The No Context Gang Wins Another Battle at NYT

The NYT told readers that the budget deficit in the first nine months of the 2015 fiscal year was $365.2 billion and is projected to be $486 billion for the whole year. Feel informed?

Odds are that most readers don't have much basis for determining whether this deficit is big or small (yes, it is lots of money). In times past the NYT had committed itself to putting numbers like this in some context that would make it understandable to readers. For fans of such context, the deficit is a bit le...