Cavuto on Business: 8/11/12
Romney campaign criticizes President Obama's welfare reform changes
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Gary Kaltbaum:
Well, we're not creating it we're already there. Seventy percent of today's federal spending is aid for whether it's housing, students you name it it's already at this point and the unfortunate thing is we're advertising for it, we're seeing advertisements for food stamps these days. We've got to change the direction, there's not enough of people working to cover all these payments.
Ben Stein:
Well, I think it is irreversible I don't see how we're going to tell people who are on welfare to stop eating. I don't think we're going to be able to tell people who are getting women, infant's aid to stop feeding their children. It's unfortunate because welfare dependency is a debilitating disease, wrecks people's lives really really messes with their heads and makes them feel weak and it's very sad that it's happened and I don't know how to reverse it.
Charlie Gasparino:
Welfare includes corporations and bankers remember that when we start attacking poor people for taking welfare. This is a culture where welfare permeates from the highest levels to the lowest levels. So just remember this isn't just poor people doing this we've given welfare to rich people too in this country and it's a shame. My mom was on welfare as a kid, my dad was a disabled so we received government checks at certain times in my life. Mom mom grew up in a housing project, I will say this. Some of this is necessary and we should watch where we draw the line on this stuff. Listen I'm a real capitalist you know that, but just remember poor people as Ben said need to eat. There's a way to reform the system which I think the President is going in the opposite direction in doing and we have to realize that it's not just poor people that are getting this money it's a lot of rich people.
Adam Lashinsky:
Well, I don't know about that and Dagen first of all I want to say that it's nice to see you in the chair. I agree with Charlie a hundred percent. If we wanted to do a whole segment on food stamps and whether or not it's a good program or whether or not it's a good thing that it's growing the way it is we could, but I think more appropriately we're looking at the whole thing. Charlie named bankers and corporations, but look farmers get subsidies we all drive on beautiful freeways, the list of things that our government helps us with goes on and on and on. Number one this isn't news, number two yeah it we think there's areas where there is abuse or where it's grown too much then we should fix it, but we shouldn't say that welfare is bad, government assistance is bad.
More job creators calling for cuts to U.S. corp tax rate
Gary Kaltbaum:
Absolutely, look even the President's job council back in January said that we need to cut rates. I have news for you when somebody an icon of business, Bob Iger says so you should be definitely looking and doing it. When I see Ireland at twelve percent and Japan which is up at forty percent, look how bad Japan is doing it tell you things need to get done. Lower income rates for the corporations definitely add to jobs and Bob Iger says so.
Charlie Gasparino:
Well, first off CEO's are not the best spokesmen right now for economic change. If you're asking me why there isn't political momentum and Bob Iger says it, it's because it's Bob Iger. That's the problem he's a CEO, and it's not going to come from him. I will say this, if you would just lower the corporate tax rate I don't believe that in of itself will create jobs. You need a bigger broader environment , you need something that reforms the tax code, you need something along the line of the presidents own commission to deal with this the Erksine Bowles Simpson commission, you need something along the lines that Paul Ryan proposed, and that stuff is really difficult. I don't think you could just change it by lowering the corporate tax rate. Of course, it's out of whack with most of the world. It's higher than most places except for maybe Japan, the wonderful economy they have in Japan, but you need to do this in concert with a lot of other stuff.
Adam Lashinsky:
The thing is most reasonable people would agree that it would be a good idea to lower the corporate tax rate the question then is what to do next. So, the same CEO'S who want the corporate tax rate lower you say to them alright, well how would you feel about then raising your earned income tax credit, your RND tax credit the other subsidies that you get that are offsets to the federal treasury. They say oh no we don't want you to touch those.
Ben Stein:
Well Bob Iger is a fine fellow I'm sure Irene has never laid eyes on him as a fine woman, but they're not economists, they're not experts in this field I don't know if there's any data that clearly show that there's a correlation, a causal correlation of lower corporate tax rates with higher employment, but also where is the money going to come from? The treasury is running a deficit or close to four and a half billion a day roughly that, it's not exactly that, where's the money going to come from? We've got to raise taxes in this country not lower them.
Latest green loan under coming under fire
Ben Stein:
Well, I think this is part of a giant plan the administration has to pay people in foreign countries to change their output of various gases because they're afraid of global warming. It's an interesting situation because more and more scientists are coming out, secretly saying we don't believe in this global warming stuff and yet they're not allowed to say it publicly, not allowed to be a public item of agenda and we just keep pouring tax money into a funnel which may be based on completely incorrect scientific data and interpretation.
Adam Lashinsky:
Right, I'll attempt to talk about the actual subject at hand Dagen, which is an exem bank program together with a similar outfit of the South African government to buy stuff from U.S manufacturers. This is exactly what the Chinese do in Africa and everybody says, "Oh good for the Chinese, they're helping Chinese industry." This is trying to help U.S industry not help the South Africans.
Charlie Gasparino:
I mean think about it, it's kind of absurd. We're trying to support an industry that doesn't really work. We should point out that the reason why everybody from people who can add, to CEO'S like Bob Iger are so worried about this administration being re-elected is stuff like this. We have massive spending problems here, we have people talk about higher taxes in this administration here and we're subsidizing this? This is what scares business to death about the Obama administration.
Gary Kaltbaum:
I don't think they even care, I don't think there's any accountability. Two billion dollars is less in what they do in deficits on a daily basis, there will be no accountability on this who knows if they'll even buy anything. It's just money down the drain cause they just don't give a crap about the taxpayer.
Stocks
Adam Lashinsky: (EA) Electronic Arts
Gary Kaltbaum: (IACI) Interactive
Ben Stein: (BRK-B) Berkshire Hathaway
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