Here’s One Smart Way to Handle Big-Box Stores
Cape Cod is the rare community that considers regional economic impacts when weighing big-box retail development, and that makes all the difference.… Read More
New Data Show How Big Chains Free Ride on Taxpayers at the Expense of Responsible Small Businesses
State data reveal that Walmart, Target, Whole Foods, and others offer such low pay and benefits that many of their employees rely on public assistance, at a cost of billions of dollars a year. … Read More
After 20 Years, Congress May Finally Pass Internet Sales Tax. Is it Too Late?
Not having to charge sales tax fueled Amazon’s growth for nearly 20 years. While it’s impossible not to see the company as a horse that’s already out the barn door, there’s still good reason to believe that the Marketplace Fairness Act will slow Amazon’s consolidation of retailing and provide benefit to independent businesses.… Read More
On Climate, What Walmart Says vs. What It Does
Walmart has been generating some impressive-sounding headlines on the environment lately. But a closer examination of what Walmart is and isn’t doing reveals a company that in fact lags its peers on renewable energy and is contributing a large and growing volume of climate change pollution to the atmosphere.… Read More
Locally Owned Businesses Can Help Communities Thrive — and Survive Climate Change
Cities where small, locally owned businesses account for a relatively large share of the economy have stronger social networks, more engaged citizens, and better success solving problems, according to several recently published studies.… Read More
Why Walmart’s Death Grip on Our Food System Is Intensifying Poverty
When Michelle Obama visited a Walmart in Springfield, Missouri, a few weeks ago to praise the company’s efforts to sell healthier food, she did not say why she chose a store in Springfield of all cities. But, in ways that Obama surely did not intend, it was a fitting choice. This Midwestern city provides a chilling look at where Walmart wants to take our food system. … Read More
ILSR Statement on the Reintroduction of the Marketplace Fairness Act
In response to the reintroduction of the Marketplace Fairness Act in the U.S. Senate today, Stacy Mitchell of the Institute for Local Self-Reliance released the following statement.
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Survey Finds Independent Businesses Benefit from “Buy Local First” Campaigns, But Challenges Loom
ILSR’s annual survey has found that independent businesses experienced solid revenue growth in 2012, buoyed in part by “buy local first” initiatives. But the survey also documented challenges facing independent businesses, most notably an increase in “showrooming” and competition from online retailers, tax and subsidy policies that favor their big competitors, difficulty obtaining loans, and a customer base still reeling from the recession.… Read More
Stacy Mitchell on Food Chain Radio
On January 12, 2013, ILSR’s Stacy Mitchell was a guest on Michael Olson’s syndicated Food Chain radio show, where they discussed the shocking level of corporate consolidation in the economy and debated whether we can shop our way back to a strong local economy.… Read More