If you believe the portrait of rural America depicted in the Netflix film Hillbilly Elegy, you might conclude that its residents are hopelessly impoverished, addicted, and depressed. That’s also the view of Eduardo Porter in “The Hard Truth of Trying to ‘Save’ Rural America,” whose much-discussed piece in the New York Times argues that the
Please, no! Not another economic development study on how to expand the local clusters! Haven’t we learned anything about the fragility of global dependencies from this pandemic? Last week, I spent several hours reading two recent economic-development studies done for Ulster County, New York. One was entitled “Food and Agriculture Cluster Development.” It was a
Congratulations, fellow localizers! Our arguments are winning! Why else would the globalization elite be going out of their way to attack us? The lead editorial of the November 7th issue of the Economist skeptically asks, “Why Is the Idea of Import Substitution Being Revived?” Import substitution, of course, is a technical term for localization, where
No, not the election. But a revolutionary change in securities law. Last week, in a 3-2 decision, the Securities and Exchanges Commission (SEC) tweaked a bunch of regulations concerning investment crowdfunding. The headliner change increased the maximum amount a company can raise in a year from $1 million to $5 million, which means that many
“Ooh, a storm is threatening My very life today If I don’t get some shelter Ooh yea, I’m gonna fade away.” – Rolling Stones We interrupt this election nail-biter for a special news flash: No matter who wins the presidency, the country is facing a staggering housing crisis. Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, communities across
As you deliberate over your ballot decisions in the next few days, one choice should be easy: Ask whether any candidate favors giving away taxpayer money to attract global companies. If the answer is “yes” – even a squishy conditional “yes” – throw the bum out. I have no clue where Vice President Joe Biden
“As so many Americans feel powerless to confront a financial system designed to serve the few, Shuman offers us real choices: tools that align our lives with our values. That’s power. I love this highly readable, timely, surprising book.”
–Frances Moore Lappé, author of Daring Democracy and Diet for a Small Planet
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October 4 – November 1: Local Investing in Montana Workshop Series, hosted by the Center for Community Ownership.
