restaurants, retail, gyms, bars all allowed up to full capacity today. masks are required and so is social distancing. here in new york city, we have indoor dining going up to 50% today. safe for new jersey as well. the mets and the yankees can fill stands up to 20% on opening day. april 1. americans are flying a again with travel recovery. the tsa screening a record 1 million passengers a day for the past week. that's the most over a week now since the pandemic started. the big screens are also open to movie fans. amc says 98% of movie theaters are open across the country. limited capacity depending on state laws. all of this made possible with the roll-out of vaccines. the u.s. reaching an important milestone today. >> we reached our 100 million shots goal in 58 days. weeks ahead of schedule. >> so the accelerating pace, of course, of vaccines making this all possible at this point. many on wall street forecasting strong recovery in the u.s. economy. so look at the federal reserve predicting the economy to grow by 6.5%, which would be the fastest since the 80s. the highest comes from goldman sachs. they're fasting 8% growth. the last time the u.s. grew 8% was 70 years ago in 1951. wouldn't that be impressive? >> charles: that would be impressive. i can't wait. thanks so much, susan. with the economy just starting to rev up, my next guest says the $2 trillion tax hikes will have it crashing back down. steve, so curious that just a few weeks after we were told the economy was so shaky that things were so problematic that we had to pass yet another fiscal stimulus bill. the same administration is saying now let's tax the same economy that was weak and vulnerable two weeks ago. >> doesn't add up, does it, charles? the tax bill, we don't know how large it will be but it's growing. the other day the white house said this would apply to people that made $200,000. it was $400,000. there's tax of an energy tax, carbon tax. there's talk of a wealth tax on top of the higher capital gains tax, higher corporate tax, smaller business tax. all taxes are going up. one thing, charles, it's not just going to affect the rich, it's going to affect every one of us. employers that are getting whacked. when employers get whacked, they don't hire as many. >> charles: and the stuff for small businesses will be allowed to expire. here's something that angers me beyond the bait and switch, being promised something and getting something different in reality. now the justification is that only 2% of the nation will be affected by these changes. here's the interesting thing, stephen. 1.5% of the nation is affected by minimum wage. yet they go crazy over that. we've got to have higher minimum wage and it affects less people than this even by their own admission and how can they just sweep this under the rug? it's crushing. >> i never have believed these claims for the last 35 years when democrats say don't worry, it's only going to affect bill gates and warren and zuckerberg. most of the money is in the hands of the middle class. if you want to raise the trillions to pay for all of this spending and don't forget the other thing that happened when democrats are now talking about a 1 to $2 trillion green new deal infrastructure bill. where is the money going to come from to pay for this? if you go with an energy tax, that affects everybody that drive as car or heats their home. so it's higher costs for every one. i guarantee that. ing the effects on the economy will be negative. the reason we drove down the tax rates in the trump tax plan is to make america more competitive. to bring the jobs back to the united states. it worked like a charm. i don't understand the logic of reversing that. >> charles: speaking of logic and sincerity. let's admit that people worked their way toward that. we're talking about folks in their 40s, that have children, saving for college. they worked hard and made enormous sacrifice, what we call the middle class. and their reward is to be punished for it and brow beaten and humiliated for speaking up. the same with the estate tax. they're going to start at $1 million and take half of it? i worked at my life to leave it to the kids. i just -- this is an assault on the american dream in my opinion. >> the estate tax, people have not focused on that. i glad you brought that up. it's the highest tax in 30 or 40 years. it taxes -- you talk about this -- the increase in the -- the step-up basis on capitol gains. if your parents bought a house at $100,000 and it's worth $400,000, you have to pay a tax on that $300,000 appreciation. if they pass that, people will have to sell the farm or the ranch or the home to pay the taxes. >> charles: steve, i want to switch your attention. looked like we were going to have a small session and then the federal reserve threw a wrench into everything not to get too wonky. there's a requirement for banks to hold on to more capitol. senator elizabeth warren put pressure on the regulators and they blinked. consequently, we had another big down day for stocks after five weeks of roller coaster rides. is this again the time to put these sort of onus restrictions on banks and other parts of the economy that when we need the liquidity, need money flowing through this economy? >> we need the banks to be lending is what we need them to be doing. i'm in favor of a safety requirement for the banks so we don't have another 2007 and 8 again. but these are very stringent requirements on banks and prohibits them from lending out the money to the small businesses that we need that are the life blood of the economy. it goes back to the question that we talked about. the people in the top 2%, you know what they do for a living, most of them own, operate or invest in small businesses. so if you're taking that money outs of the small businesses, where are the jobs going to come from? >> charles: yeah. steve moore, always a pleasure. thank you. >> thank you, charles. >> charles: folks, you're now looking live at new york city where as you just heard indoor dining will go to 50% capacitied too. that's up from 35%. it's giving my next guest reason to be hopeful. andres is the owner of tribeca's kitchen. we talked before. first of all, congratulations for toughing it through this much of what has been a onerous approach to your industry in new york city. is this enough for you to make it through? >> we already made it through. we got this far. i've been through everything under the sun. if you told me i'm a new customer, he said there's a lot of new yorkers that have never been to new york. there's a lot of new yorkers that stay here and a lot of people that left. new yorkers have a strong way and they never lose. they get through it. we deal with it. this is another one. so all of the things that could be happening out there, you know, as a restaurant owner, my dad worked here for 30 years. we have an obligation to bring everything back. talk about something positive. today is one of those days. i'm happy not to be yelling and screaming and upset about things. but today is about good things and making new memories and the future. i'm very excited. my team is excited. everyone is excited. there's no new normal. the new normal is whatever you want it to be. it's always going to involve human connection. without it, it's not normal. that's where i am and i'm excited to be here. our customers are thrilled and the community is thrilled and that applies across the city. we've been through a lot. we need some happy moments. >> charles: you know, one of the reasons you're so successful and i've watched videos of you is because of your upbeat personality and how you look to the future. that's why you're a superstar in the hospitality industry. a lot of your colleagues have not made it through this from a business poirnlts of -- point of view. you lost your dad to covid. you're amazing. anyone in the industry to have to make it through this day to day, particularly with the restrictions that were put on, we have to salute you. i can't wait to come to your restaurant as a patron. what do you say now to some of the others who are gone now? >> just call. there are ways out. there's solutions. there's always a way. there's nothing like learning. there's so many people that still come here with nothing, with a dream. they just want a chance. >> one chance. not many. if you lose that one, you'll find another one. so you know, i just want you to pass it along and say wow, that person that came with nothing raised someone like that. he must have been amazing. there's a lot of people like him that dedicate their lives to their family. they make it through. happy in this. perseverance. that's the american way. >> charles: god bless you. we'll talk to you soon. you'll be seeing my soon, too. thanks. >> i hope so. before i let you go, my dad used to say, he asked the customer. everything okay? they say yes. he says i believe you if i see you. >> charles: okay. should team biden be thanking the dream up the for giving it leverage today? we'll explain. you think it's expensive to fill up your car now? what some states are turning your pain at the pump to a real pain in the gas. wealth is breaking ground on your biggest project yet. worth is giving the people who build it a solid foundation. wealth is shutting down the office for mike's retirement party. worth is giving the employee who spent half his life with you, the party of a lifetime. wealth is watching your business grow. worth is watching your employees grow with it. principal. for all it's worth. ♪ limu emu & doug ♪ hey limu! 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you talk about hubris, to talk about anything going on in america with respect to how we treat our citizens is really amazing. >> yeah, i was taken by surprise. really by two things. first of all, by the content, the substance of the contents from the two top chinese diplomats and also just for their disregard of the rules of the meeting. they were supposed to speak four 4 minutes in total. they spoke for 20 minutes and 23 seconds. as you pointed out, the comment were belligerent. so i was taken by surprised and i think anthony blinken, jake sullivan were taken by surprise as well. because they did not let the press go after those initial statements, which is what they intended to do. they called them back and then they had that back and forth argument. so everyone has been taken by surprise. >> charles: coming in to the meeting, china asked of the biden administration to drop the trump program, which of course included tariffs and other things. is that sort of an admission that those tariffs, the toughness of the trump administration really took a chunk out of china? >> yes. certainly. it's not just the tariffs. it's also the restrictions on huawei technologies. the chinese telecom networking company, which is a national champion as they call it. it's on the entity list of the commerce department, which prohibits transactions without getting a license. that really has hurt china as well. so there's a number of things that the trump administration did, which china really wants removed immediately: >> charles: gordon, what do you make of -- some national security experts said this meeting was a success in that the biden administration asked questions with regard to our allies. that they felt we were always going it alone. by the same token, i'm not confident that we could have any sort of strong policy against china if we're waiting for our "friends" to join in. especially in europe. i don't see it happening. >> yeah, especially not in europe. because on the eve of biden's inauguration, the comprehensive agreement was announced from the european union. that was a slap in the face of biden. biden was talking about getting our allies on board. now, in asia, it's better. countries are following our leadership. but clearly in europe, we've got a lot of work to do. so it's going to take biden actually taking the lead, and i'm not so sure she's con if i dents about doing that. i'm not so sure he thought he would have to. clearly after this meeting in anchorage, we have to lead the way. >> charles: i have a lot of time. i'm think i'm pleasantly surprised with the biden administration so far vis a vis taiwan, flexing some muscle. seems like china is making it clearer and clearer that they want to bring taiwan want in to the fold one way or the other. >> yes. they said that they must exit within five years. the statement from the foreign ministry about the smell of gunpowder shows that the chinese regime is preparing the chinese people for war. they very well may be bluffing. i think they are. but regimes that bluff about war usually start them, charles. this is an exceedingly dangerous period for us. >> charles: gordon chang, i hope everybody is paying attention. and the cdc said three feet is fine for students. will teachers be on board? if it's okay with schools, why not everywhere? dr. marty makary is here and gas taxes adding to pain at the pump. new push to tax drivers by the mile. insane? we'll explain. rement income is complicated. as your broker, i've solved it. that's great, carl. but we need something better. that's easily adjustable has no penalties or advisory fee. and we can monitor to see that we're on track. like schwab intelligent income. schwab! introducing schwab intelligent income. a simple, modern way to pay yourself from your portfolio. oh, that's cool... i mean, we don't have that. schwab. a modern approach to wealth management. challenging times are nothing new. neither are resilient people. there's strength in every family story. learn more about yours. at ancestry. >> charles: the push for a mileage tax to pay for crumbling roads and bridges. what about the gas taxes? where is the money going from them? we'll let you know. we'll be back in 60 seconds. hey, guys! they have customized solutions to help our family's special needs... giving us confidence in our future... ...and in kevin's. voya. well planned. well invested. well protected. are you packed yet? our flight is early tomorrow. and it's a long flight too. once we get there, we will need... buttercup! ♪ did you know prilosec otc can stop frequent heartburn before it begins? heartburn happens when stomach acid refluxes into the esophagus. prilosec otc uses a unique delayed-release formula that helps it pass through the tough stomach acid. it then works to turn down acid production, blocking heartburn at the source. with just one pill a day, you get 24-hour heartburn protection. prilosec otc. one pill a day, 24 hours, zero heartburn. >> charles: you're already getting slammed at the pump. gas prices are up 47 days straight. the average pushing $3 a gallon. some states are testing a mileage tax which will force people to pay for each mile. there's more ways to make money. let's get the read from democratic strategist, the washing to -- washington examiner's kayly mcgee. this sounds like scary stuff. >> it would be like driving down a toll road all the time. there's very few electric vehicles on the road. so every single driver in america would be subject to this tax. and it's just impractical to claim that taxing people is going to push them towards electric vehicles. in a lot of cases, it's going to do the opposite. if it was easy to own an electric vehicle, my guess is there would be more of them on the road. a lot of cases it's unnecessary and it's hard to maintain. they're expensive. so this is not the right way to go about pushing alternatives. so for me, if you put something in my car, once it's electrified, we know that people -- that lower income, middle income folks are the ones that drive the furthest to work. again, i think it's going to end up punishing people that could afford it the least. >> correct. i mean, i don't throw the government out of line when it comes to them finding out how to do an electric charge tax. that would come years later as well. the weird thing for me, charles, aren't we getting taxed why the mile? i'm in illinois. it's beautiful behind me, yes. chicago is right here. in chicago, a dollar of the cash prices that we pay at the pump go to taxes and fees already. one whole dollar. that's on the rise. so we're already paying for everything when it comes to the government overreach. the government spending. the government regulations of how they basically operate here. we're paying for that with these gas taxes. in the 90s and 2000s, this was supposed to help pay for roads and bridges and the freeways out there in chicago. guess what? you're not free. you're paying to drive on them. >> jason, to that point, to cross the george washington bridge, it's $18. i stopped counting. everything keeps going up. we hear the same compliants. you wonder if it's another way to pinch our pocket. >> yeah, i don't think that is necessarily the case. i understand the argument that my counter parts are making. we know the gas tax is unsustainable. cars are more fuel efficient. not only the electric cars. that's one of the reasons why 2% of the cars are electric, because of the lack of charging station which the biden administration says they want to fix. raising the gas tax won't be enough. the strongest argument against this is people that are afraid that their day that will be insecure, they're going to be tracked. whereabouts will be tracked. if you have a cell phone, an easy pass, if you use social media, your whereabouts are already being tracked. so the gas tax, people in rural areas, need to get a travel tax credit. they're going to drive longer distances to work. so they should not bear the burden more in wyoming or montana than you do in manhattan. so there ne