Guests: Alan Colmes and Monica Crowley

"The death of 70-year-old Annette Funicello is a red flag to the baby boom generation; she gained fame at age 13 as one of the leading members of the iconic Mickey Mouse Club. The question tonight is this: Were we a better country and a better people in the 1950's than today? There's no question that for minority Americans things were awful back then, so on the civil rights issue America is much improved today. Americans have more income now, but the big ticket items like homes take a lot more money. On social issues, in 1959 only 5% of American babies were born out of wedlock; today it's about 41%, a shocking turn of events. In the 1950's and early 1960's premarital sex and explicit behavior were kept kind of quiet and the '50's were wholesome, especially by today's 'anything goes' standards. There was a different attitude in America after World War II. Because we had won a hellacious war, white America was kind of unified and standards of behavior were very similar. There was respect for teachers, cops, and clerics. But now that's gone and the mantra for today is 'Where's mine?'"

The Factor asked Alan Colmes and Monica Crowley to look back at life at the 1950's. "I don't know that the 5% out-of-wedlock births is an accurate number," Colmes suggested, "because I don't think people told the truth about that kind of stuff. People are more open about those kinds of things now. I love Frankie Avalon and Annette, but that America doesn't exist anymore." Crowley posited that the '50's actually ended in the mid-60's. "Two major things happened in the mid- to late-1960's. There was Lyndon Johnson's 'Great Society' with the massive welfare state and the massive government spending that goes with it. That led to unwed mothers because the incentive was to break down the traditional family, and there was also the counter-cultural revolution that fed into the breakdown of the family." The Factor concluded, "I'm not saying the '50's and '60's were better than today, but we are a different country now because people are no longer self-reliant or respectful."

Guests: Ed Henry and James Rosen

President Obama is about to unveil his budgetary vision, which includes a significant increase in taxes. Fox News correspondents James Rosen and Ed Henry offered a preview. "The biggest thing that has leaked out," Henry reported, "is that he's going to cut some Social Security benefits. They're going to change the way inflation is calculated and that will result in a cut to government benefits. That's important because the White House is putting out the message that he's willing to take on some of his fellow Democrats." Rosen pointed out that President Obama is already taking heat from his left. "A number of liberal groups have warned the White House and have vowed to launch primary campaigns against any Democrat who votes to approve the President's proposal. And another proposal that could be in this budget is to means test Medicare so that people of a certain income will not receive their Medicare benefits in the same way."

Guests: James Carville

For a liberal view of President Obama's proposed tax increases, The Factor turned to former Clinton adviser James Carville. "The President is talking about limiting deductions for wealthy Americans," Carville said. "It may hurt a little bit, but most economists would say these are the kind of tax increases that would probably have a limited impact on the economy. Most people are not going to be affected by this at all. And by the way, this recovery is better than the Bush recovery ever was in terms of private sector job growth." The Factor took issue with Carville's notion that reducing deductions won't hurt the economy: "If you knock out deductions for affluent people, what do you think will happen to the home industry? If you can't deduct your home mortgage, the home industry will collapse."

Guests: John Stossel

Despite hundreds of millions of dollars in federal loans, the Fisker car company is apparently going belly up, which comes as absolutely no surprise to John Stossel. "We are getting fleeced," he groused. "People who have cronies in government get the loans, government is not capable of deciding what the new technology should be, and Fisker has fired 75% of its workers. Another solar power company called Solar Trust got $2 billion from the government. Only when government is smaller and you let the market make these decisions will you get results." The Factor singled out electric car maker Tesla Motors for opprobrium, saying, "They have net losses of $523 million and they got $465 million from the government."

Guests: Lis Wiehl and Anahita Sedaghatfar

One year after Trayvon Martin was killed in Florida during a fight with George Zimmerman, Martin's parents have settled their case against the development where the altercation took place. Legal analysts Lis Wiehl and Anahita Sedaghatfar explained why the homeowners association shelled out an estimated $1 million. "They made a cost-benefit analysis," Wiehl said, "and they realized that if they went to trial they could have lost many millions of dollars. So a million dollars was a good settlement for them." The legal aces turned to another case involving a Fox News reporter. "Jana Winter published a report in July," Wiehl said, "in which she said there existed a notebook written by James Holmes, the alleged killer in Colorado. If that notebook comes into evidence, it could indicate whether he was criminally insane." Sedaghatfar added that the court has threatened to jail Winter if she refuses to identify how she obtained the notebook. "If the judge does the right thing he will not compel Jana Winter to identify her anonymous sources. She's protected by the First Amendment."

Guests: Laura Ingraham

Radio talk show host Laura Ingraham ridiculed the British left-wing loons who celebrated in the street upon hearing of Margaret Thatcher's death. "I think Lady Thatcher would have expected this," Ingraham said, "and she would probably have been glad to see it. If these people are still so angry, she probably did what she set out to do, which was to lift Britain out of the malaise it was in. There's no understanding of respect for the dead among these people." Ingraham also opined on the trip to Cuba by power couple Jay-Z and Beyonce. "The rules don't apply to liberals and if you're a friend of Barack Obama like Jay-Z and Beyonce, you can get permission to hang out in Cuba. This is a pattern among leftists."

Paul Wood, Bedfordshire, England: "Bill, watch the Factor all the time but have never emailed. But I want to thank you and Bernie for the balanced way you covered the death of Margaret Thatcher."

Father Benedict Kelly, Stowe, VT: "Bill, you do a better job defending the Catholic Church than many Bishops. All Catholic priests will face this denial of free speech soon."

Tuesday's tip was aimed at a New Orleans pressure group that is protesting any less-than-glowing coverage of the city: "Be honest, pressure groups don't help fix what needs to be fixed."