5 Ways Voters Stood Up to Big Money, Despite Losses
From campaign finance reform to protecting small business, Tuesday's elections had a few big victories.
Democracy
Can Seattle Boot Big Money Out of Elections By Giving Everyone “Democracy Vouchers”?
Early results show Seattle passing the Honest Elections ballot initiative. Voters will receive four $25 “democracy vouchers” every election year, which they can donate to the campaign of their choice.
Meet the 1 Percenters Finding Solace in Wealth Redistribution
A growing cadre of the owning class is crafting a healthier relationship to the other 99 percent: “It is not about individual therapy or even engaging in philanthropy or charity. It’s about collective action.”
The Interest-Free Lending Circles That Help Friends and Families Do DIY Loans
Who needs banks when you have communities? And organizations like Mission Asset Fund have even figured out how to use the system to raise credit scores.
Do We Even Need International Borders? (and Other News to Chew On)
Opening borders can have unexpected benefits; studies show alarming links between air pollution and dementia; and Native Americans talk about illegal immigration.
Remembering Grace Lee Boggs and the Revolution She Inspired in Us
YES! has put together a tribute page to honor Grace Lee Boggs and the lives she touched while she was with us. Share your own thoughts with #RememberingGrace.
Saying Goodbye to Grace Lee Boggs
Rest well, dear friend. Millions of us have been enlivened and empowered by your wisdom and spirit.
A Techy Management Fad Gives Workers More Power—Up to a Point
Holacracy aims to liberate workers from micromanagement by replacing bosses with code-like rules modeled on computer programming.
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.
The Feds Raided This Gay Sex Website—And Pushed Sex Worker Rights Into the Mainstream
After the seizure of Rentboy.com, many in the sex worker and LGBTQ movements are finding common ground where they were once divided.
Hero or Coward: Could Skipping My Student Loan Payments Start a Revolution?
A college professor is calling for a massive student-debt strike next year with only one necessity: that as many debtors as possible refuse to pay.
5 Steps to Turn Your Business Into a Worker-owned Co-op
Learn how to turn any business into a worker-owned cooperative with this checklist.
Will Government Make Good on Its Promise to Forgive Student Debt?
Up to a quarter of the nation’s workers have spent 10 years working in public service on a promise of student loan forgiveness.
What’s a Death Midwife? Inside the Alternative Death Care Movement
From funeral cooperatives to green burials, there's a kinder, gentler, less expensive way to die.
“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.
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.
6 Strategies to Make Powerful Social Change—Starting With “Stay Woke”
Bree Newsome’s removal of the Confederate flag from the South Carolina Statehouse reminds us that real change comes from people 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.
Why We Did an Issue on Debt
Good debts? We know it sounds crazy. But there’s a quiet revolution brewing in how we move money around, and we want our readers to know about it.
Video: 10 Years After Katrina, Has New Orleans Recovered?
This new documentary looks at gentrification in New Orleans and its effects on the city's low-income communities.
I Learned More by Leading a Student-Debt Strike Than I Did at College
After graduating from Everest College with a bad education and no job prospects in sight, I refused to pay my student loans. Now I’m helping lead the first student-debt strike in America.
Pardon the Interruption, Bernie: Why Black Lives Matter Is in Politics to Stay
The criticism aimed at Marissa Johnson and Mara Willaford has ranged from the deeply piercing to the explicitly racist. But what they did was necessary, a welcome harbinger of more direct disruption.
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.
Infographic: The Real Reason You Have So Much Debt (It’s Not Crazy Spending)
$11.85 trillion in household debt has more to do with stagnant wages (and predatory banks) than shopping sprees.
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.
Our Vision to Create the Best Stories Imaginable
Our monthly newsletter uplifts relevant pieces from our archives and new solutions journalism from other publications.
LEARN MOREHelp Fund Powerful Stories to Light the Way Forward
Donate to YES! today.