A June 22 New York Times article on how communities in the United Kingdom have responded to spending cuts imposed by the central government highlights the transformation of the UK town of Preston under the leadership of Preston councilor and Democracy Collaborative fellow Matthew Brown. The Times article calls the success of what has become known as "the Preston model" of community wealth building "an irony of austerity’s consequences. Championed as a spur to rugged individualism, it has prompted communities like Preston to intensify government’s role in economic life." 

The New Republic, meanwhile, published "The Road Not Taken," a look at the struggles of Lordstown, Ohio in the wake of a decision by General Motors to close its auto plant there. The "road not taken," the article reveals, is the path of employee ownership, which The Next System Project director Joe Guinan and researcher Peter Gowan discuss in the article. “The workers should get a chance to come up with ideas for how they could keep their jobs, and give them the right to take over that plant if it’s being sold or closed,” says Gowan, author of the Right to Own report that outlined the proposal.

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