Kai Ryssdal

This is going to sound like a facetious question, but does nobody understand that we need a tax base in this economy?

There will be people screaming at their radios or at their streaming devices right now saying, oh, it's all the Republicans.

All they want to do is tax cuts.

And on the other hand, it will be, oh, it's the Democrats.

All they want to do is spend money.

We should be clear here that both parties don't like to pay for what they want to do.

Yes?

Well, keep going.

Some point is not today.

And if it ain't today, man, it's not my problem.

Right.

With the understanding that, you know, this economy has always been a fulcrum of politics in this country.

It does sort of seem like it's kind of become a plaything now, you know?

Like by law, they have to.

Annie Lowry is a staff writer at The Atlantic.

This is a piece you ought to read after you hear this interview.

Annie, thanks a lot.

I really appreciate it.

This final note on the way out today, which you already know if you bought a plane ticket recently, the Department of Transportation said this week that U.S.

airlines spent 56 percent more on jet fuel in March than they did in February.