that was warren. he did not want to be surprised by anything that and in the state of new hampshire or the campaign he was involved in. he was a wise man. his wisdom was never more acute than when he applied it retroactively. [laughter] certainty and his own judgment was earned honestly. it came from doing the right thing not for personal a party interest, but the first priority of his public service. if you are intent on doing right by the people you serve and advancing the public good as he was, god will give you the wisdom to know what the right thing is. the right thing not just to distinguish right from wrong, good from evil, but the better thing from the easy thing, the necessary thing from the popular thing, the modest progress from the not good enough thing. that kind of wisdom was manifest, i think, and his assessment. the automatic budget cuts was a bbad idea. in 1990, i was a member of an organization i would have preferred not to join. i was stuck in what seemed to be an eternity in the et

what's going on warren?" (laughter) i would say "warren, what's this really about?" (laughter) here's what's been fascinating me. sort of now the traditional conservative argument is we must have low taxes or the economy won't flourish, but i guess in my mind i think of traditional economy being the post-new deal economy of relatively robust high tax rates on high earners and a social safety net that is part of the social compact. to me that's tradition. that's 80 years. >> that's american. and i've -- you know, i've been working at investments -- well, really i bought my first stock when i was 11 but i started selling stocks when i was 20 and i sold stocks when personal income tax rates got as high as 91%. i've sold them when capital gains rate got as high as 39.6% and we had some wonderful periods of growth and g.d.p. and the middle-class as well as the rich prospered when tax rates were much higher than they are now. >> jon: well, we'll take a commercial and come back and talk about an op-ed that you wrote which laid out some of the math of this and some other fin

buffett was becoming warren buffett. and it was a remarkable thing that we were allowed to do and i loved it. >> rose: buffett and loomis for the hour. next. >> rose: warren buffett and carol loomis are here. one of the world's most successful investors and a long time friend of this program. she is the legendary "fortune" magazine writer who followed his career since he was a 35-year-old hedge fund manager from omaha. in 1966 she couldn't even get his name right. she spelled his name with only one "t." it was an unlikely start to a beautiful friendship and to "fortune"'s coverage of the man who we've come to know as a chairman of berkshire hathaway, tap dancing to work is carol loomis' new book, it's a collection of articles telling the remarkable story of warren buffett. it's also a story about friendship. i'm pleased to have them together at this table. welcome. >> thank you. >> rose: so good to have you together. >> terrific. >> i want to talk about the book and about the career and about "fortune" magazine and the r

you play golf with warren? >> i have played golf with warren. >> did you bring him to wing foot? the east or west would kill him. >> i don't think we have tried out, we have mainly played in maine at a course -- >> yeah, we played my 50th birthday, remember, the semicentennial at wing foot. >> oh, that's right. i did forget about that. so, and also, in omaha, i sort of played a little bit with him. >> all right. >> warren, when you first met carol, what was your first impression? >> my first impression was that she was pregnant. >> it does stick with you. >> was she? >> i hope she was, right? i mean, that's -- >> i -- i had a -- already had an impression. i knew she was a terrific writer. i'd been reading her stuff. and she was the first -- the first woman to become a writer for "fortune." and they made a terrific choice and ever since then, i mean, she's been the number one read for me in the financial world. >> so, warren, carol helps edit your annual report, or your annual letter to investors. when did that start? and what inspired you to do it? >> well, in 1977, i gave her a

elizabeth warren has held massachusetts seat. a republican candidate has gotten a senate seat in texas. in a closely watched race in indiana, it is projected in the republican will be beaten. he is notorious for saying he opposes abortion in cases of rape because pregnancies from rape are something that god intended. and joseph kennedy the third won a decisive victory over a republican. meanwhile, voters in massachusetts approved a law allowing people to use marijuana for medical purposes. jesse jackson jr. is the projected winner of his illinois house race, according to cnn. polls closed in iowa, montana, nevada, and utah. they remain open in about half a dozen states. cbs is calling new hampshire for president obama, and nbc is saying he will win in new mexico. in the battleground states, president obama has a 1% lead in florida, according to cnn. join us online tonight. the discussion on facebook, and join in on twitter. also, for the first time, you can listen to our show live on your iphone or your android or ipad tonight. a

says warren buffett. >> oh, come on. first of all, warren buffett has other issues at hand. the reality is he's not holding the government to the same standards he would hold his investments. to cast that aside for a second, the problem is, piers, is the amount that we're talking about. when we look at for example the payroll tax cut and the obama care tax, if you put those two things together, that's over 1% of the gdp. if you throw in then the top 1% or 2% earners, that's going to put is at 1.5% or 2% of the gdp which is not a sustainable amount of tax hikes given the fact that we're in a sluggish growth period. i think that warren buffett certainly understands that. you know what mr. buffet, 01: if you want to add in more why not make this something of choice. if you feel like you can help, go ahead. put some extra money in. >> that's completely -- look, nobody has any guns to anybody's head. we have a common problem. it's called a budget deficit, particularly in out years. we have some common responsibilities and when you do consider that the wealthy in this country are

want to invest like warren buffett? the "oracle of omaha" is betting big on real estate these days, perfect timing of course as home prices shot up 7% year-over-year, according to the national association of realtors. that is the largest year-over-year growth since 2006. could this be a sign that the housing market is finally bottomed out? the billionaire buffett sure thinks so. his firm just purchased the prudential and real living real estate franchise as well as made some huge moves in mortgages. so should you follow his lead? joining me is real estate attorney steven meister. we were talking about opportunities when you joined us there. steven, welcome back to our show. why do you think he is pouncing on real estate right now? >> well i think it has boomed, melissa. he did pounce in a big way. that big billion dollar mortgage portfolio he picked up on the cheap. 47,000 loans at a billion and a half. 32,000 per mortgage loan. i don't know, i don't have the information but there must have have been a very substantial

we'll tell you what senate republicans are secretly saying behind closed doors about elizabeth warren coming to washington. not exactly planning a welcome party. >>> and how about this picture all over the internet? we'll explain what it's all about. >>> in a conference call, he won because he gave big gifts to target ed voters but some believe he won because of the big gift he got from republicans. [ male announcer ] what are happy kids made of? bikes and balloons, and noodles on spoons. a kite, a breeze, a dunk of grilled cheese. catches and throws, and spaghettio's. a wand, some wings, soup with good things. sidewalks and doodles and wholesome noodles. puddles and pails and yes, puppy dog tails. for a lunch like this, there's a hug and a kiss. because that's what happy kids are made of. campbell's. it's amazing what soup can do. five days later, i had a massive heart attack. bayer aspirin was the first thing the emts gave me. now, i'm on a bayer aspirin regimen. [ male announcer ] be sure to talk to your doctor before you begin an aspirin regimen. [ woman ] learn from my story. wea

senator-elect warren, good to see you, good morning to you and congratulations. >> thank you. good morning to you. >> you've become the first woman to be elected to the senate from massachusetts. you will hold a seat that was held for nearly 50 years by ted kennedy. at some point last night, as your victory was announced, you guaranteed that democrats would hold the senate. just talk to me about the significance of your win. >> well, this is a win for america's middle class. this is a win for every family that really has been hammered and chipped and squeezed for a generation now. i got in this race because those

we asked people all over town about warren jeffs, but no one would answer our questions. excuse me? excuse me? hello? but the most destructive form of control is jeffs' banishment of hundreds of people from the town. this midwife has birthed hundreds of babies. she's worked here for almost 40 years. >> on a busy day, i could see as many as 20 to 25 patients. >> reporter: but just a few months ago, she too was banished. willie steed's family was torn apart, too. >> what happens to your loved ones is hell. >> reporter: a kind of underground railroad for those escaping from polygamy is now helping willie's family slowly adjust to modern life. like many young boys here, he could barely read. >> dodge? >> close. >> reporter: as for his sisters, a milestone. they were never allowed to cut their hair before. >> that was quite a time for us. >> reporter: you get emotional, though, when you talk about it. >> we have to move on in life and leave things behind. >> reporter: one family now beyond jeffs' reach. thousands more still isolated in the desert, obeying his word. >> and amy robach is h

>> reporter: well, warren jeffs has lots of lawyers. warren jeffs has basically been a full employment act for a whole slew of lawyers all over the country. as long as his followers continue to send him money and bankroll these efforts, they will fight that for sure. but i have been told that even some of the auxiliary businesses around the compound in texas, they were flds owned and started after they moved down there, they appear to be shuttering up. i think the message is pretty loud and clear and has been received by the flds community that texas was a bad move for them. disastrous for warren jeffs. are they all going to come back to utah? those of us who have been following these issues along the utah/arizona border for many years believe that the crimes that they identified, those texas rangers identified down in texas, have basically been going on here in this region for decades. >> hundreds of people used to live in that compound. where did they go? >> reporter: well, good question, wolf. when mr. jeffs started to feel pressure

warren buffet's ideas on tax reform are coming up in my view. and former naacp chairan julian bond discusses voter suppression at 10:00 p.m. eastern on "the war room." for new there is more "viewpoint" coming right up. >> eliot: sometimes who says it is just as important as what they say. so it is with warren buffet's op-ed in today's "new york times" about taxes and the fiscal realities of our budget. here are the straightforward points that he makes central to the debate that is now gripping washington and has mesmerized wall street. recall this wisdom comes from the oracle of omaha the wiseman of finances, the points may sound familiar but the source, warren buffet, is what matters so much. point one raising the marginal tax rate to clinton era levels will not have any impact on investment decisions an indeed our growth during periods of much higher marginal rates than those apply now was robust benefiting both the wealthy and the middle class. recall, this was the same conclusion that the crs reached in a report republicans tried to suppress

and now, now, news, we know what elizabeth warren wants to do first. senator-elect elizabeth warren this week planted her first flag in terms of what she wants to do with her new job. and it is district. and it is to the point. check this out. on the first day that the senate is in session and only on that day, there's something important that can happen. the senate that day decides its rules. right now if any one senator wants to block legislation, they can basically just say they want to block it and presto it's blocked. instant filibuster. which then means you need not a majority but a 60-vote super majority to get anything passed through that body. it was not supposed to be like that. the constitution established super majorities for some things, but for rare things like amending the constitution or ratifying treaties. and yes, minorities of senators could hold stuff up in that body. but the filibuster was really rarely used. that's how it was. that is not how it is anymore. now the republican minority in the senate uses it for everything. for just

he is calling on rich americans to pay up. >> is warren buffett and out liar in this respect, or will he be able to drag with him -- is warren buffett on the outside in this respect, or will he be able to drive with him others? >> we have seen republican lawmakers start to soften. the key is whether republican donors start to soften, too. we have seen how the rich have a particular ability to lobby for their best interests, and that has been the story in america for the past three decades. this election with a bit of a referendum on that balance of power. we will see if the president has that muscle to push that through. interesting that you mentioned mark carney. he is a hero, in my book. as one of the governors of the bank of canada, he thought -- fought the powers there. >> sure the discussion that america is having now focus on this issue of inequality that you have written about in your book? and will the election results give president obama a mandate to do just that? >> i think it should be part of the discussion. the argument sometimes from conservatives, and also from not jus

warren buffett is at it again. >> when is he the of the rich in this country? >> it won't help the economy, won't reduce the deficit but will make us all middle class feel better. >> we went through warren buffett. >> it has been a fun show. >> thank you very much indeed. it is yours. connell: good morning, everyone. dagen:

we'll hear more from warren buffett later in the show. congressman, did your decision to break from the pachl pair protection pledge damage your campaign for re-election in terms of fund-raising and support from big money doaners? >> no, it did not. the second district sent a businessman to washington. i go where the numbers lead me. and a careful analysis of our budget and trying to reconcile that with the americans for tax reform pledge led me to the clear decision that the pledge itself is an impetment to meaningful tax reform and also our tax code now presently yields just under 17%. we haven't run our country on that yield since 1959. and that's a long time ago before medicare and medicaid were even on the table. so revenues have to come up. expenses have to come down. and i'm asking our friends on the other side of the aisle to help us on the expense side. >> congressman, you decided not to seek another term in the house specifically because of that polarizing climate around the fiscal crisis. i want to read our viewers what you wro

destructive whereas the dollar collapse people like peter schiff have called for we asked them and who does warren buffett think would make a great treasury secretary charlie rose asked. the point to jamie diamond service charge well i mean you're diminishing the i think you'd be terrific because i think he i think he. if we did run into problems with markets i think he would be the best person you could have in you know the old what are we in an alternative alternate universe the london whale commander in chief would be a great person to graduate to the treasury oh my let's get to today's capital account. this is after you that the us has been on printing money expanding the fed's balance sheet making money free since the financial crisis how some pundits predicting paper inflation but a funny thing happened on the way to hyper inflation the u.s. dollar index instead of collapsing has gained value since two thousand and eleven instead of saying interest rates spike we've seen u.s. treasury yields collapse by over sixty percent since the two thousand and eight crisis to a new record lows and we've

warren's presentation? >> well, it's the corner stone of the democratic party and the plan is or the inference is we're gonna fix it. we're going to unrig it. but, what's obama been doing for four years? how come he has not unrigged the system? and then what about carter and what about clinton? did they unrig it and then reagan re-rigged it and then how does it work with the rigging and the unrigging and why can't you unrig it? >> bill: you know, elizabeth warren is a classic liberal, harvard person. i know those people because i had some association with them a few years ago. she believes that the american society is basically unjust. and she is a native american woman, you know that. >> sure. >> bill: she was able to rise up and overcome whatever prejudices are against native americans. so, i don't know why she didn't make that a corner stone like say, look what happened to me. i survived little big horn and here i am. and i'm going to be a senator and, you know, shows that our society is fluid that you c

pastor rick warren will tell us. not exactly but after this. ♪ ♪ here come the -- [ cap twisting off ] hey, yo?! i lost audio. what happened?! [ ice crackling ] what!?!? oh, it better not be! what's going on? ♪ it's time to put a stop to this! yay-e, yay-e! [ male announcer ] the coors light silver bullet pint. it's bigger. it's resealable. it's still the coldest. ♪ get out of my booth!!! [ male announcer ] frost brewed coors light. the world's most refreshing beer. neil: coming to you from beautiful california, los angeles. you know, i always wondered with all the problems in this incredible state, why do people stay here? iame out of a snowy, new york city last night. it was about, what would you say, 30, 35 degrees warmer here? that's why. that's why. so sure you will pay your entire salary in taxes to put up with that because it is just so beautiful. it is so beautiful. it is a great state. it has a lot of great potential but for a lot of people here the pedal will start hitting the metal. two million nat

pastor rick warren will tell us. not exactly but after this. neil: coming to you from beautiful california, los angeles. you know, i always wondered with all the problems in this incredible state, why do people stay here? i came out of a snowy, new york city last night. it was about, what would you say, 30, 35 degrees warmer here? that's why. that's why. so sure you will pay your entire salary in taxes to put up with that because it is just so beautiful. it is so beautiful. it is a great state. it has a lot of great potential but for a lot of people here the pedal will start hitting the metal. two million nationwide, 400,000 in california, alone, they will lose their unemployment benefits if congress does not act by year's end which by my math is 33 days from now. liz macdonald says that isn't necessarily a bad thing. she is joined by lori rothman as well. liz, with your tough love approach as always, being the wicked genius you are, you are saying tough love might be okay? >> i don't want to sound like a heartless, mean person, here. neil: tha

and elizabeth warren says let's do it. in an article titled "the first week of january", which is when the new senate could do this, they have used it 380 times since the democrats took over the majority in 2006. we have seen it block jobs bills, political transparency, you name it, there's been a filibuster. we have seen filibusters of bills and nominations that ultimately passed with 90 or more votes. why filibuster something with that kind of support just to keep the senate from working. on the first day of the new session in january, the senators will have a unique opportunity to change the filibuster rule. i'm joining six new-ly elected senators to pledge to lead this reform on day one. it can be done. they have long advocated for at least that kind of reform. at least the kind of reform where senators have to work for a filibuster. they have to stand up there and talk for as long as they want to hold something up. they can't just do it easy. those senators have been building support for the new session. and almost al

>>> and one of the most influential spiritual leaders in the world, america's pastor, rick warren. he was there at barack obama's first inauguration. will he be there again? we're talking politics, same sex marriage and the "two and a half men" star whose christian conversion has him attacking his own show. this is "piers morgan tonight." >>> good evening. our big story tonight, countdown to financial doomsday, the fiscal cliff and the clock is ticking. 35 days left before this massive sweeping tax hike. america's now at the mercy of washington, hoping that both sides can end the fighting and make a deal. anti-tax champion grover norquist last night told me he's keeping republicans to the no tax increase pledge they made decades ago. but should his party back away from that promise? joining me in his first interview since the election, reince priebus, chairman of the republican national committee. welcome back, mr. priebus. how are you? >> doing great, piers. how are you? >> you have been keeping your head below the paraput since the shellacking you guys took in the election. what

what did elizabeth warren do in the end to win? >> she ran as a democrat in a state where the president won by a big margin. >> that helps. >> very difficult. they knew if the president won by 20 seats or more, it will be difficult to overcome. she made very few mistakes. and now she'll become one of the leading voices in the senate for progressives around the country. >> what does she bring to the senate? >> she brings that passion. and from a real liberal left perspective in terms of economic issues. she is a consumer advocate. she will be aligned with bernie sanders the independent and several others on that side of the spectrum. she may make it very difficult for some of the regulators who are trying to do bank legislation and go along with business as usual. i think she will be a very strong voice. she has that spirit. she's proved she can be independent. she's not really reliant on any sources. i think brown was really hurt by taking the bank money, voting against t.a.r.p. several -- not t.a.r.p. but the dodd/frank bill. and

pastor warren coming up next. i always wait until the last minute. can i still ship a gift in time r christmas? yeah, sure you can. great. where's your gift? uh... whew. [ male announcer ] break from the holiday stress. ship fedex express by december 22nd for christmas delivery. by december 22nd (car horn) paying with your smartphone instead of cash... (phone rings) that's a step forward. with chase quickpay, you can send money directly to anyone's checking account. i guess he's a kicker... again, again! oh, no you don't! take a step forward and chase what matters. >> sean: pastor rick warren is considered to be one of the most influential religious leaders in the country. his book "the purpose driven life" has been read by more than 60 million people worldwide, currently being re-released to celebrate its tenth anniversary. i sat down with the pastor to share his book and talk about breaking ball. author of "the purpose driven life," rick warren. how are you? >> fine, sean. it's been a long time. >> "the purpose driven life" was read by -- >> 20% of

fa famed investor and famed supporter to raise taxes, warren buffett. only made one political donation this season and it was to you. >> even though he had signed that grover norquist taxes, he decided it was more important to pledge the constitution than the norquist. >> and you admired him. >> i did admire him and i sent him a check. >> did your decision to violate the pledge damage your support for fundraising and support from big money donors? >> it did not. i go where the numbers lead me, and a careful analysis of our budget and trying to reconcile that with the americans for tax reform pledge led me to the clear decision that the pledge itself is an impediment to meaningful tax reform and also our tax code now presently yields just under 17%, and we haven't run our country on that yield since 1959, and that's a long time ago before medicare and medicaid were even on the table. so revenues have to come up, expenses have to come down, and i'm asking our friends on the other side of the aisle to help us on the expense side. >> uh-huh. congressman nor

and elizabeth warren says let's do it. in an article titled "the first week of january", which is when the new senate could do this, they have used it 380 times since the democrats took over the majority in 2006. we have seen it block jobs bills, political transparency, you name it, there's been a filibuster. we have seen filibusters of bills and nominations that ultimately passed with 90 or more votes. why filibuster something with that kind of support just to keep the senate from working. on the first day of the new session in january, the senators will have a unique opportunity to change the filibuster rule. i'm joining six new-ly elected senators to pledge to lead this reform on day one. it can be done. they have long advocated for at least that kind of reform. at least the kind of reform where senators have to work for a filibuster. they have to stand up there and talk for as long as they want to hold something up. they can't just do it easy. those senators have been building support for the new session. and almost al

elizabeth warren won the first coin toss. just last week, we saw the national unemployment numbers fall below 8%. millions of americans are still looking for jobs. things are especially difficult for minority cities. what will it take and what will you do if elected to support job growth? >> thank you very much. thank you for everyone for being so hospitable. we have nearly 200,000 people unemployed in massachusetts. there are higher unemployment rates here in springfield. it is a serious problem. i look at this as a short-term and long-term problem. short-term, they should put people back to work. i was surprised when senator brown of voted against a three in a row that would have supported 22,000 jobs here in the commonwealth of massachusetts, would have prevented layouts, and police officers, it would have put construction workers back to work. why? it would have been an increase in taxes, not for most people, but for those who make a million dollars or more. making the investments in education, making the investments in r

nation's best interests at heart so this is a load of baloney and warm up the ask you this because warren buffett i think proportionately owns j.p. morgan shares and he said that at some point recently so do you think that he's trying to suck up to jamie dimon with a statement like this or do you think he wants jamie diamond out of people you weren't. sure yeah when i when i was at morgan i don't know maybe you can see the difference you know when we go back there it's crazy he probably really he probably really admires him as a. as a as an arc kleptocrat i mean probably respects jamie diamond's ability to extract wealth from the economy through the banking system he's an adroit at it ok and he was i mean i was exceptional he was what's his name's part of the city so but the one thing i want to point out ok so not only in our terms would be horrible i mean he was at the helm of j.p. morgan where he oversaw that huge london whale trading loss being kind of the most notorious lee you know messed up c.e.o. of the year and that even can be awarded but with timothy geithner at least back in th

and elizabeth warren says let's do it. in an article titled "the first week of january", which is when the new senate could do this, they have used it 380 times since the democrats took over the majority in 2006. we have seen it block jobs bills, political transparency, you name it, there's been a filibuster. we have seen filibusters of bills and nominations that ultimately passed with 90 or more votes. why filibusteriibuster somethin that kind of support just to keep the senate from working. on the first day of the new session in january, the senators will have a unique opportunity to change the filibuster rule. i'm joining six new-ly elected senators to pledge to lead this reform on day one. it can be done. they have long advocated for at least that kind of reform. at least the kind of reform where senators have to work for a filibuster. they have to stand up there and talk for as long as they want to hold something up. they can't just do it easy. those senators have been building support for the new session. and almost

dagen: we will stay on the topic of warren buffett and taxes. should the cut off the $500,000 not $250,000 as the president wants. would that ease some of the burden and pain of higher taxes? >> on one level it would, of course. raising that threshold from $250,000 to $500,000. the buffet idea maybe release a little bit of pain, but does nothing to address the extortions that he is talking about. huge distortions. 160,000 pages of distortions in the tax code. you were talking about a tiny, tiny improvement. i will take it, sure. we are getting distracted on this one. dagen: connell was talking about a minimum tax on the wealthy. he starts out $1 billion a year. 30%. a good idea in the abstract? then he starts talking about his brother in. those are multi billionaires, dude. >> i mean, i think these are all legitimate questions. we have this great opportunity to do tax reform. to clean up the tax code. get rid of some of the provisions. should we give tax rates for second homes, for vacation homes? probably not. the reality is a lot of things lik

elizabeth warren's background is an expert on bankruptcy law. she was the chair of the oversight panel for the bank bailout. she came up with the idea for the consumer financial protection bureau and helped get it off the ground. elizabeth warren was born to be on the senate banking committee. if anybody want ever born to be on that committee, she was born to be on that committee. want to know who would very much not like elizabeth warren to be on the banking committee? the banks. we have been hearing pretty much since she got elected about how wall street is going to do anything in its power to keep elizabeth warren off the banking committee and presumably out of their hair as much as possible. the latest reporting coming from mother jones. mother jones reporting on trade groups pressuring lawmakers to somehow block elizabeth warren from getting a seat on the banking committee. one senate aid telling mother jones that d.c.'s lobbying corridor has been going nuts trying to keep her off that particular committee. but what -- how does that work? h

that was peter schiff we'll hear more from him after the break also still ahead so we really trust warren buffett suggestion to make jamie diamond the head of the he was treasury someplace that's like a suggestion from the twilight zone but we'll discuss that in tonight's loose change first your closing market numbers. are sure is that so much of him and there's a huge music issue on the market revolutionary rate dictator in the making president mohamed morsi the presidential decree spending employed powers has reopened the debate about. parents versus social workers docu net being the last stop get clammy me now and stop kidnapping children to become prizes to fight why does the last threaten families of a social thought if you see me in the form of they have a right of will call minimal me faith but they have any kind of suspicion about the well being or food off your children are also just better at bringing up kids than their own mom and dad in some other we have an industry that is so. concentrated on the other for trade with children. i. please please please. please. please please.