Transcripts For FBC The Willis Report 20130220

We couldnt help think of this. And anyone can get their own girlfriend on facebook now. Pay more for a hotter girlfriend. Can you believe this . What do you think . Would someone really pay for this . Back in 1994, i had a boyfriend in niagara falls. He was fake. Forget the royalties. That is all the family happy today, we will see you tomorrow. The willis report is next. Gerri hello, everybody, i am gerri willis. Tonight on the willis report, on the road again. President obama travels the country, reaching even more voters about running. However can you be. And an american ceo in paris. Then post africa to her in their latest attempt to raise revenue. The willis report is on the case. Gerri all of that and more coming up. Worse, we have the debt ceiling, the budget battle, phrases used over and over again in washington and in the media. Now, we have this. Also known as the sequester, scheduled to take effect. The sequester, i dont like it. The sequester should be out of the question. When the sequester happens, it will damage the United States of america. Gerri sequester, sequester, sequester. That is acrosstheboard spending cuts put in place by congress. Shocker, they failed. Do Everyday Americans really know what they are talking about . I took to the streets of new york city to find out. The deadline is coming in eight days, what are you going to be doing about it . I dont know, but its upsetting. Gerri why does it upset you . I dont know which way to go. Phenol were talking about . No. [laughter] march 1 is the deadline. I do not know if. What you think about the sequester . The sequester . Gerri what is the sequester . Mostly to me they are sequestering whole situation. Gerri what do you guys think about the sequester . I think its pretty cool, but ive never heard of it though. Gerri washington, congress, federal spending. Divorce attorneys . [laughter] so you mean the fiscal cliff . I have not followed all of that. Gerri no one else has either. The public is not listening, they are not the only ones. The dow hit fiveyear highs, yesterday we were only about 1 from fiveyear highs. When it comes to being out of touch, the president takes the case. The president is via satellite doing interviews with local tv stations, the ones where they will likely give him softball questions. Baltimore, oklahoma city, San Francisco, honolulu, charleston, and wichita. While there, he will continue to blame republicans for the sequester coming up in a week. But that is not all. He also has a push to spend more money. 50 million in infrastructure and manufacturing. We are facing 85 billion in cuts, which the defense secretary said today will force him to furlough 800,000 workers. You got your way in the fiscal cliff by raising taxes on the rich. Now you want more revenue. Which, by the way, is politician talk for more taxes. The president has repeatedly called for even more tax revenue. The American People dont report spending cuts for higher taxes, they understand that it is now closed. If only our fearless leader understood. Lets bring in brad blakeman. Great to see you. I have to tell you, i think that people i interviewed on the street had it right. It really doesnt matter. Its not a huge thing. The president is trying to build it up into this big thing. Im not so sure. President obama is the man man who cried wolf. The sky is falling. In reality, do the math. 85 billion against an annual budget that is over 3 trillion. But the American People are tuned out because they are non. They are manufactured by the government, the white house who cant even seem to make the slightest bit of improvement in the economy. Gerri the number for the sequester will be half a percent. We are not even talking about curbing growth, but we are talking about a small backtrack. At the end of the day, we are not talking about a lot of money. But i would like to ask you that the president likes wants to spend 50 billion on infrastructure. Didnt he do that just a few years ago . Didnt we find that spending on roads and bridges was difficult because shovel ready wasnt so already . The stimulus was 800 billion. The president understood at that time that the American People would buy into anything because they were so desperate. The fact of the matter is when we look back on it, there wasnt enough shovel ready jobs. We didnt see what was promised, it has been about 80 almost the entire presidency. The American People are disappointed time and time again. Expectations are low. The president taking stimulus, 50 billion. You could say, well, at least its not 500 billion, thats many that we dont have. There is a story about congress having Approval Ratings that are up to Something Like 15 , like its a good thing at the end of the day. People have lost confidence in washington. There is no doubt about it. As we mentioned, john boehner, there is an Approval Rating right there. 15 , a good Approval Rating for congress. That is considered a winner number. Can you believe that . Can you imagine having that in the private sector . Imagine going to your employer and sitting down and getting a review for the year. 15 . The think youd stick around . Americans are fickle and they may have a low opinion of congress in the macro sense of the body. When you talk about the individual congressperson, they are held in high esteem. It hits someone the constituents dont think they are doing a good job. I must tell you that it never ceases to astonish me how low they can go in the polls. Thank you for coming on today. Its always good to see you. Meanwhile, even with the uncertainty in washington, stocks are still inching closer to alltime highs. Joining me now is scott martin. Tell me what you think the markets were doing selling off here. The Federal Reserve notes came out and disappointment there. What was the reaction . They were doing what you said. The markets have been yeartodate, a little bit of takeback is not exactly a bad thing. Because i think it will let some other people did and who have missed this rally. There are some things that i am concerned about. The commodities complex, whether you like gold or silver, copper order other metals, you know, those have been absolutely terrible. Gerri this is amazing. That could be good news for the overall economy. Dont you think that its not being purchased that way. Remember what has been happening the last two years. It has gone up and now it is diverting. Also, your point about commodities. Look at oil prices, which have gone up a lot this year. Gerri my gas prices are up a ton. Absolutely they are. That is something that is hitting the consumer. Gerri scott, sang on a second. Everybody has been jumping up and down. Thrilled at the rally has gone on. But we are back to where we were five years ago. We should be higher than that, right . I think we should definitely be higher. The s p has come back in the last decade, the nasdaq is way off, the individual investors that we talk about so often is out of this market. They havent participated in this and that is the big story here. When you talk about the individual investor, there is a disconnect of what is happening in the stock market. The way the president describes what is going on in the economy, the ultimate cost of sequestration and western civilization if we let it go forward. Look at the stock market. It is on fire. Would he make of that disconnect . I think it is a complete disconnect and youll probably never connect with this president. If you look at the indicators, you have to think that the market is reacting positively. I think its a great thing, its just im worried that we are going to get taxes upon taxes. I have to tell you that there are a lot of people out there who analyzed the markets, they are analysts and economists, and they say that we are going to have a big pullback in stock. Do you agree . I think it is definitely possible. Certainly we have this runup that has been supported. You mentioned the Economic Data and i kind of consider myself a recovering economist. One thing that i see is no job or wage growth. And a negative gdp report, which is the overall outlook of the economy. If you call yourself an economist, you could be wrong all the time and no one would care. That is right. If you knew what i was talking about, i could definitely call myself an economist. [laughter] gerri scott, thank you for coming n. It is a pleasure. A lot more still to come. Including information that uniquely hear about obamacare and your taxes. And an american ceo in paris is fed up with the socialist countries work at that. I will explain after the break im serious, we compare our direct rates side by side to find you a great deal, even if its not with us. [ ding ] oh, thats helpful well, our company does that, too. Actuly, we invented that. Its like a saun in here. Helping you save, even if its not with us now, thats progressive call or click today. No mas pantalones we replaced people with a machine. R, what . Customers didnt like it. So why do banks do it . Hello . Hello . if your bank doesnt let you talk to a real person 24 7, you need an ally. Hello . Ally bank. Your money needs an ally. The. Gerri here at fox business, we have on occasion held American Workers speak to the fire. The fedex workers throwing christmas presents in the bushes. Instead of delivering them. Do you remember that . In our michigan factory workers smoking on their lunch break. That is a lot of work going on. And American Workers dont always start out. Goofing off, and the ceo of this Company Found this out the hard way. Titan international ceo marie taylor had a sense of determination with this french tire factory. Frances minister of transforming productivity, yes come to they have one of those in france, he spent time at a factory. The french workforce gets paid high wages, but work only three hours. They talked for three hours come to work for three hours. I told this to the french Union Workers and they told me that that is the french way. Well, the ceo went on to one that france will lose all of its domestic tire producers if the government continues to meddle in labor negotiations. The chinese are shipping tires all over europe. And yet, they do nothing. In five years, michelin will not be able to produce tires there. As for buying this, no wait, you can keep the socalled workers. It is no surprise that france is in big economic trouble. When president hollande was running for office, the economy was 1. 7 . By the time he was in office, it was 1. 2 . By the time the budget was drawn up, it turns out it was raised again. All of that was way too optimistic. It reminds me of a story that i read about a store owner who just didnt get it. A popular breakfast treat that he couldnt keep in stock because it would sell out in minutes. Disappointing customers who arrived later in the day. Instead of ordering more or making it himself, he stopped selling it, just like france. He didnt get it. The broken promises from obamacare are adding up. Reactions from former new york governor and h r block says do not blame us for delays. What you need to know about your tax season coming up all stations come over to mission a for a final go. This is for real this time. Step seven point two one two. Rify and lock. Command is locked. Five seconds. Three, two, one. Standing by for capture. The most Innovative Software on the planet. Dragon is captured. Is connecting todays leading companies to places beyond it. Siemens. Answers. Gerri obamacare could be a major factor in your tax returns this year. What you need to know before you file coming up next gerri tax season is here. But could obamacare get in your way . This year and next year. H r block is unveiling a new website, allowing customers to see what subsidies and penalties they will likely face in 2014. This is protection mode for h r block. With him on this, the founder and president of diversified financial consultants. Lets start with last year. The Supreme Court ruled on this. Obamacare is a tax. If you do not pay for Health Care Insurance in 2014, the irs, which is responsible for collecting taxes will taxes individuals who dont buy health insurance. Gerri lets take a look at the mandate penalty. 2015, 975, it just creeps up and out. And i dont think people know that this is going to happen, do they . Insurance premiums will go down, it costs have already gone up 50 or 60 . As an individual, if you dont buy Health Care Insurance in 2014, 100 order 200 per month in taxes for not buying health care. Based on your income, the income is based on your 2012 income. Youre going to file it this year, that becomes your baseline. That determines how much the government will subsidize your health care in 2014. And how much tax you are going to pay if you dont buy Health Care Insurance. It is a percentage of your taxable income, it can be as little as 60 per month, or 200 per month. Gerri i just have to have you repeat that. I dont think anybody in their right mind expects this. No one thought it was a tax. They were calling it fancy words like penalty. But its a tax. Gerri crystal cleaax. Gerri crystal clear. They know at the end of the day that the numbers are being calculated on this years data. In other they know that people will come back to them and say, you didnt give me a refund. Where is my refund. And they are going to blame h r block. They tend to be lower income, 40 or 50,000 is the average earnings, they are the ones most likely get burned income credits. The ones who get a childcare credit or Higher Education credit. These are the people that depend on getting a refund because of these credits. If they get taxed for not buying Health Care Insurance, a significant chunk of the refund go away. They are not even aware that this is going to happen. Gerri i think people thought, okay, if you are rich, you will get hammered. If youre not, you are free and clear. They are taxing the rich. January 1. Every paycheck in this country, i dont care how little, you lost a percentage of income to the payroll holiday going away. Gerri its a pleasure having you on the show. Thank you. Gerri coming up next, chanel, vera wang, the u. S. Postal u. S. Postal service. Do these things go together . And obamacare continues to unravel at the seams. We will get reaction from the former new york governor coming up next great, everybody made it. We all work remotely so this is a big deal, our first full Team Gathering i wanted to call on a few people. Ashley, ashley marshall. Here. Since were often all on the move, ashley suggested we use fedex office to hold packages for us. Great job. [ applause ] thank you. And on a protocol note, id like to talk to tim hill about his tendency to use all caps in eils. [ shouting ] oh im sorry guys. Ah sometimes the capaps lock gets stuck on my keyboard. Hey do you wanna get a drink later . [ male announcer ] hold packages at any fedex office location. Announcer you never know when, but thieves can steal your identity and turn your life side down. Hi. Hi. You know, i can save you 15 today if you open up a charge card account with us. You just read my mind. Announcer just one little piece of information a they can open bogus accounts, stealing your credit, your money and ruining your reputation. 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You have so much to protect and nothing to lose when you call lifelock now to get two full months of Identity Theft protection risk free. Thats right, 60 days riskfree. Use promo code gethelp. If youre not completely satisfied, notify lifelock and you nt pay a cent. Order now and also get this shredder to keep your documents out of the wrong hands a 29 dollar value, free. Get protected now. Call the number on your screen or go to lifelock. Com to try lifelock protection risk free for a full 60 days. Use promo code gethelp. Plus get this document shredder free but only if you act right now. Call the number on your screen now gerri im beginning to think obamacare is falling apart before our eyes, every day, we get a new headline. Labor unions once supporters of president say they dont want to be a part of it awaying in new york governor george pataki. Is it falling apart . Is anybody surprised . This is a horrible law when it was passed. We knew a lot of horrible provisions, but every day we find out something new that is worse. Gerri one thing we found out this week, that this tax on health insurers, may 10 101 billion that will get passed on to us. Of course,. Gerri you know, i thought that obamacare was going to reduce our cost. I never thought that, they said that, i dont blame you, president obama looked right in the camera and said, if it is going to reduce cost, he also said, you dont have to change your insurance, tens of millions of people have to change it, in is a horrible law, this should be repealed and replaced with go pro visions. Gerri we have a lot of ceos complaining, duck and brand saying maybe we should redefine full time worker. They are going to cut peoples work, right now you figure 40 hours a workweek, under obamacare it is 30, if you have anyone working for you 30 hours a week, you have to give them comprehensive health care that government approves, people are cutting the workweek back to 28. Gerri is that bad news. And small businesses, if you are under 50, you are exempt. But if you have 50, then all of a sudden im sorry, you have to provide comprehensive health coverage. Ers are not going to hire that 50th employee, that will will hire part timers. Gerri kroger ceo came out this week, he has 300,000 workers, he a lot of workers, the Grocery Stores they operate on narrow margins, he said, Companies Like ours we cannot afford it you knoo maybe well pay the penalty and move on. Economically that is the only thing that makes sense. Well see millions of workers dumped from their employer provided healthcare coverage, the employer will pay the fine, and employee will have to go on to the government programs. And what president obama told us would not happen is happening, and other thing he said it would reduce the deficit, it is going on blowout the hideous deficit. Gerri how ironic is it that labor unions are saying now, we dontment it. You know they were suspicious at the beginning but they were pout off, they bought off, they Cadillac Health care under obamacare, they have to see their members reduced. It is tragic they were fooled into supporting it or for political reasons, now their members face the consequences. Gerri people now, leading republicans saying, lets stop fighting over obamacare, let it go. I guess they are thinking that you know just such bad news, for consumers, they wont like it they will blame the president , but at en the day should you fight things. You try to fix it it is not just bad news for consumers but for the healthcare, the people, for the government. Because it is going end to up costs hundreds of billions more than people expected. You cant just sit back and say3 well its done. Gerri what do we do . I would advance a series of amendments, preferably to replace it repeal and replace it with another thing, but i would advance amendments repeeling various provisions that are hideous, and replacing them with something that might actually work. Gerri florida governor, we were talking about this in the break, saying he has agreed to do medicaid expansion, he was against it, now he is one of 7 republican governors onboard, taking federal dough, it is a gimmick. I think three years that federal government will pay the whole thing, then they are not in the shortterm, you know, wow, you know you all these people get extended medicaid, it is not costs the state a thing, but then what . As governor i try to look longterm it is easy to fix shortterm but if up to the do what is right, you have to look longer term. I could see the medicaid share that federal government continues to pay, reduced overtime because the federal government they are broke. Gerri they cant afford this. They are broke. Gerri yep, governor great to have you on thank you. Thank you,. Gerri we when we come back best buy fed up, not going to take it any more. Post office seems to be getting desperate took late move, a clothing line, details next. [ male announcer ] how can power conmption in china, iact wool exports from new zealand, textile production in spain, and the use of medical technology in the u. S. . At t. Rowe price, we understand the connections of a complex, global economy. Is just one reason over 75 of our mutual funds beat their 10year lipper average. Twe price. Invest with confince. Request a prospectus or summary prospectus with investment information, risks, fees and expenses to read and consider carefully before investing. Gerri the war on fracking escalating in many states as others reaping economic benefits, a tale of two states, fox News Reporter john roberts now. With the benefits that fracking can have for small communities. Reporter a governor who may run from president in 2016, and a environmental lob who is threatening to go to war with him if he opens new york state to fracking, the real losers could be thousands of new yorkers who could reap the economy benefits from hydraulic fracking. Take bradford county, pennsylvania, the most drilled upon county in pennsylvania, they have been doing it since 2005, the county seat losts had manufacturing base, but it has been a boom town since fracking took off they paid off county debt, lower property taxes, by 6 , and unemployment has ticked up a little bit with the slowdown in drilling because rock bottom gas prices, Unemployment Rate is full 2 2 points below what it is in nearbial meyera, new york. They cannot understand why this idea of America Energy independence is not a National Priority with the jobs is it would bring. We have spineless elected officials that need to stand up and talk about good news that america developing in energy, i dont understand what you know what these people are thinking. Reporter if you talk with environmental lobby in new york state, they say opening up state to hydraulic fracturing could term a farmland into an accident site, one person we talked to, who owns a diner in bainbridge, new york. Said, new york is one of the most heavily regulated states in the station, high would like the opportunity for his neighbors to share in the economic windfall he has enjoyed. Because ive been involved with natural gas, and seeing what it has done for me, this is one of best opportunities that this area will ever have, and maybe the future, the energy we need, is sitting under our feet. All we need is to go ahead, to be able to develop it. Reporter supporters say they hope that the decision whether or not to open it up will be based on good economics and good science, and not politics of president ial aspiration. Gerri thank you, john. Appreciate your time. Your friendly neighborhood mailman has turned fashionista. U. S. Post at service, launching its own fashion line in an attempt to cork its nearly 16 million in losses, with the rain, heat and snow label, expect the cutting edge of functional fashion with allweather clothing, head gear and foot gear, but will dropping saturday mail and picking up couture fix all of its problems . Ryan is joining us from dconsideration, this seems crazy talk to me, am i right . Nothing says come back Like Post Office couture. It is really interesting, if you look at the post office, they are a tale of two brands, they are rugged, get the job done, the other side is this glej elinfledyeling oargdiation, peoe like it, they want to be a part of it, when you hear about post office doing a clothing line as some savior, it really makes people wonder, is this a punch line to a bad joke . Are they serious about this . Gerri i have to tell you, they are starting with the men, why men . What is wrong with women . If you get clothing out, seems people most likely to put money on the table are women. You bring up a good point, i read that, i hear about slow roll out to just men, i think this is nothing more than sending a test balloon, they are flying it out there to see if anything is anything is going to happen before they go all in, this could be the responsible thing to do, this is taxpayer dollars this is wrapped around, lets see if it takes off before they go hogwild. Gerri a story i believe this week, that you know, in terms of brands, it is embarrassing, they spend 2. Who million at u. S. Postal service at a San Francisco conference for 400 employees, workshop, golf, dance parties, music entertainment, banquets, so if you are trying to rebrand yourself and look good to the public, who at the end of the day pays your tab, does that make sense . It does not make sense, this is op pick optics on there are. So people hear about this, they hear about the problem, they think or sure you are spending out of control, now you want to to buy some ponchos of yours to make it better, regardless of whether truth is they are spending more op picks is horrible optics is horrible. Gerri if you had on advise them on what to do, what would you say, improving their brand, what do they do . I think the problem is they have they are too late. It a question and a problem most cutting find themselves dealing with, they forget to e include cost per in process customer in the process of making ai make improvement. Everyone is left with a question why . Why do i want clothing lines from the post office, is that really what you want. Gerri not the top of my list. Cutting edge of fudgal fashion. Functional fashion. Ryan thank you. Thank you so much. Gerri great to talk to you. We want to know what you think, would you buy something from the post office as new clothing line . Log on to gerri willis. Com, i will share the results at the end of tonights show. On this day in business history, president George Washington signed Postal Service act into law in 1792. Establish usps department, headquartered in philadelphia, official mail route allowed newspapers to be included. And act made it illegal for postal offices to open anybodys mail in a young nation of 4 Million People there were 75 regionallest on officers and 2400miles of postal routes, and cost to send a letter between 6 and 12cents that is probably a fortune, today usps looks to cut saturday deliver, and suffering a 16 billion loss in last budget year, it started when president washington signed Postal Service act to law today, february 20. 221 years ago. Still to cam come, my 2cents more on the white house response on the recent cyberattack. And bestby want us to stop checking out stuff in their store and buying it online, you want to hear about their latest plan next. Gerri heads up consumers, retailer are catching on to you and your showrooming, that is when you scope out their merchandise in store, but you use your smartphone to purchase the same item at a better price. Best buy, is doing a price match. But our next guest, said read the fine print, todd grade to have out show. Always my pleasure. Gerri so, tell us about the details of this. I think there are a lot they hope we dont notice. A radical policy as far as price match. It shows either you they are on the cutting edge or they are taking a big risk. Because while most Price Matching policies you know seem they are limitedded. In general Company Promises to match the price of a local competitor, you cant usually match the price of an online competitor, most great deals are online. But best buy is taking a risk, they are saying were not only going to match anything you get from a local store, well match the price of 19 world class retailers, everyone from walmart, amazon, dell, frys, hhgreg, tiger direct. Gerri there are limits to this, all not sunshine and flowers for consumers, for example. There is a limit to one price match for item. That snow big deal, that is no big deal, how many irk iridenticaltvs do you buy at onf you want a toaster or a cell phone ors food processor, you can buy each wore with an individual price match guarantee. Gerri here is fine print and hour sales events offered. If they sell clearance you will get a good deal, but no cell phones or plans or a price match for items sold by marketplace merchantses like amazon market plate merchants which sold by a third party, it does not cover special orders, there is fine print, as far as Price Matching im paying close attention, it looks pretty good, and the consumer has little to lose. Gerri you know, this surprised me, i thought that everyone did showrooming, but im wrong, said 6 of customers abandon in store deals from elsewhere. Is it higher . Hard to tell, if too many people take advantage of this, best buy and any other company that gets involved in this, could be in trouble, they operate on razor thing profit margins. So, you know, the percentage that generally take advantage of low. But it gets a lot of publicity, look at what were talking about. Gerri we had a full screen on this. John amazon beats brix and motor a motor, youare right, i think n the money well have to Pay Attention to best buy now, they will be in the running. Absolutely. Gerri todd thank you. My pleasure. All right, this sunday, producers behind argo, lincoln and 7 other films are vying for best picture of the year. Joining they list compiled over last 85 years. The best, best pictures, and that is to note a top 5, number 5, all about eve. This is a fantastic movie. Only move to earn nomination for 4 actresses. Tells story of a aging broadway star. Number 4, annie hall. Woody allen signature film. Number three, gone with the wind, from 1939. This masterpiece brings us amazing performance of vivian leigh. And number two, anybodys favorite film, the godfather from 1972, the classic one of the most quoted films of alltimes, when it is on tv, an offer we cant refuse, number one best could best is casablanca from 1942, one of the greatest love stories of alltimes, the beginning of a beautiful friendship, do you like this list . Is it right or wrong . Do you prefer more recent hits . Let us know, drop us an email, jerrwell be right back with myo cents more, and answer to my question of the day, would you buy something from the post offices clothing line . Hmmmm . Today is gonna be an important day for us. You ready . We wanna be our brothers keeper. Whats number two we wanna do . Bring it up to 90 decatherms. How bout ya, joe . Lets go ahead and bring it online. Attention on site, attention on site. Now starting unit nine. Some of the worlds cleanest gas turbines are now powering some of americas biggest cities. Siemens. Answers. train horn vo wherever our trains go, the economy comes to life. Norfolk southern. One line, infinite possibilities