We really appreciate you being here. Busy campaign schedule, so we are delighted to have you join us at this event cohosted by the Community College system and Goldman Sachs, with whom i understand you share some connection with your past. Mr. Steyer i work for them for two years when i got out of business school. Those are the facts. Have your campaign, you clearly made the economy a centerpiece of your pitch to american voters, and these forums are intended to focus on the economy, particularly of interest to the many Business Owners who register in the small program. In talking to some people arriving here today, many of them had the same question i was going to start with. The economy appears by all accounts to be very strong. According to many commentators, it is at an asset to the president in seeking reelection. How can you make an economy that has seen consistent growth for 10 years, that has record low unemployment, a centerpiece of your campaign . Why do you think that is a Winning Strategy . Mr. Steyer so if you guys dont mind, i am going to stand up to answer this question. I cannot see people in the back, which means people in the back cannot see me, too. So if you dont mind [applause] mr. Steyer first let me say, it is a treat to be here with you. I am really looking forward to this conversation. I hope i dont know exactly how it is going to go, but if i get to answer as many of your questions as i can, i will be very excited. Because thats what i really love to do, talk to people about what they are worried about. How can i talk about the American Economy as not being successful when the president is definitely going to run on it . When he is going to say we have record low unemployment, we have consistent growth, and the stock market is at alltime highs. That is what he says every day. It is no secret. I think it is going to be very hard for conventional candidates to talk about that. I did start my own business, ran it for 27 years, built it into a multimillion Dollar International business from a oneroom startup with no employees and not even any windows in the room. So i feel as if i ran an Investment Business. The secret to that Investment Business was understanding what makes a Successful Company and what makes a successful country. Because it was an international business, and if you invest in marys business, lets say it is the best business in argentina and argentina falls apart. You are going to lose 90 of your money. So understanding what makes economies, countries work and grow was absolutely fundamental to me being successful for the last 20 years. I was in a business where if you are wrong, you lose. Your record is there for everybody to see, so you actually have to figure out how it actually works. Let me say this. I want to talk about why those numbers are not the right numbers. We have made the assumption over the last 40 years that a growing economy meant a successful economy. The American Economy has grown since 1980 pretty well and i would say relative to other countries in the world, very well. But if you look at how the money has been split up, you will see, and i am certainly a beneficiary of this, it has overwhelmingly gone to the richest americans, and it is not close. If you look at what has happened to 90 to 95 of americans, there has not been an increase in wages in this country for two generations, and that has never happened before. If you look at what mr. Trump has done with the economy, he gave the biggest giveaway in terms of taxes to the richest americans and richest corporations. The 400 top corporations in the country last year paid an 11 tax rate. Thats outrageous. We have an absolutely reverse progressive tax code at this point. 10 years ago, Warren Buffett says he pays a lower tax rate than his secretary. 10 years ago it wasnt true, but it is true today. Thats outrageous. Have seen this economy the assumption on growth is that it is fairly shared because it has been fairly shared in the United States traditionally, but it isnt anymore. You know, if you look at the minimum wage in 1980 and tax adjusted i mean, inflationadjusted it, you would get to 11, not 7. 25. That is no increase in wages, that is just inflation. If you included workers share gains, 22vity would be the minimum wage in the United States today. Lets first talk about growth. If we have good growth and all the increase in income goes to the top 1 or 5 , that is not success in my book. The stock market if you are paying 11 tax rate as a Company Amazon pays a 0 tax rate. In fact, they pay negative taxes in my mind because they make state municipalities kickback fica to them. You can have a booming stock market. This is a country that has started where the government is reporting to corporations, not to people. The booming stock market does not hit the bottom 50 of people at all, and it disproportionally hits the very richest americans. Thats my second point. Third point is, what is prosperity in the United States if it is not shared . And how do we create actual prosperity . Think for one second. Forget the numbers they report on tv and talk about what a prosperous, successful, productive country looks like in the real world. It looks like american citizens being better educated, more productive, more successful, better paid, and competing successfully around the world. What does the government do to support that . They invest in american citizens so we can succeed. And if you want to think about success, it is like, are we increasing the amount of money and the effectiveness with which we educate young people . No in fact, this president is doing everything he can to cut education. Are we pushing for the rights of working people to have unions to negotiate on their own behalf . I always say to people, walk into walmart and negotiate your salary. See how that goes. It is not going to happen. You know, i think walmart employees get 6 billion per of s. N. A. P. , food stamps. The american taxpayer is subsidizing walmart 6 billion a year that they dont pay their employees for a fair wage. Let me talk about the last thing that makes me crazy, and thats this. There is this thing called the american dream. That if you are hardworking and smart and ambitious, that it doesnt matter where you start in america, you can go anywhere. Horatio alger, the american dream. I mean, that is from 1900. The kid who is selling newspapers on the street who grows up to run a big company or be president. Let me say this. Is anyone talking to you about that . Because actual mobility in america is gone. I was down in georgia. They gave me the number on if you are born into the lowest littlee this is a wonky, so i will apologize. But if you are in the bottom fifth in terms of income in your family, what is the chance that through your smarts and hard work and your ambition that you move out of the bottom fifth . One in 20. As i like to say, feudalism did better than that. We are in a place where actually this government is serving american corporations very well. And it is devastating for American People. I have been organizing fulltime for seven years, but running for president is more i love it. Honestly, best thing i have ever gotten to do my whole life. My kids are doing it, my wife is doing it, we all love it. But what you see when you go around and talk to people in the United States, including in New Hampshire, is suffering. Let me give you a statistic that i think is relevant. Lower Life Expectancy for three years in a row. Why is that true . Three of the four top reasons alcoholism, drug abuse, suicide. You are telling me this is a successful economy, that this is working for the people of the United States of america . I dont think so. [crowd chatter] thanks for coming. We spent four years in New Hampshire and we used to go to silverlake outside keene. You are my first choice. Thank you so much. [indiscernible] oversaw all of health and wellness. The Mental Health crisis mr. Steyer huge. I am kicking myself for not bringing it up. I would say Mental Health is health. I could put an extra 100 billion Mental Health is health. Thank you. Mr. Steyer whats your name . [indiscernible] thank you. Increasing the minimum wage to 22 an hour. [indiscernible] mothers. Those unwed anthere day care is 22 hour . Mr. Steyer i know. I am highly aware. Equal opportunity begins at birth. I am excited to be here. This is awesome. I live in maine. I saw you were in new england, so i drove here today. Mr. Steyer where do you live in maine . [indiscernible] mr. Steyer really . Yes, i am. I am going to come to the event tonight. That was awesome. You did great. Thank you. You did a good job. You did nice job on the climate. Mr. Steyer did i mention that i was a Soccer Player and not a baseball player . [laughter] can we get a picture . Mr. Steyer when i was growing up, my dad said [indiscernible] thank you so much. Mr. Steyer whats your name . Im jack. Hi. I did have a question for you. Mr. Steyer what is your name . I have liked everything you have stood for since day one. [indiscernible] mr. Steyer i can say this. Late. In [indiscernible] andlast two, South Carolina nevada, i am but you have not qualified for the next debate yet. Mr. Steyer i know, highly aware. [laughter] i want my vote to count. Mr. Steyer of course you do. [indiscernible] thats the only reason i am doing this. I listen to all this stuff. Good luck. Mr. Steyer how old are you . I am 20. I am a junior. I live in central mass. Thank you for coming out. I have four kids. Two of the kids stopped their job to work on the campaign. Cool. Thank you. Thank you for coming out. Mr. Steyer your generation [indiscernible] think being on a College Campus i am in engineering school, but i getting more politically active am now. My friends are super into it. One of my friends led this huge Voter Initiative on campus. Thank you for coming out. Thank you for running. One thing i have really thought about i have done some tours around south america. Melting in alaska. [indiscernible] mr. Steyer its cheaper. It is, but people need to do it. I have seen areas where it really makes a difference. Reason, if Oil Companies are buying up all the technology and trying to keep it. Mr. Steyer have you seen what is going on in australia with the fires . I have. I have been to australia. Its amazing. Mr. Steyer it is armageddon. It is literally armageddon. It is a beautiful country, but a billion animals have been killed already. I went around australia. I have been there twice. Now ithats burning spent a lot of time there. I want to give you my card. You for yourhank service. Thank you very much. Hi, i am keegan. Mr. Steyer nice to meet you. Should we take a picture . Thank you so much for coming. Thank you. Mr. Steyer my pleasure. You, too. Mr. Steyer i tried to get you to ask a question, but i couldnt get the mic to defend myself. What is your question . Do i have time to answer a question . It seems like the democratic solution to all that is wrong is always greater and more expensive government, more generous government. And yet here we are in 2020 with record inequality. How is it that somebody can be selling that if we just redistribute all money and offer more things free to people, that that will solve the problem . Because fdr and several other president s after him have tried to sell that story to the public, of which they have bought parts of it along the way. But the ending is the ending. Mr. Steyer i dont think about it as redistributing wealth. I think about it as investing. I think when you talk about a kid getting an education makeking it free doesnt the cost of it go away. Do you have any illustrations of how putting something in the Public Sector runs more efficiently and more costeffective than in the private sector . Mr. Steyer you look at the returns. They are astronomical. I am talking general macro education. Mr. Steyer i am talking about if you have kids who are educated, what does that mean for the growth of society . What does it mean for every level of income . Let me give you an example. California spends 14,000 a year on k12 per kid. You spend 84,000 per year on a prisoner. If you can tell me you can keep someone out of prison by giving them a different trajectory in life by spending a little more money, it is a lot cheaper. I hear you mr. Steyer to be continued. Role, tell the truth and do what you think is right for america. I have friends who disagree on everything, and that is democracy. I am being serious. That is why i am never rude to people i disagree with. How old are you . 67. Class of 1982. Mr. Steyer i am class of 1983. [indiscernible] great to meet you. Hi. Martha cruz. [indiscernible] mr. Steyer i do care about that. That is very obvious. To me, the electability factor just went up exponentially by seeing you here today. Mr. Steyer thank you very much. Because you care. We need people who care. Wanted to introduce you this is my grandson eli. We are very blessed. Mr. Steyer congratulations. That must have been scary. We are really blessed. Mr. Steyer [indiscernible] believe it or not, adults really care. This for theg cameras. [laughter] i know. Thank you so much, tom. I have been signing your petition for a long time. I am from guilford, New Hampshire. Chance to see a any of the [indiscernible] mr. Steyer how old . Ninth grade. That is why we need Better Health care. My heart is just breaking. The problem we have is doing. I couldnt sleep the other night. The guy i dont know who is going to win. I hope you have success. I hope and pray you do. [indiscernible] he is a crook. He lies. Mr. Steyer doing the wrong thing. There are no rules. There are no boundaries. I just hope you have a lot of success, and please beat him. Mr. Steyer [laughter] thats all i can say. Please beat him. Marcia hayward. I wanted to tell you i love what i heard today. I am blown away by your comments, your articulation on the issue. I was in the back trying to ask you about the national debt. Can i find that answer on your website . Mr. Steyer what i say is this. Does that matter . Of course it matters. The parties have decided it does not matter because it is not in their political interest to talk about it so it does not matter. You know the old saying from hemingway, how did you go bankrupt . Slowly and then all at once. We are in the slowly phase. Debt explodeds was because he gave a trillion dollar tax cut to rich americans and corporations, claiming it would pay for itself. That is complete baloney. There was an article in the boston globe that was written sloppily. We need to get rid of lobbyists. Mr. Steyer all the things im talking about, every one of them is a progressive tax policy. The second thing is mr. Steyer i know you have to pay your bills, unlike mr. Trump. This is how it works. He has never paid bills in his life and this is him not paying our bills. Are you on the debate stage and how can i help you get there . Steyer if they run polls [indiscernible] we will find out in the next two days. Ok, thank you. [indiscernible] mr. Steyer what is your name, maam . Caroline. Thank you. I am celine. Mr. Steyer tom steyer, nice to meet you. Yes, i know who you are. I would like to ask you a question. [indiscernible] mr. Steyer look glamorous. We got it. Ever since way back, you mentioned citizens united, doing away with them. How do you think you are going to get rid of that if it is a Supreme Court decision . I have been dying to know. Mitch mcconnell rigged the vote. Praying for Ruth Bader Ginsburg mr. Steyer people ask me [indiscernible] is it . Nine judges is not in the constitution. People ask me, are you willing to go that far . What is good for the goose is good for the gander. Legal, it ist is ethical. You did something wrong, deal with it. I saw that, yeah. I think i have decided for next month. Mr. Steyer that works and it is legal. You got me. I was on the fence. Because of how they run politics here in New Hampshire, because i had a successor who was very into this, i have shaken hands with every sitting president since and including richard nixon. Mr. Steyer my goodness gracious, no way. I was in high school. I graduated in 1971. You are from keen . Whats your name . Ed. Mr. Steyer we used to go to silverlake when i was growing up. I think we paid literally 42 bucks a month. You could not drink the water that came out of the tap, by the way. Now let me ask you a question. Do you know any of the following people, it will who i have not seen in a very long time . Catherine or Jill Saunders . I know the name. Mr. Steyer do you know hillary colony . I know the name. Mr. Steyer i keep wanting to go to keene state. If i go, i get to call all these people i have not heard from in 40, 50 years. By the way, it is me. Who cares . The mill got converted to retail. Mr. Steyer when did that happen . 1990s. Mr. Steyer i understand they have really cleaned up silverlake. Bought up the watershed. It used to be pretty dang polluted and i understand it is a lot better. I have talked to a bunch of people. Thank you, sir. What is your call signal . Mr. Steyer maverick. Do you remember top gun . Our code do you want to go ahead . Therejust going to ask, has been some news out of iran and investigation into the flight that crashed over to ron over tehran. You tweeted about it. Looking for your comments on that. Mr. Steyer what i understand happened is the iranians shot down a ukrainian passenger jet by mistake. We are obviously in a time of extremely heightened sensitivity around iranian moves. We need to make sure exactly what happened. It is our job to protect, first and foremost, the safety and health of american citizens, so we need to make sure we understand what is happening and put into a longterm strategic focus. Which we have not had. Do you feel like the United States has enough credibility on the world stage to do that and to be believed . Mr. Steyer i think what the United States needs to do is get back to the idea that we are longterm allies and Coalition Partners of the other democracy and freedom loving countries in the world. For us to have credibility, we are first going to have to go back and reestablish those relationship and make clear what our values and goals are and have a strategy in the future to provide not just safety for americans, but safety around the world where we can flourish and are in a coalition with other countries. If i can just ask one final question, there are two days to make it onto the january debate stage. If you do not make it onto the stage, what are your strategies to continue sending your message . Mr. Steyer i will keep doing exactly what i am doing, which is trying to talk to as many people directly as possible, which is exactly what i was doing today. It wont change. I hope i will. I look at the polls in those states and if they run polls, i should get in. But i cant control whether they run polls and i will keep doing what i am doing, which is getting my message to as Many Americans as penalties is not being allowed to participate in future debates. For many candidates, that seems to have been a default punishment. Would you consider doing a nonsanctioned dnc debate if enough candidates dont make the stage and would be interested in doing so . Mr. Steyer one thing i have learned in politics is to not make conditional decisions. I have not thought about it. One final question on the developing news of the plane that went down in iran. Pete buttigieg tweeted innocent civilians are now dead because they were caught in the middle of an unnecessary and unwanted tit for tat. Do you agree with that assessment . Mr. Steyer i dont know enough about what happened to know if this was a retaliation against americas behavior. I honestly dont know exactly why it happened and wether it and whether it fits into the construct or not. For me, i dont want to go out and accuse either the United States or the iranians until i understand what happened. I do know mr. Trump with through mr. Trump withdrew us from the treaty with iran that president obama negotiated with six other countries. I do know there has been increasing escalation in both rhetoric and violence. On Something Like that, i dont want to be premature in understanding what happened until i get the facts. Thank you so much. It is crazy to think about civil rights being not so long ago. When you are in school, everything is fixed and then you become an adult and say, that is totally messed up. [indiscernible] not just on mark not just on mark. Denmark. People tend to put it into specific [indiscernible] it is wild of the single incident. [indiscernible] mr. Steyer i consider myself to be super lucky. I really do. Really lucky. I have never seen you get that emotional talking about issues before. Mr. Steyer a long period of seeing something unacceptable. [indiscernible] the vacuum they have to operate in on so many of these issues. The Biggest Issue here to me is reframing [indiscernible] mr. Steyer that is a retelling of truth in a dishonest way. [indiscernible] my point is, false narratives lead to bad intentions. If you can just demonize the victim enough, you can justify it. That is crazy. That is crazy. One of the most impactful policies mr. Steyer think about hungry kids. California,thing in farm to table. Schools in california with no subsidy. And basically help them eat healthy food. Someone asking someone was asking the one time, do you believe in god . I do believe in god and i go to church every sunday. I want to tell you, the closest i have ever seen god is watching these skinny latino fourthgrader eat a fish taco on a sunny day in california with a big smile on his face. That is god to me. A hungry kid eating a delicious meal on a sunny day. That is as close as we are going to get. Kids nds, hungry stamps, hungry kids. But Trump Administration has cut back on that. When i was in North Carolina, i i think i have told you this. I was asking people who were working for us, 20 hour a week Workers Organizing before the organizing the big issues of the 2018 election. This young 20yearold africanamerican female student at a Community College near greensboro said Food Insecurity and sex trafficking. Really . Mr. Steyer that is exactly what i did. That is exactly what i did. Im not surprised about Food Insecurity. I am surprised about sex trafficking. Mr. Steyer i know the issues for College Students are supposed to be health care, cost of college, Racial Justice and climate. I said, ok. I always ask the question. We were doing a halfhour roundtable. I said ok, Food Insecurity, is that hunger or a food desert . She said no, we are hungry. 18 of the people in the 32 counties around greensboro are hungry. And then i said, sex trafficking. I have worked with people who are representing people who are being trafficked. I know something about it. This was a year and a half ago. I spent some time on it. I talked through the issue to understand how it worked and what they were trying to do. Why sex trafficking . A 20yearold employed Community College student in North Carolina in 2018 said because the young people in my community are being trafficked for food. Every evere up since. No way. Mr. Steyer way. Just so you know. That was the opening shot for me. It has it came up in atlanta. ,. The last time i was in atlanta, georgia. Did it, ben colorado . In colorado . E up two major eastwest, northsouth highways. It is where all of the sex trafficking is. Mr. Steyer the other place i heard about it, literally, i think in december was nevada. I can see that. Mr. Steyer las vegas. 100 . Mr. Steyer i was talking to a woman, she was running in las vegas. Just so you know. You would not think that would be true in the United States of america in 2018. I am sure it affects disproportionately young girls of color. Mr. Steyer im sure it does. I think a lot of americans think sex trafficking is the trafficking of foreignborn people to the United States. But it is overwhelming young people from the United States. Right. Funny, this isis an issue people dont like to talk about. It is kind of the same thing. Is it awkward . It is a very, very, very sad thing. You are talking about young people of both genders being trafficked. We dont have a choice. Little boys, too . Mr. Steyer excuse me . I would think young girls, you know . Mr. Steyer it is young girls. Oh my gosh. I am naive on a lot of stuff. I try not to be. To protect yourself. It is depressing. That is why we need to have conversations. Now. I cant walk alone at on the street at night. That is what is scary. Mr. Steyer when do we meet three again . This evening at a house party in concord. [chatter] did you know Lake Winnipesaukee is not frozen over yet . I did not know that but i did hear from chris that the rivers and lakes are not freezing. Yeah. Mr. Steyer if it is not frozen over now, will it freeze over again . It is pretty crazy. I was up there on the 26th. Mr. Steyer we would skate on the river. That was just something my mom grew up skating on ponds and rivers in minnesota. I remember thinking i grew up skating on ponds, too. I specifically remember getting up early in the morning to skate up the river. And thinking how cool that was. Are we talking about we are talking about North Carolina. Talking about your iowa bus tour. Sorry. One second. I need to put my seatbelt on. You can buckle up. Mr. Steyer yeah. What is going on in iowa . Good. Forum. Did some sort of can you hear me . Can you hear me . This is not a good connection. Oh, ok. I just did a forum. Where are you guys right now . Ok. I think i was in fort dodge last week. [laughter] you have been giving a number of talks or have you guys been going doortodoor . What have you guys been doing . How is that going . Seriously . Awesome i was getting no, go ahead. You had breakfast yesterday, which town . Cedar rapids . Yeah. [laughter] i have been hearing you guys are doing a great job. I really have. The doors have been incredible. Really . Yeah, well, if you are going to take time off of work to do this, then you might as well take it seriously, you know . I think thats good. I am on your side, honey. Yeah, i think that there is an issue here about breaking through what i think of as sort of the political jargon. You know, the political language, which i considered so impersonal and unempathetic and in my mind, distancing for most people. And how to get through that is a real question. Yes, exactly so you know, they said that for so long and what has been the result . No action. Yeah. You know what scares children . Active shooter drills. What do you mean we cant scare children . Thats what we are doing. They are not fools. I think its much better to be out in the open about what the issue is and how to deal with it. Thats much more relaxing than something thats too scary to talk about. Great. Yeah. Exactly. It is a real issue. Hiding it is not going to exactly make people relaxed, you know . All right, you guys. Knock them dead. Love you, too. Love you, too. Knock them dead, you guys. Chow. What are they saying . Mr. Steyer that she wants to be much more upfront about the risk in climate, that she does not want people to say it is too scary to talk about, particularly when she is talking to high school people. She wants to be able to say no, its not like they dont know its bad. Its much better to say, here are the parameters of the problem and here is what you can do about it and here is what you can do about it than to say, oh, its ok. Saying that does not actually make people relaxed. The thing that makes people relaxed is to deal with it, as in all things. Right. Mr. Steyer rather than it being this huge topic that is too spooky to bring up, bring it up and deal with it. Confront the crisis in a way that resolves it. As opposed and let it fester and grow. To ignore it and let it fester and grow. [laughter] are you going to call sam . Where is sam . Is he he is in South Carolina. Mr. Steyer have him call me. Why dont you put him on the speaker . Mr. Steyer oh, yeah, i thought about that. Uhoh. Mr. Steyer yeah, i know. I will call him first. Hey sam, i am calling you from a car. I am about to put you on speaker so anything you say can and will be used against you, ok . [laughter] yeah. Mr. Steyer where are you . Charleston, South Carolina. Mr. Steyer what are you doing . Doing just normal stuff. I just did an interview for a youtube show and a meeting with the college of charleston. A meet and greet with officials. Mr. Steyer awesome. You know, i have met a series of people. I did something this morning with some college kids and a bunch of them met you and gus. Yes mr. Steyer yeah. Cool. Mr. Steyer they loved you. If you knew them, you would feel differently. But they insisted on loving you. Uhoh. Thats so nice. Mr. Steyer fun. You know i love to do that. And i particularly am interested in what young people specifically have to say. So i really enjoyed that. I just did one, it was a combination of the Community Colleges of New Hampshire, Goldman Sachs, and the Manchester Union leader with a bunch of Small Business people, which i also really enjoyed. I dont know if Goldman Sachs liked me when it was over, but i really liked it. [laughter] yeah, it was really, really fun. I really enjoyed it. It has been standing room only so that was really fun, too. People flowing out the door. Mr. Steyer yes. So have you seen have you learned anything in South Carolina today . Ummm. Two things. One, something you already know, but the conversation they do what they wanted to do. They were studying. Mr. Steyer where are these kids going to school . College of charleston. Mr. Steyer ok. Expensive private school, right . Yeah. [indiscernible] they were really nervous and scared about mr. Steyer money. [indiscernible] mr. Steyer right. Yeah. You know, that has been an issue in california i think since literally the 1970s, Santa Barbara oil spill. Yeah. Mr. Steyer ok, i have not heard about that issue in charleston the last time i was there so i am glad that you told me about that. Because i am going to be in charleston a week from tomorrow. I dont know where in South Carolina. I will be in South Carolina tomorrow. [indiscernible] mr. Steyer yeah, its not close. Where do you go from South Carolina . How long are you there and where do you go next . [indiscernible] mr. Steyer ok. All right, i love you. Love you, too. Mr. Steyer see you, man. Really fun getting together last night. Mr. Steyer oh my god, i loved it. It is amazing to me that now you are in a completely different place and we talked about and seems like last night was two weeks ago. I know. Mr. Steyer is it weird . Yeah. Mr. Steyer i know. All right, talk to you, man. Love you. Bye. Buddy. Climate sam is a Climate Change expert. Mr. Steyer well, you know, he is pretty knowledgeable. And he worked in clean energy for years. He is a math geek. No, he isnt. Mr. Steyer much more. He is a math major. Applied math with a grad degree in computer science. He is a serious math geek. Honest to god. It is funny to talk to him about it. He is legitimately i remember doing math problems. When he was like in fourth grade. I was like, oh my god, this is embarrassing. [laughter] you couldnt do algebra one problems . Mr. Steyer we literally were talking at dinner with a guy who was a scientist who ran bell labs. Bell labs was a huge research place. He started explaining something to us. Sam goes, is it like this. He goes, no, its more like that. He goes, why wouldnt it be more like this . Shut up, kid [laughter] i noticed last night, he mentioned how his natural ability. Mr. Steyer you know, that was him telling his story. Sam has always been pretty you know, i remember, hes always been a pretty hardworking guy. We went to talk to his counselor in high school. We thought he was in trouble. It was in the fall. She was saying Something Like, sam, you should just relax, not take it too seriously. Hes like, thats the biggest b. S. I have ever heard in my life. Thats ridiculous. I dont know what shes talking about. So hes in South Carolina now and you will be leaving North Carolina tomorrow . Mr. Steyer yes. Tell us about your relationship with barbara. Mr. Steyer well, i met him originally through next gen doing grassroots organizing. I dont know how many years ago it was but i met him. We talked about that a couple of times, two or three times, and had a meeting. And then he was at the 50th anniversary in memphis of the assassination of Martin Luther king. That was in 2018. And then that same year, we were both at the opening of the forrial to the victims alabama. Which was like a year and a half ago. Both of those times, we got a chance to sit down and talk. So, you know, i had known him by then. I got a chance to listen to him speak and talk. I see him on tv all the time. Mr. Steyer really . My people are from the carolinas and i consider him a modernday mlk. Mr. Steyer he is a ridiculously gifted not what you think of when you in thebout the guy monopoly game, the rich guy. My dad was a first generation in his family to go to college. My grandfather was a plumber. My father and his brother and sister went to college, the american dream, became a lawyer, left the law to go to world war ii. Because my parents were depression era world war ii babies. They thought america is the greatest thing that ever happened. If you are an american citizen, then you make sure you give back as much to the country that you got from the country. Because the country is such a great deal. Then he went into the navy, but because he had already gone to law school and frankly, he got great grades in law school, they made him the assistant to the chief prosecutor at the nuremberg trials prosecuting nazi war criminals. [applause] mr. Steyer again, not what you think of when you talk about billionaires. My parents basically thought you are supposed to contribute in america. My father said to my two big brothers and me, youre supposed to stand up for the country, whether it is internally or externally. Honestly, i can look you in the eye and say that is honestly why i started need to impeach, which i started over two years ago. More than 8. 5 Million People signed that petition, because i felt like i did [laughter] mr. Steyer exactly. Because there was something wrong at 1600 pennsylvania avenue. At the heart of america, there was something wrong. The American People have to raise our voice. We have to tell the people in congress to do the right thing and stop talking about the midterm elections. And what is going to happen if we stand up for what is right. Let me say this. I started a business. I built a business over 27 years. I walked away from it. I took a giving pledge to give the majority of my money away while i am alive to good causes. I have spent 10 years putting together coalitions of american citizens like the people in these rooms to take on what i think is unchecked corporate power. You know, my beliefs, the reason i am running for president is i believe this government has failed. It has been bought by corporations and it is not trying to serve the people of the United States. Thats why im running. [applause] mr. Steyer and so for 10 years, i have been fighting these corporations in a variety of ways. One way is in 2016, you can run 26 states you can run propositions and actually passed laws. I have taken on Oil Companies in clean energy in the state of california, where you have the most Progressive Energy laws in the world, but also passing 50 clean energy by 2030 in other states around the country. I have taken on tobacco companies, who had won 17 times in a row. We put a two dollar per pack cigarette tax and gave the money to medical, which is health care for the lowest income californians. The way we won, we had a picture of my mom, who of course every son thinks his mom is a beautiful person. It is a beautiful picture. Fishing at twilight. So she has got it might have even been on silver lake with her cap upside down. Shes got her fishing rod out and shes got a butt hanging out of her mouth. She died of lung cancer. She was a three pack a day camel nonsmoker. Take a look at this. The most beautiful person i know in the most beautiful setting i know smoking a butt and dying. And so, i took on tobacco companies, closed a Corporate Tax loophole for a billion bucks and gave it to public schools. I worked in legislatures to push for a whole bunch of progressive things that we won. I worked as an activist as one of the people leading the fight against the keystone pipeline. [applause] mr. Steyer you guys wont know this, but i was one of the activist who led the fight against what i hope is a last fossil fuel plant ever proposed in my home state of california, which was completely unnecessary and if i may say so, stupid. Which was going to be in a low income Latino Community on the coast of california, if you can believe it. We managed to get it stopped. It had already been approved by the legislature and governor. The other thing i have done as an activist is i have started one of the largest grassroots organizations in the United States, next gen america. Originally called nexgen climate, by the way. What next gen has done is the largest youth Voter Mobilization in history. We have been in New Hampshire since the beginning after when 14. Of 2014. Ginning we are on i think how many campuses is it in New Hampshire . No, no, no. I think we are on 19. I will get the number before we are done. But basically, we have been here on all the colleges we can be on. In 2018, next gen went into 38 republican congressional districts. We organized a young people, organized young people, more than doubled the turnout of young people from 2014 to 2018 in those districts. That is actually what i believe in. Registered, engaged turnout. Next gen also works with seven National Unions to go door to door in swing states. Weve hit 25 million doors over the last two election cycles. We are still doing all of these things. I supported but i cannot run it while i am running for president. Seriously. So let me say this, when people talk about grassroots, they are not just talking about grassroots. I am not just writing checks to grassroots. When i talk about this, i go to the campuses. I have been in campuses since the beginning of 2014 in New Hampshire registering kids, talking to kids, and making sure they have a plan to vote so they do in fact vote. I will also say, sometimes i wonder if this is a good thing. I went to high school in New Hampshire. I went to exeter. I spent four years in weather just like this walking to class six days a week. To me, we have been organizing here for a long time. This is a state that is very familiar to me. The reason my mom had a picture of her fishing on silver lakes we used to go to silver lake in the summer as a family. So i am the one person in this race who will say that climate is my number one priority. [applause] thank you. I teach kindergarten. Mr. Steyer let me say this. My mom was a teacher. If you dont get them by five, you have definitely failed. My plan on how much to spend and how much to support teachers is radically different. Radically different. My idea about the role of teachers is completely different. I view teachers as the stewards of the future. Yup. Mr. Steyer my mom was a teacher, my grandfather was a professor, my uncle was a professor, and my brother is a child advocate. When i was saying we spend 10 times more on defense than we do education. Its true. Mr. Steyer its not only true, its crazy. Is. It is. Mr. Steyer it is absolutely crazy. There is a rule that teachers can deduct up to 250 from their own pocket and a lot of them do more. It is like, are you insane . Are you insane . Teachers can only deduct 250 . You can deduct tens of thousands of dollars for going out to dinner for business . Are you kidding me . Its insane could we just have a photo . Mr. Steyer yes. What is your name . Liz. Mr. Steyer liz. From concord . Yes, born and raised. Thank you. Sir, right here. My name is david, nice to meet you. Mr. Steyer nice to meet you. There is something wrong here [laughter] i didnt hear anything about deficit. Mr. Steyer we blew up the deficit by giving breaks to rich people and corporations. I would undo it. I would have a wealth tax. I would tax half of investment income, like earned income. If you are a working stiff, why do you pay a higher tax rate than someone who has investments . We have a lot of money to spend. No, i just wanted to ask. Thank you for putting yourself out there. You impressed me on the last debate. Mr. Steyer is this your wife . Hi. Yes. Mr. Steyer are you . 1, 2, 3. Mr. Steyer what grade do you teach . I am an interventionist for grade five. Mr. Steyer the number one correlation with success in our society, whether you go to prison, is your second grade reading level. Can you believe that . That implies if you have not gotten it by second grade, we have got to be early. That means we have got to be early. It is a great investment. Thank you. Mr. Steyer whats your name . Im kathy and i live like two blocks away. Even if you were the vessel of god is that what that person said . Mr. Steyer imperfect vessel sent by god. Even if you are that, no matter what, if you are the perfect candidate, you might not ever get elected if our Voting System is gerrymandered and citizens united. Mr. Steyer Voter Suppression, especially of black people. Excuse me. I know. I am a grassroots person. I have been pushing against illegal voting behavior by republicans for years. I know. We have to fix that. Mr. Steyer one of the reasons the republicans are going to be so upset this year, they are going to think that if they lose, we are going to have an unfair democracy and they are never going to win again. They are going to be desperate. They feel like, if we cant cheat, we cant win. That is exactly right. To haveer we are going to win and make it there. You must be proud of what Stacey Abrams is doing. Mr. Steyer love stacey. Love stacey. If there had not been Voter Suppression in georgia, she would be governor abrams. Yes, exactly. Mr. Steyer legitimately. Absolutely. Gerrymandering, Voter Suppression, hacking. Thank you so much. Really enjoyed talking to you. Mr. Steyer oh my goodness gracious. Ok guys, we are here. I am taking it, i am taking it. We got. The college kids. The college kids. Mr. Steyer where do you guys go to college . Holy cross. Mr. Steyer i know where that is. You know holy cross . Yes. Oh another college kid. Another college kid. Ok, now take one. Chestnuts. Just us. Wait. Thank you. Mr. Steyer really . [crowd chatter] mr. Steyer no are you serious . I cant remember. Mr. Steyer is it about my soccer career because is it stuff i want to share . [laughter] congratulations on making the debate stage. Mr. Steyer look, these polls actually dont surprise me. This is what i thought was going on. We have seen very positive reaction and real momentum as a result of what i am saying. I am saying we have a broken government that has been bought by corporations. Everybody in the United States knows that. I am saying we have to make climate the number one priority. I am the only one saying that and people know it is true. I am saying i can beat mr. Trump on the economy because i have the experience of building a business and he is fake. People need to know who can beat trump. And i can do it. You are polling much higher in nevada and South Carolina, where there are higher populations of latino and black voters. Then there are in states like iona and New Hampshire where you are not polling as well. Why do you think that you are earning that minority support in those states . Mr. Steyer i dont know. I will say, of course, i am someone who is talking explicitly about race. I am for reparations. I talk a lot about immigration and i have a long history of supporting immigrants, of spending money to make sure that undocumented people get fair representation. I have a long history of standing up for whats right and to stand against racial prejudice and i have called it out repeatedly with regards to immigration and i have talked a lot about the need for an explicit, formal commission on race to retell the story of the United States over 400 years. I dont know why people are supporting me but i have a message that appeals to every american, as far as i am concerned. To me, Racial Justice is something that appeals to people across the board. [crowd chatter] im the one whos probably going to wear it. [laughter] [indiscernible] really appreciate it. See you tomorrow. Watch your step. Very slippery right here. Thank you. Good night. Announcer campaign 2020. Watch our continuing coverage of the president ial candidates on the campaign trail. And make up your own mind. As a voting begin the month, watch our live coverage of the Iowa Caucuses on monday, february 3. Cspans campaign 2020, your unfiltered view of politics. Announcer our campaign 2020 coverage continues. Tuesday, live at 8 00 p. M. Eastern on cspan two, President Donald Trump is in milwaukee, wisconsin at a keep America Great rally. Watch our coverage on cspan two, on demand at cspan. Org, or listen on the go with a free cspan radio app. Democratic president ial candidate and colorado senator Michael Bennet met with voters in bedford, New Hampshire. He talked about his strategy to beat president trump. And answered questions on the Upcoming Senate impeachment trial and u. S. Foreign policy. How about this weather . This january fog, can you believe this