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.
YES! Article archive
Economy
These Girls Founded a Savings and Loan Club in Kenya’s Biggest Urban Slum
Halima and her friends had to stay home from school when they couldn’t afford sanitary pads. So they launched their own businesses and pooled their money for investment.
How to End 30 Years of Wage Stagnation
Rebuilding workers’ rights is possible—if we are willing to face the tough issues.
18 Holiday Gift Ideas—From Co-ops
Here’s how to use your holiday shopping to support cooperatives.
COP21: What Paris Can Learn From a Mississippi Co-op
Cooperation Jackson heads to the Paris climate talks to show what a just transition to a green economy looks like.
REI Will #OptOutside on Black Friday. Can It Change Retail (and the Economy)?
All 143 REI stores will be closed on Black Friday. But what more can the co-op do to live up to its values and transform the conversation in the United States?
The USDA Is Putting $34.3 Million Into Local Food Projects. Will It Be Enough?
Those in the food justice movement question whether the agency’s recent efforts are a superficial attempt to appear supportive of local food and minority farmers.
10 Reasons to Leave Your Company to Your Workers When You Retire
It’s a once-in-a-generation opportunity: Selling to employees can yield a better price, preserve a legacy, keep jobs and profits local—and maybe even eradicate inequality.
The Economics of Compassion: Can This City Wipe Out Debt by 2019?
A "Jubilee" initiative in Cincinnati aims to wipe out the debts of the city's poorest people. Theologian Walter Brueggemann explains the idea's biblical foundations.
As Boomers Retire, Millions of Small Businesses Will Change Hands. Can We Keep Them Local?
A “silver tsunami” of retiring business owners is coming, and with it, one of the biggest changeovers of privately held companies in U.S. history. Here’s how we can help owners pass on their legacies—to their workers.
After Decades in a Food Desert, These Neighbors Are Building a $2 Million Co-op—And They Own It
For nearly 20 years, the residents of this mostly African American Greensboro community had nowhere to shop for food. They tried to attract a big-box grocery store; when that didn’t work, they started their own.
Energy Democracy: Inside Californians’ Game-Changing Plan for Community-Owned Power
Large utility companies control about 75 percent of the electricity market in California. A hybrid between a public agency and private utility, the new Community Choice program is a model for communities that want greener, cheaper energy.
3 Ways the TPP Will Hurt the Climate—If We Let It Pass
The next big trade deal is poised for a congressional vote in 2016. Here's what that means for the planet.
New Economy Week Starts Here
This week, we bring you five pressing challenges blocking our way to a better economy—and a dose of solutions.
Acts of Collective Imagination: Notes From the Chief Policy Wonk at America’s Department of Arts and Culture
What if we gave everyone a universal basic income, and studied the adverse impacts of development before razing neighborhoods? The policy agenda of a national network you didn’t know existed.
7 Paths to Development That Bring Neighborhoods Wealth, Not Gentrification
The plan to build better, more connected, flourishing communities is here—and it won’t require putting a Starbucks on every block.
Borrow, Save, Share: 3 Ways Seeds Can Democratize Our Food System
Just six companies control 63 percent of the commercial seed market. But seed libraries offer us an opportunity to reclaim the seed commons and create our own community food systems.
Baltimore After the Uprising: 3 Trends Building a Fairer, Safer, Stronger Economy
Because structural problems need structural solutions.
After Ferguson Uprising, Should St. Louis Spend $1 Billion on a New Football Stadium?
Just a year and a half after the St. Louis area became internationally known for racism, the city is considering building a billion-dollar stadium. If justice was our priority, says organizer Julia Ho, those tax dollars would be spent very differently.
3 Ways to Jumpstart a Community-Grounded Economy
By centering on race, seeing community members as experts, and changing policies, we can build an economy that benefits everyone.
This Maine Co-op’s Trying to Bring Fresh, Local Food to 10,000 College Students
For the past 10 years, University of Maine students have been fed by a giant corporate food distributor. If Maine Farm & Sea Cooperative wins the next contract, they’ll send millions of dollars to local farmers and fishermen instead.
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?
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.
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.
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.
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