YES! Article archive

What If We Owned the Internet Together? It’s Time to Bring the Co-op Revolution to the Web

The flourishing of farmers markets and credit unions demonstrates a longing for business that serves the common good. Can it infiltrate the Amazon-dominated, Uberized Internet?

Nathan Schneider, Trebor Scholz | Nov 9, 2015

Patient finance illustration by Jennifer Luxton.

Local economies | Jobs

Why Slower Money Is the Key to a Real Economic Recovery

An exciting crop of organizations are financing businesses in a way that creates real wealth. Here are a few ways to scale them up so that they can truly challenge Wall Street.

Keith Harrington | Oct 23, 2015

Chinese boys laughing in Guizhou province. Photo by Grigvovan / Shutterstock.com.

Can Local Economies Revolutionize the US? This Adviser to China Thinks So

Laurence Brahm advises the Chinese government on economic and environmental policy. Here’s what he thinks the United States can learn from China.

Marcus Harrison Green | Oct 15, 2015

Cooperatives

Three Years Ago, These Chicago Workers Took Over a Window Factory. Today, They’re Thriving

When Republic Windows and Doors closed down without giving workers notice, the issue drew national attention. Since then, they’ve turned the factory into a worker-owned co-op—where they hold the power.

Sarah van Gelder | Oct 9, 2015

Jobs | Cooperatives

Dangerous History: What the Story of Black Economic Cooperation Means for Us Today

African Americans have been pioneering co-ops as an economic strategy since the days of slavery. Author Jessica Gordon Nembhard on how centuries-old models can guide our economy today.

Keane Bhatt | Oct 7, 2015

Cooperatives | Wealth and inequality

NYC’s Credit Unions Give Mom-and-Pop Stores a Chance, Despite Gentrification

They're a lifeline to business owners. So why do these credit unions have trouble growing?

Abigail Savitch-Lew | Oct 2, 2015

Businessman Reading Newspaper photo from Shutterstock

Even The Wall Street Journal Is Asking Questions About How Ownership Should Work in a Democracy

The question of how the ownership of capital should be structured in a democratic society was raised by none other than Margaret Thatcher's authorized biographer.

Gar Alperovitz | Oct 2, 2015

Local economies | Wealth and inequality | Citizens United

1.5 Million American Families Live on $2 a Day—These Authors Spent Years Finding Out Why

For their new book, H. Luke Shaefer and Kathryn J. Edin followed the lives of America’s poorest families to find out what they need to break out of poverty, and how to make it happen.

Marcus Harrison Green | Sep 24, 2015

Wealth and inequality

Think Students Can’t Declare Bankruptcy? Think Again

Bankruptcy is supposed to give debtors a fresh start—unless they’re struggling with student loans. But a little-known provision is helping these borrowers take their creditors to court.

Araz Hachadourian | Sep 23, 2015

Local economies | Wealth and inequality

Land Trusts Offer Houses That People With Lower Incomes Can Afford—And a Stepping Stone to Lasting Wealth

More than 200 land trusts around the country help struggling families buy their first homes, often in gentrifying neighborhoods.

Penn Loh | Sep 17, 2015

Local economies | Wealth and inequality

Do Interest-Free Loans Make Sense? No, But They Do Make a Difference

Neighbors are helping crowdfund the dreams of local entrepreneurs, giving community businesses the chance to expand with interest-free loans.

Marcus Harrison Green | Sep 8, 2015

Cooperatives | Local economies

These Neighbors Got Together to Buy Vacant Buildings. Now They’re Renting to Bakers and Brewers

Though the model is new and small, it holds outsize potential for the many neighborhoods whose downtowns are controlled by faraway landlords or retail chains.

Olivia LaVecchia | Sep 4, 2015

Shouting Man With Credit Card photo from Shutterstock

Wealth and inequality

6 Ways You Just Got More Power Over Your Credit Score

A complex, for-profit system is behind these three-digit scores that affect your ability to borrow, rent, and work. Here's how regulators are putting credit score companies on notice.

James Trimarco | Sep 4, 2015

Wealth and inequality

Drugs, Sex, and Debt: It’s Time to Revamp “The Talk”

Let’s remove the shame from the conversation and help the next generation avoid the debilitating amounts of debt that keep us from buying houses or taking vacations.

Dina Gachman | Aug 28, 2015

Native rights | Activism | Wealth and inequality | Citizens United | Renewable energy

“You Fly to the Edge of the Tar Sands, and … No Life”: A Montana Professor on the Issue of Our Time

University of Montana professor George Price on permaculture, race, and how he’s standing up to tar sands extraction.

Sarah van Gelder | Aug 28, 2015

Tenderloin Peoples’ Garden. Photo by Sergio Ruiz.

Local power

How One San Francisco Neighborhood Became “Immune” to Gentrification

With more than a quarter of the Tenderloin’s housing stock owned by nonprofits or the government, longtime residents have staying power.

Rick Jacobus | Aug 25, 2015

Left to right: Jerry Ashton and Craig Antico. Photo courtesy of Jerry Ashton.

Wealth and inequality

These Former Debt Collectors Decided to Ditch the Industry, Buy Up Medical Debt, and Forgive It

Jerry Ashton and Craig Antico spent decades hounding debtors to pay their bills—until an offshoot of Occupy Wall Street inspired them to find a way to pay struggling people's debts.

Araz Hachadourian | Aug 17, 2015

After 20 Years Reporting on Solutions, I’m Going on a Journey to Find Where Hope Lies Now

YES! co-founder Sarah van Gelder sets out on a road trip to find the edge of change.

Sarah van Gelder | Aug 13, 2015

This New Rule Will Bring Secretive Corporate Tax Breaks to Light

Every year, governments spend tens of billions of dollars on tax breaks for private companies. Now, state and city governments will have to start reporting it as lost income.

Puck Lo | Aug 7, 2015

Renewable energy

LA’s New Car Share Program Offers Electric Vehicles to Low-Income Drivers

Funded by state cap-and-trade revenue, Los Angeles' program will introduce an electric car-sharing fleet to lower carbon emissions and serve disadvantaged communities.

Shared-Use Mobility Center | Jul 30, 2015