Transcript Community Wealth Building

An Illinois
Community Wealth Building
Action Agenda
Presentation to the Governor’s Task Force on Social Innovation,
Entrepreneurship and Enterprise
Ted Howard
The Democracy Collaborative
April 24, 2013 – Chicago, IL
The Prevailing Economic
Development Paradigm
Some of its characteristics and elements include:
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Subsidies and tax breaks to entice corporations to relocate ($80B)
Workforce training not linked to actual jobs ($37B)
Regional trickle down strategies that do not reach low- and
moderate-income neighborhoods
Growth & GDP – toward what end?
Low-wage (non-living wage) job creation, often without benefits
Exclusion of ex-offenders and others with barriers to employment
Gentrification and dispersal of traditional residents
“Throwaway cities” and their infrastructure
Privatization of publicly owned goods
What is the Community Wealth
Building Paradigm?
A New Approach to Economic Development that:
• emphasizes democratization of wealth
• focuses on place & local economy
• promotes broader ownership of capital
• anchors jobs locally
• stops the leakage of dollars from communities
• supports individual & family wealth building
• reinforces stewardship over capital
• generates revenues to finance public services
• leverages anchor institutions for local benefit
• contributes to local economic stability
• total cost accounting of economic decisions
An Integrated Community Wealth Approach
Key Components
Putting the Pieces Together
Family
Wealth
Building
Broader
Ownership
Anchor
Institutions
 Help individuals build wealth
and savings
 Create community-owned
businesses and other entities
that provide living wage jobs
and root wealth in communities
 Link community businesses with
anchor procurement needs and
public expenditures
Retaining Jobs and Building Wealth
through Employee Ownership
Action Agenda:
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Develop an Illinois Employee Ownership Center to retain existing jobs
Assist Illinois banks to refinance employee ownership
Deploying State and Other Public Assets to
Reinvest in Illinois
Action Agenda:
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Leverage Hospital investment
Promote greater community investment by universities in Illinois
Invest state pension fund dollars in Illinois
Investing in Resident-owned Affordable
Housing
Action Agenda:
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Convert manufactured housing into resident-owned communities
Redirect housing dollars to support permanently affordable
housing.
Supporting Cooperative Business Development
Action Agenda:
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Reform Illinois’ Cooperative Statute
Support cooperative development in rural Illinois
Catalyze cooperative job creation strategies in low-income
communities
Promoting a New Paradigm of Economic
Development for Illinois
Action Agenda:
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Convene Community Wealth Building Roundtables in key Illinois
cities
For more information:
[email protected]
www.Community-Wealth.org