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COVID-19 has been brutal for small businesses. Back in September, data from Yelp showed that nearly 100,000 businesses had closed for good. That was two-and-a-half months ago...and many experts believe the next few months will be even worse for small businesses.\nA global pandemic was going to be destructive no matter what, but it\u2019s clear now that small businesses were on a weak footing to start with. Why? That\u2019s the topic on this episode of the Strong Towns podcast...and there\u2019s no guest better able to help us make sense of it than Stacy Mitchell.\nMitchell is the co-director of the Institute for Local Self-Reliance and the director of its Independent Business Initiative. She\u2019s the author of Big-Box Swindle: The True Cost of Mega-Retailers and the Fight for America\u2019s Independent Businesses, and coauthor of \u201cAmazon\u2019s Stranglehold: How the Company\u2019s Tightening Grip on the Economy Is Stifling Competition, Eroding Jobs, and Threatening Communities.\u201d Her writing has also appeared in The Atlantic, Wall Street Journal, The Nation, Bloomberg, and other major outlets. Mitchell has testified before Congress on the monopoly power of dominant tech platforms. In April, she was the subject of a New York Times profile, \u201cAs Amazon Rises, So Does the Opposition.\u201d\nIn this episode, Strong Towns president Chuck Marohn welcomes Stacy Mitchell back to the podcast to talk about the concerns she had before the pandemic \u2014 corporate consolidation, tech monopolies, how corporate giants were using their size and political clout to muscle out small businesses \u2014 and why those concerns are even more acute now. They discuss how small businesses have adapted in extraordinary ways to the challenges of coronavirus, yet still face huge obstacles, including a federal policy response that is printing money for big businesses but has done comparatively little for small businesses. They talk about how Amazon is \u201cfundamentally anti-competitive,\u201d the damage done by Amazon to startups and small businesses, and what it might look like if Congress breaks up the tech behemoth.\nMarohn and Mitchell also discuss why it is distorting to think about Americans primarily as \u201cconsumers.\u201d Before we are consumers, we are members of a community, citizens in a democracy, and people trying to build a good life for ourselves and our families.\n\xa0\nAdditional Show Notes:\nStacy Mitchell (Twitter)\nInstitute for Local Self-Reliance (Website)\nInstitute for Local Self-Reliance (Twitter)\nSign up for the ILSR Hometown Advantage newsletter\nCharles Marohn (Twitter)\nOther Strong Towns content featuring Stacy Mitchell and the Institute for Local Self-Reliance\u201cAmid COVID-19, Local Governments Are Coming Through for Local Businesses,\u201d by Daniel Herriges\n\u201cWhy Local Banks Are Crucial to Your Community's Coronavirus Recovery,\u201d by Daniel Herriges\nAsk Strong Towns Webcast: Celebrity Edition (featuring Stacy Mitchell)\n\u201cStacy Mitchell on the Big-Box Swindle\u201d (Podcast)\n\u201cHow a Local Bookstore Can Make Your Town Richer\u2014In More Than One Way,\u201d by Kea Wilson