Eric - Business

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Insider trading should not be legalized. All market participants should be on equal footing; same information at the same time

It was appropriate for the Obama Administration to force GM's CEO Rick Wagoner to resign.

Unemployment insurance should be expanded to cover part-time workers.

I prefer beer to liquor and wine. Ambar beer (preferably from draft) is my favorite beverage, followed closely by liquor (tequila & rum). Red wine goes well with steak, but can't drink too much without getting very sleepy.

I do not smoke cigarettes. Its unhealthy, it stinks, its expensive, it only has negatives

Zipcar is not a convenient alternative to owning a car in an urban area. Seems to me that good mass transportation would beat the hassle of finding, booking, and returning a Zipcar. The inflexibilty of the system (I suppose you have to book well in advance and return on schedule) may not be worth the savings to the alternative of owning a car.

Credit cards are my preferred method of payment. Anything less than $20 dollars I usually pay cash, and the rest I pay with credit card (except for certain items like rent, school etc). This way I keep my account statement short and easy to review for errors or fraud.

Citigroup should have been bailed out by the federal government. Unfortunately the government has allowed institutions such as Citigroup become so large that it would be irresponsible to let them fail.

Corporations should not pay heavier taxes on windfall profits.

Lehman Brothers should have been bailed out by the federal government. Regulation should not allow banks to reach sizes that pose systemic threat. They should be kept at smaller sizes in order to keep a robust system that is not endangered when large institutions blow up.

The home mortgage interest deduction should be eliminated. But not immediately, but rather phased out over 5-10 years

An executive of a company should not be allowed to serve as both chairman and CEO. Many CEO's only look after their own egomaniac interests in detriment of shareholder value (or shareholder survival nowadays). Split roles provide a healthy balance.

Price is the most important accommodation factor when traveling as a tourist. One would reasonably expect that most of the options listed in this issue would subordinate to one: price, so it all comes down to how much you want to spend.

The quality of Starbucks coffee merits the price. I am not a big fan of Starbucks, but the large number of people that are willing to stand on line and pay the price indicates that whatever they are selling does merit that price.

Race and ethnicity should not be a factor in hiring and promotion. Perhaps in the hiring aspect (at least for some time), but not in the promotion, which should be based on merits.

The U.S. economic recovery will be in the shape of a W. Perhaps its going to be a series of W's before we reach a sustainable recovery. We are probably in a middle peak as I write this comment.

The Segway PUMA will not achieve commercial success. It will never become a feasible alternative to the car, but it may have some limited applications in some places such as a theme parks etc.

Capitalism is the most effective economic system. Despite the excesses that happen from time to time, this is the system that has produced the higher standards of living for the majority of the population.

TARP funds should not be restricted from reaching foreign institutions. Nonsense. The funds could be used by a bailed out bank to honor its payment obligations, including those owed to foreign institutions. You cannot discriminate among creditors that have the same payment priority. Such an action would immediately trigger a payment default, a cross acceleration of all the debt and an imminent bankruptcy of such institution.

The U.S. dollar should not be the world's reserve currency. It does not have to be, it just is, its the market's decision. Its like English becoming the international language (and not Esperanto or something else)

The Obama Administration is more responsible than the Bush Administration for the U.S. stock market decline in 2009. However we need to keep in mind that the unfolding of excesses that happened mainly during the Bush administration have left the markets very nervous

Governments should nationalize insolvent banks in response to the financial crisis. Yes, but just to clean them up and privatize them again. This approach solves the issue of how to value the toxic waste, and its the best possible deal for the taxpayers.

The Glass-Steagall Act should be reinstated. Reinstate this act, nationalize the banks, clean them up and privatize them again. If future investment banks and hedge funds blow up, they will not endanger the financial system.

Public investment should have a higher priority than tax cuts in Barack Obama's stimulus package. Reducing taxes leads to reducing debt or increasing savings but not to additional spending, which is what we ultimately need to stimulate the economy (not that I would not like to get a tax cut myself)

The government should regulate salaries of companies who have received bailout funds. However, they can implement structures designed to by-pass salary restrictions, such as outsourcing services to companies created for the purpose of employing "talented" staff.

The economic stimulus plan should not include a 'Buy American' provision. It would violate the free trade agreements America has signed with other countries

Derivatives have a negative effect on the stability of financial markets. They should have a positive effect if they were only used defensively, but unfortunately they seem to be used mostly speculatively.

The government should not provide financial assistance to homeowners facing foreclosure.

Management is most responsible for the U.S. auto industry's financial problems. unimaginative and short sighted management is the main cause

The U.S. economy will go into recession in 2008.

The U.S. federal government should not provide financial support to its auto industry. Taxpayer's money should not be put at risk to save these companies from their complacent managements and their poor business decisions

The U.S. is undergoing the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression.

Governments should infuse capital directly into failing banks as part of their response to the financial crisis.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac should be nationalized.

Consumers are most responsible for the current financial crisis. Consumers, for purchasing irresponsibly beyond their economic means

The United States Mint should stop circulating the penny. Absolutely, on balance, it cost more than any value it provides

Mark-to-market accounting should be suspended. Price formation is distorted by the current disruption in the markets, so the scarce deals done signal pricing levels substantially below any conservative valuation of the present value of future cashflows. Suspension should be temporary.

Presidential politics did not play a role in derailing the bailout on September 29th. Many members of congress are due for reelection and they did not want to risk their careers by supporting an unpopular initiative

Organic farmers should not receive additional federal subsidies.

AIG should have been bailed out by the federal government. Letting AIG fail would have seriously erroded the already thin capital base of many banks, who arbitraged regulatory capital buying protection from AIG via Credit Default Swaps. Its failure would have induced serious systemic risk.