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Why Small Businesses Matter for Workers
Small businesses are sometimes criticized as being bad for workers — but that idea is wrong. In this piece, we look at how small and large businesses compare on concrete metrics like wages, and find that in some industries, including retail, employees at small businesses earn more. There’s also a larger way in which the interests of small businesses and working people are aligned, we argue: Both groups benefit when public policy works to disperse economic power.… Read More
Formula Business Restriction — Mendocino County, CA
Mendocino County, Calif., passed a formula business ordinance in November 2016, following community outcry over a proposed Dollar General. The outcry led to an interim moratorium on new permits for formula businesses while the county studied the issue, and ultimately, a formula business ordinance. As an ordinance at the county level, it’s particularly effective, as it covers unincorporated areas that are outside the boundaries of city and municipal zoning.… Read More
Internet Sales Tax Fairness
Even as online sales have grown into a multi-trillion-dollar force in the U.S. economy, states have been limited in their authority to require e-commerce companies to collect state and local sales taxes. As a result, cities, states, and local businesses, along with the citizens and customers who rely on them, have all been hit with negative impacts: The policy has placed local businesses at an unfair disadvantage, and has undermined state and local tax revenues. Now, the fight to require online retailers to collect sales taxes just as brick-and-mortar retailers do is intensifying. It’s currently being waged on three fronts: At the U.S. Supreme Court, at the state level, and in Congress.… Read More
Internet Sales Tax Fairness — Notification — Colorado
In February 2010, Colorado passed a law that requires remote retailers that do not collect state sales taxes to: a) notify Colorado customers that they owe the tax on their purchases, b) send an annual report to customers detailing all of their purchases in the preceding year and the amount of sales tax owed, and c) also provide this information annually to the Colorado Department of Revenue. The law applies to retailers with more than $100,000 in annual sales, including Amazon.com and Overstock.com. A federal appeals court upheld Colorado’s law in February 2016.… Read More
Internet Sales Tax Fairness — Marketplace Nexus — Minnesota
In May 2017, as part of a general revenue law, Minnesota passed a first-in-the-nation law that requires platform, or “marketplace,” retailers to collect sales tax on sales made on the platform by third-party sellers. The requirement will take effect the sooner of July 1, 2019, or when the U.S. Supreme Court modifies its ruling in Quill Corp. v. North Dakota.… Read More
Listen: How Amazon Swallowed the Economy on This is Hell!
ILSR’s Stacy Mitchell is the guest on the March 24 episode of “This Is Hell,” a longform interview podcast from Chicago’s WNUR. In the episode, “No competition: How Amazon swallowed the economy,” Stacy talks competition, platforms, and Amazon with host Chuck Mertz.… Read More
In Long-Awaited Case This Spring, U.S. Supreme Court Has Opportunity to Correct the Law on Sales Tax
This month, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments in a case on sales tax collection that could — long after online commerce has transformed the retail sector in the United States — finally give states the authority to require online retailers to collect sales tax. For both local governments and local retailers, it’s a case that’s long overdue. … Read More
In Cities Around the Country, New Action on Commercial Affordability
As independent businesses are grappling with the rising cost of rent in many U.S. cities, a new strategy is catching on: Policies that set-aside space for local businesses in new development. Here’s a look at three new programs that show how this tool can work — and offer examples of a step that cities can take to strengthen locally owned businesses.… Read More
Why Aren’t Wages Rising? The Answer Sounds a Lot Like Monopoly (Episode 42)
Marshall Steinbaum, a labor economist and research director at the Roosevelt Institute, sits down with Stacy Mitchell to discuss what is keeping American’s wages low and the prevalence of monopsony in our economy.… Read More
Brendan Greeley on Why We Need a Pro-Competition Political Party (Episode 40)
Economics writer Brendan Greeley joins Stacy Mitchell and Christopher Mitchell to discuss what we all get wrong when we talk about economic indicators and how he’s working to change that.… Read More
6 Ways to Rein In Today’s Monopolies
Monopolies are strangling competition and cutting off opportunity. In this feature for The Nation, we show how to stop them. … Read More
Amazon Doesn’t Just Want to Dominate the Market—It Wants to Become the Market
This cover feature for The Nation looks at how Amazon is a radically new kind of monopoly with ambitions that dwarf those of earlier empires, and what we should do about it. … Read More
Bloomberg Businessweek Profiles Cities that Restrict Chains to Free More Space for Local Businesses
A piece by Nick Leiber explores how cities are using caps on “formula” retailers to ensure that local businesses have ample opportunities to secure space and grow. … Read More
Want Your City to Prosper? Then Forget Everything You Think You Know about Economic Growth (Episode 37)
In this episode of ILSR’s Building Local Power podcast, Chuck Marohn of Strong Towns sits down with Stacy Mitchell to discuss why the conventional wisdom about economic growth often leads communities down a dark path of decay. … Read More
Listen: Stacy Mitchell on “We the Podcast” with Rep. Keith Ellison and Lina Khan
Taking on Amazon. It’s a big subject. But in this episode of Rep. Keith Ellison’s podcast, “We the People,” ILSR’s Stacy Mitchell and Lina Khan of Open Markets join Rep. Ellison to talk about how to do just that — and why we need to. … Read More