Lessons in politics from Starbucks: sign of the times or storm in a coffee cup?
Drip, latte, cappuccino, espresso, frappuccino; short, tall, grande, venti, trenta. Starbucks, the international coffee chain is great at giving choice in getting our daily dose of java. But what about campaign contributions or no contributions? Doesn't exactly roll off the tongue in the same way, but that is the stark choice that Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz is now offering US politicians in the face of the country's ongoing debt crisis. For the past few weeks Schultz has been seeking to build a coalition of US business leaders ready to join him in withholding campaign contributions from Washington until the main political parties start working together and agree a debt deal to turn around the beleaguered economy. In the last few days Schultz has stepped up the campaign with full-page ads in the US press , including the New York Times, taking the form of an open letter on Starbucks headed paper to his "fellow citizens" to join him in "restoring hope in the Amer...