New State & Local Policies

Mondragón and the System Problem

Gar Alperovitz and Thomas Hanna
Truthout

Democracy Collaborative co-founder Gar Alperovitz and Senior Researcher Thomas Hanna discuss the challenge of sustaining and building participatory decision-making structures and organizations within a corporate capitalist system. They note the recent bankruptcy filing of Fagor Electrodomésticos Group, the principle company of the Mondragon Corporation, as an impetus to confront the institutional incompatibilities between the free market and cooperative forms.

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The Rise of Community Wealth Building Institutions

Oct 16th, 2013
More people are turning to economic alternatives in which new wealth is built collectively and from the bottom up

Crossposted from Policy Network, and later published on the London School of Economics website, this blog is part of a debate event hosted by Policy Network in London, UK, that was reviewed in OurKingdom by grassroots activist James Doran:    

Five years after the financial crisis economic inequality in the United States is spiraling to levels not seen since the Gilded Age. While most Americans are experiencing a recovery-less recovery, the top one per cent of earners last year claimed 19.3 per cent of household income, their largest share since 1928. Moreover, income distribution looks positively egalitarian when compared to wealth ownership.

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Policies for Shareable Cities: A Sharing Economy Policy Primer for Urban Leaders

Neal Gorenflo and Yassi Eskandari-Qajar

This policy primer from Shareable and the Sustainable Economies Law Center catalogues innovative local policies that city governments have used to help residents share resources, co-produce, and create their own jobs. Focusing on food, housing, transportation, and job sharing, this guide is intended to help cities build community wealth and develop more resilient and democratic local economies. More broadly, the sharing economy highlights how governments can structure infrastructure, services, incentives, and regulations to support this new economy.

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Public Money for the Public Good

Oct 3rd, 2013
How public finances can be unlocked for local economic development
Public banks and credit unions weathered the last crisis much better than private banks, benefiting the communities they served as well. And many experts believe that it’s only a matter of time before the next financial crisis hits. To weather the next one well, we need to ensure that our individual and collective resources strengthen the types of financial institutions that are democratically accountable, economically stable, mission oriented, and that are actively helping build and keep wealth locally in our communities.
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Greensboro Strong Cities Strong Communities (SC2) Challenge

http://www.greensboro-nc.gov/index.aspx?page=4027

As one of three cities that won a U.S. Department of Commerce and Economic Development Administration’s Strong Cities, Strong Communities (SC2) grant, Greensboro was able to kick off this Challenge to encourage community involvement in identifying innovative strategies to promote Greensboro’s economic development.  Designed as a two-phase competition, the Challenge offers cash rewards to groups or individuals who develop the best plans to nurture the city’s economic growth, and a final $1 million prize to the overall winner.  To encourage community participation, the City created a website through which residents and organizations can propose ideas, and rate or comment on other people’s suggestions.

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Guide to Going Local: Building Stronger, Healthier, and More Vibrant Communities

BALLE and The Center for a New American Dream

This new guide offers ideas and advice on how to strengthen the local economy in your town through buying local, highlighting new entrepreneurs, investing locally, and more. With how-to tips, videos, and other useful resources, the Guide to Going Local provides tools in four key areas: building pride in place, fostering local entrepreneurship, buying locally and sustainably, and investing locally.


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Democracy Collaborative Offers Paid Internship

Aug 6th, 2013
Work with us on newsletters and community-wealth.org

We are pleased to announce a new intern position at The Democracy Collaborative that will focus on the Community-Wealth.org newsletter and adding web content. For further details, please see the position description below. Remember to submit your applications by August 30!

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