Economic Development

Investing in Local Businesses, Creating Good Jobs, Strengthening Our Communities

Big corporations and outside investors extract wealth from our communities while small businesses struggle to get the capital they need. Community Enterprise Zones (CEZs) are a proven, community-driven solution to build local businesses, create jobs, and keep wealth in working-class neighborhoods.

• Community Development Financial Institution: Creation of of a publicly controlled, community-based micro-lending fund designed to help small businesses, worker cooperatives, and union shops thrive.
• Micro-loans for Local Entrepreneurs: Small-scale, community-driven investments that empower local businesses, not outside corporations.
• Job Credits That Reward Local Hiring: Businesses that hire from within the zone receive tiered wage credits to support good-paying jobs:
• 35% wage credit for cooperative businesses (up to $45,000 per worker).
• 35% wage credit for unionized businesses with collective bargaining (up to $35,000 per worker).
• 35% wage credit for traditional businesses (up to $25,000 per worker).
• Focused on the Communities That Need It Most: Serving low income areas with poverty rates above 25%.

"Give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you." — Luke 6:38 

By investing $1,000,000 annually for 10 years from the $2.5 Million generated through Land and Tax Reform we will be able to empower local economies, create stable jobs, and ensure our communities thrive—not just survive.