March 18, 2020

We Need More Hospital Beds

This is Italy. But it's going to get way worse than this.Cozzoli/Fotogramma/Ropi via ZUMA

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Coronavirus countermeasures can flatten the curve of infections, but it’s now clear that they won’t flatten it enough. There’s just not enough time. So in addition to continuing efforts to reduce the infection rate, our top priority needs to be the construction of temporary hospital capacity. Ideally this would be intensive care capacity, but if that’s not feasible then we just have to come as close as we can.

This needs to start now. As in today. It needs essentially infinite funding. It has to be nationwide. Construction needs to be a 24/7 effort. We only have until June to be up and running. That’s ten weeks from now.

It’s time to stop screwing around. Donald Trump’s reelection checks can wait a few days. Job 1 right now is the construction of more hospital capacity.

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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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