Unlike the comma, which is treated by most writers as pauses for breath-taking, the hyphen is simply forgotten.
Take campaign finance reform. Is it finance reform for campaigns or reform of campaign finance?
Obviously the latter. Since campaign and finance modify reform, the punctuation should be campaign-finance reform.
Today's generation of writers has forgotten--or was never taught--that hyphens are used when two or more words modify another--unless the modifiers end in ly.
In other words, really big reform doesn't take a hyphen but not-so-big reform does. Simple.
Some detractors, however, insist that hyphens aren't needed when the "meaning is obvious." They say no one believes orange juice salesmen means juice salesmen who are orange.
Wrong. What is "obvious" to some isn't necessarily "obvious" to others. Use the hyphen to protect juice salesmen and others of noncolor.(26 MARCH 2000).
