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.

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 »

What Hurricane Sandy Means for Ben Bernanke

What Hurricane Sandy Means for Ben Bernanke

The monetary consequences of natural disasters are not what you might think More »

The Biggest Policy Issues Missing From the Campaign

The Biggest Policy Issues Missing From the Campaign

From Medicaid to housing and the Federal Reserve, here are the issues the campaigns haven't talked enough about More »

Does the Fed Favor Republican Presidents?

Does the Fed Favor Republican Presidents?

The Fed seems to care about inflation much more during Democratic administrations More »

Inequality Is Real and Romney Would Make It Worse

Inequality Is Real and Romney Would Make It Worse

Slashing taxes for the rich and benefits for the poor will only widen the already large gap between the have-a-lots and the have-nots More »

Revealed: Obama's Big Second-Term Jobs Agenda

Revealed: Obama's Big Second-Term Jobs Agenda

The administration very quietly announced a foolproof jobs plan -- more housing stimulus More »

Romney's China-Bashing Is 100% Correct ... but 5 Years Late

Romney's China-Bashing Is 100% Correct ... but 5 Years Late

China's currency manipulation used to be a problem, but isn't as much anymore. More »

Busted: 75% of the Biggest Home Lenders in 2006 No Longer Exist

Busted: 75% of the Biggest Home Lenders in 2006 No Longer Exist

A lack of lenders is threatening the recovery now More »

Bushonomics on Steroids: Romney's Tax Plan Is Still Severely Impossible

Bushonomics on Steroids: Romney's Tax Plan Is Still Severely Impossible

Mitt Romney says his new tax plan adds up. It doesn't. It means higher taxes for the poor, huge tax cuts for the rich, and huge deficits. Call him George W. Romney. More »

The Bold Second-Term Agenda Obama Should Unveil at the Second Debate

The Bold Second-Term Agenda Obama Should Unveil at the Second Debate

It's called the American Jobs Act, and he announced it back in 2011. More »

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Early Monsoon Rains Flood Northern India

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