says iran's bid dictator. what is unbelievable is that trump, who is not exactly known for his restrained or self discipline would actually stop after day one. it's a significant disturbing escalation of rhetoric. just rhetoric, but it is an escalation for him because of how bluntly an openly he's telling the country about autocratic plans for a second term. during last night speech, trump also issued a thinly veiled warning to president biden, saying that the criminal indictments against trump have, quote, opened up a pandora's box that may never let our country be the same, and quote. trump's most subservient allies are also falling into line, picking up on the themes of retribution. at the end of last month, robert kagan, another large for the washington post, published a lengthy piece warning about the increasing inevitability of a trump dictatorship. in response to kagan's piece, the republican senator j.d. vance of ohio sent a letter addressed to attorney general merrick garland and the secretary of state antony blinken, seeking an investigation into kagan, a journalist. vance, by the way, none of the names being considered as trump 's running mate has ice president, according to a recent report by axios. by the way, the journalist isn't the only one warning about the erosion of democracy in america, the former congresswoman, liz cheney, offered a lot of sharp criticisms about how america's, quote, sleepwalking into a dictatorship. but cheney is just warning about trump, she is concerned about her entire parties growing subordination. she even went as far as to say, quote, it's so important that the republicans not be in the majority in 2025. it's a pretty remarkable statement from someone who was a senior member of house republican leadership. cheney understands this firsthand, she lost her reelection primary last year to a trump backed candidate, a common story for many moderate and anti trump republicans as the gop continues its march to the right. it's part of what's fueling the dysfunction and deadlock that we witnessed in congress this year which has resulted in the lack of meaningful action on several fronts. on wednesday, senate republicans blocked a procedural vote for a crucial aid package for ukraine and israel after talks broke down over border security policy, an issue that trump in the gop have been trying to leverage in negotiations. meanwhile, yesterday, the biden administration bypass congressional approval and pushed through an emergency arms sale of 14,000 tanks skills to israel, worth about 100 and $6 million. move came, by the way, just hours after the united states vetoed a yuan resolution calling for an immediate cease-fire in gaza as the humanitarian situation there worsens amid israel's war against hamas. a lot of news to cover. joining me now is the democratic senator, chris van hollen of maryland. he's a member of the senate foreign relations appropriations and budget committee, pretty much everything i just talked about. -- senator, first of all, good to see you again, thank you for joining us this morning. >> ali, it's great to be with you. >> let's just talk about this stuff, it's no surprise to you, or me, that donald trump says things that sound authoritarian and dictatorial. but there is an incremental increase in his rhetoric. there is enough stuff going on around him that can cause people to believe that this isn't just bluster, things could really be different in the second trump term. >> well, that's right, look. when someone tells you who they are, believe them. when trump tells you he wants to be dictator for a day, you can certainly believe it for the day, you also know that that's gonna be a pattern that he continues to do his administration. this is a very dangerous moment for american democracy. it is so important that people heed the words of people like liz cheney who are calling out the danger not just of donald trump but the complicity now of the entire republican party and the maga movement who have stood by and enabled donald trump to continue to do what he does. >> let's talk about things going on in the world. ukraine has said very clearly that they could lose this war now, they need help, things are not going as well as they would've hoped. the budget, the administration has said the same thing, there's no magic pot of money. what happens in terms of ukraine funding. give me the big picture on why we have to not do this when it comes to ukraine. >> well, here right, it's an increasingly desperate situation. the ukrainians are putting their lives and blood on the line to defend themselves against putin's aggression. we simply need to provide them with the military assistance they need to fight off this dictator. it's important in ukraine for the freedom of ukraine, it's also true that autocrats around the world are watching very closely what we do. if we wave the white flag, if we surrender here, you are gonna see people like president xi and china and autocrats around the world emboldened, and our allies will be frightened about our lack of constancy, are lack of commitment. it's very important that we do this. you know, you're speaking about donald trump. he says he wants to be a dictator, he's also, essentially, supporting putin in this effort. rting putiso, this is a patternt we're seeing around the world. we need to address it and address it now, supply ukraine with the money and funds it needs. >> the leadership, republican leadership, generally speaking, has said that despite some outliers in the house, they are on side was supporting ukraine, strategic and important reasons for americans to be outside, but generally speaking, republicans have said their onside. what's going on here, i know we're having trouble. they're trying it to the border wall, i think you and i can both agree that border and immigration issues have been problematic for decades in america, that's an important topic. why this? why is this actually happening politically at this point? >> well, you're right, we do need to have good faith negotiations to address the immigration issues, the border security issues, and those conversations are ongoing in the united states senate. the fact that republicans have made resolving that very tough negotiation a condition for providing military assistance to ukraine, it shows how donald trump has taken over the republican party. they've essentially said that they're not going to be helping the people of ukraine secure their freedom and fight off putin unless we resolve this other issue. the reality is that what we should address both issues, they should not be tying them together. this is a recipe, i'm afraid, of surrender in ukraine. >> let's talk about israel, the other big issue that's going on in the world. you are not for the washington post last week on the topic of u.s. aid for israel. i'm gonna read from it. it says, quote, as israel's closest friend and security partner, the united states has a strong interest making certain that israel's response prioritize a secure return of all hostages and ensuring that hamas no longer poses a military threat. we also have an obligation to the american people to ensure that our support is consistent with our interests and values and align with u.s. and international humanitarian law. the war to end hamas's control of gaza is just, but it must be fought justly, and quote. tell me how you're thinking about that. >> well, that's exactly right. we support israel's objective of ending the military threat from hamas to israel. how this war is conducted, it's very important. if the united states is going to provide taxpayer dollars to support this effort, we need to make sure that we have a say in how it's conducted and it's conducted in a way that reflects their values. right now, we're seeing an unacceptable level of civilian casualties. we're seeing a humanitarian catastrophe. the reality is that the netanyahu government could be doing more on both fronts. in fact, secretary blinken said that it was, quote, imperative that the netanyahu government takes steps to reduce unacceptable levels of civilian casualties and do much more to provide desperately needed humanitarian assistance to gaza. it's not happening in the way it needs to. in fact, again, secretary blinken said there was a, quote, gap between those objectives we have laid out and what's happening. and so, in my view, the biden administration needs to be doing much more to exercise its leverage, american leverage to close that gap. that is why it's important to have this conversation around the country and in the congress. >> there are two ways of dealing with this, one is, as you said, the pressure that president biden and secretary blinken can put on israel to do that, the other one that a lot of your colleagues have been talking about is aid to israel, how or whether we should condition it. senator, you and i, we live in a space right now where everything everybody says is very hyper politicized. what's the reasonable approach to that discussion about aid to israel and whether it should be conditioned on certain things that are the priorities that americans believe about that part of the world? >> well, sure. again, the goal here is to close what the secretary of state described, you know, as the gap. we need to be using all lovers of, you know, american support, with our friend, israel. what we've proposed, a group of 13 of us, is something that apply to all u.s. military systems in the supplemental bill. in other words, or apply to ukraine, it applied israel, it would apply to any country that's gonna receive military assistance under that bill. it's a very simple principle that we require that u.s. military assistance be used in a manner that complies with international humanitarian law and u.s. law, and that the recipients of u.s. military assistance cooperate fully when it comes to providing humanitarian assistance in a conflict zone. these are very straightforward propositions that you would hope are not controversial. we also, ali, have reporting requirements because we want to see if the countries that are receiving military assistance are measuring up to these standards. arso, we require that the biden administration report on whether the recipients of military assistance are, in fact, using the equipment in a manner that compliance with international u.s. law, whether they are fully cooperating with our humanitarian assistance. also, importantly, beyond complying with humanitarian law, whether they are adopting practices and mechanisms that the united states government have said are very important in foreign assistance, to reduce civilian casualties, and other words, you have the international law standard, but you also have the united states has adopted many measures to try to reduce civilian casualties in conflict. we want to know how recipients of u.s. military assistance are measuring up on that front as well. >> all right, we'll follow the development of this proposal of yours and your colleagues very closely, senator, as always. thank you for being with us, democratic senator, chris van hollen of maryland. coming, up i wouldn't continue our conversation about democracy in america with representative of maryland, maryland morning, i guess, on velshi. jimmy raskin after the break. raskin has made his own chilling prediction of another trump presidency could look like, hungry under president victor -- and liberal democracy. plus, a new strong jobs report this week spells good news for the economy, that's just one part of the puzzle. i have all the data for you coming up. then, a 31-year-old mother in texas is being forced to carry a non viable fetus, her family, and possibly even her life are at stake. this is a serious reminder of what post roe america looks like. we cannot normalized it. you're watching velshi. t. you're watching velshi you're watching velshi >> ♪ ♪ 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best of both worlds. the therapeutic benefits of a warm, soothing bath, that can help increase mobility, relieve pain, boost energy, and even improve sleep. or, if you prefer, you can take a refreshing shower all in one product! call now! >> i want to welcome democratic congressman, jamie raskin, of maryland to the show. he's a top democrat on the house oversight committee in 2021. he served as the lead house manager prosecuting the second impeachment case against donald trump. he was a member of the january 6th committee that investigated the attack on the capitol. congressman, i did realize it was maryland morning for us here. you know, why not? that's a good theme to have on a sunday morning on velshi. congressman, you are one of the loudest and clearest and most articulate voices on the threat to democracy that donald trump and people like him, it's not just donald trump, are posing to america. since you and i have been talking in all these years, things have escalated so much to the point that donald trump now says all the quiet part out loud. i want to get your thoughts about where we are in the threat to democracy that we face as americans going into 2024. >> we're in the fight of our lives, ali. i mean, every four years, the democrats come back and say, this is the most important election of our lifetimes, forget all that, this one really is the most important election of our lifetimes. this is our year of living dangerously and our year of living passionately in defense of constitutional democracy. donald trump has made it clear that he's and lead with every dictator, autocrat, kleptocrat, plutocrat, theocratic on earth. they're all in lead against american democracy. he made clear he wanted to talk later on january 6th, 2021, when he levied an insurrection of violence against the union and tried to overthrow the constitutional order and install himself as president. he's continued to say he will pardon everybody who is involved in that attack on our democracy. that's very much a pattern with the authoritarians. you know, the part of the conversation is not yet been elaborated, it's really about antisemitism. there is a national uproar over antisemitism. somebody like -- cars no problem going after ivy league presidents. what about donald trump who dines with nicholas fuentes, who is an un-reconstructed holocaust revisionist neo-nazi, who says that jews don't belong in western civilization? where is elise stefanik on that point? donald trump was the one who saw, you know, very fine people on both sides of an antisemitic riot in the right festivities called by neo-nazi groups in charlottesville in 2017. some, if we're gonna have a conversation about antisemitism, let's talk about real antisemitism in the republican party today and why donald trump, who traffics and antisemitic tropes, as he did in 2016 when he ran against lloyd blank fine, janet yellen, and george -- saying globalists were not on the side of the american people, what are we gonna have the conversation about that? >> globalists, as you and i know, it's code, right? -- uses, it they put a globe next to, a globalist means jewish. it is interesting, you go back to when joe biden announced his run for presidency. it was actually for the soul of the nation, his opening campaign ad was about charlottesville. this is actually a fight that's been going on for a long time. that's the bad part, right? we have intellectual inconsistency on the part of republicans and right-wingers on this. on the other side of things, the hopeful part is what we've seen in special elections, off-year elections, midterm elections, the fight against moms for liberty, the referendum in ohio. people, americans, are listening to this. they are saying, if this is the fight of our lives, in terms of democracy, i can have a rule, i can change all this nonsense. >> well, look, the commanding democratic majority in the country just needs opportunities to have its will to be expressed, as you point out, with missouri, kansas, ohio, colorado. the vast majority of the american people reject trump and trumpism. joe biden beat him by more than 7 million votes last time. we're adding millions of young voters to the rules between now and 2024. where they have on their side? a bag of tricks, anti democratic tricks, manipulation of electoral college, gerrymandering of federal and state legislative districts, right-wing judicial activism, not allowing, you know, my constituent, merrick garland, even to get a hearing when he was nominated to the supreme court. it's all anti-democratic, anti constitutional, offensives that the republicans rely on. they're willing to go all the way to violence, as we saw on january 6th. the good news, as you say, is that the democratic majority in the country is standing tough and standing strong. we just need to make sure that millions of young people are part of that coalition, which is why it's so important that joe biden get us on a path towards peace, towards neutralization of hamas and disarming them from control over gaza, moving us toward israel peace and reconstruction in the middle east for israelis and palestinians. >> tell me about that a little bit. i like to have that conversation about what it looks like next. it's a very hard conversation to have right now because, understandably, so many people here and there are in the moment about what's going on, whether it's the tragedy in gaza and with the fact there is still 137 hostages who have not been released. it is imperative to think about what the future looks like. what are your thoughts? >> well, that's exactly right. what we need from the biden administration is setting forth a plan to move forward on the day after the hostilities. that day cannot come too soon from the standpoint of the preservation of civilian life and community in gaza and in israel. so, what we need is an illustration of a real plan for two state solution, for a democratic palestinian state existing next to a democratic israeli stay in security with safe borders all around, and an international plan, a martial plan style investment in the region to rebuild and reconstruct. either the middle east is going to lead to greater regional warren world war iii, or it can be an opportunity for the world to get invested in peace and reconstruction of human rights so we can get back to work on the overarching challenge of our time, which is climate change, threatens the lives of everybody and threatens the future of humanity. >> want to get back to this topic you raised a few minutes ago, the president of the university of pennsylvania stepped down from her position last night. the board chair stepped down. the pressure has not moved to the president of harvard and m.i.t.. we may see that removal and resignation the next couple of days. tell me about your thoughts on this. your very intellectually consistent, how should we be thinking about this? >> well, i'm thinking about it as the father, as a parent. i mean, my kids have been sent to college at a great expense, like, you know, millions of people across the country. i want to know that if something is actually calling for the genocide of the jews or anybody else on campus that we have a college president who will say, quickly, get campus police there, that person could be in danger to other people around them, especially in the age of the ar-15 where we've had, you know, genocidal style language being used, but also massacres taking place, like the tree of life synagogue in pittsburgh or the buffalo supermarket. those are right-wing antisemites who talk about the great replacement theory. we had a guy at cornell who was making death threats towards jews. palestinian college kids who were shot in burlington, vermont, of all places. with locks republican gun laws across the country, we have to take it very seriously, anybody who's making any kind of violent threats, especially genocidal threats. having said that, where does elise stefanik get off lecturing anybody about antisemitism and she is the huge's supporter of donald trump, who traffics and antisemitism all the time? she didn't utter a peep of protest when he had kanye west and nick fuentes over for dinner. nick fuentes, who doubts whether october 7th even took place because he thinks it was some kind of suspicious propaganda move by the israelis. the republican party is filled with people who are entangled with antisemitism like that. yet, somehow, she gets on her high horse and lectures a jewish college president from m.i.t.. >> you are, as i said, the one thing i love talking about with you, sir, you're intellectually consistent, we're all smarter for hearing from you. jamie raskin, maybe speak many more times. democratic representative jamie raskin of maryland. coming up next, what is america look like after the fall of roe? it looks like this, 31 old mother of two, forced to carry a non viable fetus to term because her home states anti abortion laws. the state of texas is endangering her family, her fertility, and quite possibly, her life. i'm gonna tell you katy cox's story after a quick break. ory after a quick break. can't catch. too short. what else does it say? give the gift of family heritage with ancestry. meet the jennifers. each planning their future through the chase mobile app. hellooo new apartment. one bank for now. for later. for life. chase. make more of what's yours. 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(avo) this holiday turn any samsung phone, in any condition, into a galaxy s23+ on us. and now add netflix and max to your plan for just $10 a month. only on verizon. >> since the fall of roe v. wade in june of last year, 18 states have banned buescher made a unavailable, according to the -- institute. in this new america, where half the population is denied self governance and basic health care, their tragedies playing out every day. here's an example. kate cox, 31 years old, she's a mother of two from the dallas area, 20 weeks pregnant. she learned last week she is no chance of bringing home a healthy baby. her fetus was diagnosed with -- it's a chromosome al disorder in which 95% of fetuses do not survive to full term. that alone is a tragedy. this is post roe america, that's only the beginning of the story. cox's doctor warned that because she has had to prior c-section surgeries, continuing the pregnancy puts or a risk for severe complications, threatening her life, her future fertility, including uterine rupture and hysterectomy. cox needs an abortion. she qualifies to receive one, even by texas is incredibly restrictive standards. abortion is banned in texas after six weeks, which is before many women know that they're pregnant, long before medically complicated and tragic diagnoses, like cox's, can be made. despite cox's medical need for an abortion, because of this law, she needed to seek illegal help to get permission for an emergency abortion. so, she did. a state district judge quickly granted her request to order, which would've allowed cox's doctor to perform the abortion without fear of prosecution by the state. texas republican attorney general paxton decided this was the mantle he needed to take on to ensure that this woman did not get the emergency abortion that she so desperately needs. paxton alleged that the judge who granted cox's abortion was not medically qualified to make the determination and threatened to prosecute any doctor or hospital employee that might assist cox in the procedure. doctors who perform abortions could -- in texas's ban, go to prison for life. so, paxton then asked the state supreme court intervene and it did. late friday night, the supreme court of texas temporarily halted the lower court's decision that would've allowed cox to get an emergency abortion. so, as of this moment, thanks to the texas supreme court and ken paxton, kate cox is being forced to go through with a non viable pregnancy that is threatening her health and her fertility, possibly her life. as cox upper 21 weeks pregnant, she must, again, way at the mercy of texas courts where the abortion jeans, all while her health is at risk and the potential for complications grow with each passing day. cox shared her hopes for healing with nbc news on thursday. this is before the state supreme court blocked her abortion. >> we're going through the loss of a child. there is no outcome here that i take home my healthy baby girl, you know? so, it's hard, you know? i just, you know, grief. i think forcing me to continue the pregnancy, the pain and suffering, put me through the risks of continuing the pregnancy, the risk of childbirth, again, especially given how my last two went, i think it's cruel. so, i'm hopeful, i want to get through this. i want to heal, will try again for another baby. >> on the other side of the break when we speaking the texas congresswoman jasmine crockett about this. don't go anywhere. nywhere. don't touch it, don't touch it yet. let me get the big one. nope. -this one? -nope. -this one? -yes. no. what? the big one. they're all the same size. wait! lemme get 'em all. i'm gonna get 'em all! earn big with chase freedom unlimited. how do you cashback? chase. make more of what's yours. honey, i think i heard something. ok. ♪ from christmas tree mats... to floorliners... cargo liners.... no drill mud flaps... seat protectors... and more... weathertech has the perfect holiday gift. honey, is everything ok? oh yeah. order at weathertech.com and don't forget weathertech gift cards. >> before the break, i shared with you the story of kate cox, a texas woman in need of an emergency abortion, that a more portion is being blocked by the supreme court because of draconian abortion laws. more on this, i'm going with the democratic congresswoman, jasmine -- from texas, remember the house oversight committee. previously worked as a public defender and civil rights attorney, but in between, she is a legislator in texas who is a very directly involved in this particular fight. so, you know this one very well, jasmine crockett. when you are arguing with your, debating with the republican in the texas house, you had the sense to foresee this is the kind of nonsense that is going to result from the draconian laws in texas. >> yeah, you know, we fought this stupid bill. this is why we still have row, we still have problems. this was a trigger law. what happened is once roe was overturned, then they said that, if it is overturned, what will happen is now people can be prosecuted criminally. now these doctors are facing a first degree crime. so, in my mind, i didn't imagine a world in which roe would be overturned. what is so stark about this, what is so frustrating for me is most people don't know that roe was actually a dallas case. it was actually a dallas woman. actually set this country on the right trajectory. when it came down to sending us on the opposite trajectory, it's been texas that has been leading the way. i just want to say that my heart goes out to miss cox. she is the real hero, she's the person that is showing strength and we have a bunch of cowards and ignorant folk that unfortunately are the ones that have power over her, there are not pro-life, they're not pro power, their pro patriarchy. honestly, they're pro ignorance. >> when you talk about folks who are ignorant, i think we need to take a moment here to just let our viewers who may not really know all the details about your state's attorney general, ken paxton. he's an interesting character. >> that's one way to put it. listen, he is the trump want to be, he is like a trump junior, if you want to call him, before trump had his cases pending against him, paxton had his. for those that don't know, paxton has been under felony indictment in the state of texas, avoiding prosecution for years. he has the gall and the audacity to go after trained medical doctors who know what they're doing, who are actually trying to be pro-life, who are actually trying to honor their oath, unlike anything that he's done. unfortunately, because of the crazy, terrible, bad laws in the state or because of the bed-ish people that continue to vote for him, i don't understand why and how he gets reelected, but he does. he's been reelected since he's had these cases pending. at this point in time, i think they've been pending for about seven years. >> yeah. >> the house, they went through with an impeachment and the senate, where his wife serves, decided they would not convict him. >> you're a civil rights attorney, this issue of kate cox is actually a civil rights issue. since the fall of roe v. wade, we see a number of people, a number of pregnant women cross state lines to seek the abortions they need outside of the restrictive states. kate cox explained in an op-ed that she doesn't want to do that. she says, and'muoting from her, i'm a texan, why should i or any other woman have to drive or fly hundreds of miles to do what we feel is best for ourselves and our families, to determine our own futures? i'm trying to do what is best for my baby daughter and myself and my family, but we are suffering because of laws in texas. this is why kate cox is doing this. it must be hell when you know that you're gonna lose your baby, you may lose your health, your fertility. she is saying, i'm trying to do this so that the stops. >> yeah, that's why i say, she is the real hero in the story. she is the only person that i see exemplifying any sense of courage. honestly, this is a modern-day handmaid's tale that we're living in, right? women are actually having to flee their homes, feeling like that is the only way they may be able to save their lives. mind you, there is this bogeyman that the republicans like to put up of a woman who is permissive u.s. and out here going and having abortions left and right. the reality is that it's the kate cox of the world who is saying, wait a minute, i have two children, i want to have this child, this isn't about me saying, you know, whatever. not that should matter. the point is, kate is the face of this, the other brave women that are currently on litigation, some of them that are now barren because of this draconian law that is the opposite of being responsible, it's the opposite of being pro-life. it is estimating that the state of texas is losing about 15 billion dollars a year because of this crazy bill. all for what? so you can pander to some radical right of people who literally don't know what they're talking about in the first place? >> jasmine crockett, every vote we've seen in america, locally, these referendums, midterm votes, everyone that hangs on abortion has -- voters are saying, whatever they feel about abortion, they're saying it's not a right that the state gets to take away from me. what happens in 2024? does this come before congress? but before congress -- is there something you can do in congress about this? >> listen, i'm sorry, the u.s. house, we will absolutely pass the bill. we'll have to see what happens in the senate because the senate, historically, has been a problem, the filibuster has historically been a problem for these very common sense bills that actually align with the will of the people. we have got to do something. i don't people in new york or california or whatever free state to believe that they are not at risk either, this is an all hands on deck. we all need to show up because if the republicans get their way, they will push forward with a national abortion ban. we don't need to sleep on this. i feel like we slept on this for 50 years, that's how long we had roe, we were able to basically say that we can rely upon the supreme court precedents, we don't have it anymore, we need to make sure that we're just as aggressive as trump and his maga fanatics have been to take away our rights. we have to fight to preserve our rights. >> democratic representative, jasmine crockett of texas, we always appreciate the time you take to be with us on velshi, thank you. >> thank you, ali. >> coming up, the country added nearly 200,000 jobs last month, unemployment is on the decline, the economy is doing well. there might be a catch, i'll tell you about it on the other side. ther side and brings soothing relief. don't get burned by winter nose. a nose in need deserves puffs indeed. america's #1 lotion tissue. the subway series is getting an upgrade. the new 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and sore throat may occur. tell your doctor if you have a parasitic infection. get back to better breathing. and get back to your life. ask your doctor about fasenra. if you can't afford your medication, astrazeneca may be able to help. >> they say, began as a mean to go on. in the new school board president in bucks county, pennsylvania, did exactly that when she was sworn into her post on monday. instead of taking her oath with a hand on the bible, karen smith chose to do so using a stack of six frequently banned books as book bucks county has been at the center of book banning, targeting dozens of titles. the book, night, by nobel prize winner, elie weasel, the authors autobiographical account of surviving the holocaust. some others included the bluest eye by tony morrison, which community members in the central bucs school district push to ban last year. lilian duncan, by donna -- features a transgender main character, a local parents group move to ban that one. smith also included all boys are blue by george m. johnson, which velshi banned book club members might remember was our inaugural book. now, smith was already on the school board before she was picked to be president. she served in the minority with democrats while the republican majority passed policies to ban books and to limit lgbtq rights. during the new board's first meeting with smith in charge, it reversed for policies, to which made it easier to remove books from library shelves, one which band transgender girls from playing on girls sports teams, and another which banned the display of pride flags in classrooms. begin as you mean to go on indeed. >> >> so, on the first friday of every month, we get jobs numbers from the government better for the prior month. the new numbers we got on friday suggest that the american economy is going strong. the national unemployment rate ticked down to 3.7% last month, 199,000 net new jobs were added to the labor market. in terms of job availability, this is another way to think about 1.3 open jobs for every unemployed worker. now, if you prefer to judge the strength of the economy based on the stock markets, which i don't tend to always want to do, but it's doing nicely to. the s&p 500, which trucks the stock performance of america's top 500 companies may look like stuff that's in your 401k, closed at its highest level of 2023 on friday, as did the nasdaq. the dow is up almost 10% here today, also closed above 36,000. very close to his all-time record high. wages are up as well. they made a gain of 4% year over year, which is now outpacing inflation, which stands at 3.2%, very close to what normal should look like. the american people are generally starting to feel better about the economy. according to the university of michigan, consumer sentiment is up eight points from last month. recent data shows a growing number of americans say the so-called american dream, however, has become unattainable. they're not feeling optimistic about their financial futures. according to a wall street journal, a survey from last month, 36% of registered voters say the american dream, the idea that if you work hard, you'll get ahead, regardless of your background, still holds true. 18%, by the way, say the american dream was never a thing, it doesn't hold true. 45% say that it did at some point hold true, but not anymore. many blame factors like inflation, high mortgage rates, the cost of education, health care, the cost of raising a family. it's all getting less and less affordable. -- editor-in-chief, caleb silver, and his team, decided to calculate what would cost to achieve the american dream in today's economy. in other words, the house, the car, the kids, and i sweating, a couple dogs, taking care of them, sending them to school, not the pets, and being able to retire, maybe a vacation every year. nothing extravagant, but a vacation. how much would it all cost? the number that they came up with, three point $4 million. caleb silver, the editor in chief joins me now. wow. i wouldn't have thought, that you and i have been doing this for a long time, three point $4 million. let's talk about how you got to that number. >> the dream is different for everybody, but if you put those reasonable expectations and, having a couple of kids, health insurance, a little retirement money, marrying somebody off, child birth, a funeral, you get to that number with today's dollars. now, you can do this a lot cheaper, you can do this a lot more expensive. these are reasonable expectations of what a family might want. when you put it all together, all these cost, 3.4 million, the problem, ali, lifetime earnings, given today's median income, it's about 2.3 million, we're about 1 million dollars away from what the stream could cost today. >> wow, okay, let's talk about how families are doing right now, let's talk about the reality of where we are. current household median income is $74,580. let's put that one of their. the average total household debt is $103,000. average credit card debt per borrower is about six and a half thousand dollars. average 401k savings are hundred and 12,000. >> yeah, we're a lot lower than we need to be, if we're going for that dream. when you talk about household debt, we're talking about mortgage debt, we talk about cardio, and also credit card debt. but we know, credit card debt is at a record high here because of those high apr, is because of high interest rates. the savings that you need to fill that gap when they stop working and you want to retire, if you want to retire, if you can retire, we're not even close to that yet. >> what's the connection between the numbers you've got, let's put up unemployment, for instance, overtime. unemployment is going down, wages are going up, people are feeling, this is a map that goes back to the recession of 2008 when you know we're working together. you saw unemployment go up, it took a while to get it back down, by 2019 we were at an absolute low. that is covid. we are now back down to almost where we were in 2019. we're a very low place in unemployment, it means there's more competition for workers, it means wages are up, and they are up. >> there are, up 4% this year, that's great, if you're making $250,000. if you're making $75, 000, it doesn't feel that much. this, 3.7% unemployment, that's what the federal reserve considers full employment. this economy, the labor market is very strong right now, there's still a lot of jobs out there, people don't feel like they can get ahead. a lot of it has to do with the high cost of housing. mortgage rates, what they are, with housing prices where they are, people don't feel they can get to that. >> let's look at mortgage for a second, let's discuss this, this is a big deal. if you are locked into a mortgage, you have a 30 year fixed mortgage or 15 year fixed mortgage, you got in at this kind of level, this is 2014, three and a half percent, or even at this kind of level in 2016, which is roughly the same thing, or right here, let's say you got a mortgage in 2020 or 2021, you are below 3% in some cases. this rising mortgage doesn't mean anything to you. you try to buy a house today, seven and a half percent. >> home affordability is that an all-time low, younger people in particular feel discouraged. that promise, the so-called promise of the dream, which meant homeownership at one point in time, that's out of reach for a lot of people. you mention this 4%, half of homeowners to have a mortgage under 5%. they cancel, they're not gonna go about -- >> somebody who might really want their houses not taking an 8% mortgage. >> right, and their new homeowners, the would-be home buyers, they can't buy right now, they're discouraged by that. look at education to, the cost of a college education, we put it in our index for sending two kids, just for one year, that's quite a bit of money. if you're gonna pay instate college for two kids for four years, your numbers go up beyond 3.4. all these things cost money. we just figured used cars, to six used cars over lifetime, a couple of pets that live 15 years. when you add it all up, you get to a realistic number of 3.4-ish million dollars. again, it could be lower for some people, and a lot higher for others. >> thank, you as always. >> thank you. >> caleb silver is the editor in chief of the -- a great friend of mine and the show. all right, coming up, tennessee is currently under siege of emergency after multiple tornadoes tore through the state, leaving at least six people dead and dozens injured. we're gonna go to nashville after this. the crisis in gaza is becoming worse with each passing day. humanitarian aid has collapsed. aid workers and civilians are in need of help. plus, when donald trump says he wants to be, quote, dictator for a day, if he's reelected, we should believe him. democracy, as we know it, is actually hanging in the balance come 2024. the next hour of velshi begins right now. good morning, to its sunday, december the. ten-time all evil. she w b