South By North Strategies, Ltd.

Around The Dial – April 30, 2012

Economic policy reports, blog postings, and media stories of interest:

• Eduardo Porter looks at Social Security Disability payments.
• Mark Thoma points out that the US is a relatively low-wage country.
• The Center for American Progress weighs the link between federal taxes and inequality.
• The New York Times reports on Apple’s efforts at tax avoidance.

Changing Migration Patterns

The PBS NewsHour reports on changes in patterns of Mexican migration to the United States.

Watch Pew Report: Mexican Migration Into U.S. Has Slowed on PBS. See more from PBS NewsHour.

Send A Letter, Enrich Civic Life

Writing in The Atlantic, historian Joseph Adelman points out that “the postal service is a civic institution, not a business.”

Understanding the core mission of the Post Office — as part of a communications infrastructure for political debate and civic participation — should lead us to reframe the questions we ask about the future of the USPS. Making changes to the USPS’s structure are clearly necessary in order to ensure its ability to meet its obligations. But the historical context should lead us to ask much larger questions about government’s role in protecting the free circulation of information.
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In the 18th century, the government committed itself to guaranteeing the free flow of information throughout the nation as part of a project to ensure mass participation in civic life, linking the Post Office with the protection of a free press. The decline in mail volume points to a certain inevitability about the commercial success of the USPS. But more broadly we must carefully consider the value of publicly owned, freely available channels of communication. Should the Post Office cease to exist, we will lose the last public guarantor of free communication in the United States.

Around The Dial – April 27, 2012

Economic policy reports, blog postings, and media stories of interest:

• The NY Times provides more proof of the need for health insurance reform.
• TaxVox finds the GOP’s proposed small business ta cut to be very un-GOP.
• The News & Observer notes the end of  some long-term unemployment benefits.
• The NC Budget & Tax Center points out the extent of wage stagnation.

Service Activity In The South Atlantic: April 2012

From the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond’s latest survey of service-sector activity in the South Atlantic (District of Columbia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia and West Virginia):

Activity in the service sector flattened overall, according to the latest survey by the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond. Retail sales fell and revenues slowed at non-retail services providers, compared to last month. Big-ticket sales dropped sharply and shopper traffic diminished. Retailers reduced inventories. Looking ahead six months, non-retail survey respondents remained upbeat about future sales, while retailers looked for continued slowing.
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In service sector labor markets, retail merchants trimmed their payrolls and hiring at non-retail firms was little changed from a month earlier. Average wage gains were less widespread.
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The pace of this month’s price change in the broad service sector also moderated, while survey participants looked for somewhat quicker increases during the next six months.