our program on cnn international and you can see our daily pod cast on amanpour.com. good-bye from all of us here in haiti. i'm christine romans. welcome to your money. ali velshi is off this week. news this week, the economy's growing at the fastest pace in six years. but a nagging question. namely, when will it lead to job growth? president obama spent the week laying out a new agenda to create jobs and bolster the economy. >> jobs must be our number one focus in 2010. and that's why i'm calling for a new jobs bill tonight. >> beyond the applause, a tough road ahead for this president. of course, this is on top of the stimulus bill with a price tag that is now rising. new total this week, $862 billion. republicans remain skeptical. >> i think, yes, republicans could clap for a jobs bill. but is it going to be a jobs bill or a remake of the stimulus, which has been a disaster? >> so when do the words turn into jobs? let's ask cnn's senior political analyst david gergen, and candy crowley. david is turning the country around and restoring fiscal responsibility, and joanne. let me start with you, david. when do the jobs start coming? the president's making big promises for this year. >> i'm not an economist. but the ones i trust including the congressional budget office are predicting a very agonizing and slow recovery on jobs. richard freeman who is a major labor economist in this country, i was with him a few days ago. he said it would be 2016 before we return to the kind of job levels we saw before the great recession. so this is going to be -- even though the economy grew at a robust pace in the fourth quarter, we've got a long way to go and much, much work to do to restore vitality of the economy. >> so politically this president is saying, look, this is going to be the jobs year, 2010, he gets it, he feels your pain. this is the number one priority. but if we're looking at 2013, 2015, 2016, this carries political risks too. >> tremendous political risks. but he is at -- probably at no more risk having said this is the year of jobs, i'm going to restore jobs than he would be about anything. it's going to be in the numbers. what's the jobless rate come november? the democrats are braced for a loss and they're now talking about how big a loss at the polls when you have 1/3 of the senate seats up for grabs. what they're looking at is, if you go into this election with 9.5% or 10% unemployment rate, anything around there, it's going to be a huge failure for the democrats. and they're going to pay for it at the polls. >> joanne, we've got a poll i wanted to get your response to. this is a cnn opinion research poll that we took january 22nd. it says obama has paid more attention to financial institutions, 60%, middle class, 28%. that is a tough number. >> those are really tough numbers, but that's -- this is the issue he faces that he aligned himself with his economic advisers who were seen as closely related to wall street. now, i do think that his problems that he had with the business community conversely, you know, the business community has also been complaining that he's attacking them. >> and 77 percent of investors polled by bloomberg said the president is too anti-business. it takes business to create jobs. they're concerned. >> that's right, what he has to do. there's a balancing act that he really needs to walk this year. that is so crucial. right, on the one hand, he can't be seen too close to business. and he already has been. the anti-business measures, such as that $90 billion tax on the banks. you know what? it's nothing. if $9 billion a year over ten years and compare that to what the banks are paying themselves this year, $145 billion. >> just in compensation. >> just in compensation. >> david walker, let me ask you, then. this poll, by the way, was taken before the president's state of the union address where 2/3 or 3/4 of that speech was all about jobs. the president was maybe a nod to fiscal conservatism saying in 2011 they'll try to freeze a portion of federal spending discretionary spending. is he striking the right tone, trying to create jobs and spend money on the one hand? but with an eye to deficits down the road? >> two things, number one the economy and jobs, and number two what can result from that? so 2010, he has to focus on an economic recovery, do something about jobs and put a process in place through this future fiscal commission that will engage the american people, make recommendations so congress can make some tough choices in 2011. >> is congress equipped to make tough choices? that's my question. it's the tough choices they've been tackling right now. it seems like the big issue is reelection here. that is the big issue. and appealing to the middle class. >> it is. and the fact is that the president's making a good first step by saying he's going to freeze for three years a portion of discretionary spending. but that discretionary spending is less than 20% of total spending. and ultimately we're going to have to do a lot more than that to put the financial house in order. >> we're going to talk about independence. it sounds simple. if you win the hearts of the independent voters, you win the elections. one problem, who are these people? what do they want? upbeat rock ♪ singer:wanted to get myself a new cell phone ♪ ♪ so i could hear myself as a ringtone ♪ ♪ who knew the store would go and check my credit score ♪ ♪ now all they let me have is this dinosaur ♪ ♪ hello hello hello can anybody hear me? ♪ ♪ i know i know i know i shoulda gone to ♪ ♪ free credit report dot com! ♪ that's where i shoulda gone! coulda got my knowledge on! ♪ ♪ vo: free credit score and report with enrollment in triple advantage. you'll find the complete -- and completely affordable -- collection from van heusen at the men's store inside jcpenney and at jcp.com. style, quality and price matter. jcpenney. and all your little mile-pebbles ameriprise financial can help. we have over ten-thousand advisors ready to listen to your dreams and help you plan for them. because the first step towards reaching what you want is reaching the person who can help you get there. our advisors. your dreams. more within reach. meet us at ameriprise.com. all right. think back to high school. the most popular kids in the class right now without a doubt the independent voters. everyone in washington wants to be their friends. but who are these people? what are the issues that will get these independent voters to pick a side? back with the panel to go over these answers. joanne, everyone, you said everyone is an independent voter. and everyone's up for grabs. >> absolutely. you've got an issue with the president in that, you know, you saw the state of the union address, you read his books. there's that theme running through the president's aproech, which is i overreached. i failed, i learned. and now you see it again with him talking about jobs, you see it with him talking about health care. and, you know, unfortunately voters don't want him to be learning and making mistakes on their watch. >> candy, you go across the country every day, you've been talking to independent voters, what do they want? >> well, one of the reasons we call them independent voters is they want a lot of different things. and the fact is that you've got a country where right now in registration and there are a lot of states that don't have registration by party. but, you know, high 20 percentile republican, mid 30% are democrat. and everybody else is an independent. if you push them further, most people will say well, i'm independent but i lean republican. what do they want? they want washington to stop fighting and do something. i mean, if there is an overriding theme. because they do look differently at the economy or jobs or that sort of thing. you can have liberal -- more liberal will have leaning independents. but they would mostly like to see something done. by and large, i think when we looked at the figures, about 50% of males identify themselves as independents. only about 1/3 of women. they tend to be somewhat less educated, independent voters believe it or not. and they also tend to be less tuned in to the day-to-day activities of politicians. so they have sort of the 50,000-foot view. but those are the people that have always and for so long swayed elections. they are a tough crowd to attack in bulk. >> i think all of us are now scrambling to understand the taxonomy. and there are two groups. and one is the moderates. the traditional moderates who are usually playing politics between the 40-yard lines. and they'll be swayed and go to the other party. and they used to be the group that everybody -- and presidential elections, that's where you went. you went to the middle to find those independents to win the election. but there is a separate section that are more closely identified with the two parties. and who are much more populous, they are much more grass roots, much more blue collar. and they're coming at this from a different way. there's a strong strain of libertarianism. and they just don't like big government. they want to keep the government out of their lives. they want to keep the deficits down. they don't like all the spending, they don't like their health care. and they're fuelling a lot of the energy behind some of these, you know, populous candidates, like scott brown. >> right. >> they made a big, big difference in his campaign. >> weigh in on this. especially independents who have this very big fear of these deficits and spending right now. >> well, first, i'm an independent. and i'm in the ross perot studio doing this and i've been in 46 states in the last four years. what we saw in massachusetts was the rise of the independents. what we saw is that people absolutely disgusted with the gridlock in washington. it's not just partisanship, it's the ideological divide. washington is overpromised and underdelivered. out of touch and out of control. and, you know, the republicans better be careful not to overestimate what happened in massachusetts. and the democrats better pay attention because it's really more of an anti-incumbent move. >> you said something interesting. you were talking about courage on the hill in terms of deficit. talk about the courage or the lack of courage. >> well, i'm a john f. kennedy fan and theodore roosevelt. it was a pretty thin book. it would almost be non-existent today. today we could write profiles in cowardness. and one example is, on the conrad greg amendment that was voted on earlier this week, seven of the co-sponsors of the bill didn't vote for the amendment. now, that's a profiles in cow d cowardness, but i won't name any names. well, what happened, david, you have the far right, the fringe right and the fringe left that frankly would flunk math. they don't understand how the numbers work. and they have totally unrealistic ideas about what it's going to take to put our financial house in order. and those seven caved. >> all right. >> christine, if you go back to your main question, right? which is what can obama do to win back the swing voters, independent voters. i think the answer to all the problems are jobs. if the employment picture improves, the voter will come back. >> they're looking for deeds rather than words. >> that's right. the president's treasury secretary got a grilling on capitol hill this week. a second guessing on both parties surrounding the aig bailout. i sat down with the treasury secretary and found why he's thinking a little positive these days. introduces-- drum roll please-- new breathe right extra. the only strip with an extra spring-like band, it's 50% stronger for congested noses that need extra help in opening nasal passages... so you breathe even better. and now get two free samples... and experience a better night's sleep for yourself. go to breatheright.com to try new breathe right extra. yeah. would you like a pony ? yeah ! ( cluck, cluck, cluck ) oh, wowww ! that's fun ! you didn't say i could have a real one. well, you didn't ask. even kids know when it's wrong to hold out on somebody. why don't banks ? we're ally, a new bank that alerts you when your money could be working harder and earning more. it's just the right thing to do. a day after a grilling on the hill, the treasury secretary timothy geithner sat down exclusively with me to talk about the heat over his role in paying billions to other banks through the aig bailout. >> was it a mistake to not -- either treasury or fed or new york fed to not negotiate a better deal on those counter parties? this keeps coming back. you're going to get hammered on this until midterm elections are over. >> i will carry for my life the burden for the decisions we made in that context. but as i said yesterday and said consistently and i think the record will show this, we looked at all alternatives. and there was no alternative except default and collapse much greater cost and expense to the taxpayer. and we did what we thought was in the best interest of the public and the taxpayer. and the outcome today is much less damaging because of what we did. >> a lot of people say the american people got a raw deal -- >> they got a very raw deal, but their deal would have been much worse if the government would've stepped back and let that firm fail or try to default selectively at a time when the financial system was literally falling apart. the rivets were coming off the submarine. people were saying i don't have confidence in anything. and when that happens if you let that go on, it is perilous and causes grave danger. >> candy crowley, he says he will bear the burden of aig and the decisions made there for the rest of his life. will he bear them through -- and will the president bear those decisions with him through the midterm elections? >> if they have a -- 8.5% to 10% unemployment rate they will. certainly aig and more generally the perception that the banks got bailed out and wall street was -- main street was left to wither. it certainly is one they're going to have to fight. we saw the enormous poll numbers. that wall street was helping that they weren't. i think the problem for this administration, something we haven't yet talked about is when david mentioned earlier on how many of these initiatives the president's talking now about jobs and so forth are small. but the psychology of politics is every bit as important as the size of the initiatives here. and what this white house has to overcome, using timothy geithner, which they hope to do and others in the administration is to say we understand, but things really are better than you think they are. because no one -- someone said, oh, the gdp went up, or jobs are a lagging indicator. all people really get what everybody gets is 9.5% unemployment. my job, my neighbor's job, my kids' job, whatever it is. and that is very, very tough to fight psychologically. >> everyone weigh in here. because the beginning of the week, timothy geithner, the wall street, the embattled timothy geithner. politically, where does he stand right now? ben bernanke was confirmed? >> at the end of the week bernanke was an embattled ben bernanke and he emerged with a victory. and i think the bernanke confirmation is very symbolic of what's going to happen with the rest of the team. i think the president will keep his team through the rest of the year. i think he believes ultimately they'll be vindicated on their policy decisions. but they also realize they do have to change the psychology, that they are living on the edge of a volcano. and if that volcano erupts in november, a lot of people are going to be swept away. >> are they going to put this aig stuff behind them? there's 10,000 pages of e-mail they're going through. >> geithner's credibility has been so damaged. and it's not just aig. it goes back to, you know, to the confirmation hearing, the lack of paying of taxes, and his relationship with wall street before him. it's going to be very difficult for him to regain his credibility. and not only that, but a lot of the economic numbers that we're seeing here, you know, we have to take them with a grain of salt. the gdp number better than expected. that's fantastic, great for geithner, but you have to understand that a lot of that is rebuilding inventory and that number's going to get revised. and that number may not be sustainable. >> i asked geithner in this meeting. you're taking a lot of political heat right now. compare that with the economic heat of a couple years ago. i said how hot is it for you when you're sitting there under the spotlight in capitol hill and all of these people are hammering you about aig? and this is what he said. >> the economy today is in dramatically stronger shape. we've been growing now for six months after shrinking for a year and a half. we are just to the point now where you see businesses starting to invest and grow again. with that will come greater confidence. it'll come greater, you know, faster growth on incomes. and that'll help restore some of the damage that trust and confidence people are left with. >> david walker, basically he says after what he has lived through in the crisis in september and the months after rebuilding, a little heat on capitol hill he can take. he's not going to -- he's not going to show any weakness there, david. >> well, look, the fact is the american public believes that the financial institutions didn't take enough of a haircut in connection with aig. you know what? they're right. they didn't take enough of a haircut. and we're seeing that with regard to what's happening with record profits now. and we need to learn lessons from that. and the other thing is that both paulson and geithner were trying to say we would've had the great depression and 25% unemployment. i'd like to see their sophisticated methodology of how they came up with that number. you can't prove a negative. ultimately we have to prove what ben franklin said. good deeds are better than good words. and american people are looking for results, good deeds and results. >> well, more quick reaction on geithner and whether this president can overlook this aig stuff. can they get beyond this? as we go through the spring and summer? >> i actually don't think he can get behind it because there are e-mails coming out, and recreation of that period of time. and -- >> and i disagree. unless there's something new and explosive, i think he's going to put aig behind him. >> most people say this a lot of posturing for midterm elections. >> it's results. there's results. >> right. i was going to say, what will undo geithner is not aig and memos, but if they get to this summer and the economy is not showing an unemployment in housing prices in bankruptcies. if it's not showing any improvement of those things, somebody's going to go. and it would seem to me that the weakest spot in the circle at this point right now would be geithner. >> thank you so much. david walker, david gergen, everything, thank you for fantastic analysis. chances are you at least now someone who owns one of the millions of cars recalled this week. find out which cars are on the list, what's wrong with them and what it all means for the future of one of the top-selling automakers in the world. to anss you help our community get what it needs for the next, oh, 10 years. we can't move forward until you mail it back. 2010 census and all your little mile-pebbles ameriprise financial can help. we have over ten-thousand advisors ready to listen to your dreams and help you plan for them. because the first step towards reaching what you want is reaching the person who can help you get there. our advisors. your dreams. more within reach. meet us at ameriprise.com. we don't go lower than 130. big deal, pe 5uade him. is it wise to allow a perishable item to spoil? he asked, why leave a room empty? the additional revenue easily covers operating costs. 65 dollars is better than no dollars. okay. $65 for tonight. you can't argue with a big deal. preferred package. good choice. only meineke lets you choose your service, choose your savings. like an oil change for just $19.95. meineke. drive a toyota, a lot of you probably do. you probably know somebody who does. and two major recalls by the automaker are cause for concern. the first problem, the gas pedal getting stuck on the edge of the removable floor mat. 4.2 million vehicles were recalled for this reason back in november. and then added to the list this week, the 2008 to 2010 highlander, the carolla, the '09 and '10 venza. the pontiac makes the list because of a partnership between the car companies. the second recall is for sudden unintended acceleration or gas pedal to get stuck. this one affecting some of toyota's best sellers. with over 5 million vehicles recalled, what does this mean for toyota? and what can you do if your car suddenly accelerates? our deborah feyerick took a ride. >> reporter: toyota's latest problem involves a new twist. the gas pedal gets stuck even after the driver lifts their foot. larry webster, an ed or the at "popular mechanics" magazine says toyota's decision to recall millions of vehicles and halt production is unprecedented. >> nobody knows how long it's going to take for toyota to fix this. and i don't think toyota knows how long it's going to take to fix it and that's why they've stopped production. >> reporter: are we talking about a major parts change? >> you know, they don't know yet. they run the gamut. sometimes it's replacing a part, sometimes adding a part, or sometimes it's just sort of adjusting a part. >> reporter: the recall affects eight models, including the three most popular in the u.s. camry, carolla, and rav4 suv. it may be a faulty gas pedal assembly, a claim the manufacturer disputes. >> i don't know why they've had to stop production. usually you use two suppliers so in case you have a problem with one, the other one can take up the slack. it's a little bit of a mystery right now what's going on. >> reporter: dealers don't know how to fix the problem yet, but if it happens to you -- >> reporter: so you're driving, the car begins to accelerate, so you take your foot off the pedal and jump on the brake -- >> press the brake as hard as you can with all of your force and move the shift lever from drive to neutral and turn the car on. >> it's not smooth, but as we see, it definitely works. so as long as the driver knows how to stop the car in the event the accelerator doesn't return, you should be okay. >> yeah, i think we need to come up with a song or something, like hit the brake, shift to neutral. >> the hit to toyota's reputation cannot be estimated. it's unclear when they will resume production. >> hit the brake, shift to neutral. joining me now to break down what this means for toyota and toyota owners is cnn autos money writer. okay. if you own this car and you're worried, what do you do? you take it to the dealer, you call, what do you do? >> if you own a car in the first recall, yeah. if you haven't taken it to the dealer yet, take it to the dealer. >> and that was some 4 million cars, the first 4.2 million. >> and this 3.2 million, many of which involved in the first recall. they don't have a fix yet, but they wanted to put it out there so you would know. if you have a camry, take your car to a dealer right away i would say because they can tell you immediately not all camries are involved in this. they can check your gas bill and tell you whether it is or not. they can check your gas pedal and see if there's any problem occurring, whether this happened slowly over time. soy that can tell you if you're having a problem now and wait for your recall notice. >> we know there have been some deaths. there have been some deaths, a few deaths related to these, but there's so many of these cars on the road, millions of people have had nothing wrong, no symptoms. >> by the way, those deaths happened in just two accidents. so these situations are extremely, extremely rare. and as the gentleman was explaining in that segment, in it does happen to you, the danger is the panic in not knowing what to do. >> hit the brake, shift to neutral. hit the brake, shift to neutral. >> thank you so much. he's the man in charge of hundreds of billions of dollars of taxpayer money. watchdog of the $862 billion stimulus has yet to speak out until now. see firsthand how he's handling your money in an exclusive interview next. imagine... one scooter or power chair that could improve your mobility and your life. one medicare benefit that, with private insurance, may entitle you to pay little to nothing to own it. one company that can make it all happen... your power chair will be paid in full. the scooter store. hi i'm dan weston. we're experts at getting you the scooter or power chair you need. in fact, if we pre-qualify you for medicare reimbursement and medicare denies your claim, we'll give you your new power chair or scooter free. i didn't pay a penny out of pocket for my power chair. with help from the scooter store, medicare and my insurance covered it all. call the scooter store for free information today. call the number on your screen for free information. $862 billion is a whole lot of money. but someone has to file that sum of cash allotted for the stimulus. appointed by president obama to keep those doling out the money honest. and until mr. duvaney has declined an interview. >> reporter: an early morning car pool with his wife arriving at a building just steps from the white house, probably not what you'd expect from the man in charge of overseeing $862 billion in taxpayer money. >> tom, what's your start today? >> reporter: his name is earl duvaney, chairman of the transparency board, affectionately known as the r.a.t. board. 62 years old and ready to retire, devaney was appointed days after the stimulus bill passed. >> he's tough -- >> reporter: the president announced the appointment ten minutes after he formally accepted the job. his wife got the news from a co-worker who saw it on tv. >> i had a hard time coming up with the right birthday present this year. >> i think he's done a tremendous job. it's all about credibility. >> reporter: he reports directly to vice president biden. we spent a day with him to find out how he does this job. watching out for your money. >> anyone coming up, where are my tax dollars today? >> not today. but i wouldn't be surprised. if you're going to steal money, this is not the money to steal. >> reporter: his staffers call him the big guy. he's a former college football line man, later a secret service agent turned inspector general. best known for helping uncover the jack abramoff lobbying scandal at the interior department. >> reporter: what should the american public trust you with their tax dollars? >> all i've ever done is try to ensure that the american people don't get ripped off or have their money wasted. >> reporter: he says his goal for recovery.gov is to provide unprecedented transparency. but he's dealing with data collected by the people receiving the stimulus money, and that data is not always correct. we've seen reports on the website riddled with errors and accuracies. in some cases recorded in zip codes that don't exist. >> you said in the transparency can be embarrassing. and from embarrassment you mean from kind of bottom up and top down. from the average joe to the 1600 pennsylvania avenue. >> yeah, i think embarrassment. there was enough embarrassment to go around on the first reporting phase. >> reporter: despite coming under fire for those so-called clerical errors. he has so far maintained a rare reputation in washington, well respected by the toughest critics of the stimulus program. >> welm, i think there's going to be one silver lining to the stimulus, and that's going to be the work that earl devaney and recovery.gov is doing. >> and this is the recovery operation center, known as the rock room, where the team tracks the money and who's getting it. this is the first time television cameras are getting a look. >> this is essentially where all of the data is coming in that you put out on recovery.gov. >> right. we take it in from the recipients, comes in, it's a data warehouse. and then we start analyzing that data. >> this is the nerve center. >> this is the nerve center. >> reporter: so far the recovery board has received 1,000 complaints of wrong doing, opened 106 investigations and has 25 criminal cases in the works. >> the board is set up as an independent board. not to make judgments about whether or not the money should be used for that bridge or swimming pool, those are political decisions. now, if money goes inappropriately, ends up going some place that it shouldn't going, we're going to be all over that. >> reporter: he won't release the details of ongoing investigations, but lead investigator walks us through one case they're actively working. >> that organization is going to a dozen other companies, all of them have debarred from government service. in that case they've received over $10 million in recovery funds. >> do you think the recovery act is working? >> i think it is. my assessment is i'm not a political assessment, just an observation is that people are going to work because of this recovery money. >> a politically savvy answer from not your typical washington insider. >> reporter: once all the money is out and it's in the system, what then for you? >> well, then we hope to improve my golf game. >> now, according to the actual recovery act legislation, the recovery board is set to expire in the fall of 2013, but cloerlcloer clearly, christine, he has a lot of work to do before that. >> and makes an important distinction about the political arguing about sending this money to a bridge or a resort town, and the fraud. and finding the fraud where people are ripping off taxpayers. not just doing a project somebody might like, but ripping off taxpayer. that's what they're looking at. >> and that's a distinction he wanted to make. especially when you're talking about jobs numbers. he said we put the numbers up there. and i asked him in jobs numbers and these projects, are you ever going to be confident. and he said, kate, i'll probably never be able to do that. but let me say this, it's my job to make sure the money goes to the right place. there's a distinction there and he said make sure it's very clear. because he says at the end of the day, i'm a cop on a -- i'm making sure the money's going to the projects they said it should go to. >> i love when he said, don't try to steal this money, there's a lot of eyeballs on this money. great interview. thanks, kate. >> thanks, christine. tracking your stimulus dollars. in a few minutes we'll check in with josh levs. but first, the turn around of a small business. how a free weekly newspaper found profit in a battered industry. >> reporter: despite all the doom and gloom in the newspaper business, jed feels pretty good about where his paper stands. >> where are we? >> maury runs the long island press, a free alternative news weekly launched in 2002. with a circulation of about 85,000, it was born as an offshoot of the family business. >> for 2.7 million people without an alternative weekly like the "village voice," so we wanted to create something in that tradition. because we came from an alternative media background. it seemed like a no-brainer to get in that. >> as the radio business changed, the station was sold and the paper became the focus. local news laced with opinion. while the economic downturn slowed the paper, which relies heavily on small business advertising to stay free, he says there were no mass layoffs. and after several quarters of losses, the company was back in the black by the end of last year. maury credits the rise of the blogisphere with helping on and offline. >> it's about the quality of the journalism. and if you stay true to that, we think that there's several different places that you can go with that. the web being one of them. >> reporter: when the region's only daily newspaper began charging non-subscribers for online content last year, maury saw opportunity. longislandpress.com began running more general news, entertainment, sports, appealing to a larger, local crowd all free. since then, he says traffic has jumped 600%. the print edition, meanwhile, has remained true to its alternative roots. >> the best we can offer is a different viewpoint. the more things get vanilla, the more mint chocolate chip you have to put out there because people will want it, crave it. >> christine romans, cnn, new york. i keep track of my entire business on this spreadsheet... and all of these. paid invoices go right here. bang! - that hasn't been paid yet. - what? 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[ male announcer ] we're america's largest financial planning company. meet us today at ameriprise.com. largest financial planning company. investors are demanding more for their money. good. this time, i'm watching fees like a hawk. i hate hidden fees. why should i have to pay for something that i shouldn't have to pay for? td ameritrade's pricing is clear and it's straightforward... it's spelled out upfront. no hidden fees... no bait and switch. no gotchas. and there's one flat rate for online equity trades... for big accounts... or small ones. that's the way it ought to be. time for fresh thinking. time for td ameritrade. all this week we've been focusing on the president's biggest economic initiative so far. the $862 billion stimulus plan or recovery act. but how is your money being spent in who is it helping? and who is abusing this program? josh levs is at the stimulus desk in atlanta keeping track of all of it. josh, wow, $862 billion, walk us through the process of how the stimulus desk has been investigating how the money is being spent. >> you got it. absolutely. take a look at these binders in front of me. these binders right here have information in them about many of the 57,000 projects that have gotten some of those billions of dollars. and so many projects in a lot of cases we're seeing tens of thousands of dollars. this is the stimulus desk behind me. so we have a bunch of crack of researchers that are working 24/7. and this is a handful of what we've got. our global resources are committed to breaking this down for you, showing you where a lot of this money is ending up. i can talk you through a couple of examples. i like this one. this is about the colorado wildfires. and one reason this is interesting is that this is a very serious problem that colorado faces, a statewide problem there. and you know what? they have gotten $10.7 million in colorado for the statewide program, especially focussed on clearing out the brush that causes problems every year. they're telling us 53 jobs have been created so far. and officials there also sent us some photos of people they say have gotten jobs because of the stimulus funding. these are some examples they're showing to us. but we have also been looking at all sorts of other examples. some of them research grants and other construction. there's one that sticks out from this week because it's interesting. and this i have a screen for you here. it's about picnic tables. and one reason for this is that the government, not happy with the way this specific money was spent. this was $110,000 that was given to a company in cherokee, iowa, for mostly picnic tables. and what's happening is various army corpses of engineers around the country are using the picnic tables and other things to spruce up national parks. the government is saying they're not happy with that specific expenditure. and they don't want to see that happen again. >> so interesting, josh. maybe six months ago i looked into that same story, cherokee, iowa. it was interesting because i called there and they didn't even know they were recipients of that money. they always had a certain number of orders, and it happened the federal money was coming from a different pot, not the normal pot. so in their view, it wasn't a waste, it was the same number of orders they always got. so it's interesting some of the dynamics behind some of these projects. >> the government's not criticizing them, the army corps of engineers that chose that. >> and geographically, show us how the stimulus money is being spent. >> we're looking at as many projects as we can. and this is our desk map right here. the green means we've got information, yellow are projects we're looking into. and i'll tell you something, it keeps growing. and this map is going to keep growing in the coming days, weeks, months ahead as we here at cnn look into more and more information on where these billions of dollars have gone. >> there's all kinds of interesting things. so excellent. you'll be coming back. this week we visited several different communities are stimulus is making a difference for better or worse. in one town in nebraska, residents can't understand why the government's spending $7 million to build a bridge over a railroad that runs through the town. >> we just feel like they sold us down the river really. >> reporter: hab not a river, but a railroad. a railroad bridge to be exact. the citizens of fedford, all 16 of them will get this new $7 million bridge to replace this railroad crossing on the way into town and mark's front yard. can you explain what the point is of this bridge? >> well, in all honesty we don't know what the point is except some design engineer decided this is what needed to be done. >> so who is building the bridge? not nebraskans. a colorado contractor won the bid use its own out-of-state workers. a few locals were hired as temps. >> i didn't get gain anything from it except a part-time job a couple of months. that's it. >> more mart-time work later this spring when they may have the top of the road. most of the folks in the town said we didn't get the stimulus money. in franklin, north carolina, one man is depending on stimulus money. >> robert carlucci never thought he would carry home his groceries in a box from the food pantry. >> i'm usually the one donating. now here i am, i'm needing that. >> carlucci's i didn'ters aare part by stimulus money. >> it is not a waste of taxpayer money. the economic stimulus package helped us to provide for the most basic needs for people who are truly in need. >> reporter: as for robert carlucci, the stimulus bill may not have given him a job but it did keep him and his daughters says, man that and allison, from going hungry. >> my skrids to eat. we vaul to eat. >> big update, robert carlucci just got a job. a carpenter building log cabins. that one stimulus program helping the carlucci fan. a down with two different stimulus projects. one controversial and both are helping one woman we talked with. >> how long have you lived here? >> about 20, 25 years. >> reporter: eleanor lives in rehoboth, delaware. this isn't the only stimulus program helping out she and her neighbors. two mails down the road is rehoboth beach. construction workers, rebuilding the town's boardwalk with $5.5 million. street project wouldn't be happening now the federal stimulus. >> absolutely. meaning there would be no workers here and no workers potentially getting paychecks. >> reporter: the project landed on a republican list of wasteful projects. some people say the stimulus thing is a waste. >> oh, my god, no. i think it is the best thing that could have happened to no only for me but other residents that are living here in the community. >> that's a sampling of some of the people touching and feeling the stimulus every day. you have been combing through a lot of different projects. so many various different projects. >> you know, one thing that has been so interest sing finding these projects, you know, i wouldn't even know about it. it is up for you to decide what gets stimulus funding and should mott. here is an interesting project we learned about this week. from the university of texas at austin. they are getting $220,000 to do a study about romance and heartache. what they are doing is they are studying a bunch of couples. people who have recently entered into nonmarital relationships. tracking what happens with them, how do they feel, what happens if the relationship breaks up and one thing they are looking at is the why do some people get more devastated than others at the end of a romantic relationship. all sorts of things about romance in this study at ut austin. two jobs created so far. expecting another three jobs to come that. they tracked the couples and the individuals in the relationships. see what happens to them if something goes wrong. >> the chuceconomics in psychol heartbreak. >> there you go. you never know. >> thanks, josh. have a great weekend. it thub the most talked about meeting of the week. the most influential gathering of the year but something is happening to what was once one of the most important gatherings of the financial minds of the world. richard quest is on it, next. ÷÷ romans numeral this week. 41. what could that be? the record number of heads of state in government that are in davos figuring out the future of the world. sounds important. no one paying tanks except, of course, richard quest. richard, i have to ask you, except for you, has davos lost its relevance? >> reporter: oh, chris, for goodness sake. no, no, and no again. look, you just jump on the old populist bandwagon that says davos is a waste of a time. but the reality is that it does give a forum that allows decisionmakers, government, ceos, bankers, to discuss the great issues that they have to put forward. now, i will give you one example. let's just take today. today i have spoken to president lee of south korea. i have met darling the chancellor of the uk. the greek prime minister. i still got to see her image tri the queen. i'm just having two, three-minute conversation was them. but they are all meeting each other. they are mingling amongst the snowflakes. no, it is not a waste of time. >> i wish when they were all over the past ten years getting together and skiing and having their cappuccinos they would have figured this was going to happen in the first place. all right. richard quest, in the mountains. >> reporter: yeah, yeah. come on. get your other cliche out that we all go skiing. i only ever skied once per trip and that's always for the camera. if you are lucky you will find pictures of me doing a bit of that. >> all right. thank you so much. richard quest in switzerland. thank you for joining us. make sure you join each of us every week for "your money." you can also logon