Howard Schultz built a driveway through a park: This is why he shouldn't be president

[workinclasszero]

The Starbucks CEO's 1994 battle over a Seattle park is a classic story about America's billionaire class

AMANDA MARCOTTE JANUARY 31, 2019 6:30PM (UTC)

Whether or not Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz is sincere about conducting an independent presidential campaign, the media blitz he has received makes clear that this particular billionaire has nothing but contempt for the concept of the public good.

Consider the way Schultz speaks about politicians who want to ameliorate economic inequality through progressive taxation: He has said they are "ridiculous," "misinformed" and even "un-American" for wishing to return to the tax rates of the mid-20th century.

Schultz appears to be using the threat of a spoiler campaign in order to intimidate Democrats out of even talking about higher taxes on the rich.

But one story out of Seattle from the early 1990s regarding a public park and a private driveway perfectly illustrates the toxic brew of entitlement, contempt for the commons and overblown self-regard that is fueling Schultz's presidential flirtation.

"Quite a few of Howard Schultz's neighbors say the Parks Department never should have let him build a 100-foot driveway through the park next to his new home overlooking Lake Washington, near Denny Blaine Park," begins a Jan. 3, 1994, Seattle Times article written by Dick Lilly.

Schultz had purchased a parcel of private property on a Seattle hilltop that already had a driveway running through Viretta Park, but that wasn't enough. The coffee magnate wanted more than the existing "overgrown lane," so he got city permission to build a new driveway and even convinced Seattle authorities to waive the $25,000 fee they charged for using the park as a staging area during driveway construction.

Schultz's behavior towards Seattle illustrates the attitude that is also fueling his presidential ambitions: A belief that everyone else should kowtow to the billionaires, and that they owe nothing to their communities.

This is also clearly reflected in Schultz's meager charitable giving, which amounts to less than 0.5 percent of his $3.4 billion fortune. It's reflected in Schultz's history of union-busting at Starbucks and his support of a lobbying campaign against raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour.

https://www.salon.com/2019/01/31/what-howard-schultzs-driveway-debacle-says-about-him-america-and-the-billionaire-class/

[mokawanis]

1. Every bit of news that comes out about this guy is bad

I really wish he'd just go away and stay out of politics forever.

[dalton99a]

2. This is a must read

"Lifelong" Democrat, my ass

[Iggo]

8. He ain't dead, right?

So...yeah.

[JHB]

15. The term "Corporate Democrat" gets severely overused...

...but that term fit this guy to a "T". Thankfully, he's been so kind as to exit the Big Tent.

[workinclasszero]

19. No shit

Who the hell is Mr Anti-Union/Moneybags trying to fool anyway?

Democrats ain't buyin his HS!

[oasis]

3. Delusions of grandeur magnified.

[Whiskeytide]

4. He's a republican who has been ...

... pretending to be sort of to the left of center for years as part of his marketing image. Liberals buy a lot of coffee. That’s why he’s the perfect person for the republicans to throw into the race as an independent to try and siphon votes from the democratic candidate. It’s all just theatre.

[dixiegrrrrl]

14. Thinking liberals don't do Starbucks, btw....

My adult relatives up home in Seattle have pretty much been supporting the local coffee houses and bookstores that Seattle is so famous for. the ones that are still surviving, anyhow.

[Whiskeytide]

23. I think that's true now ...

... but I have always thought Starbucks started in Seattle as a local shop, and was expanded in the late 80s or early 90s with the concept of retaining the image of a progressive establishment - kind of an avant garde thing.

But here in the South during that time everything that wasn’t a meat and three operation was kind of avant garde - so maybe my perception is skewed. It just always “felt” like a liberal hangout to me. 🤣

[dixiegrrrrl]

25. Yeah, that jives with my memory.

It was a coffee bean shop, for years, became more popular when it moved into the Pike Place Market, after 1976.
I was living/working in Seattle during the 70's, there were a lot of local coffee shops around, esp. in the University District.

Schultz bought it in 1987, then expanded the stores.

Seattle was always a blue collar town, even during the 1980's......I miss the way it was. I moved down South in 1987 and have not been back except for a couple visits.

[workinclasszero]

20. I think you got this asshole figured out!

[catbyte]

5. The more I read about this clown, the more I'm thinking he'd take votes from the gop, not us.

Stingy, arrogant, greedy entitlement is right up their alley.

[Salviati]

12. Still don't care. Don't want him to run.

The fewer reasons there are for republican voters who don't like trump to vote, the better.

In the end, no one who wants to vote for trump can be convinced to vote for anyone else, and after another two years of this, I can't see anyone holding their nose to vote for him.

[Kingofalldems]

6. Another Dan Snyder.

[Iggo]

7. Still waiting for the good news.

Both my girls work/worked at Starbucks, and I'm ready to listen.

[Me.]

9. Fork Meet Schultz

[dlk]

10. The Presidency is Not a Trophy for Rich and Entitled White Men

Nor is it a place for someone with no previous governmental experience. Seriously, would Schultz hire a senior-level executive for Starbucks with no prior experience? Running the country is infinitely more complicated than running a corporation and requires a much different skill set. This obnoxious level of entitlement from billionaires is beyond tiresome!

[Blue_true]

21. The belief that business people automatically make better societal leaders

has always been bullshit, but is hard to kill. Being an effective politician who take in all the concerns of a diverse society and comes up with sound policy reguires a skillset that the vast majority of successful business people don't have.

[pangaia]

11. I'm thinking more and more that should he run,

he would draw a lot more republican votes than democratic votes.. or as he might say -'democrat votes.'
He doesn;t seem to like us one iota,,,

[Honeycombe8]

13. Sloppy article....I see offhand misinformation.

If an article has the facts on its side, there's no need to juice it. The article says, "Consider the way Schultz speaks about politicians who want to ameliorate economic inequality through progressive taxation: He has said they are "ridiculous," "misinformed" and even "un-American" for wishing to return to the tax rates of the mid-20th century." That's not quite correct. He said Elizabeth Warren's proposed wealth tax was ridiculous; that is not a return to tax rates of the mid-20th century. I didn't hear him say "misinformed" or "unAmerican," but if he did, maybe the article is wrong about what it says he was referring to, like the "ridiculous" comment he made.

Having played Devil's Advocate above, the rest of the article is very telling and very worrying. It's the sort of thing Trump would do.

Why do people keep saying this guy is a Democrat? I see nothing Democratic about him.

[MarvinGardens]

16. He sounds like a Republican.

[Scurrilous]

17. K&R

[FakeNoose]

18. Just another rich white entitled asshat

Move along folks, nothing to see here.

[Hekate]

22. Entitled SOB, isn't he? nt

[Gothmog]

24. This polling makes me happy

Link to tweet

?s=20

[nocoincidences]

26. I honestly don't understand

how some people like Trump and this guy can be so isolated from the real everyday life of most people.

Do they have a million servants who go to the grocery store? Don't they ever have to sit in a Dentist's office dreading/waiting for an appt.?

Would they know how to write a check?

Deposit a check in the drive-thru lane?

Would they have a clue when rush hour traffic happened, or how to drive in it?

They weren't born surrounded by servants, at least Schultz wasn't.

Doesn't he remember what it is like to be a real person?

[California_Republic]

27. Toast : please run and we will dispatch him in short order