the imf, alexus glick, experienced on wall street and covering and she is the ceo of the gen youth foundation, will cain is the cnn contributor, cloudy with a chance of rain has been your forecast. anything that's going to part the clouds? >> i don't think anything will part the clouds until europe clears up, which might be a while. we're probably in for stable, slow growth, but there's more risk to the downside than the upside. >> let's talk about europe. just this week it became more difficult and expensive for spain to wore ro money. we're looking at bond yields and this is telling us there's potentially a funding problem in europe. explain why that is so important? >> europe is a quarter of global economy. european banks are interlocked with our banks. so we want them to fix this, but i wonder, they might need a new constitution before this is over and do they have the political wherewithal to get a new constitution? >> you think we had political problems on debt in this country. >> at least we have a constitution that's pretty darn good. they don't. >> alexis, europe is a big driving force here? >> it is a big driving force and more head winds in an already challenging economy will make 2012 as unpredictable as possible. and that's dangerous right now. if you look at the united states, 11 million homes upsidedown, they owe more on the mortgage. unemployment, look at unemployment, 14 million people out of work, that's not getting any better and there's nothing to show us in terms of the road map going forward to signal that that's going to get any better. how about the 17.5 million children in this country who do not know where they are going to get their next meal. you stack this us with what's going on in the global economy and things look pretty ugly. >> i want to show you two cnn orc polls. the first shows just 35% of the americans approve of the way the president is handling the economy. pretty obvious the economy will be the president's biggest hurdle next november. perhaps that's the first time that romney now tops obama. in a head-to-head matchup among registered voters. will, as a conservative, are you ready to pop the cham pain? >> certainly an ugly economy like the one that ken and alexis described is bad for an incoming president. should mitt romney become president, the big question is so what? the second thing alexis talked about unemployment, we didn't focus enough on debt. everything from the american homeowners or world economy is overleveraged on debt. we're going through a de-leveraging process. you have to grow out of debt. one of the ways is through tax reform. getting rid of loopholes and exemptions. simplifying the tax hole. interestingly the one candidate who's voice nod interest in that is mitt romney. >> simplifying the tax code. we don't have a simple political process at the moment right now. how realistic is it simplifying the tax code and starting to fix our debt problems and our tax problems that way? >> we can pray. what will said is absolutely right. that is the ticket. we need more revenue but we need to grow. we need incentives for people to produce and grow, the only way to square the circle but they are politically paralyzed. >> can we have a debt conversation and a deficit reduction conversation and a growth conversation at the same time? what i hear is people having one or the other. >> i think you need to have that conversation at the same time. when you look at the de-leveraging process and when you look at past recessions, the savings rate in this country has gone to double digits, some of what we're experiencing today, deleveraging, savings rate increasing, that's crucial. we cannot sit here and say that going forward this economy is going to be 100% dependent on two-thirds of the economy consistently spending, spending spending. it's just not the future. >> have you been watching tv, alexis? they are trag to get you to spend money again. >> i know. >> and the retail machine is getting people to spend money again. >> the tax incentive we're talking about, how to put more money in your paycheck so you can go out and spend. we saw it during the bush era. these are not the solutions that's going to turn the cycle around. >> these are the structural imbalances that led to the crisis. when you look at china and europe and the u.s., we're in the same position we were in the same totally unbalanced world. >> we are. i mean the u.s. is still borrowing a ton of money from china. united states consumers saving a little more, but there's still tons debt. looking forward, absolutely, we have to do something about that. but that's where it comes. to tax reform. you've got to do something. you can't live the way you're living. if you don't want it to get worse, you have to do something about it. >> at least until the next election and when you get close to the next election you can't do anything about it until you're past the next election and it goes on forever. >> tax reform might be an impossible ticket in washington, but the reason i am focusing on it is because the reasons that alexis just said. the increased savings rate are good things. you know what, the government has limited tools, but tax reform is one of the things they could actually do to encourage growth. will they? you're being a realist christine and the answer is probably no. >> but don't you think we have had multiple opportunities this year, particularly what we're facing down here with this deadline and this super committee, we could show the rest of the world that we're not republicans and democrats, standing for just entitlements or standing tore just no to raising taxes, aren't we americans at the end of the day. this whole process infuriates me because we have an opportunity to lead the way, to show a little leadership and to right the ship and yet in both cases we're down to the drop dead last second to do something about it. >> let's say that. i want to talk more about the super committee when we come back and something the president said. president obama used the words americans and lazy in the same sentence. what did he mean by that? we'll get into that next too on "your money." 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>> you think in america immigrants work harder, some places like nations are doing better compared to us. >> i think it was mitt romney on the campaign trail, the president says americans are lazy, come on i think this is -- this is kind of -- it's -- >> let's be realistic it is not the aha moment this president is un-american and it shouldn't be dismissed. i do think it's a little revealing about his view of america. the operative word is we. who is he talking about when he says we? the government has been lazy, he has a misguided view about what the government's role in the economy. not cheerleader in chief, set policy and step out of the way. american business and entrepreneurs and indicting them as lazy, i would be careful. that's the one characteristic that has made america exceptional. >> i'm torn like you. i think it's okay that it's been said, but when you look at when you see the development going on across the globe, infrastructure development, our roads are crumbling. look at what's happening in the united states. we've done nothing to upgrade our own infrastructure. you see the evolution and changes that started in the united states happening abroad. the thing i worry about, particularly when you look at unemployment insurance and extending claims, extending claims and extending claims, i understand why we're doing it. but are we incentivizing folks to get out there and aggressively pursue, or is this making us to step back because we expect the entitlements will be there to protect us. >> we'll talk about this more later in the program. i want to ask you, in normal bad times, that is a real worry, but these aren't normal bad times, are they? >> they are not. i'm pretty sympathetic extending the unemployment in terms of temporarily. >> you don't think it's causing people not to go out and invent something because they are getting a jobless check. >> it makes a difference. i think alexis is right. a lot of people use up their benefits if you change it from 26 to 52 weeks. they go longer, no doubt about it. on the other hand it's very tough right now and the economy is not fair in a lot of ways. i think we have a revolution if they don't do something like that so we need to do that. on the other hand that won't get us out of it. >> do you think occupy wall street is that revolution, some sort of revolution like that? >> if i could figure out what it stood for. >> how do you know what it stands for? >> they want a revolution that stands for the 99%, but i'm not sure the message is all that clear. you and i have gone back and forth. >> it is either about corruption and inequality as a result of crime and corruption or we can all agree or inequally as a broader standard. if it's about inequality are we seeing a revolution? if that happens it's the first time it would have ever happened in the history of earth. >> i want to talk about the super committee and i can't have you here without fixing a debt crisis. >> the latest hopes depend on this so-called super committee of six democrats and six republicans, but according to peter, the republicans are the big problem. >> six people on there who signed an oath in blood to never raise any revenues. you cannot solve the deficit and debt problems to the united states of america without net revenues. it's impossible. eliminate the entire government, except for entitlement programs, you still have a deficit. you know, that's pathetic. if you can't engage in that decision, it's pathetic. >> those are two pathetics, will. is it time for republicans to drop the notion -- that tax increases don't go with deficit reduction. >> the super committee is pathetic. this thing has devolved into the conversation we have had for three or four years. we're diverging and going our separate ways on the extension of the bush tax cuts. have we not heard that song over and over and we're resorting to accounting trickery. we can go with more tax revenues, but follow the advice of those smarter than me -- professor ken rogoff, have increased tax revenues without increased tax rates. >> like a mini me of congress that couldn't do it in the first place. this is what we feared you would be down to the wire passing notes to each other through intermediaries and not in the same room anymore. >> this is something you do on wall street. it's absolutely outrageous. the fact that the s&p downgraded our debt, we were given so many warning signs, what are we going to do when we wake up next friday morning, and fitch or moody's decides to downgrade our debt because we couldn't get our act together. we signed a $787 billion stimulus bill and we cannot agree on reductions of $150 billion a year? i mean, you look at the defense budget, this makes me crazy, i'm sorry. the defense budget has doubled over the past decade and we're arguing about what impact this is going to have on the defense budget? it's doubled its $700 billion. i'm sorry, go ahead. >> early on, they did seem very energized and were passing notes among each other and it seemed they would at least strike a deal among themselves and if they couldn't sell it, they couldn't sell it. even that seems to be collapsing at this point. you never know last minute but it doesn't look good. >> the rest of the world is watching us to make sure we're not doing it the last minute, the bare minimum, right? >> but they'll lend us money for nothing. that's the problem. >> because we're less bad than anybody else, as long as we're less bad, we're still the best position. >> we set the tone as well. we can't sit here and talk about what's going on in italy and what's going on in greece and going on in spain and not be taking care of what's going on in our backyard. >> ken rogoff, alexis glick, will cane, nice to see you guys. you're absolutely right. one presidential candidate is calling the super committee the dumbest idea he's ever heard. we'll tell you who that is and what could happen if the super committee doesn't come through with serious cuts next on "your money." link... link... a new kind of broadband company committed to improving lives with honest, personal service, 5-year price lock guarantees and consistently fast speeds. ♪ some folks call me a rock star, some call me the mayor... and i love it. and, i make everybody happy. i keep my business insurance with the hartford because... they came through for me once, and i know they've got my back. for whatever challenges come your way... the hartford is here to back you up. helping you move ahead... with confidence. meet some of our small business customers at: thehartford.com/business i don't think about the unknown... i just rock n' roll. i tell you what i can spend. i do my best to make it work. i'm back on the road safely. and i saved you money on brakes. that's personal pricing. the super committee has until the middle of the week to propose a plan to cut the nation's deficit to $1.2 dlm trillion or they risk setting off unpopular automatic spending cut. newt gingrich gave his opinion of the super committee this week. >> the way i characterize it, it's as though somebody walked in and said, i'm under instructions to shoot you in the head unless you let me cut off your leg. that's what the super committee just read the stories. of all -- they don't get this done by a certain day, horrible things will happen. >> he also said the super committee is the dumbest idea he's seen in a lifetime. gene is senior writer at cnn money. any chance the super committee will prove newt gingrich wrong? >> well, he can characterize it as dumb as he wants. i don't thing a slew of bad things will happen, if the super committee fails to come up with a plan, people have said we could get downgraded or a slew of automatic cuts, none of those things may happen. here's why. markets had no expectations that could be considered positive for this committee. they won't be surprised. there may be some volatility in the near term. ratings agencies like moodies came out a few weeks ago and said we're going to wait and see what you do by 2013 essentially. and in terms of the spending cuts, congress literally has 13 months to reverse its decision. or come up with substitutions. >> they have a little back door. >> 13-month back door. it's interesting that on wall street's past performance is no guarantee of future results but they know the past performance of washington that's giving them a hint of how things might go. gloria borger, the american public too, pessimistic about the super committee, 78% say it's unlikely the super committee will agree on a deficit plan by november 23rd. that's according to a recent cnn orc poll. when asked who would be responsible if they didn't come up with a plan? 42% blame the republicans, 32% say they blame democrats. gloria, is it an example of president obama winning with his message that republicans are standing in the way of progress? in washington? >> i think they all lose. what shred of credibility they have and don't forget this is a congress with a 9% approval rating. whatever shred of credibility they have will be lost if they do nothing. people are getting increasingly pessimistic about it. they already kick the can down the road in the debt ceiling agreement that led to this. and now they could kick the can down the road again or try and do something through a back door as jeanne points out. i think overall, what does that do to congress? it says that, you know what, they can't even agree on $1.2 trillion. they are going to have to have automatic cuts that do their jobs for them and oh, by the way, republicans like john mccain may try and undo some of those pentagon cuts. so i think it's another big mess and it will be received by the public that way. >> someone who's been warning of a big mess for a long time is david walker, the ceo of the come back america initiative. you know, david, i want to show you a chart that was in the "washington post" that got our attention about how we got here. i want you to look at this. if you look at the top part of this chart, that orange and yellow, the yellow is the bush era tax cuts, that's how much of our national debt, the debt held by the public is from the tax cuts. then you can see wars in there and the economic downturn, you can see t.a.r.p., and fannie and freddie is the light blue and the gray is our debt. which was big and bad without all these other things. david, you've seen this coming for years, begging americans to take deficit reduction seriously long before it was a hot topic. what are these three things telling you about the priorities for the super committee? >> look, i never believed that the super committee was going to go big, although we need for them to, because it's not set up for success. look who's on it, four people voted against simpson-bowles. nobody voted for it. all six republican signed the american for tax reform pledge. i'm still cautiously optimistic that they will reach a deal. what they need to do is recognize that the big deal, meaning tax reform that will raise revenues and meaningful insurance reforms that significantly reduce spending wil