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Meet the Press, NBC, March 8, 2009
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY),Liaquat Ahamed, Erin Burnett, Newt Gingrich, MortZuckerman
MR. DAVID GREGORY: Our issues this Sunday: Fear grips theeconomy, dragging the markets down and crushing confidence.The nation's jobless rate hits its highest point in more than 25years and more major U.S. companies are caught in thedowndraft of this global recession. Will major U.S. banks need tobe nationalized? Where is the bottom? And is the administrationproviding the necessary leadership? This morning, the politicaldebate. With us: from the Budget Committee, RepublicanSenator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina; and from the BankingCommittee, Democratic Senator Chuck Schumer of New York.Then, our special roundtable on where things go from here andthe politics of the recession, the housing crisis, bailouts, thebudget and more. With us: author of "Lords of Finance: TheBankers Who Broke the World," Liaquat Ahamed; CNBC's ErinBurnett; former House Speaker, Republican Newt Gingrich; andeditor in chief of U.S. News & World Report, Mort Zuckerman.But first, two key senators in the debate over the economy,Democrat Chuck Schumer of New York and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina.
 
Welcome both back to the program.SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R-SC): Thank you.SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER (D-NY): Good morning again.SEN. GRAHAM: Thank you.MR. GREGORY: Jobs, issue number one around the country. Thisis what The Washington Post reports about its effect on even theeffectiveness of the stimulus: "The nation is losing jobs soquickly that the government is having trouble keeping up andfaces even more pressure to take further action to stabilize theeconomy and the financial system. Analysts increasingly view theadministration's actions so far as insufficient, given the scope of the problem. The stimulus package was designed to `save orcreate' 3.5 million jobs. ... But the nation has already lost 4.4million jobs since the start of the recession." Mark Zandi, notedeconomist, has advised both sides, says the economy isdeteriorating faster than expected, even after the passage of thestimulus plan; that more policy may be needed.Senator Graham, is more stimulus needed for this economy?SEN. GRAHAM: More credit is needed in the general economy.We're not going to turn the economy around until we get creditflowing. So the TALF plan that they're coming out with maywork.
 
MR. GREGORY: Which is an extension of credit from the FederalReserve beyond autos and consumer credit, say.SEN. GRAHAM: Right. Exactly. I've got people in South Carolinawho are thinking about buying a car but are having a verydifficult time getting a car loan. But their biggest fear is theythink they may get laid off in the next six months. So if we couldget credit flowing in the consumer areas, I think it would stabilizethe economy more than anything else. Then you tackle housing.There's no amount of money we're going to print in Washingtonto solve this problem. We've got to get the private sector lendingmoney to consumers to grow business.MR. GREGORY: But you've got a hole of at least $2 trillion in thiseconomy, and the point is, how do you create demands for goodsand services when everyone around the world is unwinding?They're paying off debt, they're not spending money; notbusinesses, not individuals. Do we need another stimulus plan?SEN. SCHUMER: Well, I think we have to see if this one works.Look, the president proposed a three-legged stool, and they're just going into effect now. First, a major stimulus. Some said itshould be larger, but politics is the art of the possible. We didn'thave more votes to make it larger, we did the best job we could.And it's a very significant stimulus. Three and a half to fourmillion jobs is a lot of jobs. Second, housing. The president'splan on housing has not gotten the credit it should, and it's just
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