You're watching...
Ellen Ratner and Jim Pinkerton on what NY and NJ should do with billions of dollars in relief funds
Also in this playlist...
Auto-advance: ON
Auto-advance
This transcript is automatically generated
Much but side to our panel.
With us now Ellen -- is the bureau chief of talk radio news service -- -- Fox News contributor he viewfinder on Twitter at Ellen -- nice to -- well nice to see you don't.
And Jim Pinkerton is contributing editor and writer at the American conservative magazine -- too.
Is a Fox News contributor you can find -- on Twitter at James.
Good to see Jim thank -- -- thanks very much for being here so some potentially promising news as we listen to Rick Leventhal is report I mean obviously.
You know and god hands you lemons you make lemonade so folks out there.
-- are able to benefit.
Business wise.
In the aftermath of hurricane -- We know I was very involved in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
And built a community center down and in Mississippi at center.
And I have to tell you it really did -- it -- employed a lot of people even just cleaning up the garbage.
And so nobody wants a hurricane on the other hand it really didn't give a lot of people a chance to rebuild and infect the Community Colleges there we're doing probably what the Community Colleges it will do here they teach people how to put up.
-- -- -- -- -- and do carpentry and things like this -- learning a skill so people are learning actually scale.
That they could then take with them so Jim these numbers that came out today.
The -- the employment numbers -- 146000.
Jobs added in the month of November a lot more than what.
Analysts were expecting they were expected -- about 8090000.
So this is better than that but the unemployment numbers don't necessarily tell the whole story ahead with -- -- like talking about -- -- I know after that I'll -- a lot of folks say that these numbers the unemployment rate has gone down because once again as we've seen in the past people are dropping out of the workforce they're not looking for -- Right that's is physically true and -- labor force participation rate.
Keeps creeping downward even as the unemployment rate goes -- and that's in the number of adults over the age sixteen.
In the workforce but look this this hurricane is just nice rebuild everything I'm happy for British Home Depot and learning the skills on.
But New Yorkers and for that -- all Americans should reflect on the fact that.
Providence Rhode islanders -- -- seawall protected from exactly this kind of storm since 1966.
The entire population in the Netherlands is protected by and she -- 43% of the coastline of Japan.
Is protected by a -- and so.
If you really wanted to do something to stimulate the economy and get people working and so on they build us see what -- otherwise the next storm -- -- like New York like sandy.
Have a Wall Street's mistakes he was you know we can find someplace else other than Manhattan where we can do business from Connecticut -- You know rain came and islands or are who knows where.
And so you'd better finds -- and it for the sake of New York.
-- better forgot -- to -- some two ought to protect against an actual name is Mayor Bloomberg was talking about they yesterday.
And so was Governor Cuomo when you know and and and I think that although I haven't heard I imagine governor Christie's on the same page.
They wanted to a need billion dollars the president I think today was gonna try -- Over fifty million but there really needs to be infrastructure right eighty million for recovery is nice and maybe necessary number included some interest I know that he does is fuel.
-- that's that that's where -- Governor Cuomo.
And Governor Christie and governor Malloy of Connecticut will have to bite modes -- -- Will make the Sierra Club matters.
And that upset some trailers somewhere but we will we will build as we won't protect the city and the author of a population of twenty million people in the end you know and -- to the GDP in this country.
You know I want to say something this is not anything that came out of the blue people have been setting New York City have said it's a big storm hit.
Hit the end of New York and Manhattan there was going to be flooding of the tunnels and that's exactly what happened itself this is not a.
As I said I said they've been doing this in the national -- several hundred years.
Well Mike Bloomberg said yesterday also in his remarks that.
Look the climate change.
And that that's a part of this is well we need to factor -- and we need to prepare for future storms that will be bigger than the storms that we're seeing now.
-- we've we've probably do however the solution of simply stopping energy production.
-- even if you were in the computer -- -- -- couple weeks ago.
If you.
The -- is -- -- no more CO2 zero.
Who -- all the trend lines would keep going the next thirty or forty years escorted the near -- you can argue with a New York Times so -- is we've got thirty or forty years.
-- -- rising waters baked in the cake already.
Which suggests that hey we better build the sea -- -- and then being we better have some.
Plan for carbon sequestration I wrote a piece about this for the British spectator magazine we -- but he was -- said.
Right now the plan for sequestration is injecting it into the ground with what they talk about how -- did you explain sequestration because most of us who have heard that word the last.
Do you not have to have to -- -- fiscal -- already -- -- that business is another he's -- so soon enough workers went in the book I've learned from sequestration also -- carbon capture is the process by which CO2 was and rendered in Anders.
By bringing even if some -- -- this -- -- process presence of chemical scientific process and because you -- if so -- Important in the global warming controversy.
People been working for years it will maybe we could take all the CO2 and inject it.
Under the ground and didn't it's like the way the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste was supposed to happen well -- would Yucca Mountain when people -- think -- it was into I really want a billion tons of CO2.
Undermined under my farmer house or apartment buildings and interest tends to be no mean overwhelmingly no and hell now.
And so they have to be some better way to think about carbon sequestration or carbon capture for example.
Turning the plastic.
Which is a company update miracle no homer which was working with -- Obama Energy Department to do this but again it's a tiny little thing and we need a massive versioning or did you just pick your numbers guy how much what it costs to build -- well.
Forty billion dollars.
-- compared to the next storm right.
Let's go back to the jobs numbers -- -- I -- I sort of worked this into the fiscal cliff discussions that are going on on the hill we heard from.
John Boehner earlier today who held a press conference about an hour or so ago that those talks between him and the president are going nowhere.
Absolutely nowhere I think what's going on Ellen and and do these job numbers give the president.
Sort of a more confidence and and in his position.
The friend the president has confidence for a couple reasons one he won the election to -- -- a story about running again.
So he can say hey I'm in a position -- didn't say and do what I want is just like interestingly enough.
You look at the eleven or so Republicans.
Who said we don't -- raising taxes if spending and other things are dealt with.
Most of those guys -- look who they are Olympia Snowe.
And are not running for reelection so there is a free -- that happens when you don't when you don't have to run again.
And the president is he totally had the upper hand on this fiscal this -- I think you'd yeah.
And again do nothing and gets what he wants higher taxes and by the way I do think that we go over the clippers -- talk but I -- first when the smoke clears and the other end of January 1 that tax cut that only for the bottom 90% will be the tax cut for the bottom 90% I think -- jump on the chance.
Detective -- -- more revenue from more rich people.
Before they actually prove it and I should.
And they should.
I think I thought you know I've I've read the theory that that both sides of more than happy to go over the fiscal clips of that literally January.
First -- January 2 everyone can vote for a tax cut.
And say that they have voted to cut taxes they do nothing in time for the cliff that deadline.
But then they vote for big tax cuts the next yeah I think when Republican -- this much better I think I think I look I think the Republicans and who's now -- breaking their pledge to do the taxpayer protection pledge.
And then look at -- players Grover Norquist pledge and then the same time pledging to cut Medicare.
We've got with this and it wouldn't do want to go another saying you're gonna do it and so you you you break your own base when terms of the tax -- and and you inflame the Democrats face in terms of the Medicare.
And they're banking the -- and also has a banking -- people have very short memories so what they do.
In January of 2013.
Is not going to necessarily.
Affect the elections of November.
Fourteen is -- working at fourteen.
So is that the most likely scenario do you think -- that we're gonna see you're gonna go over the cliff.
And then have some.
Kind of a -- there's a short term solution.
Which -- what happened before the 31 two extended to march or April to the new congress comes in that's the other possibility.
It's called that you know it's kind of like what the Supreme Court does sometimes you just.
I appreciate and I seaport had a good idea and then force magazine this morning saying looked at the house with Saddam's Republican neutral should pass whatever they feel like.
Tax cut a key to duplicate the bush tax cuts is that all of them intact that it has been sequestered now the senate the Democrats I would kill it is only.
And pres Obama would veto it even if it were passed -- which you wouldn't.
But that would put the Republicans on record -- when -- protection -- were -- I think -- -- book called Obama won election that's the good news and the bad news is he owns this economy.
It's his economy now.
We're not -- here is George Bush's economy anymore -- -- Impossible to say that.
