Howard Schultz of Starbucks

Recently, the CEO of Starbucks, Howard Schultz, wrote a letter, pledging to withhold political contributions, rebuking politicians for not doing enough to help the state of the economy, and also promising to start hiring and
implementing growth strategies proactively, without waiting for economic indicators to point the way. As a small business owner, I admire and applaud Mr. Schultz for his letter. What is amazing to me is that there are people who view his letter cynically, because he is the CEO of a large company, with a large compensation package and a high net worth. The question I would ask of those who are critical of Mr. Schultz is, who would YOU like to see make such a statement? Would it be better to have this coming from someone who has no money, who makes no political contributions...someone who doesn't have the ability to pay their own personal bills, let alone hire people into real jobs?

This cynicism is ridiculous. Mr. Schultz is EXACTLY the kind of person who should be making statements and hopefully following through with actions like this, because he is in the POSITION to do so. An inner-city unemployed mother of three, while possibly working hard to keep her life together while raising her children, and perhaps doing an admirable job at it, is in NO position to make this sort of a difference. People with no money, no job, no prospects, and little hope for the "change" they've been promised have no option other than to continue doing the best they can. Looking to career politicians to set the standard is also laughable. How
can people who have attained nothing other than being elected to office be expected to understand complex economic principles or what is necessary to jumpstart a stagnant economy? Only business leaders, who are experienced in leading organizations, creating jobs, and generating profits really understand how to do these things. And so, I would like to thank Mr.Schultz for his efforts, and I for one, as a small business owner, will try
to do my part to help spur on the economy, starting with my OWN economy, and hopefully leading to incremental benefits for the American economy at-large.