As Boomers Retire, Mom-and-Pop Businesses Convert to Co-ops to Save Jobs
Baby boomers are the largest percentage of business owners, and they鈥檙e headed toward retirement. Worker cooperatives could keep the jobs they鈥檝e created from disappearing.
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Economy
Meet the Citizens Who Helped Decide Their City鈥檚 Budget鈥攁nd Got Better Buses, Benches, and Crosswalks
Greensboro, North Carolina, is the first Southern city to give citizens direct control over a slice of public spending.
Why Give Breaks to Huge Corporations When We Could Invest Public Money Down the Street?
Cities and states fork over an estimated $70 billion each year to large companies that don鈥檛 need public assistance to thrive. We could spend that money on our own neighborhoods.
The Pragmatic Impacts of Sanders鈥� Big Dreams
Even with Tuesday鈥檚 campaign setbacks, Bernie Sanders鈥� pledge to make the country more equitable and sustainable is more realistic than some people are letting on.
How a Worker-Owned Tech Startup Found Investors鈥攁nd Kept Its Values
As cooperative culture spreads into the tech world, Loomio is part of a new wave of entrepreneurs figuring out how to finance a more democratic, values-centered online economy.
We Can Have a Living Earth Economy鈥擝ut It Won鈥檛 Be Easy
Humanity has been acting like a willful child, demanding everything and leaving messes everywhere. It is time for our species to take the step to maturity, to acknowledge that care and cooperation are key to happiness鈥攁nd even survival.
Capitalism or Socialism? There鈥檚 an Even Better Option
Bernie Sanders鈥� popular campaign suggests that many Americans aren't afraid of socialism anymore. But real democracy is an even better alternative to capitalism.
New Jersey Divests from Payday Lending
Payday loans are illegal in New Jersey. So when a payday lender showed up in its portfolio of investments, state leaders took action.
69 Hired, Thousands to Go: Under Pressure, Berkeley Takes First Steps to End UC Labor Abuses
Boycotts and sit-ins force UC Berkeley to hire outsourced custodians and parking lot attendants, giving them higher wages and better benefits.
The Thing Sanders, Trump, and Clinton Agree On. It鈥檚 That Bad
The Trans-Pacific Partnership is slated for an up-or-down vote in Congress. Proponents say it鈥檚 about free trade. But it looks more like corporate colonization.
Austin鈥檚 Unique Policy Shift to Create Jobs for Everyone, Not Just Techies
How the city is promoting local economic growth that goes beyond deals for big companies.
More Confessions of an Economic Hit Man: This Time, They鈥檙e Coming for Your Democracy
Twelve years ago, John Perkins published his book, 鈥淐onfessions of an Economic Hit Man.鈥� Today, he says 鈥渢hings have just gotten so much worse.鈥�
Why Teaming Up with Unions Might be the Best Way to Build the Co-Op Movement
Growing numbers of unions are successfully turning to the cooperative model to fight for workers鈥� rights.
Call for Submissions: The Gig Economy
Workers outside the traditional paycheck economy now constitute 30 percent of the workforce. The fall issue of 大象传媒 Magazine will look at what鈥檚 driving this new kind of economy, and how workers can help shift it into a better direction. Send us your pitches by March 25.
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.鈥檚 Local Economy
Los Angeles is one of few U.S. cities where street trade isn鈥檛 widely permitted. But for immigrants and low-income people, it鈥檚 often the only way to earn a living.
The Economy We Want Starts With a Constitutional Amendment
A more democratic and equal election system is the first step toward a more democratic and equal economy.
Half of America鈥檚 Workforce Has No Retirement Plan鈥擝ut Illinois Has a Fix
Economists see the Illinois Secure Choice Savings Program, designed for private-sector workers, as an innovative complement to Social Security.
What鈥檚 the New Economy Look Like? Here鈥檚 What Our Artists Did With Your Ideas
Pictures of windmills and farmers markets are great, but they don鈥檛 capture the diversity and radicalism of the movement. So we asked readers like you for poster ideas and handed them over to two of our favorite artists.
Was 2015 the Year Big Food Began to Lose Its Sway?
Companies like Coca-Cola and Monsanto were called out for conflicts of interest, leaving many in the public health sector to wonder if next year transparency might become the new normal.
Filipina Trafficking Survivors Launch a Co-op鈥擜nd They Own Their Jobs
After Judith Daluz escaped from an abusive employer and reunited with her children, she struggled to make ends meet. So she started a cleaning business with other Filipinas鈥攚here she鈥檚 her own boss.
A West Virginia Family Leaves Coal for Local Food鈥擜nd Wants to Help Others Do the Same
In a place where coal鈥檚 legacy has left residents struggling, one family has a vision of a healthier future.
These Girls Founded a Savings and Loan Club in Kenya鈥檚 Biggest Urban Slum
Halima and her friends had to stay home from school when they couldn鈥檛 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鈥� rights is possible鈥攊f we are willing to face the tough issues.
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