Washington Post (March 10)
Like counterparts around the globe, the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) is struggling. The Internet has taken a major bite out of revenues. Private delivery services haven’t helped either. Between 2006 and 2009 volume fell by 36 billion pieces. The USPS is forecast to lose over $7 billion in the current year, with projections of a $238 billion shortfall by 2020. Labor accounts for 80% of USPS expense and provides some hope for savings. The Washington Post doesn’t, however, believe the USPS can be easily turned profitable or privatized. Instead, the USPS “may wind up as a burden on taxpayers, like another iconic business with an aging workforce, high legacy costs and an outdated product line: General Motors.”
New York Times (March 5)
Bluefin tuna declined by 60% between 1997 and 2007 in the Mediterranean and eastern Atlantic. The Obama administration is supporting a ban to protect bluefin. The measure will be up for vote this month in Doha at the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). Passage requires a 2/3 majority vote of the 175 CITES members. The New York Times supports the ban, acknowledges “the fishing industry will inevitably suffer,” and points out suffering from a temporary ban is “far better than waking up one day and discovering that there are no tuna left to fish.”
Financial Times (March 4)
Prices are under pressure around much of the developed world, but the European Central Bank (ECB) is focusing on keeping inflation below 2%. The Financial Times says the ECB is worried about the wrong thing: “Deflation is the dragon to slay.” The newspaper points out that wages are even falling in Germany while EU countries such as Greece face “exceedingly painful adjustment.”
Wall Street Journal (March 4)
On March 1, a dozen major Chinese newspapers ran identical editorials calling for reform. The Wall Street Journal calls this protest “remarkable,” though the editorials were removed from each newspaper’s website later the same day. The Chinese newspapers are seeking reform of the household-registration system. This system limits social benefits for those who find work outside of their hometown. The Wall Street Journal calls the household-registration system “emblematic of what happens when bureaucrats try to control market forces, in a country whose citizens are straining to embrace them to better their lives.” The Wall Street Journal is betting market forces will ultimately win.
