January 1, 2005

The Resource Curse

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A country’s natural wealth often doesn’t trickle down to its citizens. This “resource curse” particularly plagues the world’s largest oil producing states. The chart below illustrates how the curse affects this small club and its newest member, Equatorial Guinea. – Michal Lumsden

Country

Daily oil production (thousands of barrels)

Corruption ranking**

Political rights / civil liberties ratings***

Development ranking*

Average annual per capita income

Annual per capita health expenses

Life expectancy

Infant mortality (per 1,000 births)

Saudi Arabia

9,817

71

7/7

73

$8,530

$375

72

23

Russia

8,543

90

5/5

63

$2,610

$115

67

18

Iran

3,852

87

6/6

106

$2,000

$363

70

35

Venezuela

2,987

114

3/4

69

$3,490

$307

74

19

Nigeria

2,185

144

4/4

152

$320

$15

52

110

Algeria

1,857

97

6/5

107

$1,890

$73

69

39

Libya

1,488

108

7/7

61

N/A

$143

72

16

Angola

885

133

6/5

164

$740

$31

40

154

Azerbaijan

313

140

6/5

89

$810

$8

72

74

Equatorial Guinea

249

N/A

7/6

116

$930

$76

49

101

United States

7,454

17

1/1

7

$37,610

$4,887

77

7

*out of 175 countries, 1=highest

** out of 146 countries, 1=least corrupt

*** 1= most free, 7= least free

All figures based on most current available numbers.

Sources: British Petroleum 2004 Statistical Review of World Energy (oil production), Freedom House (political rights, civil liberties ratings), Transparency International (corruption ranking), United Nations Human Development Report (development ranking, health expenditures, life expectancy, infant mortality), World Bank (per capita income, health expenditures)

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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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