When an economist says the evidence is "mixed," he or she means that theory says one thing and data says the opposite.

The same with the mortgage brokers that were selling people mortgages they couldn't afford. We shouldn't pay them on each mortgage they write. They should have what they call "skin in the game," where they've got to reimburse us if the guy who sold the mortgage defaults.

The lesson from behavioral economics is that people only save if it's automatic.

Why tie to gold? Why not 1982 Bordeaux?

I think we also have learned the lesson that we have to have better incentive structures.

In a typical 401k plan, when you first become eligible you get a big pile of forms and you're told, fill out these forms if you want to join. Tell us how much amount you've saved and how you want to invest the money. In, under automatic enrollment you get that same pile of forms but the top page says, if you don't fill out these forms, we're going to enroll you anyway and we're going to enroll you at this saving rate and in these investments.

Recall that people like to do what most people think it is right to do; recall too that people like to do what most people actually do.