What is needed is a combination of steps: some immediate limitation on COLAS, some intermediate move to prevent inflation from pushing up benefits faster than the rise in wages and payroll taxes, some long-range measures to raise the retirement age and keep the formula for calculating benefits from straining the resources of society.

CNN: A Debt-Threatened Dream

Tablet makers selling a complete range at that break-even level could ultimately whittle down the market to those who either produced a winning formula at the right time (Apple) or have deep enough content stores and bank accounts to willingly give up large parts of their potential hardware profit (Amazon and Google).

ENGADGET: Editorial: Amazon and Google are undermining mobile pricing, and that may hurt everyone