March 20, 2020

Coronavirus Growth in Western Countries: March 19 Update

Here’s the coronavirus growth rate through Thursday. Spain continues to be a disaster area, but the big news for us Americans is that the US growth rate took a big jump and is now precisely on track with Spain’s. We are finally starting to do more widespread testing, and with more accurate numbers it looks as if our true growth rate is about the worst in the Western world.

And a note about Sweden. On Wednesday I said that Sweden’s flattening growth curve meant it was doing something right. I got a bunch of emails about this, so on Thursday I said that maybe it was really just because they weren’t testing very many people. Then I got a bunch of emails about that. Apparently I can say anything I want about any other country, but if I mention Sweden I’d better be prepared for an onslaught of responses. Bottom line: I don’t know why Sweden’s growth rate has flattened out at such a low level, but I’m sure somebody will eventually write a doctoral dissertation about it. In the meantime, I’m going to stay agnostic about the whole thing.

The raw data from Johns Hopkins is here.

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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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