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[ male announcer ] ask your doctor if chantix is right for you. Your Financial Advisor should focus on your longterm goals, not their shortterm agenda. [ male announcer ] join the nearly 7 million investors who think like you do. Face time and think time make a difference. At edward jones, its how we make sense of investing. Hello, everyone. It is high noon here in the east. 9 00 a. M. Out west. Welcome to weekends with alex witt. Some of the first five stories trending at this hour. Thats just nonsense. Sharp words on the sunday morning news programs about the sequestration. The woodward feud. A white house adviser gets on the record about his spat with the legendary journalist. Demolition plan at the site of the florida sink hole that swallowed a man. The 24 billion in bad news for warren buffett. Dennis rodman with a message from north korea to president obama. Details on all those stories throughout the hour, but first to washington. New today speaker of the house john boehner says he sees absolutely no path to ending the sequester which officially took effect late friday. The speaker spoke exclusively to David Gregory on todays nbc meet the press, specifically addressing president obamas role in the debate process. He has a plan that hes put forward that involves entitlement cuts. That involves spending cuts. That youve made a choice as have republicans to leave tax loopholes in place and youll rather have those and live with all these david, thats just nonsense. If he had a plan, why wouldnt Senate Democrats go ahead and pass it . The house has acted twice over the last ten months to replace the sequester. If were going to the president counted his tax hikes on january 1st. Democrats are firing back, though. Heres Senate Majority whip dirk durbin today. What we have here is a steady diet. I dont want to point fingers, but i will. That the House Republican approach to this is were either going to do it exclusively with republicans or we just wont do it at all. Only when theyre pushed to the absolute extreme will they allow a bipartisan vote. Nbcs Peter Alexander is at the white house for us. Good sunday to you, peter. So what are we hearing today from the white house on these latest remarks from speaker b e boehner . Reporter theres no real clear end in sight in the conversations we heard this morning, Speaker Boehner and his conversation with David Gregory. Also gene spurling who runs the National Economic council for the president. Basically his top economic adviser here that neither side wants to see a government shutdown. Potential for that exists less than four weeks from now when whats called the cr, continuing resolution, where they would have to effectively extend paying for the government to operate going forward. But it looks like theyll be pushing this real debate a little bit further down the road. Maybe even this fall when theyre fighting over a future budget for washington right now. Here earlier today we heard the both sides explaining the issue of sequester. The president and i never came to an agreement. He could have come to an agreement, but he didnt. He got his tax hikes. Its time to cut spending. And every american knows it. Our hope is that as more republicans start to see this pain in their own districts, that they will choose bipartisan compromise over this absolutist position. Thats why, you know, just yesterday the president is on the phone calling both democrat and republican senators who he believes want to be part of a compromise. Reporter but even right now if all sides, alex, agree this was sort of a dumb way to make spending cuts, its still even unclear exactly how bad the sequester will be. The white house insists increasingly that its going to be more like a slow grind. That was the language some of their top surrogates said on the morning shows this morning. But even john boehner himself, alex, said i think his words were i dont know whether its going to hurt the economy or not. At this point, republicans are still waiting out to see whether they actually hear about that pushback from americans. Peter alexander, thank you very much from the white house. Joining me now for this discussion, reuters political reporter Andy Sullivan and staff writer for the hill elyse freeback. Nice to see you both. Thank you for being here. Hi, alex, thanks. Andy, ill begin with you. We saw lawmakers on all the sunday talk shows, pretty much the same arguments. The senate is set to reconvene late on monday. The house comes back tuesday. Whats going to happen . Well, as i think you heard Speaker Boehner say today, theyre moving on to the next fight which is trying to avoid a government shutdown. And that means that these sequester cuts will probably be baked in. They might try to change them in a way to make them a little less arbitrary, to make the damage a little less. But youre still going to be hurting the economy. Were still going to be seeing Economic Growth decline pretty significantly. Were still going to be seeing 700,000 to 1 million jobs left if theyre kept in place. Because this is the type of spending that drives innovation, that boosts the economy. Its not the type of spending that is making our debt worse, which is the entitlements and the health care spending. The problem is still going to be there. So lets say people on the hill, elyse, what are they telling you . Any glimmer of hope to stop this sequester . You know, i think its going to take at least a couple of weeks before we see any hope. I think theres a palpable sense of fatigue on capitol hill right now. This is one in a series of fiscal deadlines. There was a lot more drama over the fiscal cliff at the beginning of the year. People kind of expected the sequester would take place. They sort of thought this would be the outcome. And so i think theyre going to wait a couple of weeks in a sort of sense of impasse why they weigh what could happen next. Lets look at what was written in todays Washington Post by ezra klein. Makes a compelling argument that whatever president obama is for the gop will be against even if the president agrees to lowering some Social Security benefits over time. Specifically whats called the change cpi in the past. Some of the gop have said that is the key to breaking this stalemate. Now the president says hes okay with it. It appears republicans want more now. Is that how you read it . That overlooks one important point. And this is something that the president talked about on friday. And thats that his democrats really resist this notion of changing benefits at all. Youve got as you mentioned, the change cpi which wouldnt cut Social Security. Just sort of slow the growth of benefits over time to more accurately reflect inflation. Democrats say thats a nonstarter. You have the notion of changing medicare so the wealthiest retirees who are the wealthiest group of americans as a whole would maybe pay a little bit more in their retirement funds. A lot of democrats resist that idea, too. Republicans are being pretty when it comes to tax increases and closing loopholes. The democrats are digging in their heels on this other side. And this is a shame because everybodys known for years these are the two things we need to do to get our finances on a sustainable course. So what do you think is happening, elise . Is the gop holding out for some sort of longer term political gain . I think republicans have cocoalessed around this idea of no new taxes. Weve seen defense go by the wayside. The party has found at least within the house gop something where everybody can agree. I think we really have to remember the gop is still recovering from a very devastating election that set in motion a process of internal reform that is going to take months, if not years. And so i think we have to wait and see what the power plays will be within the gop. Because we frankly dont know quite what theyre going to be yet. Andy, im looking at your latest article. The title of it being cuts unlikely to deliver promised budget savings. So does that mean even the Silver Lining for the sequester cuts doesnt exist . Absolutely, alex. Everybody talks about how its 85 billion cut this year. But thats not the case at all. It would actually be much less than half of that. Maybe closer to 30 billion. Which is still a chunk of change but not clearly what wed expect. Some of that is because the government spends money more slowly than we would think. A lot of it is because it hurts the economy. Ill give you one example. Theyre supposed to open Yellowstone National park this weekend. But theyve got to save money. So theyre not running the snowplows through to open up the roads. That saves them about 250,000 in fuel costs. But youre losing 2 million in tourism business. That hurts all the hotels and all the restaurants that depend on that for their line of work. That means theyll be paying less in tax revenue to the government. That means youre going to have more money on things like food stamps as people are thrown out of work. So you actually the savings start to be counteractive. They work against you. Elise, i look at your collatest article as well on the hill. Its titled senate gop pushes hhs for sequester details. Of course, health and human services, hhs. What is behind all this . So i think what were seeing is an attempt by republicans in congress to really get down into the dirty details of how the sequester will be enforced. And there have been some suggestions that the Obama Administration has more power than it has suggested to enforce the cuts in a way that will not be so painful. One example would be we hear the Obama Administration talking about things like childrens vaccines which will be cut. And what republicans are asking are, you know, is it really true that those are going to be on the front lines of these cuts . Or was that merely a political move in order to build up opposition to the sequester . So republicans are doing this to conduct oversight, but also to do a fair bit of messaging about what they believe is a politically motivated move by the Obama Administration. You also talk about the administration kind of cherry picking their sequestration examples to make their point. Thats right. Thank you, both. Good to see you. Thank you so much. Hes back. Mitt romney is talking publicly about the election he lost in november. Now that infamous video where he made the 47 comment. It was a very unfortunate statement that i made. Its not what i meant. I didnt express myself as i wished i would have. You know, when you speak in private, you dont spend as much time thinking about how something could be twisted and distorted and could be come out wrong and be used. But, you know, i did and it was very harmful. What i said is not what i believe. Obviously my whole campaign, my whole life has been devoted to helping people, all the people. In the months since the election mr. Romney says hes been spending more time with his children and grandchildren including taking them all on a trip to disney land. Great Britains Queen elizabeth ii rushed to the hospital with symptoms of a stomach infection. Right to nbcs anabel roberts. Whats the word from Buckingham Palace . Are they saying details of whats wrong with the queen and her condition right now . Well, alex, good morning p the palace statement says simply that Queen Elizabeth is expected to stay in hospital for two days. The statement says this is precautionary. That she traveled to the hospital in a normal car, not an ambulance. And emphasizes that she is in good spirits. All that could be interpreted to mean that they are trying to downplay this bout of illness. The background here is that she was taken ill with gastrointeritis on friday. She had to cancel an engagement yesterday and was told to rest over the weekend at windsor castle. Clearly that period of rest has not worked as effectively as they had hoped. She hasnt recovered as well as expected. We can presume shes been taken into hospital for rehydration. Remember, shes 86. She turns 87 next month. So any illness at this stage really has to be taken seriously. All engagements have been canceled for this week. She was due to go to rome for two days, but that is off. And she really dislikes canceling any official engagements because it lets people down. So many people are involved in her visits. Also, shes one of what we call the war generation. She dislikes being ill. She never complains. And shes also one of those people who like to be busy. Thats what keeps her going. So i think we can say that shes been made to understand that she has a better chance of Getting Better quickly if she goes to hospital than if she remained at home for treatment. Well, that makes sense. We wish her well, certainly. Thank you. West coast headlines are next with some unexpected fallout from a fight for a free education. And one leading republican standing against her party on taxes and fighting for the middle class. Her one claim that might surprise democrats. Theyre about 10 times softer and may have surface pores where bacteria can multiply. Polident kills 99. 99 of odor causing bacteria and helps dissolve stains. Thats why i recommend polident. [ male announcer ] cleaner, fresher, brighter every day. The middle of this special moment and i need to run off to the bathroom. Im fed up with always having to put my bladders needs ahead of my daughter. So today, im finally talking to my doctor about Overactive Bladder symptoms. [ female announcer ] know that gotta go feeling . Ask your doctor about prescription toviaz. One toviaz pill a day significantly reduces sudden urges and accidents, for 24 hours. If you have certain stomach problems or glaucoma, or can not empty your bladder, you should not take toviaz. Get emergency medical help right away if your face, lips, throat or tongue swells. Toviaz can cause blurred vision, dizziness, drowsiness and decreased sweating. Do not drive, operate machinery or do unsafe tasks until you know how toviaz affects you. The most common side effects are dry mouth and constipation. Talk to your doctor about toviaz. You dont decide when vegetables reach the peak of perfection. The vegetables do. At green giant, we pick vegetables only when theyre perfect. Then freeze them fast so theyre are as nutritious as fresh. [ green giant ] ho ho ho. Green giant [ woman ] too weak. Wears off. Been there. Tried that. Ladybug body milk . No thanks. [ female announcer ] stop searching and start repairing. Eucerin professional repair moisturizes while actually repairing very dry skin. Its so powerful you can skip a day. But light enough you wont want to. Dermatologist recommended eucerin. The end of trial and error has arrived. Try a free sample at eucerinus. Com. Some headlines making news on the west coast. The Sacramento Bee as the story guns a tale of two states. Its about how tougher laws are forcing californians to buy guns in nevada. The oakland tribune has the story new law has schools scram j for supplies. Its about a New California law Banning School fees for classroom items and activities and requiring students to bring their own materials needed for school. The law was created after the state was sued over the fees. Californias constitution guarantees the right to a free Public Education. Income inequality in america has received renewed attention with president obamas push for a higher minimum wage. That proposal has been roundly opposed by republicans who say it will kill jobs. But my next guest argues in a new oped the gop should lead the charge against inequality with major tax reforms and investing in our infrastructure. Joining me now is sheila bair, former share woman of the fdic and offer of bull by the horns. Sheila, a welcome i tell you i love the title of your oped. You add one vowel and it changes everything. I love that. With party to parody. Youre argument really focuses on how government actions are to blame for income inequality. A lot of it is in ameritocracy there will always be some level of income inequality. Thats not a bad thing if its truly contributed to merit. A lot of this has been driven by government policy. Its been driven by the bailouts. Its been driven by monetary policy. It priorly has inflated values of Financial Assets owned by the upper classes. Tax policy, too. A lot of tax policy. Especially the lower rate for Investment Income is highly skewed towards the upper classes. So this is not an acceptable situation to the extent its driven by government policies. We should work very hard to correct those. What are the specific tax reforms, some of them that youre calling for . I would like to, you know, the playbook what happened in 1986, and a similar recommendation made by the Simpson Bowles commission, really clean the code out. Start with making Investment Income taxes the same rate as ordinary income. Theres no reason in the world why wage earners should pay such a higher rate on