June 13, 2019

For the Rich, the Great Recession Was Just a Blip

Matt Yglesias points us to the latest Federal Reserve calculations of net worth, and as usual, we can say that the post-Reagan era has been a great time to be rich in America. Here’s the net worth of the top 1 percent:

That’s an increase of more than 4 percent per year above and beyond inflation. The upper middle class has done OK during the same period, increasing its net worth by about 2 percent per year.

And the bottom 50 percent? Their net worth has declined. The basic story is that they didn’t have much to begin with and they lost it all during the housing bust. Literally, they lost it all: their collective net worth hit zero. They’ve been building their net worth back since then, but they still haven’t reached the level they were at in 1990, let alone surpassed it.

And the other income groups? They all lost a bit during the housing bust but made it back within three years. They’ve been building ever since, and at such a fast rate that the recession is now just a blip in the rear-view mirror.

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THE FACTS SPEAK FOR THEMSELVES.

At least we hope they will, because that’s our approach to raising the $350,000 in online donations we need right now—during our high-stakes December fundraising push.

It’s the most important month of the year for our fundraising, with upward of 15 percent of our annual online total coming in during the final week—and there’s a lot to say about why Mother Jones’ journalism, and thus hitting that big number, matters tremendously right now.

But you told us fundraising is annoying—with the gimmicks, overwrought tone, manipulative language, and sheer volume of urgent URGENT URGENT!!! content we’re all bombarded with. It sure can be.

So we’re going to try making this as un-annoying as possible. In “Let the Facts Speak for Themselves” we give it our best shot, answering three questions that most any fundraising should try to speak to: Why us, why now, why does it matter?

The upshot? Mother Jones does journalism you don’t find elsewhere: in-depth, time-intensive, ahead-of-the-curve reporting on underreported beats. We operate on razor-thin margins in an unfathomably hard news business, and can’t afford to come up short on these online goals. And given everything, reporting like ours is vital right now.

If you can afford to part with a few bucks, please support the reporting you get from Mother Jones with a much-needed year-end donation. And please do it now, while you’re thinking about it—with fewer people paying attention to the news like you are, we need everyone with us to get there.

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