The typical American corporation is a shareholders' republic the same way that China is a peoples' republic.

If companies tell us more, insider trading will be worth less.

The truth is that the United States doesn't need, and shouldn't have, a debt ceiling. Every other democratic country, with the exception of Denmark, does fine without one.

There are certainly valid reasons for taking a company private, and it's also possible that C.E.O.s perform better when monitored by a small number of owners in a private company rather than by the dispersed and often uninterested shareholders of a public corporation.

Downsizing itself is an inevitable part of any creatively destructive economy.

Of course, looking tough on inflation is part of any central banker's job description: if investors believe that inflation is going to get out of control, you end up with higher interest rates and capital flight, and a vicious circle quickly ensues.

Wall Street has come a long way from the insider-dominated world that was blown apart by the Great Depression.