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Bruce Bartlett:

The LA Times asked me and a bunch of people far more distinguished than myself what could be done to stimulate growth in 300 words. Although I think there is a case for further fiscal stimulus, I didn’t see any point in saying so since the political chances of that were zero even before Republicans won control of the House.

I get this, of course. Still, it’s kind of too bad Bruce didn’t say it anyway. Sometimes I think that we reality-based folks cave in to reality a little too quickly. It may be true that we’re not going to get more fiscal stimulus anytime soon, but if that option is being shut down by congressional know-nothings then at least it should be clear to everyone just how many people believe it’s really our first best option and why we’re not getting it. If the public thinks it’s just Paul Krugman yelling about stimulus, that’s one thing. If they know that it’s actually a pretty mainstream position outside of the tea party right, that’s quite another. And in the end, public opinion matters.

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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 find 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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