economic plan. He says he will.

The Democrats are talking about majorly spending on jobs and on the economy, but there is a little bit of a trap, because the Democrats also talk about fiscal responsibility. So they don't want to be seen once again as taxing and spending Democrats.

But they are doing something John McCain is not doing. They are talking about canceling the tax cut, the Bush tax cut, for very high income taxpayers. McCain wants to make those tax cuts permanent. So there is a big difference.

VELSHI: Bill, earlier, I was showing a map of states in the United States that had actually it gained manufacturing jobs in the last year, in 2007. There are only six of them. Ohio wasn't one of them. Pennsylvania isn't one of them.

The bottom line is manufacturing jobs in the United States have disappeared. NAFTA played a big role in Ohio. In Pennsylvania, these manufacturing jobs that disappeared, is that going to play into this campaign a lot?

SCHNEIDER: Absolutely. The next big primary -- the next primary is in Pennsylvania. The job losses have hit very hard there. The economy is the number one issue.

Right now, Hillary Clinton is leading, but the voters are listening very carefully to what each candidate, Obama and Clinton, and, for that matter, John McCain, because Pennsylvania is a big swing state, what are they saying about how they are going to deal with the economy and how they're going to try to recover at least some of those jobs.

VELSHI: You've been tracking how John McCain has been trying to appeal to voters with respect to the economy. He's promising to come up with an economic plan within the next couple of weeks.

Do you get some sense knowing how he has politicked in the past, knowing how he has succeeded or failed in certain areas, do you think it will be the kind of thing that's comprehensive enough to get voters over to listening to him about the economy?

SCHNEIDER: Well, what he's got to show is that he's not part of the Bush administration, that his plan is different, it's more aggressive, it's more activist. Because most voters right now blame this President Bush for the same thing they faulted his father, that he is not doing enough, that he's out of touch with ordinary Americans.

John McCain has got to try to make the argument that electing him president would not be a third term for George W. Bush, which is exactly what the Democrats are arguing it would be.

VELSHI: Senior Political Analyst Bill Schneider joining us from Los Angeles.

Bill, thanks very much.

WILLIS: Coming up, how to pay for your kids' college education without draining your retirement savings.

Then, we are answering your questions. Send us an e-mail to issue1@cnn.com.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WILLIS: Welcome back to this Friday edition of ISSUE #1.

Another day, another record high the at the pump. Sick of hearing it? Well, we're sick of telling you about it. And you're probably sick of paying it.

But according to the AAA auto club, the average price for a gallon of regular unleaded gas went up another penny overnight, pushing that nationwide average to a little more than $3.30 a gallon. You want to know where the cheapest gas is in the lower 48? New Jersey had a relatively paltry $3.05 a gallon.

VELSHI: Ouch!

Debt is a problem in this country. We know that. We spend a great deal of time talking about the credit crunch. It's affecting issue #1, the economy. But wow we are learning about more and more consumers who are making things harder for themselves by not paying their bills on time.

Jennifer Westhoven joins us now with more on that.

Tell us about it, Jennifer.

JENNIFER WESTHOVEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I think this is a really serious sign. I mean, we see that people are struggling with gas bills and food bills. But here is a way that we can see they can't actually make ends meet.

Americans are skipping their monthly payments. This new survey shows Americans falling behind when it comes to car loans, credit cards, home equity loans. At the highest level in 15 years. So you can see what it's up to there. That is about one in 50 accounts that's past due. But it's just another sign of how stressed we all are financially.

VELSHI: All right. Now, but there are some choices you can make if you are going to fall behind, because some things really kill your credit score, which then make it just harder to refinance or do that sort of thing. Where are we seeing this in? What kind of debt are we mostly seeing this in?

WESTHOVEN: Right. Which bill do I not pay?

VELSHI: Right.

WESTHOVEN: Now, I'm not saying this is a good bill to skip. I'm say what most Americans are skipping seems to be car payments.

Now, in one measure it's because car loans are so much of this market. But maybe people are paying their mortgages off first.

We are also seeing trouble with payments on mobile homes, and bank card accounts. Really, though, the root of this, according to the author of this survey, is the housing market.

This is from the American Bankers Association. Americans took out all these loans, especially those home equity loans, but they were all pinned on this assumption that the housing market would either stay strong or keep rising. And now people just are overextended.

That ADA says that Americans right now are facing these stubbornly high gas prices and food prices -- that was their word -- and anemic income growth. How can you keep up?

VELSHI: You know, one of the things that's interesting, as you and I have joked in the past, I'm not the best bill payer in the world. But these things do affect you.

WESTHOVEN: Yes.

VELSHI: And in times like this, when times are tough, just by making a mistake by not paying your bills on time, the creditors are getting tougher these days. So, for those of you who can make your payments on time and you're just like me, you don't necessarily do it on time, you should make sure you do.

WESTHOVEN: Especially with that universal default rule.

VELSHI: Right, because you are late on something else, and then somebody will increase an interest rate somewhere else or a charge on another credit card. They can do that now. So, really good to keep -- at least keep on top of your own situation.

Jennifer, good to see you.

Jennifer Westhoven.

WESTHOVEN: Thanks.

VELSHI: Gerri.

WILLIS: Up next, going through unemployment. We'll head back out to Allan Chernoff, who's talking with some folks experiencing it first hand.

Plus, the answer to a question so many parents are pining for, how to pay for your child's college education.

You're watching ISSUE #1.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(NEWSBREAK)

WILLIS: Welcome back to ISSUE #1.

We are going live now to Hillary Clinton, who is already speaking.

(JOINED IN PROGRESS)

SEN. HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON (D-NY), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: ... in Chicago led me to confront a world bigger and broader than the one I inhabited. He had a way of doing that, of pushing us outside our own comfort zone, of making it clear that we had to be part of the revolution that was going on.

It wasn't a revolution of guns. It was a revolution of hearts and minds, of attitudes and actions.

When one heard Dr. King speak -- and I stood in line for a very long time that night to shake his hand, and he was gracious and he was kind to lean over to shake the hand of a 14-year-old girl from the suburbs of Chicago who went to an all-white church and an all-white school and lived in an all-white suburb. But he didn't ask me, as I reached out my hand, where do you live? What's your experience? He just took it, and looked in my face and thanked me for coming. That Dr. King had such a profound and lasting impact on a young, white girl, that he had that kind of impact on millions of people of all colors, faiths, ages and walks of life, tells us something about the reach and power of his vision. It was a vision big enough and bold enough and grace-filled enough to embrace every last one of us.

And when he came here to Memphis to speak out on behalf of workers, he wasn't only speaking for those sanitation workers who were denied their rights, who had seen two of their fellow workers die in a cascade of garbage a few weeks before. He was speaking out for all workers everywhere who are exploited and abused and denied their basic rights.

When Dr. King protested the Vietnam War, he wasn't just speaking on behalf of black soldiers, but all soldiers and civilians. Vietnamese and Americans alike.

When he worked on behalf of the poor here in America and around the world, he wasn't just speaking for the poor he knew, that he could see with his own eyes, but the poor who knew no boundaries of geography or color. And when he stood against discrimination, he wasn't just seeking to free African-Americans from the shackles of slavery and the past that had been shaped by that abomination, he was seeking to break the shackles of hatred on the hearts of us all. He yearned for our country to fulfill the ideals that it had given lip service to, that were embodied in our founding documents.

In his last speech here, he took us on a tour of history, but he also rooted us in the unfinished business and the unrealized promises of America. Dr. King understood the Constitution better than most of us. And he knew that it was crafted to expand as our hearts expanded. It was not a constricted document from one place in time, but an expanse proclamation of what America could become if we had the courage to do so.

Slavery was written onto that document, but so was the potential for equality. He waged that revolution, not just to change our laws, as I heard Bishop Blake talking about, but to change our hearts and behaviors. He reminded us that those who signed our founding documents were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. The promise of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

In the end, he asked nothing more than that we redeem that promise, each in our own way, through faith-based institutions, through our businesses, our labor unions, through our political and public service. And even though, as originally drafted, we did not include Dr. King or me either, women and African-Americans were left out of America's founding promises, but he never gave up and neither should we. His faith in America animated and sustained his journey.

Like with any faith, there were dark moments when one doubts, when one is on the brink of giving up and throwing in the towel. But he would always come back from those dark places and so must we. The tenacity of Dr. King's faith is all the more extraordinary when we think of the ways it was tested. By all the critics in the media attacking his work. By the death threats, the bombings, the beatings, the stabbings, the murder, the grinding hard work day after day of just getting up and moving on. Even the speech he gave here at this great complex wasn't supposed to be delivered. The crowd demanded it. And he came. He always answered the call.

And for those who are clergy, you know that it sometimes tests one's Constitution and one's faith to constantly be asked to do more, to reach out, to keep going. Someone of lesser heart and lesser faith might have grown weary doing good. Might have given up. But he persisted in the struggle.

And we know the results. So much has changed. I look at the young people standing in the back of this room and it may be hard for you to imagine what you read in the history books, what your parents and your grandparents tell you. Jim Crowe is now something you read about. The people in this room lived under it.

Because of Dr. King, these young people, my daughter's generation, grew up taking for granted that children of all colors could attend school together. Because of him, after 219 years and 43 presidents who have been white men, this next generation will grow up taking for granted that a woman or an African-American can be president of the United States of America.

But as far as we've come, we know the journey is far from over. Some days when you open up the newspaper and you read the headlines, it feels like we tumbled right back down that mountain top, doesn't it? Some days it's amazing how deep the valley can be. At times like those, I think of what Dr. King said in his last speech. How he acknowledged we are living in a time of turmoil and upheaval. But then admonished us to remember that only when it is dark enough can you see the stars.

Dr. King saw the darkness of a nation torn apart by petty, human differences, but he imagined one knit back together by our shared humanity. He saw so many going hungry in a land of plenty, but he envisioned an America where our prosperity was shared. He saw America embroiled in an endless war, but imagined a principled peace.

While our problems were grave, he never stopped believing that our promise was greater. He saw us not as we were, but as we could and should be. Isn't it about time we started seeing ourselves as Dr. King saw us? Isn't it about time we came together, as we have in Memphis, to find the solutions to make America what it can and should be?

When I say solutions, I mean good jobs. Jobs you can raise a family on. Jobs that give people a shot at the middle class. To be able to stay there and live with dignity and respect. When I say solutions, I mean respecting the role of the American labor movement that has given that dignity and respect to so many. It's time, once again, to give back the support we need to those who help workers organize and demand their rights.

When I say solutions, I mean finally addressing the scourge of poverty that stalks so many. I believe, mayor, that Memphis has about a 25 percent poverty rate. Down over the last years, but still far too high.

I believe we should appoint a cabinet level position that will be solely and fully devoted to ending poverty as we know it in America. A position that will focus the attention of our nation on this issue and never let it go. A person whom I would see being asked by the president every single day, what have you done to end poverty in America? No more excuses. No more whining. But instead, a concerted effort. It's the kind of solution that Dr. King's son, Martin, has been passionately advocating for.

When I say solutions, I mean schools worthy of our children that give each child a chance to live up to his or her God-given potential. And how about appointing Supreme Court justices who will actually uphold Brown versus Board of Education and not reverse the progress that has been made?

When I say solutions, I mean quality, affordable health care for every American. No exceptions. Everyone entitled to health insurance. No more going into the emergency room. Instead, going in the front door to the doctor's office to be taken care of, to get that preventive health care that will keep you healthy.

I mean restoring America's moral leadership in the world, leading the fight against AIDS, malaria and TB, against poverty and genocide. We cannot let our brothers and sisters in Africa and around the world continue to suffer needlessly. And I mean ending the war that has claimed too many of our precious sons and daughters. Ending it as quickly and responsibly as humanly possible. And, yes, we must demand that our government pass laws that reflect our values. Hate crimes laws, anti-discrimination laws, equal pay laws and so much more.

But that is not enough. The solutions we seek are not just about what government does or business does or labor unions or even faith- based institutions do. It is what each and every one of us is called to do.

There is still too much hatred dividing too many human hearts. Every one of us has a chance practically every day to stand up to intolerance and injustice. Like many of you here who are of a certain age, I will never forget where I was when I heard Dr. King had been killed.

I was a junior in college. And I remember hearing about it and just feeling such despair. I walked onto my dorm room and took my book bag and hurled it across the room. It felt like everything had been shattered. Like we would never be able to put the pieces together again.

You know, I joined a protest march in Boston. I wore a black armband. I worked to convince my college to recruit more students and faculty of color. But it felt like it wasn't enough.

And then a few months later we heard of the assassination of Robert Kennedy, whose eloquence and courage had helped to persuade the people of Indianapolis to follow Dr. King's example of non-violence. I remember wandering through the encampments of the poor people's march on Washington. Talking with those who had come from literally around the world to witness against poverty and injustice. It felt like the doors had closed on the hope that so many had felt. But that would have been such a disservice to Dr. King. To have taken the despair, the outrage and just ended with that.

Dr. King taught us everything we need to know about his legacy and how to carry it forward. But in the end, it is up to each of us to walk that path. It is not an easy path. It was hard for him. It is hard for us. Sometimes we take steps backwards so maybe then we can figure out a new way forward. But I have abiding confidence, and, yes, faith, that we can make our way to higher ground. Whether or not we make it to the mountain top, whether we make it to the promised land is not for us to know, but I believe with all my heart it is for us to try.

And when we get tired and when our faith starts to waiver, we can, of course, remember Dr. King's faith in us. How being dog-tired that night he left the Lorraine Motel and came here. I'm sure he would have liked a good night's sleep. I'm sure that he thought, you know, Reverend Abernathy had done a fine job and there were so many good preachers there. But he felt called and he answered the call. As the scripture tells us, when we are called, we must answer. Who will you send? Send me.

So here we are. And let us remember and return to the well springs of faith from which he drew. One should reread Dr. King's last speech just as we ask children to memorize the "I have a dream" speech. One should reread that last speech.

Be reminded of the Prophet Amos who did shout and commend us to let justice run down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream. One can remember the sacrifice and suffering of Jesus Christ, who taught us to love our enemies. What be a absurd teaching. At the time it was given, it was not even in the consciousness of humanity. Love our enemies? Turn the other cheek? What was he talking about? And yet that has been a prophetic call that has echoed throughout the generations. One that Dr. King took to heart.

And let us remember the faith and courage of Dr. King's brave widow. She returned to this city less than a week after his death to lead the march. The march for justice. She had not yet buried her husband and she was determined to carry on his work. And with three of her children at her side, she did so with tens of thousands of people in solidarity with those striking workers.

Let us remember how Dr. King's faith connect us through time and place in history. The notes of "we shall overcome" were sung in Berlin as the wall came down, by Chinese students marching in Tiananmen Square, in South Africa at President Mandela's inauguration. I even had that song sung to me by a group of women -- poor, desperately poor women in India who sang it in Gujarati, their native tongue.

From the prisoner of conscience in a Birmingham jail, a prisoner of conscience on Robin Island. From the students sitting at a segregated lunch counter in Greensboro, to the students blocking the path of a tank in Beijing. Whether we are oppressed by tyranny, poverty, war or discrimination, that faith, that determination to keep fighting, working, building and believing has and always will carry us forward as long as we remember and as long as we remain committed to fulfilling Dr. King's legacy and dreams.

Thank you and God bless you.

GERRI WILLIS, CNN ANCHOR: You've been listening to a very emotional Hillary Clinton recounting her meeting with Martin Luther King on this 40th anniversary of the assassination of Martin Luther King. She recalled meeting him as a 14-year-old girl. How he clasped her hand and looked her in the eye and she said she really valued his revolution of the hearts and minds of Americans to end poverty.

And just two weeks ago, I interviewed another national leader that was so inspired by MLK, Reverend Jesse Jackson. And I had the opportunity to ask him, what was it like that day, being on that balcony, when Martin Luther King was shot? And he paused for a long time, grew very quiet. He finally said, it's something I relive each and every day. And then he said that it also inspired him to do the work that he's done for the last 40 years.

Ali.

ALI VELSHI, CNN ANCHOR: Gerri, and he's there at the Lorraine Motel today where that assassination took place 40 years ago. Also there is CNN contributor Roland Martin, who has been listening to all of this and watching the ceremonies and the observances that are taking place there.

Roland, it does bring us back to the fact that one of Dr. King's, you know, biggest fights was about eradicating poverty and about creating equality. We still live in a place today we see the unemployment rate in the United States going up to 5 percent, but it's nearly double that among African-Americans in the U.S.

Roland.

ROLAND MARTIN, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Well, absolutely, Ali. And one of the other issues -- and this is my fundamental issue with what's happening here, Ali, is that this should not be a walk down memory lane. This should be about, is what were the issues that he was fighting for and how we are moving forward?

A fundamental problem that I have speaks to those unemployment numbers, Ali, is the fact that African-American children are not being educated. I'm not going to sit here and blame a school system solely. I'm not going to talk about those who don't have text books. I'm also going to talk about the fact that you have parents who are not mandating their children read, write and learn as well.

Dr. Martin Luther King was one of the most learned men in America. Went to college at 16 years old. And so at some point we have to connect education with economics. And that's what he tried to do. And so we should commemorate what took place. Remember what took place and focus on what he was fighting for. That's the real issue. Ali.

VELSHI: Roland, Hillary Clinton, in her speech, she talks about creating an anti-poverty cabinet level position. I mean, in the 40- year battle, and really the longer battle about the fight for poverty, have we, in your opinion, come through that helping all races or was that disparity between whites and blacks economically greater today than it was 40 years ago?

MARTIN: Look, first of all, the disparity is there. Dr. King's speech, the "I have a dream" speech, everybody focused on the bottom one-third. The top two-thirds, he talks about that wide (ph) the economic gap. The reality is that African-American in an inner city is just like a poor white person in rural Georgia and rural Pennsylvania. They have the exact same issues and that is both are broke, both have limited opportunities.

And so what we have, we still have a race issue. We have a greater class issue, if you will. And we must confront that. We must confront the fact, Ali, that we have middle class jobs that are actually leaving and so now you have high-end jobs and low-end jobs. We have to deal with that.

You know what, with all due respect, this whole notion of appointing an anti-poverty czar, you know what, I'm sorry, that's the job of the Commerce Department. That is the job of Health and Human Services. We have enough czars. We have enough cabinet level people. If we focus on doing their jobs, we don't have to create additional position to focus on that.

VELSHI: All right. Roland, using your last bit of voice to talk to us, we appreciate it. Thank you very much. Roland Martin in front of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee, in front of that balcony where Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated 40 years ago.

We're going to take a break. You're watching ISSUE NUMBER ONE. This show's about you. So we want your questions. E-mail them to us at issue1@cnn.com. We'll come right back and answer some of those. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WILLIS: All right. Get out that pen and paper and get ready for some serious advice. The help desk is up and running. Terri Cullen is with "The Wall Street Journal" online, Stacey Tisdale is the author of "The True Cost of Happiness," and Stephanie Elam, hey, she's a CNN business correspondent.

Welcome to you all.

You know the drill here. We try to get in as many e-mails as possible. Let's start with Everett in Washington, D.C. He asks, hey, "with national household income at $53,000, many families cannot afford to save more than $50 to $100 a month after taxes, mortgages and inflation. Barring 401(k) options, where can people put their savings that will be somewhat secure?" All right, Terri, I want to start with you. People are stopping me in the hall and asking the same question. I can't find a place to put my money that I feel safe. The stock market's down 5 percent this year. What do I do?

TERRI CULLEN, PERSONAL FINANCE COLUMNIST, WSJ.COM: It depends on what you're saving for. Is this emergency savings? Short term? Right now look at these high-yielding savings accounts. They're FDIC insured, if you're worried about security.

WILLIS: But they're behind inflation at this point.

CULLEN: They're behind inflation. But if it's a short-term goal that you're saving for, it keeps you out of the market, it keeps you out of the volatility.

WILLIS: So you're losing a little bit.

CULLEN: A little bit right now. For the short term.

WILLIS: But you're not going to lose 30 percent or 40 percent, right? OK. All right. I believe that.

Belinda in Virginia asks, "we have a 6.75 percent fixed mortgage rate on a $465,000 loan. Are there any initiatives on the horizon for reduction of jumbo loans?" Big problem here. Jumbo loans, hard to get in this market.

Stacey, what do you do?

STACEY TISDALE, AUTHOR, "THE TRUE COST OF HAPPINESS": There was actually selected areas where there is an increase in the jumbo loan limit. And she can go to HUD's web site and figure those out. What she has to think about is, it's not going to make sense for her to refinance if it's below 6 percent. She can go to web sites and see if it makes sense for her to refinance this, but she should really have a lender red-flag her, you know, when rates fall to a level that it would make sense for her to make that move because with the fees that she would incorporate, it just doesn't make sense.

WILLIS: Exactly. Yes, the stimulus package has some big benefits for people with jumbo loans. Go to HUD.gov. Great idea.

Will in Washington, D.C. says, hey, "I'm a college student and want to build my credit. I'm hesitant to sign up for a credit card." How else can I build up my credit?

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Poor, Will, he's all freaked out because he's hearing all this stuff about credit cards. There is some good to be said about credit cards. But, think about it, if you have a student loan, if you've got a car loan, both of those are seen as ways that you can have some sort of credit report there, to get some history going, to get you off the ground.

WILLIS: That's a good idea. I love that. OK. So buy something. ELAM: Buy something. You do get credit if you have to buy something.

WILLIS: You know, a panel of three women, we're going to advise you to go shop.

OK. Marcia asks, "I bought a house three years ago for $250,000. I have been paying the negative amortization." Probably has an interest-only loan, maybe a pay option only ARM. I hate these things. OK. "I tried to refinance the house and the bank said that it is worth only $180,000." Less than she owes. More than she owes. "What should I do?"

TISDALE: Really what she needs to do is get with the lender right away and start talking about trying to modify the terms of the loan. Not so much refinancing the loan, but try to modify the terms of the loan. It's likely to be an adjustable rate loan if it's negative amortization. See if she can work with the lender to lock in a fixed rate loan that will at least stop her from losing more money, paying more money on the loan than she absolutely has to.

WILLIS: OK, guys, you have been fabulous. Thank you so much for helping us out today. Stacey, Terri, Stephanie, thanks so much.

VELSHI: All right, TGIF. Time to get the results of the CNN Money Quick Poll. Poppy Harlow has those for us from the cnnmoney.com set.

Poppy, what have you got?

POPPY HARLOW, CNN MONEY: Hey, Ali.

Well today we asked people how they feel about their current job. Here's what they said. Thirty-four percent of people that voted said they love their jobs. Forty-six percent, the majority there, are unhappy but say it's a paycheck. Twenty percent say they are miserable. And thank God it's Friday. So that's 65 percent of people, Ali, who aren't so crazy about their job.

Ali.

VELSHI: Oh, well, the glass half full is the 35 percent of them or 34 percent of them are happy with their job. We'll see what we can do with the other two-thirds.

Poppy, thanks so much. Good to see you.

HARLOW: Sure.

WILLIS: And I'm with the people who are saying, thank God it's Friday. What about you, Ali?

VELSHI: I'm very happy it's Friday, but I will miss you until Monday but, you know . . .

WILLIS: We're going to be back. VELSHI: The viewers don't have to miss you because we've both got shows on this week.

WILLIS: Oh, you're slick.

VELSHI: Well, you know, you like to try and, you know, squeeze that in.

WILLIS: All right. Don't forget, for more ideas, strategies and tips to save you money and protect your house, watch "Open House" Saturdays at 9:30 a.m. Eastern right here on CNN.

VELSHI: See, you don't have to miss Gerri. And for more on how the news of the week effects your wallet, tune in to "Your Money" Saturdays at 1:00 p.m. Eastern and Sundays at 3:00 right here on CNN.

WILLIS: Across America, the economy is issue number one and ISSUE NUMBER ONE will be back all next week at 12:00 p.m. Eastern.

VELSHI: Time now for you latest headlines in the CNN "Newsroom." T.J. Holmes and Brianna Keilar will take it from here.

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