Dear Starbucks

[magical thyme]

So Manny gave us a heads up. Now take action. Here is the link to tell Starbucks what you think: http://customerservice.starbucks.com/app/contact/ask_company_info/

I put my letter under "social responsibility." Note that the 1st time you try to do it, a pop-up of questions will appear. I hit cancel on in, started over and was able to post my letter.

Dear Starbucks,

I understand that your CEO is proposing that we "come together" to "fix the national debt" by joining "fixthedebt.org"

This is so wrong-headed I hardly know where to begin. I'm sure you're aware that "fixthedebt.org" has proposed cutting Social Security earned benefits by 22%. So let me start there:

1. Social Security did not cause the national debt. As I'm sure you are aware, it is a self-funded system. Cutting seniors earned benefits when so many live in poverty would be just plain stealing, absolutely shameful and would harm the economy.

also #1. The national debt was caused by 2 unfunded wars started under the Bush administration, combined with drastic tax cuts for the wealthy, also started by Bush, and sadly continued by the current administration. If people feel an urgent need to fix the debt, they can start by restoring the tax system that had us in good fiscal shape before the irresponsible and immoral, not to mention illegal, squandering of our treasury by an unelected President appointed by a Supreme Court that chose to override our constitution.

also #1. Numerous leading economists, including Nobel prize winners Stieglitz and Krugman, have repeatedly and strongly recommended focusing on stimulus over concern about national debt. As has been proven time and again in our history, government stimulus, as the "buyer of last resort" in a recession or depression, both alleviates the misery to those at the 'bottom' and puts a floor under the economy until it cycles back into growth. After the economy has recovered, then we can address the national debt. Also, as we saw during the Clinton administration, increased tax revenues through high levels of employment go a long way to restoring our national balance sheet.

The bottom line is that the national debt is not a problem; unemployment and lack of discretionary spending by the un and underemployed is the problem.

I strongly suggest you reconsider your recommendations. I will not support your proposition, plan to boycott *any* company that supports "fixthedebt.org," and recommend the same action to others.

[iemitsu]

1. Of course, the real solution would be to dump capitalism.

And that's why we put up with so much diversion. So we treat symptoms and never recognize the root of the problems.

[ohheckyeah]

2. No no no....

it's obvious the solution is dumping out all of Starbucks coffee and buying Folgers or Dunkin Donuts coffee.

[iemitsu]

7. Your solution would, at least, fatten one's wallet.

[ohheckyeah]

9. Whose? n/t

[iemitsu]

31. Anyone who follows your advice.

[caledesi]

17. I totally agree! nt

[ohheckyeah]

34. I'd rather enjoy the coffee I like and fatten my wallet

by working.

[BlueStreak]

3. I have a suggestion

How about everybody who spends the ridiculous amount Starbucks charges for a mediocre cup of coffee served up by mediocre staff and instead go buy their morning coffee for $1 at the convenience store next door. Then take those savings and add them to the amount you pay the IRS when you file taxes.

I am completely sick of these business owners who try to push politics along with their product. I have only been in a Starbucks about one time a year recently, but now it will be zero times, I guarantee that. Right up there with Chick-Fil-A, Papa Johns, and all the rest.

And this inspires me to go to my favorite coffee shop this AM. It has been in business about 10 years. 5 years ago, Starbucks opened up about 50 yards away. My shop is still in business. Anytime I am in that part of town, I make a point of patronizing them. And I part in front of the Starbucks so they can see me go get my coffee.

I really hate these jerks.

[caledesi]

18. I totally agree! nt

[savebigbird]

38. Like you,

I ditched Starbucks a loooong time ago, and I get my coffee from a local shop instead. The coffee is worlds better, and poor politics aren't shoved down my throat.

[pangaia]

43. Why not just make coffee at home !DUH!!!

[onethatcares]

4. seems their website is too busy to respond at this time

Keep hammering them with the consequences.

[lunasun]

5. I got the same message so everyone carry on and drop 'em a note

[AnnieK401]

6. Funny, I had somehow gotten the impression that Starbucks was run by a progressive.

At least progressive among other CEO's. Guess I was wrong.

[TinkerTot55]

47. Progressives......

...are who they MARKET to.

But not what Starbucks practices, apparently.

[Newest Reality]

8. The Starbucks Liberation App

"Find other places to get coffee that are usually much better than Starbucks and more affordable."

There should be an app for that, just so Starbucks gets it straight that many areas have wonderful, (even locally-owned) coffee shops to go to. Brand and image are not everything in this revolution of the mind.

[MannyGoldstein]

25. That's a fantastic idea

We need an app builder person.

[Newest Reality]

29. Yes, it would be cool

and a great way to protest and have a cup of coffee with your easy activism.

[Rosa Luxemburg]

10. A large poster outside Starbucks

outside every Starbucks there should be a large poster saying 'Starbucks wants to cut your social security'.

[caledesi]

19. So true! nt

[Maraya1969]

11. Oh and Dear Starbucks. Why don't you take part of you 44 million in executive compensation,

cut it in 1/2 for everyone, (except for you, Mr. CEO, who should take 1/3 of your 28.9 million and accept a measly 9.63 million) and then take the 28 million left and divide among your baristas so they don't have to ask for tips to make ends meet. Also you can cut out things like the 11 million you spent to take your executives to a special company picnic and the cash bonuses to your top executives and give your hourly employees a living wage.

Then they will have more money to spend and that will stimulate the economy and decrease the deficit.

[caledesi]

20. Yeah Mr. CEO! nt

[TinkerTot55]

48. Dear Maraya1969:

[fleabiscuit]

12. Starbucks does invest their political cash mostly with Democrats.

Even CEO's can have brainfarts. Perhaps with the new report correcting the debt/austerity push Starbucks will change direction. If not, f'em.

[caledesi]

22. As the OP said "SS has nothing to do with the debt!" nt

[fleabiscuit]

33. I try not to assume.

Just because someone is wealthy or successful doesn't not make them all knowing or incapable of being duped. However, if he/Starbucks can not see the light... f'em.

[CrispyQ]

28. It's paid off. A dem prez put SS on the table.

It doesn't matter if it doesn't pass this time, a precedent has been set & set by a dem. It was offered once. It will be offered again.

[firenewt]

13. Hard to believe, but I have never been in a Starbucks. This gives me just one more reason to

avoid Starfucks.

[sarge43]

21. Me neither

But there's the bagged coffee beans and the bottled iced coffee, so those can be lined off the list.

[caledesi]

23. This is so funny.. cos I don't even like hot coffee! nt

[SalviaBlue]

14. Website busy still.

[rickyhall]

15. Post Script

GFYS

[RebelOne]

16. I sent a message to the effect that

they had a lot of nerve for even proposing such a cut.

[caledesi]

24. Good for you! nt

[LiberalLovinLug]

26. Sent!

Too busy to respond.

[handmade34]

27. CEOs funding fixthedebt.org

Report b CTJ on CEOs backing fixthedebt.org
http://www.ctj.org/pdf/notax2012.pdf


Bernie Sanders' report (about CEOs backing fixthedebt.org)
http://www.sanders.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/102512%20-%20JobDestroyers3.pdf


"Do you really trust these people to fix the debt????"

[savebigbird]

40. What a diverse bunch!

Not.

[Wednesdays]

30. Like I pointed out in the other thread, this brouhaha is bogus

http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=2796734

It's merely a case of guilt by association. And a way for wingnuts to score points against a progressive organization. Way to play dirty tricks, buttfaces.

Yes, I said PROGRESSIVE. Don't believe me? Just Google them up, and take a look at their overall track record...gay rights, health care, and on and on.

[wilsonbooks]

32. Let them hear from you on Facebook

http://www.facebook.com/Starbucks?fref=ts

[DonCoquixote]

35. If I could humbly add my voice to the choir

Dear Kurtz:

Let us be blunt. You are a company that relies on the middle class having disposable income. The rich swells may go to your place once in a while, but they would prefer the expensive, pretentious places so that they can avoid mixing with the common folk. You do not realize you are slitting your own throat. Yes I know, Asia is giving you and your fellow billionaires promises of a large, docile middle class that will replace those grouchy customers in America, but if you think that once we are gone, that you have get to keep those customers, you are a fool. You see, India, China, Russia, they realize that government can and should work with business, because it gives them an edge.

All it took was 10, 20 years at tops for America's prestige to go down the tubes, thanks to people that kept wanting to cut government for a debt that Dick Cheney claimed did not matter when the GOP were in office. The consumers are already clutching their wallets, because of the rampant insecurity caused, and that was before the "Third Rail" of politics lost it's juice. Of course, we also know from the last GOP president that our wars will ensure that every time someone wants to cut spending, they will be shouted down, so why not spend on the sorts of things that put money in all our pockets. Let's face it, when Clinton was being accused of spending like a sailor, we had money, that was the very era you changed from a Flea Market operation in Seattle to being one of the most recognized brands on the planet.

Let us be blunt, you are not a necessity. Even for those of us who do appreciate a good coffee, and a place to specialize, you are NOT the only game in town. Other places, even good old Dunkin Donuts, realized that if they moved in the wi fi, the flatscreen TV, and stereo, they could beat you . Frankly, since you have let customer service go to shit, there is nothing you offer that cannot be done at many places. Hell, a K Cup has made making good coffee idiot proof, cheaper that that device you tried selling. The point is, we made you, and if we go down, you will go down with us.

[Bonobo]

36. Also stop burning the fuck out of your beans just to make it look more "richer"

Your coffee tastes burnt.

Oh, and you fill it up too high. Stop doing that.

[savebigbird]

39. +1000

....nasty burned coffee!

[Bigredhunk]

37. --

This boycott shit just gets to be about too much anymore. You could go crazy trying to figure out who deserves your $$ and who doesn't. We boycott some places/brands, but it's impossible to boycott them all. Our list of no-no's:

Mall-Wart - We haven't stepped foot or spent $$ one in 10 years. This is fairly tough to do in small town Eastern IA, where there aren't a lot of options. Something else that makes it difficult is that I/we like to shop at night when people aren't out. They're the only store of their type to be open 24/7. Everyone closes too damn early.

Papa John's

Domino's

Jimmy John's

Dunkin Donuts

Nestle - Although it's hard to COMPLETELY boycott them.

Home Depot

Lowe's - Not sure about the whole outfit, but they brought in non-union labor to build the local store.

I'm sure there are plenty more we boycott (including local assholes), but I'm drawing a blank right now. Reading all the posts on progressive forums makes me feel like giving up. Let's face it, there are very few left-leaning companies (let alone progressive ones). Most businesses are cut-throat and do only bottom-line thinking. It's easy to shop as a righty, everyone has your interests at heart. As a lefty? There's almost nowhere.

Costco is pretty good (although I don't think they're big union fans). I'm the biggest Costco nuthugger on the planet. I'd love to spend most of my paycheck there. Unfortunately, their (very successful) business model is to build around affluent larger cities. It works well for them. It doesn't work for me. We've been paying members for 10 years. The first 4 of those years, we didn't have a Costco in our state. We'd drive to Minneapolis...stay a few days...load up our car beyond belief...haul it all home. Then they finally built one in Des Moines in '04, but that's still way too far (200-250 miles). Then came Madison, WI (120 miles). The newest is Coralville, IA...but that's still 100 miles away. We don't have the vehicles or the $$ to drive 100 miles one way to get our supplies. We get there as often as possible and spend a bunch (usually about every 6-10 weeks...$400-$700). The median income of a Costco family is something like $77k per year (and that was years ago, might be more now). We don't make that much. Throw in $40 in gas to get there and back...it's just hard.

But we spend plenty at places we should boycott for one reason or another. Target is bad for various reasons, so they should be boycotted (we don't). They're our alternative to Mall-Wart. Menard's is the big home improvement shop around here. They were very pro-Walker, so we should boycott them (we don't). Amazon has had there share of problems (ALEC, bad warehouse conditions), so we should boycott them (we don't). Whole Foods has a jerkoff of a CEO, so we should boycott them (we don't -- they have great produce...are good about no artificial sugars/GMO's).

I've always counted Starbucks as one of the better ones. I know they knocked out mom and pop stores. I don't like that. But people don't go to mom and pop stores. It's the same with the giant booksellers knocking out the indies. Yeah, I hate that B & N did that. But are you telling me the cheap fucks in America are going to go indie and pay $35 for a Stephen King book? I don't like if Schultz thinks cutting SS is a smart move. I'll let them know that. But Starbucks is for raising the minimum wage. They try to bring attention to joblessness. They provide HC to employees working 20 hours per week or more (I've read Mall-Wart covers a higher % of workers -- no idea if that's true). Every time they have shareholder meeting, some asshole that owns 1 share raises a stink about their stance on gay marriage -- Schultz shoots them down every time (check Youtube).

People always talk shit about their overpriced coffee. We've spent tons there over the years. We never coffee at the stores. We get their coffee drinks (or actually, espresso drinks) and Frapps. We love their drinks. There aren't many alternatives around here either. There are a few Caribuou's, but Caribou sucks. Their drinks are way too sweet...and even worse, they taste fake sweet. And pretty much every place charges $3-$5 for drinks. We also drink their VIA, which we think is great. We load up when the price drops. 1 packet = 1 big cup of coffee. That's how we do our coffee at home now.

Anyway, you can't boycott everyone/everything you disagree with. There's just nothing left. And it's especially tough if you don't make a lot of $$. Fair trade coffee costs more, fair trade chocolate costs more, etc... Nike is bad, so we don't get them. Was always proud of the made-in-USA line of New Balance. Then you find out their CEO is a big republican backer. I will write Starbucks if this is true though.

I thought B & N and Bed, Bath, & Beyond were good. Not sure where I read that. Here's an older list:

http://www.goodguide.com/contributions#sector=All%20Categories&sort=-leaning&query=

[Dont_Bogart_the_Pretzel]

41. If only Starbucks and others would pay their own share of taxes, we would not be in such a big mess.

[pangaia]

42. Yippee.~I just did it.

I hope you don't mind that I copied and pasted most of your post.

I should have asked first..
Thanks for taking so much of your time to write and post your letter...

[allan01]

44. re:Dear Starbucks

i was using our local starbucks at safeway. will boycott them now . hey starbucks ,,, with out us , there is no u !!!!!

[Squinch]

45. Sent. Thanks for the link!

[steve2470]

46. k&r nt