Robert Bernard Reich

I'd start by legalizing marijuana.

My son, Sam, tells me this will be big with "trees" (whatever that means).

I've known him since he was 22. At Oxford, as grad students, we didn't inhale together.

My strong advice: Try to avoid cynicism about politics, government, and all the major institutions of our democracy. (That may be hard at a time like this, but if you're cynical at your age, you'll be wasted by the time you're mine.) Best way to educate yourselves is to read my books (my books are the kind of books that once you put them down you can't pick them up), read the NYT every day, and read the Wall Street Journal's editorial and oped pages so you learn the opposite of what's truthful.

I'd revive the Depression-era Works Progress Administration and Civilian Conservation Corp, to hire the long-term unemployed -- put them to work rebuilding our crumbling highways, ports, bridges, school buildings, parks, playgrounds.

I think we already have an alien invasion from space. It's being led by Michele Bachmann.

I'd love to make a sequel with Conan. Write to him and let him know.

Almost anything by Milton Friedman. He's rigorous and intellectually honest, and comes out at a very different place from me -- mainly because we start from different premises about human nature and the meaning of a good society.

Sam (who's brilliant, by the way) has single-handedly ushered his old dad into the digital world. Without him, I wouldn't be here on this site today. Without me, he wouldn't be in the world. Fair trade.

It will be a hard sell, but when consumers (whose spending is 70 percent of the economy) won't spend, and businesses (who are facing lackluster sales) won't hire, government has to be the spender of last resort. The President should ask for a trillion dollars to boost the economy. Not just on the WPA and CCC I mentioned, also infrastructure investment, also loans to cash-starved states and localities. With 25 million Americans looking for full-time work, and the cost of borrowing so incredibly low (T-bills at 2 percent), this is the only responsible thing to do.

Your question sounds remarkably close to the question I set for my class, which is due tomorrow. So my advice to you is to stop Reddit and write your paper. Jon Stewart is very funny in person, and a very nice guy. And, yes, I'll probably do more late night shows, although producers haven't exactly lined up to get me on them.