October 26, 2018

Chart of the Day: GDP Growth in Q3

The US economy grew 3.5 percent in the third quarter:

This is a good number, but it’s down from last quarter. However, personal consumption was up (4.0 percent), gross private investment was up (12.0 percent), and government consumption was up (3.3 percent). That’s a nice, even spread. Oddly, however, business fixed investment was up only 0.8 percent. Given the recent tax cut and the strong showing of corporate earnings last quarter, you’d think business investment would be stronger. Do they know something the rest of us don’t?

Maybe. More likely, though, this is just noise. A single reading for a single quarter doesn’t mean a whole lot. Overall, the economy still looks pretty good.

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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.

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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.

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