Back to top Jump to featured resources

Viewing all content from Stacy Mitchell Page 12 of 46

About Stacy Mitchell

Stacy Mitchell is a senior researcher with the Institute for Local Self-Reliance, where she directs initiatives on independent business and community banking. She is the author of Big-Box Swindle and also produces a popular monthly newsletter, the Hometown Advantage Bulletin.  Connect with her on twitter and catch her recent TEDx Talk: Why We Can’t Shop Our Way to a Better Economy. More

Contact Stacy   |   View all articles by Stacy Mitchell

store-closing-1.jpg
Article filed under Independent Business | Written by Stacy Mitchell | 2 Comments | Updated on Sep 10, 2011

Don’t Subsidize Big Boxes at Local Shops’ Expense

The content that follows was originally published on the Institute for Local Self-Reliance website at http://www.ilsr.org/dont-subsidize-big-boxes-local-shops-expense/

Handing out multimillion-dollar subsidies to large chains has become commonplace in much of the country. But when governments use public money to woo national chains, economic growth and job creation are negligible, and independent retailers suffer, Stacy Mitchell argues in this commentary for Business Week.

Continue reading

astra-report-cover
filed under Independent Business | Written by Stacy Mitchell | No Comments | Updated on Sep 1, 2011

The Growth of Internet Retailing: Implications and Strategies for the Specialty Toy Industry

The content that follows was originally published on the Institute for Local Self-Reliance website at http://www.ilsr.org/growth-internet-retailing-implications-strategies-specialty-toy-industry/

This white paper examines the growth of internet retailing, Amazon’s increasing share of this market,  and the rise of free-riding as consumers browse and ask questions in brick-and-mortar stores and then buy online.  The paper presents several recommendations for manufacturers, retailers, and policy-makers. Continue reading

main_street_maine.jpg
Article filed under Independent Business | Written by Stacy Mitchell | 1 Comment | Updated on Aug 17, 2011

Study Finds Local Businesses Key to Income Growth

The content that follows was originally published on the Institute for Local Self-Reliance website at http://www.ilsr.org/study-finds-local-businesses-key-income-growth/

The results of a new study suggest that the key to reversing the long-term trend of stagnating incomes in the U.S. lies in nurturing small, locally owned businesses and limiting further expansion and market consolidation by large corporations. Continue reading

weaversway2.jpg
Article filed under Independent Business | Written by Stacy Mitchell | 5 Comments | Updated on Jul 22, 2011

Why is Michelle Obama’s food initiative promoting Walmart?

The content that follows was originally published on the Institute for Local Self-Reliance website at http://www.ilsr.org/why-michelle-obama-s-food-initiative-promoting-walmart/

I winced yesterday when James Gavin, chair of the Partnership for a Healthier America, said he’d like to see Walmart double its U.S. store count. He was speaking at Michelle Obama’s event announcing that several retailers will open stores in “food deserts.” It was a sort of half-jokey remark, but, still, in a conversation about food in America, the suggestion that Walmart should have an even bigger role in our food system is pretty disturbing. This is a company that already captures 25 percent of grocery sales nationally and more than 50 percent in some metro areas. Continue reading

brown-signing.jpg
Article filed under Independent Business | Written by Stacy Mitchell | No Comments | Updated on Jul 1, 2011

California Requires Internet Retailers to Collect Sales Tax

The content that follows was originally published on the Institute for Local Self-Reliance website at http://www.ilsr.org/california-requires-internet-retailers-collect-sales-tax/

In what may well be the tipping point in a decade-long fight to level the playing field for local brick-and-mortar businesses, California this week enacted a law requiring Amazon and other large online retailers to collect state sales tax.  Continue reading

kopievonbild2021ohneblauekisten.jpg
Article filed under Independent Business | Written by Stacy Mitchell | 3 Comments | Updated on Jun 23, 2011

Why Publishers, Not Amazon, Should Set Book Prices

The content that follows was originally published on the Institute for Local Self-Reliance website at http://www.ilsr.org/why-publishers-not-amazon-should-set-book-prices/

After winning a high-stakes standoff against Amazon last year, publishers are now setting the prices that retailers can charge for their e-books.

At first blush, one might assume that such price-fixing would result in higher prices. But the evidence from more than a dozen European countries, where laws have long prohibited selling both print and electronic books below a set price, clearly shows that publisher-mandated pricing saves consumers money. It also fosters a more lively and competitive book industry, with far more books published and many more independent bookstores open than in countries where big retailers control pricing. Continue reading

walmart-southafrica.jpg
Article filed under Independent Business | Written by Stacy Mitchell | No Comments | Updated on Jun 1, 2011

In South Africa, Wal-Mart Refuses to Buy Local, Threatens WTO Action, and Wins

The content that follows was originally published on the Institute for Local Self-Reliance website at http://www.ilsr.org/south-africa-walmart-refuses-buy-local-threatens-wto-action-and-wins/

Despite the ample publicity Wal-Mart has engineered for its "buy local" efforts, the company in fact has zero interest in cultivating local suppliers beyond stocking a few token local veggies suitable for a nice photo-op. Continue reading

walmart-wage-study.jpg
Article filed under Independent Business | Written by Stacy Mitchell | No Comments | Updated on Apr 28, 2011

Wal-Mart Could Easily Pay $12 an Hour

The content that follows was originally published on the Institute for Local Self-Reliance website at http://www.ilsr.org/walmart-could-easily-pay-12-hour/

Raising the pay of Wal-Mart’s U.S. workers to a minimum of $12 an hour would lift many out of poverty and cost the average consumer, at most, $12.49 a year, according to a new study published by the UC Berkeley Center for Labor Research and Education.  Continue reading

US Treasury Department
Featured Article filed under Banking | Written by Stacy Mitchell | 1 Comment | Updated on Mar 18, 2011

Why Republicans Hate Warren’s CFPB But Love Another Bank Regulator

The content that follows was originally published on the Institute for Local Self-Reliance website at http://www.ilsr.org/why-republicans-hate-warrens-cfpb-love-another-bank-regulator/

What’s really at issue in the fight over the CFPB is not how the agency is structured or how much power it will have, but whose interests it serves. Continue reading