The proposed merger between the grocery chains Albertsons and Kroger has antitrust laws in the spotlight, as the supermarket companies are already the two largest in the country.

Albertsons has more than 2,000 stores; Kroger has more than 2,700. There are 32 Kroger stores in Arkansas, with more than 4,000 employees. Since the merger plan was first announced in October, it's been under intense scrutiny.

Stacy Mitchell, co-director of the Institute for Local Self-Reliance, said the grocery industry is already consolidated, which affects workers, farmers, small businesses and consumers.

"We've seen food production workers and farmers getting paid less for food, and we see consumers paying more for groceries," Mitchell pointed out. "What's happening is that you've got this small number of companies in the middle -- the middlemen, including the supermarket chains -- who are absorbing more and more of that spending for themselves, becoming incredibly profitable."

Ohio-based Kroger has stated in a news release its acquisition of Idaho-based Albertsons would "expand customer reach and improve access to affordable food" to about 85 million households. The deal still requires Federal Trade Commission approval. A decision is expected next year.

Mitchell thinks the consolidation of supermarkets is harmful to rural areas, which depend more on small and mid-sized businesses for their local economies. She predicts the merger will leave many communities with no competition in the way of choice for grocery shoppers.

"Rural areas have been particularly hard hit by that," Mitchell noted. "If you're a small town, you don't have a corporate headquarters of a giant company, right? You rely, naturally, on some smaller businesses. And those businesses have really been hurt and squeezed by the monopoly problem that we're seeing."

Mitchell added Congress has proposed some significant antitrust legislation. One bill would charge companies more to review mega-transactions, so federal agencies could hire enough staff to conduct a proper review. It has got bipartisan support and passed the House, but is sitting in the Senate.

The Iowa Senate has advanced a bill to outlaw handling a cellphone while driving.

The state already has a distracted driving law, but it allows people to hold a mobile device as long as they're not texting. Supporters of this measure say current law makes it difficult to pinpoint the cause of many accidents.

Senate File 547 would further target distracted driving, and establish fines for people who handle their mobile devices at all while behind the wheel. It is not the first time Iowa lawmakers have debated a measure like this, but now it is getting more support from state police.

Sen. Claire Celsi, D-West Des Moines, said current law makes it hard for troopers to say exactly what caused a crash, but they often cite distracted driving in many serious accidents.

"Some of the troopers described instances where people are watching movies as they roll down the road," Celsi outlined. "Others are texting. Others are checking Facebook."

Celsi argued the bill would help police enforce the law by completely banning cellphone use while driving unless it is equipped with a hands-free device. The bill moves next to the House, where it faces opposition.

Celsi is a co-sponsor of the bill and was once opposed to regulating cellphone use in the car because she thought it would require people to make big investments in technology to comply. She acknowledged it is no longer the case, and added people can get a hands-free device for as little as $20. Beyond the technology now being affordable, she said bicyclists have also come out in support of the measure.

"Many bicyclists will tell you harrowing tales of driving down the road and seeing a driver that's completely on their phone coming straight towards them and not even realizing that they're there," Celsi observed. "I think the combination of the two -- the law enforcement and the bicycle coalition coming together -- was the driving force that got the bill to pass in the Senate."

If the measure becomes law, Iowa would join 30 other states banning handheld cellphone use while driving.


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The New York State Legislature is considering a bill to allow the creation of public banks. The New York Public Banking Act would authorize municipal and other local governments to form and control public banks through ownership interests such as capital stock. The hope is these banks will invest in community endeavors rather than interests in line with making the bank profit. A report from the Rainforest Action Network said some of the largest banks in the nation are heavily invested in the fossil-fuel industry despite world policy shifts to renewable energies.

Mike Sandmel, senior campaign organizer with New Economy Project, said public banks present benefits to municipalities invested in them.

"Broadly speaking, it is a great tool for investing in infrastructure. This is a great tool for investing in affordable housing; for investing in small business creation," he said.

The recent turmoil following the failure of Signature Bank has influenced interest in public banking. Numerous organizations and elected officials across the state signed a letter
to the Majority Leader of the State Senate and the Speaker of the Assembly supporting the bill.

Primary opposition to the bill, currently under review by the Senate Banking Committee, has come from Wall Street banks trying to keep the business these cities bring, Sandmel said.

Previous versions of the bill were brought before the Legislature in the past two sessions, but never advanced beyond the Banking Committee. Sandmel is hopeful it will pass this year, but even if it does, work remains to outline local government's terms for a public bank, he said.

"We have to have conversations in local communities about is this something we want to do? Is this something we think we can pull off? What does our business plan look like? What does our application look like? You have to pass legislation, locally, right. Through city councils or county legislatures. To authorize actually doing that work of putting that business plan together," he said.

Other actions are being taken to make banks more accountable to the people whose money they hold, outside of this bill. New York City's Banking Commission
will include a public comment process for their public hearing to designate banks eligible for holding deposits of city funds.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has proposed new regulations on credit card late fees, which could save Americans billions of dollars.

The bureau reported late fees cost cardholders about $12 billion a year. Congress attempted to ban excessive late fees in 2009, but the Federal Reserve still allowed companies to charge late fees up to $41. The new proposal would lower it to $8 and end an automatic yearly inflation adjustment for the fee amount.

Overall, the regulation would cap late fees at 25% of the minimum payment.

Daniel Rathfelder, vice president for card services for Coastal Federal Credit Union, said the new rules would help cardholders.

"I think overall, consumers are going to see some big pieces shift in their favor, if that gets adopted," Rathfelder observed.

Late fees are intended to cover collection costs, and some card issuers increase the fees with each additional missed payment. Under the proposal, companies would still be able to charge higher fees, if they can prove their collection costs are higher. The bureau estimated the new rule would save people as much as $9 billion a year. The agency is taking public comments until April 3.

The bureau also wants public comments on the possibility of a 15-day grace period beyond the due date before late fees can be assessed. Rathfelder noted in its public comment on the rule change, his credit union endorsed the idea.

"We pushed a little bit harder and said if consumers had a grace period, and the companies who could do automation around messaging and notification, getting people after the first day that it's due a notice saying, 'Hey, you missed this, but you have nine more days,' that would probably resolve a lot of the scenarios," Rathfelder explained.

Rathfelder added some enclaves of the financial services industry have already adopted grace periods, including for auto loans and mortgages.