We keep producing and consuming more and more “stuff.” How can we do a better job of improving the quality of our lives? Our New Economy program is finding answers.

New Economy
Right To Repair
Zero Hunger
Work for Wellbeing

We live in a country where we grow more food than we can eat, produce more clothes than we can wear, and build more homes than we can live in. As we keep producing and consuming ever-increasing quantities of “stuff,” a growing number of people are asking: How can we do a better job of improving the quality of our lives?

Finding answers to this question is the purpose of our national network's New Economy program. We run campaigns that tackle concrete problems while advancing new and better ideas for organizing our economy and our lives.

  • <h4>Right To Repair</h4><p>Tech and other companies too often make things hard to repair. We're backing Right To Repair laws, so you don’t have to throw away so much old stuff and buy so much new stuff.</p><em>Pixabay.com</em>
  • <h4>Zero Hunger</h4><p>We produce more than enough food and waste almost half of it. Yet lots of people don’t know where their next meal is coming from. We’re campaigning for Zero Hunger on college campuses and elsewhere. </p><em>Pixabay.com</em>
  • <h4>Needed Work</h4><p>Why do we reward people for outsourcing care of their loved ones to strangers and penalize them for caring for their kids and parents themselves? We’re calling for changes to make it easier to do the needed work of caregiving. </p><em>Pixabay.com</em>
  • <h4>Automation For The People</h4><p>We should embrace technology that saves lives or improves the quality of our lives. We support sensible rules and policies that foster beneficial innovation.</p><em>Travis Wise via Flickr, CC-BY-2.0</em>
  • <h4>Universal Broadband</h4><p>Access to the internet is an essential component of life in the 21st century. We’re calling for action to close the gaps that leave too many people unconnected to the web and each other. </p><em>Pixabay.com</em>
Our Approach

The campaigns in our New Economy program share a common approach. In each campaign, we aim to:

Put us on a path to a better future. We value ideas and policies that both improve the quality of our lives now and put us on a path to a better future.

Focus on concrete change. We share a bold vision, but understand that change comes one step at a time. Our focus is on making a difference for the public, not just making a statement.

Figure out what works. We’ve successfully advocated for changes that have resulted in more recycling and less waste, healthier and safer choices in the marketplace, and greater accountability in government. We have a more than 45-year track record of figuring out solutions that will work, and advocating for them until we get results.

Find common ground. Even in this deeply divided moment, all Americans want a healthier, safer, more secure future. Our national network's advocates in Washington, D.C., seek out common ground and work with members of Congress from both parties. Our advocates in Illinois build coalitions that include people from all walks of life. Our organizers and canvassers engage literally hundreds of thousands of people. Our members and activists live all across our state.

We’re reaching an inflection point: The world has changed, but our politics are stuck in the past. We face new challenges, but also unprecedented opportunities to harness and share our abundance in ways that leave us healthier, happier, freer and more united as a country. Through our New Economy program, we are pointing out and inviting all of us to seize the opportunities in front of us.

FEATURED ACTION

MICROSOFT: DON'T PUNISH RECYCLERS

To cut toxic electronic waste, we have to reuse more and toss less. Yet, Microsoft pressed criminal charges against Eric Lundgren for making restore disks that allow people to fix old computers—even though the software on those disks is available online for free. Read more about Eric's story and our efforts to stand up for repair at: www.StandForRepair.org.

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