Microradio supporters who cheered the FCC’s January decision to license up to 1,000 low-watt stations watched in disbelief as the House caved to pressure from the NAB and passed the shamefully misnamed Radio Broadcasting Preservation Act. By Simona Fuma Shapiro… Read More
Web retailers in the U.S. are largely exempt from collecting state and local sales taxes. In allowing this exemption, Congress agrees to give out-of-state businesses a 5 to 7 percent price advantage over local stores. Proponents of the exemption argue internet-based suppliers would stagger under the administrative burden of collecting thousands of different state and local sales taxes; opponents of the exemption argue that the electronic commerce companies don’t need help siphoning business away from already-struggling downtowns. … Read More
Deconstruction is the careful disassembly of buildings to recover valuable materials – is at the “take-off” stage of development. For our staff at the Institute for Local Self-Reliance and many others, the definition of deconstruction also includes job creation in low income neighborhoods. Start-up companies and demonstration projects that involve traditional demolition companies in joint venture contracts are proving the viability of deconstruction.… Read More
E-Bits highlights ILSR’s Waste to Wealth Program work, from creating jobs and recycling-oriented enterprises, to recycling policies that close the loop locally, to model waste reduction initiatives. … 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
Use Construction Bonds to Fight Global Warming By David Morris March 26, 2000 What can Minnesotans do to curtail global warming? The problem seems immense, but the solution is straightforward: Use energy more efficiently and shift to renewable fuels. An effective and easy first step toward redressing our share of global pollution would be to adopt … 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
Product reuse is even more job-intensive than recycling. It is a knowledge-based industry, with a premium placed on accurate sorting and pricing, and good inventory management.… Read More
"Perfection of means and confusion of ends seems to characterize our age."
Thatinsight of Albert Einstein’s half a century ago aptly describes the current debate, or more precisely, non-debate, about free trade.
