October 8, 2008

Lies, Damn Lies, etc.

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LIES, DAMN LIES, ETC….Does intellectual property infringement really cost the United States 750,000 jobs and $250 billion? Where do these frequently cited estimates come from, anyway?

Julian Sanchez and Ars Technica investigated, and the answer turns out to be: (1) an offhand and completely unsupported estimate from Commerce Secretary Malcom Baldridge in 1986, and (2) an offhand and completely unsupported estimate from Forbes in 1993. For the full story on how these two figures have managed to achieve iconic status anyway, click the link.

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WE'LL BE BLUNT

We need to start raising significantly more in donations from our online community of readers, especially from those who read Mother Jones regularly but have never decided to pitch in because you figured others always will. We also need long-time and new donors, everyone, to keep showing up for us.

In "It's Not a Crisis. This Is the New Normal," we explain, as matter-of-factly as we can, what exactly our finances look like, how brutal it is to sustain quality journalism right now, what makes Mother Jones different than most of the news out there, and why support from readers is the only thing that keeps us going. Despite the challenges, we're optimistic we can increase the share of online readers who decide to donate—starting with hitting an ambitious $300,000 goal in just three weeks to make sure we can finish our fiscal year break-even in the coming months.

Please learn more about how Mother Jones works and our 47-year history of doing nonprofit journalism that you don't elsewhere—and help us do it with a donation if you can. We've already cut expenses and hitting our online goal is critical right now.

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