Transcripts For CNNW Starting Point 20120718

counties across 26 states. the bone dry conditions are destroying farm crops and one analyst estimates that 75% of the corn crop in the drought region is now wiped out. that could drive up food and fuel prices across the entire country and brings us to rob marciano live in bu. >> we have corn that should be taller than it is right now because of the drought and because of the heat. this stalk should be well up and over my head. there's a couple of examples of ears of corn. this was tough to find, a decent one, what you would typically see in a healthy environment but this is what we've been seeing, ears of corn not even close to developing and not even pollinated. not only here in indiana but across the corn belt as far north as the canadian board enand across the southern plains. this part of this particular field is pretty healthy, we're right at the edge, the corner, it gets more circulation and runoff from the road. i want to bring in bob smok, another local farmer. you have irrigate well water and nonirrigated fields and the nonirrigated look a lot worse, don't they sh. >> some of our stalks did not get any tasles at all and already died. so that little ear, we don't even have that because there wasn't enough water to get to this stage. we have a lot of corn that can be green or starting to yellow up and you see the yellow on the bottom, that means she's starting to die and some of the really drought stressed areas have completely died already. >> the concern i've been gathering, we've reached the point past pollination, is it too late? >> i would say 90% of the area has been passed upon, as far as being able to develop the crop, it's already past the stage, so rain is not going to help. >> bob smok, thanks very much. one of the farmers struggling with reality here. they've had a few good years in the past and hopefully many of these conservative folks have saved to get through it. but the fact remains that 1,000 counties across the agricultural belt of america have been declared disaster areas and in this particular area, one of the undersecretaries of agriculture will come through and tour the worst hit area which is right here. and discuss what kind of aid he's going to give farmers who might not be so lucky financially. >> it looks like such a mess, rob marciano, thank you. how are states coping with the drought's harsh effects? we'll chat with sheila simon, she'll join us live. we'll get you the rest of the morning's top stories, christine romans has that for us. authorities in iowa draining a lake this morning in the search for two missing girls, 8-year-old elizabeth collins and her 10-year-old cousin lyric cook disappeared last friday. their bikes found at the edge of meyers lake in the town of evansdale, it could take three days to drain the lake sufficiently. police trying to track down who shot this video of a smash mob of teenagers hurling merchandise through the aisles of walmart in florida. wjxt visited the home of the 17-year-old student who posted this video. then removed it from his page. there was no response at the door. police citing a possible link to a nearby house party where gunshots were heard that night. we're hearing from the president of penn state, the new president of penn state for first time since the release of the damning freeh report, rodney jackson says the university must take responsibility at all levels for concealing information about jerry sandusky's sexual abuse of children. >> i think the most troubling part was a reading that the judge's conclusion that there was a consistent lack of empathy of concern for the victims. >> erickson says they are still deciding what to do about the joe paterno statue. er weiner breaking his silence about the scandal that forced him to resign. weiner says he has regrets about what he put his wife through. weiner was caught sexting and sending lewd pictures of himself to women. the couple has a 6-month-old son and he says 2011 was the best year of his life. he shoots down rumors of a run for new york city mayor next year. new york knicks fan lincredulous this morning, he's heading to the lone star state, the knicks declining to match the offer of $25 million over the next three years. they had until midnight last night to keep lin. he played 26 games in new york and sent out a few weeks, saying extremely excited and honored to be a houston rocket again and much thanks and love to the knicks and new york for your support this year, easily the best year of my life. >> it went by fast, that great month and gone and now moved to houston. back to our top story, four hours from now president obama will meet with tom vil sack and they'll discuss the efforts to respond to the drought. 55% of the u.s. is in moderate to extreme drought. that's the sixth highest percentage in the drought ever recorded. one contributing factor, june rank the as the third driest month nationally in 118 years and more important by the last 12 months have been the warmest in the country since the record keeping began. illinois seeing some of the harshest effects, let's get right to sheila simon, lieutenant governor. we appreciate you talking with us. you have 26 counties in your state who are eligible for emergency support from the usda, the governor is interested in adding a half dozen or so more. all have seen crop losses of 30% or more. do you feel like the response you're getting from the administration is good? how has the help been? >> i think we're pleased with the response from the federal administration and as a state we're trying to do everything we can. i think the disappointing thing is that what we really needed was rain and some time ago and in this help can provide some support to farmers. of the impact on the market though will be a little bit longer lasting and will be severe. >> what do you think the impact is going to be on the market. we have figures, your state produces 16% of the nation's corn. iowa, 19%. only 31, a third has been rated good or excellent. last week it was 40% rated good or excellent. last year this time it was 66% that was rated good or excellent. now really you're in crisis. what will the implications be for those terrible numbers? >> well, i think the implication will be significant for our state. agriculture is a very big deal in the state of illinois, we export a lot of grain. but the impact in addition beyond those of us here in illinois will be that the price of corn goes up and that will be felt unfortunately because we deal with global markets, that will have a global impact causing food to be more expensive in many cases. >> outside of rain and lots of rain as you said and maybe a little while ago would have been more helpful, what else do you need? >> well, the federal aid is significant. it will allow farmers to keep going to get the crops in next year, to make the payments on their machinery and stay steady and stay in business. so that this will not have a long-term impact of removing farmers from the field. the state aid will help in places where the federal aid can't get the job done. so that long-term view we have -- we hope is a better one. the short-term view though, i live in one of the counties that's most severely affected. the corn is not even close to green and the leaves are all curled up. it's affecting trees in our area that look like they've been in a roaster. so it's -- to use the word disaster is not inappropriate. it came on slowly but the impact is just as severe. >> we wish you the very best in trying to deal with this crisis, which i think is fair to call it at this point and we hope you're going to get lots of rain in the forecast ahead. sheila simon is the lieutenant governor of illinois. thanks for being with us, we appreciate it. >> still ahead this morning on "starting point," america on the edge of a fiscal cliff as democrats rally to try to end tax cuts for all unless republicans say they will compromise. is that the right solution? is it just a political threat? we're going to talk to connecticut senator richard blumen thal straight ahead. sheriff arpaio is at it again, with birther claims. we're going to talk about that, goes to the sheriff and his claims. "starting point" is back in just a moment. [ groans ] [ marge ] psst. constipated? phillips' caplets use magnesium, an ingredient that works more naturally with your colon than stimulant laxatives, for effective relief of constipation without cramps. thanks. good morning, students. today we're gonna continue... i think we should see other people. in fact, i'm already seeing your best friend, justin. ♪ i would've appreciated a proactive update on the status of our relationship. who do you think i am, tim? quicken loans? at quicken loans, we provide you with proactive updates on the status of your home loan. and our innovative online tools ensure that you're always in the loop. one more way quicken loans is engineered to amaze. welcome back. minding your business, federal regulators launching an investigation after receiving almost 100 complaints about sticking accelerator in ford and mazda suvs. . investigation involves 730,000 vehicles. the focus is on two models, the 2001-2004 ford escape and the mazda tribute suv with a v-6 engine. the next iphone could come with a thinner touch screen. the new screen will combine the lcd layer and touch layer to make the phones slimmers. it also could bring down costs. 40 to 49-year-olds are the worst at paying student loan bills on time. that's according to the federal reserve bank of new york. that group has the highest proportion of student loans that are 90 days past due. 40 to 49-year-olds. >> christine, thank you very much. america's top banker says if congress doesn't act now we could severely hurt our nation's economy. ben bernanke testifying at a senate hearing warning about the consequences of not taking action to avoid dropping off the fiscal cliff. >> fiscal decision should take into account the fragility of the recovery. that recovery could be in dangered by the con influence of tax increases and spending reductions that will take effect early next year if no legislative action is taken. >> the most effective way the congress could help to support the economy would be to work to address the fiscal challenges in a way that takes into account both the need for long run sustainability and the fragility of the recovery. >> this as democrats continue to insist, including on our program, that they will let all bush era tax cuts expire unless republicans compromise, brings up to richard blumenthal. thanks for being with us. >> thank you. >> with you heard ben bernanke here and his basic message if i can para phrase, do something but didn't exactly say what congress should be doing. what should congress be doing right now? >> congress should be passing an extension of the tax cuts for middle class, anybody in those families earning $250,000 o or less, that would provide some certainty and stability which is exactly what ben bernanke says should happen so that we can have some long term sustainability, as well as aiding our fragile recovery. passing the measure that would extend those tax cuts for households earning less than $250,000 is what we need to do now. >> dick durbin, senator durbin, when i was speaking to him yesterday, we should do what not patty murray suggests, less the tax cuts expire because then afterward you could go ahead and reinstate tax cuts, cut the taxes for people in that category, $250,000 or less. here's what he told me yesterday. >> we have to have this day of reckoning in order to finally break through and have deficit reduction that still creates a growing economy, let's face it. >> does that mean if we have to have a day of reckoning, you would let them expire which would then raise the taxes for the middle class people you don't want to raise taxes on? >> that's a real possibility unless there's an agreement. people should avoid that. i want to work to avoid it. >> what do you think of that strategy? it seems like it could be fraut with risk? >> i think all of our first choice is to have the extension of tax cuts passed now because the markets as well as those middle class families really deserve and need the certainty of extending the tax cuts for them, the middle class families and that's the first choice. if for some reason political strategy a delay is necessary, of course we would consider it. but really, what we need not only is to pass those tax cuts but also to close the loopholes that will produce additional revenue. loopholes like the ones that reward companies for shipping jobs overseas, we'll vote on a measure, bring the jobs home. it provides 20% tax credit incentives for companies to invest in jobs here in the offshoring and discourage shipping jobs overseas by closing tax loopholes that cost our taxpayers. there are loopholes and tax breaks we can end that will produce additional revenue, even as we extend the tax cuts for households earninging less than $250,000. my preference is to do those measures now for all of the reasons that ben bernanke has said to well. >> what if you're stuck in a position, can you either extend the bush era tax cuts for all or you could let them expire for all, what would you do? >> my preference and my belief that the american public would be best served by the option that we extend the tax cuts for households earning less than $250,000 now. i would considerate some later point perhaps additional measures that would provide relief for families that earn more than $250,000. >> but that wasn't my question. that wasn't exactly my question. i said if you're between a rock and hard place and have two options, one to let the tax cuts expire or extend them for everybody, which would you choose? it sounded like yesterday talking to senator durbin and others, that that really could come down to being the choice. >> my preference is to extend tax cuts because i think that fiscal cliff is so ominous and so potentially destructive that we need to avoid it. but we also need to address the needs for cuts in spending and i think a balanced approach is the optimal way to go. and ultimately one that i think should attract a bipartisan coalition. >> do you think the bipartisan coalition cannot possibly happen until after the election? >> preferably before election but certainly before the end of the year. if it has to be done after the election but before january 1st, that would be the best way to go. >> senator richard blumenthal, thanks for your time, appreciate it. >> our next hour we'll get the republican side of this conversation, senator mike lee of utah will be talking with me. also ahead, arizona's controversial sheriff joe arpaio says he is certain the president's birth certificate is fake. hasn't he said this before? to him we say, get real sheriff. our "starting point" team is heading in, margaret hoover, will cain, richard sockraites. >> [ female announcer ] great taste is always in style with lean cuisine steam bags. get our crispiest carrots and our snappiest peas all freshly steamed in just minutes. steam bags from lean cuisine. be culinary chic. welcome back. a major high seas drug bust in jacksonville, florida. in a joint operation, netting almost four tons of cocaine and marijuana. authorities say they are worth about $93 million wholesale. the street value, quarter of a billion dollars. the fda approving a new controversial diet drug under a new name. q sim ya, formerly called qnexa. increased heart rate and birth defects are side effects. >> welcome to our team this morning. richard, nice to see you. >> how are you? >> writer for new yorker.com. >> do i owe you money? >> somebody owes me some money. >> we'll talk about that later. >> you've forgotten about that. >> kind of the biggest supreme court decision. >> i thought you antied up? >> richard nailed it. got to give him credit. i was mocked that day for betting as i did. you laughed at me. >> i did. i won't deny it and i laughed at the quid itch people and i apologize. i owe you adollar let's move on. margaret hoover, nice to have you, i can't speak today. will cain for theblaze.com. welcome. our get real this morning is something we've covered like 100,000 times. investigators who are wrapping up their investigation for sheriff joe arpaio in arizona have now finished their probe into the president's birth certificate. and they say it's definitely fraudulent. people, people. >> as we suspect, it is a fraudulent document. my original intent was to clear the president of the united states. but the investigation initiated by our cold case posse found far too many problems on the birth certificate. >> so i'm going to point out a couple of things. i don't believe his origin tent was to clear the president of the united states. >> not very credible. >> not necessarily very credible in that. number two, all of his opponents, especially democrats are saying he's wasting taxpayer money and causing a distraction and even governor jan brewer said the birther issue is just leading our country down a path of destruction, it's not serving any good. recommitted to those -- >> he's not a big fan of the president. >> and seems to be less of a fan, smaller fan, less big fan of the birther issue. and the folks in hawaii on tuesday evening responded to the allegations saying the allegations are untrue, misinformed and miscon true hawaii an law and cnn did its own investigation, as well as a bunch of other news organization. >> you were telling us you have a strong opinion on this. >> i do. >> don't tell me you're a birther. i can't take it. >> we thought we would do what we thought this story deserved. we're totally done with this story. >> put a nail in it? >> i mean, like the sheriff himself even spoke to the secretary of state of hawaii within a month ago, six weeks ago. >> put a fork in it, it's done. >> you're missing a news worthy item. the sheriff of arizona has a cold case posse which is just short of awesome. >> or -- some people could say he has an opponent seeking the nomination against him in november, which some people might be looking to oust him. >> what i like, is will cain came to the set with a hair cut today. >> tried. >> looking cleaned up. >> shave my face and cut my hair. >> everybody comes to it in their own time, it just happens. you're growing up. >> maybe you could be investigated by the cold case posse or something. >> i want one. >> we're moving on. but we do give him our get real thumbs down of the day. i started that today. it may not come back but today it's here. still ahead on "starting point," ten days to the start of the olympics, how the brits are turning to the u.s. after fear that security could be in chaos. american flight schools are they still unknowingly training terrorists. a disturbing new study that shows potential gaping holes in the government's security net. we're back in a moment. according to ford, the works fuel saver package could terally pay for itself. jim twitchel is this true? yes it's true. how is this possible? proper tire inflation, by using proper grades of oil, your car runs more efficiently, saves gas. you could be doing this right now? yes i could, mike. i'm slowing you down? yes you are. my bad. the works fuel saver package. just $29.95 or less after rebate. only at your ford dealer. so, to sum up, you take care of that, you take care of these, you save a bunch of this. that works. welcome back to "starting point," let's get right to christine romans. good morning. >> good morning, soledad. authorities in iowa are now draining a lake in the search for two missing young girls. 8-year-old elizabeth collins and 10-year-old lyric cook disappeared last friday. the two are cousins and their bikes were found at the edge of meyers lake in evansdale, fbi scent tracking dogs were brought into the area. the mom of one of the girls says the dogs stopped right at the lake's edge. jim spellman has the latest. jim? >> reporter: hey, christine, there are two tracks to this investigation, the search and rescue piece, that's draining this lake right here. the bikes were found and purse was found right along the edge. they've already been searching this lake but they want to be positive so they are draining it. by later today or tomorrow that should be done. the other is the law enforcement track where the fbi scent dogs come in, they've been questioning people, including family members increasingly the families think something bad has happened to their girls. here's the father of lyric. >> obviously something bad has happened. i believe that has not an accident, it's something -- it's something and that's what we're trying to find out. two people don't drowned in a lake where there's no dropoffs or dams or boat accident or something like that. there's -- to me knowing my daughter, this would never happen. >> reporter: the family knows that they are part of the investigation themselves. they've all been questioned and polygraphed and had the data taken off their cell phones, but police say they've been cooperating. they need some sort of lead, something new to happen in this case to feel like they are making some sort of momentum. basically at this point, they still have nothing to go on. >> jim spellman in iowa, thanks. kerrie kennedy says a seizure is to blame for her car accident last week, not drugs or alcohol. kennedy was driving to a jim when her 2008 lexus hit a tractor-trailer. she kept driving. kennedy spoke to reporters yesterday insisting no drugs or alcohol were found in her system. she says an mri revealed an old brain injury and doctors believe the accident was caused by a complex partial seizure. kennedy is charged with driving under the influence of drugs. the suspect in an alabama bar shooting, a shooting that wounded 17 people, four critically is being held on $2 million bond. surveillance video captured 44-year-old with a gun outside this bar in tuscaloosa near the university of alabama campus. he faces 18 counts of attempted mur. he is suspected in a second shooting earlier that night. a small airport in utah, a sky west pilot accused of killing his ex-girlfriend scaled a fence and tried to steal a plane. brian hedgeland started the plane but clipped the terminal building before rolling into a fence in parked cars. the pilot was dead when police got there, an aparent suicide. olympic officials turning to the tsa to help shore up security fo security for the games. they will be arriving next week and stationed at british airports. olympic organizers are getting hammered for not having enough security at the games and british military helping to plug the gap by supplying 3500 extra personnel. soledad? >> thank you. the conversation this afternoon on capitol hill will also involve the tsa but won't be talking about the olympics. this big hearing this morning we'll try to answer the question, is the united states unknowingly training terrorists? the hearings happen two hours from now and could have big security implications, you'll remember back in 9/11, two of the four hijackers who piloted planes were trained at a flight school in the u.s. it brings us to republican congressman mike rogers f alabama. he's going to chairing that hearing today. thanks for joining us. a lot of this i guess involves the tsa taking over responsibilities from the fbi when it comes to oversight of people who are foreign nationals in this country going to pilot school. explain to me first how it all works. how do those lessons work and how are they overseen when it's done right? >> when somebody -- first of all, your flight school has to be certified by the tsa. but when somebody applies for flight lessons, the tsa has up to 30 days to get them vetted and certified to take that training. nobody is supposed to be trained until the tsa vets them to make sure that they are hear legally and they are properly in this country and available for training. apparently the tsa was falling short on that front and we have had hundreds of instances where people have been going through flight training without their certification. >> talk to me about those discrepancies because of course when you hear discrepancies of people who are learning to be pilots in the united states and nobody really knows sort of i guess what their status is when it comes to how they are in the country, whether with documents or without, that kind of brings us back to 9/11. >> well, it does. that's the most disturbing thing about this. people have a right to be extremely upset about it because this is one of the problems that we had ten years ago when two of the 9/11 attackers were trained how to take off and fly a plane and not how to land. you would think at the minimum after ten years we would at least have that front covered and apparently we don't. and i'm very anxious in the hearing to find out why. >> one of the cases you're going to talk about in the hearing involves a flight school in boston. they discovered that eight out of 25 of the foreign nationals there had received approval by the tsa but had actually entered the country illegally. 17 of the 25 had overstayed status, meaning they overstayed their authorization and then at that point in the country illegal as well. it sounds like this is a very big problem in the process. am i overstating that? >> no, and it's an unacceptable problem and gets worse than what you described. there was one flight school being run by a foreign national that was here illegally. there's all sorts of problems that are unacceptable ten years after 9/11. i'm very anxious in the hearing to find out why this is happen and what we can do to fix it now. >> do you have any ideas what the fix could be? >> well, what i understand right now and this is just preliminary, is that this responsibility is shared between tsa and dod and they haven't been communicating, as well immigration and customs enforcement has a role and they haven't been working hand in globe with them. those things at the minimum have to be corrected. >> i want to take a moment to ask about the defense cuts, $500 billion in defense cuts will kick in and steny hoyer was saying he thinks the gop wants it both ways. here's what he said, they imposed a fiscal discipline and now they don't want to live with the fiscal discipline. now they want to have it both ways. their observation that sequesteration will have a detrimental effect on defense is correct, it will have a detrimental effect on medicare. either you want to have fiscal discipline or don't, you can't have it both ways? >> we were looking for fiscal discipline from the super committee, we didn't find it. it's also regrettable that mr. hoyer and many of my colleagues on the other side of the aisle are being reckless about this issue. i've been for ten years on the armed services committee. i'm very aware of our situation right now. and it is reckless to go forward with sequesteration. >> we appreciate your time. thank you. >> still ahead on "starting point," linconsolable, new york fans trying to figure out new ways to say we're disappointed, jeremy lin is departing the state. we'll sit down ahead with businessman richard branson talking about his greatest thrill and greatest regret. you're watching "starting point." we're back in just a moment. the next step for me is towards future life experiences, lied love one day to be able to make the 2001 of interactivity. you can imagine a experience that is a huge room or building where you move to floor to floor and in each room there was another narrative experience part of a story that's told partially through your relationships with other people and through interactive walls and ceilings, keep your eyes on our website and you'll see what comes out in 2012. a route map shows you where we go. but not how we get there. because in this business, there are no straight lines. only the twists and turns of an unpredictable industry. so the eighty-thousand employees at delta... must anticipate the unexpected. and never let the rules overrule common sense. this is how we tame the unwieldiness of air travel, until it's not just lines you see... it's the world. according to ford, the works fuel saver package could terally pay for itself. jim twitchel is this true? yes it's true. how is this possible? proper tire inflation, by using proper grades of oil, your car runs more efficiently, saves gas. you could be doing this right now? yes i could, mike. i'm slowing you down? yes you are. my bad. the works fuel saver package. just $29.95 or less after rebate. only at your ford dealer. so, to sum up, you take care of that, you take care of these, you save a bunch of this. that works. well hello, welcome to hotels.com. summer road trip, huh? uhuh yep uch let's find you a room. at hotels.com, you'll always find the perfect hotel. because we only do hotels. wow. i like that. nice no. laugh... awe uch ooh, yeah hmm nice huh book it! oh boy call me... this summer, we're finding you the perfect place - plus giving you up to $100 at hotels.com [ dog ] we found it together.upbeat ] on a walk, walk, walk. love to walk. yeah, we found that wonderful thing. and you smiled. and threw it. and i decided i would never, ever leave it anywhere. because that wonderful, bouncy, roll-around thing... had made you play. and that... had made you smile. [ announcer ] beneful. play. it's good for you. breaking news out of syria, the country's defense minister is dead after a suicide bomber attacked the national security building in damascus, according to syria's government-run television reports. the bombing took place during a cabinet meeting. we hear several others were wounded as well. more on this developing story as it comes in. and in north korea, kim jong-un has been named the country's top military leader. kim's promotion follows the removal of the country's long time army chief supposedly due to an illness. soledad? >> christine, thank you. this morning thousands of new york knicks fans, on a much lighter note, they are waking up and linconsolable over the loss of linsanity, he is going to pack his bags, he's heading to houston. the 23-year-old point guard turned the big apple and nba on its ear last season. stole millions of heart. remember we were following that, made me go back and start watching the knicks again. last night he -- the knicks let the deadline passed and declined to match the rocket's offer of $25 million over next three years. >> he was very classy what he said, he said it was the best year in his life. >> because his professional basketball career and now $25 million contract -- >> 25.1. >> he had a great year and got injured and didn't even play the season and worth $25 million and gets to go the rockets. we decided here yesterday it was just fine to let him go to houston. we thought he was great for the knicks but didn't think it was worth the bet because he didn't play the whole year. >> would you agree to that. >> i would say i loved him and loved what linsanity did for the city. i was cheering for him and great it was to have someone to root for and my son, jackson, wearing his jeremylin shirt. >> i think other analysts before me thought the same thing, i'm not surprised. >> this would have been a lot of jacksons because it would have been a $50 million cost to the knicks three years from now when they got two other point guards it would cost $7 million. >> would couldn't they trade him the last year? >> because you're trading away -- >> you could trade him -- >> other teams would have to evaluate their own cap and say is he worth whatever at least $15 million and the tax penalty. the nba has a real salary cap. that's my sports center moment of the day, back to the news. >> thank you, will cain. coming up next on "starting point," one on one with billionaire businessman sir richard branson will tell me how he got to the top and big risks he likes to take and whether he has any regrets. straight ahead. 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[romney singing]: oh beautiful, for spacious skies, i'm barack obama and i approve this message. for amber waves of grain, for purple mountains majesty, above the fruited plain, america, america, god shed his grace on thee, and crowned thy good, with brotherhood... welcome back to "starting point." sir richard branson is one of the world's most famous and philanthropic businessmen. he found the virgin group. and in between he helps people and animals around the globe. we showed you the first part of our conversation yesterday on a boat off the coast of mexico about his mission to try to save whale sharks, as we swam with hundreds of them. we talked about what makes him such an adventurer as well. here's that. >> here we go. >> what do you think was the key for you becoming an adventurer? i think that covers the range. businessman, adventurer. >> i suspect that my mother shoved me out of her car when i was 6 years old and told me to make my own way home and i got thoroughly lost. no, look, i love adventure. whether it's going to space, going to the bottom of the oceans, you know, swimming across the english channel. i love adventure. >> please never buy endangered species products. >> i also love, you know, being able to make a difference. and whether it's trying to, you know, save the lemurs or tigers or sharks in the ocean. if you're in a position to do so, you should try to do it. >> what's your favorite adventure? >> i think my favorite adventure is going to be space travel. we're only months away now from myself and my children going into space. and a whole new era of space travel taking place. and so to go off on our own spaceship is going to be quite an adventure. i haven't actually been in an office since i was about 18 years old. i mean, you know, since the invention of mobile phones, there's no need to be in an office anymore. you can get out and about. meet people working for virgin. experience life. i think offices will disappear one day. personally, i never have worn a tie. i find it very restricting. and the suits. and i can't understand how it ever caught on. but i have spent a lifetime sort of snipping people's ties off. the reason i wrote the book was just to try to get every single business person to try and adopt one aspect of the world which they can help try to protect or save. and not just leave it up to governments or social workers. and there is a movement amongst business people to do that. and if we can get every business to do that, i think most of the problems of the world will be resolved. we have to say what is an entrepreneur. an entrepreneur is somebody who wants to make a difference in other people's lives. if you can create something that makes a difference in other people's lives, you have a business. and then you can follow your dream, follow your passion, and hopefully make it a success. >> what regrets do you have, if any? >> not one regret in life. >> really? >> i've been just the luckiest person that i know. and, you know, i'm sitting here on the ocean. my children are in the boat over there. i have led the most, you know, fascinating, exciting life. so none whatsoever. >> for more of my interview with sir richard branson and a photo gallery of our entire trip, go to our blog at cnn.com/startingpoint. ahead this morning, a disaster of epic proportions. broiling heat is crippling crops and devastating farmland in the midwest. it's about to hit where it hurts most, your wallet. we'll talk about that. plus, the boy scouts keeps its policy to ban gays. is it out of step with the times? and now they have a new leader that is against the policy, does that mean the fight starts all over again? you're watching "starting point." what's with you? trouble with a car insurance claim. 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[ normal voice ] so i can trust 'em. unlike randy. are you in good hands? there it is ! there it is ! where ? where ? it's getting away ! where is it ? it's gone. we'll find it. any day can be an adventure. that's why we got a subaru. love wherever the road takes you. wow, there it is. ♪ i want to go ♪ i want to win [ breathes deeply ] ♪ this is where the dream begins ♪ ♪ i want to grow ♪ i want to try ♪ i can almost touch the sky [ male announcer ] even the planet has an olympic dream. dow is proud to support that dream by helping provide greener, more sustainable solutions from the olympic village to the stadium. solutionism. the new optimism.™ ♪ this dream welcome back to "starting point." we begin with breaking news. there are reports that syrian president bashir al assad's brother-in-law, who is a top defense ministry official, is dead. there's word that other high profile leaders may also be dead. we've got the very latest. we'll talk about that straight ahead. also, crises unfolding in america's heart land. more than two dozen states hit with the worst drought in 50 years. livestock and livelihoods threatened. and america is teetering off of that fiscal cliff. some democrats are now threatening to let all of the bush era tax cuts expire rather than extend them for the rich. can the two parties find some common ground over the next four months? we'll take a look at that. plus, the boy scouts of america refusing to allow openly gay members. leaders are still not welcome to join the organization. it's defending its position in the face of growing protests. it's wednesday, july 18. and "starting point" begins right now. >> announcer: this is cnn breaking news. welcome back, everybody. we start with morning with breaking news out of syria. the country's defense minister, the brother-in-law of bashir al assad, is dead. that's after a suicide bomber attacked the national security building in damascus. that's coming to us according to syria's government-run tv. the bombing took place during a cabinet meeting. we're also getting word that other -- several other officials have been wounded. reuters is reporting this morning that syria's armed forces have released a statement saying they are, quote, more determined than ever to confront all forms of terrorism and chop any hand that harms national security. we're obviously going to continue to update you on that story as it develops. here in the united states, a devastating drought has now turned more than half of the united states into a disaster zone. the department of agriculture is declaring natural disasters in 1,000 counties across 26 states, blistering temperatures are making conditions worse across the midwest. temperatures have dropped -- have topped, rather, more than 100 degrees, and those bone dry conditions are destroying farm crops. one analyst estimates that 75% of the corn crop in the drought region has been wiped out. that could of course drive up the fuel and food prices for the entire nation. and it brings us to rob marciano live this morning in indiana. good morning, rob. >> reporter: good morning, soledad. here in this cornfield, like every other one in the corn belt, this stuff is shorter than it should be. these stalks, this time of year, should be well up and over my head. and in some cases, they are a little more than half of that. this is what the corn should look like. this time of year. just take a couple more months to develop before they harvest in september. this is what it looks like right now because of the drought and because of the heat. and actually this corner that we're in is some of the more healthier plants because it's a corner area that gets a lot of runoff and some circulation. 96 million acres of corn has been planted this year. they had a great spring. perfect for planting. and they had good growth after that. and then the heat hit and the drought hit. record heat again yesterday in indianapolis. 101 degrees. one of the many record high temperatures. and the drought, 46-day stretch that they have never seen in indianapolis. less than a 10th of an inch of rain. but actually it spit just a little while ago, but that's just a tease. they need so much more. we have been talking to farmers all morning long. here's what one of them had to say to me earlier today. >> the news keeps referring to the drought of '88. and i guess at this point we think we're probably better at this date, but we have potential to be much worse until we get major rain storms coming through. >> reporter: he went on to tell me that if they do get a lot more rain, it basically is going to save what they have now. it's not going to grow anymore. so what little they have now, which by all intents and purposes is 30% to 40% of what they should have, they are just trying to hold onto that. they have had some good years in the past, soledad. so the more conservative folks have kind of created a little cushion. some have insurance. so most of the farmers will survive. but this goes well beyond that. all this stuff gets much more pricey. the soy beans are much more pricey as well. that feeds the cows and the pigs and it all comes around to the table and the supermarkets in your neighborhood. so this drought and this -- these consecutive heat waves is doing a lot more than just drying up the land and making people sweat. >> what a mess. rob marciano for us this morning. thank you. i want to introduce you to my team this morning. richard sock ridies. margaret white house. and will cain, thank you for being quiet when i was trying to do my job. he is a columnist for theblaze.com. this morning, we are talking about the dire warning really that came from ben bernanke, gloomy, gloomy, gloomy. he is the federal reserve chairman obviously. he said that without congressional intervention, we be diving head first off of that fiscal cliff. listen. >> fiscal decisions should take into account the fragility of the recovery. that recovery could be endangered by the confluence of tax increases and spending reductions that will take effect early next year if no legislative action is taken. the most effective way that the congress could help to support the economy right now would be to work to address the nation's fiscal challenges in a way that takes into account both the need for long-term stability and the recovery of the economy. >> in just a moment, christine romans will break down everything we need to know about what the fiscal cliff is and how it will affect us. that's in a moment. but first, we want to talk to republican senator mike lee from utah. a member of the joint economic committee and a member of the tea party caucus. he is joining us this morning. thank you for being with us. you heard ben bernanke there saying congress has to do something. but he was very low on the specifics of what congress should be doing. except for be careful, this recovery is very fragile. what should congress be doing? >> congress should extend the tax cuts that were put in place about a decade ago because we need these tax cuts in order to ensure that employers will continue to hire people. at a time when we can least afford to lose jobs, we need to not be putting ourselves in a position where we'll be disincent vising employers from hiring. >> dick durbin, when i spoke to him yesterday, he supports tax cuts but not for the wealthy, people over $250,000. so he said let's let that tax cuts expire. here is a little chunk of what he told me yesterday. >> we have to have this day of reckoning in order to finally break through and have meaningful deficit reduction that still creates a growing economy, then let's face it -- >> what does that mean? does that mean that you're saying that if we have to have a day of reckoning that in fact you'd let them expire, which then would raise the taxes for those middle class people you just said you don't want to raise taxes on? >> that's a very real possibility unless there's an agreement. but people of goodwill in both political parties should avoid that. i want to who, to avoid it. >> he says he wants to work to avoid it. will it be possible if the democrats are threatening that, to work to avoid that? >> yes, it is, because the american people aren't going to stand for this. look, this is not the fault of hard-working american taxpayers. this is the fault of congress. this is the fault of washington, d.c. and it needs to be fixed here and not on the backs of the american people. who would pay for this in terms of job losses. >> john boehner and eric cantor said they are not going to rescind the tax cuts for the wealthiest. if it came down to the choice between the two, extend the tax cut for everybody, even the wealthy, or let them expire for everyone, you would pick the first option, correct? >> well, i'm not going to vote to increase taxes. a tax increase is not the problem. a tax increase is going to make the problem worse. and that's not the right answer here. >> but, you know, when you look at polls on this very issue, and this one is from the pugh research center, they say when they poll people, raising taxes on the rich would 44% say help the economy. 22% say it would hurt the economy. and then no difference somewhere around 24%. when you look at a similar question, raising taxes on the rich would make the system, similar numbers, 44% would make the system more fair. do you worry that in fact what you're getting into by focusing on raising -- keeping the tax cuts for everyone and not doing what the democrats would like to do, which is in effect raise the taxes for the wealthy, that you're not going to be supported by the people who feel, certainly in polling, and this is not the only poll that shows that, that is the system is unfair and the wealthy should have their taxes raised? >> even raising taxes on people earning $250,000 a year or more cuts into small businesses. many have estimated that could cost us as many as 700,000 jobs in the first year alone if we do that. what we're concerned about there is not as much the wealthy individual as we are will small business. but more importantly we are focused on the employee, the person who is not going to get hired or will lose his or her job as a result of raising taxes. that's why we have got to extend these tax cuts for all americans. >> let me ask you a question about the disclose act. it failed to clear the senate for a second time. as you well know, it would force those who have contributed more than $10,000 to an election to campaign to name names, basically. why don't republicans support that? >> look, we've got to have everyone operating on an equal playing field. we can't have one rule for individuals and another rule for unions. and this is about basic fairness. we've got to any togethcome tog this country and realize that people have rights. and this ultimately is about preserving the right of americans to operate on an equal playing field and to be able to operate with the basic protections of the first amendment in the realm of political speech. >> so you think there's free speech involved and basically keeping it secret if you're contributing a ton of money to a candidate, in excess of $10,000? you don't think that transparency should trump that, that people should know who's giving a ton, $10,000 more or more, to an individual candidate? >> i think at a bare minimum, political contributions in the realm of unions ought not to be treated in a manner that's more favorable than other kinds of political donations. >> so your issue is that you think the unions are treated differently. so if that was mitigated, do you think that people who give a lot of money to a campaign should in fact -- there should be transparency, we should know who's giving what to whom when there's a lot of money at stake? >> if we're talking about a hypothetical piece of legislation, that's a discussion for a different day. that's not the piece of legislation before us, so that's not what was on the table yesterday. >> mike lee, i appreciate you joining us this morning. senator mike lee, republican from utah. >> thank you. >> thank you. you were nodding your head during that entire time. >> well, discussion for a different day. that's a nonanswer answer. >> well, i think what he's saying is that the pars of the disclose act that was not exactly what was being put on the table. i think that is a fair answer. >> but specifically should the first amendment trump interest in transparency, the answer is yet. >> well, is it the first amendment i guess would be a better way of putting that. >> free speech. anonymous donations, specifically political donations, protected by the first amendment. the answer is emphatically yes. it's been part of the american process since its founding. it was integral. >> john mccain voted against the act. and he has been a leader, but he voted against it because he said it was a partisan proposition. there was no way it would get through. it was only demagoguing the issue, and that's why he didn't vote for it. >> this is the issue. you say it's part of the tradition. now with the influence of money in politics, i think a lot of people believe we should be transparent. the mere disclosure does not stifle speech. >> i think that you'd have to really examine it to see if it is a free speech issue. i understand that's where people are having this debate. but people disagree that it's a free speech issue. and i do think with the amount of contributions that come in, a lot of people would say, wouldn't you like to know who is giving a massive amount of money, who are the bundlers for the parties? >> how much is too much then and what is the appropriate amount of free speech? >> i'm just raising the issues. >> well, i think we should know who's giving to the presidential -- who is making donations to the presidential campaign. >> it's fully transparent. >> oh, oh, oh. >> we'll do this on the break. >> i have to go to commercial. you can do it in the break. and we'll post it. i have to go to commercial break. ahead this morning, we're going to talk about the boy scouts of america. they are not going to buckle after the two-year internal review, they say. they are going to continue to ban openly gay members and leadership. their explanation is up next. here's margaret's play list. bruce springsteen. "atlantic city." everybody loves bruce springsteen. our play list can be seen every morning on our website, cnn.com/startingpoint. [ female announcer ] great taste is always in style with lean cuisine steam bags. get our crispiest carrots and our snappiest peas all freshly steamed in just minutes. steam bags from lean cuisine. be culinary chic. [romney singing]: oh beautiful, for spacious skies, i'm barack obama and i approve this message. for amber waves of grain, for purple mountains majesty, above the fruited plain, america, america, god shed his grace on thee, and crowned thy good, with brotherhood... constipated? phillips' caplets use magnesium, an ingredient that works more naturally with your colon than stimulant laxatives, for effective relief of constipation without cramps. thanks. good morning, students. today we're gonna continue... boy scouts of america has reaffirmed its long-standing policy of not allowing openly gay scouts or leaders into its ranks. the organization which currently claims more than 2.8 million members says the announcement is the result of a two-year examination into its membership policy. and they said this yesterday. the committee's work and conclusion is that this policy reflects the beliefs and perspectives of the bsa members, thereby allowing scouting to remain focused on its mission and the work it's doing to serve more youth. with me this morning, eagle scout zach walls. he recently published a book about growing up with two lesbian mothers, and last week delivered a letter to the headquarters in texas hoping to change that policy. zach, what's your reaction this morning? >> you know, it's an interesting puzzle to sort out for sure. the statement that the boy scouts put out yesterday has all kinds of weird inconsistencies riddled throughout. and one of the things that we're left wondering is when exactly this so-called internal review actually wrapped up. at this point, the bsa hasn't been willing to put out any names, hasn't been willing to tell us who the people are who are responsible, we don't even know if they are inside the organization or outside experts. until we have a meaningful level of fratransparency and accountability. i'm very highly skeptical about whether or not this is a quote, unquote, definitive decision by the scouts at this time. >> so explain to me where your suspicion lies. are you saying you don't think there was a two-year review? are you saying you want to know who's on the panel, and you don't think this is a final, final decision? what are you saying? >> >> well, what we think is that this is essentially the boy scouts of america recycling old news. now, obviously, we knew, you know, a month ago when we delivered that petition that this was their policy. we knew at the start of the week this was their policy. we knew that at the end of the week, it would probably still be their policy. we think this is the bsa trying to run some interference on the fact that on monday, the vice president of their board, ceo of at&t randall stevenson, announced his support to end the policy. the reason this is important is because mr. stevenson will be the president of the board in 2014. the president of this board is one of the three most powerful men inside the organization. so for such an important person in the group to make this kind of stand is obviously very important, but today that's not what we're talking about unfortunately. what we're talking about is this quote, unquote announcement that the group put out. >> zach, this is margaret hoover talking. i'm a big fan. i have followed you for a little while. you're a wonderful spokesman for the effort for equality. >> thank you. >> as an eagle scout, you must know there are a couple of other eagle scouts who have been outspoken on this issue. mayor bloomberg has been in favor of marriage equality. secretary gates, an eagle scout as well, instrumental in repealing don't ask, don't tell. have you had any thought about reaching out to other eagle scouts who are outspoken on the issue, and do you feel that represents the direction that the country is going? that you're on the cusp of change that will eventually come to the boy scouts either way? >> yeah. we certainly feel that that's the case. and i haven't personally reached out to mayor bloomberg or secretary gates, but i would love to have a conversation with them about figuring out how to get them involved in the organization. obviously, with this being the 100-year anniversary of eagle scouting in america, it's a pretty important time for all of us across the country. i'd love to see them stand up and show their support. >> zach, it's richard. what concerns me about this is the message that this sends to young people. this is the boy scouts not just excludeing instructors, but they won't let kids who may be gay or lesbian or questioning, they won't let them be part of this organization, which is so much a fabric of our country. what do you -- i know that you worked a lot with kids and on youth issues. what about the message this sends to the youth of america? >> yeah. it's a great question. i grew up in the boy scouts of america. and having lesbian mothers, there were certainly times where it seemed contentious. but if you look at the broad scope of my experience that i had and that so many other boys across the country have, you know, i think at the end of the day, the most important message is the one that you'll actually hear on a weekly basis from your leaders. so i think that across the country, really, we're going to see more people kind of saying, oh the national organization is going to continue this policy and they are just not going to care. growing up in wisconsin and iowa, none of the organizations i was involved with at the local level really cared much what the national policy was and were more than happy to have my moms on as volunteers. so until, you know, we really see this kind of change at the local level, i think that's what really drives the change at the top level. and i think that change is already happening all across the country. >> zach wahls joining us this morning. thanks. we'll keep watching this story and see how it ebbs and flows, especially with the incoming president of the board. >> he's done great work, zach has. >> thank you. >> did you know that will was a cub scout? >> were you a cub scout? >> well, yeah, i was weeded out at that point. i didn't make it much further. >> he believes that people should be allowed to discriminate, but he doesn't support discrimination himself. >> richard -- >> how do you do that in 30 seconds? >> you don't. actually, we'll take a little time to have this argument down the road. still ahead this morning on "starting point," all these warnings from washington about the fiscal cliff. what exactly is the fiscal cliff? what does it mean for our families? christine romans will break it down for us next. why not try someplace different every morning? get two times the points on dining in restaurants with chase sapphire preferred. chances are, you're not made of money, so don't overpay for motorcycle insurance. geico, see how much you could save. the wife. hey, babe. got the jetta. i wiped the floor with the guy! not really. i would've been fine with 0% for 36 months, but i demanded 60. no...i didn't do that. it was like taking candy from a baby. you're a grown man. alright, see you at home. [ male announcer ] the volkswagen autobahn for all event. we good? we're good. [ male announcer ] at 0% apr for 60 months, no one needs to know how easy it was to get your new volkswagen. that's the power of german engineering. somebody didn't book with travelocity, with 24/7 customer support to help move them to the pool daddy promised! look at me, i'm swimming! somebody, get her a pony! [ female announcer ] the travelocity guarantee. from the price to the room to the trip you'll never roam alone. from the price good afternoon. chase sapphire. (push button tone) this is stacy from springfield. oh woah. hello? yes. i didn't realize i'd be talking to an actual person. you don't need to press "0," i'm here. reach a person, not a prompt whenever you call chase sapphire. welcome back to "starting point." we've been talking about the fiscal cliff. what is it exactly? christine romans has a look at this for us. >> well, it's replaced europe as the biggest threat to the recovery here. "the washington post" this morning puts it like this. the main threat to the economy is shifting from what others may do to us to what we are doing to ourselves. what are we doing to ourselves? well, first thing, huge automatic tax increases. on january 1 next year, the bush cuts, the alternative minimum tax, expire. that means if nothing changes, your taxes will likely go up. at the same time, medicare doctor pay will also go down. on top of all of that, at the very same time, massive cuts to federal spending. if current law stays in place, the government must slash $1 trillion from spending over the next nine years. half from the defense department, half from nondefense spending. the bipartisan policy center says it will cost about one million jobs over two years, and those aren't just government jobs. jobs in the private sector, many from contractors working with the government. they are grappling right now with when to send layoff notices to thousands of people who work in defense. the economy is barely growing right now. 1.7% growth in the first half of the year. that's not very good. this is a ubs forecast here. 2.5% maybe for the second half of this year. if the economy goes off the fiscal cliff, the congressional budget office forecasts the economy will shrink next year. first half of next year. 1.3%. unless we back away from the fiscal cliff. that's a recession. this is very uncharacteristic, by the way, of the cbo to make a forecast like this. also uncharacteristic of the fed chairman to get involved in politics. but he is again yesterday warning congress about what happens and why this is a risk to the economy. what makes it so scary right now too as you well know is it's an election year. no one expects congress to deal with these issues until after november 6. lame duck congress. also approaching the debt ceiling again. we could hit that as early as december. and quite frankly, it's almost like we've got a congress that is stuck between you do everything or you do nothing. in between, there's some middle ground here, and this is a congress just not capable of middle ground right now. >> right, right. so it seems like that cliff is getting closer and closer and there's no real options anytime soon. christine, thanks. appreciate that. still ahead this morning on "starting point," breaking news we need to update you on. a syrian defense minister has been killed. he is the brother-in-law of the president, bashir al assad. this was a suicide bombing attack that took place inside the syrian national security headquarters. we'll have the very latest on that straight ahead. 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>> i think it's possible. essenti certainly the defections of this week and the killing this close to assad is the reach of the rebels closer than any of us anticipated and quicker than any of us anticipated. it's also the case that this particular style of attack has not been the style of syrian army or the rebels. and so you raise the question of whether or not these are outside elements that are also at work here in this increasingly complex and deadly situation. >> how likely is that, in fact? i thought the same thing, that it doesn't seem to be the hallmark of anything else that we have seen up to now in the months and months of fighting that's been happening in syria. what would your gut tell you on the way this was pulled off? >> that they learned very quickly they had a quick opportunity. had a particular individual who was willing to go this route. and in the heat of battle here in what we call the fog of war, they availed themselves of a technique that otherwise they would not have. and to see what the results would be. and it seems to be certainly reverberating through the syrian system, the notion that the national media released it within hours of it happening is stunning to me. and obviously, it's having international reverberations with the brits and the americans talking about it publicly. >> how does this connect to what we have seen over the last few days, which are the number of officials in syria, military officials, who have been defecting? >> well, the circle is closing. even the footage from our very, very courageous people on the ground, the civilians who are sneaking out footage showing battles in damascus and the suburbs itself, we keep talking about whether or not we can get a cease-fire and whether or not this is a civil war. this is a regime that is in its last days. and the real question before the international community is what's next. does the arab league, the u.n., friendly states, who goes in to try to establish order? because we may very well wake up 48 hours from now and find out that mr. assad and his family are gone. >> at the same time, homs is continuing to be besieged. and there are reports that in fact the fighting there has intensified. >> yeah. >> so to say that these are the last days might sound a little bit premature. >> it might sound premature in the sense of the overall national battle. but the question that i think is whether or not assad himself has the air of invulnerability and the ability to actually move greater and greater commanders to do things that more of them showed this week they are unwilling to do. so let's call it an unraveling. it may not be the beginning of the end, but it's a more stark unraveling than we would have participated two weeks ago. >> george lopez joining us by phone this morning. thank you for your insight. appreciate it. we want to talk about the campaign. our other big story today, it continues to take a nasty turn. we have been hearing the phrase "territorial tax" quite a bit. it's a system that mitt romney says he believes would help grow businesses here in the united states. president obama says it is another route to outsourging. here's what he said. >> we have not found any serious economic study that says governor romney's economic plan would actually create jobs. until today. i've got to be honest. today, we found out that there's a new study out by nonpartisan economists that says governor romn romney's economic plan would in fact create 800,000 jobs. there's only one problem. the jobs wouldn't be in america. >> is that true? will it create jobs? will the jobs not be in america? here to help us sort it out is steve blitz with itg investment research. chief economist there. nice to see you. thank you for being with us. >> thank you very much. >> let's start with what the president just said. and you could tell he was teeing up for a turn, a joke almost, you know. 800,000 jobs. but the jobs wouldn't be here. that's been the big slam on this territorial tax. that it's basically outsourcing. is that in fact correct? >> you know, it's really -- this is so typical of the campaign to be sitting here discussing something that really does nothing to stimulate u.s. economic growth at all. if you look over the last 30 years, with the tax system we have in place, it has not been a barrier for u.s. firms to source globally labored capital, whatever. in fact, we have had most firms, if you look at their ratio of employment domestic versus foreign, foreign employment has grown a little less the last 30 years. so the idea from this starting point that suddenly you're going to get should explosion of employment growth overseas because of this is just not true. you know, firms do what they want to do regardless of the taxes. right? we had nafta, which was supposed to move all this electronic production for tvs into mexico. right? but then china came along, and what happened? it didn't ever happen in mexico and it moved to china. and then when china in the last several years became very expensive, more expensive place to manufacture, including the transportation of these goods back to the united states, it moved back to mexico. there's nowhere in any of this is taxes really relevant. so what's the big issue here? >> are you saying taxes aren't relevant to what businesses choose to do? >> i think that's relevant for businesses is knowing what the taxes are going to be. >> uncertainty is a big problem. >> yes. the uncertainty is a big problem. >> you have to explain to me how territorial taxes isn't going to help businesses. what i understand it means, if you're a foreign company and you're making profits aboard, if we move to a territorial tax system, you're allowed to bring those profits back to the united states and invest in the united states without being taxed at the 35% corporate tax rate, which is one of the highest in the industrial world. great britain just moved to a territorial tax system. japan moved to the territorial tax system. this is advantageous for our american businesses overseas to bring those dollars back to the united states. is that -- >> that is a statement. not a question. >> tell me where i'm wrong. >> ok. >> and in telling her where she's wrong, also tell us how this is not just another tax break for people who have offshore businesses and offshore accounts. if i were mitt romney, i'm not sure i'd want to talk about that. >> one at a time. ok. first of all, you have to -- do you really believe in your heart of hearts that american firms with large businesses overseas, ibm, intel, apple, nike, somehow or another have this huge cache of cash over there they can't use if they want to domestically? >> they can, but it gets taxed huge domestically. >> they are involved in banking and global financial systems. there are certainly ways in which they can use that money here in the united states if they want to without having to pay the tax. number two, the issue about the statutory 35% tax rate, most american corporations aren't paying anywhere close to that. so they are not really paying 35%. >> it sounds like the tax system is so messed up anyway, it doesn't matter. >> now, does it make it more efficient with territorial tax in order to be able to bring funds back and not having to do things to get there? absolutely. >> but is that a good idea? why shouldn't we tax u.s. companies on their income? >> well, you should tax u.s. companies on their income. but i think at this particular point in time in the economy, the real question is not territorial taxes in and of themselves, but make that part of a broader change in the corporate tax code to incent businesses to build here. >> make sure that businesses pay their fair share, make sure that rich people pay their fair share. >> well, i'm going to be bernanke here for a moment. what's fair is not for me to decide. but what i will say is this. having a tax system, ok, is an awful lot like having a compensation system in a firm. you want to have it designed to incent people to do the things you want them to do. so anything that makes businesses more efficient, moving things around, is a better tax system. but just in and of itself, being able to bring cash back tax free in this economic environment and say that therefore i'm going to now build a big steel plant someplace in the united states is a specious argument. >> so that's the romney argument. >> and in fact in 2005 under george bush, this was tried, right? >> right. and it brought back -- >> they thought it would spur jobs and investment. they thought it would spur growth. and what they found was something like 92% of the money that came back to the united states actually went to the shareholders. would that be an indication that in fact all those things that they thought would happen didn't happen? >> because what a firm does, whether it's cnn, time warner, whoever it is. what a firm does with its cash depends upon what things it has a market for for its product and what its return is going to be. no firm is going to sit here just because i can bring the cash back cash fltax free am i o build here. now, can there be incentives to build factories? if you want to go back in time, go back to bobby kennedy having ibm build a plant which worked great for years to produce things. so you can create a tax system to incent, ok, firms to build here. but -- >> this is not it? >> all you're doing is bringing back cash. >> analysis is not what we can do. as far as a tax system to require firms to jobs domestically. under the current tax system, it's almost as if they are prohibited from bringing jobs here. >> i don't know if they are prohibited. >> they are certainly disincent vised. >> well, one of the biggest issues that has helped to bring jobs back over the last couple of years, there has been an increase in production here. high-tech, low-tech energy. and a lot of it has to do with the fact of the relative labor costs, better productivity here because of the technology. >> taxes incent vises or disincent vises. >> but the tax system itself isn't going to do it. and just bringing back cash free to the united states isn't going to make a firm build a plant in minnesota. >> steve blitz joining us. obviously, we have been duking this out a little bit, as you can tell. >> so goes election season. >> thank you. we appreciate it. >> thank you. still ahead this morning on "starting point," the battle for the black vote. it could be the secret swing factor in the november elections but maybe not in the way you're thinking. we'll talk to the president and ceo of the national urban league. he'll stop by to explain, right after the break. and deposits . for paying your friend back for lunch...from your tablet. for 26 paydays triggered with a single tap. for checking your line, then checking your portfolio. for making atms and branches appear out of thin air. simple to use websites, tools, and apps. for making your financial life a little bit easier. welcome back to "starting point." in less than four months, the election of course, president obama has 85% approval rating among african-americans. that's according to the latest gallup tracking poll. this morning, the national urban league is saying that the black voters could swing the election and maybe not in the president's favor. a new study concludes that a decline in the african-american voter turnout in 2012 can tip the presidential election outcome in the critical swing states of north carolina, ohio, and virginia. it goes on to say that if the black voter turnout returns to pre-2008 levels, it could cost the president millions of votes in november. marc morial is the approximate and ceo of the national urban league joining us this morning. how are you? >> great, soledad. how are you? >> good. you guys have been crunching the numbers. if you think swing vote, a lot of people think, does that mean that the black voters are running to mitt romney? but what you're really saying is that turnout is critical among african-americans. >> i think there are so many voter groups that are important to either candidate's winning coalition. because that's what american politics is about. it's about constructing a coalition. african-american voters, i think, interestingly, in 2008, we achieved something we had never seen in american history. african-american voter turnout and white voter turnout were about equal. meaning that the number of people who were eligible, the percentage who actually participated in the race. this broke a pattern that we saw in 2000 and 2004, where there was a differential. what this report says is that in states like virginia, florida, ohio, indiana, and north carolina, the differential in the african-american voter turnout made a crucial difference in how those states swung in 2008. and therefore, i think intelligent political commentators have to pay close attention to not only these polls that say who's going to vote for who, but who's going to actually get to the polls and vote. >> enthusiasm is everything. >> marc, it's no mystery, right, why the african-american turnout in 2008 was so high. first african-american candidate for president at least in the final ballot. will that enthusiasm carry over? will that same enthusiasm be there for the second go-round? >> i think on the overall basis, maybe the american electorate, not just african-americans but maybe all americans, may not be as fired up about this election. after all, with mitt romney, he's got some softness in the, quote, conservative base in terms of his enthusiasm. for the president, it's been a long tough road. four years of fighting all of the challenges that have been in front of him. but i think at the end of the day, i think we're going to have a strong voter turnout. if there is one thing that we also wanted to point out in this report, is i don't think it's coincidental that in those states where turnout made a crucial difference, that now you have efforts to restrict the vote. these are states where you have new voter i.d. laws. ohio, for example. pennsylvania, for example. north carolina, where it was vetoed. virginia. so those things concern me, that those new restrictions are going to put downward pressure on voter turnout. >> i think this is a fascinating report. and i think what the findings show is that perhaps the people who have been pleading with the president to return to his roots, to be more of a change advocate, to be bolder, you know, a lot of people believe as i do that he kind of moderated some of his views when he was getting started in order to, you know, scoop up more people. but now that he's running for re-election, these are the voters he has to return to. and i think, you know, your findings are very important. they send an important message. >> forgive me for interrupting, though. i just wanted to crunch some of the numbers that you did. you say black turnout was at 65% in 2008. if that drops to 60%, just a 5% drop, it could by some of your number crunching cost him the election. >> if the white voter turnout stays at 65%, and the black voter turnout dips to 60%, it's going to determine or affect the outcome in a number of crucial states. i mean, this is a tight, delicate coalition that has to be put together. on behalf of the president. but we shouldn't leave a discussion of the romney campaign out either, because he needs turnout amongst his core base, which requires enthusiasm to get to these numbers. and i think at the end of the day, i think the historic pattern is that come september, people are going to fire up about this election, because the future is at stake. >> hmm. i don't know. i don't necessarily feel that. especially when you look at some of these unemployment figures, which as you know are much higher among african-americans. how much of a role could that play? you have to imagine the high unemployment number could easily dampen enthusiasm. >> will we get to the turnout that we had last time? but i do think that people are going to want to vote. i just feel very, very strongly that we're going to have more campaign money spent in this cycle than we've spent in any other cycle in american history. so people are going to be bombarded with messages. whether that turns them on, or turns them off -- >> is the $64,000 question, isn't it? marc morial, thank you for being here. >> thank you all. appreciate it. >> we're going to take a break. back in a moment. ♪ ( whirring and crackling sounds ) man: assembly lines that fix themselves. the most innovative companies are doing things they never could before, by building on the cisco intelligent network. energy is being produced to power our lives. while energy development comes with some risk, north america's natural gas producers are committed to safely and responsibly providing generations of cleaner-burning energy for our country, drilling thousands of feet below fresh water sources within self-contained well systems. and, using state-of-the-art monitoring technologies, rigorous practices help ensure our operations are safe and clean for our communities and the environment. we're america's natural gas. wanted to provide better employee benefits while balancing the company's bottom line, their very first word was... [ to the tune of "lullaby and good night" ] ♪ af-lac ♪ aflac [ male announcer ] find out more at... [ duck ] aflac! [ male announcer ] ...forbusiness.com. [ yawning sound ] as part of a heart healthy diet. that's true. ...but you still have to go to the gym. ♪ the one and only, cheerios this is cnn breaking news. we are continuing to follow breaking news out of syria. the country's defense minister is dead. also dead is his deputy defense minister, the brother-in-law of the syrian president bashir al assad. a suicide bomber attacked the national security building in a damascus today during a cabinet meeting. we also hear that several other officials were wounded. as we get more information on this, we'll bring it to you live. now a short break. "starting point" is back right after this.

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