November 14, 2018

There’s Still No Inflationary Pressure in the Economy

In case you like to keep track of this stuff, here are the inflation numbers for October:

Ordinary CPI ticked up to 2.5 percent thanks to higher gasoline prices. However, oil prices are tumbling as we speak, so this will come down next month. Core CPI, which doesn’t include either food or energy, fell a tenth of a point.

Ordinary CPI is, of course, useful if you want to know what ordinary people are actually paying for stuff. However, core CPI is more useful for gauging inflationary pressure in the economy. Right now, there just isn’t any. Core CPI has been hovering steadily around 2 percent for three consecutive years. Maybe someday that will change, but once again, that day is not today.

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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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