Quote of the Day: Jeb Bush Is Still Chasing Economic Unicorns

Fight disinformation: Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily newsletter and follow the news that matters.


From Jeb Bush, asked about his economic plans:

My aspiration for the country and I believe we can achieve it, is 4 percent growth as far as the eye can see. Which means we have to be a lot more productive, workforce participation has to rise from its all-time modern lows. It means that people need to work longer hours and, through their productivity, gain more income for their families.

Lots of people are mocking Bush for suggesting that Americans don’t work long enough hours. But aside from being tone-deaf, he didn’t really say anything wrong here. Economic growth is the product of hours worked and productivity growth, so he got that right. It’s true that Bush’s use of “productivity” in the third sentence is a bit confusing because he’s suddenly using it in its generic sense, not its formal economic sense, but that’s no more than the slight clumsiness that’s inevitable in live settings.

In any case, an aide later explained that when Bush talked about longer hours, he was referring to the underemployed and part-time workers, not suggesting that Americans in general needed to work more weekends. That’s fine. No one has a problem with that. The real issue here is different: Bush is once again merely stating economic platitudes. He wants 4 percent growth. Of course he does. Everyone wants that. He then repeats himself: he wants higher productivity and he wants the underemployed to work more hours. It’s like saying his goal is to lose weight, and then “explaining” that this means more exercise and fewer calories. No kidding. But what’s the plan for making it happen? That’s what we’re interested in.

I know, I know: lower taxes will supercharge the economy blah blah blah. Eventually he’ll have a 20-page white paper that’s about 19 pages of argle bargle and one page outlining his brilliant new tax plan. Wake me up if he ever says anything that goes beyond fantasyland.

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.

payment methods

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.

payment methods

We Recommend

Latest

Sign up for our free newsletter

Subscribe to the Mother Jones Daily to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

Get our award-winning magazine

Save big on a full year of investigations, ideas, and insights.

Subscribe

Support our journalism

Help Mother Jones' reporters dig deep with a tax-deductible donation.

Donate