Richard (RJ) Eskow, 11/29/11

Consultant, writer and Senior Fellow, Campaign for America's Future

By proposing to expand and extend the 'payroll tax holiday,' Democrats have bypassed more efficient ways to help the economy, and have once again endangered Social Security.

Thomas F. Miller, 11/29/11

Consultant, Writer

Serious reform in a democracy requires looking in the mirror. As long as money rules the process, your studies and your debates, and even your votes, will make no difference at all.

Leslie Gabel-Brett, 11/29/11

Director of Education and Public Affairs, Lambda Legal

Every time people watch peaceful protesters getting pepper-sprayed or hear that an Occupy protester suffered brain damage and almost died after being shot with a rubber bullet, more become fearful of exercising their rights.

Robert Naiman, 11/29/11

Policy Director, Just Foreign Policy

We're now spending well over $100 billion a year on the war. If we removed all "regular U.S. combat troops by the end of 2012, that could easily save well over $100 billion.

Lorelei Kelly, 11/29/11

Director, New Strategic Security Initiative

In January, 1995, Newt Gingrich pushed through a bill that wiped out the shared system of expert knowledge and analysis inside Congress. The bill made Congress dumb -- on purpose. And now, today, we're feeling the effects more than ever.

Harlan Green, 11/29/11

Editor-Publisher, PopularEconomics.com

Dr. Ferguson's theme isn't new. Root causes of the rise and fall of western civilizations were earlier explored by UCLA Professor Jared Diamond in his books Guns, Germs, and Steel, and Collapse in far more convincing fashion.

Robert Pozen, 11/29/11

Chairman emeritus, MFS Investment Management; senior lecturer, Harvard Business School; senior fellow, Brookings Institution

You can't have it both ways: you cannot allow individuals to take on more risk while retaining the absolute safety net of Social Security.

Steve Fraser, 11/29/11

Visiting Professor, New York University; Author, 'Wall Street: America's Dream Palace'

In 1729, Jonathan Swift's idea was simple: the starving Irish should sell their own children to the rich as food. I want to suggest that we put in motion a similar undertaking. The basic idea is that we offer ourselves up as a sacrifice to the bond markets.

Valerie Keefe, 11/29/11

Writer, activist, candidate, unpaid political consultant, service-sector prole and general nuisance

What if the Civil Rights Act had specifically permitted segregation, and specified, in detail, how government and business could legally discriminate on the basis of race? That's what Barney Frank's bathroom compromises amounted to.

Gale S. Pollock, 11/29/11

Major General, U.S. Army (Ret.)

As divisive as the question of abortion has become, an overwhelming majority of Americans have the grace and empathy, in the face of violent sexual assault, to allow a woman to make the decision that is best for her and her family. Why haven't members of Congress done the same?

Waymon Hudson, 11/29/11

LGBT rights activist

In a big reversal from the Illinois Department of Revenue, couples who have entered into civil unions will be able to jointly file their 2011 state tax returns.

Howard Steven Friedman, 11/29/11

Statistician/Economist for International Organization, Columbia University

The United States spends more on its military than the total spent by the second largest (China), third largest (United Kingdom), fourth largest (France), fifth largest (Russia)... and fifteenth largest (Turkey) combined.

Terry Newell, 11/29/11

Founder, Leadership for a Responsible Society

Insiders suggest that Republicans and Democrats accepted the latest failure because they concluded it is better to go into the 2012 election cycle with the battle lines clearly drawn. Be careful what you wish for.

Ali Hayat, 11/29/11

Founder, Occupy Wall Street Public Opinion Project

OWS protestors' demands suggest that this movement is not averse to capitalism per se, but to a very specific relationship between capitalism and democracy in which the former subverts and undermines the latter.

Marek D. Chelkowski, 11/29/11

Trader/Asset manager

To those who say OWS is a movement against the rich, I say hogwash it is clearly a protest against unfairness and giving advantage to those who need it the least.

Eric Peterson, 11/29/11

Brooklyn-based writer and designer

While some may utilize appealing rhetoric and claim to work in our name, it is clear that no one else is going to create the city we imagine for us, this is our job.

Barry Lando, 11/29/11

Author, 'Web of Deceit'

The killing of 24 Pakistan troops by NATO forces is just the latest disastrous chapter in U.S.-Pakistan relations. As affairs go from bad to catastrophic, it's not just the Taliban who will benefit, but also China.