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Article filed under Independent Business | Written by admin | No Comments | Updated on Jan 13, 2004

Wal-Mart’s False Plays at Ignorance

The content that follows was originally published on the Institute for Local Self-Reliance website at http://www.ilsr.org/walmarts-false-plays-ignorance/

By Stacy Mitchell
originally published in Progressive Trail, January 13, 2004

In the Wal-Mart economy, where an inexhaustible supply of cheap consumer goods has become more important than family wages for American workers, it should come as little surprise that a company which is known for its ability to track the sale of products down to the penny across a far-flung empire, would plead ignorance when accused of violating labor laws.

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filed under Waste to Wealth | Written by admin | No Comments | Updated on Dec 19, 2003

Washington, DC

The content that follows was originally published on the Institute for Local Self-Reliance website at http://www.ilsr.org/washington-dc/

2002-2003 In 2002, ILSR inaugurated its Washington, DC deconstruction training program at the Stanton Dwellings public housing complex, working closely with the DC Housing Authority and Just U Wait’N See CDC (JUWNS), a community development corporation serving the residents of the Stanton community. ILSR provided screening and training guidelines to JUWNS to facilitate the selection,… Continue reading

Article filed under Independent Business | Written by admin | No Comments | Updated on Nov 1, 2003

Malaysia Freezes Hypermarket Construction

The content that follows was originally published on the Institute for Local Self-Reliance website at http://www.ilsr.org/malaysia-freezes-hypermarket-construction/

Malaysia has placed a five-year ban on the construction of hypermarkets in Klang Valley, which includes Kuala Lumpur, and the states of Johor and Penang. New guidelines also lengthen the approval time for developers seeking to build hypermarkets in other areas from four months to two years.

Hypermarkets are stores larger than 8,000 square meters (86,000 square feet) that sell both department store merchandise and groceries, similar to Wal-Mart supercenters.

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Article filed under Independent Business | Written by admin | No Comments | Updated on Nov 1, 2003

Irish Pharmacies Call for Limits on Corporate Ownership

The content that follows was originally published on the Institute for Local Self-Reliance website at http://www.ilsr.org/irish-pharmacies-call-limits-corporate-ownership/

The Irish Pharmaceutical Union (IPU) has asked the government to adopt restrictions on the ownership of pharmacies similar to regulations in place in most European countries.

The IPU favors restricting pharmacy ownership to pharmacists, and capping the number of pharmacies any pharmacist can own at five. Eleven of the fifteen European Union countries, including France and Germany, have similar laws prohibiting corporate chains from operating drugstores.

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Article filed under Independent Business | Written by admin | No Comments | Updated on Nov 1, 2003

Vote on Federal Sales Tax Fairness Bill Likely in Early 2004

The content that follows was originally published on the Institute for Local Self-Reliance website at http://www.ilsr.org/vote-federal-sales-tax-fairness-bill-likely-early-2004/

Legislation introduced in Congress that would require internet retailers to collect state and local sales taxes stands a fairly good chance of passing in the first few months of 2004, according to supporters of the bill.

The bill, sponsored in the Senate by Byron Dorgan (D-SD) and Michael Enzi (R-WY) and in the House by Rep. Bill Delahunt (D-MA), gives Congressional approval to a national compact made up of states that have simplified and aligned their sales tax rules and regulations.

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Article filed under Independent Business | Written by admin | No Comments | Updated on Nov 1, 2003

Alabama Citizens Sue to Block Wal-Mart Giveaways

The content that follows was originally published on the Institute for Local Self-Reliance website at http://www.ilsr.org/alabama-citizens-sue-block-walmart-giveaways/

Owners of a small business in Birmingham, Alabama, near the site of a proposed Wal-Mart supercenter, have filed suit against the city for giving the retailing giant a $10 million subsidy. Southeast Meats of Pelham, in operation for over two decades, contends the handout gives Wal-Mart an unfair advantage. The suit also asserts that the city improperly threatened to use eminent domain to force owners of the Wal-Mart property to sell. Continue reading

Article filed under Independent Business | Written by admin | No Comments | Updated on Nov 1, 2003

Big Box Wins and Losses on Election Day

The content that follows was originally published on the Institute for Local Self-Reliance website at http://www.ilsr.org/big-box-wins-and-losses-election-day/

Voters in Lakeway, Texas, about 20 miles west of Austin, overwhelmingly rejected a resolution to allow the construction of a 48-acre shopping center anchored by a 184,00-square-foot Wal-Mart store. The election drew the largest turnout in Lakeway history with residents voting 1,880 to 749 to block the development by retaining the town’s current 100,000-square-foot size limit on retail stores.

The city council had earlier voted to lift the size cap and grant preliminary approval to the project.

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Article filed under Waste to Wealth | Written by admin | No Comments | Updated on Oct 1, 2003

The New Recycling Movement: Part 2. Recycling as Necessary But Not Sufficient for a Sustainable Industrial Economy

The content that follows was originally published on the Institute for Local Self-Reliance website at http://www.ilsr.org/the-new-recycling-movement-part-2-recycling-as-necessary-but-not-sufficient-for-a-sustainable-industrial-economy/

Recycling, composting and waste reduction have been a basic precept of sustainability . It is essential for a sustainable industrial economy. Continue reading

Article filed under Waste to Wealth | Written by admin | No Comments | Updated on Oct 1, 2003

The New Recycling Movement: Part 1. Recycling Changes to Meet New Challenges

The content that follows was originally published on the Institute for Local Self-Reliance website at http://www.ilsr.org/the-new-recylcing-movement-part-1-recycling-changes-to-meet-new-challenges/

When we think of great popular movements of the last century, the labor movement, the civil rights movement, the anti-war movement, and the women’s rights movement quickly come to mind. The recycling movement deserves to be added to this illustrious list, for it may be the largest multi-ethnic, multi-class, and multi-generation movement in American history. Continue reading

filed under General | Written by admin | No Comments | Updated on Sep 8, 2003

Mad in the USA

The content that follows was originally published on the Institute for Local Self-Reliance website at http://www.ilsr.org/mad-usa/

Wal-Mart and its ilk are muscling small businesses aside. But mom and pop are mad as hell and they’re not going to take it anymore.

More than 1,000 people attended a rally a few weeks ago in Connecticut to demand fair trade and denounce the sweatshop buying habits of big retailers like Wal-Mart. The speakers were passionate, the crowd pumped. But this rally differed from the usual fair trade gatherings in one key respect: It was not organized by labor, student, or environmental groups. It was organized by an alliance of small and mid-sized manufacturers.

"The major retailers and big manufacturers are doing us in," explained rally-organizer Fred Tedesco, owner of Pa-Ted Spring Co. in Bristol. "They’re destroying small- and medium-sized businesses. They’re destroying jobs. They’re destroying the middle class. . . That’s the dirty secret of this whole thing."

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