Quick, how many recessions has the United States had in the past 50 years? The answer is eight. Since 1960, the country has gone through one or two recessions per decade, on average. Yet both voters and politicians seem to think economic slumps are far rarer than they actually are—with odd effects on election and policy.
The United States sent 539 athletes to the Olympics this year. There's only one we know of who has a graduate degree in public health: 27-year-old Natalie Dell.
Our carbon emissions have dropped to a 20-year low. But absent policy changes, they're not going to get low enough.
Uncertainty abounds, Harold Ickes gets profiled and a couple gets burgled...by a catfish. Here's what we missed today
Mitt Romney's attack of Obama's stimulus is a central pillar of his campaign: In ads, statements, and speeches, he's attacked the law as a giveaway to the president's "friends, donors, campaign supporters, special interest groups." But buried inside Romney's economic plan is a promise to invest federal money in a new energy R&D program that was one of the stimulus's biggest success stories.
Romney says he paid more than 13 percent in taxes for the last 10 years. But he didn't specify 13 percent of what.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Wednesday that the euro zone should look to Canada as a model for solving its deficit crisis. And who doesn't love Canada? Still, the analogy seems slightly misguided. Here's why.
It's common knowledge by now that the recession has hit college graduates and non-graduates differently, but the size of the gap is dramatic.
I really don't understand why you choose Paul Ryan to be your running mate if you intend to run as the ticket that doesn't want to cut Medicare.
From the President to House Republicans, a lot of folks here in Washington have plans to spend less on health care. One of these deficit plans is not like the others.
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Blog Contributors
Ezra Klein is the editor of Wonkblog and a columnist at the Washington Post, as well as a contributor to MSNBC and Bloomberg. His work focuses on domestic and economic policymaking, as well as the political system that’s constantly screwing it up. He really likes graphs, and is on Twitter, Google+ and Facebook. E-mail him here.
Suzy Khimm covers the budget, economic policy, and financial regulatory reform. Before coming to Washington, she was based in Brazil and Southeast Asia, where she wrote for the Economist, Slate, and the Wall Street Journal Asia. Follow her on Twitter here, and email her here.
Sarah Kliff covers health policy, focusing on Medicare, Medicaid and the health reform law. She tries to fit in some reproductive health and education policy coverage, too, alongside an occasional hockey reference. Her work has appeared in Newsweek, Politico, and the BBC. She is on Twitter and Facebook.
Brad Plumer is a reporter focusing on energy and environmental issues. He was previously an associate editor at The New Republic. Follow him on Twitter. Email him here.
