January 26, 2009

Off the Jetway and Into the Stocks

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pillory_stocks.jpgWord is out that Citigroup is finalizing the purchase of a $50 million corporate jet, complete with a luxury interior that includes leather seats, sofas, and a customizable entertainment center. The new jet will be managed by CitiFlight Inc., a Citi subsidiary that manages Citigroup’s entire fleet of corporate jets.

Why is this all so outrageous? (1) Because Citigroup has received $45 billion in taxpayers funds as part of the bailout program, money earned by hard-working American men and women who have never so much as sniffed first class. (2) Commercial air travel still exists in this country! Citigroup executives don’t even have to fly coach! They could fly business or first and still save money!

There is only one solution here. Please see the photo at right. President Obama, make it happen.

Update: Opprobrium works! Citigroup is backing down.

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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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