Vice President Kamala Harris and Governor Tim Walz have spoken about creating an opportunity economy and it made me wonder: what is an opportunity economy? What would that look like?
Then it hit me, we see opportunity economies all around us. They look like the thriving community-centered economies in places like Berkeley, Santa Monica, and Georgetown—communities that had the right tools and resources, while also being empowered to build a prosperous future for themselves and their neighbors.
As the Vice President of Policy at the Greenlining Institute, I’m always curious about how we replicate and scale programs and policies that work. So, how can Vice President Harris make her vision of an opportunity economy a reality? Because the truth is, far too many communities don’t have the necessary tools to create their own opportunity economies—the result of racist and discriminatory policies like redlining that meant, for decades, they were denied investment and opportunities to strengthen their communities.
Today, these communities still endure the consequences, with distressed neighborhoods where opportunities–especially economic opportunities–are hard to come by. As inequality deepens across the country, more and more signs of distress are showing up in communities that haven’t experienced them before. It does not have to be this way. At The Greenlining Institute we are working on creating an opportunity economy that works for everyone—especially those that have been historically left behind. We call it a Greenlined Economy.
Working Towards a Greenlined Economy
A Greenlined Economy is driven by very different values than our current economic system, which is built on extraction, exploitation, individualism, and hyperproductivity. We envision a Greenlined Economy that is cooperative, regenerative, democratic, non-exploitative, and inclusive. And this theory is grounded from what we are learning from The Greenlining Coalition, Transformative Climate Communities, Greenlining the Block, Toward Equitable Electric Mobility Community of Practice, and other initiatives that root policy-making in the lived experience of communities implementing policy. A Greenlined Economy recognizes that we are all part of an interconnected system and that we are only as strong as our ability to care for the weakest among us. A Greenlined Economy radically meets the needs of all people, including those who have suffered the most under our current paradigm—an economy in which all communities can thrive.
A Greelined Economy is affordable. Nothing in this world is free, we pay with our labor, our earnings, and our time, but you can’t tell me that a healthy, thriving economy is one in which hard working people struggle to pay for the basic necessities of life. Today, ? of Americans report living paycheck to paycheck, meaning they struggle to make ends meet between paydays and have little to no savings left after covering essential expenses. Affordable housing, clean energy, transportation, and broadband are core to our vision of a Greenined Economy.
A Greenlined Economy is prosperous. Good jobs with good benefits and protections are ubiquitous in a Greenlined Economy. So are opportunities to launch and sustain small businesses to build individual and community wealth. Accessible financial services like small dollar and low-interest loans are a part of a prosperous economy, because everyone needs access to additional financing when launching an entrepreneurial venture or is pursuing higher education or training. Homeownership, business ownership, land ownership, are a must to build intergenerational wealth, which has been out of reach for many people of color. That’s why Greenlining is helping communities own non-housing assets like resilience centers, mobility hubs, community solar, and land through Greenlining the Block, which supports the leadership and expertise of communities of color to prepare for and maximize federal, state and local infrastructure investments to drive effective climate action that meets community needs.
A Greenlined Economy is resilient and just. As our recent history demonstrates, our communities must be resilient to climate, social, and economic crises. Whether we are dealing with a worldwide health crisis, social upheaval, or economic turmoil, all our communities must be able to confront and recover from these shocks. The most vulnerable among us would know that they can count on being able to both bounce back and leap forward in a Greenlined Economy. And to do so, our governments, our community-based organizations, and our people must have the capacity and resources to meet the call for support when needed. This means that when all is well and good, our communities are thriving. And when things go south, our communities are ready to meet the challenge.
I truly believe that we are on our way to a Greenlined Economy, despite the considerable challenges facing communities, particularly communities of color and low-income communities. It is the only way to bring everyone along to prosperity. For 30 years Greenlining has been honing our strategy to redress the economic losses associated with redlining. We’ve made gains directing billions of public, private, and philanthropic dollars to formerly redlined communities and now, we are doubling down on our model to Greenline our communities at the intersection of economic and climate equity policy in order to transform our systems so that prosperity can flourish.
In time, with powerful partnerships, bold leadership, and the hard work of my colleagues and community leaders who have been fighting to create an Opportunity Economy for generations, I know we can achieve it.
SOURCE: https://greenlining.org/2024/opportunity-economy-possible-with-greenlining/
