Thursday, March 05, 2020

Starbucks should close all US stores on Election Day

It wasn't that long ago that former Starbucks CEO and billionaire Howard Schultz was running to be POTUS. It was an ill-fated decision and last September he officially dropped out.

And that's seemingly the last anyone has heard from him.

Yesterday billionaire Mike Bloomberg likewise dropped out of the race, and yet he's made it clear he will continue to spend $$$ in helping to defeat Trump. 

What has Mr. Schultz done in this regard? Since exiting the race, what has he contributed in the effort to defeat Trump? 

Got me.

But I have a suggestion, one that I hope he seriously considers. As I've been tweeting for several months, voter turnout will be crucial in ousting Trump this November. Trump knows this fact and it's why he's always trying to suppress turnout. He did it with Hillary, constantly framing her as "crooked" and corrupt, in the hopes that people will become disgusted and stay home.

It's very discouraging to learn that for many of the recent primaries, Bernie's supporters have not been showing up in the numbers he expected. Needless to say, his supporters tend to skew young and if they're not bothering to vote, that could spell trouble for the D ticket in November. 

My suggestion to Howard Schultz? He should announce that on Election Day (November 3rd), all Starbucks in the United States will be closed. 

By doing this, it would not only "force" many young people to vote (as opposed to hanging out in Starbucks with coffee and their laptops), but more importantly he would be sending a strong message with such a stark corporate decision. I don't know the exact figures off hand, but closing all Starbucks would likely cost the company many millions of $$$ in revenue. However, Mr. Schultz could say that it's worth it. The fate of our country is at stake and no price tag can be placed on that. So on this very important day, forget coffee, instead get out and vote!

It would do much to resuscitate and rehabilitate Schultz' name, especially following what was a brief but embarrassing presidential run. All Chick-fil-A restaurants are closed every Sunday, sacrificing millions in profit to instead honor the founder's original Christian wishes. But analysts argue it's also been a brilliant business decision. 

I'm fairly certain Starbucks will be just fine if they close all stores for just one day. And frankly the payback in patriotic goodwill, not to mention the free advertising with this announcement, make it a no-brainer in my opinion.

1 comment:

Hugh Massengill said...

If we are going to go to the land of should, America should adopt Oregon's vote by mail option for all elections, federal and local. It works, is cheap, and it lets us all vote in the privacy of our dwellings, and we don't have to worry about child care or the weather or work.