If the government can manage to collect and release personal information in a secure and useful way, so can private companies, which will empower consumers to become better shoppers.

The ability of businesses to monitor our behavior is already a fact of life, and it isn't going away. Of course we must protect our privacy rights. But if we're smart, we'll also use the data that is being collected to improve our own lives.

Even a mother - Jewish or not - can't worry about everything. So it is important that we limit our worries to real as opposed to imaginary risks.

Everyone knows it's dangerous to ingest gasoline or to inhale its fumes. But I am starting to believe that merely thinking about the price of gasoline can damage cognitive processing.

Although the United States cannot unilaterally lower the price of oil, it can reduce its consumption by using oil more efficiently and by developing alternative sources of fuel.

The voting public is not very good at attributing credit and blame to presidents. They get too much credit when things go well and too much blame when things go badly. The same applies to coaches, C.E.O.'s, parents, and anyone else in charge.

As every successful parent learns, one way to encourage good behavior, from room-cleaning to tooth-brushing, is to make it fun. Not surprisingly, the same principle applies to adults. Adults like to have fun, too.

As a general rule, the United States government is run by lawyers who occasionally take advice from economists. Others interested in helping the lawyers out need not apply.

The government employs scientists of many varieties in technical capacities, from estimating the environmental toxicity of a chemical to the structural soundness of a bridge. But when it comes to forming policies, these scientists and, especially, behavioral scientists are rarely at the table with the lawyers and the economists.

You can't make evidence-based policy decisions without evidence.

Morality aside, there are other factors deterring 'strategic defaults,' whether in recourse or nonrecourse states. These include the economic and emotional costs of giving up one's home and moving, the perceived social stigma of defaulting, and a serious hit to a borrower's credit rating.

People are less likely to think it's immoral to walk away from their home if they know others who have done so. And if enough people do it, the stigma begins to erode.

Shopping for an annuity with hundreds of thousands of dollars at stake can be daunting, even for an economist.

It's hard to have any idea of how much money is enough to finance an appropriate lifestyle in retirement. But if a lump sum is translated into a monthly income, it's much easier to determine whether you have enough put away to afford to stop working.

Most of us think that we are 'better than average' in most things. We are also 'miscalibrated,' meaning that our sense of the probability of events doesn't line up with reality. When we say we are sure about a certain fact, for example, we may well be right only half the time.

It makes sense for social scientists to become more involved in policy because many of society's most challenging problems are, in essence, behavioral.

I tell everyone that works for me not to look down on people. If you're nice to people and take a minute to talk with them, it's good for business whether or not they buy anything. Just because they don't look like they have money doesn't mean they're poor.

Once, an unkempt, elderly woman came into the pawn shop. She appeared homeless, and she insisted on seeing every piece of expensive jewelry in the store. Just when I was feeling impatient, the woman pointed at the most expensive piece of jewelry and said, 'I'll take that one.' Then she proceeded to pull $4,000 out of her sock to pay for it.

Never fall in love with something when you're negotiating a price. Never decide you're going to buy something because you can't live without it. Negotiating to buy an item shouldn't be an emotional process.

In my store, I don't do anything political. There are no signs up, and I'm not pushing anyone.

I want my kids, my grandkids to have a great life.

Most people don't realize the amount of tax forms the small business guy has to go through.

Some politicians are in so long they completely lose touch with reality.

I read science books, chemistry books, history books. I read that stuff for fun.

I'm not that cool; I'm just a bookworm.

My dad had always bought and sold gold and other stuff. In '81, he went broke because of real estate, so he moved us to Vegas and opened a small second-hand store. We always wanted a pawn license because there's a lot more money in that.

I'm a Trump guy.

I believe that capitalism is the one thing in this world that's brought people out of poverty.

There's a million things wrong with government that need to get fixed, but none of its ever going to get fixed unless we start educating our children better.

The more money you make, the more times people sue you.

I am just a normal guy, and suddenly I am really, really famous. It's definitely got its perks; I never have to wait in line at a restaurant.

You have to have what your customers need because if you don't have what your customers need, you're not going to have customers.

Trust me: I know a good investment when I see one.

For years, I pitched a reality show because I thought it would be good for business.

'Game of Thrones' really is an amazing series. Political intrigue, and then they throw in a little magic. I mean, it's got a dragon in it.

Meeting Ronnie Montrose - that was pretty cool.

Eventually, we have to make a good business environment in this country.

Governments have a tendency to screw up currencies.

Five or 10 years from now, people are going to be sitting around going, 'Wasn't there a show about four fat guys in a pawn shop?' And I am sitting on this really nice piece of property on Las Vegas Boulevard. Why not?

Most of those who pawn things and want to borrow money don't want to be on television. That part of my business you don't see, and I do five or 10 times as much.

The part I hate is when we go out to eat. My youngest son, who's 11, doesn't like to eat in more fancy restaurants, so we often go out to places like Red Robin and such. Well, as you can imagine, in that kind of place I probably have to jump up about 10 times during a meal to take a picture with somebody or sign an autograph.

I have people coming to me with endorsements all the time. I've turned down endorsements well over $1 million because I didn't like the company.

I've worked with and talked to poor people my entire life, being in the pawn shop business.

Making money is my third or fourth most favorite thing in the world.

I realized that I needed to start taking better care of myself.

If the economy is bad, I might be bringing a lot of things in, but it's difficult to sell, and the opposite when the economy is good.

I'm a dad with six kids, and I'm trying to teach each of them a little bit of morality.

I discovered at age 13 that if a spoon had 'Sterling' on the back, it was worth money. I'd run around a swap meet and find 20 in a day, make 75 to 100 bucks by finding silver spoons.

I probably have 15 to 20 Dalis in the store. The secret to buying Dali - never buy one made after 1970.

I meet celebrities all the time, but I have no idea who they are because I don't watch television.