‘Invisible' Credit? (Read This Now!)

Around the world, students borrow money to pay for college, but, in the United States, students are more likely to fall behind on loans. Australia may offer some lessons: borrowers in Australia only start paying back their loans once their earnings reach $40,000, and beyond that they pay four percent of their income until the loans are repaid. The system does not penalize borrowers when they face economic hardship.

An increasingly popular way to attract foreign direct investment is to let the world’s wealthiest trade cash and property investments for citizenship. The $2 billion-a-year industry allows the ultra-rich to buy passports that permit visa-free travel to nearly the entire world, often with no residency requirements. Highly controversial, the industry is marked by a lack of transparency and concerns about what happens to civic ties when citizenship can be bought and sold.

Over two million baby boomers own their own companies, and with retirement looming, the government stepped in with a solution. A portion of a 2018 federal bill included language that will push the Small Business Administration to help baby boomers transition ownership of their companies to their employees if they wish. This will mitigate job loss often associated with a retiring business owner putting the company up for sale. Employee owners on average make a higher salary and have higher job stability, supporting the idea that employee ownership is beneficial for everyone involved, as well as for the econom

A collaborative funding organization called the Runway Project gives loans to primarily Black entrepreneurs in the Oakland area. The initiative aims to address racial disparities in startup capital by reducing the financial risk of starting a business. The program also includes personalized support as a "wrap around" approach to the lending process.

A solar workgroup in Virginia is inviting developers to present information on the best ways to build solar and battery storage projects for the region; a new approach they are taking after previous failures in getting solar projects off the ground. Despite a lack of funding and local developers in the area, solar advocates are hopeful that the passage of a new energy law in the Commonwealth could be an economic incentive for commercial-scale solar projects.

Refugee women arriving in Brazil have been able to achieve financial independence through the work of an organization called Women of the Global South, an organization that provides women with the tools and skills to sell textiles. In addition to providing entrepreneurial skills, it also helps refugee women with transportation, classes, sewing machines and even provides cash for emergencies and help getting in touch with family members they have been separated from.

A Portland-based foundation has revitalized a small town in Maine with the establishment of an arts colony, reconstruction of old buildings in downtown, and a full health center - a rarity for small towns. A declining population and the shuttering of major businesses contributed to the decline of Monson. The Libra Foundation's philanthropic efforts have spurred enthusiasm within the town well known for being the last stop along the Appalachian Trail.

Este reportaje cuenta y explica la solución energética de Ticino, un pueblo de la provincia argentina de Córdoba. Quemando biomasa (cáscara de maní), la manicera de la localidad, que es también la empresa más grande del lugar, genera energía eléctrica que vende al Estado para abastecer al pueblo y a zonas vecinas. Esta solución beneficia a cientos de familias y permitió que durante el gran apagón nacional de 2019, Ticino continuara con luz.

Grants for women living in refugee camps have helped recipients start businesses and learn new skills, allowing them to improve their quality of life. Additionally, the women created an informal cooperative and take turns investing a percentage of proceeds from each successful business into another member’s business.

The Wyoming Stock Growers Land Trust uses conservation easements to conserve agricultural land in the state. These agreements happen when a landowner sells or donates the development rights to their land to the trust forever. They are allowed to keep farming the land, but it must remain undeveloped.