Unstable Stock Market Is a Warning: Treat Your House Like a Home
A precarious housing market is no place for homeowners and renters who just want a safe place to live and a community to belong to.
Local economies
When Buying Nothing Gives You More of Everything
A way to get and give free stuff with your neighbors that is time-consuming, inconvenient—and wonderful.
How We Can Transition to a “Bottom Up” Economy
Three ways to rewire the economy for equality and ecological sustainability.
School District Switches to Local and Organic Meals, Cuts Carbon Footprint—and Saves Money
A new report revealed surprising results when Oakland overhauled its lunch menu at 100-plus schools by serving less meat and more fruits and vegetables.
Crowdfunding Real Estate Isn’t Just For Millionaires Anymore. Could It Be For You?
The relatively new equity crowdfunding seeks investors expecting a return, not donors supporting a project. But the project must improve a community.
Stereotyping Appalachians Feeds Only the Coal Industry
As a fifth-generation coal miner, I see the region’s Trump signs and pro-coal stickers as symbols of defense against a world that views us as lesser.
CEOs Now Make 300 Times More Than Their Workers. This City Is Putting a Stop to That
Runaway CEO pay contributes to income inequality and ultimately harms companies, so local governments aren’t waiting for a federal fix.
Promises to Coal Country Aside, Trump’s Budget Cuts Will End an Economic Lifeline
The Appalachian Regional Commission helps to create jobs and improve economic fortunes of “distressed counties” in West Virginia and Kentucky.
The Cuts in Trump’s Budget You Haven’t Heard About
While national outrage is focused on Public Broadcasting and the National Endowment for the Arts, tiny agencies helping communities that teeter on the edge of poverty would also disappear.
3 Ways Progressives Can Reconnect With Rural America
First, understand the environment is not only about climate change—it’s about livelihood for miners, drillers, loggers, and farmers like me.
What It Takes to Get Women Out of Prison—and Stay Out
The rate of women in U.S. prisons is growing faster than men. But in New Orleans, one group is successfully tackling sentencing for drug use and sex work.
Worried About Rent Hikes, 301 Families Came Together to Buy Their Mobile Home Park
And five other creative ways Americans are stepping up to build strong local economies.
The Fix-It Shop Where Neighbors Repair Your Clothes and Electronics
Three years ago, they started a program to keep salvageable goods from landfills by harnessing the community’s collective skills to fix them.
For Those Who Don’t Want to Vote for the Lesser of Two Evils
Ranked-choice voting is catching on, and Maine might become the first state to help citizens vote for candidates they actually want.
The Other Housing Crisis: Finding a Home in Rural America
Thirty percent of rural Americans have substandard housing—and it’s expensive. But these communities are finding ways to give low-income residents homes of their own.
6 Ways We’re Already Leading an Economic Revolution
From the “buy local” movement to public banking, we’re well on our way to a more democratic, cooperative, and people-centered economy.
As #BankBlack Moves Money, Black Credit Unions Are Ready
While the number of Black-owned banks is down to only 22, there are 318 Black credit unions uniquely positioned to invest in their communities.
Can Industrial Hemp Save Kentucky’s Small Farms?
As tobacco declines, some hope that hemp can be a “gateway crop” to financial sustainability for the state’s small farms.
Meet the Jeans-Wearing, Nature-Loving Nuns Who Helped Stop a Kentucky Pipeline
As fewer women enter the convent, what will become of Kentucky’s tradition of socially and environmentally engaged religious women?
I Was a Fourth-Generation Coal Miner. Here’s Why I Quit
“I quit the mines, not entirely sure what I was going to do. I just knew that I could do something different.”
Craft Beer vs. Budweiser: How Small Brewers Are Winning Back the Neighborhood
Good beer comes from collaboration, not competition. By working together, small brewers everywhere are giving corporations a run for their money.
Berkeley Votes to Boost Co-op Economy In the Face of Gentrification
A growing number of cities are investing in co-ops to keep money local and neighborhoods affordable.
What Legalizing Street Vending Could Do for L.A.’s Local Economy
Los Angeles is one of few U.S. cities where street trade isn’t widely permitted. But for immigrants and low-income people, it’s often the only way to earn a living.
A West Virginia Family Leaves Coal for Local Food—And Wants to Help Others Do the Same
In a place where coal’s legacy has left residents struggling, one family has a vision of a healthier future.
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.
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