There use to be a panhandler I'd see several times a week on my walk between my car and my office. I called him "the Quarter Man" because he asked everyone, "You got a quarter?" I haven't seen him now for nearly a year, but this morning there was a new panhandler in his place. Reflecting the cost of living, this panhandler asks, "Do you have a dollar?"

Congratulations to economist Muhammad Yunus, who received the Nobel Peace Prize for his creation of the Grameen Bank. I read about this project years ago while working as an economics editor and was impressed with it then. The Grameen Bank has helped thousands of poor people, especially women, earn a living and, with it, independence. I've not always agreed with past choices for the Nobel Peace Prize, but Yunus certainly receives my endorsement.