April 15, 2009

Deflation is Here

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The latest economic news:

For the first time since 1955, prices fell from the same month a year earlier, reflecting a stark drop in the cost of gasoline and automobiles. Overall, consumers paid 0.4 percent less for a range of goods and services last month than they did in March 2008.

The Labor Department reported that its consumer price index fell 0.1 percent in March from February as lower consumer demand for a range of goods and services kept a lid on rising prices.

The party line on this is that it’s not too big a deal because the decline was mostly centered on energy-related products and services.  Maybe so.  But I wouldn’t bet the ranch on it quite yet.

WE CAME UP SHORT.

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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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