Paper tigers

The September 8 Financial Review carried a front-page story celebrating the recent financial success of paper pulp companies. It seems that over the last year, most of them have been able to turn modest returns, or in some cases even losses, into larger than expected profits.
Paper pulp companies have been riding the wave of increased international demand for newsprint by maintaining their total output at the same level. The resultant increase in demand, with no significant increase in supply, has produced increased prices and increased profits. Prices for recycled newsprint have increased even further.
Green Left can only suggest that if you have a few extra hundred million dollars to invest, you might try paper pulp. Of course if you did have that kind of money, you probably wouldn't be reading Green Left at all.
For the rest of us, the small printers and independent publishers, and readers and subscribers of the alternative press, the result is higher costs. Higher prices for paper, mean higher costs for Green Left. Raising the cover price to $2 will help pay for this, but it isn't enough.
Now, as much as ever, Green Left Weekly needs your support. All of us who value an alternative press know that it's worth more than $2 a week.
How highly do you value the integrity and freshness of Green Left? Perhaps the paper is worth $5 per week, $10, or even more. Please help Green Left make it through this difficult period. Attend a Green Left function, donate an extra dollar or two to a seller, or make a substantial donation to the project by cheque or credit card. Whatever Green Left is worth to you, paying it will ensure that it continues to prosper. Green Left Weekly — it's your newspaper.