May 23, 2019

How Are We Doing This Year on the $400 Expense Question?

The Washington Post gets us up to speed on the Fed’s latest report about the wellbeing of American households:

Are Americans benefiting from the strong economy — aside from the rich? A Fed report raises questions.

….Almost four in 10 people (39 percent) said they wouldn’t be able to scrape together the cash to meet a $400 emergency expense.

Just to save everybody some trouble next year, here’s how that question has been answered since the Fed started asking it:

So the answer is: yes, the non-rich have benefited from the strong economy. That’s not the problem. The problem is that they haven’t benefited nearly as much as they should have:

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DECEMBER IS MAKE OR BREAK

A full one-third of our annual fundraising comes in this month alone. That’s risky, because a strong December means our newsroom is on the beat and reporting at full strength—but a weak one means budget cuts and hard choices ahead.

With only days left until December 31, we've raised about half of our $400,000 goal—but we need a huge surge in reader support to close the remaining gap. Whether you've given before or this is your first time, your contribution right now matters.

Managing an independent, nonprofit newsroom is staggeringly hard. There’s no cushion in our budget—no backup revenue, no corporate safety net. We can’t afford to fall short, and we can’t rely on corporations or deep-pocketed interests to fund the fierce, investigative journalism Mother Jones exists to do. That’s why we need you right now. Please chip in to help close the gap.

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