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.
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.
“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.
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.
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.
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.
“Don’t Owe. Won’t Pay.” Everything You’ve Been Told About Debt Is Wrong
With the nation’s household debt burden at $11.85 trillion, even the most modest challenges to its legitimacy have revolutionary implications.
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.
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.
Debt Collective Marches on New Orleans for Free Higher Ed
“It’s not about freeloading. It’s about what we’re willing to extend to each other as a society.”
Economic Growth Doesn’t Make a Wealthy Nation, Safety and Happiness Do
Economist Kate Raworth explains why economic growth shouldn't be the only measure of a nation's wealth.
Obama’s Push for Corporate Rule: A Moment of Opportunity
Call it populism versus corporatism or democracy versus corporate rule. Either way, it is a far more meaningful political division than two political parties debating big government versus small.
Why “Broad City” Is the Perfect Comedy for the Student Debt Generation
The Comedy Central show allows millennials of a specific demographic—and even those outside of it—to laugh at the situation the 1 percent has handed them.
Alternative Currencies Are Bigger Than Bitcoin: How They’re Building Prosperity From London to Kenya
The Brixton Pound, Koru Kenya, and Mazacoin are all attempting to achieve a common goal: empowering people in a monetarily unequal world, from the bottom up.
Alaska Bolstered Its Economy and Curbed Inequality—By Paying Everyone Thousands in Oil Dividends Every Year
After 30 years, the practice of paying every resident—including children—at least $1,000 has made Alaska one of the least unequal states in America. Here's what the rest of us can learn.
What White People Can Do for Food Justice
Creator of Master Cooks Corps train-the-trainer program Chef Nadine Nelson says White people in the food movement should ask themselves: What are you doing to hold yourself accountable to people of color?
How the U.S. Government Could End the Student Debt Crisis Today
Instead of loaning students money, the federal government could just pay for their tuition, without causing any significant economic problems.
Occupy Offshoot Cancels $4 Million in Predatory Student Loans—and Starts a Debtors Union
First, they started buying up—and canceling—individuals’ medical debt. Now the people behind Rolling Jubilee are taking on student loans from a for-profit university that exploits the poor—and the whole debt system could be next.
Welcome to the Spanish Town Where People Come Before Profit
The town of Marinaleda, often called Spain's "communist utopia," is proof that an economy built on mutual aid is possible.
Learning From Debt: How It Strengthened My Dreams and Brought My Family Closer
The experience of debt can guide us toward different ways of living—like having extended generations share a household—that are both cheaper and more fulfilling.
“Black Women’s Blueprint” Helps Low-Income Women Get By—Through Bartering
Farah Tanis learned that, of the women in poverty she worked with, 9 out of 10 had experienced violence—so she started a bartering network to help them survive.
Our Economy Wants You to Be In Debt—5 Things You Can Do to Take Charge
We pored through a debt-resistance manual created by former Occupiers to bring you these practical tips.
In Rural Kansas, an Experiment Makes Hitchhiking Safe Again
The people behind the project borrowed some tricks from ride-sharing apps like Lyft, but tweaked the details so the rides are free.
Artist’s Dollar-Bill Collages Question the Meaning of Money
"Anarchists are certain I'm an anarchist because I cut up a favorite tool of the oppressor," artist Mark Wagner says. "Capitalists think I'm a capitalist because I revel in it."
Brand New From Annie Leonard: The Story of Solutions
The final film in the “Story of Stuff” series asks, What if the goal of our economy wasn’t more, but better—better health, better jobs, and a better chance to survive on the planet?
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