The grassroots group, Blacksburg United for Responsible Growth (BURG), is celebrating a Virginia Supreme Court decision that impedes Wal-Mart’s entry into its community. Continue reading
Despite an enormous commitment of public funding to support retail development, neither taxable sales nor retail employment has grown significantly in the St. Louis, a new report finds. The report concludes that development incentives have done nothing to boost tax revenue in the metro and "the overall fiscal health of local governments in the region is increasingly tenuous. Continue reading
The grassroots group, the Sunland-Tujunga Alliance has pressured Home Depot into dropping plans for locating in its community after a messy, five-year fight. Continue reading
A new report by the Institute for Local Self-Reliance (ILSR) concludes that repealing North Dakota’s Pharmacy Ownership Law would cost the state millions of dollars in annual economic activity and tax revenue, dramatically reduce the number of pharmacies serving rural areas, and degrade the overall quality of pharmacy services in the state. Continue reading
In an extremely challenging economic climate, independent retailers are outperforming many chains, a national survey has found. Continue reading
Abandoned big-box stores, dead and dying strip malls and empty storefronts are about to join foreclosed houses as one of the defining features of the American landscape in 2009. It will be tempting to blame the weak economy for all of this wreckage. But the recession has merely been the trigger. This avalanche of vacant retail, much like the mortgage crisis, has been a long time in the making. Continue reading
A widely publicized study claims that there is no evidence that Wal-Mart has had a negative impact on the small business sector. In reviewing the study, ILSR found fatal flaws. For example, the study relies on the wrong US Census dataset. Using the correct data, our analysis shows that the number of independent retailers fell as Walmart grew between 1982 and 2002. Continue reading
Little-noticed laws in more than half the states allow retailers to keep a portion of the sales taxes they collect from shoppers. The practice is costing states over $1 billion a year and lining the pockets of large chains, notably Wal-Mart. Continue reading
Contrary to conventional wisdom, the demise of independent businesses is not the inevitable result of market forces and consumer choices. Public policy at all levels of government has played a major role in fueling the growth of large corporations at the expense of America’s independent small businesses. To level the playing field and allow small businesses to originate and flourish, we advocate the following policies. Continue reading
The grassroots group, the Accidental Activists, stopped Target’s plans of placing a 180,000-square-foot Super Target in Bloomington, MN. Continue reading
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