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Obama Calls For Tax Cut Extension; Voting Rights On Trial; Internet Blackout; Temperatures Increase In The West; Cruise & Holmes Reach Settlement; Delay Your Retirement; Former GOP Prodigy Leans Left; Former GOP Prodigy Leans Left; Obama Wants Bush-Era Tax Cuts Extended But Not on Everybody; States Ask For Money Back After Overpaying Unemployment; Babies Benefit from Dog, Cat in House
Aired July 09, 2012 - 13:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Suzanne Malveaux, and this hour in the CNN NEWSROOM, we are focusing on politics and the president's new plan to extend the Bush era tax cuts for families making less than $250,000 as well as attempts by Texas to roll back the voting rights of 1965. I want to get right to it.
Deja vu in Congress. The house votes Wednesday to repeal the health care reform law again. It's going to be the 31st vote to repeal Obama care, as it is called, but it is the first one since the Supreme Court upheld the law. The initial attempt at getting rid of the law, it came in January of 2011 just two weeks after the GOP took control of the House. Well, that vote passed, died in the Senate, however, as it has every other time the House has tried to repeal the law.
President Obama says he has got a sure-fire way to help middle- class taxpayers, he says, keep the Bush era tax cuts for families making less than $250,000 a year, get rid of tax breaks for the wealthy. I want to bring in Jessica Yellin, she's in New York today. So, he talked about this and he talked about it from the White House. Clearly, kind of laying down the gauntlet, if you will. He says, OK, I'm going to put this before Congress, again, and this is going to be an issue that is going to be hot and heavy for the next four months. Do they think that this is really going to catch fire, if you will, as a campaign slogan?
JESSICA YELLIN, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: As a campaign issue, certainly we'll see this on the trail no doubt, Suzanne. I mean, it's going to be a battle for the next four months. In Congress, don't expect it to go anywhere. The House Republicans are going to have a vote at the end of the month to extend tax -- the Bush era tax cuts for all and along with some of some guidance on the comprehensive tax reform for next year. And they do not -- that means you'll a stalemate on this issue, and that's exactly what the White House expects. Here is what the president had to say earlier.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: My message to Congress is this, pass a bill extending the tax cuts for the middle- class. I will sign it tomorrow. Pass it next week, I'll sign it next week. Pass it next -- oh, you get the idea.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
YELLIN: Well, that's the bill the House Republicans plan to pass. And so, since they control the house of representatives, you are going to have a standoff and that sets up a campaign season fight -- Suzanne.
MALVEAUX: He said that he has cut taxes for small businesses 18 times. The president a lot of times has criticized that he does not talk about what he has done already. Is that the kind of language we're going to hear to take some of the attention, some of the sting, if you will, out of the jobs report?
YELLIN: Sure. And he also said he's cut taxes for middle income Americans by $3,600. That includes health care reform, the payroll tax extension, and measures the stimulus. And this tax cut argument itself is designed to further the president's argument that he is looking out, in their terms, for the middle-class. The bottom line is they're trying to frame this debate in a way to say that, look, the president wants to help out the middle class, and the only reason that he can't with the tax cut is because Republicans are adamant that it also applied to upper income Americans and they're blocking this tax cut extension.
And the GOP is saying, no, it's the president who is blocking the tax cut extension, because he's refusing to go along during tough economic times. The bottom line, are they are trying to, you know, shift the focus away from the bad jobs report? No doubt it helps do -- to do that, but it's also part of this larger campaign theme about fairness and about these two different philosophies on the economy that we've heard the two candidates framing for the last few months -- Suzanne.
MALVEAUX: All right. Jessica Yellin. Thanks, Jessica.
Voting rights on trial today in Washington. Now, here is why Texas passed a law back in 2011 requiring voters to provide a photo I.D. Well, in March, the Obama administration blocked the law saying it is unfair to minority voters, but Texas then sued the U.S. government saying its motives, political. The trial starts today and it is a real test of the voting rights act of 1965 which essentially safeguards minority voting rights. I want to bring in Ryan Haygood, he is director of the political participation group at the NAACP legal defense fund. And first of all, talk a little bit about, Ryan, the core issue here that people want to know. They are getting at ensuring the integrity of the ballot that people should be able to vote.
RYAN HAYGOOD, DIRECTOR, POLITICAL PARTICIPATION GROUP, NAACP LEGAL DEFENSE & EDUCATIONAL FUND, INC.: Sure. Well, thanks for having me on the show, Suzanne. What's at issue before three federal judges this week in a week-long trial at Washington D.C. is whether Texas proposed photo I.D. measure will be harmful to minority voting strength in the state of Texas. In that case, my organization, the NAACP legal defense fund, represents African American students who attend Prairie View A&M University and Texas Southern University.
Now, these students had voted in previous elections using the only form of I.D. they had which was their student I.D. Texas' proposed law now doesn't allow for the use of student I.D.s, but curiously will allow for the use of concealed handgun licenses. And it's our position, as it is the position of the department of justice, that Texas' photo I.D. law will be harmful to minority voters in the state of Texas.
MALVEAUX: Let's read here, Texas attorney general, he's responded here. I want to show this statement here and get your reaction. He says the U.S. Supreme Court has already held that voter I.D. requirements are constitutional and non-discriminatory. Several other states, including Georgia, Indiana, Kansas and Wisconsin are allowed to require photo identification to vote. Texas should not be treated differently, must have the authority of the other states, to protect the integrity of the elections.
HAYGOOD: And the question here, Suzanne, is not whether states have the authority to pass the measures, the real question is whether states have the authority, like Texas, to pass laws that are discriminatory. By Texas' own data, 600,000 registered voters in the state of Texas don't have the type of photo I.D. that Texas is now requiring, 170,000 of those are Latinos. So, there's a clear racial impact of the racial minorities in the state of Texas and not all of the people in Texas are -- not all registered voters in Texas have the same access to photo I.D. as others in the state.
MALVEAUX: And we've -- we're hearing from attorney general Eric Holder who says -- his supporters are saying that the critics are simply going after him because of the fast and furious controversy, the gun running sting there. Do you think that this is politically motivated here? That he has the point?
HAYGOOD: The truth is, Suzanne, that attorney general Holder took an important position against Texas' photo I.D. law when he recognized that it would be discriminatory to racial minorities. The fact that 170,000 registered Latinos don't have a photo I.D., the fact that Texas has not established a record to justify passing a photo I.D. measure as restrictive as Texas' is all show that Texas' photo I.D. law would have a disproportionate impact on racial minorities, and that's an important showing before the court this week.
MALVEAUX: All right, Ryan Haygood. Thank you very much, we appreciate your perspective.
HAYGOOD: Thank you.
Here's what we are working on this hour.
(voice-over): You can't get on the internet? You are not alone. We'll tell you why something the FBI is doing cut off Web access for thousands of computers.
You can't imagine working until you're 70? Well, one retirement expert says 70 could be the magic number. And he became a darling of conservatives when he gave a speech at age 13. Now, Jonathan Kroen is 17 and a supporter of President Obama. I will talk to him about why he switched sides.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MALVEAUX: (INAUDIBLE), you logged onto your computer today to do some surfing, maybe check your e-mail. About 200,000 might have been out of luck and knocked offline. Don't blame the computer. It turns out there's a nasty virus out there that's infecting computers all over the world. I want to bring in Dan Simon from San Francisco to talk a little bit about it. The good part of it is is that you say it only affected a pretty small group of people, computer users. About what? Out the, what, two billion plus Internet folks out there?
DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It was a couple of hundred thousand globally, maybe 45,000 here in the United States. But I have to tell, you know, I have been monitoring the reports, and, you know, thus far, we haven't gotten, you know, major reports of people really being affected by this. So, I think that you can credit that to a pretty good public service campaign. Over the last few days, people have been going online and checking things out.
But we should tell you, Suzanne, how this all started. You know, this started back in 2007, it wasn't like this was an overnight thing. This started five years ago, some cyber criminals from Estonia, they were able to infect four million computers worldwide. And these computers got malicious software. And so, that software took, you know, computer users unknowingly to fraudulent Web sites and the fraudulent advertising. The FBI, they were able to break it up. But what they -- what they quickly discovered, Suzanne, is that if they got rid of these bad servers, if you will, it would knock people off the Internet. So, they replaced those bad servers with their own servers, it was sort of a temporary band-aid, and now the band-aid is coming off. So, if you didn't, you know, get the software taken care of, then, of course, you can't connect to the Internet.
MALVEAUX: OK. How should you -- if you don't have an Internet connection, what should you do today?
SIMON: Well, that's a good question. You know, the best advice I think we can give folks is they can call their Internet service provider and hopefully they can walk them through it. They should -- they can also take their computer, if they have the time, to a computer repair shop and maybe a third alternative is if you have a second computer, a spare computer, you can check out some resources and if you have it, you can take some software, put it on a flash drive and transfer it over to the infected computer. That's a lot of work. I would just suggest calling up your Internet service provider.
MALVEAUX: Yes, it sounds like a lot of work. Are there other bugs out there like that?
SIMON: You know, not that we are aware of. This was a really clever scam. And you know, I'm certain that other people are thinking creatively in terms of how to do something like this, but in terms of this kind of malicious software being spread in this manner, I think was an isolated incident. But certainly, when it comes to smart phones and security, as well as your computers, you know, there are a lot of threats out there, so make sure you have, like, the latest, you know, virus, you know, protection program on your machine and your Smartphone.
MALVEAUX: All right. Thank you, Dan. Extreme heat keeps hop scotching around the country. First, we're talking about the Midwest which suffered and then it was the east. Now, it's actually a place usually known for natural air conditioning down in the pacific northwest and the southwest even hotter than usual. Chad, explain to us why this is happening all over the country? Any relief?
CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: How's 124?
MALVEAUX: 124, Are you serious?
MYERS: Death valley. I mean, it's called death valley for a reason.
MALVEAUX: Where? Where is that?
MYERS: It's in California.
MALVEAUX: Good god, 124.
MYERS: 124. And it's --
MALVEAUX: Crazy.
MYERS: And the humidities there are very are low. I understand it's a dry heat, but still it's 124. So, yes, the weather has shifted. The big jet stream has changed direction, and we are getting the heat now back in the west, actually a little bit more where it belongs. 110 in Vegas, that's only seven degrees above normal. They're not breaking a record at 110, but it's warm. 112 down in phoenix, 95 in Medford. Now, it's not going to be too bad in Seattle. Seattle is going to be actually quite nice. That's because it's right near the ocean. The ocean here, all the sound -- the Puget Sound water coming in. Seattle only 77 today. And I say that tongue and cheek, because Spokane, you're going to be at 96 to 100 there. It has been hot all over the east coast, I don't have to tell you if you live there. There's a cold front that came down yesterday. It brought some storms.
There's good news, bad news with this cold front. Yes, it took our temperatures down about 15 or 20 degrees, but it has been a bumpy ride for some people. So, here's what happened. You asked the question, how did all this happen? Last week, the big ridge of high pressure was right over the middle part of the country and then it eventually shifted over to the east. Now, it is actually digging a trough bringing down cold air from the northwest and allowing all of this ridging, and this high pressure, all of this heat to be in the southwest and also even up into the northwest. That's how all the shift pattern happens. And it looks like we're going to be in this slightly I would say similar pattern to this. So it could change a couple of degrees for the next 10 days. So, what you see is what you can get. New York City, middle 80s for the next couple weeks. That's going to sound pretty good compared to where we've been.
MALVEAUX: Never thought the 80s would sound pretty good.
MYERS: I know. That's right.
MALVEAUX: OK. All right, thank you, Chad.
MYERS: You're welcome.
MALVEAUX: Chad, why don't you stick around for this. One of the most amazing stories -- survival stories coming out of the Utah wildfires. This is Phoenix. This is a baby golden eagle. Severely burned when the fire hit its nest. Well, it jumped out. It fell 25 feet where rescuers found the eagle. Now this bird is recovering. It's too early to tell whether or not it's going to be able to fly, but it looks like it's going to survive. Rehab is going to take at least a year. So we're routing, routing for it.
News also as well in the entertainment world. Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes, they have now announced an agreement in their divorce settlement. Kareen Wynter, she's going to join us live from L.A.
So, what do we know about this? And this seems pretty fast when you think about it how things go at least in Hollywood.
KAREEN WYNTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It absolutely is. You nailed it, Suzanne. When it comes to divorces, high profile divorces especially of this nature, you know, these things take some time. But Katie Holmes filing for divorce back on June 28th. She was seeking sole custody of their -- the couple's daughter, six-year-old Suri, at the time. So the fact that this all transpired today has really surprised a lot of people.
Let me get to a statement right now from Katie Holmes and Tom Cruise' -- rather Katie Holmes' attorney. And it reads, "the case has been settled and the agreement has been signed. We are thrilled for Katie and her family and are excited to watch as she embarks on the next chapter of her life." So that's what we're getting right now.
From Tom Cruise's publicist, we also have a statement saying, "we are committed to working together as parents to accomplishing what is in our daughter's best interest. We want to keep matters affecting our family private and express our respect for each other's commitment to each of our respective beliefs and support each other's role as parents."
So, again, you know, a lot of behind the scenes discussions going on. In fact, over the weekend, the paparazzi snapped photos of Katie Holmes going back and forth from her attorney's office. And both sides have kept mum since that filing on June 28th when Katie Holmes was seeking sole custody of little Suri. And so the fact that this has all happened right now, it really is surprising.
Tom Cruise has stayed out of the spotlight. He's been shooting a movie in Iceland. He's been photographed on his private jet. But a lot of people are probably wondering, Suzanne, what the contents of this divorce settlement is going to be. Well, don't hold your breath. It's probably an ironclad agreement. There won't be any details released to the public. You can bet there are perhaps a confidentiality agreement that has been signed. But that's where it stands right now with Katie Holmes and Tom Cruise.
Suzanne.
MALVEAUX: So we still don't know whether or not she gets sole custody of their daughter?
WYNTER: Well, you know, that's a really good point. Because we don't know the details of that divorce, one can surmise that Holmes will perhaps have a significant amount of time in terms of custody just by the way that, you know, the statement was spelled out from her attorney saying that they're thrilled. And that's what she's been, you know, fighting for all along to, you know, have that upper hand in terms of raising their daughter Suri. You can see the photos there. They're always snapped together around New York City. But that's where it stands. You know, nothing in terms of details. But one can surmise here that she will be having a significant amount of time with her daughter Suri.
MALVEAUX: All right. Kareen, thank you. Appreciate it.
So, here's the question here. Worried you're not going to have enough money to retire at 65? Well, there's a new report that finds retiring at 70 a lot more do-able, but who wants to work longer? We're going to talk to the woman behind the report.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MALVEAUX: It's a dream. A lot of Americans retire at 65, start living the good life. But the recession has now put that further out of reach for a lot of us. Alicia Munnell, she has just finished a study that says if we wait until we're 70 years old to retire, we've got a much better chance of having a good retirement. She's the director of the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College.
And I have to say, professor, this is not the number we wanted to hear, 70. A little bit more time to work here. How did you come up with this?
ALICIA MUNNELL, CENTER FOR RETIREMENT RESEARCH: Well, I mean, the goal was actually to make people comfortable with the notion of working longer. Most people say, I don't want to work until my 90s. And so we thought if we did a careful study showing how much longer it would have to be, it would seem manageable. So 70 is the age that will let people maintain the same standard of living they've had before they retired once they've stopped working.
MALVEAUX: We hear a lot from retirement planners that you need pretty much $1 million to retire. What do you think of that figure? How does that relate to stopping at 70, working until you're 70? MUNNELL: So well really don't think in terms of an absolute dollar amount, because if you think about it, low income people don't need $1 million and high income people need a lot more than $1 million. So we think in terms of, what percent of your pre-retirement earnings do you need. And that number we usually work with is around 80 percent.
MALVEAUX: Eighty percent. OK. And the biggest retirement mistake that we make. Should we -- what should we do? Should we take a lump sum from our employers or put it off?
MUNNELL: I think the biggest mistake that people make is grabbing their Social Security benefits as soon as they become available at age 62. If people can work until age 70, their monthly benefit will be 75 percent higher than it is at 62. And that give you just such a much larger secure base on which to build, to support yourself.
MALVEAUX: If you were to stop working at 65, and retire at 65, instead of 70, would you be in danger of not living the way you're accustomed to?
MUNNELL: Yes, I -- our estimates show that approximately half of the households will not be able to maintain their standard of living if they retire at 65. So this moving from 65 to 70 brings that number up to 86, which we view close enough to the whole population. So if we could get the population as a whole to retire at 70, most people would be able to support themselves in retirement.
MALVEAUX: So bottom line, we just got to work a little bit longer now?
MUNNELL: We do. And we understand that not everybody can do it. Some people have health issues. Some people have spouses with health issues. Some people's jobs are outdated. But for the great bulk of the population, working longer is really the way to have a secure retirement.
MALVEAUX: All right. Well, we'll just keep working. Thank you, professor. Appreciate the study.
MUNNELL: My pleasure.
MALVEAUX: Sure.
He became the superstar of the conservative movement when he was only 13. Well, now, at 17, this young man supports some liberal causes and he also backs President Obama. We're going to ask him why.
And, don't forget, you can watch CNN live on your computer while you're at work. Head to cnn.com/tv.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MALVEAUX: Six more American troops have died in Afghanistan. A U.S. official says the troops were killed by an improvised explosive device yesterday in the eastern part of the country. It was a deadly weekend across the country overall. At least 26 civilians were also killed by roadside bombings. Two international troops were killed as well.
The feds are searching for a Georgia banker who went missing last month along with $17 million of investor's money. Authorities accuse Aubrey Lee Price of embezzling the money from a south Georgia bank. Initially they thought Price was suicidal. He had written a letter saying he would kill himself by jumping off a ferryboat. But now federal investigators say the 46 year old owns property in Guatemala and Venezuela and he might be on the run.
Retiring Massachusetts Congressman Barney Frank made history with an "I do." He married his long time partner yesterday. It makes him the first member of Congress to be in a same-sex marriage while still in office. The couple wrote their own vows pledging to, quote, "love each other and be each other's best friend in sickness and in health, in Congress or in retirement, whether the surf is up or the surf's flat, for richer or poorer, under the Democrats or the Republicans."
In politics, people change. They change parties. They change their minds. The political wind blows and they change. So, Jerry Brown, Arlen Specter, Howard Dean, they all switched or dropped their parties at some point. Even Ronald Reagan. He was once a Democrat. Well, here's another one. Remember Jonathan Krohn. He fired up in 2009 Conservative Political Action Committee, or CPAC, when just at 13 he took the podium, launched himself into conservative super stardom. Check it out.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JONATHAN KROHN: Conservatism is not about the party, because the party's merely the shell. It's the -- it's the inside, it's the filling that really means something. So, I want to get that straight. And -- but in the book, I have defined conservatism and I -- as I believe it is fit -- upon four categories of principle -- respect for the Constitution, respect for life, less government and personal responsibility.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: Jonathan Krohn, he joins us right here in Atlanta.
Good to see you.
JONATHAN KROHN, ADDRESSED 2009 CPAC AT AGE 13: Good to see you.
MALVEAUX: We were talking about this before. Tell me a little bit about when you take a look at that tape, when you see your performance, your thoughts, your political leanings, what do you feel?
KROHN: Well, you know, I think that when I was 13 and I gave that speech, I really feel that I didn't really understand what I was talking about. It was really more of me repeating a lot of what I'd heard, you know, throughout my life in Georgia. Georgia is a very conservative state, and there are a lot of very conservative people in Georgia. So I felt that when I gave that speech, it was just me saying those things I'd heard in my home state for so long.
MALVEAUX: Why do you suppose you were embraced? That you became such a -- such a figure of the political movement?
KROHN: Well, it is really, because in conservatism, there is not that many young voices. It's full of a lot of older white men. And that is the stereotype for conservatives, right. So a lot of people felt if they could have a young kid, a young Jewish kid on top of that, be a part of the conservative movement, it would be a big bonus for the conservative movement and look fresher, in your face.
MALVEAUX: Why the change? What happened?
KROHN: Well, after I gave the speech, and after I wrote a book, after that, I really kind of took some time off and I wanted to think about everything that I had written, and see if I really -- if it was really me believing that or if it was something that I had come up with and had heard from other people. So I started reading the philosophy and focusing on the other things. And philosophy is what did it for me, because I started to read the German philosophers, like Immanuel Kant, and others, and started to get into more modern philosophers, David Chalmers, and I started taking that and I became more interested in something else, and it gave me a breather from politics. So it took my mind off of that and gave me a new way of looking at things.
MALVEAUX: You write in the article here, because I want to quote you here, because it is satirical in a way, but you say, "Now I'm just another white comic book-collecting, sci-fi watching, film-obsessed" -- satirizing -- "sort of stereotypical Jewish nerd who has never been laid."
(LAUGHTER)
KROHN: That is correct.
MALVEAUX: Really?
KROHN: That is true. That is true.
And on top of the comic book collecting, I love that Wonder Woman mug right there.
MALVEAUX: Yes, the Wonder Woman mug right there.
KROHN: Yes.
(CROSSTALK)
MALVEAUX: A little bit of a nerd.
KROHN: Two peas in a pod. No, I feel, for me, it is -- life should be about -- and your political opinion should reflect who you are as a person, not what ideology you embrace. I want to be myself and have fun with my life and do what I do.
(CROSSTALK)
MALVEAUX: What has been the reaction here, because you are headed off to NYU and you are -- you know, a new life ahead? How do people respond to you and how do conservatives respond?
KROHN: Well, the conservatives have not responded nicely. There have been a couple of different ones, different responses from conservatives. I address them in the piece that I wrote for is "Salon" yesterday. But some of the responses have been vicious. "The Daily Caller" has been mean. One of the articles said that my glasses are thick-rimmed glasses, and so I deserve criticism for that. It is like a bully calling you "four eyes" on the schoolyard. There's a kid -- they have -- oh, FOX News, on the "FOX Five" they said I should be left in the woods as a baby. Various things like that. But the majority of the responses have been nice, especially from the center and from the left, or from more of the center-left as well.
MALVEAUX: It is possible, Jonathan -- and you say that you have gone through the transition and more open in terms of different ideas. Do you think that you could change again? Sometimes they say that people, as they are older, they become more conservative.
KROHN: Yes. A lot of people say, I'm a liberal now, and I did not say that. I just said that I have more left leaning opinions than I did before. And I have a lot more left leaning opinions than right leaning opinions, of course, now, but I feel that I'm Jonathan Krohn. And I have my own opinions of things. And those opinions might change, just like anybody's opinions might change. I just want to be Jonathan Krohn and do what I want to do. I want to write more humor pieces and satire and I have more fun of that. I enjoy that. I just want to have fun and --
(CROSSTALK)
MALVEAUX: And get a date as well, yes?
KROHN: That would be great.
(LAUGHTER)
That would be wonderful, absolutely wonderful.
(LAUGHTER)
MALVEAUX: Everybody has the right to evolve and be themselves.
KROHN: Absolutely.
MALVEAUX: Thank you for joining us.
KROHN: Glad to be here.
MALVEAUX: We appreciate it.
And just an hour ago, President Obama announced a plan to extend Bush-era tax cuts for families making less than $250,000 a year. Why now, and how it's going to affect him in the election.
(APPLAUSE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MALVEAUX: All right. We have a political riddle for you. What is the difference between a tax cut and a tax increase? Of course, it depends on who is selling what. President Obama says he wants a one- year extension of the Bush-era tax cuts for the middle-class. Mitt Romney calls that a massive tax increase.
I want to bring in Jim Acosta, our national political correspondent, and talk about it.
Jim, we know that both sides are clearly trying to sell the message here that resonates with the American people.
JIM ACOSTA, CNN NATIONAL POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Right.
MALVEAUX: And Romney campaign, obviously responding, even before the president spoke at the White House. What did they say?
ACOSTA: Well, you know, Suzanne, they put out a brief statement from the campaign spokeswoman, Andrea Saul, and we can put it up on the screen for you. and it is what the Republicans have been saying all day, and pretty much throughout the debate of whether the Bush tax cuts should be extended and for whom. This is a statement from Andrea Saul, released earlier this morning, saying basically that President Obama's response to more bad economic news is a massive tax increase. It just proves again that the president does not have a clue how to help Americans get to work again and help the middle-class.
You'll note the term used there, middle class. It is interesting. one thing we should point out, Suzanne, Mitt Romney over the weekend was at a couple of fundraisers in the Hamptons and at one of the fundraisers our Shawna Shepherd, one of our political producers on the scene, got a recording of Mitt Romney talking to wealthy donors at the fundraiser, saying that he also wants to be out there looking out for the middle-class, and that he is not so much worried about the wealthy donors. And he said, in his words, they are, quote, "doing just fine."
So it is interesting to see the president targeting the middle class voters today. And we will hear more of that from Mitt Romney. You saw it in that statement from Andrea Saul. Perhaps more of it later in the week when he will be in Colorado tomorrow -- Suzanne?
MALVEAUX: Jim, tell us why that is so important, the middle- class, because clearly going after the Independence and those in the swing states and already the opposite polar ends have made up their minds.
ACOSTA: Right. I mean, this is where the battle lines are going to be drawn for the fall campaign. You can look at the 15 or so battleground states that are out there. It is going to come down to the Independent voters and middle-class voters. In the end, that is where this election is going to be decided. And so, you know, you saw over the weekend, the president's surrogates are going after Mitt Romney's wealth. That recent disclosure that was in "Vanity Fair," that Mitt Romney had this offshore holding in Bermuda that was not fully disclosed previously. You saw Robert Gibbs saying on "State of the Union" on Sunday that Mitt Romney doesn't shop for banks based on the nearest ATM, but where it is best to put his offshore holdings.
So you know, this going to be going on for some time. And both sides will be targeting the middle-class. And it sounds like, from what the Democrats are saying and what Team Obama is saying, they want to portray Mitt Romney as this Mr. One Percent. And that means going after the wealth and the donors. And we will see more of that as the days move on -- Suzanne?
MALVEAUX: And, Jim, finally, this extending the Bush tax cut is not going to pass. Was this really just a political theater on both parts and both sides?
ACOSTA: Yes, I think that is what it is. I mean, this -- right now, as the president said earlier, we are at a stalemate. And this election, if it is even possible, will break the stalemate. However, you could look at the way that the likely breakdown of the Senate and the House will play out. And we may have a stalemate after November.
But both sides are basically say saying, at this point, Suzanne -- and this may be the one area where they do agree -- is that the American voters out there have a choice. It's about which direction you want to go. And that is what both campaigns are being up front about at this point. They have a choice coming up in November, and they will have to make the choice accordingly, and it is basically a choice between two visions for the future. If you want to see those Bush tax cuts made permanent for all Americans, then Mitt Romney is the guy. If you are with the president and you think it is only the wealthy who should have the tax cuts extended, then President Obama is the guy. And that is basically where a lot of the issues are going to play out -- Suzanne?
MALVEAUX: All right. We will see which way it swings.
Thank you, Jim. Good to see you.
ACOSTA: You bet.
MALVEAUX: If you are looking for life insurance, how do you find the policy that is right for you? Well, that is what Poppy Harlow and the "Help Desk" team are talking about today.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
POPPY HARLOW, CNNMONEY.COM CORRESPONDENT: Hey, there, everyone. Here at the "Help Desk" today we are talking about insurance, life insurance specifically.
With me are Ryan Mack and Carmen Wong Ulrich.
Carmen, take a listen to this question. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm a mother and I have a job, and so I have a question regarding life insurance and what is the best route for me.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARLOW: Well, life insurance can be expensive if she is not getting it through work. What is the take?
CARMEN WONG ULRICH, PRESIDENT ALTA WEALTH MANAGEMENT: Go for the term policy. Term insurance is a lot less experience, because it is a simple product and it works like the auto insurance. You pay a monthly rate and, if you pass away within a certain period of time, a term, that money comes to you. She makes a point. She says, I have a job and am making money. Even if you are a stay-at-home parent, it is important to realize that someone, should you go, is going to have to pay for the services that you give your family. So even you need term insurance. And it is important to keep that term policy even if you go to an employer who offers life insurance, because with this job market, once you are let go, that insurance goes away. And as you get older, it is important to keep your own policies as well.
RYAN MACK, PRESIDENT OPTIMUM CAPITAL MANAGEMENT: And I want to make this point. Predatory insurance practices are more common than predatory lending practices. Predatory lending is more impactiful, so it gets more press. But predatory insurance, you will be surprised with people having two or three policies. It is not just about affordability, it's about need. Because if --
(CROSSTALK)
HARLOW: How do you vet the policy?
MACK: Are they A-rated policies? Go to web sites like fincal.com? I know "CNN Money" has different insurance analysis-type questionnaires to fill out. So when you go into the office with the right information, you know, I need only $250,000, so they try to sell you $2 million worth of coverage --
(CROSSTALK)
MACK: -- you can walk away.
HARLOW: Sure. You don't need it.
Know what you need.
ULRICH: Yes. Be a savvy consumer.
HARLOW: Thank you very much.
If you want a question that you want the financial experts to tackle, upload a 30-second video with your "Help Desk" question to ireport.com. (END VIDEOTAPE)
MALVEAUX: Imagine getting a check in the mail and you cash it and then you're asked to return the money. That is happening to millions of people who are getting unemployment checks.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MALVEAUX: The Labor Department says that the states overpaid $14 billion in jobless benefits last year, which is about 11 percent of all benefits paid out. Now the government wants the money back.
Felicia Taylor is at the New York Stock Exchange.
And, Felicia, I cannot imagine that is going to happen. What are they going to do?
FELICIA TAYLOR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Suzanne, it is not an isolated event. It happens in many states and varying degrees. This is usually an administrative error. It does not happen on purpose either on the part of the government or the former employer or the employee or all three.
The government is making a massive effort to recoup some of the funds. It is $14 billion. Most of these payments end up in the hands of three types of people who are not eligible for the benefits to begin with. For instance, those who are not actively searching for a job. You cannot be collecting benefits and not looking for a job. Or those who were fired or quit voluntarily from something, or someone who continues to file claims even though they have returned to work. So jobless benefits do have the second highest rate for improper payments after the National School Lunch Program. But overall, the majority of the benefits do go to people in need.
According to U.S. Census Bureau, they kept more than three million Americans out of poverty in 2010 alone, so they do serve an important role. This is a fractional amount of people that are affected.
MALVEAUX: And what happens, Felicia, if they cannot pay them back?
TAYLOR: That is a situation you don't want to be in. In some states, workers can have the repayment waived, so it's forgiven. They just need to prove that they don't have the means to pay it back, and that the error was not intentional. Or a state will set up a payment plan for the person, and they can garnish the wages or deduct it from the tax returns. It is a mountain of paperwork, but it can be hard to do.
The Labor Department historically has only about a quarter of these recoverable payments actually recovered. So it is a lot of work to try to get the money back. And frankly, trying to prove it is very difficult -- Suzanne?
MALVEAUX: I imagine, it is costly as well. Take a look at the stock market. How are they doing over the weekend?
TAYLOR: Well, you know, we had the horrible jobs number report on Friday that is a little bit of hangover into the Monday trade. But the sell-off is somewhat muted. The Dow is now off just about 40 points. It is really carry through from the number of last Friday. We have corporate earnings season that kicks off after the close today with Alcoa. Not expecting great results for the second-quarter profits. And that has a lot of concerns still out there with regards to Europe and what is happening in the debt crisis. So it is going to be a volatile week unless we get good news on the economic front, which I'm not sure about.
MALVEAUX: And we will hang on, hang on this week.
Thank you, Felicia.
Well, if you have a baby at your house, you should go out to get a pet, and preferably a dog, because studies say that the baby will have surprising health benefits. We will explain next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MALVEAUX: A new study finds infants raised in a home with a dog or cat are healthier in their first year of life. But remember it's just one study.
I want to bring in Elizabeth Cohen to talk a little bit about this.
We were talking about this on the break. Healthier in what ways? I love those pictures. They're beautiful. And you can tell the baby really loves the dog.
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Exactly. Very cuddly. How can you not like that?
The study in Finland looked at kids and ear infections and other respiratory infections and thought, gee, does it matter the child has a pet in the home and which kind of pet? The findings are really quite interesting and stunning. The numbers are pretty big. What they found is that kids who had a dog as a pet, when they looked at the several months that the study lasted, they had 31 percent more healthy time. In other words, they were healthier 31 percent more of that time than the kids who didn't have any pets. With cats, it was 6 percent more healthy time.
MALVEAUX: Why the difference?
COHEN: It is not entirely clear. It could have something to do with the hygiene hypothesis that you don't want to keep your kids really clean because then their immune system doesn't develop right and dogs as we know can be quite dirty. Maybe these dogs were bringing in more dirt than the cats were. It is not entirely but it does seem clear from this study that having pets seems to keep the kid healthier when it comes to upper respiratory infections. As a mom you want everything clean but maybe it's not the greatest idea. Kids who live on farms have fewer allergies than kids who don't.
MALVEAUX: Let's talk a little about that. What if your kid is a kid that might be allergic to a pet? I would imagine you don't want to go out and get a dog or cat right away until you have all of that sorted out.
COHEN: Right. I imagine parents might see this and say my kid gets ear infections a lot. I'll get them a dog. You might not want to move so fast because it could be that your child has an allergy to dogs or cats so you don't want to be bringing in something that they're already allergic to but it is an interesting thought and something you can speak to the pediatrician about. Might my child have fewer infections if I brought a pet in?
MALVEAUX: I wonder if there is an emotional component as well because you see that picture and just the warmth, camaraderie between the little baby and the pet and learning empathy and things like that.
COHEN: That's true. It's a great point. Anything that makes us happier often makes us healthier. Maybe that's it.
MALVEAUX: All right. Thanks. You don't have any dogs?
COHEN: We don't. Four children is enough. I couldn't handle it.
(LAUGHTER)
I couldn't handle that.
MALVEAUX: All right. Thanks, Elizabeth.
COHEN: Thanks.
MALVEAUX: When you think of playgrounds, you often think of kids. But now there is a place for adults to play and stay in shape as well. We'll take you there.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MALVEAUX: Today is a big protest day. Thousand are set to demonstrate against Pakistan reopening NATO supply routes into Afghanistan. About 20,000 demonstrators could be seen traveling in more than 300 vehicles from Lahore to the capital, Islamabad, for today's protest. The NATO supply lines reopened last week after Secretary of State Hillary Clinton apologized for the killing of 24 Pakistani soldiers in a November air strike by U.S. fighter jets.
Several stories caught our attention today, photos as well. Take a look at this. Performers covered in body paint, barely anything else. They were at the World Body Painting Festival held in Austria over the weekend. Some 200 artists from more than 40 countries showed off their designs to win prizes. Pretty cool. Now to Italy. These are soccer players from the Parma Football Club exercising on the beach in their Speedos, gearing up for the 2012-2013 season.
Earlier today, Taiwan tested 26 missiles in a live-fire military drill. Only two of them missed their target, an improvement from earlier tests. It's significant because mainland China, about a hundred miles away, considers Taiwan a renegade state and has missiles aimed at the island.
Here's a new way to keep people healthy. New York building playgrounds for adults. Got to love it. A plan a lot of people are welcoming.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TOWNSEND, TRAINER: We have too much idle time on our hands in New York City.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Helping me stay in shape. Sometimes we've got to push it out.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right now, we need recreation for everybody, for everyone, for humans. You know, things for them to do.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE; While there have been sort of outdoor adult fitness that could have been in playgrounds since the 1930s, in the last few years we've started to come up with newer applications.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's nice scenery. You got Yankee Stadium right there. You got cars right there moving so it's not like an indoor gym where you just hear weights dropping. It's kind of like you're outside. Before you know it you're done with your workout.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: People playing basketball over there. People running over there. People doing pushups, pull-ups, dips here. At times people need to clear their thoughts. This is a great place to clear your thoughts.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Not bad. We really care about people making a place like this.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Guy looks good right here. He got me out here. As bad as he looks he got me out here. I look better than him but inside I'm a little weaker. Working on the cardio.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Society shares a big cross when people are not in shape or ill. There are very practical reasons to encourage people to exercise in parks for free.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, I'm tired.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is one of the best things ever, just to see something like this. This is like an adult jungle gym, an adult facility, so really a good thing to have, and definitely should have more. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We let the world run our time. You have to take sometime for yourself and that's what this place is all about. That's what I love about this place. I get to fill my time.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MALVEAUX: I think I'll spend some time at that outdoor gym there. Looks good.
CNN NEWSROOM continues with Brooke Baldwin.
Hey, Brooke.
