Local Return
@localreturn.bsky.social
Building community wealth in Rhode Island through ownership and investment, particularly in neighborhoods that have experienced historical disinvestment. We just launched RI's first community investment fund at @investRI.bsky.social. LocalReturn.org
Please watch this from @moreperfectunion.bsky.social. It's an important look at how the Amazon business model hurts consumers and small businesses.
We Uncovered Amazon’s Scheme To Inflate Prices Everywhere
YouTube video by More Perfect Union
youtube.com
Come on out for our next First Wednesday meet-up, to discuss small-scale, missing middle real estate development, community wealth-building, and more!
Wendell Berry's 17 principles for a local economy, which he articulated in 1994, are as relevant as ever.
Wendell Berry's Tenets for a Local Economy - Schumacher Center for a New Economics
In 1994, Wendell Berry delivered a talk at the 23rd annual meeting of the Northern Plains Resource Council. Included in his remarks was a list of enduring principles for communities seeking “to cohere...
centerforneweconomics.org
We're reading Plantation Goods: A Material History of American Slavery, an important study on economic and community history that remains ever-relevant to RI, by @sethrockman.bsky.social. Join us Sept. 10 at @symposiumbooks.bsky.social for an event with the author! localreturn.org/event/book-c...
"Most people in the field of civic engagement are interested in reversing the enduring democratic recession. However, the economy feels as though it’s not something that democratic participation can or should tackle, or it is just too out of reach, and we don’t know how they should be..."
The Geography of Discontent and What Democratic Innovations Can Do About It - National Civic League
Even promising democratic innovations can frequently fall short because they fail to elevate the well-being of people in economically disadvantaged regions. What’s missing is a democratic system that ...
nationalcivicleague.org
Our friends at @ilsr.bsky.social covers Rhode Island's big move to ban restrictive covenants for grocery stores.
Rhode Island Restrictive Covenants Ban is "major step towards lowering grocery bills"
Rhode Island passes landmark law to end grocery store real estate restrictions.
ilsr.org
Well, this is concerning. "Backing this push are Wall Street firms, which want a bigger piece of the $10 trillion in America’s 401(k) plans, and America’s largest employers, who want to avoid class-action lawsuits from their employees."
Wall Street Wants to Change the Rules for Your 401(k). It Could Put Your Retirement at Risk.
Financial firms want a bigger piece of the $10 trillion in America’s 401(k) plans, and the Trump administration is planning a regulatory rollback to encourage less-regulated — and often riskier — inv...
propublica.org
We are thrilled to see Rhode Island end the use of restrictive covenants by supermarkets. “Everywhere that Wall Street wants to buy up Main Street, we are going to fight back.” Thank you for your leadership, @sabinamatos.bsky.social.
We had a fabulous time at the @growsmartri.bsky.social summit about the multiple kinds of capital in our places — and how to make financial capital work better for communities.
If you're at the @growsmartri.bsky.social Power of Place Summit today, come on out to the lunchtime session @joshdaly.bsky.social and I are facilitating about community capitals. It's going to be just a little bit freewheeling and fun, and we'll figure it all out together.
Come on out for our next Jumpstart Rhode Island networking meet-up -- next Wednesday, 5-6:15 p.m., at the fabulous Incred-A-Bowl in East Providence.
"You can tell people to buy less, buy responsibly, buy locally, participate in the circular economy, learn how to mend things, repurpose old items, and so on, but there comes a point where individual choices run headlong into systemic constraints."
Enshittification Isn’t Limited to the Digital World
It’s also hardly a new phenomenon
thenoosphere.substack.com
👀 "AstroNova employs 400 people in West Warwick, according to Providence Business News 2026 Book of Lists. It was unclear if this transaction would affect staffing or operations at the West Warwick facility. Representatives from AstroNova did not immediately respond to a request for comment."
AstroNova agrees to be acquired by Tenn.-based private equity firm
WEST WARWICK – AstroNova Inc. on Wednesday entered into an agreement to be acquired by Tennessee-based private equity firm Arcline Investment Management in an all-cash transaction of approximately $27...
pbn.com
This is how we build a local investment pipeline -- one plan/business/venture/project at a time.
Local Return@localreturn.bsky.social · 2mo agoWe're thrilled to see our partnership with Polaris spotlighted in the Providence Business News. Together we're working to preserve local ownership and help business owners prepare thoughtfully for exits.
We're thrilled to see our partnership with Polaris spotlighted in the Providence Business News. Together we're working to preserve local ownership and help business owners prepare thoughtfully for exits.
R.I.’s manufacturing sector braces for owner exits
A wave of retiring business owners is about to reshape Rhode Island manufacturing, where 80% are approaching an exit without clear succession plans. At least, that’s according to data from Polaris MEP...
pbn.com
"An economic paradigm is not a list of policies. It is the invisible logical architecture within which policy debates occur and the framework that determines how we see economic cause and effect."
The Economic Experiment That Upended Reality
Minimum-wage increases were expected to kill jobs. The fact that they didn’t should make us rethink a lot of assumptions.
theatlantic.com
say what you want about ups but they're union. that matters.
Local Return@localreturn.bsky.social · 2mo ago"For small businesses caught in the middle, deeper dependence on Amazon’s logistics means rising fees, with no leverage to push back. For those consumers who want choices, it means something uncomfortable: They can keep trying harder to avoid the giants, but the giants keep getting bigger anyway."
"For small businesses caught in the middle, deeper dependence on Amazon’s logistics means rising fees, with no leverage to push back. For those consumers who want choices, it means something uncomfortable: They can keep trying harder to avoid the giants, but the giants keep getting bigger anyway."
You’ve been trying to get around Amazon – but it’s not that easy • Rhode Island Current
You might pick a small brand instead of the giant, but you've just walked through a different door into the same store. And it’s getting harder and harder to escape, a pair of consumer behavior and…
rhodeislandcurrent.com
This Wednesday, come on out to network with our aspiring neighborhood/real estate developers.
Jumpstart Rhode Island Monthly Networking Meet-Up – Local Return
localreturn.org
And yet, it could look like: -Vibrant, locally-owned main streets as anchors of places people want to live -Slow and steady growth of independent businesses -Increased self-reliance and community interdependence -Worker and community ownership
Philip Eil@phileil.bsky.social · 2mo agoThe future of economic development in Rhode Island looks like: -Data centers -Sports betting -Spinoff business from the "Real Housewives"
Current and aspiring neighborhood-developers, join us next Wednesday, June 3! localreturn.org/event/jumpst...
@lohplaces.bsky.social of @brookings.edu released a paper just last week calling on states to pass initiatives like this one. In fact, our bill is referenced. www.brookings.edu/articles/sta...
How states can incentivize local investing to find new capital for businesses and housing | Brookings
Geographic and corporate concentration in banking and retail is limiting entrepreneurship in many U.S. communities. Existing place-based policies help, but often fail to deliver scalable, tailored inv...
brookings.edu
Local Return@localreturn.bsky.social · 2mo ago🚨 We urgently need to move money from Wall Street to our main streets! The Senate Finance Committee is hearing S2833, the Rhode Island Local Investment Tax Credit Act, this Thursday. Come testify, submit a letter of written support, and spread the word.
🚨 We urgently need to move money from Wall Street to our main streets! The Senate Finance Committee is hearing S2833, the Rhode Island Local Investment Tax Credit Act, this Thursday. Come testify, submit a letter of written support, and spread the word.
Went to Teatro ECAS this evening for @localreturn.bsky.social’s Wealth in Rhode Island: Who, How, What, and So What? discussion. A very thought-provoking look at what wealth is and who is — and who isn’t — able to achieve it.
“If this is a federal law, why do we need state legislation?” Because this federal law hasn't been enforced since the 80s. Not coincidentally, that's the same time period over which we've seen consolidation in the grocery and retail sectors, including the rise of "Super Walmart."
ecoRI News@ecorinews.bsky.social · 3mo agoTwo bills that would ban grocery stores from using restrictive covenants that squelch competition are drawing pushback from the state’s business community. buff.ly/1NRHNd0
#2 on the @mainstreetjournal.bsky.social's list of local economy stengths is Investment Reform, calling out the state of Michigan for their consideration of a tax credit for local investors. RI legislators are considering that, too: S8195/S2833. localreturn.org/2026-policy-...
A Report Card on the U.S. Local Economy Movement
Many great organizations and great leaders, all starved for funds, could provide the basis of a new, stronger local economy movement.
mainstreetjournal.substack.com
This morning we highlighted the importance of moving your money from Wall Street to main streets -- including by moving your deposits to local credit unions and community banks.
Celebrating Move Your Money Month with a Bank Local press conference – Local Return
localreturn.org
