Thom talks to Congressman Earl Blumenauer(D-OR, 3rd district). Since Republicans in the House are refusing to vote for a clean bill to raise the debt ceiling - some Democrats are offering up their own list of demands on a debt ceiling increase and budget for next year. Led by Congressman Earl Blumenauer from Oregon - a group of Democrats penned a letter to the White House last week calling for any debt-ceiling deals to include an expiration of the Bush tax cuts for millionaires and billionaires. The letter points out that ending the Bush tax cuts will "stop the growth of the deficit over the next decade." On the other hand - the enormous spending cuts that Republicans are pushing for will - as the letter also notes - "risk plunging our economy into a double-dip recession that will cost further jobs and ultimately worsen our fiscal situation."

In another sign of just how bad our nation is treating the working class - a new study by the Employee Benefit Research Institute shows that most Americans today will have to work until their late seventies - before they can think about retiring. According to the study - If you make roughly $31000 a year - which is about the average for 40% of Americans - and more than twice minimum wage - you'll have to work until you're 76-years-old just to have a chance at retiring. And I say chance because even if you do work until 76 - you still only have a fifty-fifty shot at having enough money to live off in retirement - a fifty-fifty chance IF you don't get sick - IF your house isn't blown away in a tornado - or IF you're pension isn't stolen by banksters on Wall Street. This Republican idea of forcing Americans to work until they die is unacceptable - this isn't a death camp...this is the United States of America. Let's rebuild the middle-class - and take care of our elderly.

Economist Dr. Jared Bernstein, former advisor to the Obama Administration, previous Chief Economist and Vice President Joe Biden. He currently is a Senior Fellow at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. You can watch this conversation - as well as other "conversations with great mind at www.ConversationsWithGreatMinds.com

Web Description: Thom talks about Republican presidential hopeful Tim Pawlenty's tax plan, which increases tax cuts for the wealthy...causing the middle class to pick up the expensive bulk. Later in the show he debates the issue of separation of church and state with Dr. Carol Swain, author of "Be The People: A Call to Reclaim America's Faith and Promise".