Choosing independent businesses and local financial institutions is a great idea. But a purely consumer-oriented response won't get us where we need to go, in part because it fails to fully grapple with how we got here in the first place.

If you believe the news, the future of the economy is in the hands of President Obama, Chairman Bernanke of the Federal Reserve, Prime Minister Cameron in Britain, Italian and Greek debt, the G5, BRIC, and everyone else but us.

"Living Economies." Though the phrase is a mouthful, a lot more businesses, and businesspeople, should be seeing themselves as part of them. Perhaps...

Even in countries where the law clearly states that the public interest must be protected in large mergers, global trade agreements give corporations the upper hand, or at least give government authorities an excuse to ignore their own laws.

Campaigns that highlight the importance of local independent business can provide a big boost for small businesses and local economies battered by the recession, suggests a new survey by the Institute for Local Self-Reliance.