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Trouble on Main Street: What the Crisis Means for You; Political Realities Behind Bailout Failure; Anticipating Events: The Vice-Presidential Debate

Aired September 30, 2008 - 13:00   ET

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

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The reality is that we're in an urgent situation, and the consequences will grow worse each day if we do not act.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: The bailout wipeout. Day two. The president and lawmakers try to rescue the so-called rescue package. They're feeling the pressure, Wall Street's feeling the pain, but where do you fit into all of this?

Plus, Sarah Palin, cheesesteak and Pakistan? We'll explain how they all go together.

And hello, everybody. I'm Betty Nguyen, live at CNN World Headquarters right here in Atlanta.

T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: And good afternoon to you all. I'm T.J. Holmes, and you are in the CNN NEWSROOM.

NGUYEN: Let's get right to it, shall we? The big question today for Washington, Wall Street and the rest of us, frankly: what now? The stock market has bounced back somewhat after yesterday's record trip south, but credit markets aren't nearly as limber. Banks, they have tightened their grip on the money they loan each other, businesses and you, and they're waiting to see what lawmakers do with the wounded financial bailout package.

Now, the House is out of session until Thursday for the Jewish holiday. The White House isn't giving up on the bill, though.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TONY FRATTO, DEPUTY WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: I don't think we -- I don't think we have to start all over. We do have a solution that will -- that will fix the problem, and that's the original proposal that was made by Secretary Paulson.

We have to remember that, while we have a political and legislative problem here, that the problem that we most need to fix is the economic problem. And we want to make sure the economic policy is the right one. There may be ways to improve upon that and to help the economy in other ways that could contribute to legislation that can pass both houses of Congress.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NGUYEN: The financial crisis is being felt on many different fronts. Jessica Yellin's watching its impact on the presidential campaign. Both candidates putting their two cents in it today. Susan Lisovicz is keeping an eye on Wall Street, where you could really see the story's impact.

But first, though, let's talk about how this affects you. Paul La Monica of CNNmoney.com joins us now. And he's cutting through all the politics, the rhetoric and the fog to explain what this means for you and your money.

So Paul, we are hearing that this is all about the credit market. Currently, there is no bailout. So how's the average Joe going to feel the pinch? Because we hear the situation is just devastating. So truly, is it?

PAUL LA MONICA, EDITOR-AT-LARGE, CNNMONEY.COM: I think to a certain extent there's certainly been a lot of hyperbole about the magnitude and in terms of how fast it will happen, how fast it will affect the average consumer.

But that being said, I think there really is no mistaking that, eventually, you'll see this trickle down, if there is no bailout, and that will hurt the average consumer on Main Street.

What the people that I talk to every day, widely-respected economists, say, is that without a bailout, you could see more banks either go under or, at the very least, unwilling to lend to each other, unwilling to lend to businesses. And that could eventually wind up meaning more job losses than we've already seen this year, and that would obviously impact consumer spending.

So this is not to say that you're going to wake up tomorrow morning or Friday morning if there's still no bill and the world has completely changed.

NGUYEN: OK. So how long is it going to take? And we talked specifics like loans drying up, credit cards that are just canceled out of the blue, because credit card companies don't want to give you that kind of credit. Maybe companies can't make their payroll. How long before we see those situations?

LA MONICA: I think it's probably still, you know, at least a few weeks away from everything I'm hearing, because the impact is more probably on businesses first, and that then kind of sifts its way down to the average consumer.

It's still uncertain whether or not some of the dire predictions of businesses not being able to make payroll, that might be a little bit of an exaggeration because there obviously is this political spin going on now.

NGUYEN: And speaking of political spin, we are hearing from the candidates today, Paul -- and we're going to have to ask you just to hold on just for a minute, because we're going to take you now to Reno, Nevada, where Senator Obama is speaking, obviously, about the economy right now. So let's take a listen.

All right. I'm hearing we're having a little problem getting that -- here we go. We have it there right for you. Let's listen.

(JOINED IN PROGRESS)

SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D-IL), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: ... we're now watching it disappear. While the decline of the stock market is devastating, the consequences of the credit crisis that caused it will be even worse if we do not act and act immediately because of the housing crisis, and nobody's been hit harder by foreclosures in the housing crisis than Nevada, we are now in a very dangerous situation. Where financial institutions across this country are afraid to lend money.

If all that meant was the failure of a few big banks on Wall Street, that would be one thing. But that's not what it means. What it means is, if we don't act, it will be harder for you to get a mortgage for your home. Or the loans you need to go to college. Or a loan you need to buy a car go get to work.

What it means is that businesses won't be able to get loans they need to open new factories or hire more workers, or make payroll for the workers they have. What it means is that thousands of businesses could close around the country. Millions of jobs could be lost, a long and painful recession could follow.

Let me be perfectly clear. The fact that we are in this mess in the first place is an outrage. It's an outrage -- it's an outrage because we didn't get here by accident. This was not a normal part of the business cycle. This was not the actions of a few bad apples. This financial crisis is a direct result of the greed and irresponsibility that has dominated Washington and Wall Street for years now.

It's the result of speculators who gamed the system, regulators who looked the other way, lobbyists who bought their way into our government. It's the result of an economic philosophy that says we should give more and more to those with the most, and hope that prosperity trickles down to everyone else. A philosophy -- a philosophy that views even the most common-sense regulations as unwise and unnecessary.

And this economic catastrophe is the final verdict on this failed philosophy, a philosophy that we cannot afford to continue. And one of the reasons I am running for the presidency of the United States is to bring this philosophy to an end.

But -- but, while there's plenty of blame to go around, many in Washington and Wall Street deserve it. All of us now have a responsibility to solve this crisis, because it affects the financial well-being of every single American. There will be time to punish those who set this fire, but now is the moment for us to come together and put the fire out.

I mean, think about it. Think about it. If your neighbor's house is burning, you're not going to spend a whole lot of time saying, "Well, that guy was always irresponsible. He always left the stove on. He always was smoking in bed." All of those things may be true, but his house could end up affecting your house.

And that's the situation we're in right now. We've got to make sure that we put the fire out, and then we'll start making sure that these folks stop leaving the stove on. But right now our job is to put out the fire. And we can't forget that.

Now -- and I know this is especially frustrating for young people, because you don't even have any money. I know. I remember what it was like, eating pizza every night. So you're thinking to yourself, "What does this have to do with me? I don't have a fancy -- you know, stock market portfolio."

But understand that, if we don't deal with this problem now, then your prospects for finding a job, your prospects for being able to buy a home, your prospects for being able to raise a family, all that's going to be affected. So this affects you, as well.

This is one of those defining moments when the American people are looking to Washington for leadership. So it's not a time for politics. It's not a time for partisanship. There's going to be a lot of time left and a lot of topics and issues to debate in the next five weeks, but it's not a time to figure out how to take credit or where to lay blame. It's not a time for politicians to concern themselves with the next election. It's a time for all of us to concern ourselves with the future of the country that we love. This is...

NGUYEN: We have been listening to Senator Obama talk about the economy today -- obviously, it is issue No. 1 -- saying that it's going to get worse if we don't act immediately. He also went on to say there's plenty of blame to go around.

And, T.J. I know the blame game is in high gear there in Washington.

HOLMES: It absolutely is. We're going to turn to Jessica Yellin now.

Jessica, I don't know if you could hear there, Barack Obama's speech, if you could make out everything he was saying. But he just said, before we got out. He said, this is not at time -- Jessica, you got me all right?

JESSICA YELLIN, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I hear you.

HOLMES: Hey, there. All right. Well, Obama was just saying there at the end, he said this is not a time to be thinking about the next election. Yes, right. Everybody's thinking about the next election. So McCain kind of injected himself into this process. Many were saying Obama didn't inject himself enough. So now that the bailout has failed, who comes out looking better in this presidential race?

YELLIN: Well, that is the $700 billion question at this moment. You could argue that neither of them is advanced by this crisis, because they need to be seen as moving on, finding solutions. And right now everybody, every politician is sort of being tarred by the fact that this is just a slow-moving process.

McCain has a bit more to lose, because he did inject himself, as you said, into the middle of think, and it's his guys, in a sense, the House Republicans he championed, who failed to come onboard yesterday. So he's got a little more at stake. He spoke this morning, saying that he knows that something needs to be done. Let's listen to what McCain had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R-AZ), PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: To state the obvious, we are in the greatest financial crisis of our lifetimes. Congressional inaction has put every American in the entire economy at the gravest risk. Yesterday the country and the world looked to Washington for leadership, and Congress, once again, came up empty- handed.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

YELLIN: So, blaming Congress is always a popular thing to do, and that's what we're hearing there.

I'll tell you, T.J., one of the messages I do get on Capitol Hill from some folks is, "Look, this is the democratic process. Sometimes it's ugly. Sometimes it takes time. Maybe we'll get a better bill, because everybody's spending more time working it out."

HOLMES: OK. We'll go with that. Sometimes it ain't pretty, is it, Jessica? This has not been a pretty process. Jessica Yellin for us in Washington, one of the most interesting places on earth the past week or so. Jessica, thank you so much -- Betty.

NGUYEN: All right. So let's go now to the New York Stock Exchange, where Susan Lisovicz is standing by.

Looking at the numbers there, up 259 points. Boy, that's not even near where it closed at yesterday, Susan.

SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: But at least we have a rally that's holding, you know, Betty.

NGUYEN: True.

LISOVICZ: It was about 24 hours ago that we saw a garden variety sell-off, you know, that we're becoming you know, accustomed to, all too frequently here, become something historic. And you know, a lot of folks, you know, with some sleep in the interim between sessions said, you know, "Maybe it was a little bit overdone."

Also thinking that lawmakers in Washington will also reconsider their vote. And so what we're seeing is relief rally, dead cat bounce, whatever. We are seeing gains.

We're on the final day of the third quarter and saying good-bye to September, historically, the worst month for the stock market, but going into October, which has its own historical references, and some of them are not pretty either.

But we're seeing some life in financial stocks, and we're off our highs for the session. But triple-digit gains, the Dow right now up 254 points or 2.5 percent. The NASDAQ and the S&P 500 up 3 percent -- Betty.

NGUYEN: I guess we'll take it where we can today. OK, Susan, thank you for that.

LISOVICZ: You're welcome.

NGUYEN: You know, with the markets the way they are now, you might be feeling some 401(k) jitters. Well, CNN personal finance editor, Gerri Willis, will join us this hour to talk about how you need to be policing your retirement savings in this economic climate -- T.J.

HOLMES: Well, Betty, a lot of people talking about who are the winners and the losers in this whole bailout mess. Well, some say the American people are losing right now. But we'll talk politics here. Who really exerted some political clout here? Who has it, still? Who doesn't have any after yesterday's vote on the bill? We'll give you a breakdown, coming up.

NGUYEN: And back to that 401(k), probably in meltdown mode during this financial crisis. So what should do you? Well, we have some answers for you.

HOLMES: Also, a much-awaited face-off in St. Louis. Joe Biden and Sarah Palin get ready for their vice presidential debate. That's coming up on Thursday. We'll tell you what to expect.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: Meltdown on Wall Street, its impact on Main Street, especially when it comes to you trying to get a loan or other credit issues. It was one of the hot topics of our morning editorial meeting. And here's how our conversation went down.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KENDAL, ASSOCIATE PRODUCER: She returned the car (ph). They won't give her a loan when she had good credit, because they're not giving anyone any loans at all.

KATIE, PRODUCER: Why would they want to drop somebody, though, with good credit? UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Because they don't want her to get, anyone, to get in a position.

TENISHA, EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: They need that. That's what Carl Power (ph) was saying yesterday. If you have credit cards, you go use them.

VALERIE, PRODUCER: That's what Suze Orman was saying.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Because that would be confusing.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes. She was adamant about do not go out to eat. Do not use those credit cards. Stop it.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NGUYEN: So in this environment of a financial meltdown, what do you do as an investor, especially if your nest egg is all tied up in a 401(k)? Well, here's what financial guru Suze Orman suggests you do.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SUZE ORMAN, PERSONAL FINANCE EXPERT: You listen to me, everybody. If your 401(k) matches your contribution, meaning you put in a dollar, they give you 50 cents, I don't care how much credit card debt you have, I don't care what. You can't afford to pass that up. Why? Because that's a 50 percent return on your money. Now, this is assuming you have ten years or longer until you need this money.

However, after the point of the max, stock contributing to your 401(k). You're far better, if you have credit card debt. Now is the time you take that extra money and get out of credit card debt. Now is the time you take that extra money and save it in an eight-month emergency fund.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NGUYEN: So before you take any action, always check with your own financial adviser -- T.J.

HOLMES: Well, Betty, I know a lot of folks who are watching this drama on Capitol Hill yesterday, a lot people trying to figure exactly what they were seeing. Left a lot of us scratching our heads and wondering what political universe we were watching. Everything just kind of turned topsy-turvy, a lot of the House Democrats siding with President Bush on the bailout, a lot of Republicans going the other way.

So how did the leaders on both sides actually fare in this whole thing? CNN's Drew Griffin joins us now from Washington, trying to make sense out of all this.

Help us understand. I know politics sometimes makes strange bedfellows, but my goodness.

DREW GRIFFIN, CNN INVESTIGATIVE CORRESPONDENT: T.J., interesting, Barack Obama saying put politics aside, put elections aside. Nobody did that in this vote, and I think that's where we are.

We wanted to take a look at where the leadership in the House was able to cajole their own party members in their own states to vote with or against them. So let's take a look at the breakdown.

First to California, the home of the speaker, Nancy Pelosi. How did her Democrats vote? Well, they voted with her, but not by a huge margin: 19 yes, 15 no. There you have the Republicans in California: 10 yes and 9 no.

But let's go to Ohio, where the Republican leader, John Boehner, resides from. Look at how his votes come up. The Democrats were split 3-3. But Republicans, 4 yes, 7 no.

T.J., the only people in the Republican Party in Ohio that voted along with John Boehner were three Republicans who are not seeking re- election. So that's the only people that he could get out of his own party to vote with him there.

Let's go to Arizona and Illinois, where we have the presidential candidates from. In Arizona, how did the Republicans and the Democrats there? They said no. Completely ignored John McCain's involvement in this deal, if you're a Republican and voted no. They also didn't listen to the House speaker, Nancy Pelosi. They all voted no. In Arizona, no. Eight nos.

How about Illinois, home of Barack Obama? Here's how they split. The Democrats voted 6-4, yes to no. Republicans voted 2-5, yes to no. A couple of standout politicians from the Chicago area, allies of Barack Obama, who voted no, including Jesse Jackson Jr. So the whole leadership question here seems to be in doubt.

Really, what leaders are leading, what leaders are cajoling and where are they going to go from here in terms of trying to get these extra votes they need to put this bailout over the edge?

HOLMES: And Drew, you made a mention there of some, and some of the states, you know, some of them not even seeking re-election. So you know, maybe those are more free to vote how they want to vote. But was there a way for us to look at, before the vote happened, to figure out which people were going to be most likely to vote for it or against it? I mean, how does that break down?

GRIFFIN: Yes. You know, what the Republicans and Democrats are telling us is they're getting phone calls saying everybody says vote no on this from the constituents. So the Associated Press scanned the 19 what they call most vulnerable House seats, 19 questionable races where they don't have slam-dunk elections. Of those 19, 13 voted no.

So elections, five weeks away, has everything to do with this, and I think it's -- you know, if you're really in the room -- and I don't know how you get past that, as we get even closer to the election day when those voters who are calling their representatives are going to be going to the polls.

HOLMES: Who know you how you want to look at it? They're either following the will of the people, which would be great, or they're playing politics with this big deal. Drew Griffin, appreciate the breakdown -- Betty.

NGUYEN: This is how it breaks down: Joe Biden versus Sarah Palin. Their first debate is just two days from now. We're going to tell you what to expect when the Senate veteran and the Alaskan governor go head to head.

HOLMES: All right, Betty. Are you hungry for lunch? Don't know what you had, but we're going to be slicing away some of the mystery from the origin of the food that you buy. But will a new labeling law answer all of your questions?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: John McCain steps in to defend Sarah Palin after her so- called cheesesteak moment. The Republican candidate says he and his running mate are on the same page over a big foreign policy issue: whether the U.S. should strike terror suspects in Pakistan. While Barack Obama supports that idea, McCain says it's something that you should not be talking about publicly.

And over the weekend at a Philadelphia cheesesteak restaurant, Palin seemed to back Obama's position in response to a voter's question.

Let's listen to that part of exchange and then McCain and Palin's response.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ... cross the border from -- like from Afghanistan to Pakistan, you think?

GOV. SARAH PALIN (R-AK), VICE-PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: If that's what we have to do to stop terrorists from coming any further, absolutely we should.

KATIE COURIC, CBS NEWS ANCHOR: Are you sorry you said it, Governor?

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R-AZ), PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: Wait a minute. Before you say, is she sorry she said it, this was a gotcha sound bite that...

COURIC: It wasn't a gotcha. She was talking to a voter.

MCCAIN: She was in a conversation with a group of people, and talking back and forth. I'll let Governor Palin speak for herself.

PALIN: And in fact you're absolutely right on. In the context, this was a voter, a constituent hollering out a question from across an area, asked, "What are you going to do about Pakistan? You better have an answer to Pakistan."

I said, "We're going to do what we have to do to protect the United States of America."

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NGUYEN: Well, Michael Rovito, a Temple graduate student and Barack Obama supporter, is the voter who asked Palin the question about Pakistan. So was it really a gotcha moment? We're going to hear what he has to say in our next hour.

In the meantime, though, it is a face-to-face encounter everyone is waiting for. Just two days from now, vice-presidential candidates Joe Biden and Sarah Palin take the stage in St. Louis for their first debate. So what can we expect? Here's CNN's Fredricka Whitfield.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Loquacious and unleashed versus low-key and tightly managed. How much of what we have already seen in vice-presidential candidates Joe Biden and Sarah Palin tells us about what to expect in Thursday's debate?

(on camera) How much is riding on this?

DR. RON FAUCHEUX, AUTHOR, "THE DEBATE BOOK": They have to not just defend themselves and present themselves, but they have to present and defend their presidential candidates.

WHITFIELD (voice-over): We invited Georgetown University's Dr. Ron Faucheux, author of "The Debate Book: A Manual for Political Debates," to watch Palin and Biden's previous performances.

FAUCHEUX: He and Palin are very different kinds of people, but they both have different kinds of appeal that can be very joined.

WHITFIELD: Biden, the 35-year veteran Democratic senator with extensive knowledge on national and foreign issues, with a seemingly clear advantage, feeling at home.

SEN. JOE BIDEN (D-DE), VICE PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: You know, let's -- facts are a funny thing. They get in the way. You know what I mean?

FAUCHEUX: The thing he has to watch is, he has to put a stop button on what he said, so he doesn't just keep talking until he gets it wrong.

WHITFIELD: The 44-year-old first-term governor, seemingly at ease here in a 2006 gubernatorial debate.

PALIN: I don't think that government should be sanctioning or assisting ending life.

WHITFIELD (on camera): Commanding? Standing her ground?

FAUCHEUX: What she's doing is she's getting it off of policy and talking about how it affects her and people personally. And she seems to be much more comfortable doing that. WHITFIELD (voice-over): And comfortable taking on her competition at the time.

FAUCHEUX: The thing she has to watch is, if she has a lack of knowledge or a lack of a grasp of an issue, that -- that she doesn't look superficial.

WHITFIELD (on camera): Is the ticket for the presidency riding on the vice-presidential nominees?

FAUCHEUX: I'm not sure that the presidential race is riding on this debate, but the thing you have to remember about debates, they are rarely won. They are oftentimes lost. And so both candidates need to be very careful they don't lose the debate.

WHITFIELD: So much as stake -- weighing in on what is said, what's not said, body language, eye contact and lack thereof -- in what is right now the only scheduled debate between the vice- presidential picks, just five weeks before America decides.

Fredricka Whitfield, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NGUYEN: And that debate between the two vice -- vice- presidential candidates is set for Thursday night in St. Louis. CNN, of course, will bring it to you live.

HOLMES: Well, Betty, some people, they don't need to see that presidential or vice-presidential debate to make up their mind. They're voting already. It's under way in a crucial swing state. Today is the first day absentee ballots are being accepted in Ohio. For a week new voters can register and cast absentee ballots on the same day.

However, this came as a bit of a fight. Republicans challenged a law that allowed that, but they lost in state and federal court. Several other states also have started their early voting, as well.

Well, a plea for help being made on behalf of perspective Texas voters. Citizen groups are asking the governor to extend the upcoming registration deadline because of hurricane Ike. The deadline is October 6th, but many possible voters are still in temporary shelters. Also, the libraries where they would pick up the proper forms, still closed.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAUREEN HAVER, "HOUSTON VOTES": We have fundamentally been derailed because of hurricane Ike. And if people throughout the rest of the state of Texas were able to register to vote during that time, we deserve that same right to register to vote.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Well, the groups are asking for a seven-day extension of the 29 counties declared major disaster areas after Ike. There's been no official response from Texas Governor Rick Perry -- Betty.

NGUYEN: Well, it is half past the hour. Here are some of the stories that we are working on here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

President Bush says she disappointed by the House rejection of the $700 billion rescue plan for Wall Street. That said, Mr. Bush says he expects lawmakers to come up with a measure they can agree on when House members return to Capitol Hill on Thursday.

Meanwhile, home prices fell at their sharpest annual rate ever in July. The Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller 20-city housing index tumbled 16.3 percent from July 2007. However, the pace of decline has slowed over the last three months.

In the key swing state of Ohio, some voters are already casting absentee ballots for president. It got under way after state and federal courts upheld a ruling allowing people to register and vote absentee on the same day.

HOLMES: Well, Betty, it sure would be nice to retire one day. You know, tomorrow would be good for me. But has your nest egg gotten cracked a bit in the money crunch? Gerri Willis is not talking going to be talking about the vice presidential debate there, but we'll be talking about it some more later. But, Gerri's coming up with some advice on how to protect your money. Stay here.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BUSINESS HEADLINES)

NGUYEN: Unfortunately though, T.J., your retirement portfolio may be a financial disaster zone today. So, what do you do now to stop the bleeding? Thank goodness personal finance editor Gerri Willis joins us from New York.

Oh, Gerri, are people looking to you for some answers. How safe are these 401(k)s?

GERRI WILLIS, CNN PERSONAL FINANCE EDITOR: Well, you know, I have to tell you they're investments. So, they go up and they go down. That's what they do. You just have to grin and bear it, get used to it.

But, I got to tell you, Betty, a lot of people are looking at those accounts summaries right now, for their 401(k)s, and they're holding their stomachs because they're negative, they're in the red, they're down. This is not the number than we want you to focus on.

Take a look at this. You see this particular account is down like $5,000, right? At 6.2 percent, as you can see. But you know, guess what? There's also employer matches, contributions to your 401(k), helping you to save. So, there's good news there. And if you really want to know what should be looking at today in your 401(k) statement, check out the asset allocation. It's expressed as a pie chart. You can find out exactly what you're invested in, if you don't know. Keep in mind here, stocks riskier than bonds. Typically, that's pretty much the way it always works. And you can see exactly where your money is. I hear a lot of worry out there, Betty, but no one seems to be saying, hey, I know what I'm invested in and I understand exactly where my money is.

So, it's time to get an understanding of where your money is, because information is power and that is precisely what people need in the marketplace. So, let's just look at a list of things you want to be thinking about. What you need to know about your 401(k), here. Asset allocation, where is my money? I want to know where it is. Who's making the picks? Who's running my money, who's the mutual fund manager? Do I have company stock? You don't necessarily want a lot of company stock in your retirement account. And you don't want to be rushing to buy and sell. Particularly selling now when markets go down. And of course, it's up today.

But when markets go down, locking in lows, never a good idea. A lot of people end up doing it and regretting it later. You know, we talked a lot about how stocks were down 7 percent yesterday, how terrible that was. Well, one day way back in October 1987, they were down just about 22 percent in a single day. We've seen this before, we've recovered. It can definitely happen again.

NGUYEN: Well, which makes some wonder, should I change those asset allocations to stop the bleeding? Or, do I keep them the same, to really take advantage of some of these really low prices out there?

WILLIS: Well look, you know, I don't want you to change your asset allocation right now. Because like it or not, you would probably unloading something at a poor price. But, when the market recovers then you can start changing things around.

However, that said, if you're in the mood to buy right now you're actually going to put some money on the table, now is the time to find some of these beaten down investments that you think are going to recover when the markets an the economy turns around.

You can see the traders are doing that today themselves. They're finding places to put money. It's not a bad game for individual investors, too. Remember, if your dollar costs average and putting a little money in the stock market at the time, is a great way to make money in the long term. Buying low, selling high, that's what it's all about.

NGUYEN: Is what it's all about. Very, very quickly, though, if you're worried about your employer going bankrupt, is that going to affect your 401(k)?

WILLIS: No, no. They keep the money separate. People don't have to worry about it.

NGUYEN: Wonderful. Thank you. Gerri Willis, we do appreciate it.

WILLIS: Thank you, Betty. NGUYEN: He went to the E.R. -- listen to this story -- for help. OK? Went to the E.R. for help. But he died it after waiting at least 15 hours. Why did it take so long for a man with heart problems to see a doctor?

HOLMES: Also, the question these days, where can I score some gas? This is a common question being heard right here in Atlanta. Also, much of the rest of the south. We're trying to figure out, is end to this shortage near? And if not, how much longer must we endure the long lines and some pretty frayed tempers.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: The meltdown on Wall Street is causing serious financial strain for most of us. But, if you're a college student, or the parent of one, there's a gut wrenching issue of student loans. What do you do? Well, here again, some advice from financial adviser Suze Orman.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SUZE ORMAN, PERSONAL FINANCIAL EXPERT: You have got to understand student loan debt can never be dismissed or discharged by bankruptcy. So, you better make sure that it's not just investing in the stock market, it's about setting yourself up so this doesn't happen to you.

Have an emergency fund. Make sure you don't have any credit card debt. Have money set aside so that you can start paying off the student loan debt you're going to have to do. Have money somewhere so that eventually not only can you take advantage of your life and what you're going to create, but that you maybe can buy home. Because real estate prices have gone down. And personally, I'd rather see you buy a home and get into a home when the time comes, than be investing in this stock market right here.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NGUYEN: After Congress voted down the $700 billion financial rescue bill, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson cited the student loan issue yesterday, as a key reason to get some kind of alternative measure passed quickly.

HOLMES: Yes. People having a tough time scoring gas these days around the Atlanta are and other parts of the southeast. That is the number one quest for a lot of folks in these areas. There's a shortage here. And the shortage is due to hurricane-induced supply disruptions. It was expected to last only a few days, but is now dragging into its third week. AAA says things may not return to normal for another two weeks possibly. Well, for drivers, as you can imagine, frustrations are mounting.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I had to basically fight to get on the pump. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I live on the north side and it takes me like hour and a half to come to work. Not having gas, it's kind of frustrating.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We sat yesterday in line for 45 minutes in Littleburg.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't think they take into account they minimize what you can get, so you have to sit in line and burn gas to get gas.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Yes. That's kind of defeats the purpose, doesn't it? Well, in addition to Atlanta, other cities are a bit thirsty now. Nashville, Chattanooga, as well as Charlotte, actually. Well, we want to talk about this now.

Joining us from Orlando, Florida, to talk about this gas shortage in the south, is a gentleman with the AAA, he's a fuel price analyst. This is Geoff Sundstrom. He's the organization's director of public relations. All right, sir. Help us out here. It's been going on for a few weeks. It could possibly go another couple of weeks. Is that right?

GEOFF SUNDSTROM, FUEL PRICE ANALYST, AAA: Well, that's correct, T.J. State authorities and industry representatives are telling AAA that we could have at least intermittent outages all the way out to the middle of October. But we're looking for some significant relief by the end of this week, particularly in Atlanta and Charlotte, which have been the hardest hit areas.

HOLMES: OK. What is going to help us get that relief? Is it just a matter of time has to pass before all of this gas really started flowing through the pipelines again?

SUNDSTROM: Well, that's primarily what it is. I mean, the problem was caused by a shortage of product when the Gulf refineries shut down after hurricane Ike and Gustav.

But the problem's been exaggerated, because, frankly, motorists live through something like this after hurricane Katrina and Rita in 2005, and remember the gas shortages they had then. So, folks started lining up. People were topping off tanks. And actually taking more gasoline out of the system at a time where we really needed people to be conserving and using less.

HOLMES: Well, talk to me about this point and make this clear. Because we've been talking tab a couple of weeks. That people exacerbated this problem. If people just kept up and had continued with normal fill up routine, I mean, how much could we have helped out? Would we still see this shortage? Or would it not have been as bad?

I mean, really, if people would just calm down we could have avoided a lot of this? SUNDSTROM: Well, I think we would have avoided some of it. Certainly not all. You know, the other issue really, is that our society needs to get a clue here.

We went through a gasoline shortage after, as I said, hurricane Katrina and Rita, we're going through it again this time. Nationwide, our inventories of available gasoline are less than 20-day supply, which is extremely tight. We need to be thinking how we can keep gasoline on hard in case of emergencies. The Europeans do it. We don't. But we need to start thinking about the future.

HOLMES: Now, is that a real possibility? And I'm sure if we had that it would help out in situations such as this. But still, did we have this kind of a perfect couple of storms if you will. We had these back-to-back, they kind of came to the same area. And you know, that may be a rarity. It only happens so often.

Do we really need to be thinking about storing up gas?

SUNDSTROM: Well, T.J., I'd agree if it was the only time it happened this decade. But, you know, here it is. It's happened twice in four years.

The other thing is, the United States is importing a lot of gasoline this decade. We didn't use to do that. We used to make all the gasoline we needed right here. Well, when those hurricanes come through and we can't move waterborne gasoline cargoes into the Gulf, guess what? We have an immediate gasoline shortage. So again, as our economy changes, you know, we need to think about what those changes mean for gasoline inventories and take appropriate measures.

HOLMES: And again we heard this, but this is certainly, you said this a moment ago, but this is the point everybody wants to hear about. And just quickly here at end. By the end of the week, we hope to see significant changes and improvement and could we expect those in the major metropolitan areas? Like we're talking about Charlotte and Atlanta and other places in the southeast?

SUNDSTROM: Well, that's what we're hearing. And remember, not all the gasoline has to come by pipeline. The industry can also bring it in by tanker truck and a lot of that is going on, as well.

HOLMES: All right. Geoff Sundstrom with AAA. Sir, we appreciate you. Thank you for your time on a topic that a lot of people are interested in right now. Betty -- can I get a ride to work tomorrow?

NGUYEN: I actually have a full tank. Don't tell anybody, though. It's too late now.

OK. It's called cruel, T.J. A new food labeling law aimed at helping you know where food you buy, actually comes from. Guess what, though? It comes with loopholes that you need to know about.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) HOLMES: Well, I've got some troubling questions now being raised again today about E.R. wait times. A Dallas man died Saturday after waiting at least 15 hours at Parkland Hospital. The victim, 58-year- old Michael Herrera (ph), had a history of heart problems. There's another patient there, a woman who asked not to be identified. She sat next to him during much of his wait.

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I knew he was declining, and I went up and said something to the nurse about me and him. And she basically thought I was hysterical and, you know, she had her -- other things that she was involved in doing.

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HOLMES: Hospital officials are reviewing this case now, but they say with E.R. overcrowding the sickest patients are seen first and the doctors say Herrera's symptoms did not indicate that he needed urgent care.

NGUYEN: That is so unfortunate.

Other news, though, there's more fallout today from the tainted milk outbreak in China. Food giant Unilever is pulling some of its Lipton brand Milk Tea powder off store shelves in Hong Kong and Macau. The company said it found trace amounts of the chemical melamine in those products. Last week, Unilever pulled Lipton Green Milk tea off shelves in Taiwan.

All right. So how often have you wondered where the chicken you buy comes from, or where your lettuce and tomatoes were grown? Well, starting today, you are getting some help in the form of new food labels. CNN chief medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, reports.

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DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well they're called the COL labels, Country of Origin Labels. Pretty good name for something that's been a long time coming. A lot of people would argue this idea of being able to know where your food comes from is something that's gained a lot of momentum especially with a lot of these recent food scares.

So I want to tell you specifically what foods we're talking about overall here. Meats, whole cuts and ground, as well as fish and shell fish -- some of those have been labeled for some time already -- fruits and vegetables, nuts and even some supplements, as you see there as well.

But if you take this a step further, and I think it's important to do this, you'll recognize that not all foods are labeled. And that leaves some pretty big loopholes in the entire system.

For example, we went to the grocery store here. Take a look at this chicken. A raw chicken like this -- this would require a label. But if it's cooked, or processed in any way, it no longer requires labels. So this chicken for example over here would not.

Even something like raw peanuts, peanuts over here -- you would have to have a label which country these peanuts came from. If they're roasted, though, they no longer require a label.

And the thing I think perhaps that is most concerning is when it comes to fruits and vegetables. For example, this cantaloupe has a product of the USA label on it already. But if it's cut up in any way and put into a fruit salad, it no longer requires a label. Now this is important because a lot of the food scares, for example, have come specifically from processed foods.

Now, if you want to get your lamb specifically from New Zealand or you want to get your grapes specifically -- Chilean grapes, you're going to be able to do that more likely than before. And these labels are going to come in all forms -- little stickers, little twist ties, little signs. But, keep in mind that some of the most recent food scares involving the United States have come from within the United States. For example, that e. Coli scare in spinach -- that came from California.

So this is a good move, but it doesn't quite go far enough yet. Stay tuned.

Back to you for now.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: All right. Betty, I've got a question here for you. A mystery --

NGUYEN: I knew you would try to loop me into this.

HOLMES: No this is a question. A mystery of the deep.

NGUYEN: OK.

HOLMES: All right, Betty, why did the crab cross the ocean?

NGUYEN: To get to the other tide, of course.

HOLMES: That is -- well, I'll give you a second to take that in. That's hilarious.

All right. We're actually going to --

NGUYEN: Who writes this stuff?

HOLMES: We're actually going to explain this and why this crab had a little help from its friend. Stay here.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Well usually when you hear a story about man versus shark, usually the shark comes out on the better end of that deal. But not in this case when the man he is up against has a mean upper cut. Greg Lenoir -- he dove off a pier, this was in Florida, to save his 14-pound dog, Jake, from almost certain death from a shark. Listen to him describe what happened.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GREG LENOIR, DOG OWNER: A big, dark, green shape, which I -- realized was a big shark's head, zoomed up from under Jake. Jake screamed, oh, you don't ever want to hear it -- it was such a death scream. And it sucked him under.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: My goodness. Lenoir says the shark was about five-feet long. He said when he clenched his fist and hit that shark, he said it felt like he was punching concrete -- Betty.

NGUYEN: My goodness.

All right, well check this out. A crab hitching a ride on this giant jelly fish. I-Reporter Pat Clyne shot this off Sanibel Island in Florida. With so many folks, though, seeking alternative forms of transportation these days, this crab doesn't have to worry about those MPGs, it's relying on MPJs.

You know what that means, T.J.?

HOLMES: That is hilarious. Who is writing this stuff. I love it.

NGUYEN: Let me tell you, they're good. They're good.

Miles per jellyfish, folks.

Clyne says there were at least three species of fish living inside the creatures tentacles.

The next hour of CNN NEWSROOM -- how do you top that -- starts right now.