Skip Navigation

Matthew O'Brien

Matthew O'Brien is an associate editor at The Atlantic covering business and economics. He has previously written for The New Republic.

Everything You Need to Know About the Fiscal Cliff Plans, in Charts

Everything You Need to Know About the Fiscal Cliff Plans, in Charts

Here's how the Bowles-Simpson, Obama, and Republican fiscal cliff plans match up More »

The Biggest Bank Bailouts in History (#2 Is Happening Right Now)

The Biggest Bank Bailouts in History (#2 Is Happening Right Now)

Cyrpus' bank bailout is making history, but it hasn't caught one disaster from the 1990s More »

How a Creepy Car Insurance Idea Could Save Thousands of Lives (and the Planet)

How a Creepy Car Insurance Idea Could Save Thousands of Lives (and the Planet)

Letting car insurance companies monitor how and how much you drive will save you money and generate huge spillover benefits More »

The Stunning Cost of Bad Economic Ideas in the 1930s—and Today

The Stunning Cost of Bad Economic Ideas in the 1930s—and Today

A history lesson for the U.S., from Europe during the interwar years More »

U-S-A, U-S-A: Our Terrible Growth Is Still the Envy of the Rich World

U-S-A, U-S-A: Our Terrible Growth Is Still the Envy of the Rich World

Growth is expected to slow to 1.4% for developed nations in 2013, even if they avoid big errors More »

The 401(k) Is a $240 Billion Waste

The 401(k) Is a $240 Billion Waste

Why subsidize retirement saving if the subsidies don't work? More »

Greece's Stock Market Is Beating China's in 2012 (Wait, What?)

Greece's Stock Market Is Beating China's in 2012 (Wait, What?)

How long until the PIIGS are the new BRICs? More »

There Is Only One Thing That Can Save Japan Now: Inflation

There Is Only One Thing That Can Save Japan Now: Inflation

Japan's opposition party wants the central bank to whip deflation now with unlimited easing More »

The U.S. Recovery Has Been Spectacular*

The U.S. Recovery Has Been Spectacular*

*Compared to almost every other rich country and almost every other financial crisis.(Reuters)We need a real recovery. That's what Mitt Romney said during the campaign, and he was right. Five years since the start of the Great Recession, unemployment is still far too high. It's not for a lack of optimism among policymakers. As Evan Soltas pointed out, the Federal Reserve keeps predicting that prosperity is just around the corner, only to find it's not. Catchup… More »

The Rich Countries With the Most Generous Unemployment Benefits

The Rich Countries With the Most Generous Unemployment Benefits

The "best" (or least awful) place to lose your job is Israel More »

Neverending Pain: Foreclosures Will Hurt Housing for at Least 5 More Years

Neverending Pain: Foreclosures Will Hurt Housing for at Least 5 More Years

Even after a decade, few households go from foreclosure back to home ownership More »

How Textbook Economics Is Helping You Play Temple Run

How Textbook Economics Is Helping You Play Temple Run

How Julius Genachowski is trying to save our smartphones More »

How Mitt Romney Can Save Us From the Fiscal Cliff

How Mitt Romney Can Save Us From the Fiscal Cliff

A $50,000 deduction cap would raise taxes on the rich as much as letting the Bush tax cuts for the rich expire would -- and without raising tax rates More »

What the Fiscal Cliff Means for Jobs, in 1 Chart

What the Fiscal Cliff Means for Jobs, in 1 Chart

A fully armed and operational fiscal cliff would cost us 3.4 million jobs in 2013 More »

Don't Believe the Grand-Bargain Hype

Don't Believe the Grand-Bargain Hype

Ignore the headlines. John Boehner hasn't actually said anything about raising new revenue More »

The Most Expensive Election Ever: ... 1896?

The Most Expensive Election Ever: ... 1896?

There was more campaign spending in 1896 than in the next four priciest elections combined More »

Why Aren't People Moving in America Anymore?

Why Aren't People Moving in America Anymore?

Interstate migration has halved in the past 20 years. Welcome to the Homogenous States of America. More »

The Scariest Jobs Chart, Private-Sector Edition

The Scariest Jobs Chart, Private-Sector Edition

Our private sector jobs hole is still deeper than it ever was during half of all other postwar recessions More »

Meet the Most Indebted Man in the World

Meet the Most Indebted Man in the World

Former Société Générale rogue trader Jérôme Kerviel doesn't always lose money, but when he does he loses more than $6 billion. More »

'Tax Reform' Is Republicanese for 'Massive Tax Cuts for the Rich'

'Tax Reform' Is Republicanese for 'Massive Tax Cuts for the Rich'

Everybody says the want to lower rates and broaden the base, but nobody actually wants to broaden the base More »

The Biggest Story in Photos

2012: The Year in Photos, Part 2 of 3

Subscribe Now

SAVE 65%! 10 issues JUST $2.45 PER COPY

Facebook

Newsletters

Sign up to receive our free newsletters

(sample)

(sample)

(sample)

(sample)

(sample)

(sample)