democrats sick, it could make an already sneezing recovery even sicker. companies that have the dough and not using it to expand but to consolidate. they say for the economy not a good sign. this was not scripted this way. what do you think of this. >> reporter: you mention it. let's talk about record amounts of cash on company's balance sheets. they are issuing more dividends, buying back stock, nice for shareholders but buying other companies, cutting workers and bad for the work force. >> neil: in the healthcare arena bad for policyholders because there are fewer alternatives you can shop around? >> less players in the game mean more control of costs on the company side you are definitely going to see rates go up. >> neil: what is interesting, this as you pointed out, you have been on top of the trend. as the trend more companies taking whatever cash they have and whatever appreciation they have in the stock to buy outcome petted tors, buy back that their own stock but not hire folks, the kinds of things you would normally see in recovery periods. what is really happening here? >> right. can you blame them. you look at the outlook for tax policy and the costs of hiring a worker are going up and up there. is that healthcare thing that going on out there that scares the day lights out of companies when they have to hire somebody to handle the new customers. it comes to a lot of fear tactics out of washington. when you talk to business owner like i very often you hear about this issue of final demand. there is no final demand that requires to them to hire additional worker versus invest in the new piece of equipment. >> neil: normally when they do combine, they fire workers, in this type of environment they would fire because redundancies. how bad does it get? >> i think it gets bad. the have and have nots. having a lot of companies that have a lot of cash, little companies, cut divisions of the company and lay people off. make everybody more fishgtd but reduce the overall work force they are acquiring. >> neil: thank you very much scott. it turns out that health insurers aren't the only ones covering their bases. newsweek is out can wa story, occasions the economy may have gotten up and left. getting nasty with the president isn't the same when walter cronkite ripped the vietnam war and bolted on president lyndon johnson. combined with polls showing the smallest percentage of americans are satisfied with the way things are going. clear problems with the white house right now. to professor larry sabado. >> the media relationship with president obama the honeymoon is over. the bloom is off the rose. this often happens as reality meets the promise of what a candidate said during a campaign. this happened to jimmy carter in 1980. the media was much taken to him in 1986 but by but they moved to ted kennedy or necessity liked john anderson the middle of the road semi liberal independent who ran against both reagan and carter in november 1980. i think some of that is going on now. they recognize that the market, their market is not as entrenched with president obama as they were four years ago. they follow their market. they have to get viewers and get buyers. you know how that works. >> neil: absolutely. newsweek, i'm going explore more on this on fox business network, if you can't get readers praising the president you might as well attack him. it does come at a time where a number of publications are hedging their bets. we see a degree of more critical piece of the president. i still think it's disproportionate. what are we to glean from this if the media is getting kind of ancy about him? >> the big lesson is not 2008 anymore. the president in 2008 had about as easy a candidate has ever had it out he got out of the tough primaries with hillary clinton. everything that could possibly go right for a democratic president went right in 2008. 2012, a very different story. it's not just the economy although the economy is the largest piece of it. it is clearly as you are pointing out the fact that many prior supporters are not as taken with the president as they were in prior years. >> neil: was it just coincidental on this day of all days he makes a surprise appearance in the press room to talk to his lawyers? >> this is another piece of this. the reporters who cover it, many of them having been favorable to him have really been on his case. he has had far fewer press conferences, press availability than other presidents for this portion of his presidency. they are tired of it. they are unhappy about it. they wanted a chance to ask him some questions and finally they got their chance today. notice it was a surprise. white house doesn't want to give the press too much time to prepare. they might think of tougher questions. >> neil: my producer and i were talking about this. this is the one advantage being president of the united states. no matter how much your opponent is raising money, he can't hope to compete you walking into the room, all the cameras light up and couple of broadcast stations briefly go to it. it's hard to compete against? >> look, all televisions cables lead total white house. it's the best possible venue. it's the most statesman like venue. i could almost see the mood change in obama from the questions about the campaign where he is just another politician answering political questions to the global, the geo global and political questions he's being asked about afghanistan and syria. presidents get to do that. its wonderful advantage of incumbency. it's more than balanced by a bad economy in years like this county. >> well put, larry. thank you professor. larry sabato. did anybody see this? >> it's about time to be entertained. >> absolutely unlike anything i could have expected and completely blew my expectations out of the water. >> so real and funny it kills me. >> neil: all on the bad screen and they know something big is on the way. i'm not talking about my waist size. i'm talking about convention coverage. we are going to be everywhere for this starting with the rnc a week from today, august 27th. we're back at it live on 8:00 p.m. on fox business network. it won't be long before the debates are here and we are each and every single one of them. we have multiple passes and ready to go. join us for the best coverage on the planet. in the meantime, what a zuck. like mark zucker boo'd -- zuckerberg. last week, paul ryan is moving into big worry and much big are target. [ male announcer ] introducing zzzquil sleep-aid. it's not for colds, it's not for pain, it's just for sleep. because sleep is a beautiful thing. ♪ zzzquil, the non-habit forming sleep-aid from the makers of nyquil. zzzquil, mom: ready t♪ go to work? ♪ ♪ ♪ every mom needs a little helper. that's why i got a subaru. announcer: love. it's what makes a subaru, a subaru. >>. >> neil: and n an about-face book, facebook shares are still a flop. since going public three months ago, they are half what they are. is the ceo sweating this out. find out at 8:00 on fbn. who needs granny when you have a welfare whammy. >> since 1996 welfare recipients were required to work. this bipartisan reform successfully reduced welfare rolls. on july 12th, president obama quietly ended the work retirement. one of the most respected newspapers called it nuts. >> neil: the romney campaign seizing the initiative by forget that medicare thing, this welfare issue is potentially much more expensive. president saying he is got this all wrong. >> everybody that has looked at this what governor romney is saying is absolutely wrong. not only are his super pacs running millions of dollars worth have ads making the claim. romney is saying out stump. >> neil: who is right? >> it depends on whether you trust the president and how he will apply this. he is right it has been attacked as being false. right, they are throwing that out and how do they apply what they did? they would argue that the administration defenders would say they are giving waivers for an ex personality that don't meet the definition of the work requirements that are in the bill as it is. that experimentation has to prove it will increase the number of people working. the detractors think they are changing the defending, they think they don't have the power to do this. they are changing it with a stroke of the pen when they don't have any power in the bill to do this but they say they can weaken or gut as the newspaper in the romney ad said the work retirements in welfare. >> neil: what is interesting in this strategy, shift your attention to welfare the fact that more people are getting it than ever. that the program has soared under this president than any other president. it might be fair or characterize the reality of the recession that would force a swing to welfare. it is what it is and romney-ryan folks are doing what it is? >> they must see something is working. this is the third ad on this subject in as many weeks. >> more than medicare? >> i think they want to avoid discussing medicare. with paul ryan's plan they don't want to get demagogue. >> neil: early polls indicated that a lot of americans that medicare is unsustainable. are you saying they my try something difficult? >> itto get demagogued on medicare than it is to get attacked from their side on welfare reform. there are polls that show that welfare reform, they are on the right side if they are paint effectively the view of what the president is doing here. 71% of people think that people on medicare don't even deserve it. there are too many people. 87 am favor the work retirement. this is -- work require. the question is how we apply it and we don't know that yet. >> neil: we are hearing stories that the romney campaign wants to turn the fairness argument upside-down. not the rich pay more but half that pay no income tax at all. that would be risk alienating them but what do you make of it by turning this argument upside-down? >> the people that do pay actually tend to vote more. they are less likely to vote. he is actually doing it in a lot of ways. even those ads he is trying to take obama's arguments she there to strengthen the middle-class, saying he is trying to get people to work from the welfare rolls to strengthen the middle-class. he is trying to ex appropriate obama's message. another interesting thing they are trying to paint obama as popular as he ever been, this guy, president obama is way to the left of bill clinton who put in this common sense reform. even independents should be wary of this guy, he is note to like bill clinton. he to the the left of him. >> neil: governor romney and his vp pick not letting up. teaming up in new hampshire where you will find carl cameron in manchester. >> reporter: the granite state, historically unwilling to pass a sales or an income tax. place where mitt romney won his first primary they thought the romney campaign this was a fitting place to hold the first running speech with paul ryan. here they were today at the college for a townhall meeting. they are really talking up taxes. this is a state without a state tax. they were talking about cutting taxes for everybody including the middle-class. mitt romney essentially accused the president of lying when mr. obama says the romney-ryan plan would raise the plan on the middle-class. watch. >> i will not raise taxes on the american people. i will not raise taxes on middle income americans. we're going to make sure that americans have the money to pay their bills. we're not going to raise taxes. that slows down growth. it kills jobs. we're going to get this economy going and mr. president, stop saying something that is not the truth! thank you. >> reporter: mitt romney and paul ryan at one point, person stood up with yankees t-shirt. he said we don't like yankees fans, the guy said look, i go with the winners, a slap at the red sox. >> neil: since i know from just whispering you are a red sox fan. i'm going to leave it as that. >> please do. 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[ club scene music ] [ sigh of relief ] [ male announcer ] choose taste. choo prego. >>. >> neil: i want you to forget about israel and iran but worry about china and japan. they could be close to coming to blows something that seems silly. it can turn deadly serious as to who owns a dispute island. in this case the chain of uninhabited islands between china and japan in the east china sea. japan says the islands are theirs. china says not so fast, they are ours. after the japanese nationalists reached the island shores and planted a flag, let's just say china is roiled. all hell broke loose, they overturned cars and burning flags. no small amount. this is not insignificantly small matter. to john bolton this could be very big deal. no one saw this coming. what happened? >> it's been coming for a long time. it not just the disputed in the east china sea between china and japan. it's china's assertive almost aggressive territorial claims in the south china seas against vietnam and philippines. they say they are rocks, but true, they are also near under sea mineral deposits, oil and gas. they provide potential strategic control for country's like japan and korea for trade and raw materials. they may not look impressive but these are potentially critical dispute between these countries. >> neil: these countries have had tortured relationship going back to japanese executions of chinese citizens and soldiers dating back to world war ii but this seems to be china erupting at the thought that japan would lay claim to lands that the chinese see as theirs. it's almost like they ripped off a scab here. >> i think these demonstrations were probably organized by the chinese government. i do think there is raw emotion there, too. therefore not to be underestimated. people do remember world war ii which the chinese think begin in 1937, not in 1939 when germany attacked poland. at least in the united states and europe tend to underestimated the force of nationalism and religion in world politics. they say that is old-fashioned. somebody may give that memo to the chinese and japanese. >> neil: china sees itself as the world premiere power let alone asian power. if japan is teasing the tiger, so to speak, what do we risk in this region, what could happen? >> there is lot at stake for us. remember china is beginning to develop a blue water naval capability to get out what they kale the first island chain or the inner island chain along the eastern coast. japan has a very big coastguard as they call it and increasingly even larger sea going ships, as well. the stakes are high and japan looks at these sea linings of communication as its lifeline. if china can control them. japan is at china's mercy and i don't think they will let that happen. >> we learned from the talk lands, you can come to blows. would this result in that? >> we hope not but honestly it will take a more assertive american presence to show that we care about the outcome of these disputes. but with declining navy with the budget sequestration about to take effect. line in the grass or the size of our navy is straight downhill. this is something china sees and being aggressive in the south china seas. i think it's a real problem for the, something if we don't want to see the chinese take over all these rooks and reefs we better do something about it, sooner than later. >> pratt & whitney signaling we're in an economic zoogs si which we will spell out in a minute 30. the same set of values that drive our nation's military are the ones we used to build usaa bank. with our award winning apps that allow you to transfer funds, pay bills or manage your finances anywhere, anytime. so that wherever your duty takes you, usaa bank goes with you. visit us online to learn what makes our bank so different. >>. >> neil: apple becoming the most valuable company of all time. in stock terms, no company comes close, shares are up 2% today to an all-time record enough to propel them into a $620 billion, best tinge the previous record held by microsoft. in doing faster than any company in history. apple stock has doubled over the past year and seven times what it was after the financial meltdown. by comparison, if dow would be signature at 40,000 today. news flash, it is not. >> maybe it's a case of coming fiscal cliff. pratt & whitney says they are holding off hiring and swneflgt florida and blaming congress to creating economic uncertainty. this doesn't say to me, doubt like anything else. what are they doubtful about? >> first of all, it's great to get to talk about sequestration here. let me give you a little bit of perspective. if sequestration goes into effect. >> neil: let me stop you. that means the automatic cutting into effect, go ahead. >> right. those automatic cuts are $1.2 trillion for the defense department, it's about half a trillion dollars. what that means over ten years, for all program purposes you wipe one year's budget for those ten years. if you are in a business that is to some extent dependent on the ffs budget you have to look over those ten years, in one of those years you will have no revenues and profits from the defense sector. >> neil: i know what you are saying. 10% cut doesn't mean one year, it could average out to be the equivalent. many argue the defense establishment has a lot of money and everybody has to take their licks and defense industry is part of it, as well. republicans agreed to that when they came up with sequestration, what do you say? >> that is an interesting point. sequestration by design was supposeded to be so horrible that no rational person would choose it. unfortunately it's become the law of the land. to your point about the defense budget, the defense agreed to take $487 billion cut. again looking over ten years, that is another year's worth of budget. whether it comes out 10% a year or wipe out a line item, it has the same effect. now, people argue that we've taken cuts like this in the past and been fine. those at unique points in history when our forces were adequately reexpect a analyzed how coming off of two wars, we have to recapitalize our force. fighters are coming to the end of their service life. bombers, people will be flying bombers, 80 and hundred years old. tankers are older than the pilots who are flying them. we're at a unique pointed where we need to recapitalize and invest in the future. at that very timer we're cutting it. >> neil: you could say, we give $600 billion for defense, i'm for a strong defense. we're not talking about cutting things, slowing the racist growth over the decade much as we are in the other efforts. isn't cuts a misnomer? >> actually i don't know that is technically correct. talking about a cut back of 10%. if you take out the programs that are exempt between 10-15%. the law says it takes equally across all programs. i think everybody i've spoken to expects at some point the defense department would get reprogramming, some programs might survive, some programs meirt not survive. >> neil: do you do you think in the $600 billion there is some room for trimming or least scaling back, if everyone has to take it up, but there has got to be some expenses that can be pared and adjusted? >> i would say the department is looking at that. like i said they agreed to take 487 bye cut just in last year's budget decision. that is substantial. that amounts roughly to 10% across the board there. the department is -- i would go to the words of leon panetta. he said that it's not like shooting yourself in the foot, it's like shooting yourself in the head with this. >> good seeing you. >> aerospace is very big in florida. tomorrow we're digging deeper into this. we're going to have two special shows, one at 4:00 p.m. right here on this channel. a few hours later at o the fox business network taking a look of the impact. you are going liver a long life but it won't be a nice long life at least for most of us. flip side of longevity, actually paying for it and flip side of a cheap seat. chopping your legs to fit in it. this you won't believe. you have a plan? 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[ all ] i'm with scottrade. >>. >> neil: worried you are not saving enough for the golden years? you're right. it's not because you stashed away for enough money, you are not planning the number of years. it turns out you could live to hundred. but the reality we don't even have enough to take us to 70. as market watch columnist, that could be the bad news. good to have you with a great story and intriguing read about the flip side of good news, we live longer but we have to prepare for it? >> that's right. one of the problems we have in america today is the possibility that you will live past life expectancy or passed age 78. half the babyboomers, 40 million people will live past that and most people haven't saved enough. they don't anticipate to live 80 90 or even a hundred. most the experts i talked to you should plan you have a 95% chance of success. that lies part of the problem, what can you do to plan for that? the options are very few. you need to save more. you need to spend less now. you probably need to work a little bit longer because otherwise the worst case scenario you will live too long without enough money. having a lower standard of living is not any way to live in retirement. >> neil: when they do those tables where you plan your retirement you factor in your age how long you think you'll need that dough. a lot of people put in, very few put in hundred, but if we did have to put in more time on this planet and we're not saving nearly enough on this planet, some of the entitlements we enjoy that used to on be on this planet, it's going to be an ugly? >> it takes proper planning. >> neil: what would you do. how would you recommend? >> what are your planned sources of income, social security. you have a 401-k. what are your expenses. people don't know what their expenses will be because they don't know how long they will live. one of the things i recommend doing, not your fixed expenses but fixed expenses, that is big help. the other thing you want to do is make sure about your assets. more guaranteed sources of income you can create, maybe an income annuity. you'll never out live those kinds of assets. those assets kornt don't keep pace for inflation. so you will need money in the stock market, a balanced fund, something that allows you to keep pace with inflation and hopefully have enough should the time you need it. >> neil: i'm going to demand my kids to take care of me. i'm starving. >> i'm nice to my kids, i know i have my retirement. >> neil: grace piece. you are already paying big bucks on a seated but airlines are charging you more. to make that seat remotely comfy. it's all about the bottom line and putting leg room on the line. >> it's not the skimpy food or the rude flight attendants that travelers complain about, it's the leg room. airlines determine how much stretch you have the distance between one specific pointed on the seat and same point on the seat behind. the average is 31 inches. jet blue and virgin give you more but not anymore. jet blue is removing the extra space in back to accommodate passengers in the front who are willing to pay for the bigger seats. jet blue expects those payers to fork over $150 million this year making leg room an amenity a thought after commodity. now you have to check in extra bags, get a decent meal, those luxuries are called ancillary fees and they get $22 billion for the airlines last career. as for leg room, united started seven years ago. most major carriers charge for it. at southwest it's still free, you get about 31 inches. southwest is adding bigger planes that have smaller seats, more people, more tickets sold, more revenue. southwest says the new cushions are smaller so it's all the same. tell that to the person flying spirit with just 28 inches to stretch out. >> neil: we are one step away. >> i'm comfortable but what is normal size person feel like. [ laughter ] >> neil: all right. lauren, thank you very much. >> mechanical issues seem to be taking flight. three united flights forced to make emergency landing. it's not just united. charles says it's part of a bigger trend. what do you make of this? >> in the summertime we have extremes of heat on the ground but it is still cold up in the air. it's one of the things that happen the skin stretches and contracts and it cracks. that is always a big boo-boo bor the airlines because they have to ground part of a flight. >> this happens more in the summer? >> whenever you have extremes of temperatures or weather patterns. in european they have very unusual weather patterns that resulted in thousands of delays where planes have to go back to the airport. we've had minor items such as a valve that doesn't work, it gets sticky and you don't take the time to maintain it properly, you figure i'll get through the rush season. then one day you've got a plane full of passengers and it fails all together. then you can't take off. we see that as well. >> neil: are we seeing more than other summers? >> i don't think so. >> neil: there are so many planes flying now, it just seems that way? >> that is part of it. the other part of it everything is made aware, everything that happens i should say. if you go to the n.t.s.b. website they report every malfunction of a commercial airline they're takes place throughout the country every single day. the kinds of thing you suffer with your automobile. flat tires, the air-conditioning doesn't work. >> neil: but in one united case, it reminded me the concord that was taking off and there was fire coming out of the engine, nothing approaching that with one united, but there was fire people were seeing and people on that plane were smelling it. that is little different? >> it is very different. you don't know what it was. all they tell you it was a malfunction. >> neil: they sit something on the runway? >> i didn't see that. initially at the they had it was a tire. united came back and said absolutely it is not a tire problem. >> neil: in the case of concord, they hit something that was left behind by u.s. air. >> ripped the tire right off the plane. >> neil: if that is something that simple, can't they maintain the runways as better? >> something as simple as geese in the air can take the plane down. a single goose can goose you. >> you feel safe flying? >> i do because i know mile for mile the safest way to go. the plane, they have so many redundant features, the plane is not going to crash. >> neil: but you lose your bags? >> i lost mine and i'm still looking for it. >> they don't like. >> you they usually don't check it. >> i tell you flight commando and you can avoid all of this. >> a record high for this time of the year at the pump, a problem for the president at the polls? .. >>. >> neil: you are not that. we have never seen gas prices this high this time of the year. average price is $3.72 a gallon and biggest upsweep is several swing states. it could be bad news for the president come november. it is interesting in the swing states, the swing has been particularly onerous, no doubt or spell it out? >> here is the thing. gas prices are the way voters and people measure their economic well-being. they pay it on a regular basis. they notice it. therefore it colors their view of the economy. when gas prices are high, it implies something is not right. therefore the people in charge aren't doing real well. >> neil: flip side of the argument is that people aren't as sensitive to this as they used to be. in other words, we are not a gas centric economy that we used to be. while the prices are tough, they are not what they were say the jimmy carter run-up. that is the big distinction. do you agree with that? >> there is probably some truth to that. what we find is couple interesting things. voters don't blame president obama that much. only one in five blame president obama. mostly they blame the it on companies and opec companies but they say gas prices as a symptom of a bad economy and one that is not doing well and one that is potentially getting worse. anything that seeds their disenchantment with the status quo is pa bad for president obama. >> neil: the irony of the argument if it improves the prices could go higher? >> perhaps. but if unemployment were to drop suddenly, gas prices wouldn't be that big of a deal. but unemployment stays quite high and keeps feeding the notion that economy is in trouble, gas prices are doing the same thing. >> neil: everyone mentions the possibility of a slow down with inflation, something we wo we used to call stagflation. we are nowhere they're that now. do you worry about that or is it coming up in fears among those you poll? >> voters currently more concerned about unemployment. they are concerned about the economy getting better. they are not worried about inflation. >> neil: so bottom line they look at an economy that ain't delivering the goods, right? >> right. they see an economy they need to get better. they look around them, their relatives or friends don't have a job. this is not a good economy they feel. anything that reinforces that such as increasing gas prices is going to seed that sentiment. that is not good for any incumbent in that case president obama. >> neil: peter brown, thank you very much. from hope and change, to buddy can you spare some change. when the mainstream media starts a different stream, they are not in lightning, they are drowning. . ♪ atmix of energies.ve the world needs a broader that's why we're supplying natural gas to generate cleaner electricity... that has around 50% fewer co2 emissions than coal. and it's also why, with our partner in brazil, shell is producing ethanol - a biofuel made from renewable sugarcane. >>a minute, mom! let's broaden the world's energy mix. let's go. would you mind if to be i go ahead of you?omer. instead we had someone go ahead of him and wifty thousand dollars. congratulations you are our one millionth customer. people don't li to miss out on money that should have been theirs. that's why at ally we have the raise your rate 2-year cd. you can get a one-time rate increase if our two-year rate goes up. if your bank mes you miss out, you need an ally. ally bank. no nonsense. just people sense. >> neil: well, not quite rats abandoning shims as much as loyal supporters saying we have had it with your ship. this cover story is the latest economy. left wants out for at least more of them want out. suddenly any barack. the man's whose image could once sell out magazines is now increasingly the source of shockingly critical coverage in the magazines. not all magazines, and far from all the coverage in the magazines or newspapers or blogs or tv news shows, where say fox, fair and balanced is still an alien concept. but for those few publishers of media organizations that like to make money it's clear that barack obama is not making the money. and his policies are not making much sense. now that doub mean that news week is suddenly going to be for mitt romney or jon stewart who has been zinging the president will change. but you can't help notice how a fawning media is picking a president apart. lousy economy will do that. none of this means that mitt romney has got it in the bag but it is the first time increasingly reckless obama media might not be so much of the time. for a guy they once harolded for hope and change now little hope, now little more than spare change. by the way, reminder tomorrow, we are hitting the road. we are stopping in pensacola, florida. two special live shows. one at 4:00 on the fox news channel. another at 8:00 on the fox business network. the last guy to walk the moon, gene cerna and why he is