What CEOs are saying about revenue and the fiscal cliff

>>> show." republicans say it will hurt business if we raise revenues. but business leaders are telling nancy pelosi a different story. more now on my interview with the democratic leader in the house.

>> we put a graph on tv last night. corporate profits through the roof, wages down over the last ten years. there's a real separation there. what are the ceos saying when they come on capitol hill ?

>> overall, that's what we're hearing from them. they understand revenue has to be part of it. that doesn't address the disparity you talked about. but in ferms of what they say about this, i don't even remember one of them saying we did k not touch revenues. i don't know why they haven't convinced our republican colleagues that everybody recognizes if you want growth, you need to have investments, but. you have to establish your priorities carefully and you must have revenue to make that happen. the tax cuts for the high end are one of the biggest factors increasing the deficit. think of it this way. tax cuts for the wealthy, give the tax cuts to the wealthy and send the bill to your children because it's only going to increase the deficit. it's not going to create jobs. it's not going to inject demand into the economy that will create jobs. this is a bad deal all around. what we need is to make a judgment about what we do. does it reduce the deficit?

>> joining me now is senator sherrod brown . senator, good to have you with us tonight. your comments on what nancy pelosi has to say about revenue.

>> she's right. you look at a little history in the 1990s . the upper one or 2 or 5% were paying more in taxes. just a little bit more. we had 21 million private sector job creation , net job creation . when george bush cut taxes on the wealthy in 2001 and 2003 , we've had no real job growth and no wage growth during this past decade. we're finally now after ten straight years of manufacturing job decline hitting places like toledo and cleveland and cincinnati particularly hard, we're seeing now in the last two years after the auto rescue, after we're doing some of the right things here, we're seeing job growth . i agree with what nancy pelosi said. history improves itself.

>> so based on history, this is about math and not ideology. the sense i get on the hill today, if you don't get the rate increase, you can forget everything else.

>> we have seen in this country a decline in infrastructure in the last 30 years. that means everything from investment in community colleges , health care , highways and bridges, all of that. and we need these revenues particularly from upper income people. if the president would back down here or if we would lose this fight, it would say we're never going to increase taxes on the wealthy.

>> if it's about the rates, that means john boehner 's proposal is doa.

>> his proposal is doa for a couple reasons. the math doesn't add up.

>> he says he won't raise rates. he's getting heat on the hill today from people in his caucus about why did you put too much on the table? this tea party wing of the republican party over there in his caucus is telling him we'll give him the rates.

>> it leaves us that john boehner is going to have to compromise. it might means he needs 50 republican vote, but the fact is there was an election. after 2010 boehner could claim that the public spoke. 2012 millions and millions and millions more people vote e ed. in my state more than a million more voters in ohio alone voted in significant numbers for president obama , increased numbers of senate and house democrats. all of us said we need to raise the rates for upper income people asking them to pay a little more. just what they paid a decade ago when the economy took off and we had a surplus instead of the tax cuts for the rich. they left us with fewer jobs and lower wages and budget deficits .

>> can you keep the moment up in the public arena? 53% of americans say republicans will get the blame if we go off the cliff. are you confident democrats are going to be able to win it this fight? only 27% would blame the president. how confident are you that that number will hold?

>> that number gets better because the public is more and more as the deadline gets near and the fiscal cliff approaches and becomes eminent, the public pays more attention. the facts are clear on this. the election said that we raise rates on the wealthiest people . just ask them to pay a bit more. the election said that basically they didn't believe republicans if they could produce more revenues. the public believes republicans want to stick it to the middle class . the show says that every day. they are understanding it as we get closer to the fiscal cliff.

>> it says a signal to people that the senate passed tax cuts for 98% of americans but they won't do it in the house. that was before the election. and i just holding the ground is going to be important, no question about that. i get a sense the democrats are unified. but going over the cliff, that affects the constituents big time . correct?

>> how do you hold that together?

>> there's unanimity that july 25th , we passed tax cuts for the 98% to continue this tax policy that they get an average tax cut meaning if it expires, their taxes go up. republicans know that. republicans know if they don't do it by january 1st , we're going to keep passing tax cuts for the middle class . if they keep say iing no, eventually they won't because the public pressure will be on them they need to step up. they have to quit protecting. they do everything in the name of the wealthy.

>> okay. sherrod brown , stay with us. i appreciate it.

>>> it looks like senator-elect elizabeth warren , a champion of financial reform, will get a spot on the banking committee .

>>> and senator john mccain hints he might favor filibuster reform. debbie stabenow is here on