September 4, 2014

Chart of the Day: The Rich Are Getting Richer, The Poor Are….


The Federal Reserve’s 2013 Survey of Consumer Finances is out, and guess what? Over the past 25 years, the rich have seen their wealth skyrocket, from 44.8 percent of the total to 54.4 percent of the total. The middle class and the poor, by contrast, have seen their share of national wealth plummet from 33.2 percent to 24.7 percent.

In other words, the rich are getting richer and the poor are….well, you know. Is it any wonder that the rich don’t really want to see a lot of changes to our current economic regime? Why would they?

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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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