To understand the underlying structure of any county, city, municipal or town budget or fiscal situation, it is necessary to inquire how much legal power a local community has over its own ability to pass laws, tax and spend.
The 2007-2009 recession hit state and local governments in the United States hard, and nearly every municipality had its own series of fiscal, political and societal constraints to navigate because of rising joblessness and falling revenues.
Year zero in the history of U.S. big-box stores was 1962: In that one year, the first Walmart, Target and Kmart stores opened. While the firms’ origins varied, their common focus was on deep discounts and suburban locations. Shoppers would arrive by car, not foot, so what mattered was highway access, acres of parking and massive scale.
