A reflection on the year that is ending: As I recall the tumults and triumphs of 2009, I am reminded of the positive shifts in political discourse, especially  during the first quarter, about the role of communities, markets and government in rebuilding our economy. The hope that so many of us felt was real, and, despite recent set-backs, we can still tap it. As difficult as the last quarter of the year was, with set-backs in achieving universal healthcare, the resurgence of red-baiting and disappointments with the Democratice leadership on both healthcare and regulatory reform, there was one big stand-out: the Showdown in Chicago and what it represented: all kinds of people fighting back against corporate and Wall Street power, demanding accoutability from both Wall Street and Washington around the stewardship of the economy, demanding real financial reforms, and talking about ways to democratize the financial sector (starting with breaking up 'too big to fail' banks).

This kind of multi-pronged approach opens up opportunities for recasting the debate about the role of government and markets, about economic democracy and the conditions within which it is possible to create both innovation and broadly shared prosperity/security. If we don't figure out a way to frame and conduct these kinds of conversations (taking them way beyond the confines of empty right-wing rhetoric about free markets and creeping socialism), we will continue to fight uphill battles for universal healthcare, green jobs and investments, community economic development and employment opportunities, housing justice, racial justice, etc. Through these fights, we can tap populist anger at Wall Street while taking on the distortions created by thirty years of corporate-conservative ideology. Let us boldly embrace these challenges in the new year, and new decade. And say 'good riddance' to the naughty aughties.