Poll started 24 January 2011: Should we split the banks up? Too big to fail, that's the cry. The independent commission on banking is debating whether we should split banks into their retail (the old fashioned credit cards, mortgages etc) and investment arms (the gambling bit, trading, international finance). The Pros:  It's the retail arm that people worry more about failing, and it's the investment side that's riskier. So the split would leave the bits we use less likely to fail. The Cons:  Many of the investment arms, which provide huge billions to the UK in tax receipts in good times, may leave and it'd be a real hit to the exchequer, meaning higher taxes or bigger cuts.

Poll started 18 January 2011: Are mortgages & credit too easily available or too hard to get? We've had a credit crunch which means credit scoring's got tougher and mortgages, credit cards and loans are harder to get especially at cheap rates. Yet a chunk of the blame of the economic crisis that caused the crunch was over-lending to people who couldn't repay. Which of these stark choices is closest to your view on the availability of credit?

Poll started 11 January 2010: Do you think you get good value from paying tax? We pay tax as a cost of living in the wider civil society, so that all the functions it requires, both for us and others, are met. Yet if we were (probably wrongly) to think in purely selfish terms, do you feel you gain more than you lose? Total you pay in: Income tax, VAT, council tax and others Total you receive: Benefits, tax credits, NHS treatments, police, national security, council services etc Which of these do you think best reflects your situation?

Poll started 04 Jan 2011: Have you started your Christmas (2011) shopping? Christmas has only just passed, yet there are bargains to be had in the sales – so how far ahead do you shop? Which of the following have you already bought for Christmas 2011? Tick as many as apply