Hot Dogs, Bums, and Books

This debate is rather interesting, particularly if you happen to be having a slow day at work with some time to read on your hands. Stephen Dubner, on the Freakonomics blog, asks five noted authors/economists/Mark Cubans this question:

You are walking down the street in New York City with $10 of disposable income in your pocket. You come to a corner with a hot dog vendor on one side and a beggar on the other. The beggar looks like he’s been drinking; the hot dog vendor looks like an upstanding citizen. How, if at all, do you distribute the $10 in your pocket, and why?

My thoughts? The most interesting facet of the debate is how each person chose to plug their own book - and their answers seem to correlate with how they answered the question:

Arthur Brooks - stuck between being liberal and conservative, realized he should mention it but didn't want to go overboard and give the title.

Tyler Cowen - the libertarian and economist takes maximum utility from posting by citing an example form his book, giving its name, and even giving the Amazon link.

Mark Cuban - No one cared about his book, and neither did he, so he skipped it.

Barbara Ehrenreich - liberal guilt prevented a book mention (but encouraged a swipe at that pesky middle class).

Nassim Nicholas Taleb - mentions his "next book," which leads us to wonder if he is indeed writing one or just playing on our own prediction that he will right another one.