Editorials
U.S. Can Help End Child Labor by Amending 1930 Tariff Act: View
The scourge of child labor has proven difficult to eradicate. The International Labor Organization estimates that 215 million children are still being exploited for work, much of it hazardous.
Wall Street Trades at Speed of Light Need Traffic Cops: View
The past year in U.S. stock markets earned a place in the volatility Hall of Fame, coming in just behind the full-blown financial crisis years of 2008 and 2009. For this, credit (or blame) goes to Europe’s debt mess, U.S. political paralysis and upheaval in the Middle East.
After Tumult of 2011, Here Are Some Global Hotspots to Watch in 2012: View
Could the world in 2012 surprise us more than it did in 2011? Certainly, after Japan’s earthquake, the Middle East’s upheavals and Osama bin Laden’s death, the bar on shockers will be high.
How to Research Deadly Germs Without Helping Terrorists: View
Bird flu kills more than half the people who catch it. The saving grace of H5N1 is that it’s not easily spread among humans. Almost all of the 600 people who have been infected by the virus in its 14-year history have picked it up from infected poultry.
Three Ways Japan Can Put a National Disaster to Good Use: View
The first comprehensive report on Japan’s Fukushima nuclear crisis is 507 pages of the most sobering reading of the year.
Stealthy Christmas Truce Offers Way Forward for Medicare: View
The curious document released Dec. 15 by Democratic Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon and Republican Representative Paul Ryan of Wisconsin was eclipsed almost as soon as it appeared by the House Republicans’ hapless stand against extending the payroll tax cut for two months.
China-Japan Currency Deal Points Way to New Monetary Order: View
The agreement announced between China and Japan to strengthen financial ties and promote yuan-yen trade is a small, but notable, step toward a new global economy. Its immediate practical significance is limited, yet the deal signals that a deeper transformation is under way -- and one that the world should welcome.
When It Makes Sense to Give a Dictator Medical Sanctuary: View
Should Yemen’s president, Ali Abdullah Saleh, be allowed to come to the U.S. for medical treatment? Yes. But with one big condition: That he resign first and not go home again.
Don’t Give Up on the Sensible Ideas of the Dodd-Frank Act: View
More than three years after the U.S. financial system went into free fall, the Dodd-Frank Act, Congress’s primary effort to prevent a repeat episode, has become something of a bete noire.
U.S. Should Ease Visa Access for Tourists Wielding Cash: View
This holiday season, millions of tourists visited the U.S. Given the economic benefits they bring, the U.S. should be working overtime to welcome their friends and families next year.
Money-Market Funds That ‘Break the Buck’ Can Be a Memory: View
Most of us can reel off the institutions behind the financial crisis, names like Lehman Brothers, Fannie Mae and American International Group. Often missing from the roll call of ignominy is the Reserve Primary Fund, a money-market mutual fund. When it almost collapsed in the fall of 2008, the U.S. economy was pitched into a credit crunch that almost brought on the sequel to the Great Depression.
View: New Year Allows for Optimism in Pessimistic World
For pessimists, the new year offers an embarrassment of riches.