Cures for an Ailing Economy?

We takes on all things related to the economy in the news this week, and find a lot of bad and ugly, but not much good. President Obama's Jobs Bill failed to advance in the Senate this week, receiving 50 votes, falling short of the 60 needed to end debate on the bill. According to a new Wall Street Journal forecasting survey, Americans' incomes have dropped since 2000 and aren't expected to make up the lost ground before 2021. We also discuss a proposal to reduce the drop in home values, put forth in the editorial pages of this week's New York Times by Harvard Economics Professor Martin Feldstein. We explore GOP presidential candidate Herman Cain's "9-9-9 tax plan," which he says would replace today's tax code with a 9% flat tax on individuals, 9% flat tax on businesses, and a 9% national retail sales tax. Mitt Romney has some strong words for China in the opinion pages of the Washington Post regarding free trade. Finally, we look at the latest on Occupy Wall Street, and how the Occupy movement has spread throughout the country in its second week.

Laura Tyson joins us as guest panelist.

Banner image: Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain speaks to a crowd at Ohio Christian University on October 13, 2011 in Circleville, Ohio. Photo by Matt Sullivan/Getty Images