Transcripts For BLOOMBERG Political Capital With Al Hunt 201

You know, its been analyzed both ways, al, and i hope what it is, is a first step toward further collaboration, because our countrys in trouble. You know, we have a fiscal crisis looming. We still have an economy thats too weak, and we need to Work Together to solve these problems. So i like to view it as a very small step, a baby step in the right direction. It did reduce the deficit a little bit. It did it without raising taxes. It kept us from going into a Government Shutdown in january, but also in september of next year. And finally, it put the United States congress back on track to do appropriations bills. Let me get to some of the things you want to do in just a minute, but, first of all, when you get back, staring you right in the face within a month or so is the debt ceiling. Yep. Democrats say clean debt ceiling, we dont want to rattle Financial Markets. You have said that this is a chance to get more serious. Absolutely. What do you want to put on the debt ceiling . Whats the condition for rob portman supporting the debt ceiling . What disappointed me in the budget agreement that i reluctantly supported, because i wanted to avoid another shutdown and for the other reasons we just talked about, is that it did not address the underlying problem. And its so obvious. The problem is that twothirds of spending, as you know, is on autopilot. That part of our spending goes to 76 in the next 10 years. Its where all the growth is. If we dont address it, it will bankrupt the country. These incredibly important programs, like medicare and medicaid and social security, are not sustainable in their current form. Weve got to get at those. The only time weve done it in the last three decades, al, has been through a debt limit discussion. Right. So lets use the debt limit, not to spook Financial Markets in fact, to give them more assurance were actually going to do the right thing. But you have to do something to get republicans on board . I think we have to do something to deal with the underlying problems. And you have said this is a lets start with entitlement reform, as you said a moment ago, and you said, you know, meanstesting medicare. Now thats a start. Obama has at least been receptive to that in a general way. Would you be receptive, on the other hand, of, say, closing tax loopholes as part of the package . Well, lets look at that logic. To say that we need to close tax loopholes, which generally is viewed as raising taxes on the wealthy right. Although, as you and i know, its a lot of businesses, to do something that actually reduces benefits for the wealthy doesnt seem to be very, very logical. Why would we have to raise taxes at a time when the economy is too weak on wealthier people in order to cut benefits on wealthier people . So thats a deal thats a deal that rob portman would sign off on . Well, it just doesnt make any sense. Theres a logic behind that. Now, what democrats have said with regard to social security, changing the formula, which is what the president had proposed in his budget, that that could hurt seniors who are poor or very elderly, i get that. We need to be careful about that. But this notion of meanstesting is that, in medicare, you know, those who are on medicare, pay taxes, thats true, through payroll taxes over the years, on average people pay 1 in taxes for every 3 they get back. So all im suggesting is people over 175,000 a year, a couple start there . Start to pay a little more for their premiums in part b and part d that saves a lot of money over the long haul, and its the kind of thing we need to do. Let me get you to put your former u. S. Trade representative hat on. Yep. Big news this week. Max baucus, chairman of the Senate Finance committee, is going to be designated as the ambassador to china. Yep. Hes been the leading democratic voice in the senate on trade. What effect is this going to have, if any, on any trade legislation next year, fast track or the transpacific . Will anything happen . Well, i talked to max baucus about this yesterday. One, before he leaves, were going to get some stuff done, i hope. On trade . Theres certain on trade, including moving trade Promotion Authority forward. The president wants it im glad he wants it, al. This is the First Administration since fdr that didnt want it until march of this year. And you think you can get that done before max baucus leaves . Im hopeful that we can. You know, sometimes these confirmation confirmations take a little while. And hopefully, we can get that done. How about transpacific . The tpp, which is the Trans Pacific partnership a lot of alphabet soup here, i think has to follow tpa. I dont think that the United States can negotiate the final agreement without letting countries know that we have a fasttrack way to get this done for a yesorno vote on the floor of the house and senate, so i think you have to start with tpa. Thats certainly been the experience over the years, so lets get that done first. Then, i think itll be easier to deal with the transpacific partnership. Max baucus also was the democratic foremost democratic champion of some kind of tax reform, working withdave camp in the house. Thats pretty much dead now, isnt it . No, actually in this congress, will we have big tax reform . On trade and taxes, i would also make the obvious point that ron wyden is the likely successor as chairman of that committee. I spoke to ron about this today, in fact. He is very interested in the trade agenda, always has been. He believes in trade, he thinks we ought to knock down barriers to trade. I worked with him when i was u. S. Trade representative. And on tax reform, you know, rons been very aggressive on that. In fact, he has his own tax reform proposal that lowers the rate and broadens the base. But you dont think you can get it done in this congress, though, do you . Well, not this year, certainly, but next year, i think if dave camp and ron wyden join forces, as he and max baucus were starting to do, i think it can still happen. I think it is unlikely to happen right after the first of the year, which is what some of us thought might be the timeframe. Right. I think the house has to report out a bill first, and probably that doesnt happen until the springtime, and then i think the senate under ron wydens leadership with the finance committee and orrin hatch, whos very interested in tax reform, i think we have a shot at it. And if we dont do it, al, we are hurting american jobs, because right now, our antiquated and inefficient tax code makes it more advantageous to be a Foreign Company than to be a u. S. Company that makes no sense. Let me turn to the federal reserve. Ben bernanke began tapering this week. Is he making the right move . Yes, yes, im worried about a bubble forming if we dont begin tapering, so is he doing it at the right speed . Well, well see. The numbers just came out, as you saw, today indicating that our gdp growth in the Third Quarter was higher than expected. A lot of it was inventory, so were not sure how much to trust that, but i do think that we have to begin this tapering. Were unprecedented in terms of the fed balance sheet, and also having the overnight rate be at zero. Basically, theres no flexibility for the fed to be able to respond to the possibility of going into another recession, so i think its appropriate. Senator portman, let me close by asking you a political and personal question. Earlier this year, you reported that your son was gay and that you had changed your position and you now support gay marriage. Nine months later, whats been the political fallout . And really more importantly, what effect has it had on your family . Familys doing great, first of all. Im very proud of my son, always was, and even prouder, if thats possible, of him now. Hes doing great familys doing great. Look, the politics of this are going are going to be mixed, as is with every, you know, sensitive issue. But overall, you know, im getting very strong response. I still focus, al, as i always have, on the economic and fiscal issues i know you do, but on this one, more positive than negative . Definitely, from what im what im hearing. And the countrys moving quickly on it, too, particularly young people. When i go to colleges and universities now, instead of, you know, being criticized for that position, its sort of an issue that, frankly, a lot of young people dont think is a big deal one way or the other and theyre, therefore, more willing to listen to me on other issues. Like the fact that theyre the ones who are going to get left hanging out there and holding the bag on the debt and deficit theyre the ones that are facing this tough job market, and we need progrowth policies to better deal with those things. So its almost a threshold issue for a lot of young people and once you get over that threshold, you can then engage on some of the more economic and fiscal issues that do affect them and their future. Well, senator rob portman, happiest of holidays to you and your family. Thank you, al. Thank you so much for being with us. My pleasure. Good to see you. Change recommended for the nsa and what is next for president obama. Welcome back. A task force to review National Security Agency Practices recommend major changes. For more on that, we talked to john walcott and margaret talev. The end of the year. For barack obama, this was not a victory mark. The first question was, is this your worst year ever as president . Which he dodged. The answer is yes whether nsa or health care. Everything. Guncontrol, remember that was going to happen. A really tough year. One of his undoing was the launch of the health care. The one freebie they had. It was the signature legacy. A stumble on that that is dogging. The problems continue. They had to make changes on policy that they said they were not going to change. That is right. The mandate. There are half a Million People who are getting canceled because the policy did not meet the standard under the new obama care law. The administration was so concerned that they have waived the mandate until january 1. The president headed to hawaii, 10 days of rest and relaxation. Preparing for a tougher 2014. The sacrifice youre making for bloomberg to go to hawaii. I am taking one for the team. We appreciate it. Is he going to have to work out there . He said he is hoping for a little bit of sleep and sun. As you know, these things often veer out of control. International incident or january 1, second, major dates in terms of the beginning of the Affordable Care act. He will be getting regular briefings especially on health care as he tries to relax. He got bombarded by nsa stuff. It was really, really tough. His own review panel. There is going to be change. There will. 2014 will not be easier for the president than 2013. Maybe harder. Snowden still have more stuff. It is going to cut out come out. They do not know what it is. That is an even bigger problem. The spy agency caught by surprise is not a pretty sight. The president alluded to this in the press conference. The balance between security and Civil Liberties is not an easy one. He has a tough job. He has a background as a constitutional lawyer. The other issue is Technology Makes it more complicated. You understand the issues more than most. It used to be if i called long distance, before cell phones, before you were born before we were even born. It took a british fleet four weeks to do something. Now it takes four nano seconds for a message. That makes it more challenging. The law of governing this dates to 1979. These guys, these people who are doing it, they do not engage in costbenefit analysis. The benefit of listening to Angela Merkels conversations versus the risk seems to be an obvious lousy one. They are playing defense. If you scoop up every body, nobody can accuse you of missing anything. That has been that way since 9 11. What the panel is recommending, the big question for president obama is, will he heed . What is different this time . He signaled today that he is not going to accept all of it. He has already rejected the one recommendation which is they split the leadership of military Cyber Command at nsa. He has shut that one down. There is no way he is going to buy the recommendations wholesale. The most important one is, who keeps the data . The nsa, the government, or private Companies Give it up only with a court order . That is the key decision to make next month when he comes out and announce the conclusions he has reached. Remarkably tough issue. Margaret, let me ask you a question that Phil Mattingly referred to in the press conference. The winter olympics. The president and Vice President are not going. Billie jean king is going. The pushback by the u. S. Because russia has antigay policy. By choosing a highprofile gay athlete like billie jean king. It is sending that message. A whole layer of u. S. Russian tensions. No love lost. The box and that obama got put on in terms of syria. He and putin have issues to work out. You guys are terrific. When we return, the fed begins to taper. Margaret carlson and lanhee chen debate the debt ceiling ultimatum. Welcome back. First, the fed begins tapering. For more, rich miller is here. Let the tapering began. Ben bernanke has entered his last lap. He said more but gradual. He was like a magician at this. You make the point disappear. You pull everybody and say look at this hand. [laughter] that is what he did. With this hand, he tapered. With the other, lets keep Interest Rates low. They Pay Attention to this low interest rate. Also taper light. The markets were unlike the middle of last year even suggesting in the middle when he suggested that record to taper, the markets went upward. Get me the market psychology. They loved it. He said there will still be easy money. The marks have been adjusted. Longterm yields are up 1. 6 . Most of all, the economy is working with health. Back in may, people said the economy is not that strong. Now, it is strong. Today, we got numbers. They revised up the Third Quarter. 4. 1 . The highest since the Fourth Quarter of 2011. Thats like a nice tailwind. The message seems to be, the economy is getting the better. We are not quite ready to pop the champagne cork yet. Right, right. That is why he is saying we are going to taper down very slowly. 10 billion. It will lead to the end of the year. The economy is clearly picking up. Auto sales, retail sales, housing. The fact that they are concerned about inflation. Right. Shoppers at walmart are asking, what are they talking about . They have a two percent of target. Inflation by their measure, under one, it has not been close to two for years. What they are worried about is basically deflation. Prices start going down across the board, people say, why should i buy the car today, it will be lower tomorrow . Businesses say i will not plow more money into building the capacity, i wont be able get higher prices tomorrow. That is what they are afraid of basically. I am glad you have something to worry about. First of all, ben bernanke said he always worked closely with the janet yellen, who will be confirmed almost certainly in january. She apparently gave approval for Stanley Fischer as the vice chair of the fed. A pretty secure, confident woman. Definitely. She was one the one pushing for this. The white house was a little worried that maybe she would feel undermined if they did this. It is a great team basically. One of the economists said, like the hall of fame team at the fed. Next time you do the show, a movie that reminds you of this. Thank you. Margaret, we got to the budget deal. Everybody is happy. Now the debt ceiling is going to rear its ugly head. Paul ryan said you have to give us something. Is he right . He has to placate the right wing of the party that is forced to go along with this. Now the john boehner has had his hotheaded moment, he is preaching to cooler heads into the house. Obamacare is working for them to the extent anybody anything is working. Lets stick with this, guys. Must not threaten the entire Global Financial market with our shenanigans. It will not work for the debt ceiling. Do you agree, lanhee . No, it is time for the republicans to enforce. The negotiation is one of them. This is a masterstroke for paul ryan. You have to be the dealmaker. On the other hand, appealing to the conservatives. He is able to have his cake and eat it, too. Healthcare, some democrats are suggesting it is working. Some Insurance Companies are spending hundreds of millions dollars. Could this turn into an asset for democrats . Absolutely not. This will be a complete disaster. That explains why you have people like hagan and landrieu running away from obamacare. It will be worse next year. Premiums going up. Seniors getting hit. People not being able to see the doctors. 2014 will not be a good year for democrats who run under obamacare. Obamacare has nothing with medicare. Obamacare is a little bit like tapering. A really crazy analogy. As it rolls out, it was not to be as bad as every body thought. Its beginning to work. The website is working. Thousands and thousands people are signing up. Look at california. As for senators, the white house is making these accommodations through that showing authority to make these little changes to smooth it out. The Insurance Companies which have a stake are going along with it. The good things remind remain out there. It is so huge. People are going to like what they get. Something tells me we will continue. Thank you. Thank you for watching. Well see you next week. Political capital is a production of bloomberg television. The National Hockey league strikes gold. That is one reason the ceo is looking forward to the new year. It is an opportunity for us, we will tell some Great Stories around the players. Hockey is also thriving in northern california. Find out how the Work Together<\/a> to solve these problems. So i like to view it as a very small step, a baby step in the right direction. It did reduce the deficit a little bit. It did it without raising taxes. It kept us from going into a Government Shutdown<\/a> in january, but also in september of next year. And finally, it put the United States<\/a> congress back on track to do appropriations bills. Let me get to some of the things you want to do in just a minute, but, first of all, when you get back, staring you right in the face within a month or so is the debt ceiling. Yep. Democrats say clean debt ceiling, we dont want to rattle Financial Markets<\/a>. You have said that this is a chance to get more serious. Absolutely. What do you want to put on the debt ceiling . Whats the condition for rob portman supporting the debt ceiling . What disappointed me in the budget agreement that i reluctantly supported, because i wanted to avoid another shutdown and for the other reasons we just talked about, is that it did not address the underlying problem. And its so obvious. The problem is that twothirds of spending, as you know, is on autopilot. That part of our spending goes to 76 in the next 10 years. Its where all the growth is. If we dont address it, it will bankrupt the country. These incredibly important programs, like medicare and medicaid and social security, are not sustainable in their current form. Weve got to get at those. The only time weve done it in the last three decades, al, has been through a debt limit discussion. Right. So lets use the debt limit, not to spook Financial Markets<\/a> in fact, to give them more assurance were actually going to do the right thing. But you have to do something to get republicans on board . I think we have to do something to deal with the underlying problems. And you have said this is a lets start with entitlement reform, as you said a moment ago, and you said, you know, meanstesting medicare. Now thats a start. Obama has at least been receptive to that in a general way. Would you be receptive, on the other hand, of, say, closing tax loopholes as part of the package . Well, lets look at that logic. To say that we need to close tax loopholes, which generally is viewed as raising taxes on the wealthy right. Although, as you and i know, its a lot of businesses, to do something that actually reduces benefits for the wealthy doesnt seem to be very, very logical. Why would we have to raise taxes at a time when the economy is too weak on wealthier people in order to cut benefits on wealthier people . So thats a deal thats a deal that rob portman would sign off on . Well, it just doesnt make any sense. Theres a logic behind that. Now, what democrats have said with regard to social security, changing the formula, which is what the president had proposed in his budget, that that could hurt seniors who are poor or very elderly, i get that. We need to be careful about that. But this notion of meanstesting is that, in medicare, you know, those who are on medicare, pay taxes, thats true, through payroll taxes over the years, on average people pay 1 in taxes for every 3 they get back. So all im suggesting is people over 175,000 a year, a couple start there . Start to pay a little more for their premiums in part b and part d that saves a lot of money over the long haul, and its the kind of thing we need to do. Let me get you to put your former u. S. Trade representative hat on. Yep. Big news this week. Max baucus, chairman of the Senate Finance<\/a> committee, is going to be designated as the ambassador to china. Yep. Hes been the leading democratic voice in the senate on trade. What effect is this going to have, if any, on any trade legislation next year, fast track or the transpacific . Will anything happen . Well, i talked to max baucus about this yesterday. One, before he leaves, were going to get some stuff done, i hope. On trade . Theres certain on trade, including moving trade Promotion Authority<\/a> forward. The president wants it im glad he wants it, al. This is the First Administration<\/a> since fdr that didnt want it until march of this year. And you think you can get that done before max baucus leaves . Im hopeful that we can. You know, sometimes these confirmation confirmations take a little while. And hopefully, we can get that done. How about transpacific . The tpp, which is the Trans Pacific<\/a> partnership a lot of alphabet soup here, i think has to follow tpa. I dont think that the United States<\/a> can negotiate the final agreement without letting countries know that we have a fasttrack way to get this done for a yesorno vote on the floor of the house and senate, so i think you have to start with tpa. Thats certainly been the experience over the years, so lets get that done first. Then, i think itll be easier to deal with the transpacific partnership. Max baucus also was the democratic foremost democratic champion of some kind of tax reform, working withdave camp in the house. Thats pretty much dead now, isnt it . No, actually in this congress, will we have big tax reform . On trade and taxes, i would also make the obvious point that ron wyden is the likely successor as chairman of that committee. I spoke to ron about this today, in fact. He is very interested in the trade agenda, always has been. He believes in trade, he thinks we ought to knock down barriers to trade. I worked with him when i was u. S. Trade representative. And on tax reform, you know, rons been very aggressive on that. In fact, he has his own tax reform proposal that lowers the rate and broadens the base. But you dont think you can get it done in this congress, though, do you . Well, not this year, certainly, but next year, i think if dave camp and ron wyden join forces, as he and max baucus were starting to do, i think it can still happen. I think it is unlikely to happen right after the first of the year, which is what some of us thought might be the timeframe. Right. I think the house has to report out a bill first, and probably that doesnt happen until the springtime, and then i think the senate under ron wydens leadership with the finance committee and orrin hatch, whos very interested in tax reform, i think we have a shot at it. And if we dont do it, al, we are hurting american jobs, because right now, our antiquated and inefficient tax code makes it more advantageous to be a Foreign Company<\/a> than to be a u. S. Company that makes no sense. Let me turn to the federal reserve. Ben bernanke began tapering this week. Is he making the right move . Yes, yes, im worried about a bubble forming if we dont begin tapering, so is he doing it at the right speed . Well, well see. The numbers just came out, as you saw, today indicating that our gdp growth in the Third Quarter<\/a> was higher than expected. A lot of it was inventory, so were not sure how much to trust that, but i do think that we have to begin this tapering. Were unprecedented in terms of the fed balance sheet, and also having the overnight rate be at zero. Basically, theres no flexibility for the fed to be able to respond to the possibility of going into another recession, so i think its appropriate. Senator portman, let me close by asking you a political and personal question. Earlier this year, you reported that your son was gay and that you had changed your position and you now support gay marriage. Nine months later, whats been the political fallout . And really more importantly, what effect has it had on your family . Familys doing great, first of all. Im very proud of my son, always was, and even prouder, if thats possible, of him now. Hes doing great familys doing great. Look, the politics of this are going are going to be mixed, as is with every, you know, sensitive issue. But overall, you know, im getting very strong response. I still focus, al, as i always have, on the economic and fiscal issues i know you do, but on this one, more positive than negative . Definitely, from what im what im hearing. And the countrys moving quickly on it, too, particularly young people. When i go to colleges and universities now, instead of, you know, being criticized for that position, its sort of an issue that, frankly, a lot of young people dont think is a big deal one way or the other and theyre, therefore, more willing to listen to me on other issues. Like the fact that theyre the ones who are going to get left hanging out there and holding the bag on the debt and deficit theyre the ones that are facing this tough job market, and we need progrowth policies to better deal with those things. So its almost a threshold issue for a lot of young people and once you get over that threshold, you can then engage on some of the more economic and fiscal issues that do affect them and their future. Well, senator rob portman, happiest of holidays to you and your family. Thank you, al. Thank you so much for being with us. My pleasure. Good to see you. Change recommended for the nsa and what is next for president obama. Welcome back. A task force to review National Security<\/a> Agency Practices<\/a> recommend major changes. For more on that, we talked to john walcott and margaret talev. The end of the year. For barack obama, this was not a victory mark. The first question was, is this your worst year ever as president . Which he dodged. The answer is yes whether nsa or health care. Everything. Guncontrol, remember that was going to happen. A really tough year. One of his undoing was the launch of the health care. The one freebie they had. It was the signature legacy. A stumble on that that is dogging. The problems continue. They had to make changes on policy that they said they were not going to change. That is right. The mandate. There are half a Million People<\/a> who are getting canceled because the policy did not meet the standard under the new obama care law. The administration was so concerned that they have waived the mandate until january 1. The president headed to hawaii, 10 days of rest and relaxation. Preparing for a tougher 2014. The sacrifice youre making for bloomberg to go to hawaii. I am taking one for the team. We appreciate it. Is he going to have to work out there . He said he is hoping for a little bit of sleep and sun. As you know, these things often veer out of control. International incident or january 1, second, major dates in terms of the beginning of the Affordable Care<\/a> act. He will be getting regular briefings especially on health care as he tries to relax. He got bombarded by nsa stuff. It was really, really tough. His own review panel. There is going to be change. There will. 2014 will not be easier for the president than 2013. Maybe harder. Snowden still have more stuff. It is going to cut out come out. They do not know what it is. That is an even bigger problem. The spy agency caught by surprise is not a pretty sight. The president alluded to this in the press conference. The balance between security and Civil Liberties<\/a> is not an easy one. He has a tough job. He has a background as a constitutional lawyer. The other issue is Technology Makes<\/a> it more complicated. You understand the issues more than most. It used to be if i called long distance, before cell phones, before you were born before we were even born. It took a british fleet four weeks to do something. Now it takes four nano seconds for a message. That makes it more challenging. The law of governing this dates to 1979. These guys, these people who are doing it, they do not engage in costbenefit analysis. The benefit of listening to Angela Merkels<\/a> conversations versus the risk seems to be an obvious lousy one. They are playing defense. If you scoop up every body, nobody can accuse you of missing anything. That has been that way since 9 11. What the panel is recommending, the big question for president obama is, will he heed . What is different this time . He signaled today that he is not going to accept all of it. He has already rejected the one recommendation which is they split the leadership of military Cyber Command<\/a> at nsa. He has shut that one down. There is no way he is going to buy the recommendations wholesale. The most important one is, who keeps the data . The nsa, the government, or private Companies Give<\/a> it up only with a court order . That is the key decision to make next month when he comes out and announce the conclusions he has reached. Remarkably tough issue. Margaret, let me ask you a question that Phil Mattingly<\/a> referred to in the press conference. The winter olympics. The president and Vice President<\/a> are not going. Billie jean king is going. The pushback by the u. S. Because russia has antigay policy. By choosing a highprofile gay athlete like billie jean king. It is sending that message. A whole layer of u. S. Russian tensions. No love lost. The box and that obama got put on in terms of syria. He and putin have issues to work out. You guys are terrific. When we return, the fed begins to taper. Margaret carlson and lanhee chen debate the debt ceiling ultimatum. Welcome back. First, the fed begins tapering. For more, rich miller is here. Let the tapering began. Ben bernanke has entered his last lap. He said more but gradual. He was like a magician at this. You make the point disappear. You pull everybody and say look at this hand. [laughter] that is what he did. With this hand, he tapered. With the other, lets keep Interest Rates<\/a> low. They Pay Attention<\/a> to this low interest rate. Also taper light. The markets were unlike the middle of last year even suggesting in the middle when he suggested that record to taper, the markets went upward. Get me the market psychology. They loved it. He said there will still be easy money. The marks have been adjusted. Longterm yields are up 1. 6 . Most of all, the economy is working with health. Back in may, people said the economy is not that strong. Now, it is strong. Today, we got numbers. They revised up the Third Quarter<\/a>. 4. 1 . The highest since the Fourth Quarter<\/a> of 2011. Thats like a nice tailwind. The message seems to be, the economy is getting the better. We are not quite ready to pop the champagne cork yet. Right, right. That is why he is saying we are going to taper down very slowly. 10 billion. It will lead to the end of the year. The economy is clearly picking up. Auto sales, retail sales, housing. The fact that they are concerned about inflation. Right. Shoppers at walmart are asking, what are they talking about . They have a two percent of target. Inflation by their measure, under one, it has not been close to two for years. What they are worried about is basically deflation. Prices start going down across the board, people say, why should i buy the car today, it will be lower tomorrow . Businesses say i will not plow more money into building the capacity, i wont be able get higher prices tomorrow. That is what they are afraid of basically. I am glad you have something to worry about. First of all, ben bernanke said he always worked closely with the janet yellen, who will be confirmed almost certainly in january. She apparently gave approval for Stanley Fischer<\/a> as the vice chair of the fed. A pretty secure, confident woman. Definitely. She was one the one pushing for this. The white house was a little worried that maybe she would feel undermined if they did this. It is a great team basically. One of the economists said, like the hall of fame team at the fed. Next time you do the show, a movie that reminds you of this. Thank you. Margaret, we got to the budget deal. Everybody is happy. Now the debt ceiling is going to rear its ugly head. Paul ryan said you have to give us something. Is he right . He has to placate the right wing of the party that is forced to go along with this. Now the john boehner has had his hotheaded moment, he is preaching to cooler heads into the house. Obamacare is working for them to the extent anybody anything is working. Lets stick with this, guys. Must not threaten the entire Global Financial<\/a> market with our shenanigans. It will not work for the debt ceiling. Do you agree, lanhee . No, it is time for the republicans to enforce. The negotiation is one of them. This is a masterstroke for paul ryan. You have to be the dealmaker. On the other hand, appealing to the conservatives. He is able to have his cake and eat it, too. Healthcare, some democrats are suggesting it is working. Some Insurance Companies<\/a> are spending hundreds of millions dollars. Could this turn into an asset for democrats . Absolutely not. This will be a complete disaster. That explains why you have people like hagan and landrieu running away from obamacare. It will be worse next year. Premiums going up. Seniors getting hit. People not being able to see the doctors. 2014 will not be a good year for democrats who run under obamacare. Obamacare has nothing with medicare. Obamacare is a little bit like tapering. A really crazy analogy. As it rolls out, it was not to be as bad as every body thought. Its beginning to work. The website is working. Thousands and thousands people are signing up. Look at california. As for senators, the white house is making these accommodations through that showing authority to make these little changes to smooth it out. The Insurance Companies<\/a> which have a stake are going along with it. The good things remind remain out there. It is so huge. People are going to like what they get. Something tells me we will continue. Thank you. Thank you for watching. Well see you next week. Political capital is a production of bloomberg television. The National Hockey<\/a> league strikes gold. That is one reason the ceo is looking forward to the new year. It is an opportunity for us, we will tell some Great Stories<\/a> around the players. Hockey is also thriving in northern california. Find out how the San Jose Sharks<\/a> have become one of the coolest success stories. Their fan base is very sophisticated. They have Discretionary Income<\/a> that they can spend on hockey. College football, is the bowl halfempty or halffull . All this and a look back at the year in sports business","publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"archive.org","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","width":"800","height":"600","url":"\/\/ia600905.us.archive.org\/3\/items\/BLOOMBERG_20131222_100000_Political_Capital_With_Al_Hunt\/BLOOMBERG_20131222_100000_Political_Capital_With_Al_Hunt.thumbs\/BLOOMBERG_20131222_100000_Political_Capital_With_Al_Hunt_000001.jpg"}},"autauthor":{"@type":"Organization"},"author":{"sameAs":"archive.org","name":"archive.org"}}],"coverageEndTime":"20240620T12:35:10+00:00"}