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Troubling Numbers From Congressional Budget Office; Resumes That Work; Free Health Care for Unemployed; Sports-Related Injuries; Jobless Looking for Better Days
Aired March 21, 2009 - 09:59 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: Hey there, everybody. From the CNN NEWSROOM, it is Saturday, March 21st.
Good morning to you all. I'm T.J. Holmes.
BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: It's spring. Hello, everybody. Hope you're feeling that spring-like temperature where you are. Some folks aren't though this morning.
HOLMES: Are not.
NGUYEN: But welcome to it, because it is here.
I'm Betty Nguyen.
It is 10:00 a.m. here out East, early on the West Coast.
Thanks to all of you for waking up with us.
You know, we do want to talk about this, a massive investigation into the bonuses paid out by insurance giant AIG. Attorney generals in 20 states want AIG executives to justify over $165 billion in bonus payments.
HOLMES: Also, a lot of folks still looking for a job, and we are trying to help as much as we can.
Keep sending us your resumes at weekends@cnn.com. We have got a ton of them, and we have been hooking up people who have been looking for help with their resumes with career experts right here, live on the air. We may be calling you. Keep those coming into us.
NGUYEN: And watch this. We want to show you a smackdown. OK, here it comes. Whoa, right there!
You know what this is all about, folks? It should be the happiest day of any woman's life. These are the running of the brides looking for that coveted wedding dress, and it gets a little heated.
But first, though, going after the AIG bonuses. I want you to take a look at this map that we're going to put up for you.
Twenty states, the ones shown right here in blue, have announced official investigations into the $165 million in bonuses paid out by the company. Now, in Connecticut, the state attorney general issued subpoenas for AIG CEO Edward Liddy and 11 other executives. The state's senior senator, Chris Dodd, who has been criticized for legislative changes that he made which allowed the bonuses to move forward says he was misled by Treasury officials.
Now, the Senate and the House will start debating the federal budget next week, and the White House is trying to keep on point, on message in the face of some troubling numbers from the Congressional Budget Office.
Let's take you live now to CNN's Kate Bolduan at the White House.
So, Kate, what is President Obama saying about all this, this morning?
KATE BOLDUAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey there, Betty.
Well, the president is saying that he's ready to fight. The Congressional Budget Office, just yesterday, put out a report pretty much saying that the president's budget prediction is a little overly optimistic in terms of the country's economic growth over the next several years.
The CBO saying that in their estimation, with the president's budget, the annual deficit in the coming year will be -- could be $1.8 trillion. This compared to what the administration has predicted, which is $1.75 trillion.
But take a second to think about that. It may sound like a small difference, $1.8 trillion to $1.75 trillion, but we're talking in the trillions of dollars here. It is definitely not a small difference.
Despite these numbers coming out from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, President Obama this morning is defending his budget and standing by his budget priorities, which include making a major investment in health care, reducing our dependence on foreign oil, as well as offering more funding to education, all the while cutting the deficit in half by the end of his term.
Listen here.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK H. OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I'll be discussing each of these principles next week as Congress takes up the important job of debating this budget. I realize there are those who say these plans are too ambitious to enact. To that, I say that the challenges we face are too large to ignore. I didn't come here to pass on our problems to the next president or the next generation, I came here to solve them.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BOLDUAN: Now, in the long run, over the next decade, CBO estimates that the deficit could reach more than $9 trillion. And that, Betty, is over $2 trillion more than the president estimates. NGUYEN: All right. On the flip side, Republicans, they are simply outraged by the latest budget deficit prediction. I want you to listen, Kate, to what Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour had to say about it this morning. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. HALEY BARBOUR (R), MISSISSIPPI: While families are cutting back, President Obama has proposed a massive government spending spree. It reminds me of how one of our old senators used to joke about the federal budget. He said it was like a newborn baby, insatiable appetite at one end and total irresponsibility at the other.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: All right. So pretty obvious, Republicans are not happy at all about this report.
BOLDUAN: No. I mean, that's a very descriptive way of saying really what many Republicans are saying. They're jumping on this CBO report, saying that it really is a wakeup call.
In their minds, President Obama's budget and economic plans, they're unsustainable and they're endangering generations to come in terms of the amount of borrowing, spending and taxing that this president is doing right now. I mean, even some Democrats, some top Democrats, like on the Senate Banking Committee, are saying that while they support the president's priorities, there's going to need to be some adjusting in his budget proposal -- Betty.
NGUYEN: All right. Kate Bolduan joining us live.
Thank you, Kate.
BOLDUAN: Of course.
HOLMES: All right. The man with the plan, he's got another plan to tell you about.
Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, expecting to hear from him on Monday with another plan about how to get us out of this whole economic mess. This specific plan will target the banks, and trying to get some of those toxic programs, those assets off of those books. Now, most of these toxic assets, though, they have to do with a lot of bad mortgages that went bad.
What you're seeing here is video of Timothy Geithner with our Ali Velshi, our senior business correspondent, in an interview they had this week.
Now, sources say the plan would use federal money to recover the risk for private investors, again, to buy out those toxic assets.
Well, another sign of the times here, more banks are failing. We're up to 20, I believe is the count now. Two of these latest to tell you about are very large corporate credit unions. Officials say they failed stress tests because of too much bad credit.
Now, what does this mean? To put some perspective here, this is the first time a corporate credit union has failed in the past 14 years.
Yesterday, federal officials also seized three banks in Kansas, Colorado, as well as Georgia. Again, now we're up to 20 banks that have failed this year. Just a sign of the times and what has been happening more and more. Banks cannot sustain themselves.
NGUYEN: Yes.
HOLMES: Well, AIG, you know, people just react now when they just hear that.
NGUYEN: They hear it. And what do they think automatically?
HOLMES: Bonuses.
NGUYEN: Probably. Absolutely.
A lot of outrage out there, and so we have been asking you, who's to blame in all of it? I mean, is it really AIG? Is it the government?
Who's to blame in all of this? That's been our e-mail question.
You can find this on Facebook. You can also go to our Twitter pages, you can send us a tweet, as they call them. Or you can go to weekends@cnn.com.
And if you go to my Facebook page right now, a lot of people are very clear on this. One person, Shane Nicholson (ph), says "AIG." That's the end of his comment, "AIG."
But we have, let's see, Crystal Delinger (ph), who says, "I blame people that gave the contracts. I also blame the government for giving out the money, not knowing what type of contracts the companies had. If the government would have looked into it before they gave out the cash, the government would know what to do."
And that's something that a lot of them are talking about, that many of them didn't even read the details of this 1,100-page plan. And some of them say, look, if you would have read it, you would have known this was a loophole.
HOLMES: A thousand seventy-one pages released at about 10:00, 11:00 at night, and they only had until the next day, early afternoon at the most...
NGUYEN: Yes, just a matter of hours, really.
HOLMES: ... to try to read this thing. And on that sentiment, Joe Villa (ph) writes in to our Facebook here, saying, "I blame Congress simply because they had all the power to dictate how that money would be spent before handing it out to AIG."
So a lot of people say Congress, a lot of people say AIG. But...
NGUYEN: The fingers are pointing in all directions.
HOLMES: Nobody is saying, "Me." Nobody is exactly pointing the finger back at themselves, you know.
NGUYEN: That's true.
All right. Well, we do appreciate your time and sending your comments on our Facebook pages or Twitter pages, and weekends@cnn.com. Of course, every weekend, we'll have a new question for you, and we want you to weigh in as viewers out there.
And listen to this. A friend of mine just paid $500 to have a professional writer retool her resume -- $500.
HOLMES: That sounds like a lot.
HOLMES: Professional resume writers out there are pretty busy. But how about some do-it-yourself advise? And it's free. We're going to give it to you.
Jason Ferrara, he's a senior career adviser with CareerBuilder.com. He is with us this morning.
Good morning to you again, sir. We're hooking you up with somebody else looking for some career advice. I believe we've got Dave this time.
NGUYEN: Yes, Dave on the phone.
What's your question, Dave?
DAVID SMITH, JOB SEEKER: I'm kind of wondering about the structure of my resume. Is that something that is actually keeping it out of the woods?
JASON FERRARA, CAREERBUILDER.COM: You know, David, I think the structure of the resume that I'm looking at here, you've got all the right information here, which is great. It's a great start on what you've got.
I would say tightening this up is really important. So you've got a three-page resume, we want to try to bring it to two pages.
You've got some white space, you could tighten things up there. And then there's that section where you have your management philosophy, which is interesting information about you, and I think information that's better served as part of an interview, not as sort of a management manifesto on your resume.
So either remove that entirely and make sure you talk about that in an interview, or tighten it up to a sentence and put it by your career summary. And I think that will go a long way in making this a pretty attractive document right on the top of a pile of resumes.
HOLMES: All right. Well, Dave, I certainly hope that helped you out a bit there.
Before we let you both go, I wand to ask, you named some things specific there to his resume, but in all these that you do see, and his specifically here, were there things -- you see like a common theme, if you will, so kind of a little more broad advice you could give people in all these resumes you're seeing. Are you seeing a common mistake that a lot of people do make?
FERRARA: I think a common mistake is leaving out actionable, measurable results from your job. And that's what really tells a recruiter or a hiring manager, this person can deliver these types of results to my business too.
So you want to basically say, this is what I've done in the past. If it was closing loans, this is how many, this is the dollar amount. If it's sales calls, this is how much I was able to bring in, in revenue. If it's customer service, you know, this is the time I was able to respond to calls. Really measurable results are important in a resume.
HOLMES: All right.
Well, we appreciate you, Dave. Hope that helped you out. And certainly good luck to you, my man.
And Jason, thank you for sticking around. I think we might have one more coming up, so don't go too far. We'll talk to you again in a second.
FERRARA: OK.
NGUYEN: All right. We're going to have more on that huge acid spill that we told you about a little bit earlier this morning.
So far, we know that there are no injuries. The driver was briefly trapped inside. But let me give you the background on this.
It was an overturned tractor-trailer carrying 33,000 pounds of hydrochloric acid, which caused a massive evacuation for at least three towns in Northampton County, Pennsylvania. Those towns being Wind Gap borough, Plainfield Township and Bushkill Township.
Those all being evacuated, and we're being told that up to about 5,000 people within a one-mile radius of the crash. But as I mentioned at the top, we do not know of any injuries or anyone being transported because of those injuries at this point, but evacuations have been under way.
(WEATHER REPORT)
HOLMES: Sully's got a book deal. We don't know how much this thing's worth, but Captain Sullenberger, of course, he was the captain of that US Airways flight that ended up parked in the Hudson...
NGUYEN: The Hudson.
HOLMES: ... where it wasn't supposed to be. But just signed a deal now. It's going to be a two-book deal.
NGUYEN: Oh, OK.
HOLMES: Yes. This is a guy -- we know the first one's going to be about his childhood and some military service, everything that actually that he says helped him and prepared him to be able to handle that situation and save all those lives. But don't know what the second book's going to be about yet.
NGUYEN: Well, here's what we know though -- the first one is due out at the end of the year. And in fact, the captain is not going to take any time off to write this. He's going to continue to work, continue to fly...
HOLMES: We need him.
NGUYEN: ... as he works on that autobiography. And what a story it's going to be. As you know, all 155 people survived. And it is a hero story. And especially in these troubling times, you want to hear some good news.
HOLMES: So that's some good news, and everybody can be happy for him. He's a guy who's really been shy about all this publicity. He didn't want it for a while.
NGUYEN: Right. He didn't talk to the media for days after it happened.
HOLMES: And then when he finally did, I think...
NGUYEN: It was very short, wasn't it?
HOLMES: Yes. They gave him a parade back in his hometown in California, and he just pretty much said "Thank you" and got off the stage.
NGUYEN: Right. There he went with it.
HOLMES: Yes, it was over that quick. That was all.
But congratulations to him.
Well, the doctor, he's in. And he's working for free. This week's economic survivor story shows us how patients who can't pay are still getting the help they need.
NGUYEN: And here come the brides, and you may want to get out of their way. We'll tell you why, because no one can stand a chance in if you were in the middle of this stampede. And all it's about? Well, that perfect wedding dress.
HOLMES: Yes.
NGUYEN: Finding it for a deal.
HOLMES: And we're going to show you more of that, because there was a little -- there was some hands and some...
NGUYEN: There was some slapping going on. Ooh, it was nasty.
HOLMES: And speaking of nasty, Betty...
NGUYEN: Uh-oh.
HOLMES: ... can you get by on $53,000 a week?
NGUYEN: Fifty-three thousand dollars a week, right?
HOLMES: A week.
NGUYEN: Oh, that's going to be tough, yes.
HOLMES: OK? There's one lady who says she can't.
NGUYEN: No way.
HOLMES: That's her. And I want to talk to her. We're talking about an alimony demand here. You've got to stick around to hear this one.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: All right. So in Queens, New York, Jorge Munoz drives a school bus during the day and then feeds the hungry at night.
HOLMES: Yes. It's a family project and one Jorge has committed to seven days a week, rain, sleet, snow or shine.
He is our CNN Hero this morning.
(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)
NGUYEN: That is such a great story. And you know what? You can hear more, because Jorge Munoz will be live, right here in the CNN NEWSROOM, at 3:00 p.m. today Eastern Time.
In the meantime, though, if you know of someone who is a hero, all you have to do is nominate them. Send those nominations to cnn.com/heroes.
All right. So are you making the wrong first impression with your resume? A lot of times people just don't know. They may not get that call back and they're wondering why. Well, it might be that resume.
Find out how to fix some common problems that you can be doing to get that job.
HOLMES: All right.
And also, some much needed help for the sick. Free medical treatment, with a dose of compassion.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: All right. A former war medic is now a hero for the unemployed in a small Illinois town. And what he's doing is he's offering free medical aid to victims of the recession.
HOLMES: He says he's actually inspired by something he heard during the speech by the president.
Reporter Larry Conners now from our affiliate KMOV with this story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LARRY CONNERS, REPORTER, KMOV (voice-over): Greenfield is small. Very small. But Dr. Gary Turpin...
DR. GARY TURPIN, OFFERING FREE HEALTH CARE FOR VICTIMS OF RECESSION: Well, have a seat right there.
CONNERS: ... is doing something big. Dr. Turpin has been seeing patients here for 45 years.
TURPIN: My patients are almost like family. So many of them I have known for so many years.
I need to talk to you about that lady's that coming in.
CONNERS: Now he's starting to see patients who have lost jobs or insurance right in the midst of this recession. Recently, he and his wife decided they should help those patients out.
TURPIN: I don't relish the idea of somebody not having medical care because they've lost their insurance or their job. They're going to get taken care of for free, and I'm happy to do it.
CONNERS: You heard right, that's free medical care for the rest of this year.
Maxine Longmeyer, who's been a patient all her life, isn't that surprised.
MAXINE LONMEYER, PATIENT: Oh, I think it's marvelous. But he served in the war. He's that kind of a guy.
CONNERS: Dr. Turpin led a M.A.S.H.-style unit at the height of the Vietnam War, 1968 to '70. He admits he didn't want to go, but felt it was the right thing to do. Now he has that feeling again.
TURPIN: I'm not trying to drum up accolades, you know. I'm just doing it because I think it's the right thing to do.
How are you getting along with your cough and that?
CONNERS: Dr. Turpin says he can afford to offer free treatment because he's been in practice for so long. But if other physicians decide to follow his example, well, that would be just fine.
TURPIN: I would hope that people would be inspired by it. That's not my aim in doing it, but I would hope they would be.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: All right. Other economic survivor stories out there, we would like them to come to us. Send them to us, cnn.com/ireports. We love sharing that good news. Really, Betty and I are craving it. There's so much, it seems like, bad these days. But a lot of good stuff out there happening, and maybe we need to highlight some of that stuff a little more.
NGUYEN: Absolutely.
And you know, what we have been getting a lot of are plenty of your resumes and your questions about how to make them better.
Well, Jason Ferrara is a senior career adviser with CareerBuilder.com. And he's been here all morning talking to people who have sent in their resumes.
And you've gotten really some good questions and you've given some good advice. In fact, we were supposed to have Anthony Perkins (ph) on with you right now from Atlanta, sharing his questions about his resume, but we couldn't get in touch with Anthony Perkins (ph). He's not answering the phone, which could be a problem.
HOLMES: So Jason, I assume some of the advice you give for people looking for a job is to keep the phone on?
FERRARA: Yes. Well, we're hoping Anthony is on a job interview right now, which is what we want.
NGUYEN: You know what? He may have a very good excuse. Let's hope so.
HOLMES: Well Jason, we just wanted to thank you. Again, planned on having him on, and maybe we'll get a hold of him. We're just giving him a hard time, but hopefully everything's all right with him.
We appreciate you and Career Builder.
NGUYEN: Yes.
HOLMES: You've been helping us out every weekend with this, and our viewers certainly appreciate it, and people are looking for jobs. So they appreciate it.
So we'll certainly be in touch with you all here in the next -- in the coming weeks.
NGUYEN: Yes.
FERRARA: Great.
NGUYEN: And more information on Career Builder will be on CNN.com. So there's lots of avenues.
And Anthony Perkins (ph) from Atlanta, if you're watching, pick up the phone. OK? We'll try to get you on maybe next weekend. We'll see.
HOLMES: All right. We'll turn now -- a lot of people have been asking a lot of questions. It confused a lot of people, the situation about Natasha Richardson...
NGUYEN: Right.
HOLMES: ... her death. It seemed like such a small injury. I mean, you know, she got up, and they said she was OK after she had that ski accident.
NGUYEN: It was on a beginner slope, too.
HOLMES: A beginner slope, and it seemed minor. She got up and seemed all right, and now people are wondering, well, if I have a little bit of a fall, do I need to be going to see the doctor?
NGUYEN: Right. How do you know?
HOLMES: So we're -- how do you know that? We're going to get into those questions this morning.
NGUYEN: Absolutely. We are going to speak with a professional about that and give you all the details. So don't go away.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: All right. So here are some of the top stories that we are working on this hour.
Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner to reveal the latest plan to save the U.S. banks on Monday.
HOLMES: Yes. This is one of the latest of his plans, but what he's trying to do here is help a lot of these banks get rid of at least a trillion dollars in the so-called toxic assets, like investments based on bad mortgages.
And Pope Benedict XVI celebrating mass in Angola. He appealed to Catholics to convert believers in witchcraft who feel threatened by spirits and evil powers of sorcery. He spoke on many things in his historic weeklong trip to Africa.
NGUYEN: Well, the death of Natasha Richardson this week is a painful reminder of how a fun time on the slopes can quickly turn to tragedy. And as people head out on spring break for that ski trip or other outdoor activity, being aware of how to stay safe is obviously key.
Dr. Moise Danielpour is a neurosurgeon at Cedars-Sinai in L.A., and he joins us now to walk us through something like what occurred and help us understand how that could happen.
Doctor, thanks for being with us.
The first thing I want to talk about is that the medical examiner confirmed that Natasha Richardson died of what is called an epidural hematoma.
What is that? DR. MOISE DANIELPOUR, NEUROSURGEON: Good morning, Betty.
An epidural hematoma is a blood clot between the rough covering of the brain, the dura mater, and the skull. And they can result in compression of the brain, resulting in severe brain injury and eventually death.
NGUYEN: How does it happen? Does it always occur from, like, a fall or a blunt force trauma, or something like that?
DANIELPOUR: Epidural hematomas, 90 percent of the cases are associated with a laceration that results from a skull fracture, causing a tear in the blood vessel in the dura mater, or the covering of the brain. This blood clot can initially tampenade (ph) because of the thick adherence of the dura to the skull, and with time it can expand and result in further compression of the underlying brain.
NGUYEN: All right. Here's what I want to try to understand, because shortly after the fall, reports show that she was actually talking, saying at times she felt OK. But then, of course, she tragically died within days later.
How does that happen?
DANIELPOUR: Well, epidural hematomas can be associated with a lucid interval, where the blood clot is not enlarging. And then, with further progression, because frequently there is a tear in an artery in the dura, a high-pressure bleed that can result in further compression of the brain so that you can have an array of symptoms, you can have someone who's initially unconscious, wakes up, has a lucid interval, and then starts to get worse, resulting in severe brain damage and eventually death.
NGUYEN: You know, a lot of sports enthusiasts or skiers out there, especially spring break for a lot of folks -- parents have taken their kids up to the ski resorts. When they see stories like this, it makes them think and sometimes worry, well, if my child takes a fall, hits his or her head, I mean, how do I know if that's serious?
DANIELPOUR: Of course. Well, only about 14 percent of ski accidents are associated with head injury. Unfortunately, 60 percent of deaths associated with skiing are a result of severe traumatic brain injury.
Fortunately, we can reduce that incidence by 40 percent to 60 percent by using helmets on the slope, and actually about 50 percent of U.S. skiers now use a helmet on the slopes. With a child with head injury, as a pediatric neurosurgeon we see this quite often. The most common array of symptoms that they present with is headaches, nausea, vomiting, pallor, and...
(CROSSTALK)
NGUYEN: So those are the warning signs. If your child falls, hits his or her head, and you see those signs, then you know that maybe you should take them into the doctor, right? DANIELPOUR: That's correct. Those are the warning signs where you should look out for if the symptoms are severe and they prolonged. They should be evaluated by a health care professional to determine if these are signs of something more serious.
NGUYEN: All right. Dr. Danielpour, thanks so much for your time and your information today. We do appreciate it.
DANIELPOUR: You're welcome.
NGUYEN: T.J.
HOLMES: All right, Betty. A lot of people want to check the state of the economy. Well, we head to the state with high taxes, few job prospects. But on the plus side, a politician with a plan. We'll be getting into that.
And you do not want to get between a woman and her low-priced wedding gown. This story, there's no stopping a bride on a budget, and she is willing to fight for that dress.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: Well, the budget may be tighter this year, but that doesn't mean you have to give up your vacation. All right. Maybe Fiji is out of the question.
HOLMES: Fiji's out, yes.
NGUYEN: But there are still some great deals out there.
HOLMES: Yes. CNN's Richelle Carey helping you stay "On the Go" this hour.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RICHELLE CAREY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): One of the best ways to recession-proof your summer vacation may be to set sail.
GENEVIEVE SHAW BROWN, TRAVELOCITY.COM: Cruising might be a great way to take your whole family on a vacation for a reasonable price. It includes your accommodations and all your meals.
CAREY: And you might be surprised how inexpensive a cruise can be.
BROWN: There's a cruise line for everybody, of every budget. Families tend to flock towards the bigger ships because of kids' clubs. A couple may gravitate toward a more upscale cruise line, with a smaller ship, a more intimate setting.
CAREY: But, if being out on the open water isn't your thing, there are also bargains on dry land.
CHRIS MCGINNIS, EXPEDIA.COM: Some of the best deals are out in the Caribbean. So countries like the Dominican Republic, Mexico and Jamaica are really rolling out great packages. You pay for nearly everything ahead of time -- your food, your hotel, your entertainment, and in some cases even alcohol.
CAREY: Or go international without leaving the U.S.
MCGINNIS: People should also check out flights to San Juan, Puerto Rico. There's a lot of new low-fare competition from a lot of East Coast cities, and you don't need a passport to go there.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: Rhode Island is a small state with big problems right now. It has the highest level of mortgage fraud and one of the highest unemployment rates, at more than 10 percent.
Well, CNN's Kitty Pilgrim reports the state now has a challenge of how to attack investment in the middle of the worse recession in decades.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KITTY PILGRIM, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Ardente Supply is one of the last remaining businesses in this former industrial section of Providence. Mark Ardente is the third generation of his family to run the plumbing supply business. He says business is down by 30 percent this year.
MARK ARDENTE, PRESIDENT, ARDENTE SUPPLY: It's devastating to see decreased sales and devastating to see that you might have to lay off people because you can't meet your obligations. And I am concerned.
PILGRIM: The state has lost 24,700 jobs in the private sector in the last two years. And 2,199 jobs in state and local government. The only industries growing in the state are health care and education, up by about 1,600 jobs.
Manufacturing has been in a steady decline since the mid-1980s, but lost more than 6,000 jobs in the last two years. Construction is down 5,200 jobs, and retail, down 4,800 jobs.
Part of the problem is the high tax rate, driving business and residents to neighboring states. Josh Barrow, at the non-government run Tax Foundation, testified at a recent Rhode Island tax commission hearing. He says the state ranked 46th out of 50 for not having a business-friendly tax system, the worst ranking in New England.
JOSH BARROW, TAX FOUNDATION: It's mostly a matter of them having tax rates that are just out of line with their neighbors. The top personal income tax rate in Rhode Island is 9.9 percent, which is the third highest in the country.
PILGRIM: Even with those high rates, tax revenues are down an estimated $300 million this fiscal year.
Professor Leonard Lardaro says the state did not have fiscal discipline, even when times were good.
PROF. LEONARD LARDARO, UNIV. OF RHODE ISLAND: We had years, not that long ago, where spending was going up more than twice the rate of income growth and our leaders were celebrating, they thought they did a great job and most of us knew this was just a time bomb. So, a lot of the blame has to go on the state. A lot of this, we did to ourselves.
PILGRIM (on camera): Federal stimulus money will provide Rhode Island with more than $1 billion and save or generate 12,000 jobs. Some of that money is already being spent in the transportation sector.
Kitty Pilgrim, CNN, Providence, Rhode Island.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: And speaking of Providence, we had the mayor of Providence, Rhode Island, live with us here this morning on "CNN SATURDAY MORNING." We talked to him about a host of issues, including stimulus money, which he says has not quite gotten to him yet, but he's hopeful it's on the way. Also talked to him about that high unemployment rate and the direction his city is trying to go.
Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MAYOR DAVID CICILLINE (D), PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND: I've actually put together a 22-member team in my administration that is going through every portion of the recovery bill to determine what money will be coming to Providence, under what formula, how it will be distributed.
In the Providence Housing Authority, for example, we have already identified that a little over than $5 million will come here by formula. We have approved those projects, they're ready to go. It will create about 122 jobs in all kinds of renovation work.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Well, you hear about some of those projects there he's talking about? Well, he wants to be around to see them through. Mayor Cicilline, who was rumored and a lot of speculation that he would be running for governor of Rhode Island, decided he's not going to do that. He will be running for a possible third term as mayor because he would, in fact, like to see a lot of those projects that he started get finished.
NGUYEN: Well, the pink slips, they keep on coming. And so does this question -- when will America's job market recover?
Well, our Christine Romans goes after that answer.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The headlines are grim. So how bad is it? 4.4 million jobs lost so far this recession. Behind each statistic, people.
OBAMA: I don't need to tell the people of this state what statistics like this mean.
ROMANS: It means a record number of Americans, more than 5.3 million, are collecting unemployment checks. The jobless rate is the highest in 25 years -- 8.1 percent. We asked the CEO of a large employment services company how bad could it get?
TIG GILLIAM, CEO, ADECCO: We could easily see 9 percent unemployment and just by the math, it could go to 10.
ROMANS: Four states are already there -- South Carolina, Michigan, Rhode Island and California, all tops 10 percent unemployment in February.
GILLIAM: We're losing jobs at a very rapid rate.
ROMANS: And you need to create at least 100,000 jobs every month just to keep up with population growth. Instead, we're losing hundreds of thousands. But when will it turn around?
GILLIAM: When we see temporary employment increase, when we see workweek hours increase, when we see professional skills begin to recover, then it will be a clear sign that the job market is coming back.
ROMANS: His best guess? Sometime in 2010. But economists agree there is no clear sign yet that the job market has bottomed out.
(on camera): So that's what we're looking for, that month or two or three when we see temporary jobs increase and the workweek get a little bit longer. But beware, the jobs market is what we call a lagging indicator. That means we'll lose jobs even after the economy starts to turn around.
Christine Romans, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: And you can join Fredricka Whitfield at noon Eastern for "Jobless, Not Hopeless." She's following the unemployed from the job center to the actual job. A recruiter, a life coach and someone from a company that's hiring will also be on hand. "Jobless, Not Hopeless," today at noon Eastern, right here on CNN.
HOLMES: And we have been asking you all day -- well, we didn't have to ask much. All we had to do was say "AIG," and the responses started coming...
NGUYEN: They started pouring in.
HOLMES: ... rapid fire, and they have been coming to a couple different places.
We have been asking, who do you blame? Betty and I both have Facebook pages. You all are savvy enough. You know how to track those down. Also, our Twitter accounts, we have been getting responses there as well.
Want to share a few with you here, a couple that we do have, at least right now. I'll go to Twitter right now, Twitter.com...
NGUYEN: OK.
HOLMES: ... T.J. Holmes CNN, something like that.
But from Kristen Darden (ph) -- sorry I can't zoom in on it, but it's the fourth one you see there. But Kristen Darden (ph) says, "There is plenty of blame to go around. I do not see AIG passing up money. So it's Congress, really, that should have protected our interests."
So, yes, that's a lot of what we're hearing, essentially. If I give you $100, then you owe me that $100 back.
NGUYEN: Right.
HOLMES: It doesn't matter who you give it to, over there or over there. It's your responsibility. Well, it's Congress' responsibility. They are stewards of our money. What they did with it, that's on them.
NGUYEN: Well, that's what some people are saying. That's where the fingers are pointing...
HOLMES: Yes.
NGUYEN: ... in that direction. But when we look at some of our Facebook responses, John on my Facebook page says, "I blame the government for letting this happen. These companies are out there to make as much money as they can. They're not going to think deeply about the impact they would have on society if they failed."
And then going down to Steve, he says overall here, "Blaming is not productive, as we can see by watching Congress play that game. Let's fix it by imposing the proposed tax or reducing future payments by AIG, and move on to much more important things, like the economy, diplomacy, the environment, et cetera."
Because we are hearing some people say that. Like, when you think about it, this $165 million is just a small portion of the bigger problem here, so why are we spending so much time on it? Well, we're spending a lot of time on it because people say it shouldn't have been given out to begin with.
HOLMES: Yes. And a lot of people say it's politically convenient right now, this is an easy bandwagon to jump on. It sounds great to say, ooh, I'm against these bonuses.
NGUYEN: Right.
HOLMES: But they're the very ones that allowed this thing to happen, folks.
So keep those responses coming in. We appreciate you all sending the ones in that you have sent in so far this morning.
NGUYEN: All right.
So it's more than many people make in a year. I want you to listen to this story.
HOLMES: Oh, this story here.
NGUYEN: OK. But we're going to introduce you to a woman who says that $53,000 not in a year, a week, a week, $53,000 a week is barely enough to make ends meet.
HOLMES: I cannot even believe this story.
You won't believe it either. But some people just live differently. They just know different things. We don't understand that. You know?
NGUYEN: But is she entitled to it? I mean, think that's the question that's on the table.
HOLMES: You're not asking me, are you?
NGUYEN: No, no. I'm not going to ask you.
HOLMES: All right.
Also, more men -- or, rather, just men still making more money, more than women out in the workforce. But still, I don't know if that means anything if the man is losing a job. More men are actually getting laid off than women. This is creating a different kind of gender gap out there.
Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: You and I are going to go at it this segment.
NGUYEN: Oh, we've got a bunch of stories for you, folks. And it is going to keep you talking today.
Well, this first one is -- well, you've just got to see the video, the story, right there. OK?
Ooh, and then she smacks her in the face. What's this all about? A wedding dress.
HOLMES: A wedding dress. NGUYEN: Can you believe it? It's the seventh annual -- plenty of screams -- seventh annual Running of the Brides yesterday at Filene's Basement in Atlanta. And this is a competition of sorts that can turn ugly.
HOLMES: Yes.
NGUYEN: And the competition is because these women are trying to get their hands on all of these wedding dresses as soon as possible. It doesn't even matter their size or not. It's just a matter of getting as many as possible to see if that is your dream dress.
HOLMES: And I didn't realize..
NGUYEN: Because of the prices.
HOLMES: Yes. OK, that was the thing. And I asked you, how much are we talking about here? And you all were saying as much as half off a lot of these dresses.
NGUYEN: Oh, yes. I mean, there are dresses that go for thousands of dollars, and you can get them for $200, $300, $400, $500.
HOLMES: So hence the fight, hence the swinging...
NGUYEN: I don't know what that was all about, but obviously the competition is stiff for dresses.
HOLMES: Again, I make a plea. If he's out there, whoever's fiance that was, I would love to talk to that guy and see what he thinks about his bride right now.
NGUYEN: And if he's willing to go through with the wedding...
HOLMES: Oh!
NGUYEN: ... after those violent tendencies. Hey, you never know. This could be the beginning of much more.
HOLMES: Oh my goodness! Betty...
NGUYEN: I'm just kidding.
All right. It's going to be a fun day for whoever that is, minus the shiner.
OK. We'll move on to this. The average cost of a wedding last year was just a little over $21,000. That's pretty steep.
HOLMES: It sounds like a lot.
NGUYEN: Yes.
HOLMES: Does that include the cost of the dress?
NGUYEN: Or the trip to the hospital after you get that dress? HOLMES: After you get that dress.
NGUYEN: You know, it is a lot of money, $21,000, especially in this recession.
HOLMES: A lot of people can't afford that obviously.
So Randi Kaye now reports on a couple saying "I do" for less.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Angie Meraz and her fiance, Matt Alberti plan to get married in June, smack in the middle of a recession. Talk about no-frills nuptials.
ANGIE MERAZ, TRIMMED WEDDING COSTS: No open bar. We're not doing a three, four-tiered cake, and a cake cut. You know, that whole idea. We're not going to do extravagant flower arrangements. The bridesmaids dresses were J. Crew dresses that were on sale.
MATT ALBERTI, TRIMMED WEDDING COSTS: Everybody is cutting back in just a trickle-down effect.
KAYE: Their trickle-down started with Angie's engagement ring. It's from Tiffany's, but it's a simple band, no diamond.
ALBERTI: We just decided that it didn't make a ton of sense. Not right now.
KAYE: Angie bought her dress at a Bridal Garden, a discount shop.
MERAZ: I was trying to shoot for something less than $1,000, which was really ambitious, I think. And I ended up spending $350.
KAYE: In this economy, Bridal Garden's business is booming.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Our sales have been up about 40 percent.
KAYE: Not the case for wedding photographer Brian Delia. Angie and her fiance found him online at Craigslist. He has just four weddings booked this year, a fraction of years past.
BRIAN DELIA, WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHER: I ended up hiring my wife to help me with these photography jobs, and then I don't have to worry about paying so much out of pocket for an assistant.
KAYE: Angie and Matt made their own "save the date" cards online to save money. And they hired a wedding planner, which instead of costing them more, actually saved them cash.
(on camera): Before they say "I do," more and more cups are saying, "I don't want to spend that much." A recent study by David's Bridal Shop showed spending on wedding dresses is down 31 percent. Wedding cakes down 33 percent. Limo rental, 24 percent. And food for the reception, down 53 percent. (voice-over): Some couples have trimmed guest lists, picked a deejay over a band. And forget about a sit-down dinner. Buffets or just hors d'oeuvres are in.
ALBERTI: Minus the flowers, minus a big cake, minus all the traditional stuff. It's going to be about us and our friends and family.
KAYE (on camera): When you look back on your big day, how do you think you'll feel?
MERAZ: I'm going to feel really good that I married the right person.
KAYE: And did it on a budget?
MERAZ: And did it on a budget.
ALBERTI: And did it on a budget.
KAYE (voice-over): And they paid for everything in cash, no credit cards. That's what you call getting started on the right food.
Randy Kaye, CNN, East Rutherford, New Jersey.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: And this is how you ended on the wrong foot, right?
HOLMES: Yes, they're on a budget for their wedding. Let me introduce you to somebody who has no idea about budgets. All right?
Fifty-three thousand dollars a week is not enough for this lady to live on. She's in her mid-30s who is married to this big mogul.
What was his name here? Help me here.
Her name is Marie Douglas-David.
NGUYEN: Marie Douglas-David, yes.
HOLMES: He's worth some $300 million. Ugly divorce they're going through now. Ugly.
She is asking for more than $53,000 a week because of those expenses. This is why she needs it. She can justify it, Betty.
Can you justify that?
NGUYEN: Mortgage and maintenance, OK. Ooh, travel. That's a pretty good chunk for travel. Clothing...
HOLMES: What is she doing?
NGUYEN: But here's the deal -- all right, OK, I hear you, T.J.
HOLMES: Do you hear me?
NGUYEN: But look, he is worth $300 million. Right?
HOLMES: OK.
NGUYEN: Three hundred million dollars. She's asking for a total of $100 million, and that's only a third of his net worth.
HOLMES: Why should she get that? He was worth that before...
NGUYEN: I'm just putting it out there.
HOLMES: All right. Let's...
NGUYEN: Your blood pressure is going way too high on this story.
Anyway, talk amongst yourselves. It's one of those talkers out there. Is she worth it? Should he have to pay up? Well, we'll find out what the courts have to say.
