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.
Economy
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.
80 Percent of Us Owe Money to Institutions. Can We Leverage It to Reduce Inequality?
Three visionaries discuss how America’s debt problem has transformed the movements they work with.
California Challenges Gender Discrimination With Equal Pay Law (and Other News to Chew On)
A Louisiana university helps solve the national shortage of black doctors, Uber drivers are left with car payments after a raise in fees, and Mother Jones explores whether mammograms do more harm than good.
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.
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.
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?
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.
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.
Why Student Debtors Can’t File for Bankruptcy—Or Can They?
Think you can't declare bankruptcy on your student loan debt? Think again.
For These Borrowers and Lenders, Debt Is a Relationship Based on Love
There could be a different financial system, one where debt allows us to honor our freedom rather than our servitude.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Infographic: A History of Debt Forgiveness and Relief
As long as there has been lending, there have been times when the people’s debt becomes a crisis. Here’s a look at the policy solutions governments have been using, starting in ancient Sumer.
“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.
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.
Own a Home in Just Four Years? This Co-Op Program Keeps Workers in the Neighborhood
Nearly half of Evergreen’s worker-owners have purchased homes through the program.
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