Stacy Mitchell
@stacyfmitchell.bsky.social
Working to change public policy, rollback corporate power, rebuild local communities. Co-Executive Director at the Institute for Local Self-Reliance. Portland, Maine.
Pinned
The Mystery of Food Deserts
They didn’t materialize around the country for no reason. Something happened.
www.theatlantic.com
1. The conventional explanation for food deserts—that these places are too poor or too rural to generate enough spending on groceries, or too Black to overcome racist corporate redlining — fail to grapple with a key fact: food deserts didn’t used to exist. My new piece in The Atlantic.
Thanks to Nate Hagens and The Great Simplification podcast for the great discussion about how breaking up monopolies and decentralizing the economy is crucial to building the resilience and community agency needed to tackle the big challenges ahead.
When we optimize for efficiency and growth, we risk the stability of the entire system. Economic writer and strategist @stacyfmitchell.bsky.social explains.
October 29, 2025 at 12:40 PM
Thanks to Nate Hagens and The Great Simplification podcast for the great discussion about how breaking up monopolies and decentralizing the economy is crucial to building the resilience and community agency needed to tackle the big challenges ahead.
Good rundown from @ddayen.bsky.social on what all the Ballroom donors—Amazon, Google, Hewlett Packard, Coinbase, Union Pacific, etc.—are buying with their donations. Get-out-of-jail-free cards & big policy favors. (Union Pacific? They want merger approval to dominate rail.)
Here’s What Trump’s Ballroom Donors Want - The American Prospect
The price tag on Donald Trump’s garish White House ballroom, now up to $350 million, keeps increasing. That’s because the cost of construction isn’t nearly as important as having an inventory of…
prospect.org
October 28, 2025 at 12:41 PM
Good rundown from @ddayen.bsky.social on what all the Ballroom donors—Amazon, Google, Hewlett Packard, Coinbase, Union Pacific, etc.—are buying with their donations. Get-out-of-jail-free cards & big policy favors. (Union Pacific? They want merger approval to dominate rail.)
This is insane — a NY economic dev agency is set to hand Amazon an $80M subsidy for a warehouse. Fortunately, lots of public outcry. Now a state senator is urging a monitor to veto the giveaway.
October 27, 2025 at 12:52 PM
This is insane — a NY economic dev agency is set to hand Amazon an $80M subsidy for a warehouse. Fortunately, lots of public outcry. Now a state senator is urging a monitor to veto the giveaway.
Kroger is closing a Fred Meyer in Seattle, creating a new food desert. Great to see the city moving to ban covenants, which Kroger has used to block competitors from opening on its old sites. State lawmakers should follow by mandating suppliers give local grocers fair pricing.
Mayor Harrell Proposes Legislation Banning Anti-Competitive Covenants that Block New Grocery Stores and Pharmacies - Office of the Mayor
Legislation aims to address food insecurity and reduce barriers to acquiring needed medications Seattle—Today, Mayor Bruce Harrell announced the submission of legislation to the Seattle City Council…
harrell.seattle.gov
October 2, 2025 at 12:41 PM
Kroger is closing a Fred Meyer in Seattle, creating a new food desert. Great to see the city moving to ban covenants, which Kroger has used to block competitors from opening on its old sites. State lawmakers should follow by mandating suppliers give local grocers fair pricing.
Municipal grocery stores work when cities own the building and lease it to a nimble local operator. But they could be transformative if cities also used their authority to secure fair supplier pricing for independent grocers. Great piece from @TheProspect.
Supermarket Shaping
Critics say Zohran Mamdani’s public grocery store proposal will never work. But Mamdani’s idea isn’t the problem—market consolidation is.
prospect.org
September 30, 2025 at 12:58 PM
Municipal grocery stores work when cities own the building and lease it to a nimble local operator. But they could be transformative if cities also used their authority to secure fair supplier pricing for independent grocers. Great piece from @TheProspect.
Rich people feel pretty good right now. But those making less than $100k and especially those under $50k have nosedived since January. Chart by @tracyalloway.bsky.social
September 25, 2025 at 12:50 PM
Rich people feel pretty good right now. But those making less than $100k and especially those under $50k have nosedived since January. Chart by @tracyalloway.bsky.social
USDA will stop publishing a report on food insecurity that anti-hunger groups say is key to assessing hunger nationwide, making it "difficult to track the impact of tariffs and cuts to food assistance."
USDA Cancels ‘One of a Kind’ Report on Food Insecurity
Anti-hunger experts say ending the Household Food Security Report will make it difficult to track the impact of tariffs and cuts to food assistance.
civileats.com
September 25, 2025 at 12:41 PM
USDA will stop publishing a report on food insecurity that anti-hunger groups say is key to assessing hunger nationwide, making it "difficult to track the impact of tariffs and cuts to food assistance."
A $58M traffic project being billed as economic development is essentially “...prop[ping] up $40.8 million of gas stations, strip malls, and big-box stores," says @clmarohn. "If we’re serious about commerce, let’s invest where the returns are real.”
The Absurdity of Highway Spending as Economic Development | Strong Towns
With MnDOT's buttonhook design, “supporting business” is the sales pitch, but corporate subsidy is the product.
www.strongtowns.org
September 25, 2025 at 12:23 PM
A $58M traffic project being billed as economic development is essentially “...prop[ping] up $40.8 million of gas stations, strip malls, and big-box stores," says @clmarohn. "If we’re serious about commerce, let’s invest where the returns are real.”
Republicans in Congress are dealing big blows to small businesses right now. One looming one is the dramatic increase in health insurance costs for those who buy through the ACA marketplaces. Half— half! — of people under 65 using the marketplaces are small business owners and employees.
About Half of Adults with ACA Marketplace Coverage are Small Business Owners, Employees, or Self-Employed | KFF
This analysis estimates that 48% of adults under age 65 with individual market coverage are either employed by a small business with fewer than 25 workers, self-employed entrepreneurs, or small…
www.kff.org
September 24, 2025 at 12:41 PM
Republicans in Congress are dealing big blows to small businesses right now. One looming one is the dramatic increase in health insurance costs for those who buy through the ACA marketplaces. Half— half! — of people under 65 using the marketplaces are small business owners and employees.
1. The Trump Administration has disqualified thousands of rural communities from receiving expected funding to build broadband networks. "There’s going to be a lot of frustration with these changes and the way it walked back from what was going to be a very promising outcome.”
September 24, 2025 at 12:29 PM
1. The Trump Administration has disqualified thousands of rural communities from receiving expected funding to build broadband networks. "There’s going to be a lot of frustration with these changes and the way it walked back from what was going to be a very promising outcome.”
Under Biden, dominant corporations used supply chain issues as a cover story to increase profits, driving inflation. Now tariffs seem to be providing the new cover story as wholesale prices soar. Of course, the underlying problem is insufficient competition in too many markets.
August 15, 2025 at 12:41 PM
Under Biden, dominant corporations used supply chain issues as a cover story to increase profits, driving inflation. Now tariffs seem to be providing the new cover story as wholesale prices soar. Of course, the underlying problem is insufficient competition in too many markets.
Boeing, Redwood & Mercedes-Benz have received $1.5 billion in subsidies to build in South Carolina—and they're not even meeting their job targets.
What if those dollars went to local businesses instead? Nice op-ed by Charleston resident Brady Quirk-Garvan: www.postandcourier.com/opinion/comm...
What if those dollars went to local businesses instead? Nice op-ed by Charleston resident Brady Quirk-Garvan: www.postandcourier.com/opinion/comm...
August 13, 2025 at 12:41 PM
Boeing, Redwood & Mercedes-Benz have received $1.5 billion in subsidies to build in South Carolina—and they're not even meeting their job targets.
What if those dollars went to local businesses instead? Nice op-ed by Charleston resident Brady Quirk-Garvan: www.postandcourier.com/opinion/comm...
What if those dollars went to local businesses instead? Nice op-ed by Charleston resident Brady Quirk-Garvan: www.postandcourier.com/opinion/comm...
The head of antitrust at DOJ, Gail Slater, may be serious about enforcement, but monopolists like Real Page, Live Nation, and AmEx are just going over her head and lobbying Bondi and Trump to sidestep the law. www.wsj.com/us-news/law/...
August 13, 2025 at 12:23 PM
The head of antitrust at DOJ, Gail Slater, may be serious about enforcement, but monopolists like Real Page, Live Nation, and AmEx are just going over her head and lobbying Bondi and Trump to sidestep the law. www.wsj.com/us-news/law/...
With monopoly electric utilities price-gouging & blocking renewables, there's growing interest in converting them to publicly owned utilities. ILSR has a new guide for how to do that. Check out the Handbook for Public Power Campaigns. ilsr.org/articles/pub...
August 12, 2025 at 9:51 PM
With monopoly electric utilities price-gouging & blocking renewables, there's growing interest in converting them to publicly owned utilities. ILSR has a new guide for how to do that. Check out the Handbook for Public Power Campaigns. ilsr.org/articles/pub...
Last night, my hometown of Portland, Maine stood up to Live Nation. Amid strong grassroots opposition, the city council voted 6-3 for a moratorium — a key step in stopping this monopolist from building a large venue and taking control of live music in our city. www.pressherald.com/2025/08/11/p...
August 12, 2025 at 1:33 PM
Last night, my hometown of Portland, Maine stood up to Live Nation. Amid strong grassroots opposition, the city council voted 6-3 for a moratorium — a key step in stopping this monopolist from building a large venue and taking control of live music in our city. www.pressherald.com/2025/08/11/p...
1. Today, ILSR filed a motion in federal court to unseal the FTC’s antitrust complaint against PepsiCo. The case bears directly on high grocery prices and food deserts — and would've marked a crucial revival of the long-neglected Robinson-Patman Act. But the public may never get to see it.
August 5, 2025 at 12:51 PM
1. Today, ILSR filed a motion in federal court to unseal the FTC’s antitrust complaint against PepsiCo. The case bears directly on high grocery prices and food deserts — and would've marked a crucial revival of the long-neglected Robinson-Patman Act. But the public may never get to see it.
Reposted by Stacy Mitchell
For Prime Day: My thoughts on the need to break up with Amazon and BREAK UP Amazon. mailchi.mp/smallbusines...
Amazon, we don’t just need to break up. We need to break YOU up.
mailchi.mp
July 7, 2025 at 7:12 PM
For Prime Day: My thoughts on the need to break up with Amazon and BREAK UP Amazon. mailchi.mp/smallbusines...
"It’s easy to think of food deserts as a natural consequence of poverty. But...the real reason food deserts emerged...is because of a major shift in one federal policy."
The 99% Percent Invisible podcast has a great new episode on the hidden history of the Robinson-Patman Act.
The 99% Percent Invisible podcast has a great new episode on the hidden history of the Robinson-Patman Act.
Food Deserts - 99% Invisible
Woonsocket, Rhode Island was once home to many locally owned and regional grocers. There were small stores such as Fernandes Produce and Big D’s. The city also had supermarkets from classic New Englan...
99percentinvisible.org
July 10, 2025 at 1:06 PM
"It’s easy to think of food deserts as a natural consequence of poverty. But...the real reason food deserts emerged...is because of a major shift in one federal policy."
The 99% Percent Invisible podcast has a great new episode on the hidden history of the Robinson-Patman Act.
The 99% Percent Invisible podcast has a great new episode on the hidden history of the Robinson-Patman Act.
Complaining about process is a way to sidestep having to take a stand and use your position to fight for a simple, obvious, and popular rule that would help Americans save money and avoid being taken advantage of.
July 9, 2025 at 1:24 PM
Complaining about process is a way to sidestep having to take a stand and use your position to fight for a simple, obvious, and popular rule that would help Americans save money and avoid being taken advantage of.
Reposted by Stacy Mitchell
Shoppers have fewer options for groceries after waves of supermarket mergers, and, writes Ron Knox, they get nickled and dimed at the stores that remain. www.thenation.com/article/soci...
As Federal Chaos Ensues, Trustbusters Rise in the States
With Trump’s antitrust appointees more concerned with scoring points in MAGA culture wars than restraining corporate abuses, officials in the states are keeping up the fight.
www.thenation.com
July 2, 2025 at 3:16 PM
Shoppers have fewer options for groceries after waves of supermarket mergers, and, writes Ron Knox, they get nickled and dimed at the stores that remain. www.thenation.com/article/soci...
I have no problem with public grocery stores. But we should be clear-eyed about why food deserts exist. It's not poverty or lack of demand. In fact, food deserts only emerged in the late 1980s. They’re the result of a specific policy choice — one we need to reverse.
June 27, 2025 at 12:45 PM
I have no problem with public grocery stores. But we should be clear-eyed about why food deserts exist. It's not poverty or lack of demand. In fact, food deserts only emerged in the late 1980s. They’re the result of a specific policy choice — one we need to reverse.
Local grocers have to pay much higher prices for their products than Dollar General & Walmart. Last month the FTC quietly killed a case to level the playing field. It's huge blow to small businesses & will further devastate rural America. @ronmknox.bsky.social has a terrific explainer:
Has Trump’s FTC Abandoned Fair Markets? | Washington Monthly
Trump's FTC just killed a landmark antitrust case that could have leveled the playing field for small grocers.
washingtonmonthly.com
June 27, 2025 at 12:41 PM
Local grocers have to pay much higher prices for their products than Dollar General & Walmart. Last month the FTC quietly killed a case to level the playing field. It's huge blow to small businesses & will further devastate rural America. @ronmknox.bsky.social has a terrific explainer:
Reposted by Stacy Mitchell
What ever you think of @zohrankmamdani.bsky.social's plan to create city-run markets with fresh foods in food deserts at reasonable prices, one cannot deny that Public policy affects how well many people eat.
1. The conventional explanation for food deserts—that these places are too poor or too rural to generate enough spending on groceries, or too Black to overcome racist corporate redlining — fail to grapple with a key fact: food deserts didn’t used to exist. My new piece in The Atlantic.
The Mystery of Food Deserts
They didn’t materialize around the country for no reason. Something happened.
www.theatlantic.com
June 25, 2025 at 5:27 PM
What ever you think of @zohrankmamdani.bsky.social's plan to create city-run markets with fresh foods in food deserts at reasonable prices, one cannot deny that Public policy affects how well many people eat.
Reposted by Stacy Mitchell
The decision to drop a price discrimination lawsuit against Pepsi may signal Trump’s embrace of corporate bullies. From @ronmknox.bsky.social:
washingtonmonthly.com/2025/06/25/h...
washingtonmonthly.com/2025/06/25/h...
Has Trump’s FTC abandoned fair markets? | Washington Monthly
Trump's FTC just killed a landmark antitrust case that could have leveled the playing field for small grocers.
washingtonmonthly.com
June 25, 2025 at 1:31 PM
The decision to drop a price discrimination lawsuit against Pepsi may signal Trump’s embrace of corporate bullies. From @ronmknox.bsky.social:
washingtonmonthly.com/2025/06/25/h...
washingtonmonthly.com/2025/06/25/h...
With many people talking about how Mamdani has embraced small businesses as a crucial & obvious part of a progressive coalition of working people, I wanted to re-up this piece from a few years ago: ilsr.org/articles/in-...
June 25, 2025 at 5:07 PM
With many people talking about how Mamdani has embraced small businesses as a crucial & obvious part of a progressive coalition of working people, I wanted to re-up this piece from a few years ago: ilsr.org/articles/in-...