It works.

 
There is no reason to believe that bureaucrats and politicians, no matter how well meaning, are better at solving problems than the people on the spot, who have the strongest incentive to get the solution right.
— Elinor Ostrom, Indiana University Distinguished Professor, 2009 Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences

Redlining… the shut-out.

Neighborhoods that were traditionally African American were not given home loans based on race. It’s the economic definition of an uneven playing field: a lack of access to capital. Social capital and racial justice is covered extensively in the Opportunity Task Force Report LeadingOnOpportunity.org.

BuyingItBack.com is the proposal to pool our resources to close the gap for the people who were shut out from the American Dream. Partnering our resources with targeted nonprofit investment closes the gap.

COVID-19

It’s taken a crisis to bring us together to put the most fragile among us first. We have the resources and desire to make sure basic needs are met. Neighborhood leaders supporting their neighbors are making sure we deliver resources to our most fragile neighbors.

There’s no “one size fits all” way to help someone in need. Housing, food, medical care… when we stop talking about politics and policy and instead listen to neighbors we deliver.

 

We can fix this ourselves.

 
 

It’s the Cycle of Life.

Commercial development follows residential. Residential follows life. Gentrification is not malice.

“Naturally Occurring…”

“Naturally Occurring…”

 

It’s a Circuit-breaker.

Let’s invest in historic property to create a small business accelerator and wellness center to support neighbors as they create community, curb their own gentrification and maintain the character of their neighborhood in the future. If we subsidize home ownership for the neighbors that were shut out of building family wealth for generations, we can close the wealth gap.

An economic problem requires an economic solution.

 
3a Invest in Historic Property for Neighbors.jpg
A competitive world offers two possibilities. You can lose.
Or, if you want to win, you can change.
— Lester Thurow, Dean MIT-Sloan School of Management (May 7, 1938 – Mar 25, 2016) Guest Lecturer at Depauw University, Spring 1990.