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Bernard Madoff, convicted of running an $65 billion Ponzi scheme, was sentenced to 150 years in jail. What’s your take on his punishment?

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By Knight Kiplinger

The Kiplinger Washington Editors

July 2, 2009

By year-end or so, Congress will give the nod to a major rewriting of the nation's financial regulatory system. This week’s Kiplinger Letter explores whether the package will do more harm than good and what lawmakers are likely to include.

ALSO IN THIS ISSUE: The Economy, Business Costs, Taxes, Supreme Court, Energy, Workplace Regulations, Climate Change, Health Care Legislation and Foreign Policy

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I just attended a franchise seminar. The speaker represents a few hundred franchises that (he says) are hand picked. He has the prospect (aka victim?) answer some questions about themselves then he makes recomendations - based on your personality, capital situation, etc.. If you pick a franchise, then he does some due dilligence for you. If you both decide it's a good idea, he helps you get started. He says he offers this service free of charge, which means he gets a commission if he's able to sell you a franchise. Has anyone done this? Successfully? Unsuccessfully?

-- fender

Americans Troubled by Image Abroad

In a sign of greater global awareness -- and growing anxiety -- a majority of Americans worry that respect for the U.S. has declined and that our image is a serious problem.

Worth Reading: The Quick Take from Kiplinger

July 2008

The Pew Research Center

The Pew Research Center for the People & the Press is an independent opinion research group that studies attitudes toward the press, politics and public policy issues. The center's purpose is to serve as a forum for ideas on the media and public policy through public opinion research. It is one of six projects that make up the Pew Research Center, a nonpartisan institution that provides information on the issues, attitudes and trends shaping America and the world.

It's a political truism that, barring periods of external threats, Americans simply don't care much about what goes on in the rest of the world -- or what the rest of the world thinks of us. But as the country's image has taken a beating worldwide, largely because of the war in Iraq and a perception that the U.S. all too often favors force over diplomacy, public concern over our image overseas is growing.

The Pew Research Center for the People & the Press says 71% of Americans believe the U.S. is less respected by other countries -- a sharp increase from the 65% who held that view less than two years. And that's just the start.

"For the first time since Pew began asking this question in 2004, a majority of Americans now sees the loss of international respect for the United States as a major problem," the center reports. "The percentage of Americans saying the loss of international respect is a major problem has risen from 43% in 2005 to 48% in 2006 and 56% currently." Pew also points out that much of that increase comes from worried Republicans. While the views of Democrats and independents have held fairly steady, the number of Republicans saying the country is less respected globally has risen from 48% in August 2006 to 60% now.

"Moreover, 43% of Republicans say the loss of global respect represents a major problem, compared with just 26% two years ago," the center says.

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