September 19, 2011

Taxes and the Crazification Factor

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Does the American public want to reduce the deficit entirely with spending cuts, or does it support a combination of spending cuts and tax increases? Bruce Bartlett has been collecting the results of every poll that asks this question, and the answer is clear. On average, 65% of respondents want a combination of spending cuts and tax hikes. In 27 polls going back nearly a year, there are only two where the number is less than 60%.

So that’s that. Only 30% of the country wants to reduce the deficit solely with spending cuts, a number that’s suspiciously close to the Crazification Factor. The non-crazies all want some kind of balanced approach. If Obama sticks to his guns on this, he’s on solid ground.

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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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