A bill to clarify California state law to ensure that all retailers with a physical presence in the state collect sales tax on internet transactions is making headway. The bill (AB 2412) passed the Assembly on a 42-32 vote in late May. It then cleared two Senate committees in June and August. It is expected to come before the full Senate in the coming weeks. Governor Gray Davis has not yet taken a position on the bill. … Read More
Companies offering franchise business opportunities in Ontario will soon have to provide prospective franchisees with key information about their operations. A new franchise disclosure measure, Bill 33, was passed by the provincial legislature in late May. It will become law once the Ministry of Consumer and Commercial Relations drafts rules and regulations for its implementation.… Read More
In this classic talk, delivered at the annual conference of the American Planning Association, Stacy Mitchell describes how, contrary to conventional wisdom, the decline of independent businesses isn’t inevitable or the result of free market forces. Rather, public policy decisions have played a major role — and a growing number of communities are deciding to take a different approach. … Read More
Chain stores are sprouting up on the American landscape as fast as vicious weeds. Their proliferation has made traveling an unsettling experience – a constant deja vu of arriving in places virtually identical to the ones left behind. So it was with my first trip to Colorado. I drove from the Denver airport to Boulder, through an area with the same placeless landmarks found everywhere: Wal-Mart, Blockbuster, Petsmart, Office Max and Starbucks.… Read More
Inone of the most significant decisions of Tuesday’s election, San Francisco voters approved a ballot measure prohibiting automated teller machine (ATM) surcharges within the city. The vote marks a major victory in the growing effort to outlaw the fees. San Francisco will join the city of Santa Monica, Calif., and two states, Iowa and Connecticut, in prohibiting ATM surcharges. By Stacy Mitchell – originally published in Twin Cities Star Tribune, November 4, 1999
A few years ago, New England tried to save their local dairy farms with a regional pricing structure called a dairy compact. Now Congress has nixed the compact’s renewal, blunting one of the small dairy farmer’s only tools for surviving. By Stacy Mitchell… Read More
