bipartisan plan would increase the debt limit through the end of next year, beyond the election. cuts and spending caps are still on the table. and house speaker john boehner apparently is planning a conference call sometime soon with house members. so we have up to the minute coverage of what s happening in washington. cnn s kate bolduan is on capitol hill. dan lothian at the white house. let s begin with you, kate. senate leaders in both parties say they are, quote, very close to a deal. we know they are still negotiating. what have you been able to find out about? what is in this framework of this $3 trillion deal? reporter: we don t have specifics of, of course, the final deal because, as they always say, there s no deal until there is a deal. but we are getting some details are emerging of a tentative framework of what the negotiators are talking about. real quick before i get to that, we have i don t know if we actually have the video turned around quite yet. bedid
advantage of low interest rates and discovered the value of their home has dropped significantly. you re expanding the house and improving the landscaping and all of those things that you should be doing to help your home grow and build value to see it lose a significant chunk of its value and your equity in it is somewhat devastating. he says they re also still fighting their way back from tough stock market losses tied to their other retirement assets as well. financial advisors warn that many americans are facing the same one-two punch. i think some folks are trying desperately to hang on to the prior life they had or the prior plan that they had and they re unwilling to acknowledge that, plan didn t work and they need to move to plan b. data collected by the federal reserve shows the median u.s. household headed by someone between 60 and 62 who has a 401(k) now has less than a quarter of what they need in that account in order to continue their current standard of living.
are you surprised by that? i m not surprise. the federal reserve s actions so far this year have helped push the stock market up and who owns stock? those rin vest hers, middle and upper earners are feeling pretty good because they ve regained a lot of the wealth that went away during the recession through home equity losses and stock market losses. so people are definitely feeling they re getting their wealth back and we are seeing lots of pick up in purchases like that, luxury items are coming back, for sure. and when we look at the shopping that has been done for the holidays, and what s to come, the retail feds ragz said lots of consumers out there were done with their holiday shopping by the second week of december. that means there s a fair amount left to come. and some people have more reason to feel optimistic. so this tax deal tells people, okay, now you know for sure your taxes will not go occupy. people know. now they don t have to worry about coming up with extra mone
the bums in washington. we borrowed so much because we drove the economy into a ditch. did you blame washington or ourselves? i m if to blame washington. federal policy punishes, work, savings and marriage. and it rewards idleness, and shacking up. let me give you one example. two singles between them have up to $6,000 in deductions for their stock market losses, we all have those. if they sign a marriage certificate it gets cut in half. there are similar penalties. for middle americans there s a penalty for the way we tax social security benefits. as important as this subject is, i think you ve been over thinking this a little but glad you came prepared. victoria, who is to blame? bill makes an excellent
groups is because they work. the number of fraud increases 62% over the last three years. from around $200 to more than $500. fraud against americans is a borderless crime. the pattern of fraud comes down to three category, tax scam, business opportunity and targeting the elderly. it s driven by the internet and current economic conditions. the vulnerable face serious financial problems ranging from underwater mortgages to stock market losses that slash 401(k)s and stalled salaries. we focus resources on what we call the last hour frauds. frauds aimed to take the last dollar out of the wallet of people rendered vulnerable by the economic downturn. fraud against seniors is