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
The two groups that have traditionally spoken for small business in Washington often push an agenda that only big business could love, writes ILSR’s Stacy Mitchell in this commentary for Business Week.
A top Federal Reserve official says that locally owned banks do a better job of serving communities and small businesses, but they are threatened by federal policies that favor their big competitors. Continue reading
Just as CSAs have played a key role in the rebirth of small-scale farms, so too are new community-supported enterprise models helping to launch a new generation of independent grocers, bookstores, and other neighborhood businesses. Continue reading
A growing number of big corporations are using offshore tax havens to escape paying U.S. taxes. A recent estimate suggests big companies are dodging at least $37 billion a year — and, in so doing, gaining a significant competitive advantage over small businesses. Continue reading
How do we change course and revive a banking system that is more local and responsive to the needs of communities? Continue reading
Stacy Mitchell discusses the impact of big box stores on communities and the local business movement in response. The show is 5 minutes long and was featured on North Shore Community Radio. Continue reading
This guide will walk you through the steps of moving your bank account. You can download this a flyer to distribute in your community. Continue reading
Here are the most compelling reasons to move your money to a locally owned bank or credit union. You can download this as flyer to distribute in your community. Continue reading
In the perilous aftermath of one of the worst financial disasters in U.S. history, one might expect credit unions — which, after all, are mostly tiny by the standards of the banking industry and operated on a cooperative, not-for-profit basis — to be struggling. But data from the last 18 months show that the country’s 7,600 credit unions are in fact outperforming big banks and rapidly expanding their market share. Continue reading
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