During her address the Mayor also announced population growth of 3,000 residents over the course of eight years.  That’s equivalent to about 375 new residents per year, every year. The mayor believes that by limiting population growth Moscow can escape “rash decision making” and the undue influence of “special interests." Overall, I think our local economic problems really lie in what we consider a “local business." According to the “Buy Local Moscow” organization, they consider a business to be local if they are “locally-owned independent businesses that are headquartered and located in Moscow, Idaho” The group also believes that local is better because “a new chain store typically is a clone of other units” and that the “store's profits are promptly exported to corporate headquarters.” /Henry "Digger" Johnstone, Moscow-Pullman Daily News. More here.

Question: Does it matter to you as a shopper whether a business is locally owned or part of a chain?