Economy | ANALYSIS
Households to take hit from tax hike
by Tomoko Otake
The consumption tax increase will hit every household in Japan hard, with many people’s financial future hanging on whether their wages rise enough to offset the hike's impact.
Commentary Topics
Global-related Sep 29, 2013
Bringing farmers markets to the urban poor
by Michael Lipsky
he Crossroads Farmers Market in Maryland is not your typical farmers market. It was founded to offer a friendly environment for low-income people to buy fresh produce.
Global-related Sep 29, 2013
Sanctions have warmed up Iran for an accord
by Cesar Chelala
As Iran's economy reels and President Hassan Rouhani shows interest in rapprochement with the West, it seems high time to reach a nuclear agreement with Iran.
Global-related | THE VIEW FROM NEW YORK Sep 29, 2013
Air festivals, the costs of flight and budget flak
by Hiroaki Sato
The U.S. Air Force did not send its acrobatic team to the Misawa Air Festival this year because of budget cuts. Military flying machines can be exorbitantly expensive.
Global-related Sep 29, 2013
When the fury of isolationism roamed America
by George Will
It is preposterous to equate today's mild debates in America about foreign policy with the furies unleashed by, and against, real isolationism before World War II.
Global-related Sep 29, 2013
Best, brightest and least productive?
by Robert J. Shiller
Financial traders and speculators help to allocate society's resources to the most promising businesses. But these people's activities also impose costs on the rest of us.
Global-related Sep 28, 2013
Liberating people to control their eating habits
by Esther Dyson
When it comes to weight-loss programs, give people rules of thumb — not product manuals. Let them see how the media manipulates them already to consume more.
Global-related Sep 27, 2013
New Zealand may have the fix for asset bubbles
by William Pesek
As the world's biggest economies search for ways to let the air out of giant asset bubbles, they might find a fix that discourages leverage in tiny New Zealand.
Global-related Sep 27, 2013
Merkel's risk-averse charm
by Charles Lane
One way to interpret Chancellor Angela Merkel's sweeping victory is that it was what you would expect from an electorate dominated by the well-heeled and the silver-haired.
Global-related Sep 26, 2013
Don't scapegoat schools over economic ills
by Walt Gardner
American education reformers charge that companies can't find enough qualified workers in science and technology. But these workers are here — in the form of unemployed college grads.
Global-related Sep 26, 2013
Mandatory organ donation
by Ted Rall
It is estimated that 18 people die in the U.S. every day due to a national shortage of organ donations. This crisis could be solved if organ donation were mandatory.
Global-related Sep 25, 2013
Odds for Assad spike higher
by Gwynne Dyer
It was already looking likely that President Bashar Assad's regime would survive. But the events of the past two weeks have made it virtually certain.
Global-related Sep 25, 2013
West gets a second chance for peace in Syria
by Jean-marie Guéhenno
he last-minute deal to put Syria's chemical weapons under international control gives the West, which had run out of good options, a second chance to reach peace in Syria.