Capitalism, after all, is no fun when real failure becomes a possibility.

Unlike most government programs, Social Security and, in part, Medicare are funded by payroll taxes dedicated specifically to them. Some of the tax revenue pays for current benefits; anything that's left over goes into trust funds for the future. The programs were designed this way for political reasons.

In the days when corporate downsizing was all the rage, Wall Street took a lot of flak for judging companies too harshly and setting the bar for corporate performance so high that executives felt their only option was to slash payrolls.

The profit motive, indecorous though it may seem, may represent the best chance the poor have to reap some of globalization's benefits.

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.

In part because individual judgement is not accurate enough or consistent enough, cognitive diversity is essential to good decision making.

On Wall Street, fraudulent schemes tend to thrive during economic booms, and to blow up when times turn tough.