August 21, 2009

Chart of the Day

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I haven’t had a chart of the day here for weeks.  What the hell is going on around this place?

Well, here’s today’s: day trips to Canada are down.  Way down.  It’s not clear why, either.  The accompanying story blames it mostly on new passport rules, along with “other factors, including the recession and the higher Canadian dollar.”  But that doesn’t really hold water.  The downward spike from May to June might be due to new passport rules, but the chart makes clear that travel has been steadily decreasing ever since it recovered from 9/11 in early 2002.  Obviously passport rules have nothing to do with this 7-year trend, and neither does the recession or the strength of the Canadian dollar.

So what is it?  Take your guesses in comments.

UPDATE: Actually, maybe the exchange rate explains it after all.

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Managing an independent, nonprofit newsroom is staggeringly hard. There’s no cushion in our budget—no backup revenue, no corporate safety net. We can’t afford to fall short, and we can’t rely on corporations or deep-pocketed interests to fund the fierce, investigative journalism Mother Jones exists to do. That’s why we need you right now. Please chip in to help close the gap.

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