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American Morning

Minding Your Business: President Bush's Proposed Budget, You

Aired February 04, 2003 - 07:46   ET

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

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


BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: The price tag from the White House: $2.2 trillion. That's the budget proposal announced yesterday. The president says it will help revive the economy. Some are not convinced.
For more on the budget backlash, let's check in with Andy Serwer minding everybody's business this morning here.

Nice to see you.

ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: Good to see you, Bill.

HEMMER: Markets yesterday first did what, before we get to the budget?

SERWER: They were up. The Dow was up 56 points. We had a rally. The Nasdaq up 2, S&P up 4 points -- you can see there. It didn't really have anything to do with the budget or with the shuttle disaster. More it had to do with the manufacturing sector expanding for the third straight month. So, maybe we do have a bit of a recovery here.

However, aerospace stocks did take it on the chin a little bit, because of the disaster, Boeing, Lockheed and Alia Technosystems (ph), which is the old Morton Thiokol business going back to the last shuttle. They're a big supplier to the shuttle, and they got hurt.

Futures weak this morning, though, Bill.

HEMMER: Yes.

SERWER: And I think we're now back to the stock market stalemate. It's Iraq, Iraq, Iraq hanging over everything.

HEMMER: We've been doing that since November, have we not?

SERWER: Yes, and it's not going to end until it ends.

The budget, of course, is always a starting place for a great debate in Washington, and this one is no exception. We have a lot of people bellyaching today about who will lose in the president's budget, and we want to talk about that a little bit.

Job training is one area that is going to be under the knife. Also adult literacy (UNINTELLIGIBLE). There is always contingencies here. The job training is going to be replaced by a voucher program. People are critical of that. School safety, how can you be against that? That's going to be replaced by another program as well perhaps. Juvenile delinquency.

And then we get into some other areas. Public Housing. Police hiring. Now, this is the federal component of it, let's be clear here. Rural schools, you know they're going to be under the gun. And child care as well. Also a lot of agencies are going to be getting smaller-than- anticipated increases, below the rate of inflation. That would include the National Park Service -- I don't like that. Fish and Wildlife -- I don't like that either.

But you know, something's got to give here when it comes to this budget because of the deficit, and I want to rate the deficit -- the budget that is.

HEMMER: There we go. There we go!

SERWER: I've got to give it a bit chilly. I want to give it a bit chilly, and I'll tell you why.

HEMMER: Really?

SERWER: And it's not because of the cutbacks in those programs, because something has got to give in this environment. It more has to do with the budget deficit. I'm a bit of a deficit hawk, and to suggest that the deficits will just dissipate over time I think is a bit of wishful thinking. Every president does that. I know the deficit is small relative to GDP compared to the Reagan administration. Still, I think there is a little wishful thinking going on here, and that's why I'm giving it a bit chilly.

HEMMER: Well, we shall see what the final form is.

SERWER: Yes, that's right.

(CROSSTALK)

HEMMER: It's never (UNINTELLIGIBLE).

PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: Then, of course, the big unknown is the cost of war...

(CROSSTALK)

SERWER: War spending, absolutely, Paula.

ZAHN: Thanks, gentlemen.

SERWER: OK.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com





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Aired February 4, 2003 - 07:46   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: The price tag from the White House: $2.2 trillion. That's the budget proposal announced yesterday. The president says it will help revive the economy. Some are not convinced.
For more on the budget backlash, let's check in with Andy Serwer minding everybody's business this morning here.

Nice to see you.

ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: Good to see you, Bill.

HEMMER: Markets yesterday first did what, before we get to the budget?

SERWER: They were up. The Dow was up 56 points. We had a rally. The Nasdaq up 2, S&P up 4 points -- you can see there. It didn't really have anything to do with the budget or with the shuttle disaster. More it had to do with the manufacturing sector expanding for the third straight month. So, maybe we do have a bit of a recovery here.

However, aerospace stocks did take it on the chin a little bit, because of the disaster, Boeing, Lockheed and Alia Technosystems (ph), which is the old Morton Thiokol business going back to the last shuttle. They're a big supplier to the shuttle, and they got hurt.

Futures weak this morning, though, Bill.

HEMMER: Yes.

SERWER: And I think we're now back to the stock market stalemate. It's Iraq, Iraq, Iraq hanging over everything.

HEMMER: We've been doing that since November, have we not?

SERWER: Yes, and it's not going to end until it ends.

The budget, of course, is always a starting place for a great debate in Washington, and this one is no exception. We have a lot of people bellyaching today about who will lose in the president's budget, and we want to talk about that a little bit.

Job training is one area that is going to be under the knife. Also adult literacy (UNINTELLIGIBLE). There is always contingencies here. The job training is going to be replaced by a voucher program. People are critical of that. School safety, how can you be against that? That's going to be replaced by another program as well perhaps. Juvenile delinquency.

And then we get into some other areas. Public Housing. Police hiring. Now, this is the federal component of it, let's be clear here. Rural schools, you know they're going to be under the gun. And child care as well. Also a lot of agencies are going to be getting smaller-than- anticipated increases, below the rate of inflation. That would include the National Park Service -- I don't like that. Fish and Wildlife -- I don't like that either.

But you know, something's got to give here when it comes to this budget because of the deficit, and I want to rate the deficit -- the budget that is.

HEMMER: There we go. There we go!

SERWER: I've got to give it a bit chilly. I want to give it a bit chilly, and I'll tell you why.

HEMMER: Really?

SERWER: And it's not because of the cutbacks in those programs, because something has got to give in this environment. It more has to do with the budget deficit. I'm a bit of a deficit hawk, and to suggest that the deficits will just dissipate over time I think is a bit of wishful thinking. Every president does that. I know the deficit is small relative to GDP compared to the Reagan administration. Still, I think there is a little wishful thinking going on here, and that's why I'm giving it a bit chilly.

HEMMER: Well, we shall see what the final form is.

SERWER: Yes, that's right.

(CROSSTALK)

HEMMER: It's never (UNINTELLIGIBLE).

PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: Then, of course, the big unknown is the cost of war...

(CROSSTALK)

SERWER: War spending, absolutely, Paula.

ZAHN: Thanks, gentlemen.

SERWER: OK.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com





You>