Transcripts For CNNW Elizabeth Warren CNN Presidential Town

And law professor. If elected she would make history as the first female president of the United States of america. Shell take questions from democrats and independents that say they plan to participate in the democratic primary and caucuses. Please welcome senator elizabeth warren. How are you, good to see you. Have a seat. Oh, this is fun. So youre a former law professor. Feel good to be back on the campus. Always. Absolutely. Which is more fun . Teaching law students . Teaching on a campus or working with senators in the u. S. Senate . Teaching. Are you kidding . Much more fun. I thought you might give that answer. Lets start with our first town hall question. The first one comes from christopher, hes a doctoral candidate in Public Health here at Jackson State University. Good evening, my question is mississippi is a deeply red state and one of the poorest states in the country. Yet many white poor and working class citizens continue to vote against their economic interests. What message, if any, do you have that may resinate with them that may encourage them to vote for you . So thank you for the question christopher. This is how i see it. Washington is working great. Its working fabulously for giant drug companies. Its just not working for people that are trying to get a prescription filled. [ applause ] its working great for Big Oil Companies that want to drill everywhere. Its just not working for people that see Climate Change bearing down upon us. Its working great for giant Financial Institutions and for payday lenders. Its just not working great for people that are living paycheck to paycheck. Im tired of washington. That works for the rich and the powerful. I want a washington that works for the rest of america. Thats why im in this fight. And i believe on that that democrats, independents, and republicans, they know a scam when they see it and they see a washington working for those guys, i think theyre ready to get in the fight and get a washington and country that works for the rest of america. Thank you. So our next question, shes a supporter of yours and Spanish Language translator from jackson. Good evening. Since the election of donald trump the number of hate crimes has increased and White Supremacists have become more embolden online and in the public. What are your plans to unite the country . It starts with the fact that we have to recognize the threat posed by white nationalism. White supremacists pose a threat to the United States like any other terrorist group. Like isis, like al qaeda and leadership starts at the top. That means you have to call it out. And then when you call it out you have to use the tools available to you. That means get the Justice Department when they break the law to go after them with full prosecution. Thats what i can do. Thank you. Shes a graduate student at Jackson State University. Thank you, georgia. Thank you for taking my question. I am an African American female with im an African American female with 5 beautiful Adult Children and 10 grandchildren. Oh, goreorgia, count your blessings every day. Please, please, describe to me what a public apology for 400 years of free labor in the south, especially mississippi, will look like in the African American community in the new election. All right, thank you. In the new administration. Thank you. So america was founded on principles of liberty and freedom and on the backs of slave labor. This is a stain on america and were not going to fix that. Were not going to change that until we address it head on, directly. And make no mistake. Its not just the original founding. Its just what happened generation after generation. The impact of discrimination handed down from one to the next means that today in america, because housing discrimination and employment discrimination, we live in a world where the average white family has 100, the average black family has about 5. So i believe its time to start the National Full blown conversation about reparations in this country. And that means i support the bill in the house to appoint a Congressional Panel of experts. People that are studying this and talk about different ways we may be able to do it and make a report back to congress so that we can as a nation do whats right and begin to heal. If i could just follow up on georgias question, you said youre open to a conversation about reparations to the descendants of slaves and native americans . Might that include direct payments . Direct transfers of money . Theres a lot of ways to think about the way they should be formed. Her question started with the frame of an apology and national recognition. We have a lot of experts around the country. A lot of activists that have a whole lot of different approaches to it and i think the best we can do right now, i love the idea of this congressional commission, lets bring people together and lets open that conversation as americans. Lets see what ideas people want to put on the table and lets talk them through. Because i have to tell you, ignoring the problem is not working. Hes a student that founded a labor rights group. He has a question about medicare for all. Senator warren, thank you so much for being here this evening and your tireless advocacy for universal health care. As a supporter of universal health care and advocate for organized labor i do worry about the elimination of private health insurance. That would eliminate the employer based plans that so many unions have advocated for . Can you explain how medicare for all would be better for workers than simply improving the Affordable Care act . Thats a good question. Lets start with our statement that we should make every time we start to talk about changes in our health care and that is health care is a basic human right and we fight for basic human rights. Then lets put these in order. Lets all remember when were talking about what is possible, lets start where we are and the difference between democrats and republicans. Right now, democrats are trying to figure out how to expand Health Care Coverage at the lowest possible cost so everybody is covered. Republicans right this minute are out there trying to repeal the Affordable Care act. They have a lawsuit pending down in texas where theyre trying to roll it back, what they couldnt do with a vote theyre trying to do with the courts. Hhs every day is doing what they can to undermine the Affordable Care act. So when were talking about health care in america right now, the first thing we need to be talking about is defend the Affordable Care act. Protection under the Affordable Care act. Then, the low hanging fruit, lets bring down the cost of prescription drugs all across this country. We have lots of ways we can do that. We can import drugs from canada where the Safety Standards are the same. That will cut costs dramatically. We will negotiate the prices under health care and that will cut costs dramatically and i have a proposal to bring down the cost on generic drugs which could be about 90 of all prescriptions. So lets get the cost down and then you know what youre going to hear, we need to hold Insurance Companies accountable. And then when we talk about medicare for all, theres a lot of different pathways and what were all looking for is the lowest cost way to make sure that everybody gets covered and some folks say lets lower the age. That helps cover people that are most at risk. And everybody under 30 is covered. Let employees buy into the medicare plans. For me, what is key, is we get everybody at the table on this. That labor has hit the table. That people that have to buy on their own, everybody comes to the table together. And make sure that were going to get 100 coverage in this country at the lowest possible cost for everyone. Thats our job. So if i could just follow up a little on jays question, so you are a cosponsor of Bernie Sanders medicare for all bill and theres a lot of different paths to universal coverage but his bill that you cosponsors would essentially eliminate primary insurance. He has a runway for that. I think we get everybody together and thats what it is. Well decide. I also cosponsored other bills. Including expanding medicaid but whats important to me about this is that we never lose sight of what the center is so the center is about making sure that every Single Person in this country gets the coverage they need at a price they can afford. Theoretically though, there could be a role for private Insurance Companies . There could. Or a temporary role. Even bernies plan has a runway before it gets there. Its a big complex system and we have to land this in a way that doesnt do any harm. Everybody has to stay covered. Its critical. Let me bring in kerry johnson. Hello and thank you for coming. Im glad to be here. Building a wall will not prevent foreigners from crossing on u. S. Land. What will you do, what will you put in place to control the influx of migrants. So let me just start where i think of our whole immigration policy and that is we need to have policies on immigration that are consistent with our values. We are a country that is built on our differences. That is our strength. Not our weakness. And when people come to the United States because they are fleeing terror in central america, they fear for their lives, then we have a moral responsibility to listen. And to be there if i can just take a minute to say on this one, i went down to the border last year when the word first began to come out about children taken away from their mothers and i want you all to envision this. Think of a big amazon warehouse, only dirty and smelled bad and when i walked in on the left were cages. Maybe 10 feet wide, 40 feet deep, a toilet back in the corner. One after another after another crammed full of men. On the right, one after another after another crammed full of women and then cages with nothing but little girls in it. And over there, nothing but little boys. Thats not who we are. That is not the country we want to be. And an immigration system that is administered so its not able to tell the difference between a criminal, a terrorist and a 12yearold little girl is an immigration system that is not only not keeping us safer, it does not reflect our values. I will not support the building of the wall for the administration itself. People have already said this is not about security. This is not how were going to make ourselves safer. The wall that is proposed now is a monument to hate and division. We are a better country than that. Thank you. Just to follow up. So the specific question was what will you put in place to control the influx of migrants. And i should hit both of those. Youre exactly right. One thing that we can do is remember all the tools in the tool box and that is, when theres a problem in central america, because the gangs have taken over because the local officials cant manage, then thats not a point at which we should be cutting our aid. And lets help people stay where they are safely. Thats a much kinder way to do it. I want to bring in a High School History teacher from jackson. Hi, how are you, paul . Good evening. Welcome to mississippi. Thank you. Conservatives are using the socialist label as a means of attack. So how and to what degree with your policies encourage selfreliance offering financially challenged a hand up but not a handout. So, you know, this one really this is just a remi reminder that folks can say whatever they want but the reality is at least for me, i believe in markets and i believe in the value that we get out of markets. But it has to be markets with rules. Market without rules is theft. But a market with rules, a market with rules. A market with a cop on the beat to enforce those rules thats how it is that Small Businesses get a chance to start and grow. Thats how it is that employees get to move from one place to another. Thats how it is that we get new products. Im a supporter of markets with rules. And whats wrong in washington, the big folks, they dont want rules. These giant corporations, they want to be able to run over whoever they want to run over. If that means run over their own employees, theyll do it. If that means run over their customers, theyll do it. If that means running over their local communities, they will do it. So the way i see this is we not only need a government that is on our side with these rules, but we need big systemic change and that means that we need more balance out there in the marketplace. And ill tell you a couple of ways that we can do that. We need for employees to have more power and we need to make it easier to join a union and unions need to have more power once people have joined. Unions built americas middle class. Unions will rebuild americas middle class. We should note, youre here in mississippi and focussing on housing for people that are struggling. You have a plan to tackle that. You say its going to help lower rent. How does that work . So i have a proposal to build about 3 million new Housing Units across america. Anybody in here worried about the rise price of housing . Thats pretty much everybody, right . The idea is that we need to make a Real Investment in housing. In the same way that we think about health care as a basic human right. Having a decent and safe place to live should be a human a basic human right. And the squeeze is everywhere. Its the poor, its the working poor, its the working class, its the middle class, it even moves up into the upper middle class that people feel squeezed on housing because we just dont have enough Affordable Housing across this country. So i believe we should make a big investment in housing and by the way, if we do that, independent analysis says that we would lower rents across this country by 10 and thats across the board and we create an opportunity for more people to become buyers. So housing is important and if i can, i want to tell you about one other part of this. This bill also addresses the blackwhite gap in housing. That comes from generation after generation. Not just a passive discrimination but realize that into the 1960s in america, the federal government was subsidizing the purchase of homes for white families and discriminating against black families. Thats red lining. This bill tackles that head on and it says for people who are living in formally red lined areas, theres going to be special assistance for first time home buyers and people that got cheated in the run up to the housing crash and lost their homes. Some special assistance for folks to be able to get that first home and to Start Building the generation after generation of wealth. Its a step in the right direction. Were going to take a quick break. Well be back with more from senator elizabeth warren. Were live in jackson, mississippi, stay with us. To be nobody but yourself in a world which is doing its best to make you everybody else. Means to fight the hardest battle, which any human being can fight and never stop. Does this sound dismal . It isnt. Its the most wonderful life on earth. Its the most wonderful life on earth. Got it . Got it. Nooooo. Nooooo. Quick, the quicker picker upper bounty picks up messes quicker and is 2x more absorbent. Bounty, the quicker picker upper. Nicks mom called the tball league eight times to help her shy son make some new friends. His parents shared videos of highlights, dance moves, and Jimmy Carlyle stealing third. Almost. They sent seven texts when a new friend invited nick for a play date. But in the end, they put their phones down, and watched as nick finally felt part of the team. You wont find relief here. Congestion and pressure . Go to the pharmacy counter for powerful claritind. While the leading allergy spray only relieves 6 symptoms, claritind relieves 8, including sinus congestion and pressure. Claritind relieves more. How business gets done is changing. Energy, success, the face of entrepreneurship is changing. See how were changing. At bankofthewest. Com change bank of the west. The bank for a changing world. Energy is changing. Transpotation is changing. At bank of the west were helping our customers drive that change. With lower rates on a car loan when you use it for an electric vehicle. Find out how much you could save. At bankofthewest. Com ev all of you. How you live, what you love. Thats what inspired us to create americas most advanced internet. Internet that puts you in charge. That protects whats important. It handles everything, and reaches everywhere. This is beyond wifi, this is xfi. Simple. Easy. Awesome. Xfinity, the future of awesome. Welcome back. We are live on the campus of Jackson State University. Were going to go to the questioners in a second but before we do, i do want to ask a little bit about your personal story because voters nationwide are getting to know you. You grew up in oklahoma. I did. You talked about how your family stood at the brink one person from oklahoma. You talk about how your family stood at the brink of financial disaster through a good part of your childhood. How has that shaped your life in the senate . Ill tell you about that. I have three older brothers. They all went off and joined the military. That was their ticket to americas middle class. I was was the late in life baby. My mother used to call me the surprise and about the time i was in middle school, my daddy had a heart attack and it was serious. Thought he was going to die. The Church Neighbors brought covered dishes. It was a scary time. He survived but he couldnt go back to work. We lost our family United States<\/a> of america. Shell take questions from democrats and independents that say they plan to participate in the democratic primary and caucuses. Please welcome senator elizabeth warren. How are you, good to see you. Have a seat. Oh, this is fun. So youre a former law professor. Feel good to be back on the campus. Always. Absolutely. Which is more fun . Teaching law students . Teaching on a campus or working with senators in the u. S. Senate . Teaching. Are you kidding . Much more fun. I thought you might give that answer. Lets start with our first town hall question. The first one comes from christopher, hes a doctoral candidate in Public Health<\/a> here at Jackson State University<\/a>. Good evening, my question is mississippi is a deeply red state and one of the poorest states in the country. Yet many white poor and working class citizens continue to vote against their economic interests. What message, if any, do you have that may resinate with them that may encourage them to vote for you . So thank you for the question christopher. This is how i see it. Washington is working great. Its working fabulously for giant drug companies. Its just not working for people that are trying to get a prescription filled. [ applause ] its working great for Big Oil Companies<\/a> that want to drill everywhere. Its just not working for people that see Climate Change<\/a> bearing down upon us. Its working great for giant Financial Institutions<\/a> and for payday lenders. Its just not working great for people that are living paycheck to paycheck. Im tired of washington. That works for the rich and the powerful. I want a washington that works for the rest of america. Thats why im in this fight. And i believe on that that democrats, independents, and republicans, they know a scam when they see it and they see a washington working for those guys, i think theyre ready to get in the fight and get a washington and country that works for the rest of america. Thank you. So our next question, shes a supporter of yours and Spanish Language<\/a> translator from jackson. Good evening. Since the election of donald trump the number of hate crimes has increased and White Supremacists<\/a> have become more embolden online and in the public. What are your plans to unite the country . It starts with the fact that we have to recognize the threat posed by white nationalism. White supremacists pose a threat to the United States<\/a> like any other terrorist group. Like isis, like al qaeda and leadership starts at the top. That means you have to call it out. And then when you call it out you have to use the tools available to you. That means get the Justice Department<\/a> when they break the law to go after them with full prosecution. Thats what i can do. Thank you. Shes a graduate student at Jackson State University<\/a>. Thank you, georgia. Thank you for taking my question. I am an African American<\/a> female with im an African American<\/a> female with 5 beautiful Adult Children<\/a> and 10 grandchildren. Oh, goreorgia, count your blessings every day. Please, please, describe to me what a public apology for 400 years of free labor in the south, especially mississippi, will look like in the African American<\/a> community in the new election. All right, thank you. In the new administration. Thank you. So america was founded on principles of liberty and freedom and on the backs of slave labor. This is a stain on america and were not going to fix that. Were not going to change that until we address it head on, directly. And make no mistake. Its not just the original founding. Its just what happened generation after generation. The impact of discrimination handed down from one to the next means that today in america, because housing discrimination and employment discrimination, we live in a world where the average white family has 100, the average black family has about 5. So i believe its time to start the National Full<\/a> blown conversation about reparations in this country. And that means i support the bill in the house to appoint a Congressional Panel<\/a> of experts. People that are studying this and talk about different ways we may be able to do it and make a report back to congress so that we can as a nation do whats right and begin to heal. If i could just follow up on georgias question, you said youre open to a conversation about reparations to the descendants of slaves and native americans . Might that include direct payments . Direct transfers of money . Theres a lot of ways to think about the way they should be formed. Her question started with the frame of an apology and national recognition. We have a lot of experts around the country. A lot of activists that have a whole lot of different approaches to it and i think the best we can do right now, i love the idea of this congressional commission, lets bring people together and lets open that conversation as americans. Lets see what ideas people want to put on the table and lets talk them through. Because i have to tell you, ignoring the problem is not working. Hes a student that founded a labor rights group. He has a question about medicare for all. Senator warren, thank you so much for being here this evening and your tireless advocacy for universal health care. As a supporter of universal health care and advocate for organized labor i do worry about the elimination of private health insurance. That would eliminate the employer based plans that so many unions have advocated for . Can you explain how medicare for all would be better for workers than simply improving the Affordable Care<\/a> act . Thats a good question. Lets start with our statement that we should make every time we start to talk about changes in our health care and that is health care is a basic human right and we fight for basic human rights. Then lets put these in order. Lets all remember when were talking about what is possible, lets start where we are and the difference between democrats and republicans. Right now, democrats are trying to figure out how to expand Health Care Coverage<\/a> at the lowest possible cost so everybody is covered. Republicans right this minute are out there trying to repeal the Affordable Care<\/a> act. They have a lawsuit pending down in texas where theyre trying to roll it back, what they couldnt do with a vote theyre trying to do with the courts. Hhs every day is doing what they can to undermine the Affordable Care<\/a> act. So when were talking about health care in america right now, the first thing we need to be talking about is defend the Affordable Care<\/a> act. Protection under the Affordable Care<\/a> act. Then, the low hanging fruit, lets bring down the cost of prescription drugs all across this country. We have lots of ways we can do that. We can import drugs from canada where the Safety Standards<\/a> are the same. That will cut costs dramatically. We will negotiate the prices under health care and that will cut costs dramatically and i have a proposal to bring down the cost on generic drugs which could be about 90 of all prescriptions. So lets get the cost down and then you know what youre going to hear, we need to hold Insurance Companies<\/a> accountable. And then when we talk about medicare for all, theres a lot of different pathways and what were all looking for is the lowest cost way to make sure that everybody gets covered and some folks say lets lower the age. That helps cover people that are most at risk. And everybody under 30 is covered. Let employees buy into the medicare plans. For me, what is key, is we get everybody at the table on this. That labor has hit the table. That people that have to buy on their own, everybody comes to the table together. And make sure that were going to get 100 coverage in this country at the lowest possible cost for everyone. Thats our job. So if i could just follow up a little on jays question, so you are a cosponsor of Bernie Sanders<\/a> medicare for all bill and theres a lot of different paths to universal coverage but his bill that you cosponsors would essentially eliminate primary insurance. He has a runway for that. I think we get everybody together and thats what it is. Well decide. I also cosponsored other bills. Including expanding medicaid but whats important to me about this is that we never lose sight of what the center is so the center is about making sure that every Single Person<\/a> in this country gets the coverage they need at a price they can afford. Theoretically though, there could be a role for private Insurance Companies<\/a> . There could. Or a temporary role. Even bernies plan has a runway before it gets there. Its a big complex system and we have to land this in a way that doesnt do any harm. Everybody has to stay covered. Its critical. Let me bring in kerry johnson. Hello and thank you for coming. Im glad to be here. Building a wall will not prevent foreigners from crossing on u. S. Land. What will you do, what will you put in place to control the influx of migrants. So let me just start where i think of our whole immigration policy and that is we need to have policies on immigration that are consistent with our values. We are a country that is built on our differences. That is our strength. Not our weakness. And when people come to the United States<\/a> because they are fleeing terror in central america, they fear for their lives, then we have a moral responsibility to listen. And to be there if i can just take a minute to say on this one, i went down to the border last year when the word first began to come out about children taken away from their mothers and i want you all to envision this. Think of a big amazon warehouse, only dirty and smelled bad and when i walked in on the left were cages. Maybe 10 feet wide, 40 feet deep, a toilet back in the corner. One after another after another crammed full of men. On the right, one after another after another crammed full of women and then cages with nothing but little girls in it. And over there, nothing but little boys. Thats not who we are. That is not the country we want to be. And an immigration system that is administered so its not able to tell the difference between a criminal, a terrorist and a 12yearold little girl is an immigration system that is not only not keeping us safer, it does not reflect our values. I will not support the building of the wall for the administration itself. People have already said this is not about security. This is not how were going to make ourselves safer. The wall that is proposed now is a monument to hate and division. We are a better country than that. Thank you. Just to follow up. So the specific question was what will you put in place to control the influx of migrants. And i should hit both of those. Youre exactly right. One thing that we can do is remember all the tools in the tool box and that is, when theres a problem in central america, because the gangs have taken over because the local officials cant manage, then thats not a point at which we should be cutting our aid. And lets help people stay where they are safely. Thats a much kinder way to do it. I want to bring in a High School History<\/a> teacher from jackson. Hi, how are you, paul . Good evening. Welcome to mississippi. Thank you. Conservatives are using the socialist label as a means of attack. So how and to what degree with your policies encourage selfreliance offering financially challenged a hand up but not a handout. So, you know, this one really this is just a remi reminder that folks can say whatever they want but the reality is at least for me, i believe in markets and i believe in the value that we get out of markets. But it has to be markets with rules. Market without rules is theft. But a market with rules, a market with rules. A market with a cop on the beat to enforce those rules thats how it is that Small Businesses<\/a> get a chance to start and grow. Thats how it is that employees get to move from one place to another. Thats how it is that we get new products. Im a supporter of markets with rules. And whats wrong in washington, the big folks, they dont want rules. These giant corporations, they want to be able to run over whoever they want to run over. If that means run over their own employees, theyll do it. If that means run over their customers, theyll do it. If that means running over their local communities, they will do it. So the way i see this is we not only need a government that is on our side with these rules, but we need big systemic change and that means that we need more balance out there in the marketplace. And ill tell you a couple of ways that we can do that. We need for employees to have more power and we need to make it easier to join a union and unions need to have more power once people have joined. Unions built americas middle class. Unions will rebuild americas middle class. We should note, youre here in mississippi and focussing on housing for people that are struggling. You have a plan to tackle that. You say its going to help lower rent. How does that work . So i have a proposal to build about 3 million new Housing Units<\/a> across america. Anybody in here worried about the rise price of housing . Thats pretty much everybody, right . The idea is that we need to make a Real Investment<\/a> in housing. In the same way that we think about health care as a basic human right. Having a decent and safe place to live should be a human a basic human right. And the squeeze is everywhere. Its the poor, its the working poor, its the working class, its the middle class, it even moves up into the upper middle class that people feel squeezed on housing because we just dont have enough Affordable Housing<\/a> across this country. So i believe we should make a big investment in housing and by the way, if we do that, independent analysis says that we would lower rents across this country by 10 and thats across the board and we create an opportunity for more people to become buyers. So housing is important and if i can, i want to tell you about one other part of this. This bill also addresses the blackwhite gap in housing. That comes from generation after generation. Not just a passive discrimination but realize that into the 1960s in america, the federal government was subsidizing the purchase of homes for white families and discriminating against black families. Thats red lining. This bill tackles that head on and it says for people who are living in formally red lined areas, theres going to be special assistance for first time home buyers and people that got cheated in the run up to the housing crash and lost their homes. Some special assistance for folks to be able to get that first home and to Start Building<\/a> the generation after generation of wealth. Its a step in the right direction. Were going to take a quick break. Well be back with more from senator elizabeth warren. Were live in jackson, mississippi, stay with us. To be nobody but yourself in a world which is doing its best to make you everybody else. Means to fight the hardest battle, which any human being can fight and never stop. Does this sound dismal . It isnt. Its the most wonderful life on earth. Its the most wonderful life on earth. Got it . Got it. Nooooo. Nooooo. Quick, the quicker picker upper bounty picks up messes quicker and is 2x more absorbent. Bounty, the quicker picker upper. Nicks mom called the tball league eight times to help her shy son make some new friends. His parents shared videos of highlights, dance moves, and Jimmy Carlyle<\/a> stealing third. Almost. They sent seven texts when a new friend invited nick for a play date. But in the end, they put their phones down, and watched as nick finally felt part of the team. You wont find relief here. Congestion and pressure . Go to the pharmacy counter for powerful claritind. While the leading allergy spray only relieves 6 symptoms, claritind relieves 8, including sinus congestion and pressure. Claritind relieves more. How business gets done is changing. Energy, success, the face of entrepreneurship is changing. See how were changing. At bankofthewest. Com change bank of the west. The bank for a changing world. Energy is changing. Transpotation is changing. At bank of the west were helping our customers drive that change. With lower rates on a car loan when you use it for an electric vehicle. Find out how much you could save. At bankofthewest. Com ev all of you. How you live, what you love. Thats what inspired us to create americas most advanced internet. Internet that puts you in charge. That protects whats important. It handles everything, and reaches everywhere. This is beyond wifi, this is xfi. Simple. Easy. Awesome. Xfinity, the future of awesome. Welcome back. We are live on the campus of Jackson State University<\/a>. Were going to go to the questioners in a second but before we do, i do want to ask a little bit about your personal story because voters nationwide are getting to know you. You grew up in oklahoma. I did. You talked about how your family stood at the brink one person from oklahoma. You talk about how your family stood at the brink of financial disaster through a good part of your childhood. How has that shaped your life in the senate . Ill tell you about that. I have three older brothers. They all went off and joined the military. That was their ticket to americas middle class. I was was the late in life baby. My mother used to call me the surprise and about the time i was in middle school, my daddy had a heart attack and it was serious. Thought he was going to die. The Church Neighbors<\/a> brought covered dishes. It was a scary time. He survived but he couldnt go back to work. We lost our family Station Wagon<\/a> and at night i would hear my parents talk and thats where i learned words like mortgage and foreclosure and i remember the day that i walked into my parents bedroom and laying out on the bed is the dress. And some people here will know the dress. Its the one that only comes out for weddings, funerals and graduations and my mother is in her slip and she is stocking feet and shes pacing back and forth and shes crying. She is saying we will not lose this house. We will not lose this house. We will not lose this house. She was 50 years old. She had never worked outside the home. She was truly terrified. And i watched her while she finally just pulled it together, put that dress on, put on her high heels and blew her nose and walked to the sears and got a minimum wage job and that minimum wage job saved our house, but more importantly, it saved our family. Anybody who wants to know me, just heard this story. But heres the thing for me now. For a long time i used to think that was just a story about my mother. How when you get scared you reach down and you find what you have to find and you bring it up. And then years later i came to understand that its the story of millions of americans who, it doesnt matter if youre scared, when you got to do something to take care of the people you love, you reach down and you find it and you pull it up. [ applause ] and then it was years later that i came to understand it was also a story about government. Because when this happened to my family, the minimum wage in america would support a family of three. It would take care of a mortgage, utilities and put food on the table. Today in america, a full time minimum wage job will not keep a momma and a baby out of poverty. I am in this fight because i believe that is wrong. [ applause ] for me, theres the whole story of why im in this fight. Washington once asked the question, at least on minimum wage, what does it take to support a family . To get a little toe in the door . Today, i hear them in washington. They ask what will improve the profitability of giant multinational banks . Well i want a government that doesnt work for giant multinational corporations. I want one that works for little families like mine. She works for a Defense Contracting Firm<\/a> here in mississippi. Good evening. Do you have any plans of relieving federally funded overwhelming Student Loan Debt<\/a> burdens that many middle class and poor individuals obtained those loans to create a Better Future<\/a> but are having issues doing that . Latoya the answer is yes. I have plans to reduce Student Loan Debt<\/a>. Let me just start there. But you know, theres parts of this that are so personal. I had one dream since i was in second grade. Just one thing i wanted to be. All three of my brothers went off and joined the military and god bless them, do you know what i wanted to be . I wanted to be a public schoolteacher from the same i was in second grade. Can we hear it for americas public schoolteachers . Yeah. But you have to have a four year diploma to do that. But at the time i graduated high school my family didnt have the money for college application, much less to send me off to school and i have a long and twisty story, got a scholarship. Then i fell in love, got married, the first time. And i thought i had lost it all. I thought i had given up on that dream. And i found a commuter college, public college, that cost 50 a semester. And that was my ticket. And i became a special needs teacher. I got to live my dream. So let me just say, i believe in what we can do through education. But if america wants to be a stronger country, america wants to be a country of real opportunity for everyone, then that means that every kid has a right to get an education without getting crushed by Student Loan Debt<\/a>, period. While were on the subject while were on the subject of education, our next question has to do with the place were standing at right now, a historically black university. Being a graduate of a historically black college and university. Were the first to lose funding or have budget cuts. How would you make it a priority that we receive more funding and being able to compete with nonhistorically black colleges and universities . Great question. I believe in hbcs. Im the proud recipient of a diploma granted to me at morgan state university. As part of their commencement address. Let me put it this way. What we have to do is we have to be willing to invest more in our colleges and universities across the board. We have to bring down the cost of an education and for the schools that are serving the students who often come from first time to come to college for families that struggle more, that means we have to double down and double down a second time to make sure that they have the resources that they need. Its not enough for somebody to stand here and talk about it generally. I want you to know, i get this one. Right now, in america, African American<\/a> students are more likely to have to borrow money to go to college. Theyre more likely to borrow more money and theyre more likely to have trouble paying off that debt when they leave college. Thats a National Disgrace<\/a> and part of dealing with our Student Loan Debt<\/a> needs to focus on that specifically. So thank you. Thats a good question. I want to bring in brennan. Good evening, senator. How do you respond to people that think the way you handled the question of your native American Heritage<\/a> was tone deaf and indicative of a lack of president ial tact . I grew up in oklahoma. I learned about my family from my family. And based on that. Thats who i am. I do the best i can with it. There was an investigation. Nothing i ever did or my family played any role in any job i ever got. I have now done 38 town halls in massachusetts last year and this is my 32nd town hall since january and what i discovered is that people care a lot about whats happening to their lives every single day and what touches them like housing and education and health care. Thats why im in this fight and im going to stay in this fight and i tell you this. Im going to fight it from the heart every inch of the way. Ill do my best. [ applause ] the next question is from a legal advocate and Community Organizer<\/a> here in jackson. She also happens to be the sister and former Campaign Manager<\/a> of jacksons current mayor. Her late father was also once the mayor of this city as well. All right. Thank you. Good to see you. Thank you for being here. Welcome to jackson, mississippi. Yeah. So voter disenfranchisement is real. In mississippi there are 23 felonies that once convicted ban a person from voting for the rest of their lives, literally limiting their citizenship and right to democracy. Moreover, access to voting is limited by arcaic Voter Registration<\/a> processes and limited voting formats. How will you expand voter rights to the formerly incarcerated and nonexcuse early voting. All right. [ applause ] great question. But can i go you one bigger . And that is, i believe we need a constitutional amendment that protects the right to vote for every american citizen and to make sure that vote gets counted. We need to put some federal muscle behind that and we need to repeal every one of the Voter Suppression<\/a> laws that is out there right now. And ill tell you one more. We need to make sure that every vote counts. And you know, i want to push that right here in mississippi. Because i think this is an important point. You know, come a general election, president ial candidates dont come to places like mississippi. Yeah. They also dont come to places like california and massachusetts, right . Because were not the battleground states. Well, my view is that every vote matters. And the way we can make that happen is that we can have National Voting<\/a> and that means get rid of the Electoral College<\/a> and everybody [ applause ] everybody. [ applause ] i want to i think everybody ought to have to come and ask for your vote. What do you think . Yeah. I want to bring in hannah williams. Shes hoping to go to graduate school. Hi. Hi, hannah. Recently many leaders in our nation have taken a stance on whether or not confederate symbols should remain in the public eye in many of our cities, towns and parks. As a president ial hopeful, do you have any plans in addressing the removal or lack there oppenheim the reminders of this nations dark past or any plans on preserving the nations history in a way that explains it in a more educational sense versus showing praise to the losing side . All right. You put it right. I would support moving confederate celebrations from federal lands and putting them in museums where they belong. Thats right. Thank you. Let me follow up if i can because mississippi is the only state in the country that still has the confederate battle emblem on the state flag. Do you think mississippi should adopt a new flag . Yes. That was the shortest answer ive ever gotten from a politician in my life. Well be right back with more with senator elizabeth warren. All right. 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Were here with senator elizabeth warren. Were live in Jackson State University<\/a> in mississippi. In 2018, jackson, mississippi had it highest homicide rate in more than 20 years with 84 murders, according to local media, its among the highest murder rates in the country. On that topic, i want to bring in an accountant for the office of the state treasurer. Hi. With jackson, mississippi having a very high homicide rate will there be any revisions to gun control to help ensure less killings throughout the metropolitan city . So heres how i look at this. Laws should reflect our values. Laws are about our morals. And right now, across this country we lose on average seven children and teenagers every single day to gun violence. Just pause for a minute and think, if we were losing seven children every single day to some mysterious virus, we would be pulling out all the stops to say what can we do to change that . Wheres the medicine we need to develop . How can we respond . What do we need to do . But instead, with gun violence, right now we dont do anything. Not even the most sensible kinds of things. Background checks. At the federal level. No fly, no buy. Like if youre on the terrorist wat watchlist, maybe you shouldnt be able to buy a gun. Weapons of war do not belong on our streets. [ applause ] no bump stocks to make it easier to kill. No. Theres so much that we could do to improve safety for our children and for all of us. Things that people agree with who are gun owners and things that people agree with that are not gun owners and we have to do them at a federal level. Because even if you change your laws in mississippi, if they dont change their laws in the other states, someone can just go put it in the back of the pick up and come on down. So this is a national problem. Goes back to the question i have been talking about, who does government work for . Right now it works for the healthy and the well connected and that means we have a federal government being held hostage by the nra. I believe we can fight back and we can change that together. Let me bring in Samantha Manning<\/a> that works here at Jackson State University<\/a> as an Administrative Assistant<\/a> in the Disabilities Services<\/a> department. Hi, samantha. Hello. As a mother of black boys i am constantly reminded of a judicial system where the scales are often weighed against them and those that have sworn to protect them fear them and are most often ruled justified in excessive actions against other children that look like them. As president , how would you address the concerns that i and many other parents like me have when it comes to protecting our children and restoring our faith in the judicial system . So thank you very much. [ applause ] i start with the principle, the four words carved above the United States<\/a> supreme court. Equal justice under law. Thats what i believe in but i understand today in america we dont have that. Thats right. Race matters and we need to call it out. Now, id like to follow some of the very practical efforts that barack obama, president obama, put into place when he had his Justice Department<\/a> going after the Police Departments<\/a> that were violating the rights of young black men and women across this country. [ applause ] i know theres much to criticize this administration about. But the very fact that the Justice Department<\/a> under president obama had worked with Police Departments<\/a> around the country and they were not finished, but had worked with, and some had already reached the point of signing consent decrees, of starting new training, of trying to put themselves on a better path. There are many good people in Law Enforcement<\/a> who want this to work and want to make it work if they have the right resources, if they have the right opportunitie opportunities, if they can do community policing. Thats where president obama was leading us, and this administration pulled that out of the Justice Department<\/a>, reversed it, and that makes the world a lot more dangerous for everyone. I would reverse that and go where president obama went. Thank you. [ applause ] i want to bring in mary crump. Shes a retired nurse from jackson. Mary . Thank you, senator warren, for being here. How do you plan to make sure the extremely rich pay their fair taxes . Whoa [ applause ] so, look, we need big structural change in this country, and that means the kind of lets just admit it. When youve got a government that works for the rich and its not working nearly as well for anyone else, thats corruption, and we need to call it out plain and simple. [ applause ] so the first thing we need to do is we need to attack that corruption headon. I have the biggest anticorruption bill since watergate. Big problem, you got to have a big bill to deal with it. Now, its got a lot of pieces to it, but the main point is to beat back on the influence of money because thats how they keep getting this government, getting this country to work for them. So, for example, my bill says were going to end lobbying as we know it. [ applause ] lock the revolving door between wall street and washington. Ill give you one more. Everyone who runs for federal office ought to have to put their taxes online. Everyone. [ applause ] so part one, we got to deal with the corruption headon, but let me give you a part two. I was talking earlier about we got to rewrite the rules in this economy. And part of that is putting more power back in the hands of workers. Unions, thats one way to do it. Ive got an accountable capitalism bill that says on the big fortune 500 companies, that were going to have employees also sit on the board of directors and help make decisions. [ applause ] but theres one more weve got to talk about, and that is my ultra millionaires tax. So the idea is on the truly great fortunes, 50 million and above, we start charging 2 a year on just that 50 millionth and first dollar and on up. 2 a year. By the way, anybody in here a homeowner . Youve been paying wealth taxes for a long time. Theyre just called property taxes. I just want to include the rembrandt and the diamonds in the property taxes. [ applause ] so im going to put a wealth tax in place, and i just want to talk to you for one minute about how that restructures our whole economy. We get a 2 tax on the 75,000 richest families in this country, we would have enough money to provide universal child care, universal prek, universal preprek for every child in america and still have 2 trillion left over. Lets make it happen. Well be right back with more from cnns democratic president ial candidate town hall with senator elizabeth warren. Were live in jackson, mississippi. Stay with us. Naysayer said no one would subscribe to a car the way they subscribe to movies. We dont follow the naysayers. Of nondrowsy claritin. And relief from symptoms caused by over. 200 outdoor and indoor allergens. Like those from pollen, pets and dust. Because new memories start with dusting off old ones. Feel the clarity and live claritin clear. Got it . Got it. Nooooo. Nooooo. Quick, the quicker picker upper bounty picks up messes quicker and is 2x more absorbent. Bounty, the quicker picker upper. 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And this is moving day with Reliable Service<\/a> appointments in a twohour window so youre up and running in no time. Show me decorating shows. This is staying connected with xfinity to make moving. Simple. Easy. Awesome. Stay connected while you move with the best wifi experience and twohour appointment windows. Click, call or visit a store today. [ applause ] welcome back to cnns democratic president ial candidate town hall with senator elizabeth warren. We are live on the campus of Jackson State University<\/a> in jackson, mississippi. I want to bring in marcy croft, a lawyer from madison, 134i7. Hi, senator. You have proposed breaking up the big tech companies. Is it really possible to without stifling innovation . Good question, marcy. But heres my point. If you break them up, you actually need less regulation because heres how this works right now. Think about the big tech companies, amazon, facebook, google, right . Heres what they do. They run a platform, okay, where people come lets just stick with amazon. Thats where you go to check out 63 coffee makers, all of which can be delivered in 24 hours, right . Think about this just so you get an idea of how vast they are right now in our economy. Walmart is about 9 of all physical retail sales in america. Amazon, 49 of all online, so this is a big deal. If you want to sell onto, youre a little guy, youre trying to get your business started, youre an entrepreneur, you got to be there. So amazon runs this platform. You come to the platform. All sounds great. But amazon also is collecting information on every single buyer who visits and on every single seller whos there and on every single transaction. And what it does is it has the capacity to look out there and see, you know, petes pet pillows and say, whoa, pete had a good idea here. Hes making money off this. So heres what were going to do. Were going to take pete off page one, move him back to page 16 where nobody goes, and then amazon petes pet pillows is going to step right in front of hi","publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"archive.org","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","width":"800","height":"600","url":"\/\/ia800900.us.archive.org\/32\/items\/CNNW_20190319_010000_Elizabeth_Warren_CNN_Presidential_Town_Hall\/CNNW_20190319_010000_Elizabeth_Warren_CNN_Presidential_Town_Hall.thumbs\/CNNW_20190319_010000_Elizabeth_Warren_CNN_Presidential_Town_Hall_000001.jpg"}},"autauthor":{"@type":"Organization"},"author":{"sameAs":"archive.org","name":"archive.org"}}],"coverageEndTime":"20240617T12:35:10+00:00"}