DISCLAIMER: THE FOLLOWING "Cost of Freedom Recap" CONTAINS STRONG OPINIONS WHICH ARE NOT A REFLECTION OF THE OPINIONS OF FOX NEWS AND SHOULD NOT BE RELIED UPON AS INVESTMENT ADVICE WHEN MAKING PERSONAL INVESTMENT DECISIONS. IT IS FOX NEWS' POLICY THAT CONTRIBUTORS DISCLOSE POSITIONS THEY HOLD IN STOCKS THEY DISCUSS, THOUGH POSITIONS MAY CHANGE. READERS OF "Cost of Freedom Recap" MUST TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR THEIR OWN INVESTMENT DECISIONS.
WISCONSIN GOVERNOR WIDENS LEAD IN RECALL RACE DESPITE UNION SPENDING
Michelle Fields: The union money cannot compete with the enthusiasm that's going on in Wisconsin from these grassroots groups. Governor Walker, 70 percent of his political donations are under $50. This is just $10, $20, from regular folks. There is just a lot of enthusiasm there, which is great because unions are basically exhausting their resources and energizing the conservative movement out in Wisconsin.
Charles Payne: The democrats made a big mistake. They thought that this was going to be their moment, that this will be their inflection point, that they will win this and that the union movement will somehow be reenergized. I need to tell you something-Michelle's absolutely right about the money thing. Look at the midterm! In Wisconsin we're seeing union membership fall completely apart and it's the same unions that put millions and millions-they borrowed money-and still couldn't buy the midterm election. This right here is frightening stuff. They have the money and they control the Democratic Party, but they don't control the outcome.
Charlie Gasparino: I look at this as not really liberal or conservative, and conservatives winning out, grassroots, Tea Party. I think this is a referendum going on in the country right now. Right now people are scared to death about debt. Not so much taxes, but about the mountains of debt and that there is runaway spending. This is why I believe the Obama administration has gone so far hard left on these social issues is because they have a real problem with meat and potato issues like debt. The country, right now, is worried that we're moving towards Greece. This is a referendum on them. This is a purple state, remember Democrats usually win this state. Sometimes it'll go back and forth, but this is a referendum.
Ben Stein: I think we'll see an inflection point, to use Charles' extraordinarily good phrase, against the unions. Union membership is falling apart, not only in the private sector, but now it's starting to correct downward in the public sector. Union money has never won an election-it's not going to win this one, according to the polls. I think Mr. Obama should be extremely worried. Union support is not going to pull him out of the fact, the truth, the painful truth that he has been in office now for 40 months and the economy is still in a terrible, terrible dive. He has not been able to achieve anything like he said he was going to achieve. He said, "yes we can," no we can't. He said, "change," no change-it's the same wild Democrat deficit spending. I think this election is going to show that even with the unions pulling out all the stops, people see the truth that Democrat spending is not working.
Adam Laskinsky: I think we're having a horribly lopsided conversation here. First of all, money isn't the only factor in an election. I don't have the numbers at my fingertips, I wish I did, but we haven't said anything about what the other side, whoever that is, is spending in favor of Walker. One more point I want to make is it's no surprise unions would quote, "pull out all the stops against Scott Walker," he pulled out all the stops against them. I'm not making any judgments here. They went right after him. I think we can make Wisconsin a national thing, but it's a national thing.
JOB OPENINGS AT HIGHEST LEVEL SINCE JULY
Charles Payne: Listen, we've had a situation where people have actually been encouraged to not go to work or to wait for the perfect job. Here's the bottom line, though-human beings have a survival instinct. Especially in America, and I think that's going to kick in. I do worry, a little about the Occupy crowd and some people who may have been sitting on the sofa for too long. But, ultimately, when people have their backs against the wall they do the right thing. There are jobs out there and reenergize America. People looking for work actually becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. Things will get better when people think they're getting better.
Charlie Gasparino: Don't you feel a little bad for the people who've been penalized for Obama-nomics? Here's the thing, my dad in the 70s when we had a really bad economy, bartended, drove a cab, did what he had to do. But, we have an economy right now where people are falling out of the workforce, which is making the unemployment rate go up. This is a really nasty economy, how can we penalize these people who were hardest hit by this?
Adam Laskinsky: The benefits have been expiring in various states. It's the last ones that are finally coming up and we saw this horrible jobs report last week, so we're going to pay for this one way or the other-extended unemployment benefits or various safety net payments, direct payments, but this is just not a good situation.
Ben Stein: We are paying people not to work. My heart totally goes out to people who don't have jobs and who are worried about paying their mortgages or their grocery bill, but we are paying people not to work. They're taking it and they aren't working. I only see my anecdotal evidence which is that all over Malibu, all over Ranch Meraz-places where my wife and I live-we see help wanted signs, people come in and they hear it's a minimum wage job and they walk right out again, they don't even fill out an application, because they can do better just getting unemployment benefits. That's wrong. People have to work. It's a matter of self-esteem and dignity. They must go back to work, even if it's a minimum paying job, it's a matter of self-dignity.
Michelle Fields: Providing unemployment benefits removes that incentive for people to go out and work hard. When you're providing unemployment benefits, you're basically delaying people from making those tough choices that they need to make when they get a good job-which is perhaps moving into a different industry or taking a lower paying job. Instead, they're just like, "Oh, I'll get unemployment benefits."
NEW SIGNS PEOPLE ARE FLEEING STATES WITH HIGH TAX RATES
Charles Payne: Listen, the Rolling Stones fled for tax reasons and Greece just stopped paying them. This is elementary. People are going to flee if you take the money that they work hard for. People understand it as sort-of a commitment, but once you cross that line of where it doesn't make sense for me to get up every morning to pay for people who don't have to get up, I'm leaving or I'm going to stop working.
Michelle Fields: Why not flee to another state that doesn't have individual income tax, doesn't have a state tax, doesn't have an inheritance tax? It makes sense why. I'm sorry if you guys are New Yorkers, but why not?
Charlie Gasparino: You know what I love about this story is that it makes my point from before. Andrew Cuomo's approval ratings are at historical highs. Why is that? Because the private sector is moving out, the people with private sector jobs, and the unions-whether they're cops, firemen, teachers, paper-pushers up in Albany-they keep voting for Andrew Cuomo and for policies that benefit them and hurt the state.
Ben Stein: Well, we have a situation similar to that in California. We have cruelly high income taxes, but people can't leave if they like the climate, because there is no where else to go. There is no climate like the climate of California. But it is cruel. I have to say, Charles, your gift for phrases today have been unbelievable. People waking up to pay for people who don't wake up and work-that's exactly the story of America right now and it's very sad.
Adam Laskinsky: This isn't a new development. There are all sorts of ways to tax people. There are all sorts of reasons for people to stay where they are. We tax the Rolling Stones when they have concerts and they have to pay for all sorts of things. This is going to keep happening, it's not the end of the world.
REBOUND STOCKS
Charles Payne: United Rentals (URI)
Adam Laskinsky: Facebook (FB)
Ben Stein: iShares MSCI Japan Index (EWJ)
Get all the stories you need-to-know from the most powerful name in news delivered first thing every morning to your inbox