Get Hopeful For 2014: YES! Founder Sarah van Gelder Talks to Democracy Now!
From new leadership in the fight against climate change to an uprising in the education system, there's a lot to be excited about in 2014.
Economy
10 Hopeful Things That Happened in 2013 to Get You Inspired for What鈥檚 to Come
Beyond the headlines of conflict and catastrophe, this year鈥檚 top stories offered us some powerful proof that the world can still change鈥攆or the better.
Philly鈥檚 New Land Bank: Will It Give Blighted Communities a Boost?
The city is home to more than 40,000 vacant properties. Now neighborhoods are hoping a new public entity can help them bounce back from the post-industrial blues.
Only 4 Percent of the Lowest-Wage Workers Get Paid Family Leave: Could a New Law Change This?
Many small businesses do want to give their workers paid time off to care for new babies and sick family members, but lack the means. How a new bill could make it possible.
Can this Small College in Maryland Pass the Fairest Wage Policy in US Academia?
An initiative developed by staff, students, and faculty would tie the earnings of the school's highest-paid employees to those of the lowest.
We Know Who Stole the Economy鈥擭ational People鈥檚 Action Moves to Take It Back
"Listen to and work with your base to create a shared, big-picture narrative."
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."
Hey, NY Times, Want Fairness in Pacific Trade Deal? Then Advocates Must Get Seat at the Table
A recent editorial in the The New York Times argued that the Trans Pacific Partnership should strengthen environmental and labor regulations. But that won't happen unless we change the process.
Bill de Blasio: A Mayor for the New Economy
New York City's new mayor has laid out a radically inclusive economic agenda.
The Economy of Smallness: Making Economic Exchange a Loving Human Interaction
Philadelphia restauranteur and local economies movement leader Judy Wicks on making good and doing good.
Main Street Comeback: How Independent Stores are Thriving (Even in the Age of Amazon)
Despite behemoths like Starbucks and Amazon, the number of independent bookstores, coffeeshops, and other businesses is growing.
Can Eminent Domain Be Used to Avert a Foreclosure Mess? This California City Thinks So
Governments usually use eminent domain powers to displace people. But one hardscrabble Bay Area city is going to the mat to do just the opposite鈥攕tabilize its economy and keep residents where they are.
Nobel Prize? Meet the Economic Movement That Really Deserves Praise
This week, the Nobel Prize for economics may have gone to three academics, but the real work of fixing our local economies was happening on the ground鈥攁s part of New Economy Week.
How Domestic Workers Won Their Rights: Five Big Lessons
After decades of exclusion, home care workers are finally covered by federal minimum wage laws. Anyone who works for social change can learn from how they did it.
What 11-Year-Olds Get鈥攁nd Adults Forget鈥擜bout Child Labor in Chocolate
Marie Hogan confronted Hershey鈥檚 about using children in its supply chain because she cares about other kids, fairness鈥攁nd candy. Here鈥檚 what we can learn from her.
What鈥檚 Fairer than Fair Trade? Try Direct Trade With Cocoa Farmers
Fair trade is good, but it still leaves cocoa growers in poverty. Here鈥檚 how to do better.
Welcome to Commonomics: How to Build Local Economies Strong Enough for Everyone
In our new series, YES! Magazine investigates what it will take to strengthen our local economies for the benefit of all.
Brand New From Annie Leonard: The Story of Solutions
The final film in the 鈥淪tory of Stuff鈥� series asks, What if the goal of our economy wasn鈥檛 more, but better鈥攂etter health, better jobs, and a better chance to survive on the planet?
White House Makes History by Granting Minimum Wage to Home Care Workers
The Obama administration makes good on its promise to give direct care workers the same rights as nearly everyone else鈥攁nd to top it all off, California follows suit.
Less than 2 Percent of Carpenters Are Women鈥擬eet the Master Builder Working to Change That
Maria Klemperer-Johnson is getting women ready for a growing and high-paying field by teaching them to build eco-friendly tiny homes.
Bitcoin’s Growing Influence: How Peer-to-Peer Currencies Are Taking Off
The decentralization and bank-free nature of this digital currency is enjoying wider acceptance. Meanwhile, governments are beginning to borrow from its ideas.
Escape from an L.A. Sweatshop: How Modern-Day Slaves Become Lobbyists
Lured from Mexico into forced labor at an American factory, Flor Molina鈥檚 human trafficking story was typical. What鈥檚 remarkable is what she did next.
For Safer Factories, CEOs Are Listening to Workers on the Frontlines
The future of corporate responsibility means hearing firsthand from factory workers about their conditions.
Farmer Startups? How Incubators Are Helping Small, Sustainable Farms Take Off
Training farms known as incubators are helping immigrants and others get into farming. But Congressional wrangling over the Farm Bill has put their future in question.
Detroit Bankrupt? Six Ways the Motor City Is Thriving
National media accounts of Detroit's bankruptcy miss the growing industries, strong communities, and policy changes laying the foundation's for the city's recovery.
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