Community Wealth Building, How Does It Happen?

By Hady Mawajdeh,

Published April 9, 2015 at 12:22 PM EDT

Construction of the greenhouses in Cleveland that are part of the Evergreen Cooperative.

State lawmakers around the nation offer tax incentives to manufacturers in hopes of bringing new jobs to their state. But what happens when they strike out? Some believe that it’s possible to generate more jobs and community wealth by partnering with local institutions to build worker-owned businesses.

The Evergreen Cooperative in Cleveland, Ohio is one of the newest and most successful models of worker owned businesses models. Politico has interviewed the parties involved with the Evergreen Project and explored the idea in an article titled "Rebuilding the Rust Belt."

Host Frank Stasio talks with Steve Dubb, Research Director of The Democracy Collaborative, about what it takes to create wealth by helping people own their work.

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Hady Mawajdeh

Hady Mawajdeh is a native Texan, born and raised in San Antonio. He listened to Fresh Air growing up and fell in love with public radio. He earned his B.A. in Mass Communication at Texas State University and specialized in electronic media. He worked at NPR affiliate stations KUT and KUTX in Austin, Texas as an intern, producer, social media coordinator, and a late-night deejay.

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Frank Stasio

Longtime NPR correspondent Frank Stasio was named permanent host of The State of Things in June 2006. A native of Buffalo, Frank has been in radio since the age of 19. He began his public radio career at WOI in Ames, Iowa, where he was a magazine show anchor and the station's News Director.

See stories by Frank Stasio