The news that Amazon wants to expand its footprint in Minnesota, but only if it wins significant public subsidies, should put both taxpayers and public officials on high alert.… Read More
As this graph shows, giant banks consistently make poorer lending decisions and write-off more bad loans than community banks do, and the financial crisis heightened this trend.… Read More
This 90-second video shows how giant banks have devoured the banking sector over the past 20 years.… Read More
After years of fighting for a federal fix for the online sales tax loophole, this week, advocates for e-fairness gained a new ally: U.S. Supreme Court Justice Anthony M. Kennedy.… Read More
There’s an emerging model that offers a glimpse of a new, better way for communities to generate economic development. It’s called a real estate investment cooperative, and the benefits include new jobs in the neighborhood, local sources for key goods, a return on investment, and more — plus the opportunity for communities to do it themselves.… Read More
Independent businesses saw strong sales growth in 2014 as more consumers embraced the “buy local” movement and ditched big companies in favor of supporting local retailers and small-scale producers, according to a large national survey released today.… Read More
At North Dakota polls on Tuesday, local ownership was the winner. The state voted overwhelmingly to keep its forward-thinking Pharmacy Ownership Law, defeating Measure 7, the Walmart-funded effort to overturn it. Final returns came in with 59 percent of the vote in favor of the law, the Fargo Forum reports.… Read More
This Tuesday, North Dakota voters will decide the fate of the state’s Pharmacy Ownership Law. Those working against the law—namely Walmart, which has sunk more than $3 million into a front group called North Dakotans for Lower Pharmacy Prices—contend that abandoning the long-standing policy would lead to an increase in the number of pharmacies serving North Dakota. Our research suggests just the opposite.… Read More
What a difference local ownership makes. Under a forward-thinking 1963 law, North Dakota does not allow chains to operate pharmacies. Instead, virtually all of the state’s 171 pharmacies are locally owned and independent. In this data-driven study, ILSR finds that North Dakotans receive significantly better pharmacy care by every measure, from some of the lowest drug prices in the nation to unparalleled access, particularly in rural areas. … Read More
