Canton, NY, Aug 14, 2012 — Half a decade after the Great Recession began, many local governments around the US and here in the North Country are still hurting. Core services and programs are being scaled back, cut or privatized. Last month alone, another 9,000 public sector workers were laid off nationwide.

While the private sector economy is creaking back to life, government experts say they sources of revenue that fund local programs haven't revived. As Brian Mann reports, that's sparked a new debate over what government should look like--not at the Federal level, but at the grassroots.