Recently Posted

Stacy Mitchell in The Atlantic: Elizabeth Warren Has a Theory About Corporate Power

Stacy Mitchell in The Atlantic: Elizabeth Warren Has a Theory About Corporate Power

Charlie Thaxton

May 16, 2019

In The Atlantic, Stacy Mitchell focuses on the Democrats' forgotten role as small business champions, and on Elizabeth Warren's reclaiming of the tradition.  READ MORE


Featured

Statement on House Antitrust Investigation into Big Tech

Statement on House Antitrust Investigation into Big Tech

Hibba Meraay

June 4, 2019

In response to the House Judiciary Committee’s announcement that it will begin a study of the impact of dominant technology platforms, the Institute for Local Self-Reliance released the following statement.  READ MORE


Video: Stacy Mitchell talks Amazon, Concentration, and Building Resilient Local Economies

Video: Stacy Mitchell talks Amazon, Concentration, and Building Resilient Local Economies

Charlie Thaxton

April 15, 2019

ILSR co-director Stacy Mitchell was the guest for a special edition of Strong Towns' webcast earlier this year. Stacy spoke with Strong Towns co-founder and President, Chuck Marohn on topics like Amazon, tax incentives, retail concentration, and big-box stores.  READ MORE


Op-Ed in Fortune: The Hidden Price of Cashless Retail

Op-Ed in Fortune: The Hidden Price of Cashless Retail

Charlie Thaxton

April 3, 2019

In Fortune, we detail how cashless retail entrenches big banks, steps cities and states are taking to regulate it, and the ultimate effect credit card fees have on small businesses and the economy at large.  READ MORE


The FTC is Approving a Merger that Will Help Staples and Amazon Cripple Independent Businesses

The FTC is Approving a Merger that Will Help Staples and Amazon Cripple Independent Businesses

Stacy Mitchell

February 26, 2019

The FTC recently gave Staples the green light to buy one of the two wholesalers that sell to independent office supply dealers. The decision hardly made a blip in the news cycle. But it sheds enormous insight into the  READ MORE


How Amazon Gets What it Wants: Stacy Mitchell on Chris Hayes’ Podcast

How Amazon Gets What it Wants: Stacy Mitchell on Chris Hayes' Podcast

Charlie Thaxton

January 23, 2019

ILSR co-director Stacy Mitchell appeared on MSNBC host Chris Hayes' podcast, "Why Is This Happening?" The two discuss how Amazon came to dominate e-commerce, its now all-encompassing presence in consumer goods, retail, and cloud computing, and its much bigger ambitions beyond.  READ MORE


View All Independent Business Articles…

In Depth

Dollar Stores Are Targeting Struggling Urban Neighborhoods and Small Towns. One Community Is Showing How to Fight Back.

Dollar Stores Are Targeting Struggling Urban Neighborhoods and Small Towns. One Community Is Showing How to Fight Back.

Marie Donahue

December 6, 2018

Although dollar stores sometimes fill a need in places that lack basic retail services, there’s growing evidence that these stores are not merely a byproduct of economic distress. They’re a cause of it. In small towns and urban neighborhoods alike, dollar stores are leading full-service grocery stores to close. And their strategy of saturating communities with multiple outlets is making it impossible for new grocers and other local businesses to take root and grow.  READ MORE


Unfair Advantage: In The Sun, Stacy Mitchell Discusses Amazon and the Future of Local Economies

Unfair Advantage: In The Sun, Stacy Mitchell Discusses Amazon and the Future of Local Economies

Charlie Thaxton

October 25, 2018

This month, The Sun magazine features ILSR Co-Director Stacy Mitchell in an extended Q&A about the consequences of Amazon’s tightening grip and what it will take to revive America’s left-behind cities and towns.  READ MORE


ILSR Submits Comments as Federal Trade Commission Embarks on a Rare Review of Its Antitrust Policy

ILSR Submits Comments as Federal Trade Commission Embarks on a Rare Review of Its Antitrust Policy

Zach Freed

August 30, 2018

In a series of hearings this fall, the Federal Trade Commission will examine whether it should be doing more to check concentrated economic power. ILSR has submitted comments to the agency that highlight the impact of concentration on independent businesses and outline the dangers of Amazon's platform power.  READ MORE


Monopoly Power and the Decline of Small Business

Monopoly Power and the Decline of Small Business

Stacy Mitchell

August 10, 2016

The U.S. is much less a nation of entrepreneurs than it was a generation ago. In this report, which won an award for antitrust scholarship in 2017, we suggest that the decline of small businesses is owed, at least in part, to anticompetitive behavior by large, dominant corporations. The report presents three reasons to bring a commitment to fair markets for small businesses back into antitrust policy, and concludes by outlining specific steps to do just that.  READ MORE


More Resources