Build Community Wealth

The best longer term strategy to create living-wage jobs and expand the property tax base is to build community wealth. It is time to stop giving tax breaks to private developers and start building community-owned enterprises where the wealth created is anchored to our community by democratic ownership structures.

• Cooperatives: Prioritize city economic development incentives for worker and consumer cooperatives.
• Municipal Development Bank to plan, finance, and advise cooperatives.
• Public Power Utility to cut energy costs, improve customer service, and build clean, renewable energy sources.
• Community Media Organization: Use Time Warner franchise fees to fund a community-controlled nonprofit organization that provides programming, staffing, and training in all forms of community media, including cable channels devoted to Public Access, Educational, and Governmental (PEG) programming, community radio, community newspapers, and web-based media.
• Community Broadband Utility: Create a first-rate community-owned broadband system (internet, cable TV, phone) to provide faster, lower cost service than the corporate telecoms do.