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Survey Says Recession Ended; Fight Over Health Care Reform; Fierce Fighting in Afghanistan; Pulsing of the People; College Squeeze; Reform and Single-Payer Plans, Overcoming Health Obstacles; Pilot Rescued by Rowers
Aired August 13, 2009 - 12:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: First this hour, Issue Number One - the economy. Two signs today that the recovery won't be a straight line up, rather a zig-zag path back to financial prosperity. Here's why, retail sales took an unexpected tumble in July, down a tenth of a percent. Analysts were expecting a sizeable increase.
One bright spot, Cash for Clunkers helped drive a two percent gain in car sales. Weekly jobless claims came in at 558,000, up by 4,000. Analysts had expected first-time claims to fall last week like they did the week before.
And new evidence today shows the foreclosure epidemic is still going strong. RealtyTrac says the number of homes that are in the foreclosure process jumped 32 percent in July. That's July, over July of 2008. That is the third foreclosure record in five months. Analysts blame the increasing wave on job loss. RealtyTrac says 360,000 home owners are at least one month behind on their mortgage. The gloomy numbers keep coming.
So how could anyone possibly say the recession is over? Well, it is according to a survey of prominent economists.
Here's CNN's Brooke Baldwin.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): -- Clunkers program and third, unemployment. While the rate is rising, fewer jobs are being shed. Swonk predicts job gains could happen at the end of this year.
DIANE SWONK, MESIROW FINANCIAL: They won't be strong at first, but even any sign of job gains, along with people's 401(k)s looking a little better, that will make us feel a little better about the economy. But at the end of the day, we're still talking about confidence in the U.S. economy that's come from the edge of the abyss to the recession lows we saw in 1981 and '82.
BALDWIN: Echoing this optimism, the Federal Reserve. Wednesday, the Central Bank reporting economic activity is leveling out, conditions in financial markets have improved further in recent weeks, and household spending has continued to show signs of stabilizing, but remains constrained.
But are Americans buying this bullish news?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm hopeful, but still, we're not there yet.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't get the feeling that it's as bad as people thought it was going to be.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Technically, the economists may argue we're out of recession, but people on the street, you know, the public, aren't going to feel that. You know, they've been hurt. Jobs have been lost. Houses are being lost.
BALDWIN: Lost, yes, but the economists are encouraged the losses are slowing.
Brooke Baldwin, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: The great debate over health care spreading to more areas of the country today. August is considered a make-or-break month in the debate over reform.
Lawmakers are holding meetings today in Oregon, Wisconsin, Kansas, Oklahoma, and New jersey. And we've been showing you the crowds have been large and tensions have been running high at many of the meetings.
National Political Correspondent Jessica Yellin has been following it all for us, and she joins us from Washington.
So, Jessica, there are, look, a lot of interests trying to influence health care reform. We know that. Sometimes behind the scenes, sometimes very up front.
Will you talk to us about some of the spending we're seeing for lobbying and ad campaigns?
JESSICA YELLIN, CNN NATIONAL POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Right, Tony. It's a great question, because we've been paying so much attention lately to the grassroots movement out there in the country...
HARRIS: Right.
YELLIN: ... for the people. But a lot of major corporate interests are doing what they can behind the scenes. So, let's take a look at some of these numbers.
When it comes to lobbying, this is just since March of this year. One figure that might surprise you, the insurance industry has spent more than $39 million since March on lobbying. Then let's look at the pharmaceutical and health products industries. That's any organization that sells some sort of hardware that helps in health care -- $68 million. The overall total for the health sector, $133 million spent on lobbying since March. Add to that more than $50 million already spent on advertising campaigns, that's a lot of change -- Tony.
HARRIS: It really is. So, help me here. Political groups, we understand, are also helping to turn out people at some of these town halls.
YELLIN: Yes.
HARRIS: Who are some of the groups, and what's -- what are the agendas at work here?
YELLIN: Right. So, on the one track, we were talking about those lobbying efforts by the corporate interests. On the other hand, the grassroots movements are in part inspired and driven by groups that are already ideologically on the far right or the far left, or at least on the right and the left.
So, coming from advocacy groups on right, you have those TEA Party protesters who have organized against Tax Day and against Obama's spending plans in General. They have turned out a lot of folks to come to the town halls.
On the left, you have organizations like MoveOn.org, ACORN, and some of the labor unions that have turned out liberal groups. Now, these are folks who already have their minds made up. They already know what they feel, and they're coming just as much to share their views as to learn. It's part of the reason we're seeing such a polarized debate at these events -- Tony.
HARRIS: Yes, that's for sure.
All right. Jessica Yellin.
Good information. Thanks, Jessica. Good to see you.
YELLIN: Thanks. Good to see you.
HARRIS: You know, the concerns of health reform opponents may be getting drowned out at the town hall meetings.
CNN's Tom Foreman takes a closer look at the opposing views of one protester and a politician who supports reform.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Another day, another angry public meeting. This one at a community college in Hagerstown, Maryland.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This government is out of control.
FOREMAN: Democratic Senator Ben Cardin is intent on pushing forward with health care reform. SEN. BEN CARDIN (D), MARYLAND: I can assure you that I'm not going to vote for any bill that will cut off care to someone who is in need of care.
FOREMAN: And in the audience, Mark Kreslins is just as intent on pushing back.
MARK KRESLINS, ATTENDED TOWN HALL MEETING OF MARYLAND SENATOR BEN CARDIN: How are you going to look at my children, in their eyes, and tell them they're going to have a better future with $99 trillion? Say it with me, $99 trillion...
FOREMAN: Kreslins runs a small health services business from his home. He calls himself an Independent who votes mostly Republican. He organized one of those anti-tax TEA parties. He questions the constitutional right of Congress to enact such reform, but mainly he worries that it will mean massive tax bills for middle-class families for decades.
KRESLINS: It's disappointing to me that I'm being characterized as a nut. I'm just an average guy.
If we just let it go the way it's going to go, the way it's going now, I have heard estimates of a trillion dollars for this health care legislation. It's not really going to be a trillion dollars. It's going to be a lot more than that.
CARDIN: I'm not going to support a bill that is not totally paid for.
FOREMAN: Back in the meeting, Senator Cardin presses on. Even to all the older voters who showed up, people who polls say are most against this reform, he says have faith.
CARDIN: I think that the Obama administration has already started to restore trust in the health care system by the passage...
(SHOUTING)
FOREMAN: Afterward, he's not sure the meeting changed any minds.
CARDIN: I think it can alleviate some of the concerns and that there will be a more open mind in considering the legislation.
FOREMAN: But Mark Kreslins doubts that and just about everything else he is hearing on this subject.
KRESLINS: I don't believe much of what comes out of Congress these days.
FOREMAN (on camera): What about the president?
KRESLINS: I don't believe most of the presidents, what they say. I think they are politicians, fundamentally. And I think this is what all my friends are thinking, too. FOREMAN (voice-over): So, the meeting came and went. And, for Mark Kreslins, health care reform remains a dangerous gamble, while, for Ben Cardin, it remains the best bet.
Tom Foreman, CNN, Hagerstown, Maryland.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: And as always, ,we want to know your concerns about health care reform. Send us your comments and questions to my blog at CNN.com/Tony.
Medical Correspondent Elizabeth Cohen will join me in just a couple of minutes to answer some of your questions.
And taking the fight to the Taliban. We will show you what American forces are facing in Afghanistan as they go back on the offensive.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: This just into the CNN NEWSROOM. Let me read it to you.
We're just getting word from Iraq's Interior Ministry of another suicide bombing. This taking place at a restaurant, a cafe, a restaurant in a town just west of Mosul. At least 12 people killed, 30 more wounded in this attack. The victims are part of an ancient religious sect that has been targeted before. So, again, this is leading to all kinds of fears of a rise in sectarian violence in Iraq.
Again, Iraq's Interior Ministry reporting that a suicide bomber with explosives has detonated his vest -- her vest -- at a restaurant in a town just west of Mosul. At least 12 dead that we are aware of now. Thirty more wounded in this attack.
We will keep an eye on this developing story.
The U.S. Marines are battling the Taliban for a key city in Helmand Province. The battle said to be fierce for control of the city of Dahaneh. This is a main city in the province.
CNN Pentagon Correspondent Barbara Starr now with more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Up close with Marines on the front line.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's good to get out of here (INAUDIBLE).
STARR: Part of operation Eastern Resolve Two, the third major push this summer into the dangerous and lucrative center of Afghanistan's drug trade. Four hundred U.S. Marines and 100 Afghan troops jumped Taliban lines in helicopters to take the town of Dahaneh in Helmand Province, the first time U.S. troops have entered the strategic city. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Dahaneh is one of the key towns in the area. All of the smaller towns are economically dependent on Dahaneh. For example, this is where the bazaar is.
STARR: The Marines are part of the 21,000 extra troops President Obama ordered up earlier this year. Their immediate mission? Break the Taliban's hold on the city and free residents to vote in next week's election.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All right. It's to the right of the Wall right there.
STARR: The Taliban called for a boycott and threatened to ruin the election, which the U.S. concedes is a challenge.
RICHARD HOLBROOKE, SPECIAL U.S. REPRESENTATIVE TO AFGHANISTAN AND PAKISTAN: Holding an election in a wartime situation is always difficult. But a government needs legitimacy. And this election was called for under the Constitution.
STARR: In Dahaneh, commanders predict a few more days of intense fighting before the town is secured.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: And Barbara Starr joining us now from the Pentagon.
And Barbara, could we see even more troops sent to Afghanistan?
STARR: Well, you know, Tony, that's really the question right now, will General Stan McChrystal, the new commander for this war, ask for more troops? And all indications are he will ask for some.
It's expected he'll want more troops to deal with those IEDs, those roadside bombs, as well as intelligence and reconnaissance. But it's a very delicate balance right now, because they don't want to put too many troops into Afghanistan, of course. You get a lot of resentment from the people there if there's a large foreign military presence.
A very delicate balancing act. What you're going to see, though, over the next several weeks, certainly is more U.S. troops in combat trying to get a handle on this resurgence of the Taliban -- Tony.
HARRIS: All right. Barbara Starr at the Pentagon for us.
Barbara, good to see you. Thank you.
STARR: Thank you.
HARRIS: And again, to really understand what's going on in Afghanistan, why we're over there, watch CNN Chief International Correspondent Christiane Amanpour's documentary, "Generation Islam," tonight, 9:00 Eastern, right here on CNN.
And we're getting word from a New York representative that guitar legend Les Paul has died at the age of 94. We are gathering more information on this story. We'll get it to you in just a moment.
(WEATHER REPORT)
HARRIS: Do you remember -- what are your memories of Les Paul? I mean, obviously the guitar, right?
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes, of course.
HARRIS: The design on the guitar. Les Paul is a player.
MYERS: A person that I know owns Les Paul's number two guitar was and still is offered $250,000 every day for this guitar. And he keeps saying, no, no, no way, it's worth more than that. A legend for sure.
HARRIS: Absolutely. All right.
More on the life of Les Paul, who passed away today, we're getting word. Memories of a terrific career from our Brooke Anderson.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. Les Paul.
BROOKE ANDERSON, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Les Paul may have been a legendary guitar player, but his impact went beyond chords and riffs. He changed the way people listened to music.
Born in 1915, Paul began his career as a teenaged country act before turning his talents to jazz and pop music. In the 1940s, he married singer Mary Ford, and while their marriage eventually ended in divorce, the partnership produced a string of hits, including "Vaya Con Dios" and "How High the Moon."
Les Paul's other career was as an inventor, and his mechanical creations overshadow his musical talent. He was ahead of his time when he took a piece of wood and some wire and created a solid-body electric guitar. He knew that it was light years ahead of the primitive electric guitars on the market, so he took it to the Gibson Guitar Company. They said no thanks.
LES PAUL, GUITARIST: For 10 years I was a laugh. I kept pounding at them and pounding at them, saying, hey, here's where it's at. Here's where tomorrow. This is it.
You can drown out anybody with it. And you can make all these different sounds, which you can't do with a regular guitar.
ANDERSON: When the Fender Company produced their version of the electric guitar in the early '50s, Gibson came running, and soon the Gibson/Les Paul was the guitar of choice. It is still one of the most popular guitars on the market, but he wasn't done creating.
PAUL: This is my baby. This is where it started.
ANDERSON: He created recording tricks like overdubbing and guitar tricks like reverb.
PAUL: It's just machine after machine after machine.
ANDERSON: He also invented eight-track recording in the 1950s. It allowed producers to combine several sources into one recording. And 50 years later, it is still the most common way of recording pop music.
His guitar and gadgets earned him a place in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the Inventors Hall of Fame, and even the Songwriters Hall of Fame.
PAUL: I do know what I did, but I don't go around reminding people about it or bragging about it or thinking about it. I just did it, mostly because I had to have something, and it wasn't there, so I couldn't go down the street and buy it. And so I built it.
ANDERSON: But inventor or not, he was still a guitar player's guitar player, and he performed into his 90s with the biggest names in music. And the biggest names in music used his inventions and played his guitar.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: You have been sharing your comments and questions about health care reform on our blog. Our senior medical correspondent, Elizabeth Cohen, is here to answer some of your questions.
We've got a question here from Allison, Elizabeth, in Tampa, Florida, that I want you to take on here. Let me set it up a little bit here, and then have at it. All right?
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SR. MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: OK. Sounds great.
HARRIS: This is -- and Allison has a question, a situation she wants to describe about her daughter right now. Her daughter is 23 years old, a full-time student who works nights. She has no health insurance. She exceeds the age limit, huge medical bills.
And here's the question: "How can the system be changed to protect our college students?"
You want to take this one on?
COHEN: Oh, sure, because Devon is really in a tough spot, Tony. Again, her situation, she's a college student. She's working nights at a restaurant to get herself through college. She has sort of a medical problem and ended up with a huge bill because she had to spend a couple of days in the hospital.
HARRIS: Right.
COHEN: Well, you know what? Health care reform does try to address this problem, because unfortunately, there are a large number of students, college or graduate students, who have what they call aged out of their parents' policies. They get too old.
She's 23. She can't stay on her parents' policy.
So, let's take a look at what the different plans have to offer.
HARRIS: Oh, great. Great.
COHEN: OK. So, the House plan, it's not really going to help her much, because the House plan says that kids should be able to stay on their parents' insurance until age 22, which isn't going to help Allison -- Devon, I'm sorry, because Devon is age 23. However, the Senate plan would tell health insurance companies, you've got to keep these kids on until they are age 26.
Now, since Devon is 23, this would help her in this situation. Of course, we don't know which version is going to end up becoming law. Neither of them may end up becoming law. But there are also plans for, possibly, she could get on the public option, the government health insurance, or possibly she could get some of the subsidies that's built into some of these pieces of legislation.
HARRIS: And here's what's interesting as we -- let's take some of the specific medical issues here out of the equation. We still find a pretty sizeable chunk of Americans who have been aged out, and then have a real decision to make as to whether or not to buy insurance at all. And some are flat-out saying, you know, no, I'm young, I'm healthy.
COHEN: Right.
HARRIS: And I'm not going to make the purchase.
COHEN: Right. And some people are kind of critical of these young people. They say, look, you should get insurance.
HARRIS: The invincibles, right?
COHEN: Right. They think they're the young invincibles. They think, I'm 23, what could happen to me? Well, tons of things could happen to you.
God forbid, you could be in a car accident. You could get cancer. A ton of things could happen.
And so there are a lot of voices saying these young invincibles need to invest some of their money in health insurance. It's not all that expensive for them in some ways compared to a 50-year-old, because it's cheaper to get insurance when you're young.
However, I don't know Devon's situation, but she's in pharmacy school, she's working nights to put herself through college. Maybe she doesn't have the money. Who knows?
HARRIS: Right. OK. And then that's part of the debate that we're trying to drill down on, focus on as we move forward.
Elizabeth, appreciate it, as always. Thank you.
COHEN: Thanks.
HARRIS: A little damage control now from Louisville men's basketball coach Rick Pitino, the winning coach known for the designer suits, best-selling books on how to succeed on the court and in life. He is apologizing for what he calls an indiscretion six years ago.
Pitino told police he had sex at a Louisville restaurant with a woman who approached him. He later paid for her to have an abortion. The woman has since been charged with trying to extort money from him.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RICK PITINO, UNIVERSITY OF LOUISVILLE BASKETBALL COACH: If you tell the truth, your problem becomes part of your past. If you lie, it becomes part of your future. And I made a very difficult decision to tell the truth to the federal authorities, the local authorities, to university officials, and most important, the people that love me the most, my family and friends.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: Family, yes. Pitino is married with five children.
Ali Velshi has rounded up his own town hall gathering at the state fair in Missouri. There he is. We're going to find out what's on the minds of folks there in just a minute.
We'll see you in a second, Ali.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: Hey, take a look at the lead page. CNNMoney.com. You see it right there. Consumers not feeling a recovery. Yes. I mean, come on, how does it feel in your own life, with your own finances? Are you still in recession mode? Are you in recovery mode? Where are you?
Again, the best analysis that you can find anywhere in the business available to you at CNNMoney.com. Our money team does a fantastic job.
Let's swing you now to the big board, New York Stock Exchange. Three hours into the trading day, as you can see, the Dow is up 14 points. We'd probably get a little more of a run in the positive direction for stocks, but we are in positive territory. Stocks up 14 points. Three hours into the trading day, and the NASDAQ is up ahead here a second ago, up eight points.
How are you affected by the recession? We put the CNN Express bus on the road to find out. Our chief business correspondent, Ali Velshi, is at the wheel, and he is stopping to listen to your concerns about the economy. Ali has the parking brake on and joins us from the fair in Sedalia, Missouri.
And Ali, what are you learning? What are you hearing?
ALI VELSHI, CNN SENIOR BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Yes, this one's just for the Missouri state police. I'm not actually at the wheel of that bus.
HARRIS: OK.
VELSHI: I don't think they're going to like that too much. But, listen, we're at the Missouri State Fair, Sedalia, Missouri, beautiful, beautiful day. Day one of the state fair. What a great question that I heard you just mentioning a moment ago, and that is, are you in recovery?
HARRIS: Yes.
VELSHI: Or are you still in recession? Because we have all these economists, noted economists saying the recession's over. We got the Federal Reserve saying we've bottomed out and it's going to be much better from here. So we've gathered some people, we're having our own little town halls across the country.
HARRIS: Awesome.
VELSHI: Talking to people. We've been talking about health care, we've been talking about the economy. Let's just get a feeling from you out here. Just give me a show of hands, if you think you're in recovery or you're still in recession in your own lives?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm in recovery, but my parole officer said I don't have to talk about that.
VELSHI: Oh, I'm sorry.
(LAUGHTER)
Maybe I should ask you one at a time. Are you -- if you feel that you're still feeling like you're in a recession, give me a show of hands. And those of you that think you're in the recovery already?
All right, let's start with this gentleman here. How do you feel compared to a year ago?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Actually, I feel about the same. Everything -- the only thing that's going on now that bothers me is the unemployment. It was my hope that when Barack got in, that there would be more -- more jobs made into the wind power and things like that, because I felt that was where the new jobs were going to come from.
VELSHI: And that was, you know, when oil was $147 a barrel, that's what we were all talking about. Last year at the state fair, gas was probably running about $4 a gallon. I was asking you which way you felt and you were tentative. You kind of raised your hand a little bit, you weren't sure whether it was a recovery or a recession for you.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, I'm a schoolteacher and so I'm from a small town Illinois and I feel for my students and for my small town that we're still in a recession. Had a lot of businesses closed and the automobile dealerships have shut down.
We have to go 30 miles, you know, look in a new car, to buy a new car for a lot of the dealerships. The county fair lost a lot of funds this year. And my husband is a farmer and so I think that we've felt a lot of the change in the grain prices and things so we're still....
VELSHI: Again, a year ago you were seeing record-high grain prices along with the --and record-high corn prices. Now where are things?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Things have came back up from where they were, but in accordance with last year, grain prices are quite a bit lower. And for this year's crop, input prices are a lot higher because of the high fertilizer and fuel costs from last year. So things are going to be kind of tight this fall.
VELSHI: You, Michael, are a radio show host. You've got your rig parked right next to our rig. Tell me what you're feeling, what's your sense? Are we coming out of that recession like you hear the economists saying and it's just something we're going to take longer to feel?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's a question of perception is reality. And in this case the perception is that we've been in a recession for so long. Last year was an election year, we were in a recession. Both parties said so. This year, it didn't matter who got it, somebody was going to say we're coming out of it. It's what you said earlier, is the economists are saying well, the indicators were there, that it's turning around.
What we need to do is get about the business of doing the things that we do every day. Buy the things that we need to buy. Don't excessively spend. We were used to that for a long time. We were a credit society. Now we need to buy what we need to buy. Spend wisely. We'll pull ourselves out of it.
The question is, are we there now? I don't think we're there now. But it's going to turn around. It is turning around right now, and I think it's up to the American people. It's not up to the media. I know you guys have a lot of influence, you really do, you have a lot of influence, but it's up to the American people to be Americans and to do what Americans do.
HARRIS: Hey, Ali, can I get one in here?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's up for the businesses to create the jobs. The government can't give us jobs.
HARRIS: Yes.
VELSHI: Hang on. Tony's got a question for you. Yes, Tony? HARRIS: Can we do a little -- sort of forum, sort of right track, wrong track for the country right now with the group you've gathered?
VELSHI: Well, let's ask that. Tony, our anchor, wants to know, do you think we're on the right track right now or the wrong track in this country economically?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I believe we're on the wrong track because a lot of that economic stimulus money is not due to take effect until 2011 or 2012, which is about the time the next presidential election, which will allow the Democrats to say see, how good we're doing?
And in between now and 2011 and 2012, this economy's got a lot farther to go down. Peoples not getting the bailout money to remortgage their houses or refinance their houses like they wanted to. Basically the banks have taken all that money and reinvested it in the stock market and it makes the stock market look actually better than what it is.
VELSHI: Well, you mentioned housing. You mentioned jobs. And that's the reality. Those are two reasons why people we've been talking to across the country aren't feeling this recovery fully.
Do you think we're on the right track or the wrong track economically, ma'am?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm in the middle on that. I just feel like the unemployment statistics speak for itself and until people start getting back to work, you know, and finding jobs, things are going to stay the same.
VELSHI: What about this idea that Michael said about we got to get back and spend more? Some people say that's what got us into trouble in the first place. And yet, if Americans were to spend more right now, that would help kick the economy up. What do you think we should be doing?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't think that's the problem. I think between the high unemployment and foreclosure and everything, everyone seems to planning for inflation. Ben Bernanke, his nickname is -- let's see, it's Helicopter Ben. He wants to dump money out of airplanes and pump up the economy.
But I think the real risk is honestly deflation that the prices are bottoming out. I don't know anyone that's spending for big ticket items. Everyone is saying I'm going to wait until my job stabilizes, I'm going to wait until the prices come down.
HARRIS: That's good stuff, Ali.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If enough people do that, it's just going to plummet and deflation is a huge risk.
VELSHI: All right, well, thank you, all. What a great discussion. And thank you for a great civil discussion because this is important. This is what we need, Tony.
HARRIS: Yes.
VELSHI: We need everybody talking, agreeing or disagreeing, but we need to hear what people really want done with this economy.
HARRIS: That is awesome. If you wouldn't mind, I know you've got a lot on your plate, can we ask that right track-wrong track question of everyone you've gathered there, and we will play back those comments tomorrow, I promise.
Ali, that's terrific stuff. Thank you so much.
VELSHI: Got it.
HARRIS: All right, the recession is, as you know, squeezing college students, squeezing some right out of the classroom. CNN's Sandra Endo has today's "Money & Main St." report.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SANDRA ENDO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Sophomore Zakiya Williams found a perfect fit at Spelman College.
ZAKIYA WILLIAMS, SOPHOMORE, SPELMAN COLLEGE: This place was meant for me.
ENDO: But when the tough economy hit her and her family hard, she packed her bags ready to drop out.
WILLIAMS: I wasn't able to get loans. Neither with my parents.
ENDO: It's a familiar story at colleges across the country, but especially at historically black colleges and universities, where in some cases up to 95 percent of students rely on financial aid to fund their education.
President Barack Obama has moved to increase financial aid with stimulus and budget funds. But, still, many black colleges expect enrollment rates to keep shrinking, as families and students struggle in the economy downturn.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Many students want to come, will they be able to afford to come?
ENDO: Since 2004 $238 million of federal funding was earmarked annually for historically black colleges, and in the last two years those institutions also benefited from an extra $85 million each year under the College Cost Reduction Act, which ends in May of 2010. So those institutions may feel the squeeze even more.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are under-resourced. We try to keep our costs as low as possible. That means that our margins are always very tight.
ENDO: In the Atlanta area alone, Morehouse College laid off 25 adjunct professors. Spelman is eliminating 35 jobs next week and Clark Atlanta University's budget fell with 70 professors and 30 staff members let go.
The White House Budget Office says President Obama's budget calls for a 5 percent increase in permanent funding for historically black colleges.
MICHAEL LOMAX, CEO, UNITED NEGRO COLLEGE FUND: We're saying you're moving in the right direction, but unfortunately in these tough times not far enough.
ENDO: For Zakiya Williams, a scholarship came through at the last minute and she says the struggle to stay at a historically black college was worth it.
WILLIAMS: I was completely relieved, and now I'm focusing on my studies.
ENDO: Sandra Endo, CNN, Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: And on CNN tonight at 8:00, you can see more of our series, "Money & Main St." during "CAMPBELL BROWN." We will look at how to cope through this tough economy. That's "Money & Main St." tonight at 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time.
You know, sometimes health care is about managing the health challenges you face on a day-to-day basis. We're going to introduce you to some artists and performers who found a way to do just that.
ANNOUNCER: "Money & Main St." presented by...
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HARRIS: You know, I don't know about you, but I get a little confused sometimes. Does President Obama actually favor a single- payer health care plan? And what does that mean, anyway? We need a bit of a reality check here.
Josh Levs is joining us with that. What are you learning here?
JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Tony, it's back in the news.
HARRIS: Yes.
LEVS: Because it's something that President Obama said just a couple of days ago. In fact, let's take a look right here.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I have not said that I was a single-payer supporter, because, frankly, we historically have had an employer-based system in this country with private insurers, and for us to transition to a system like that, I believe, would be too disruptive. (END VIDEO CLIP)
LEVS: All right, so, you heard the key words there he said, I have not said I was a supporter, basically, of the single-payer plan.
HARRIS: Yes.
LEVS: Let's talk about what that kind of plan is. And I have a very simple explanation for you right here. Let's take a look at it. This is the basic idea. Under a single-payer system it relies on one payer to fund all health care costs, and that could be the government.
In general, when people talk about single payer, they mean the government being that payer.
HARRIS: Right.
LEVS: So the idea is, instead of the hospital or the doctor's office charging you, the government pays it. You pay through this government system. Those do exist in some countries. A lot of people in this country are against it. A few support it. I mean you can find both sides. But that's what they're talking about when it comes to this issue.
Now, the key question, does President Obama actually favor it? Was he right in what he said? He said he's never said that he supports it. Well, actually, he has said that. Take a listen to what he said as a state senator in 2003.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OBAMA: I happen to be a proponent of single-payer universal health care coverage, but as all of you know, we may not get there immediately, because first we've got to take back the White House and we've got to take back the Senate and we've got to...
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEVS: So, in the past, he did express that support for it. Then in 2008, as a senator and a presidential candidate, this is what he said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OBAMA: If I were designing a system from scratch, then I'd probably set up a single-payer system. But the problem is we're not starting from scratch.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEVS: So, what you have there is him saying, you know what, he's actually not, as president right now, pushing for it. He's not saying this is something he wants the government to have. It's not his position right now.
When it comes to that key question, Tony, whether he's ever said that he supports it, he actually has said it. That's why Politifact.com, one of the great Web sites we check out all the time, "I have not said that I was a single-payer supporter," they gave that a false over here, and their truth-o-meter, they say, oh, yes, he did.
HARRIS: Well, can I jump in for a sec?
LEVS: Yes.
HARRIS: Just a second here, because I think as the other part of the problem for the president is the second portion of that statement.
LEVS: Right.
HARRIS: When he was a state senator, where he says, we may get there -- we may not get there immediately, leading some to believe that, you know, it's really what he'd like.
LEVS: There are people who believe that. No matter what he says now, he has said...
HARRIS: Yes.
LEVS: ... very clearly he does not want the government to have it, but, absolutely, you're right, there are people who jump on that and say, look, he has said in the past this is something he would want, so there are people suspect about whether he really has decided against it.
HARRIS: Exactly.
LEVS: But the current position that he expresses repeatedly is that he doesn't think it's not practical to make it happen right now.
HARRIS: Right.
LEVS: So, anyway, the expression itself when he said he's never said that was false.
HARRIS: All right. Josh, appreciate it. Thank you.
LEVS: Thank, Tony. Yes.
HARRIS: Overcoming physical obstacles while navigating all of the complexities of the health care system. It is today's "Health Care in Focus" report.
Photojournalist Bethany Swain introduces us to the founder of a theater company for actors with disabilities.
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SUSIE RICHARD, DIRECTOR, OPEN CIRCLE THEATER: Hang on. I'm trying to be interpreter, too. Guys, go behind -- open circles that we showcase professional artists with disabilities. Do you understand what I'm saying? No. This idea that we have played around with trying to really needed to be there in the community. What I'd like to do first is a vocal warm up. My name is Susie Richard. We're usually pretty proud of the product. All of the actors tend to learn a lot about helping each other out.
I'm an actress and director and artistic director of Open Circle Theater. I was born with osteogenesis imperfecta which is also known as brittle bones disease.
It's way too tight. Look at how tight it is for the wheelchairs to come in that way.
About 20,000 to 40,000 people in -- just in the country that have it, kind of like osteoporosis for your whole life, but a lot more complicated.
(LAUGHTER)
Fourth of four children, I was pretty much expected to do what everyone else was, although according to my brother, not as many chores as everyone else. I had to have rods to put in my leg bones to just sort of act as an infrastructure under the bone because the bone wasn't very good.
Having a family that was able to deal with it helps a lot. Having really great medical care helped a lot. I'm retired on disability because I'm too sick to work. Now I'm back on Medicare through Social Security.
So I can have him on stage?
I still have a limit on how much I can make. So I don't own any property, because I'm not allowed to. My car is also my parents' car.
Let's get in places.
So, I start doing well, I get nervous, because am I going to lose my benefits? I sincerely believe that people with disabilities, if you want them to be at all useful part of the society, you need to have medical care that you don't have to worry about having.
Well, then, clearly if you want people in general to be a useful part of society, they need to have medical care. And you never know what's going to come up with my body, but you never know what's going to come up with your body either.
I think definitely that theater is the thing that has kept me sane so to speak and that has helped a lot. And just being able to express myself and help other people express themselves is really important.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: Yep.
Still to come, if you find yourself out of a job, what benefits can you expect? We're breaking it down. ANNOUNCER: "Health Care in Focus" is brought to you by...
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HARRIS: 558,000 Americans filed first-time jobless claims last week, but actually, you know, getting those benefits is no simple matter. Just what do you need to know?
Poppy Harlow has our breakdown from the CNNMoney.com newsroom.
Good to see you, Poppy.
POPPY HARLOW, CNNMONEY.COM: Good to see you, Tony. I mea, people, hundreds of thousands of people, week by week, lining up for these benefits and a lot of them don't know exactly how it works.
It's a confusing system. You should know you get 26 weeks to start off with in pretty much every state, but your eligibility beyond that, it also depends on how long you've worked, how much you've made before you laid off, and then there are these extensions that you see up on your screen.
But those differ state to state. You get 79 weeks in Michigan, because it's got the highest unemployment rate in the country versus 46 weeks in Utah, for example, so getting the final extension of those, too, can be pretty tricky.
According to the National Employment Law Project, they told us there are, quote, "crazy rules" and they actually estimate, Tony, that about half of the people who should be getting their unemployment benefits are not.
One example of that is every week, Tony, you've got to prove that you're looking for work in three different places just to qualify. And you can do it over the phone. You can do it online. But if you have any sort of complicated claim, Tony.
HARRIS: Right.
HARLOW: It can take hours, we hear, to get through to someone. They're relatively short-staffed. The only good news to tell you on that front, the unemployment office has got $500 million from the stimulus bill, so apparently they're starting to staff up more. But it can be just a complete headache.
HARRIS: Absolutely. What else is out there that could possibly delay or even jeopardize these benefits?
HARLOW: Yes, I mean, so we're lucky enough to have our jobs.
HARRIS: Yes, yes.
HARLOW: So we're not experiencing this. So I talked to some people on the phone yesterday that are unemployed. We're doing a story on them next week. One person wrote in to me on Facebook, Sherry wrote in, she talked about getting laid off from a defense contracting job.
She wrote in to us that, "I was able to accept a much lower paying job, but by the time I paid the health insurance, taxes and gasoline to get to work, I was actually making less than unemployment. Now I'm worried I'll be kicked off unemployment because I've left that job."
And to be honest, Tony, legally, she really could be kicked off of unemployment. Because when you file a claim, your previous employer is notified. They can challenge it and you can't get unemployment if you've fired or if you quit.
So employers are the ones that pay in to that unemployment insurance pool. So they have an incentive to dispute the claim.
HARRIS: Yes.
HARLOW: And what we're hearing from experts, about 25 percent of all unemployment claims are actually challenged by people's previous employer. So that's a big issue. Also trying to get through that process means delays and there has to be someone arbitrating the dispute, Tony.
HARRIS: Yes.
HARLOW: So, the bottom line, get your claim in immediately and know and do the research about what glitches you could encounter, Tony.
HARRIS: Look, I'm going to differ with you just a moment here. You know, the CNNMoney team is lucky to have you. All right? Just to be...
HARLOW: Tony, thanks. A lot of people behind me do a lot of work that you see here. So certainly not just me.
HARRIS: Yes. Yes. We try to pay that entire team off every day. You guys do a terrific job for us and for everyone watching.
Poppy, appreciate it. Thank you.
A rowing team was trying to break a record when real life intruded. A plane crashed nearby and the pilot needed to be rescued. You will see some amazing pictures. That's next.
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HARRIS: So here's the story. Four men set off almost two weeks ago to set a world record for rowing all around Britain. Reporter Phil Ray Smith of ITN picks up the story from there.
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PHIL RAY SMITH, ITN REPORTER: When Will Homer saw a plane ditch in the Irish sea, he could barely believe his eyes.
WILL HOMER, ROWER: We saw a plane crash.
SMITH: But the rowers abandoned a record attempt to investigate and found not only a plane, but the pilot, who'd survived.
HOMER: You all right? I know, I saw you. I saw you. I'm amazed you're still alive.
SMITH: After making a mayday call to the Coast Guard, they tried their own rescue attempt, which failed. Fortunately a helicopter was on its way, and just in time.
HOMER: The helicopter's two minutes.
SMITH: As it arrives, the Avid Speed Wing aircraft which pilots John O'Shaughnessy had been flying from Wales to Wexford was disappearing under his feet. Thanks to the relatively calm conditions, the Winchman was able to pluck him from the wreckage. The pilot escaped with a few scratches to his head.
If the rowers hadn't seen the crash, it could have been a very different story.
HOMER: Amazing. (INAUDIBLE)
SMITH: The rowers' hopes of breaking the Round-Britain record have now been dashed, but they say they didn't give it a second thought when it came to saving a man's life.
Phil Ray Smith, News at 10.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: And we are pushing forward now with the next hour of CNN NEWSROOM. It is...
They put us together.
HARRIS: ... go time.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: This is trouble.
HARRIS: Bye-bye.
PHILLIPS: See you, pal. See you on the courts today.
HARRIS: Yes.
