3 Jun 2015

Walmart Spews a Huge Amount of Climate Pollution with Its Shipping, but Doesn’t Report Any of It

by | Date: 3 Jun 2015 | posted in: Retail | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

No company moves as much stuff across the world’s oceans as Walmart does, and the climate consequences are immense. Ferrying all those cheap TVs, T-shirts, toasters, and toys from Asian factories to ports in the U.S. and elsewhere releases huge amounts of greenhouse pollutants into the atmosphere, including both carbon dioxide (CO2) and black carbon. We’ve compiled a few key data points on shipping’s climate impact and Walmart’s dominance in the movement of goods across the world’s oceans.… Read More

Illustration: Seesaw
8 May 2015

How Washington Punishes Small Business

by | Date: 8 May 2015 | posted in: Retail | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

In our op-ed for the Wall Street Journal, we look at how much of our public policy seems to designed to bend the market in the favor of big corporations, and put small, independent businesses at a competitive disadvantage.… Read More

Photo: Community Bank Borrowers
5 May 2015

One in Four Local Banks Has Vanished since 2008. Here’s What’s Causing the Decline and Why We Should Treat It as a National Crisis.

by | Date: 5 May 2015 | posted in: Banking, Retail | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

The precipitous decline in the number of community banks in recent years is a national crisis, and there’s a fierce debate underway right now about what’s to blame.… Read More

Photo: Testimony at CPC Hearing
16 Apr 2015

Testimony to Congress: Overhaul Federal Policy to Support Strong Local Economies

by | Date: 16 Apr 2015 | posted in: Retail | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

This week, ILSR’s Stacy Mitchell shared her research and perspective with members of Congress at a hearing organized by the Congressional Progressive Caucus. The forum focused on how federal contracting and other forms of financial support for business should be overhauled to reflect American values of fairness, opportunity, and broad prosperity. … Read More

Map: Walmart Square Footage per person in 2014.
23 Mar 2015

New Maps Show Alarming Pace of Walmart’s Continued Growth

by | Date: 23 Mar 2015 | posted in: Retail | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

Walmart continues to expand, and rapidly. The company is now embarking on its third historic wave of store construction, with plans to build 440 to 460 “Neighborhood Market” stores over a two year period, presumably with many hundreds more to follow. There is a critical debate to be had right now about whether a company that already captures one-quarter of U.S. grocery sales should be allowed to grow to control one-third, or even half, of our food supply. … Read More

Photo: San Francisco.
5 Feb 2015

The Labor and Small Business Alliance Behind San Francisco’s Landmark Retail Workers Bill of Rights

by | Date: 5 Feb 2015 | posted in: Retail | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

The political interests of labor and small business are often seen as pitted against each other — a perception corporate lobbyists work hard to perpetuate. But the two groups actually share broad common cause these days. Both stand to gain from building a more humane economy in which ruthless efficiency does not trump all else.… Read More
4 Feb 2015

ILSR Joins Independent Business Groups in Pushing for Disclosure of Corporate Subsidies

by | Date: 4 Feb 2015 | posted in: Retail | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

ILSR joined other members of the Advocates for Independent Business coalition in submitting a joint public comment letter in support of a landmark proposal to require local and state governments, as part of their financial reporting, to annually disclose the tax breaks and incentives they have provided to corporations in the name of economic development. … Read More

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