I continue to
I wrote the piece “Howard Schultz “self-made” billionaire status made him forget America’s reality,” where I stated,
I could not be more upset of “self-made” billionaires, specifically Howard Schultz, former Starbucks CEO. He is entering into the political fray with misconceptions and misinformation. Given the goodwill many have had of him because he treated his employees better than most, it could become dangerous.
Schultz believes the Democratic Party has gone too far left because they want Medicare for all and Pay-It-Forward college education and more Progressive policies Americans want. …
As billionaires like Schultz continue to campaign on the pretense that they are “self-made,” we must use that opportunity to point out that ALL billionaires accumulated capital on the backs of others. We must make their false strength the weakness that it is. There is no self-made billionaire.
I followed it up with the video below.
There are so many ways billionaires are trying to disrupt what we must ultimately do, arrest their ability to continue their unfettered extraction. Robert Reich nails Howard Schultz perfectly.
There are 3 big reasons why Howard Schultz’s self-proclaimed candidacy is troubling:
1. He could be a spoiler in 2020, splitting the vote and putting Trump back in the White House. Even Bill Burton, a former Obama adviser who has joined the Schultz team, publicly warned against third-party voting in 2016.
2. His message is without substance (he uses empty catchphrases like “silent majority” and “common sense solutions”) and his policy proposals are zilch. When asked by John Dickerson on CBS This Morning what his “big idea” was, Schultz declared: “The big idea is very simple: to unite the country. For us to come together. To do everything we can to realize that the promise of America is for everyone.” To the extent Schultz has defined his candidacy, it’s focused on what he’s against—for example, Democratic proposals to raise taxes and provide Medicare for All.
3. He represents the very worst aspect of America’s new billionaire class in politics: He simply anoints himself as a presidential candidate, declares he’s running as an independent so doesn’t have to put himself and his ideas through any party primary contest, and can spend an unlimited amount of his own money marketing himself and his candidacy. American democracy wasn’t built for this.
We must take nothing for granted. We must continue to expose Howard Schultz for what he has become. a clear and present danger to the poor and middle-class if elected.
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