In less than two decades, large retail chains have become the most powerful corporations in America. In this deft and revealing book, Stacy Mitchell illustrates how mega-retailers are fueling many of our most pressing problems, from the shrinking middle class to rising pollution and diminished civic engagement—and she shows how a growing number of communities and independent businesses are effectively fighting back.

What is it that Groundswell does?  We're so happy to say that we don't yet know.

A Special Announcement from the American Independent Buisiness Alliance: Locally-owned independent businesses outperform average retailer sales during 2009 holidays. Those with active Buy Local campaigns fared best. More holiday shoppers deliberately sought out locally owned businesses this year, according to a national survey of more than 1,800 independent businesses. (Read the full announcement here)

In this age of online shopping and payWave readers, paying with paper currency seems a bit anachronistic. Who has the time to visit a physical store, "fumble for cash" (as Visa phrases it) and count every individual bill one by one? Especially when credit and debit cards provide the luxury of convenience and the illusion of endless funds.And yet, paying in cash provides a crisp finality to a transaction that plastic never will. You're left knowing exactly how much remains in your wallet and merchants pocket what would otherwise be credit card service fees.