Good Economic Reporting For a Change

Sometimes the Washington Post surprises us with its accurate reporting. While discussing the 2004 budget defiicit, the paper actually used real dollars instead of nominal dollars:

For that fiscal year, the government recorded a $412 billion deficit, the largest ever in nominal dollar terms, although not as large as some of the deficits of the 1980s when measured against the size of the economy. The 2004 mark was up from 2003's $378 billion deficit, which topped 2002's $158 billion deficit.

Yes, we live in a world when we're surprised by the accuracy of an article in a major newspaper.