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This Week with Christiane Amanpour marks the passings of baseball legend Bobby Thomson, conservative television commentator James J Kilpatrick, bagpiper Bill Millen. In addition, the Pentagon has released the names of eleven service members killed in Iraq and Afghanistan.

US Marines SSgt Michael A Bock, 26, Leesburg, FL
US Army SPC Jamal M Rhett, 24, Palmyra, NJ
US Army SSG Derek J Farley, 24, Nassau, NY
US Army PFC Benjamen G Chisholm, 24, Ft Worth, TX
US Army PVT Charles M High IV, 21, Albuquerque, NM
US Marines LCpl Kevin E Oratowski, 23, Wheaton, IL
US Army SFC Edgar N Roberts, 39, Hinesville, GA **
US Navy CPO Collin Thomas, 33, Morehead, KY
US Army SGT Martin A Lugo, 24, Tucson, AZ
US Marines Cpl Christopher J Boyd, 22, Palatine, IL
US Marines LCpl Cody S. Childers, 19, Chesapeake, VA

According to iCasualties, the total number of allied service members killed in Iraq is 4,735; in Afghanistan, 2,019. That number includes 151 Canadian service members. During this same period, Iraq Body Count lists 138 Iraqi civilian deaths.

** It appears that although Roberts appears on the Pentagon's list of fallen service members, he is, in fact, alive. Please see the link above for more information.

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This Week marks the passings of former Senator Ted Stevens, former Congressman Dan Rostenkowski, producer David Wolper and ten Afghanistan aid workers slain in an ambush assault. In addition, the Pentagon has released the names of service members killed in Iraq and Afghanistan.

US Marines Cpl Max W Donahue, 23, Highlands Ranch, CO
US Army SPC Faith R Hinkley, 23, Colorado Springs, CO
US Army SGT Andrew C Nicol, 23, Kensington, NH
US Army PFC Bradley D Rappuhn, 24, Grand Ledge, MI
US Marines LCpl Kevin M Cornelius, 20, Ashtabula, OH
US Marines PFC Vincent E Gammone III, 19, Christiana, TN
US Army PFC Paul O Cuzzupe, 23, Plant City, FL
US Marines Sgt Jose L Saenz III, 30, Pleasanton, TX
US Army PFC John E Andrade, 19, San Antonio, TX
US Army SGT Christopher N Karch, 23, Indianapolis, IN
US Marines Cpl Kristopher D Greer, 25, Ashland City, TN

According iCasualties, the total number of allied service members killed in Iraq is 4,732; in Afghanistan, 2,002. There have been no Canadian casualties this month. During the same period, Iraq Body Count lists 120 Iraqi civilians killed.

On This Week with Christiane Amanour, she brings together a panel of economic interests to dicuss the economy -- with each of them, of course, pushing their own agenda. As Laura Tyson points out, the U.S. used to lead the world in education; now we lead in high-school dropouts:

AMANPOUR: Good morning. This was supposed to be the summer of recovery, but the effects of the so-called Great Recession continue to cloud this nation and much of the world. The number of U.S. workers seeking unemployment benefits rose unexpectedly to 484,000. It's the worst in almost six months. And in the housing sector, banks foreclosed on more than 90,000 properties in July, the second-highest total since the crisis began.

And these pictures speak to the desperation this week in Atlanta. Thirty thousand people waited for hours in sweltering heat to apply for 655 available spots of government-subsidized housing.

And I'm joined by four top voices on the economy. From Berkeley, California, member of the president's Economic Recovery Advisory Board Laura Tyson. From Chattanooga, Tennessee, Republican Senator Bob Corker of the Banking Committee. In New York, the former New Jersey governor and CEO of MF Global, Jon Corzine. And joining us here in Washington, chief economist for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Martin Regalia.

Thank you all for joining me. You've heard the figures. You've read about the figures. You can also probably palpably feel the concern and worry amongst the American people. And I want to read you something that was written about this joblessness, about the younger generation in the Atlantic recently. Look at what was written about unemployment.

"There is unemployment -- a brief and relatively routine transitional state that results from the rise and fall of companies in any economy, and there is unemployment -- chronic, all-consuming. The former is a necessary lubricant in any engine of economic growth. The latter is a pestilence that slowly eats away at people, families, and, if it spreads widely enough, the fabric of society. Indeed, history suggests that this is perhaps society's most noxious ill."

Let me turn to you right now, Martin Regalia. Do you agree with that? And do you think that that's what this country is in right now?

REGALIA: Well, I agree with it, and I think that is what we're seeing right now. We're seeing an economy that is growing, but growing in a very lackluster way. It's not generating enough demand, and therefore it's not generating enough jobs.

And on top of that, the last three or four recessions have given rise to longer terms of unemployment. More retooling is necessary to bring the displaced workers back into the workforce, and that retooling is taking a lot longer.

AMANPOUR: Let me turn to you, Laura Tyson. You're an adviser to the president right now. A recent Wall Street Journal poll of some 53 economists say they don't see the employment rate coming down below 9 percent, you know, at least until June 2011. What can be done about this?

TYSON: Well, I think that we have to do a number of things. I think we have to worry, first of all, about taking care of the people who are unemployed. And that's why I really have supported the extension of unemployment benefits and the extension of benefits to help people maintain their health insurance if they lose their job, very, very important. You have to deal with the reality that people are long-term unemployed, 7 million people long-term unemployed.

Secondly, we have to continue to do everything we can to stimulate demand in the economy. Let me give you two examples. We do have a payroll tax credit that has been offered to companies that bring on new unemployed workers into the workforce. I think we should continue that.

I think we should continue to look at major spending on infrastructure projects. You know, the good news here about the stimulus, it's said, well, the infrastructure projects haven't come on board yet. They're coming on board now, and they have high job-per-dollar-spent outcomes.

AMANPOUR: All right.

TYSON: And then, finally, we have to worry about the longer-run problem of this structural employment, because I'm going to point out one thing for this discussion. The unemployment problem is primarily a problem for people who have a high school -- who don't have a high school education or just have a high school education.

Unemployment for those with college educations is now 4.5 percent. Unemployment for those with more than a college education, below 4 percent. We have a problem of education in this country, and we have to educate more of our young people fully through college education. Let's take this as an opportunity to do that.

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This Week with Christiane Amanpour marks the passings of pilot Reginald Levy, television host Mitch Miller, medical researcher Dr. Thomas Peebles. In addition, the Pentagon released the names of four service members killed in Afghanistan.

US Marines LCpl Shane R Martin, 23, Spring, TX
US Army SPC Michael L Stansbery, 21, Mount Juliet, TN
US Army SGT Kyle B Stout, 26, Texarkana, TX
USArmy MSG Jared N Van Aalst, 34, Laconia, NH

According to iCasualties, the total number of allied service members killed in Iraq is 4,732; in Afghanistan, 1,987, of whom 151 are Canadian. Unfortunately, the list of Iraqi civilian casualties has not been updated for two weeks, nor has the daunting task of quantifying Afghan civilian casualties been attempted, however it is clear that those numbers are soaring.

And as an aside to television critic Tom Shales, as a being with empathy and a sense of humanity, I mourn all deaths involved in these wars, as should you. But you know what they say about those who can't be humane: they just smear those who can under the guise of critiquing.

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This Week marks the passings of entrepreneur Theo Albrecht, former ambassador James E Akins, R&B singer Al Goodman. In addition, the Pentagon released the names of eleven service members killed in Afghanistan.

US Marines LtCol Mario D Carazo, 41, Springfield, OH
US Marines Maj James M Weis, 37, Toms River, NJ
US Army SSG Conrad A Mora, 24, San Diego, CA
US Army SGT Daniel Lim, 23, Cypress, CA
US Army SPC Joseph A Bauer, 27, Cincinnati, OH
US Army SPC Andrew L Hand, 26, Enterprise, AL
US Marines LCpl Frederik E Vazquez, 20, Melrose Park, IL
US Marines Abram L Howard, 21, Williamsport, PA
US Navy PO3 Jarod Newlove, 25, Renton, WA
US Army CPT Jason E Holbrook, 28, Burnet, TX
US Army SSG Kyle R Warren, 28, Manchester, NH

According to iCasualties, the total number of allied service members killed in Iraq is 4,731; in Afghanistan, 1,979, of which 151 are Canadian. This month has been the deadliest month for US forces in Afghanistan since the invasion. During this same period, Iraq Body Count lists 66 Iraqi civilians killed.

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This Week marks the passings of journalist Daniel Schorr, former Nevada Gov. Kenny Guinn, dance instructor Denise Jefferson. In addition, the Pentagon has released the names of sixteen service members killed in Iraq and Afghanistan.

US Army SGT Matthew W Weikert, 29, Jacksonville, IL
US Army SFC John H Jarrell, 32, Brunson, SC
US Army SGT Leston M. Winters, 30, Sour Lake, TX
US Marines Cpl Dave M Santos, 21, Rota, Marianas Islands
US Marines SSgt Justus S Bartelt, 27, Polo, IL
US Army SGT Justin B Allen, 23, Coal Grove, OH
US Marines GySgt Christopher L Eastman, 28, Moose Pass, AK
US Army 1LT Robert N Bennedsen, 25, Vashon Island, WA
US Army SGT Anibal Santiago, 37, Belvidere, IL
US Army SGT Jesse R Tilton, 23, Decatur, IL
US Marines Cpl Paul J Miller, 22, Traverse City, MI
US Army SSG Brian F Piercy, 27, Clovis, CA
US Marines Cpl Julio Vargas, 23, Sylmar, CA
US Marines Cpl Joe L Wrightsman, 23, Jonesboro, LA
US Army 1LT Michael L Runyan, 24, Newark, OH
US Army PFC James J O'Quin, 20, El Paso, TX

According to iCasualties, the total number of allied service members killed in Iraq is 4,731; in Afghanistan, 1,967. Of that number, 151 were Canadian service members. The Taliban is also taking credit for the kidnapping of two service members, one of whom has since been killed. During this same period, Iraq Body Count lists 58 Iraqi civilians killed. And NATO is investigating 45 Afghan civilian deaths from an air raid on a village, among reports that civilian casualties in Afghanistan are on the rise.

I also want to point out specifically the death of Cpl. Dave Santos, who was not killed by a roadside bomb or insurgent attack, as most of the others on this list. Santos' death, at the hand of a fellow Marine, is still under investigation.

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TAPPER: So, the administration has had a number of successes after big battles, stimulus, health care legislation, new rules for Wall Street, but you have a big battle coming when it comes to the Bush tax cuts. If they remain in place, as Republicans want, it will cost three trillion dollars every ten years. The administration has said it wants to keep the ones for people who make under $200,000 a year, individuals and $250,000 for couples. That will cost $2.5 trillion over 10 years. Ben Bernanke the chairman of the Federal Reserve said that with the economic outlook unusually uncertain, extending the Bush tax cuts would have a stimulative effect on the economy. Is he right?

GEITHNER: I don't think it should be a battle, Jake. You know, what the President's proposing to do is to leave in place, to extend tax cuts that go to more than 95 percent of working Americans and to leave in place tax cuts that are very important to incent businesses to hire new pe -- new employees and to invest in expanding output. We think that's a -- the -- it's a very strong package. We think it's the right package. We think it's fair. We think it's responsible. Now, we also think it's responsible to let the tax cuts expire that just go to 2 percent to 3 percent of Americans, the highest earning Americans. We think that's the responsible thing to do because we need to make sure we can show the world that they're willing as a country now to start to make some progress bringing down our long -- our long-term deficits.

TAPPER: Don't you think it will slow economic growth?

GEITHNER: No. Just letting those tax cuts that only go to 2 percent to 3 percent of Americans, the highest earning Americans in the country expire. I do not believe it will have a negative effect on growth.

TAPPER: This package that you're talking about pushing in Congress to -- to save the Bush tax cuts for people under $200,000 individuals and 250 for couples --

GEITHNER: And in fact, we go beyond that. Because you know, we're proposing to extend the [...] tax cut which also goes to 95 percent of working Americans. And a set of very important business tax cuts targeted for small businesses themselves, expensing, zero capital gains rate for investment in small businesses. These things, we think, are very helpful, very powerful.

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This Week marks the passings of Yankees owner George Steinbrenner, comic book author Harvey Pekar, Medal of Honor recipient Vernon J Baker. In addition, the Pentagon released the names of nineteen servicemembers killed in Iraq and Afghanistan.

US Army PFC Anthony W Simmons, 25, Tallahassee, FL
US Army SGT Robert W Crow, 42, Kansas City, MO
US Army SPC Joseph W Dimock II, 21, Wildwood, IL
US Army SGT Donald R Edgerton, 33, Murphy, NC
US Army SSG Jesse W Ainsworth, 24, Dayton, TX
US Marines SSgt Christopher J Antonik, 29, Crystal Lake, IL
US Marines LCpl Daniel G Raney, 21, Pleasant View, TN
US Marines LCpl Tyler A Roads, 20, Burney, CA
US Army SPC Carlos J Negron, 40, Fort Myers, FL
US Army SPC Nathaniel D Garvin, 20, Radcliff, KY
US Army SSG Shaun M Mittler, 32, Austin, TX
US Army SPC Christopher J Moon, 20, Tucson, AZ
US Army 1LT Christopher S Goeke, 23, Minnesota
US Army SSG Christopher T Stout, 34, Worthville, KY
US Army SSG Sheldon L Tate, 27, Hinesville, GA
US Army SPC Chase Stanley, 21, Napa, CA
US Army SPC Jesse D Reed, 26, Orefield, PA

According to iCasualties, the total number of allied service members killed in Iraq is 4,730; in Afghanistan, 1,946, of which, 150 were Canadians. During this same period, Iraq Body Count lists 52 Iraqi civilian casualties.

I can't help but think there were some more aggressive tactics Obama could have used, like threatening to run ads in each state explaining how their senator helped destroy the economy. Hell, he could have come up with better messaging, too -- like this: "You know how when your child has a strep throat, and the doctor says he has to take antibiotics for a full ten days, or the infection will get even worse? Passing half a stimulus package is like that. It may be cheaper now, but you're only going to make things worse later":

In an EXCLUSIVE interview on "This Week," host Jake Tapper asked Biden whether, in retrospect, the stimulus was too small given the dismal jobs situation in the country.

“There's a lot of people at the time argued it was too small,” he said. “A lot of people in our administration…even some Republican economists and some Nobel laureates like Paul Krugman, who continues to argue it was too small.”

“But, you know,” Biden told Tapper, “there was a reality. In order to get what we got passed, we had to find Republican votes. And we found three. And we finally got it passed,” Biden said.

But if it wasn’t for the legislative reality, Biden explained, “I think it would have been bigger. I think it would have been bigger. In fact, what we offered was slightly bigger than that. But the truth of the matter is that the recovery package, everybody's talking about it [like] it's over. The truth is now, we're spending more now this summer than we -- I'm calling this…the summer of recovery,” the Vice President said.

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On This Week with Jake Tapper, David Axelrod points out that we already know what Republican ideology does to the economy. I hope they start pounding home that message, because voters really need that reminder:

TAPPER: So the president's popularity among independents is sinking. It's a real problem for him politically. One year ago, he was at 56 percent approval with independents. Now it's 38 percent. Why do you think independents are turning away from the president?

AXELROD: Well, first of all, there are all kinds of numbers out there, so this is one set of numbers. There are other sets of numbers.

But, look, I think I've said this to you before. When I -- when I sat down with the president and his economic advisers, a group of us in the middle of 2008, and they told us what was about to ensure and -- about the recession that we were well into at that point, I said to him, you know, we're going to -- your numbers are going to suffer here, and we're going to have a difficult election, because these are going to be difficult times for the country.

Our job is not, though, to worry about that, Jake. Our job is to worry about how we get people back to work, how we move this country forward, and if -- if we do our job, the rest will take care of itself.

And, remember, elections -- the presidential election is an eternity away. Elections are about choices, though. They're not referendums. And on the other side of the ballot in November will be a party that has an economic theory, and it was tested, and it led to catastrophe.

We lost 3 million jobs in the last six months of 2008. The financial market almost collapsed. They turned a $237 billion surplus that Bill Clinton left into a $1.3 trillion deficit. And they're running on the same policies.