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The government should offer cash rewards to citizens for developing new technology.

Premium gasoline is not worth the extra cost if your car doesn't require it.

I do not smoke cigarettes. ugh

Companies should receive tax breaks for offering telecommuting-only employment.

Race and ethnicity should not be a factor in hiring and promotion. The mission of affirmative action is to ensure race and ethnicity isn't a factor in hiring and promotion. These policies discriminate on the other extreme to balance the injustices out. A flawed system, to be sure.

Governments should subsidize property insurance coverage for natural disasters.

The Obama Administration's handling of the auto bailout has been satisfactory.

The government should follow the principles of Keynesian economics during a recession.

Capitalism is the most effective economic system.

The U.S. should enact a balanced budget amendment.

Credit counseling reduces bankruptcies.

The proposed 90% tax on AIG bonuses is not constitutional.

I prefer to live in a rural area. Unfortunately it's too rural.

Congress should enact the Employee Free Choice Act.

The Federal Government should assist mortgage defaulters.

The U.S. should allow farmers to grow industrial hemp.

I prefer beer to liquor and wine. 1. Beer 2. Wine 3. Liquor

Ben Bernanke should be reappointed as Federal Reserve Chairman in 2010.

Credit cards are my preferred method of payment.

Public investment should have a higher priority than tax cuts in Barack Obama's stimulus package.

The federal government is most responsible for the current financial crisis. FDIC's director, @SheilaBair, believes it all began during the Clinton Administration and the Federal Reserve's failure to regulate. Down the pipe blame can be assigned to each of these players, but if there was an opportunity to stem the problem before it spread - and the Fed was certainly in a position to do something - they are most responsible. It's very much the same thing as the issue @73999 about steroids in baseball.

Starbucks brews a better-tasting coffee than Dunkin' Donuts. I wasn't a huge coffee drinker until the last year and I've developed more of a palette for beans and such. And I'd choose Starbucks over DD every time

Price is the most important accommodation factor when traveling as a tourist. I'm sure priorities change with age, but the only two things I care about are, in this order, Location and Price. Since touristy city centres generally have a variety of options for accommodations - hostels, hotels, apartments, etc. - the next biggest factor for me is price.

Bed & Breakfasts offer tourists the best opportunity to experience the local lifestyle. Within the U.S., I'd opt for a housing rental. But I spend most of my time as a "tourist" abroad and my best experiences have had as their anchor a B&B. How many hotels can you say that about? I wouldn't feel confident visiting a foreign city for the FIRST time and being alone in a random neighborhood apartment. B&Bs on the other hand are kind of a best of both worlds scenario for new travelers. Owners are authentic locals and passionate about two things: where they live and the visitors who stay there. I got lots of good recommendations for Ireland if you're taking a trip there.

I would feel secure renting an apartment online without third-party verification. I've used Craigslist to rent apartments without so much as signing a lease for the last three years, so I think short term rental couldn't be much riskier. True it's not the smartest way to approach these things but I don't inherently feel like I'm going to get hosed.

Facebook is worth the $15 billion valuation implied by Microsoft's investment. FB insiders must giggle at speculation from the outsiders, circling the wagons like wolves hoping to get a smell of the company's revenues. We'll have to wait until the IPO (next year?) but Facebook is much better positioned than people probably think.

The United Auto Workers (UAW) union should agree to cut wages. What possible case can be made against cutting wages?

Labor contracts are most responsible for the U.S. auto industry's financial problems. where to begin: The obligation to pay wages to 95% of employees working in an idle factory? That for every individual GM employee, it covered 10 (ten) people's health benefits? Or that employees could retire before 50 and receive benefits for longer than the time they worked? The 4th of July "Freedom Week" vacation that existed for decades? Or maybe just the fact that every single business decision had to run through a gamut of organized labor lawyers, slowing down any ability for large companies like GM and Chrysler to keep up with the smaller, more nimble Japanese manufacturers.

The MTA fare hikes are not justified. Fare hikes were justified but this is severe

The financial crisis will not lead to another economic depression.

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

AIG should not be forced to reveal the names of executives that received bonuses. What purpose would that serve, other than to put a big bulls-eye on their backs for violent, irrational activists.

JetBlue is the low-cost U.S. airline I prefer to fly with. I'm a tall guy - 6'6" - and, in general, dread everything about flying. The close confines, the stuffy air, unnavigable rest rooms. JB offers (slightly) more leg room and something to distract me - Satellite TV and Radio - to make the trip a little more tolerable.

Congress should have passed the $787 billion stimulus bill. I don't know that it will wholly cure what ails us, but it's a necessary step. Also, can small-government proponents get through their hard-headed beliefs that regardless of what degree of spending was passed in this bill that taxpayers ultimately pay for

Governments should nationalize insolvent banks in response to the financial crisis.

Pepsi's new logo is better. From a marketing perspective, it's better because of the necessity of a brand logo to evolve, stay relevant, fresh...all that crap. From a design perspective, I saw some ads in a DC metro station during inauguration day weekend with only the word "Hope" u

Unemployment insurance should not be expanded to cover part-time workers. Aren't part-time workers paid for working for only part of the time? Perhaps I need to learn more about this issue, but on the surface, this seems like it would be rewarding laziness.

The government should regulate salaries of companies who have received bailout funds. For the financial industry only. I liked the case made by Robert Frank - see whereistand.com/RobertHFrank/72860

Employers should not monitor employee Internet access in the workplace. I don't like the wording of this issue. I believe they should be able to if a condition calls for it but by no means would I support any and all employers doing so.

Lehman Brothers should have been bailed out by the federal government. seems like this is pretty roundly condemned by the financial community and will be judged harshly if/when we ever get out of this thing.