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U.S. Unemployment Rate Soars To 8.1 Percent In February; Job Fairs, Employment Centers Swamped; Global Recession's Impact Is Felt By Countries In Varying Degrees; Health Insurance Usually Not Enough For Those Who Are Sick; Health Care Reform: What Needs to be Done and How to do it; Do Green Jobs Equal Lean Paychecks?; PennyMac Takes Advantage of Mortgage Crisis They Helped Cause

Aired March 06, 2009 - 14:00   ET

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

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: And pushing forward on the growing number of Americans pushed out of their jobs, 3.3 million joined the unemployment line in the last six months alone. And the U.S. Postal Service bleeding money, talking about cutting your delivery back. So, they shell out 1.2 million bucks to buy this mansion?

I'm Kyra Phillips live in the CNN World Headquarters in Atlanta. You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

You can't spin, so don't try. Delivering the latest unemployment numbers, a senior White House adviser admits that they're terrible, a tragedy for American families. Another 651,000 people lost their jobs in February, driving the unemployment rate to 8.1 percent. A 25-year high, 12.5 million Americans who want to work, who used to work, are out of work. And that number has never been higher. You're looking at some of those people right now at a job fair Wednesday in Miami.

Unemployment often hits minorities worse, and this recession is no different. The government says that the jobless rate for whites is 7.3 percent. That's well under the national average. But unemployment for African-Americans and Hispanics is in the double digits. Now the unemployment rate among Asians is lowest of all, 6.9 percent. Well, we are pushing forward on the job search this hour with CNN's Gerri Willis is following the fallout on Wall Street with Susan Lisovicz.

Let's go ahead and start with you, Susan. The job losses getting so big, that some have called the current downturn "the Great Recession". Put this in perspective for us.

SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN FINANCIAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, 651,000 jobs lost in one month is just a terrible number. And I agree with the Obama administration, that there's no way to put a positive spin on this. Also, December and January were revised lower. So those numbers were actually even exceeded the 651,000 jobs lost in February. So they're terrible numbers. They're getting worse it seems.

And what happens is, Kyra, is that job losses are often the last thing that companies do. So when the economy turns, that is when companies cut jobs. And so historically speaking, even though the recession began in December of 2007, the fact is, that we may not -- a lot of the economists say the unemployment rate may get worse through the end of the year. And may in fact peak next year, even if the recovery has begun already.

Now, what is the market's reaction? Opened higher on the news. But really couldn't hold it. Even after 12-year fresh, 12-year lows for the Down industrials, and the S&P closing at 1996 level, you see where we're going. We continue to go down. Once again, GM shares weighing on the Dow 30. Its shares hitting 75-year lows. Right now, trading at $1.50.

Kyra, bankruptcy fears yet again. GM, for its part, says the story in "The Wall Street Journal" today is not true, that it's looking for a speedy reorganization, bankruptcy filing, with the government helping. But investors are speaking once again loud and clear.

Back to you, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right. Susan, thanks so much.

President Obama calls the toll of this recession on the U.S. workforce astounding, but says that help is on the way. In Columbus, Ohio, Mr. Obama vowed that he won't accept a future of dwindling jobs and opportunities. He went to Columbus to spotlight a class of police cadets who were laid off before they even graduated. But he reinstated with money from the stimulus. It's a thin blue line in a single city, or is it?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, (D) PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: For those who still doubt the wisdom of our recovery plan, I ask them to talk to the teachers who are still able to teach our children because we passed this plan. I ask them to talk to the nurses who are still able to care for our sick, and the firefighters and first responders, who are still able to keep our communities safe. I ask them to come to Ohio and meet the 25 men and women who will soon be protecting the streets of Columbus because we passed this plan.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Well, CNN is pushing forward on the jobs front. We want to take a bite out of those staggering unemployment numbers and find you the job that you want. You can find the opportunities and the employers by logging onto CNN.com. I'll take it through it straight ahead.

We know this isn't just America's crisis. Here now, three of our international correspondents, they will push it forward in just a second.

But first, let's go to Gerri Willis back at the job bank there in Yonkers, New York.

Gerri, who have you been able to talk to? Who's hiring? What jobs are out there? Have you been able to line anybody up?

GERRI WILLIS, CNN PERSONAL FINANCE EDITOR: Kyra, we're doing what we can out here. You said this is the Yonkers Employment Facility. That's right.

What happens here is when you lose a job in Westchester County, you have to come here, talk to a counselor, get some advice. We're going to talk to a counselor right now.

Carol is talking to Edward, here. She's interviewing him, helping him out. I want to start with you, Carol. What's the most common question you get?

CAROL HOLMAN, EMPLOYMENT SPECIALIST: What does a person my age do when my job has become obsolete?

WILLIS: And Edward here, Edward, how old are you?

EDWARD BROWN, JOB SEEKER: 57.

WILLIS: And you've been out of a job for how long?

BROWN: Five months.

WILLIS: Now, tell us a little bit about what you did for a living, and how much you enjoyed it?

BROWN: I worked for Life Cleaners Incorporated, 300 & Grand Avenue, five and a half years. And I was a presser and I worked in the laundry department and enjoyed it immensely.

WILLIS: You seem to me, I had a chance to talk to you for a few minutes here. You must have been the most motivated employee they had. It's just a pleasure to chat with you. Tell me what the market's like out there. Is it tough to find a job?

BROWN: In the cleaning industry, it is extremely hard. If one cleaner is bad, they're all bad. But I went to several places and they don't seem to want anybody, especially at my age.

WILLIS: That makes it tough. What do you tell people who are 67, people who are 70, people who are 65 about how to position themselves, Carol?

HOLMAN: I tell people that attitude has a lot to do with it. All employers would like somebody with an energetic, positive attitude. I say that tough times come, but they don't last forever. It takes a tough personality to get through something like this. We help try to identify transferable skills, help them to get the training and position them back into the market. Tough times don't last forever. But tough people do.

WILLIS: I love that. That makes a lot of sense.

Edward, you do have a really good attitude. How do you keep that going when, you know, the situation isn't as good as it can be?

BROWN: I firmly believe only the strong survive.

(LAUGHTER) WILLIS: I agree. I think you're absolutely right about that.

Carol, just one other question here. You're sitting in front of a wall of success. There are people who actually get jobs. How often does it happen? Do you guys have a big success rate?

HOLMAN: I think that it happens often. If they do the search right, we help people to search for employment. And they keep their attitude right. And they keep their resume in line with the area they're looking for. We do have successes.

WILLIS: Flexibility is key obviously. Kyra, we've been talking to people all day how they can get many different kinds of jobs, thanks to Edward, thanks to Carol for helping us out.

Kyra, do you have a question for either of these two?

PHILLIPS: I'm curious, how many people are coming through the center and meeting with this counselor? And actually leaving with a job they can look forward to?

WILLIS: Well, what I'm hearing is that they have doubled the foot traffic essentially. Carol, how many people are you personally seeing each day?

HOLMAN: About 20, 30 people a day.

WILLIS: And that's a lot. Because how much time do you spend with them?

HOLMAN: We try to spend the time individually. But I would say about 15 minutes per person. So that I'm working continuously.

WILLIS: Right. Kyra, I can tell you, I've met many of these counselors, they don't spend just 15 minutes. They come back to these people time and time again, helping them renew skills. For people like Edward, they're helping them with learning how to use the computer and get online and find jobs. So it's an incredible scene here. Lots of people coming in, getting help. And, you know, we hope Edward gets a job.

PHILLIPS: No doubt. Everyone that you've been talking to, I hope they all find a job.

Gerri, thanks so much.

WILLIS: My pleasure.

PHILLIPS: We know this isn't just America's crisis, but here are three of our international correspondents pushing the story forward and bringing it home.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN INT'L. CORRESPONDENT: I'm Ben Wedeman in Jerusalem. This is this city's high-speed train system in the making. Until recently it was a symbol of Israel's rapid economic growth. Over the last five years, this small country has posted annual GDP gains of nearly 5 percent a year. Fueled by high tech and agricultural exports, and bolstered by a strong and well-regulated banking system.

Initially Israel was spared much of the pain of the global economic meltdown. That's beginning to change. Unemployment is on the rise. Tax revenues are plummeting and 2009 looks like it's going to be a year of zero economic growth. Big projects like this train system seem to be slowing down as the money to pay for them dries up. Israel is looking at hard times ahead. I'm Ben Wedeman, CNN, reporting from Jerusalem.

ANJALI RAO, CNN INT'L. CORRESPONDENT: I'm Anjali Rao, in India's business capital Mumbai.

Name a major industry here and it's almost certainly suffering the global downturn. Everything from autos, steel, real estate, textiles and petro chemicals. India's economy had been booming, but as the downturn deepens, demands for Indian exports diminishes and that's leading to fewer jobs.

In the last quarter of 2008, this country lost half a million jobs, bringing the unemployment rate for the entire year to 6.8 percent. The situation is only likely to get worse, as the number of jobs available shrinks, the number of those looking for work is on the rise. Keep in mind, some 14 million new workers enter the Indian market every year.

DAN RIVERS, CNN INT'L. CORRESPONDENT: I'm Dan Rivers in Bangkok. It is the auto industry and manufacturing industries, particularly those that are relying on exports, which are bearing the brunt of this recession. For example, the General Motors plant here has suspended production for three months. It's now started again, but almost immediately they're talking again about ceasing producing cars temporarily.

They've already laid off some 1,200 workers, another 1,600 jobs are hanging in the balance. And that's just one company. This story is being repeated across the country. Unemployment at the moment stands at half a million. But they're already talking about that tripling over the next year.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: All right. It was on this day that Walter Cronkite actually left the "CBS Evening News" anchor desk, 1981 today. That was his final good-bye. Big day in our business, that's for sure. He's an icon to all of us.

Raises in rates, threats to cut back on mail service, the U.S. Postal Service is struggling to make ends meet these days. What's it doing buying mansions? Our Special Investigations Unit Correspondent Abbie Boudreau makes a special delivery.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ABBIE BOUDREAU, CNN SPECIAL INVESTIGATIONS UNIT (On camera): What are you showing me?

BILLIE BIERER, NEIGHBOR: This is the house that the post office took over as a relocation package for an employee that transferred to Texas.

BOURDREAU: Oh, wow.

BIERER: It's huge.

BOUDREAU: It is huge. Look at this.

(voice over): It's an 8,400-square-foot home in rural South Carolina. One of the largest on this lake; six bedrooms, four bathrooms, two more half baths.

BIERER: It has an indoor swimming pool.

BOURDREAU: I saw those pictures online.

BIERER: Yes.

BOURDREAU: Pretty gorgeous.

BIERER: Quite a house.

BOURDREAU: Here's the listing online: A huge living room, gourmet kitchen, hardwood floors; and here's that indoor swimming pool and spa. A CNN investigation found the U.S. Postal Service bought this estate for $1.2 million from an employee who was being relocated. In fact, the post office has purchased more than 1,000 employee homes in just two years. The average cost of those homes, $257,000. Billie Bierer owns the lot next door.

BIERER: This should not be allowed, in any company, in this economy. Things need to change.

BOURDREAU (voice over): Bierer wonders how the Postal Service can afford to buy a house like this. Considering Postmaster General John Potter recently told Congress that times were so bad, they've already cut travel and frozen executive salaries.

JOHN POTTER, POSTMASTER GENERAL: If volume continues to decline beyond what our expectations are, we might be forced to, you know, reduce the number of days that we deliver.

BOURDREAU: And just last month, the Postal Service told CNN it also made changes to its relocation policy, to cut back costs and reduce the risk of not reselling the homes it buys.

A spokesperson says it will now pay no more than $1 million to purchase an employee's home. But prior to that, the Postal Service had no limit on how much it would pay. The most expensive home it purchased cost $2.8 million.

PETER SEPP, NATIONAL TAXPAYERS UNION: At a time when the postal service is considering cutting back on delivery, raising stamp prices, perhaps even going to the federal government for a taxpayer bailout, this sends the wrong signal.

BOURDREAU: The Postal Service declined our request for an on- camera interview. But in an e-mail the spokesperson said when qualified employees relocate, the Postal Service can purchase their home through a company called Cartus Relocation, a government contractor. He wrote that only 15 of the 1,022 homes bought in the last two years remain on the market. All the houses that cost $1 million or more have sold. Except for this one, which it just bought last month.

SEN. CHUCK GRASSLEY, (R) IOWA: When you talk about a million dollars, that sounds outrageous.

BOURDREAU: We showed Senator Chuck Grassley, a longtime critic of the relocation policy, what the $1.2 million house looks like.

GRASSLEY: I'm going to write a letter to the inspector general. We're going to get this policy nailed down. We need to know that the Postal Service for the patrons of the Postal Service, the people that are buying stamps, the people that are supporting it, that they're getting their money's worth.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BOURDREAU: Senator Grassley's office tells us that the inspector general is now reviewing the overall relocation policy. The Postal Service says the goal is to sell all the houses purchased without losing money. But that doesn't always happen. It costs the Postal Service an average of $5,800, for each home bought and sold. Of course, it adds up. If there's anyone out there, or Kyra, maybe you, who's interested in buying this gorgeous house, I'm sure the Postal Service would be happy to sell it.

PHILLIPS: I might be able to get a good deal?

BOURDREAU: You never know, in these times.

PHILLIPS: Exactly. So, did you talk with Mr. Mansion?

BOURDREAU: We did talk to him. And we had a brief phone call conversation with him. And he made it clear that the post office did not make him relocate. He said he wanted to move to Carrollton, Texas, to become the new customer service manager there, but he would not give any more details about that house. It is a beauty, though.

PHILLIPS: All right. Abbie, thanks.

BOURDREAU: You got it.

PHILLIPS: A developing story this hour related to accused Wall Street swindler, Bernard Madoff. There are new signs that a plea deal is in the works. Madoff's defense attorney tells CNN, his client have waived his right to indictment. That's often a first step toward a plea agreement. Madoff is accused of defrauding thousands of investors of their life savings in a $15 billion Ponzi scheme.

And bullied to join a gang, now he's fighting to save lives. Meet a true "CNN Hero"; A young man in the Philippines determine to make a difference in the lives of those kids.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Chad Myers, lots of beautiful weather around the country. Go to Miami, work it up there at the festival. Stay here in Atlanta, play a little golf. What do you think?

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: I tell you, I had the option to play golf for free today. But I volunteered to work instead.

PHILLIPS: You're such a dedicated employee. I hope everybody's listening.

MYERS: That's because everybody else was already off.

PHILLIPS: You're going to get your summer bonus, buddy.

MYERS: Do you know what weekend it is?

PHILLIPS: We have a little time change, don't we?

MYERS: Spring forward.

PHILLIPS: Huh.

MYERS: Which is the bad one, because you lose sleep.

PHILLIPS: You loose the hour.

MYERS: But if you go someplace Sunday morning and you forgot to change your clocks, you're late. I don't mind like being there an hour early, but I just hate missing something altogether. That's this weekend. So, Saturday night into Sunday morning, you need to change the clocks. Push them ahead one hour. Spring forward. It's already spring in Dallas, 78 degrees there. 80 in Houston. Look at some of the record highs from yesterday, Childress, Texas, and San Angelo, 92. Even Salina, Kansas at 85 degrees yesterday.

Another hot one today, another hot one tomorrow. With that heat, there is a fire risk. Had fires all over Oklahoma yesterday, near Taloga, one near Oklahoma City today, but that's pretty much under control. With winds at 30-40 miles per hour, any fire that starts could get completely out of control in about 15 minutes as sparks fly ahead at 40 to 50 miles per hour.

A little bit of freezing rain, a small event across parts of the upstate of Nebraska and also into -- I'd say Minneapolis, maybe an inch or two. But south of there, maybe just a touch of freezing rain. If this is your get-away Friday, you're doing pretty good. Compared to the last three Fridays in a row, a 45-minute delay at LaGuardia and a and 25-minute delay at Newark is a piece of cake, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right. Piece of cake, famous last words.

MYERS: Good stuff.

PHILLIPS: Yes, exactly.

OK, he's still a young man but, he's making a difference for kids half his age. Efren Penaflorida is the third CNN hero of 2009. He was actually bullied to join a gang in high school in the Philippines, but instead of caving in to the pressure, he created an alternative for teens struggling to stay out of trouble.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANNOUNCER: This is "CNN Heroes".

EFREN PENAFLORIDA, CHAMPIONINA CHILDREN: Gang members are groomed in the slums as early as nine years old. They're all victims of poverty. I am Efren Penaflorida, Junior.

In high school, gangs were very rampant. I felt the social discrimination, and I was then, I was bullied. I got afraid. So we got up a group to actually divert teenagers to be productive. That's why we're bringing the classroom to the kids.

We operate the pushcart every Saturday. We teach them language, mathematics, and we also have our hygiene clinic.

RHANDOLF, AGE 16 (through translator): My gang mates were the most influential thing in my life. I would probably be in jail right now or most likely a drug addict if I had not met Efren.

PENAFLORIDA: I always tell to my volunteers, you are the change that you dream, and collectively we are the change that this world needs to be.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANNOUNCER: Tell us about your hero at CNN.com/heroes.

PHILLIPS: A development now, in the missing boater story that we've been covering since Saturday evening. We're getting word now that the family of an NFL player has decided to not continue the search anymore, to end the search for their son, Marquis Cooper.

Apparently Marquis' father came forward in a written statement. Bruce Cooper said they have decided to discontinue the search for Marquis after receiving new information on the events of last Saturday, and have decided to discontinue the search.

He also goes on to say the family has decided to forgo any such service, and asks instead that all of you memorialize Marquis in your hearts, and your thoughts.

As you remember, this is the boat that was found overturned. One survivor, Nick Schuyler was the only one found clinging to that boat. He was rescued, taken back to the hospital, and he had actually reported to authorities when at the hospital, that the other men had lost hope during their struggle, took off their life vests, and just slipped away. So now Cooper, Smith, Bleakley, the search has been discontinued for those remaining three boaters. The only survive, Nick Schuyler

If your job survived the month of February, be thankful. Six hundred and fifty-one thousand of your friends and neighbors weren't so lucky. That's how many lost lively hoods in the 15th month of this recession, driving the unemployment rate to 8.1 percent. Twelve and a half million Americans are out of work now - the most ever. That's roughly equal to every man, woman and child in Pennsylvania.

President Obama calls health care reform a moral and fiscal imperative. Why is it so critical right here and right now? Well, there are about 46 million uninsured Americans. People who have zero health coverage. Add to that, 25 million people who are underinsured. Who have to spend more than 10 percent of their income on medical care. A Harvard study of bankruptcies found that medical problems were behind half of them. And guess what? Most of those people had health insurance.

I know, we just threw a lot of numbers at you. But behind those stats are people like you and me, one bad diagnosis away from financial ruin.

That line comes straight out of Karen Tumulty's "Time" cover story about how the health care crisis hit home for her family. Karen joins us live now from Washington.

Karen, it's so good to see you.

KAREN TUMULTY, NATIONAL POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT, "TIME": Thanks a lot, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Well, I'm just curious, as a journalist, and you've been covering the health beat for, gosh, 15 years, then all of a sudden you see your brother, someone who you're supremely close to, hit hard by this insurance issue. So there it is. The cover story of "Time" magazine. How has this affected you as a journalist since it's truly hit home?

TUMULTY: Well, I tell you, that's right. You know, my brother's kidneys started failing last summer, out of nowhere. No - we still don't know the cause. And that was a really big shock. But then a couple of weeks later we got another big shock. And that was that his insurance company, the company to which he had been paying premiums for six years, had decided that this was a preexisting condition because he had been buying a series of short-term policies and they were not going to pay a penny of the cost of his treatment. And at that point, just to find out what he had it cost us already $14,000. So, you know, our journey, our struggles to figure out how we were going to find health care for my brother, Patrick, in this situation, I thought, you know, it's a story not because it's so unusual, but because it's so common. And it's becoming more common every day.

PHILLIPS: And tell me about the numbers. I mean, Patrick isn't the only one. If I remember right, I was reading through the article, you had some pretty powerful statistics.

TUMULTY: That's right. You know, there are in addition - as you said, to these 45 million people that we know of who are completely uninsured, there are another 25 million people who have insurance, but when you get sick, you often discover that what you think is your coverage is not going to come even close to covering the costs of treatment.

PHILLIPS: That's what I was looking for, the 25 million people, and they spend more than 10 percent of their income on out-of-pocket medical costs. I mean, that just - well, I guess in many ways it didn't surprise me. But then I'm thinking, OK, your brother was paying his premiums. He was a dedicated insurance payer. Yet, it looks like where he and a number of people are falling through the cracks is, there's a lot of small print surprises that you don't realize are there, until something happens to you.

TUMLTY: You know, and even if you have a good policy - first of all, do you know what's in your health insurance policy? Things that look like they're perfectly adequate when you're well, quickly become inadequate when you get sick. And often, you know, insurance policies will say, well, you can have six doctor visits in a single year. You can have three radiation treatments. You can spend x-amount, you know, $40,000, $60,000, even, you know, I came across cases where people had a million dollars worth of coverage. Well, you get serious cancer and that a million dollars is gone pretty quickly.

PHILLIPS: OK, so Karen, what did your brother do? What do other people that haven't gotten to the point where your brother is, what do they do? I know that you went to this health care summit with the president. I know you've had a chance to talk to the president. Tell me how you've pushed this forward and been proactive in trying to educate people, not only through your writing, but your own brother's story.

TUMLTY: Well, what we found, in Texas where my family is from, where one in four people are completely uninsured, there weren't a lot of options. And we were lucky that my brother lives in San Antonio, Texas, where the Baer County Hospital District does in fact have a program to cover people, that he was able to become eligible for.

But I do think that, you know, whether you get treatment, whether you get health care in this country, really shouldn't be determined by what state you live in, or in his case, what county you live in. I really do think that at this point, people are looking at a real imperative to get everybody health coverage in this country. PHILLIPS: Karen Tumulty, we'll be following, of course, your stories. Pick up "Time" magazine. It's pretty heart wrenching. You did an incredible job just giving us a good reality check on what we're all up against.

Karen, thanks so much.

Well, Elizabeth Cohen joins me now.

Elizabeth, you heard the story right there about Karen's brother. Obviously, I mean, it hit home with all of us, that's why we wanted to talk to her. But is there anything else in this proposed health care reform plan that can change that type of situation?

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: One thing to make clear about the health care reform plan that gets lost sometimes is that there is no plan. There is no specific plan right now.

What we do have is what president Obama talked about while he was campaigning. Sort of a blueprint of what he might do when he was president. So there are some things that would help someone in Karen Tumulty's brother's situation.

First of all, the plan that was proposed about during the campaign, it would help employers pay for catastrophic costs. That might have encouraged Patrick's employer to get him some insurance in the first place.

Also, the plan put forth during the campaign, proposes a national health insurance exchange. That's sort of a fancy name for a big pool that people like Patrick could join in order to get health insurance.

And thirdly, it offers tax credits if you can't afford insurance. So for example, in Patrick's case, your employer doesn't give you insurance, this would give you tax credits to go out and get insurance on your own.

Now, whether it definitely would have helped him, maybe would have helped him, hard to say.

PHILLIPS: All right, we'll keep tracking it, of course. Thanks so much, Elizabeth.

Gerri Willis is answering your financial questions.

Also ahead, one of our viewers wants to know how to help her son with his credit score. We'll answer that and many more.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Your college loan got carried away? Concerned about your money? Gerri Willis has the 411.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WILLIS: We want to get you answers to your financial questions. Let's get straight to "The Help Desk." Manisha Thakor is a personal finance expert and the author of "My Own Two Feet," John Simons is senior personal finance editor with "Black Enterprise" magazine, and David Bach is the author of "Fight for Your Money."

Welcome, all. Let's get right to the questions.

Jeannine asks, "My 26-year-old son has a credit score of 621. His credit has been perfect since 2005. However, when he was in college, he was given three credit cards like they were handing out candy. He charged them up and couldn't pay. How can we fix his credit report?"

Manisha.

MANISHA THAKOR, AUTHOR, "ON MY OWN TWO FEET": So Jeannine is using two phrases that are often used interchangeably but they're very different. Credit score is a three-digit number summarizing how responsible you are. Credit report is the history of what you've done with your money. Unless there's a mistake on the credit report, which sounds like there isn't, what Jeannine wants to help her son do is improve - not fix - improve that credit score. Two best ways to do it, pay the bills on time and keep his debt as low as possible relative to his total outstanding available credit.

WILLIS: All right. Let's go to the next question. Ken in Mesquite, Texas, asks, "I've been unemployed for a few months now and my FHA mortgage will soon become a challenge. I wanted to know which would be a smarter option for me, to pursue an FHA streamlined refinance, or to request a loan modification with my lender? "

John, what do you think?

JOHN SIMONS, "BLACK ENTERPRISE MAGAZINE": Well, the e-mailer is saying that he's been out of work for about three months. Most people in this situation should be very proactive going - trying to get ahead of this. And, you know, when they do lose their job, they should immediately try to address the situation of their mortgage.

In this situation, I think this person should go for the FHA streamline. I think both options are fine, but the FHA's been doing this for a long time and they will be seeing more of these types of things and dealing with similar situations.

WILLIS: What do you think, David?

DAVID BACH, AUTHOR, "FIGHT FOR YOUR MONEY": Well, loan modification is only a short-term solution. So what we're talking about here, if he streamlines it, is a long-term solution to the problem. Hopefully his unemployment is short term. We don't know in this market. But, I agree, I think streamlining it, refinancing, getting a lower rate is key right now.

WILLIS: All right. You got to act quickly, obviously.

I want to thank my panelists for their help today. Great answers to some really tough questions. "The Help Desk" is all about getting you answers. Send me an e- mail to gerri@cnn.com or log on to cnnmoney.com/helpdesk to see more of our financial solutions.

And "The Help Desk" is everywhere. Make sure to check out the latest issue of "Money" magazine on newsstands now.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Well, you've heard the terms green jobs, but how much green can you rake in with one of these jobs? We're going to find out if green equals lean, as in a lean paycheck.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: The latest unemployment numbers are staggering. But we want to cut them down to size, and try and help you find a job. No doubt, that demand is huge. And as we found at a job center in Yonkers, New York, well, take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JONATHAN JARAMILLE, JOB SEEKER: My name is Jonathan Jaramille, and I'm in search - looking for jobs in the customer service industry or in the restaurant industry. I have 25 years experience in restaurant management. I also have a certificate for medical billing and holding, so I pretty much have three things that I can fit myself into. I'm originally from New Mexico, which is a little bit easier to find work there. And living here in New York is a bit of a challenge. But I still have hope with the economy, I still have hope that I will find something soon.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Well, let's find you something very soon. Job opportunities are available and they're only a mouse click away.

You can start with the job search on our website, cnn.com. Actually, I have an interactive map. You just go to cnn.com/jobs. You see here on the front page of our website, we've got all the top stories, hitting all parts of the country from the northeast, Midwest, west, south. Talking about all the various jobs that are out there. Job fairs that are taking place.

And that's really what we want to focus on specifically right now. Where are those job fairs? All you have to do is hit right here. I actually have it up here to make it a lot easier. And this map will pop up about all the job fairs that be happening all across the country.

So for example, let's say Washington. Seattle, Washington. We don't have - there we go. March 20th, June 26th, it tells you exactly where the job fair is going to be, the Washington State Convention and Trade Center. It's also happening in May, July and October 21st. And let's say, let's go ahead and pop over - some of these I know are not having job fairs. But like Las Vegas, Nevada, there you go though, that would be a fun place looking for a job, April 22nd, July 14th, October 15th. And the address of where those job fairs are going to be are yet to be determined.

So that's all you have to do, is just come to our map, click on. We'll show you exactly where those fairs are taking place all across the country.

Well, today's dismal unemployment report underscores how badly the country needs job creation. The White House is promising millions of green jobs, but how much will they pay? Stephanie Elam has our "Energy Fix" from New York.

Hey, Steph.

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Kyra.

Yes, it's true, the stimulus bill set aside $500 million to train people for careers in energy efficient and renewable energy. And the Obama administration says getting that training can make a significant difference in a worker's paycheck.

Here's what the vice president said last week.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Green jobs will pay 10 percent to 20 percent more than other jobs of a similar nature. Ten to 20 percent more.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ELAM: Now, not everyone is convinced green jobs always pay better. A recent report from a nonprofit research at Good Jobs First says, pay varies widely. It found a California recycling/processing plant paying $8.25 an hour, just 25 cents above California's minimum wage. And it says wage also at many solar and wind plants are below the national average for manufacturing jobs. The group says, job qualities should be attached to any subsidies green employers receive to ensure green jobs are also good jobs - Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right, what about all the weatherization jobs that we keep hearing about, Stephanie?

ELAM: Yes, you're right. The National Community Action Foundation says, pay starts around $9.00 to $11.00 an hour. But the group says it's planning to put workers on a career track to higher paying jobs as energy auditors and inspectors. More than 100,000 weatherization jobs could come from the stimulus plan, that can involve anything from adding caulk and insulation to changing out the furnace. State and local agencies are already running want ads and taking applications. So hiring could begin this month.

And Kyra, I know you like to get your fix, so just in case you want more, cnn.com money has more "Energy Fix" info for you.

PHILLIPS: I always love my Stephanie Elam fix, that's for sure. Find it all on Craigslist, and we mean all. Has the popular website turned into an online bordello? One sheriff says yes. And he's cracking down. Actually, that wasn't him. We'll tell you about it.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Craigslist is taking heat for some of its racy ads. An Illinois sheriff has now filed a federal lawsuit against the popular classified ad website. He says that Craigslist promotes prostitution and wants the site to drop its "erotic ads" section.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHERRIFF THOMAS DART, COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS: We have asked them strategically to stop in the area of prostitution. Stop facilitating prostitution. Something I do not think is terribly outrageous for us to ask. And letter after letter has gone to them and they have done nothing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: A spokesperson for Craigslist says that using the site for criminal purposes is unacceptable. She says Craigslist has been working with state attorneys generals on way to impose restrictions on the erotic ads.

As always, "Team Sanchez" back there working hard. And Rick, you're actually going to be talking about this, right?

RICK SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: It's not cut and dry. You know why it's not cut and dry?

PHILLIPS: Why?

SANCHEZ: Because think about this, if two people call each other and set up some kind of tryst or something, some kind of prostitution thing that they might do, do you sue Ma Bell? Because, after all, they're doing this on a telephone. I mean, Craigslist is saying, we basically provide communication for free, and people use it in any way they want. We don't want them to do it this way, because that's one of the ways they do it. So can you sue Craigslist? They're not making money off of people doing the prostitution. That's what they say. And by the way, they say they're not against it. So it's kind of complicated, isn't it?

PHILLIPS: Well, and you know - and I remember when this first got going, everybody was talking about, oh, have you gone to Craigslist to get good deals on this or find a good contractor for your house? And then I remember, in various circles working on another story, people were talking about it was a way to hook up with people. And so I had a feeling we would start to see this work its way up to this point.

SANCHEZ: Yes, we've been working it, so to speak.

PHILLIPS: But not making any money.

SANCHEZ: This guy back here, Gary (ph), he's the one - Gary (ph), say hi.

PHILLIPS: Gary (ph) might be making some money working on it.

SANCHEZ: Gary's (ph) been preparing this segment for me and he showed me how to go on there and look for this stuff.

PHILLIPS: Really? How did Gary (ph) know exactly where to go? That's what I'd like to know. Hey, Gary (ph), you better speak up.

SANCHEZ: They do have a place on there where you click "erotic." And what you find there, it would shock you, I know. But there are people on there who are selling - it's blatant. They are selling stuff. The question is, who's really responsible and can the government come in and say, you can't do that, because it's not the company that's providing the service, it's the people who are using the service. So it gets crazy.

By the way, Rihanna - speaking of crazy. Rihanna we now find out - and everybody's talking about this all over the country. Talk about dinner table conversation. She is now actually in court, through her lawyers, telling the judge to assist Chris Brown. And when you think about that, I mean...

PHILLIPS: What do you mean, "assist"?

SANCHEZ: ... they're trying to protect - the law is trying to protect her against him, or from him, I should say, and she's actually doing something legally that will assist him in getting to her. Does that make sense to you?

PHILLIPS: No, it doesn't. I don't understand, you know, as all this pans out if indeed he is found guilty of beating her up and saying all these horrible things, which a lot of the evidence is right there, I don't understand why anybody would want to take somebody like that back.

SANCHEZ: Well, maybe it teaches us all a lesson about this. Maybe we should watch this case and see what else we can learn about it.

PHILLIPS: I just worry about all of our kids, you know. These shouldn't be the mentors.

Thanks, Rick.

SANCHEZ: See, you, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Picking up the profits after Countrywide's collapse. Some of the bank's former managers are actually cashing in on the mortgage crisis.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) PHILLIPS: Some former Countrywide executives are mopping up some of their own mortgage messes today. Not out of the goodness of their hearts or anything, they actually found good profits in lad loans.

Kara Finnstrom has our story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KARA FINNSTROM, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Countrywide will be remembered for the risky loans that made its executives rich but then defaulted in vast numbers causing the company to collapse and some say contributing to the nation's mortgage crisis.

Now about a dozen former Countrywide executives have formed a company called PennyMac. They're buying up delinquent home mortgages on the cheap. For so much less than face value, PennyMac can renegotiate the loans and still make a profit. PennyMac says it's helping families avoid foreclosures. The company also stands to make millions.

ADLAI WERTMAN, USC MARSHALL SCHOOL OF BUSINESS: It's perfectly legal. It just doesn't seem to pass the smell test.

FINNSTROM: Financial analysts and consumer groups are speaking out.

JAMIE COURT, CONSUMER WATCHDOG.ORG: It's outrageous that the executives that created this mess knowingly putting people in loans they couldn't afford are now poised to make a fortune cleaning it up.

FINNSTROM: Stanford Kurland, a former second in command at Countrywide, heads PennyMac. Kurland left Countrywide more than a year before it collapsed. He's now named in numerous lawsuits against Countrywide for its lending practices. Kurland declined our interview request but told the "New York Times" he left Countrywide before the company began making its riskiest loans and should not be blamed for what happened as a result.

As far as the new company, PennyMac released this statement. "PennyMac's business model depends on our ability to help borrowers stay in their homes, and we put together a team with the experience to do that. With this goal, we've developed loan programs that avoid foreclosure by addressing the borrowers' ability to pay their mortgage. We have offered help to hundreds of families in the past year, and we are eager to help as many as we can."

WERTMAN: The question is how do we feel about trusting them?

FINNSTROM: USC business professor Adlai Wertman and many other experts believe companies like PennyMac that that buy up bad loans, service them and keep taxpayers from footing the bill may turn out to be an important part of solving this housing crisis.

WERTMAN: It's exactly what we should be doing and what the private sector should be doing. We just have to make sure that they're doing it in a manner that's fair to all parties involved. FINNSTROM: How to ensure that and whether there should be greater oversight or perhaps new regulations for companies like PennyMac is now a growing debate.

Kara Finnstrom for CNN, Los Angeles.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: That does it for us. Have a good weekend. Rick Sanchez, takes it from here.