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Demand for Nurses; Big Taxes on Big Bonuses; Wal-Mart Handing Out Bonuses; Revisiting the Johnson Family; Senate Banking Chairman Dodd Discusses AIG Fallout; North Dakota Faring Well Thanks to Brakken
Aired March 20, 2009 - 11:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
T.J. HOLMES, CNN CO-ANCHOR: All right, Heidi. Thank you. It is Friday, March the 20th, the first day of spring here. And this is what we're working on this first day of spring in the NEWSROOM.
A lot of folks looking for jobs. Well, somebody is hiring. Good thing if you're a nurse right about now. Why the business is booming in hospitals, also doctors' offices. Also, a lot of people looking for jobs, you might not want his. Timothy Geithner, he's got a tough job on his hands right about now, and you know what he's telling CNN Ali Velshi? All the stuff that's going on? Blame him.
And there's one state with plenty of jobs to go around. But you might need to pack your long johns if you want to get a job there. Good morning, everybody. I'm T.J. Holmes, sitting in for my friend, Tony Harris.
And you are in CNN NEWSROOM.
All right. We are this week putting you on "The Road to Rescue," and there is a bit of a traffic jam on that road right about now.
It looks like this. This is a line at a job fair. We see this across the country. But look at that line, folks.
Unemployment right now, top economic issue for a lot of folks. This job fair is in Fresno, California. This was happening yesterday. Thousands of people showed up at this job fair.
About 2,200 positions, we understand, were up for grabs. A lot of these folks lined up for hours before the doors even opened, trying to get a job.
This just in to us, as well, ugly Labor Department job numbers. A hard look at it. Very hard to look at these numbers. Let's go ahead and show these to you.
The Department of Labor says there were more than 295,000 job cuts in February. Not going to be able to put that up on the screen here, but just listen to my words here -- 295,000 job cuts in February, nearly 2,800 mass layoffs across the country. The Labor Department considers a mass layoff the laying off of more than 50 employees from a single employer. California reported the largest number of mass layoffs last month. So if you are one of the 12-plus million people out there looking for a job, think about this, tremendous demand right now for nurses. The pay is good, the job is rewarding, the hours are -- but still, a job is a job.
We're going to go California now.
CNN's Ted Rowlands at Santa Monica College for us.
Folks are looking for jobs, and it appears there are some available.
This is good to hear, Ted.
TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, T.J. A lot of interest, obviously, in the health care profession, and specifically nursing.
We're in the Santa Monica College nursing skills room -- or lab, actually, and this is where you learn how to be a nurse, and it is really cool. You can see all these mannequins representing potential patients, but look at this thing. This is basically a virtual IV. It teaches you how to prick somebody without actually pricking somebody. They use this needle here, and it just goes right in here, and then the computer tells you if it you hit the vein or you didn't.
This is Jane Reynolds (ph). She's a third semester student. Jane on a second career, which is a typical scenario. She was a fraud investigator, laid off, but has now come into the nursing world.
Ida Danzey is the associate dean here, and pretty much runs this program.
Ida, nursing is in the health care industry, which everybody knows is a solid industry. Give us an indication of how many students you have, how many new applications. You even have a waiting list.
IDA DANZEY, ASSOC. DEAN, SANTA MONICA COLLEGE: Yes. We have 173 students currently enrolled in the program. We have 350 students on our wait list. And those are qualified students, students who have met the criteria for entering into the program.
ROWLANDS: And this -- the community college scenario, we're talking about $20 a unit, T.J. So it's affordable for somebody to do a switch in careers.
Two-year program, we're talking maybe $3,000 total. You come out with a degree. Are you worried that you're getting some people that are just doing it for the economics, and aren't real nurses?
DANZEY: Yes. That is one of our concerns, because we believe that nursing is an art and a science. And if people aren't committed to the art of nursing or committed to nursing, they don't last very long in the profession.
ROWLANDS: And you said you've seen that.
You've got to check this out, T.J. It's the nursing simulation classroom. This is cool.
Basically, we've got a patient in trouble here, there is some internal bleeding, and this is all computerized. This patient talks and reacts to different things that students do to try to get the patient back in health.
Christina Forzaun (ph) is a therd semester here.
Why did you get into this? Was it more economics, because it's a solid field, or are you a lover of nursing?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, I decided to join SMC's program because I was really intrigued by the two-year institution and how it would provide great nursing. And I always wanted to be in the health profession, so I thought this would be a great way to give back to the community.
ROWLANDS: There's some internal bleeding here. Are you going to be able to save this patient?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, hopefully we shall.
ROWLANDS: Bottom line, T.J., we're talking about $58,000 for starting salaries, some nurses, and if you're willing to work around the clock, or basically moonlight, you can make six figures coming out of the gate. And there are jobs out there, so there is a lot more interest.
But as we talked with Ida about, if you don't have it in you, don't do it for the money, because it is a tough job unless you love it.
HOLMES: Yes, but, you know, that's tough for a lot of folks, desperate right now. They will do it, and maybe they will learn to love it.
Ted, we appreciate you walking us through that and seeing exactly what they're going through out there.
Ted Rowlands for us.
We appreciate you, buddy.
Well, President Obama, of course, keeping the focus on jobs and the economy, appeared on "The Tonight Show With Jay Leno" last night. He was talking about the importance of the future workforce and preventing another economic meltdown.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: What we need is steady growth. We need young people instead of this -- you know, a smart kid coming out of school, instead of wanting to be an investment banker, we need them to decide they want to be an engineer.
JAY LENO, HOST, "THE TONIGHT SHOW WITH JAY LENO": Right. OBAMA: They want to be a scientist. They want to be a doctor or a teacher. And if we're rewarding those kinds of things that actually contribute to making things and making people's lives better, that's going to put our economy on solid footing. We won't have this kind of bubble and bust economy that we've gotten so caught up in for the last several years.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: All right. He talked about some big issues last night, but there is another remark he made on "The Tonight Show" that is raising some people's eyebrows and has a lot of people talking today. This came when he was actually trying to have a light moment and talk about his bowling skills.
Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LENO: Are they going to put a basketball -- I imagine the bowling alley has been just burned and closed down.
OBAMA: No, no. I've been practicing all night.
LENO: Really?
OBAMA: I bowled a 129.
(APPLAUSE)
OBAMA: I have...
LENO: Oh, no, that's very good. Yes. No, that's very good, Mr. President.
OBAMA: It was like Special Olympics or something.
LENO: No, that's -- no, that's very good.
OBAMA: No, listen, making progress on the bowling. Yes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Well, he was talking about bowling there, and his quote was, he bowls, "It's like the Special Olympics or something." That kind of got him in a bit trouble.
You may remember out on the campaign trail, he actually bowled like a 30-something in seven frames. He got a bad reputation for being a bad bowler, and had some fun with it and moved on. But that's what they were talking about there.
Well, the White House now confirming the president called the chairman of the Special Olympics before the show even aired last night. So he called him right after it was taped, and he apologized for the off-hand remark. He also invited Special Olympics athletes to come bowl or play basketball at the White House in the future.
Now, just moments ago, we received a statement from the Special Olympics saying the president was sincere, also heartfelt in his apology. It also included a challenge, and we quote here. It says, "We invite the president to take the lead and consider hiring a Special Olympics athlete to work in the White House. In doing so, he could help end the misperceptions about the talents and abilities of people with intellectual disabilities and demonstrate their dignity and value to the world."
Now, we want to know what you think. You can send us your comments, your thoughts about the president's kind of off-hand remark there about the Special Olympics. You can send them to us at cnnnewsroom@cnn.com. We're going to have Josh Levs along a little later, going to share some of your comments.
And been getting a lot of them on our Facebook and Twitter pages today, as well. So please keep those coming in.
Well, you are angry over those AIG bonuses, possibly, and some of you are taking it to the streets. More than 100 people taking it to the streets at a Wells Fargo bank in Denver. This was yesterday.
Well, like AIG, Wells Fargo has received billions in bailout dollars the. The protesters now saying, hey, enough is enough.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're being run by all the big corporations. And all they want is our money. That's all they want. They don't give -- I won't say the word.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The vast middle class and working people and all always given short shrift.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, instead of giving handouts to these billionaire companies, we need to be giving a hand up to workers and to homeowners who are facing foreclosure.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Well, Congress trying to do something about these bonuses now, after they missed the first chance to do it in the first place. Well, the effort is under way to slap some big taxes on those big bonuses paid to AIG employees. That's now moved to the Senate.
The blame game just goes on and on and on. Some Republican senators say the Obama administration dropped the ball.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. LAMAR ALEXANDER (R), TENNESSEE: The AIG bonuses make the president subject to the charge that he is living above the store, but not minding it.
(END VIDEO CLIP) HOLMES: All right. Dana Bash is minding the store up there on Capitol Hill.
Dana, all right. They are moving with breakneck speed, and that usually is cause for concern when that happens in Congress. They have now passed in the House a bill to tax these bonuses at 90 percent, pretty much wipe them out.
DANA BASH, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right.
HOLMES: So the Senate is going to take it up now. What are we going to see come out of it?
BASH: That's right. The Senate is going to look at this likely next week, and it's actually going to be even broader in the Senate than what happened in the House, T.J.
In the House, this was pretty much limited to the biggest firms that got the most money from the United States' government. In the Senate, it looks like they are going to try to have a really sweeping legislation that will probably include most of the firms that got -- that got financial assistance. So, you know, they are moving, as you said, with warp speed.
It's hard to imagine how they can move any faster on this, because we know why. You talk to any lawmaker up here, they say the kind of outrage they are now hearing from their constituents is like really nothing that they've ever seen before. But you make an interesting point, that sometimes when Congress moves fast, there are unintended consequences, and already we're seeing some quotes from people up on Wall Street saying, you know what? If you do this, we're probably not going to end up taking the financial money, not end up taking the so-called TARP money, and that could, in the end, sort of defeat the whole purpose of the government trying to prop up Wall Street.
HOLMES: And you know, that's the point there. It scares you, and we're seeing the perfect example of why moving too fast doesn't work, because that's why we're in this mess. If they had taken time, some suggest, with the stimulus bill, not move so quickly with that one, maybe they would have caught the stipulation in the first place, this amendment that was in there.
And Dana, we know you've been up there. It doesn't seem like you can talk to anybody up there these days without breaking some news. But you talked to somebody else, Senator Wyden. We're going to listen to what he had to say about this whole mess, kind of back from the beginning, and see how this blame game continues.
Let's take a quick listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ALI VELSHI, CNN SENIOR BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: When did you learn about this, and what did you learn?
TIMOTHY GEITHNER, U.S. SECRETARY OF TREASURY: I was informed by my staff of the full scale of these specifics...
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Well, what we're seeing there, Dana, obviously, we had Timothy Geithner there, giving a comment, and not actually Wyden. We're going to hear from Wyden a little later. We're going to talk to you about that.
But in terms of Timothy Geithner there, he is trying to take responsibility for this, but the timeline is still not really working out, and there are still a lot of questions up in the air.
BASH: That's right. But I think what was interesting about what Timothy Geithner told our Ali Velshi, is that he admitted that, big picture here, the Obama administration, the Obama Treasury Department, they made very clear to Democrats here in Congress that they thought -- just last month, we're talking about -- that they thought it was a bad idea to do away with these bonuses, or at least the way that they were trying to do that at the time here in Congress.
And that, I think, is what is one of the most fascinating things that has come out in the past 24 or 48 hours, T.J. And that is that we are hearing from Democrats that the same arguments they heard from the Bush administration, they got from the Obama administration about these bonuses. That they really thought that it was not the greatest idea to do away with them, because they thought it would drive talent away from Wall Street.
HOLMES: All right. And Dana, I'm going to give my sound bites in order the next time I talk to you, and we are going to talk about Senator Wyden. And like I said, everybody you talked to this week, it seems like you're breaking some news, with Senator Dodd and now Senator Wyden. So look forward to talking to you here in just a little bit.
BASH: You too.
HOLMES: Thanks.
BASH: Thanks, T.J.
HOLMES: Well, that finger-pointing does to continue to go around, all around Washington. Nothing new, it seems like, in that town. So who is to blame for all these AIG bonuses? Who knew what? When did they know it?
Secretary Geithner talking about Senator Chris Dodd. That's next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: All right. You may recall that Senator Chris Dodd not knowing about the bonus provision in the stimulus bill earlier this week, flat-out denied it. But he backtracked after our Dana Bash, who we were just talking to, did some digging. And Treasury Secretary Geithner was asked by our Chief Business Correspondent Ali Velshi about Dodd's part in this whole thing. .
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEITHNER: Let me just start by saying that Chairman Dodd has played an enormously important leadership role in this. He's doing the right thing in trying to make sure that the assistance we provide don't go to benefit people that shouldn't benefit from these things. And I am enormously impressed by the importance of what he's trying to do in this case.
VELSHI: But did somebody -- have we figured out who told him...
(CROSSTALK)
GEITHNER: In the specific provision?
VELSHI: Yes.
GEITHNER: We expressed concern about this specific provision, because we wanted to make sure it was strong enough to survive legal challenge. But we also worked with him to strengthen the overall framework. And his bill has this very important provision we're relying on now to go back and see if we can recoup payments that were made that there was no legal ability to block.
VELSHI: But you're -- inadvertently, might somebody at Treasury have told Senator Dodd to do something that has now resulted in these payments not being able to be...
GEITHNER: No.
VELSHI: ... taken back?
GEITHNER: Again, what we did was just express concern about the vulnerability of a specific part of this provision, the legal challenge, as you would expect us to do. That's part of the legislative process. But again, his bill also has this very important provision that allows us to go back and see if we can recoup these payments, and we're going to explore that. But in any case, we're going to make sure that the American people are compensated for any payments we can't recoup.
VELSHI: Do we know who in Treasury had this conversation with whomever on the Banking Committee?
GEITHNER: Treasury staff were working with Senator Dodd's staff throughout this process. Again, that's part of the legislative process.
VELSHI: But you weren't involved in that directly?
GEITHNER: Oh, I did have with other officials some conversation with Chairman Dodd, as he was going through this process, but about other provisions.
VELSHI: So not about this particular one. It wasn't you telling Senator Dodd...
GEITHNER: No. But I'm not sure that's relevant, because Treasury staff did express concern about whether this provision was vulnerable to legal challenge.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: And this weekend, Ali and the CNN money team search for the truth inside the AIG scandal. You can see what they found in "AIG: Facts & Fury," tomorrow and Sunday, 8:00 p.m. Eastern, right here on CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Well, teaching kids to believe in themselves. A record 35,000 college graduates applied to become part of the Teach for America National Teacher Corps this year. That's up 42 percent from last year.
We followed one of these young educators for a day to see why she just signed on for another year.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KELLEY MULFINGER, 1ST GRADE TEACHER: All right. Our next word has four letters in it. And it's the word "care." I care about each and every one of you.
My name is Kelley Mulfinger, and I am a first grade teacher. I studied business in college, but I'm a first grade teacher.
Give yourselves a pat, pat, pat on the back, back, back.
UNIDENTIFIED CHILDREN: Pat, pat, pat on the back, back, back.
MULFINGER: Teach for America is a nonprofit organization that sends recent college graduates into low-income communities to help improve the education. Mostly what Teach for America teachers do is, they come in with the mindset that they can inspire their kids to really believe in themselves.
All right. What's the next letter on our alphabet?
UNIDENTIFIED CHILDREN: A!
MULFINGER: A. Good job.
With the economy the way that it is, I look around and I see my peers either losing their jobs or scared for their jobs, and it's really made me reflect on my last two years, and how much I've enjoyed the ability to make an impact every single day. My communications class, just using presentation skills, planning, organizing, working with groups, all of that that I learned in business school, I've definitely been able to use in the classroom.
When two vowels go walking, the first one does the talking, and the second one keeps his big mouth shut!
You challenge them, they'll live up to it. If you tell them that they can do it, they'll believe in themselves, and they can do it. It says "I can" above the board, because I always tell my students that you can do anything that you believe, you can be whatever you want to be.
One, two, listen and do.
UNIDENTIFIED CHILDREN: One two, listen and do!
MULFINGER: Three, four, face the door.
UNIDENTIFIED CHILDREN: Three, four, face the door!
MULFINGER: Five, six, fingers on lips.
UNIDENTIFIED CHILDREN: Five, six, fingers on lips!
MULFINGER: Seven, eight, stabbed straight.
UNIDENTIFIED CHILDREN: Seven eight, stand straight!
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: Yes, some hopeful news out there in these tough economic times, stories of people who are helping their neighbors or communities, also helping themselves. You can find out how you can impact your world on the road to economic recovery at CNN.com/impact.
Also got some information just in here we want to tell you about.
Did you realize that Bernie Madoff -- you know he just went to jail. Did you realize he is trying to get out?
Yes, Bernard Madoff, the man behind that big old multibillion- dollar Ponzi scheme was trying to ask a judge to let him out of jail after he pled guilty. Well, we have just learned he is not going to be let out of jail and back into that multimillion-dollar penthouse of his.
He was trying to stay out of jail until his sentencing that is coming up down the road. But a judge has said today that, in fact, he will have to stay in jail until his official sentencing happens. That is coming up in June.
So, again, news just into us that Bernard Madoff will not go back to his penthouse. He will have to stay in jail until he is sentenced, which he is expected to be sentenced to more jail time.
Well, you've got questions in this financial crisis, and our Personal Finance Editor Gerri Willis has your answers on "The Road to Rescue: A CNN Survival Guide."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) HOLMES: Well, you've got some questions as you navigate the long road to rescue, and our personal finance editor, our Gerri Willis, has been clicking on her in box.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GERRI WILLIS, CNN PERSONAL FINANCE EDITOR: We've been getting a lot of great e-mails, so let's get right to first one.
It comes from Nathan. He asks, "If you have no credit card debt and have closed your credit card accounts, how can this hurt your credit score?"
Well, the longer history you have managing a card, the better your score will be, since your history accounts for 15 percent of your score. And your FICO score also calculates how much credit you have in relation to your debt. So if you close a card, you wipe away some available credit, and that makes your debt look bigger by comparison.
Our next e-mail comes from Tom. He says, "My company just announced they're suspending their 401(k) contribution. Because of this and the current economic situation, should I stop contributing to my 401(k)? I've only been in for two years and have about $9,000 in it."
Well, Tom, you're not alone. This is happening more and more. But you still should contribute to your 401(k) if you can.
Remember, your contributions are still tax-advantaged. And if you have at least 10 or more years until you retire, the stock market is still a good place to be. Stocks return no less than 7.2 percent, and as much as 15.6 percent annually in the decade following a long- term decline like we have just seen. That's according to money management firm (INAUDIBLE).
And finally, here is a question from Mary. She says, "If AIG does go out of business, what would happen to our life insurance policy? I would like to let AIG know how unhappy I am with their business practices, but I understand that the person opening the mail with my premium and cranky note won't really care and can't really do anything."
Well, I can understand your frustration. As far as the safety of your life insurance policies are concerned, you shouldn't be worried. That's because if AIG became insolvent, which isn't like to happen, insurance policies are covered by the state guarantee associations. Plus, if you switch out of AIG, you could be on the hook for cancellation penalties.
Be sure to keep those e-mails coming. Sent me your questions to Gerri@CNN.com.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: All right. And staying one step ahead of the job market, you can find out how to get hired by logging on to CNNMoney.com. You can check out our special report, "Road to Rescue." Again, CNNMoney.com.
And every week, for more than four million Americans, "The Road to Rescue" includes a stop at a food pantry or soup kitchen. With food banks struggling to keep up with skyrocketing demand, this week's CNN Hero doing his part, feeding scores of people every single day.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANNOUNCER: This is CNN Heroes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's no money to eat.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's hard to find a job.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I live on the street.
JORGE MUNOZ, COMMUNITY CRUSADER: When you're hungry, you're hungry. That's it.
Four years ago, I see those guys standing out like they're desperate. They need to eat.
My name is Jorge Munoz, and every night I bring food to the hungry of Queens, New York. I'm born in Colombia, but I'm a citizen right now. I'm a school bus driver. When I come back around 5:15, my second job starts.
Prepare the meal, pack them up. It's like a family project seven days a week.
I go to (INAUDIBLE) every night around 9:30. They're waiting for me.
The economy is really bad right now. Day by day, the numbers increase. In two months, the goal was 100, and now it's jumped to 140. It's a lot.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He's awesome. I mean, they call him "The Angel of Queens."
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): It's through him that many of us are fed.
MUNOZ: In the beginning, it was just Hispanics. But now I see different nationalities.
I'll help anyone who needs to eat. Just line up.
The best part is when you see their smile. I want them to eat every night. For me, it's easy. Compared with them, I'm rich.
ANNOUNCER: Tell us about your hero at cnn.com/heroes.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: Yes, we want to hear from you. If you know somebody making a difference in the lives of others, you can nominate him or her, as you just heard that voice say, at cnn.com/heroes.
Real people facing real problems. We're keeping up not with the Joneses. We've got to keep up with the Johnsons.
You might remember these two. We talked to them a while back. Well, we talked to them as they struggled to keep their home, struggled to keep their business. See our Tony Harris shared -- broke some bread with them. Well, they're here in the NEWSROOM again to tell us if they are on that road to rescue.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: All right. Companies giving out bonuses. That has just been the third rail, it seems these days. But we've got a good story here about a company that is giving out bonuses. They are increasing their employee bonuses.
Susan Lisovicz, this isn't necessarily a bad thing. You're down at the New York Stock Exchange, but bonuses and companies giving out them out, a bad thing these days. But maybe not so much this time, right?
SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's a good thing. Unfortunately, it's a rare thing, T.J.
The company in question is Wal-Mart, which handed out nearly a billion dollars in bonuses this week to its rank and file. That's a nearly 50 percent increase from last year.
Another rarity is that Wal-Mart has been increasing the size of its workforce. Last year, the world's biggest retailer grew its workforce here the in U.S. by 34,000 to nearly 1.5 million. Wal-Mart was already was the nation's largest private employer.
Wal-Mart shares are flat, so is the overall market. Right now, the Dow is up eight. The Nasdaq is down two - T.J.
HOLMES: Susan, you know, so many other businesses are cutting workers. You just talked about Wal-Mart adding some - adding to that workforce. But Wal-Mart, when times are down for the economy, oftentimes, that means things are up for "Wally World." So this is how they can do this right now.
LISOVICZ: You should be a Wall Street analyst, because you pretty much nailed it.
You know, consumers are cutting back, they're buying essentials, and the essentials they're buying, they want them cheap. They go to Wal-Mart. So February retail sales, T.J., grew by five percent. It's doing better than even a lot of other discounters. Target sales fell by four percent. So Wal-Mart has been doing all right.
And one of the things I should mention, not only things like health care and food, Wal-Mart's been raking it in there. One of the things that did very well in February was home entertainment. So, that's just another sign of how much we're ratcheting back our lifestyle. We're spending more time at home, T.J. Except for you, probably.
HOLMES: Yes, of course. Except for me. No.
But this - and again, it's weird for us to be talking about bonuses right now, of course. So kind of some interesting timing that we have right here.
LISOVICZ: That's right. Because the bonuses that were handed out this week came one week after an interesting piece of legislation was introduced. Both houses of Congress called the Employee Free Choice Act. And basically, T.J. that, makes it easier for workers to unionize. And Wal-Mart has long-opposed unions.
Wal-Mart for its part says, hey, it hands out bonuses all the time as financial incentives for employees' hard work. But of course, the timing is of interest.
HOLMES: Of interest, that's a good way to put it there. Very diplomatic way to put it.
Our Susan Lisovicz on the New York Stock Exchange on the floor down there. Good to see you as always. We'll be talking to you again here soon.
LISOVICZ: Likewise, T.J.
HOLMES: Well, for a lot of folks, the financial crisis - nothing new, really. Our Tony Harris, who I'm sitting in for today, he introduced us all to the Johnson family last fall. Sat down with them at the dinner table.
Here's a reminder of what they were going through at the time.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WAYNE JOHNSON, STRUGGLING WITH BILLS: It is kind of stressful, but, you know, I can't let it stress me out. I've got to believe in myself and my ability to come back.
TONY HARRIS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You do?
W. JOHNSON: You know, if I've got breath in my body, I'm able to get something done as a family man.
HARRIS: Well, Sandy, how about the stress you feel?
SANDY JOHNSON, STRUGGLING WITH BILLS: I feel - I can't even describe the number - the measure of stress that I feel. I mean, I'm trying not to cry now. I mean...
HARRIS: It gets that emotional for you?
S. JOHNSON: Yes. Because, I mean, it's like - not being able to sleep at night.
And I believe, and I have faith, but when you really look at it and face reality, bills have got to be paid. And, so, you know - and it's just so stressful. And you know, I'm 41, never had to take a high blood pressure pills. I am now on high blood pressure pills.
W. JOHNSON: Financially, there is no way out. When you're looking at 30 and $40,000 in debt, and your income is going down, kids are growing up, they need more things, like tuition fees for school, got a brother who is basically sick, OK? Financially, there is just no way out.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: And Sandy and Wayne Johnson, that was last fall. I wanted to check in to see how they were doing now. Sandy and Wayne joining me now live here in the CNN NEWSROOM.
Wayne, I want to say first, condolences. You mentioned your brother there at the end of the piece, but he did pass. When was that? And I guess what did that add to an already - you might even say tough times you were having?
W. JOHNSON: Well, it was tough, but I was able to, you know, go ahead and do what I need to do. And as of now, I'm just thankful that he ain't struggling and suffering no more. I'm just thankful that I was able to be there for him.
HOLMES: What would you all say, and give me a short answer here, Sandy, if you can. I've got to button it up. Since then, since we talked to you guys, if you would say things have gotten better, worse, or about the same for your family?
S. JOHNSON: It's about the same. It's about the same.
HOLMES: Where - what is giving you hope on the horizon right about now? Like you said, you keep churning through, you hold on to faith. But like you say, the bills got to be paid. So what is it, I guess, that's making you more optimistic? Or, is there anything making you more pessimistic about things getting better?
S. JOHNSON: Just trusting in God is making me move forward and continue to go on with my faith. I just thank God that his words said that not to (INAUDIBLE) my own understanding, but I just trust God and I know that it's going to get better. And now that Obama is in the office, that things are starting to look up.
HOLMES: Now, and I want to ask you about that, as well. Are you putting a lot of faith in this president in particular. But as we have seen, the past couple days and even weeks, a lot of Washington looks like the same old Washington with a lot of bickering and back and forth. And here we are talking about these AIG bonuses and no oversight.
So what you're seeing in Washington, even though you might have faith in the president, does it still give you some pause and leave you scratching or even shaking your head sometimes?
Go ahead, Wayne. You answer that for me. W. JOHNSON: Well, I think the stuff that's going on in Washington, it always have been going on. But I believe that in his heart of hearts, that he wants to do right for the American people. And we as Americans, we want to do right, and be an asset to our country.
So we're going to keep on doing what we need to do on our end. And that is to keep working and to keep hope in this country. And even in our situation. And we believe that it will turn around.
HOLMES: All right. I'm going to have you guys stand by there for a second. I got something we're just getting into here to the CNN NEWSROOM I need to turn to.
And that is, Chris Dodd who is answering some questions on AIG. Of course, Chris Dodd in the middle of this whole AIG, this bonus mess, talking about his amendment, particularly that allowed these bonuses to go forward that was put into the stimulus package. Answering some questions as an event.
Let's listen in.
SEN. CHRISTOPHER DODD (D-CT), CHAIRMAN, SENATE BANKING COMMITTEE: Thank all of you for coming out. And let me open it up to any questions you may have here.
QUESTION: How are you feeling today, Senator Dodd?
DODD: Well, listen, let me -- let's -- because these last few days have been obviously deeply disturbing to a lot of people. And, obviously, I think you've gathered here and we all recognize this.
I led the battle to put some strong language in the stimulus bill dealing with bonuses, golden parachutes, excessive executive compensation back some six or seven weeks ago with strong language adopted unanimously by the United States Senate. I thought it was needed, because, frankly, there had been examples too often of people taking advantage of a situation with taxpayer dollars to enrich themselves at a time when others were paying an awful price as a result of this economic crisis.
I was asked by the Treasury Department to modify some of that language six weeks ago, which seemed rather technical and innocuous at the time. Had anyone suggested to me six weeks ago that this was on behalf of some bonuses for AIG employees who had received substantial taxpayer money to try and keep that organization alive I would have rejected it out of hand.
I'm disappointed, frankly, that those who requested this kind of a change didn't have the courage to stand up a couple of days ago and admit that they were the ones who asked for it, but they did. It seemed technical at the time. Obviously, it's turned out to be something more than that, as we've learned.
I'm determined to do what everyone else can here, to see that we reach back and reach these dollars. In fact, in fact, part of that amendment still allows the secretary of the treasury to -- where he finds public interest stakes involved -- to be able to use that as a justification for going back. In fact, I'm told they're doing that right now.
So that's...
HOLMES: All right. Listening in there to Senator Chris Dodd. Again, chair of the Senate Banking Committee, still trying to clear up this mess about how that language got into the stimulus bill that did allow the AIG bonuses to go forward.
He did give us a little something that we haven't heard from him in the past couple of days, saying that he is upset that those who requested from the Treasury Department that he put this particular language in that allowed those bonuses to go forward, did not step up a few days ago and admit they were the ones that did it.
Let's go back in and listen.
QUESTION: ... Congress pass a law, including your amendment, that allows the bonuses and then, a few days later, they passed a lot of taxes, at 90 percent or 100 percent, whatever it is, and it looks ridiculous.
DODD: Well, it's a way of trying to get back at this. And, obviously, I would -- listen, I'm prepared, as well, next week if we can to retroactively rewrite the provision in the law that would allow us to reach back. Again, there may be legal question...
QUESTION: Do you think Treasury underestimated the public reaction to this?
DODD: Well, they obviously did. Look, this has been a problem, in my view, generally, going back into September with the previous administration, when we were working on the original proposals here, the resistance I had then to including language dealing with executive compensation, not because I want to be punitive or hostile. That's not the point.
The point is, when you're asking the American taxpayers to support and sustain their support for critically important economic decisions, if you turn around and find that their very tax dollars are being used to enrich people with bonuses, with golden parachutes, with luxurious items, and so forth, it is infuriating. And that's why I've been insistent upon this.
I'm the author of what was an 11-page amendment that covered the waterfront, I thought, eight weeks ago, seven weeks ago, on dealing with these issues. And so no one's angrier than I am to watch something that I thought was worthwhile to put into that bill. I wouldn't go around and change my own amendment within days of that if I didn't think it was merely technical in nature.
And so I'm angry about it and angry that, in a sense, I've been held up as sort of responsible for all of this, when, in fact, I responded to what I thought was a reasonable request at the time, which it turned out to be far more than that.
QUESTION: Can you take -- let me ask this question.
DODD: Yes.
QUESTION: What do you think of the fact that these bonuses from AIG, from Merrill Lynch, continue to be -- what does it say that these bonuses are being paid?
` DODD: They don't have to be, in my view.
(CROSSTALK)
QUESTION: ... of the people paying them? Do they not get it?
DODD: What are the people managing -- I don't know. What planet are they living on, in the sense that they wouldn't understand and predict the kind of reaction you're seeing from the public today. So if there's -- maybe finally this is getting through.
I went through six weeks of a lot of criticism from the financial press, from Wall Street, and others that my amendment was too restrictive, it was unfair, there'd be a brain drain, people would leave, right and left. Day after day, I was hammered away because I had gone too far.
I find it ironic that some of the same people who were critical of the amendment in the first place are now saying, "You didn't go far enough." In a sense, which is it, in a sense?
So this maybe will finally cause a wake-up and will see people shut this down entirely so we don't see any more of it.
QUESTION: At what point do -- at what point do you cut -- cut AIG off? At what point?
DODD: Well...
QUESTION: You said, like what planet are they living on? And I think Congressman Courtney would probably like to talk about this.
DODD: I suspect he would not. But, I mean...
(LAUGHTER)
QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE)
DODD: Maybe (INAUDIBLE)
(LAUGHTER)
QUESTION: No, no.
DODD: Anybody else here want to take a swing at this? Well, look, is there any silver lining in all of this?
Maybe the silver lining is, you know, I was the only one to offer -- I was the only one to speak on behalf of my amendment back six weeks ago that I offered on the floor of the Senate. That ought to tell you something, at the time.
Now maybe -- now everyone's getting religion on the issue, so maybe it took this, in a sense, to finally wake people up to the point that we need to shut this down across the board. Maybe these institutions will wake up and see the public reaction themselves. Where were the trustees in these matters, the people managing these dollars?
You can't keep on pumping capital into these places without having some better idea as to how to get these toxic instruments that people talk about off the books.
So maybe out of all of this we'll finally see these kind of activities shut down once and for all. I've been at it since September here and tried, as I said, to get this adopted a few weeks ago.
And, unfortunately, we had -- at the time, which I said, again, looked rather innocent in a way to me. And had anyone ever suggested to me, anyone, that in the process of doing this we're designing basically to protect some bonuses for a handful of people at -- at AIG or anyone else, for that matter, believe me when I tell you, I would have flatly rejected it.
I'm not a newcomer to the issue of dealing with bonuses and executive compensation at this level.
QUESTION: Are you worried about what ammunition this gives to Rob Simmons, Sam Caligiuri, and the people on the Republican side?
DODD: Well, sure, look, I mean, listen, you know, politics is politics. I was born at night, but not last night. And -- and I understand politics.
And -- but I'll tell you this, as well. Standing in a community of my state, this issue isn't about my job. It's about their jobs. It's about their future and their children. And I'm not in the business of getting re-elected to office. I'm in the business of doing my job that I got elected to do. And I'm going to do my job.
I'm going to fight every day on behalf of the people of this state and across the country. Politics will take care of itself, one way or the other, in the final analysis. And I'll either, once again, earn that respect and confidence of the people of this state or I won't.
But my job is to go out and do my very best during this term of the United States Senate, during this very difficult time, and I'm determined to do that. At the end, politics will take care of itself.
But I'm not going to spend the next 20 months in a constant campaign. I think people are sick of it. They're sick of the kind of politics of personal destruction. They want to hear what ideas you have, what difference you can make in their lives.
The big issue of the day is not whether or not I get re-elected. The big issue of the day is whether or not our country is going to get back on its feet again or not. And I'm going to do everything in my power. Why Joe Courtney and I are standing here today is to try and make a difference for the people we represent. That's my job, not about getting re-elected.
Thank you all very much.
(APPLAUSE)
HOLMES: All right. Listening in there to Senate Banking Committee Chairman Chris Dodd, who has come under fire because of his amendment that was in the $787 billion stimulus package. An amendment that, in effect, did allow these AIG bonuses to go forward.
Everybody - now one of the key things he said here is that everybody is now getting religious on the issue. And ain't that the truth? Everybody is opposed to these AIG bonuses now. But some of the same people who are saying they are opposed to them are the same ones who voted for the stimulus bill and admitted they didn't read the thing before they voted on it.
Dodd pointing the finger at the Treasury Department and the Obama administration, saying they were the ones who pressured him to put in the stipulation that allows the bonuses to go forward.
What do you do, folks?
So Senator Chris Dodd, still under fire. He was there in Enfield at a police department to make an announcement about something else, but, of course, the issues were about this issue in particular. It goes on. More questions, more answers to come.
I do want to thank Sandy and Wayne Johnson. We got cut off talking with you guys, but you have been going through it the past couple of weeks and months, like a lot of folks have. And your journey continues. Sorry I had to get cut off there, but want to certainly keep up with you guys over the next few weeks and months. And I know Tony will be back and want to check in with you all as well.
But we appreciate you. Again, our condolences to you on the loss of your brother there. But you all, hang in there like a lot of folks are. We appreciate you coming by today.
S. JOHNSON: Thank you so much for having us.
HOLMES: All right, thanks, guys.
Well, want to save some money? Everybody does, right about now. And a lot of people are sharing ways to do so. They're sending them to our iReports/ They're on the "ROAD TO RESCUE."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) HOLMES: Right now might be a good time to get some advice from people who have been around for a while. You know, the recent downslide has us tapping into, you know, grandmamma. Maybe Big Momma. Whoever it may be.
Let's go on down to Tyson Wheatley. Want to head to CNN.com. Always amazed at how fast this cameraman negotiates his way through the building, through the atriums, down to CNN.com. And there they are.
Tyson Wheatley, what are people saying down there? They want to talk to grandparents. Get some of that old school knowledge.
TYSON WHEATLEY, CNN.COM PRODUCER: Yes, that's right. You know, all week long, we've been getting some amazing thrifty and thriving tips from our iReporters. And you know, yesterday, we asked folks to tell us, give us some money saving lessons that you've learned from your grandparents.
And let's start with Janie Lambert (ph). She's from Tennessee. And she really captured the spirit of this assignment. These are pictures of her great grandparents. They were farmers and they raised their own vegetables, fruits and nuts. They hunted for food, they drank fresh cow and goat's milk. And they managed to raise six kids. Janie sys her great grandma Eliza (ph) used to walk her through the Tennessee fields pointing out wildflowers that she could use as herbal remedies. She taught Janie (ph) how to make cornbread on an iron skillet and how to make jelly and jam. And how not to waste anything. And those are lessons that Janie (ph) is still applying in today's economy.
I've got another one I want to show you. This one comes from Ginger Deville (ph) from Florida. And basically, her great grandparents were kids during the Great Depression. And her grandfather would hunt for meat. They grew up - they grew their own garden. Deville's (ph) grandmother was always in the kitchen canning vegetables and churning milk into butter. And Deville (ph), that's how she learned how to store and can food. And she said the most significant thing she learned was that family is and always should be your strength as well as your guide in these tough economic times.
And you know, the thing I really loved about this assignment was the stories of survival that we're learning. You know, we can learn a lot from our elders even in these tough economic times.
HOLMES: And you know what? I'm glad you did this segment today. Some good tips in there. And I'm going to give my grandfolks a call. I haven't talked to them in a while. I'm going to give them a call and get some tips.
Tyson Wheatley down there at CNN.com for us. We appreciate you, as always, bringing that to us.
We hope to spend some time with you, but we've got images here and a story just in to us. Just going to show you here, this is a casino fire. We understand it's taking outside of Chicago. It is called the Empress Casino particularly in Joliet, which is about 45 miles south, southwest the city of Chicago itself.
But this is going on right now. We don't have any idea just yet about any injuries, how many people might have been in there, everybody evacuates or how this thing started. We are just getting these pictures; working the story. We wanted to show this to you.
Take a quick break, we'll get more information, continue to bring it to you. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Again, I want to take you to a live picture. We're watching this little outside of Chicago. Joliet is where it is. Empress Casino is what it's called. Fire happening there. It's been going on for just a short time now. But the word we're getting is that there are no injuries at this time to report.
This started with new construction, according to the fire department there. It started with new construction. The fire department was able to get everybody out of there, according to the fire department. So it doesn't look like anybody is in danger. At least anybody but the firefighters, maybe, who are always in danger when they're battling these fires. But it looks like all the patrons were able to get out of the casino. Again, new construction.
We'll keep an eye on this thing. But just want to let you know what's happening there and update you. But no injuries to report. Sounds like everybody did get out.
The weather is cold, but the economy, red-hot. These are boom times in North Dakota. Jobless rate there, four percent. That's half the national average of 8.1 percent.
Reporter Donnell Preskey takes a look for us. She's with our affiliate KXMB in Bismarck.
DONNELL PRESKEY, KXMB CORRESPONDENT: T.J., things are good here in North Dakota. The sun is out, the record snow is melting and the state has money. North Dakota is sitting on a $1 billion surplus. But it didn't happen overnight. Conservative spending and aggressiveness in target areas put North Dakota in this positive place.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PRESKEY (voice-over): There are no spending cuts. No tax hikes. No deficit for North Dakota. Instead, there's nearly a billion dollar surplus.
GOV. JOHN HOEVEN (R), NORTH DAKOTA: We worked to be very aggressive in economic development. And that means targeting industries for growth. Things like value-added agriculture, advanced manufacturing, technology-bases businesses, energy and tourism. And that aggressive approach to economic development and building diversity in our economy has really helped strengthen North Dakota even during the downturn. PRESKEY: The oil industry is one big reason for the nice padding. New technology has allowed access into the Bakken formation, the largest oil reserve in the lower 48 states.
RON NESS, NORTH DAKOTA PETROLEUM COUNCIL: The Bakken oil boom has bought a tremendous number of high-paying jobs to North Dakota. It's created a lot of wealth for North Dakotans. And, it's brought in a lot of tax revenues to the state of North Dakota.
PRESKEY: Oil prices have dropped over $100 in the last eight months. That's led to layoffs and decreased production.
It shows while things are good now, North Dakota is not recession-proof. Companies that depend on national sales are suffering. Several manufacturing businesses have cut back production and temporarily shut down. That's caused North Dakota's unemployment rate to increase. However, the state still has the third-lowest percentage in the nation.
HOEVEN: We're feeling the effects of the recession, too. Our economy is holding up better than most, and I think it's in large part because we have diversified our economy.
PRESKEY: Lawmakers are being cautious on how to invest the surplus to continue the state's growth and avoid joining the recession.
REP. AL CARLSON (R), NORTH DAKOTA STATE HOUSE: North Dakotans are conservative by nature. And we have over the last biennium tried to fund (ph) our priorities, but in the same time, keeping in mind that we should put money aside and have it for any economic times that might change. And because of that, we're in strong financial position today.
PRESKEY: Legislators plan to return part of the state's surplus to North Dakotans. They are working on ways to give $400 million to state residents in income tax and property tax relief. A cash-back bonus for the people of a state that's doing so well.
(on camera): Many legislators say North Dakota really doesn't need the $650 million in federal stimulus money. House Majority Leader Al Carlson says they may turn down some of the dollars that aren't for one-time projects.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
