I recently spent three weeks in the Rust Belt—America’s old industrial heartland—looking at the ways Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, Cleveland and Detroit have responded to economic crises. I was seeking what lessons these cities might have for my hometown of Sacramento. This tour followed 10 days in Europe studying Mondragon, which is the world's largest and most complex system of worker-ownership. Mondragon is located in the Basque Country, in Northern Spain. This region has taken an economic trajectory opposite the Rust Belt. While Cleveland and Detroit fell apart, the Basques clawed their way back from post-war devastation and oppression to achieve an average income that is now nearly 40 perc