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
As a share of their total assets, small business lending at the nation’s largest banks fell by 33% in three years. Continue reading
Climate and Capitalism, October 10, 2012 As I post this, Walmart workers from 28 stores in 12 U.S. states have walked off the job to protest company attempts to “silence and retaliate against workers for speaking out for improvements on the job.” ….snip…. In 2005, the giant retailer (biggest in the world) announced three “aspirational… Continue reading
Holland Sentinel, September 21, 2012 Another one bites the dust. As The Sentinel reported on Sept. 14, Dykstra Drug Store, a longtime local pharmacy, is closing. Dykstra has been serving the community for 60 years. Fortunately, yet somewhat ironically, owner and pharmacist Tom Klaasen has been hired by CVS, which has purchased his pharmacy operation, for its new store… Continue reading
Yes Magazine, September 7, 2012 If last week’s Republican National Convention had a mythic protagonist (other than Mitt Romney, that is), it was the struggling small business owner. In speech after speech, we heard about the same basic person in the same basic dilemma: a small business owner overcome by the burden of government regulations…. Continue reading
San Francisco is home to more independent businesses than other big cities, thanks in part to a 2006 law than gives neighborhoods the power to reject “formula” retail stores and restaurants. But the policy has major gaps, which have opened the way for chains to slip into the city. City leaders are now looking to beef up the law. Continue reading
This brief presentation looks at how Walmart could impact local businesses if it’s allowed to expand into urban areas.
ILSR’s Stacy Mitchell was a guest on Your Call on San Francisco public radio station KALW. She joined host Rose Aguilar and Charles Fishman, author of The Wal-Mart Effect, for an hour-long conversation about how Walmart came to dominate the economy and what local business owners and retail workers are doing to counter its market power. Continue reading
KALW Radio, August 21, 2012 On today’s Your Call, a conversation about Wal-Mart as it turns 50. It’s the third-largest publicly traded corporation in the world and the largest private employer with 8,500 stores in 15 countries and 2 million employees. How has it been able to dominate the global retail market? Join us at… Continue reading
Choosing a locally owned business generates almost four times as much economic benefit for the surrounding community as shopping at a chain, a new study has concluded. Continue reading
The Atlantic Cities, August 13, 2012 When Bill Winkler opened his small archery shop, he was prepared to compete against businesses large and small – but not against a government-financed competitor. “The day Bass Pro opened here in Bossier, the number of arrows I sold dropped off by 50 percent,” says Winkler. A Bass Pro… Continue reading
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