December 6, 2007

I Think We’re All Turning Japanese

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Check out this poor bastard. Only 30 and dead from over work, a problem so common in Japan it has a name and a legal remedy. Others aren’t ‘so lucky;’ in 2002, six hundred and fifty suicides there were deemed work related. Japanese ‘salary men’ are clocking 100-160 of over time per month with email, black berries and home offices all helping to make work inescapable. Probably on top of all that after-work drinking they’re forced to do to schmooze clients.

Throw off your blackberries, America (and Japan). We have nothing to lose but…ok, our jobs. But what good is a job and no life?

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WE'LL BE BLUNT

We need to start raising significantly more in donations from our online community of readers, especially from those who read Mother Jones regularly but have never decided to pitch in because you figured others always will. We also need long-time and new donors, everyone, to keep showing up for us.

In "It's Not a Crisis. This Is the New Normal," we explain, as matter-of-factly as we can, what exactly our finances look like, how brutal it is to sustain quality journalism right now, what makes Mother Jones different than most of the news out there, and why support from readers is the only thing that keeps us going. Despite the challenges, we're optimistic we can increase the share of online readers who decide to donate—starting with hitting an ambitious $300,000 goal in just three weeks to make sure we can finish our fiscal year break-even in the coming months.

Please learn more about how Mother Jones works and our 47-year history of doing nonprofit journalism that you don't elsewhere—and help us do it with a donation if you can. We've already cut expenses and hitting our online goal is critical right now.

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