Institute for Local Self-Reliance

Government funding can help new grocery stores overcome high startup costs, but without broader solutions to keep these stores open, “we’re throwing money away,” Stacy Mitchell told ProPublica. The long-term solution is to level the playing field: “If we don’t have the enforcement of fair competition, these stores are going to be squeezed out the same way that many independent grocery stores have been squeezed out.” Read the full article to learn why reversing corporate concentration is crucial to tackling food apartheid ⬇️

ILSR’s latest report examines how the poor design and complex bureaucracy of some federal broadband programs can undermine Tribal Nations’ sovereignty and efforts to close the digital divide. Drawing on interviews and public records, Jessica Auer highlights the fundamental concerns Tribes have raised about the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund — and what this means for the future of Tribal connectivity. Check out the full report ⬇️

We're #hiring a new Senior Researcher to work with our Energy Democracy Initiative and make community-owned, local clean energy available everywhere by transitioning power away from the big energy utility monopolies. Apply today or share this post with your network.

More than 1 in 5 homes on Tribal lands lack adequate Internet access, compared to fewer than 1 in 10 on nontribal land. Matthew Rantanen and ILSR’s Christopher Mitchell co-founded the Tribal Broadband Bootcamps to help close this gap by providing hands-on technical training and a supportive community. So far, they’ve reached 72 Tribes and nearly 400 attendees — and their momentum is only growing. Check out AP’s recent article and video about their work ⬇️

Don’t miss today’s virtual event! Tune in at 2:00 p.m. ET: https://lnkd.in/gC3EzNaN

We're #hiring a Multimedia Content Creator! Apply today or share this post with your network to add to a team of creative and brilliant folks who are passionate about breaking the grip of corporate monopolies that dominate our democracy and economy and elevating the power of local communities to write their own futures.

Big Tech is the latest form of tyranny, proclaims Stacy Mitchell, Co-Director of the Institute for Local Self-Reliance. Corporate domination, especially that of giant tech companies, is undermining our democracy and concentrating wealth and power in fewer and fewer hands. Yet Mitchell, longtime anti-monopoly movement leader, is here to tell us they’ve finally met their match. A broad grassroots alliance, together with a new generation of creative government leaders, is bringing long-dormant anti-monopoly laws and strategies back to life. This promising turn of events offers hope for reclaiming our rights and assuring a far more equitable and greener future. Watch her full presentation: https://buff.ly/3Lay4Xd

Dominant corporations leverage structural racism to eliminate competition and control markets. Public policy can help. 🗓️ Save the date for Institute for Local Self-Reliance's event covering their recent #PowerPlay report: https://lnkd.in/g9mNrtDf

Join us next Wednesday, July 17, at 2:00 p.m. ET for a virtual event examining how monopolies leverage structural racism for market power and what this means for the antimonopoly movement. We’ll hear from a panel of leading experts and advocates, including: ✔️ Sabeel Rahman, Cornell Law School ✔️ Jeremie Greer, Liberation in a Generation ✔️ Susan Holmberg, ILSR ✔️ Lauren Jacobs, PowerSwitch Action ✔️ Gabrielle Rejouis, Georgetown University Law Center Learn more and register ⬇️

The monopoly granted to investor-owned electric utilities comes with staggering costs: soaring electricity prices and debilitating shutoffs, 32% of annual energy-related carbon dioxide emissions, and a lifetime sentence of asthma for millions of children. But there’s another path forward, ILSR’s John Farrell writes. Read his latest article in ProMarket to learn about the three steps we must take to achieve clean and affordable electricity for all. ⬇️