- MENU
- HOME
- SEARCH
- WORLD
- MAIN
- AFRICA
- ASIA
- BALKANS
- EUROPE
- LATIN AMERICA
- MIDDLE EAST
- United Kingdom
- United States
- Argentina
- Australia
- Austria
- Benelux
- Brazil
- Canada
- China
- France
- Germany
- Greece
- Hungary
- India
- Indonesia
- Ireland
- Israel
- Italy
- Japan
- Korea
- Mexico
- New Zealand
- Pakistan
- Philippines
- Poland
- Russia
- South Africa
- Spain
- Taiwan
- Turkey
- USA
- BUSINESS
- WEALTH
- STOCKS
- TECH
- HEALTH
- LIFESTYLE
- ENTERTAINMENT
- SPORTS
- RSS
- iHaveNet.com: Politics
by Mary Sanchez
Can a coffee kingpin give American politics the jolt it needs to snap out of its tea party hangover?
Don't hold your breath. But
"I love our country. I am a beneficiary of the promise of America," wrote the Brooklyn-born, self-made industry leader. "I am frustrated by our political leaders' steadfast refusal to recognize that, for every day they perpetuate partisan conflict and put ideology over country, America and Americans suffer from the combined effects of paralysis and uncertainty."
He continued, listing the concerns that are troubling many average Americans these days:
They're unemployed or underemployed -- or afraid of becoming so. Consumers are not spending money. Small businesses can't get credit. And
Schultz also called on other American business leaders to join him in withholding political contributions until
Oh, I know, President Obama tried to sound demanding in his nationally televised speech on jobs. He raised his voice authoritatively while delivering lines that Howard Schultz would cheer. He said that Americans can't wait while Republicans trounce every jobs proposal. House Speaker John Boehner barely lifted a sleepy eyelid.
I don't want to be too hard on Schultz. He seems like a mensch. When it comes to messaging around social conscience,
few companies do it as well as
Washington is a business; its clientele are actually people like Schultz, who have multinational
corporations to look after. He may be aware that the
You don't fix a broken political system by refusing to engage with it -- especially right now, when the critical flaw is a certain asymmetry between the parties. In 2008, the electorate chose an eloquent candidate for president who conjured a future of hope and change and bipartisan cooperation. The reality, once he took office, turned out to be different. Trying to remain aloof from the partisan fray doesn't produce the best results in the actual game of politics.
Barack Obama's presidency has not been a total failure. But he has bitterly disappointed many his
erstwhile admirers for the simple reason that he seems unwilling or unable to stand up for some basic Democratic
principles. During the debt-limit debate, it was left to Warren Buffett, one of the wealthiest
men in the country, to take to the op-ed page of the
And it's going to take more than sharing an artfully prepared latte to change things.
AMERICAN POLITICS
WORLD | AFRICA | ASIA | EUROPE | LATIN AMERICA | MIDDLE EAST | UNITED STATES | ECONOMICS | EDUCATION | ENVIRONMENT | FOREIGN POLICY | POLITICS
Wake Up and Smell the Politics | Politics
© Tribune Media Services, Inc.