June 20, 2012

Quote of the Day: Government Cutbacks are Hurting the Recovery

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From Fed chairman Ben Bernanke, answering a question about the “choke points” holding back the economy:

In the last year or two and going forward, we have been seeing fiscal consolidation, particularly at the state and local level….I understand these are necessary steps from the perspective of individual states and localities; I’m not criticizing that. It’s just a fact, though, that these contractions are affecting the pace of growth in the broader economy.

Bernanke said that other things affecting the pace of recovery included problems in Europe and a sluggish U.S. housing market.

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WE CAME UP SHORT.

We just wrapped up a shorter-than-normal, urgent-as-ever fundraising drive and we came up about $45,000 short of our $300,000 goal.

That means we're going to have upwards of $350,000, maybe more, to raise in online donations between now and June 30, when our fiscal year ends and we have to get to break-even. And even though there's zero cushion to miss the mark, we won't be all that in your face about our fundraising again until June.

So we urgently need this specific ask, what you're reading right now, to start bringing in more donations than it ever has. The reality, for these next few months and next few years, is that we have to start finding ways to grow our online supporter base in a big way—and we're optimistic we can keep making real headway by being real with you about this.

Because the bottom line: Corporations and powerful people with deep pockets will never sustain the type of journalism Mother Jones exists to do. The only investors who won’t let independent, investigative journalism down are the people who actually care about its future—you.

And we hope you might consider pitching in before moving on to whatever it is you're about to do next. We really need to see if we'll be able to raise more with this real estate on a daily basis than we have been, so we're hoping to see a promising start.

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