Marketplace®

Daily business news and economic stories

So nice of you to write

Kai Ryssdal reviews your letters reacting to our reports and commentaries — from online lending and Robert Reich to the Jewish sabbath and the American Enterprise Institute.

Download

TEXT OF STORY

KAI RYSSDAL: Most of what we get is e-mails, not actual letters. But we do get a tremendous amount of spam, too. Much like your mailbox at home. How often do you find yourself sifting through the mail, trying to separate the letter from grandma from all the credit card and loan offers?

We did a story this month about a new way of lending that’s giving banks a run for their money. It’s a website called prosper.com. Borrowers can post their profile and how much they need. Lenders can bid on the amount they want to loan. It sounds innovative enough. But dangerous, too, says Judy Tyrer from Chapel Hill, North Carolina

JUDY TYRER: I was intrigued with the story about prosper.com. But it rapidly turned from a fun idea to outrage. They actually expected me to send my social security number and my bank account information. All I could think of was identity theft, and they took how much out of my account and then flew to the Bahamas?

Everybody likes a day off now and then. But for observant orthodox Jews, a day of rest means just that. Rest. No TV, no toaster oven. Nothing remotely technological during the Sabbath. Last Friday, we aired a story on some nifty devices designed to work around some of the restrictions that come with observing the religious ritual. Steve Klein in Oak Park, Michigan, says he liked the piece, but wonders why we picked such a bad day to run it

STEVE KLEIN: You scheduled a story about Jewish Sabbath observers to run on the Jewish Sabbath! The one night during the week when we Sabbath-observant orthodox Jews won’t be listening to the radio. I know I can listen to it on a later date through your website, but I can’t help but think that the story would have been more appropriate to run on some day other than a Friday.

Point taken, Mr. Klein, but here’s another option: You could podcast us, too. Set yourself up with an automatic update and you wouldn’t have to lift a finger.

We’re hearing reports about global warming practically every day. Part of that discussion’s been about alternative energy as one way to fight climate change. Earlier this month, commentator Robert Reich proposed a temporary tax on big oil companies to pay for that research. Heidi Novak from Valley City in Ohio says that’s a pretty good idea.

HEIDI NOVAK: I applaud Mr. Reich’s suggestion to impose a temporary windfall profits tax on oil companies to fund research in alternative energy sources. Perhaps such a tax would also put an end to the wildly fluctuating energy prices that have inhibited growth in other sectors of the U.S. economy.

And finally, this clarification on another climate story from a couple of weeks ago. We told you about the American Enterprise Institute, offering $10,000 to scientists willing to critiqe a big United Nations report on global warming. I said AEI is funded by ExxonMobil. It is, but it’s also funded by plenty of other companies. And we should have called Exxon for their comment.

Latest Episodes

View All Shows
  • Marketplace
    9 hours ago
    25:13
  • Marketplace Morning Report
    14 hours ago
    7:08
  • Marketplace Tech
    19 hours ago
    4:54
  • Make Me Smart
    a day ago
    15:13
  • Million Bazillion
    2 days ago
    5:01
  • This Is Uncomfortable
    24 days ago
    2:27
  • Financially Inclined
    2 months ago
    12:30
  • How We Survive
    2 months ago
    22:09
  • The Uncertain Hour
    3 months ago
    22:50
  • Corner Office from Marketplace
    5 years ago
    20:58