This infomercial was included in a notice about a local store which had tried to expand into a neighboring city and found it rougher than expected. It has the look and feel of a professional public relations firm which ironically enough probably isn't a local business but could certainly be independently owned.
I'm tempted to agree wholeheartedly with the sentiment of the message but I suspect it is the "cheer for the underdog" part of my heart that is agreeing and not my whole heart. After all, what would our economy look like if we all supported only businesses that were independently owned - 19th century America or England. It is risky to be an independent businessman which is why more than 50% fail within two years of starting. But they have enough appeal that people keep coming back and starting new businesses. In spite of all the drawbacks people find the notion of being their own bosses enough to try to make it.
I fully support local, independently owned businesses but I also support those they exclude - the e-businesses, the franchises, the home-based businesses, and the multi-state, multi-national chains. I believe there is a place for each and an appropriate civic cost (taxes & fees) for each. And you can't always tell by the volume of the whining whether a business is paying the appropriate civic cost.
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