If these are unfortunates too sick to have qualified for private health insurance, then Medicare's total spending could well rise: a troubling thought, the Republicans point out, for a system whose impending insolvency was delayed, but not eliminated, by the balanced-budget agreement.

ECONOMIST: And for his next trick

Renewable energy production (excluding hydro power), meanwhile, more than doubled between 2004 and 2011 thought it still accounts for just under 5% of total electricity generation.

FORBES: Coal-Fired Carbon Emissions Fall As Transition To Cleaner Energy Accelerates