brunt of deep automatic cuts. can we afford that with news russia and china are ramping up defense spending? retired colonel tony shaffer with us. with us losing $43 billion in our budget, do you think we re equipped if all these countries are ramping up and decide to turn their cross hairs to us? you ve got to figure out if they are really threats. we have not done that. throwing money to education doesn t make people smarter. throwing money to defense doesn t make us effective. we have to have an effective defense. if we grant, if we really believe they are threats, validate them as threats and vector the money into threats. we re funding a cold war legacy machine. we won the cold war back in 1990, but part of the problem is this. instead of actually figuring out what we need to do to defend the american people to establish an effective defense, we have a layered
nondefense and 13 percent cut to defense programs this year. but president obama said yesterday. if congress can compromise on spending cuts and tax reform, then the threat of the sequester will be delayed. we are just weeks away from deep automatic cuts to federal spending including defense. there is no reason. no reason for that to happen. putting our fiscal house in order calls for a balanced approach . not massive indiscriminate cuts that impact military preparedness. sequestration would result in 2100 food inspections a year and delay i.r.s. customer service responses and could reduce system - social security oversight . cutun employment up to 9 percent .
direct specific threats of violence. you ve been hearing about it. economic crisis just a few weeks away potentially if lawmakers don t do something about it. president obama meeting with congressional leaders from both political parties to try to get them back from the brink. if they can t reach a deal by new year s day, tax also go up, deep automatic spending cuts take effect. economists warning the combination of that could propel news another recession and higher unemployment. before today s meeting, the president said everyone agrees it s urgent to get a deal done. we ve got to make sure that taxes don t go up on middle class families, that our economy remains strong, that we re creating jobs, and that s an agenda that democrats and republicans and independents, people all across the country share. harris: after that meeting, congressional leaders said they re confident they can get a deal done. james rosen live at the white house. james, all this talk. how about some action
forbear. going after mitt romney and the mysterious tax returns. we ll have that clip a little later in the show. first, let s get to the news live at 5:30 a.m. here s 30 rock in new york city. former vice president dick cheney returns to washington today to meet with top house republicans about how to deal with the two-part challenge facing the economy at the end of year. the expiring bush tax cuts and those deep automatic spending cuts. democrats took a hard line yesterday suggesting they are prepared to go over the so-called fiscal cliff and allow those cuts in taxes to take effect if republicans continue to balk at raising taxes on the nation s wealthiest households. if we can t get a good deal, a balanced deal that calls on the wealthy to pay their fair share, then i will absolutely continue this debate into 2013 rather than lock in a long-term deal this year that throws middle class families under the bus. there was some tough talk from vice president joe biden at
it s not about assigning blame. but we are unaware of any democratic offer that didn t include at least $1 trillion tax increase on the american economy. reporter: democrats are drawing the line on medicare and medicaid. what we will not put on the table is the end to the guarantee to those entitlements. reporter: without an agreement, deep automatic cuts kick in, slashing domestic and defense spending alike. but not until 2013. a crisis for the next congress. brian mooar, nbc news, washington. occupy wall street protesters angry over last week s eviction from their downtown camp site have now staged a 24-hour drum circle near the home of new york city mayor michael bloomberg. hundreds arrived on the upper side of manhattan. they came with musical instruments in hand. the group was forced to demonstrate across the street, due to barricades that police set up around bloomberg s block. new york s mayor claimed full