It's Spring again
I can hear the birds sing again
See the flowers start to bud
See young people fall in love

Well, it's Spring again
Thunder showers, they are here again
An extra hour for me and you
To spend together

Pretty colors are everywhere
Mother Nature, she still cares

-Lou Rawls

Target announced that they have settled a class-action lawsuit over its credit card breach. The company has agreed to pay victims $10,000 each. In addition, the discount chain giant joined rivals Wal-Mart and TJX Companies in upping its minimum wage to $9.00 an hour.

That news is a moot point in Seattle. The final legal hurdle was cleared earlier this week when U.S. District Judge Richard A. Jones rejected claims of discrimination by the restaurant franchise industry.  The judge says there is no proof that a higher minimum wage will hurt the business of franchisees.

Therefore, large franchise owners will have to fork over $11 an hour on April 1^st, and eventually that number will grow to $15.00 an hour.

However, a rash of restaurants have already gone out of business or moved away from Seattle. In spite of the judge’s observation, the math simply points to a disaster.

According to Anthony Anton, the Washington Restaurant Association President, the math is simple:

Currently, typical restaurant owners in Seattle enjoy a profit margin of 4%.

Seattle Restaurant Income Statement @ current wage
36%	Labor
30%	Food
30%	Operational
4%	Profits

With a $15 an hour minimum wage, a small restaurant will lose 2% a year, while larger operations will lose 7% a year.

Seattle Restaurant Income Statement @ $15 Hour
42%	Labor
30%	Food
30%	Operational
2%	Loss

Speaking of progressive policies doomed for failure…the role of corporations as mediators or peacemakers show faux efforts of concern.

By now, you have all heard about Starbuck's effort to start a national conversation on race by having baristas write "race together" on coffee cups. For me, the idea is an unmitigated disaster and it is insulting.

However, I was not the only one taken aback; the social media backlash was swift and unrelenting. Here are some of the nicer tweets:

Starbucks Coffee        ✔ @Starbucks

It's worth a little discomfort. Here's the what and the why of #RaceTogether. http://sbux.co/racetogether

I love you guys, but I'm probably not going to have a complex discussion about racism at 8am with my barista.  @Starbucks

@Starbucks My fam spends thousands at your stores yearly, and we don't come there to be beat over the head with your political ideologies.

@Starbucks Just sell coffee. How hard is that? *You had one job*.  JUST SELL COFFEE.

@Starbucks how about getting my name spelled correctly on my cup, then we can talk about deeper issues.

Moreover, having conquered the world of business and politics, Starbuck's CEO Howard Schultz is aiming higher. In February’s Time magazine cover, Schultz essentially says it all; his to-do list; checked off is jobs, race, education, and veterans, but 2016 candidate is left unchecked.

The regular viewers to my show know that I have a special dislike for the so-called conscious capitalism crowd of which Schultz is the godfather of this movement. He and the Whole Foods CEO have been able to carve out reputations for liking the little guy, even as they sell them very expensive coffee and breakfast cereal.

However, the company that has worn its disdain for American-style capitalism does not have the luxury of selling overpriced plastic hangers. Hence, The Container Store (TCS) has paid a heavy price for putting their shareholders last.

  TCS

For me, there is nothing more insulting than the notion that I should be happy because some liberal is taking the time to be nice to me and ask about race, as if that is some amazing prize. Keep your Oscars and pats on the head. Black people want a chance to work. And I must say that I do not see many of them at any of these great open-minded businesses.

Today’s Session

The markets are finally in the green. Later today, the Atlantic Fed will release its inflation report. 

Comments

I don't comment often, and It's a little early for me, but Wow! As my husband would say...you hit them right in the face! Courageous! Sonja on 3/20/2015 10:32:33 AM

my green grass is brown right now. John McLees on 3/20/2015 10:32:35 AM

In any society where you have a disproportionate percentage of an ethnicity prescribing to welfare are you not going to have strife? Brad on 3/20/2015 10:49:49 AM

Just imagine the uproar from the left if Starbucks had started a "Save the Baby Humans" campaign about abortion. Dennnis Howard on 3/20/2015 11:18:28 AM

I wonder how the Starbucks race conversation will go if someone has the guts to say, "if you want improved race relations in this country then first you need to 'fix your race' because it's broken." I'm 58 and have personally been involved in two situations in my life where the community I lived in transitioned from predominantly white to predominantly black. In both cases the home values plummeted as the crime rate soared. My mother was in a position because of work where she couldn't move as her community went through this transition, by the time she retired she had to give her house away to move out. People would come to look at her house, take a look at the neighbors houses (on one side 90% of the windows had been broken out and covered with plywood or plastic, the other side you really couldn't see the house for the bushes and weeds that had gone unattended for years) and get back in their car and leave. Don't call me a racist when I don't want to hire the guy who comes to the job interview, with an attitude and in a tee shirt with his pants halfway down to his knees. Don't get me wrong, I'm not putting all the blame on the black community. I know there are white people that are just plain racist, but I do believe that a lot of the racism in the USA today is self inflicted. Mark Hope on 3/20/2015 11:36:16 AM

I believe one of the "tweeters" hit the nail right on the head: Just Sell COFFEE...that's what you do best...so? DO IT! Leave the remedying of social injustice to the so-called "experts" (yes) in Washington, D.C., who NEVER get it right. So? Why try and join THEM, Mr. Schultz? James Allen on 3/20/2015 1:10:01 PM

Congratulations on speaking out! I love Starbucks, but think that the race campaign is out of line. Mjoyham on 3/20/2015 1:33:43 PM

Tweet

 

Home | Products & Services | Education | In The Media | Help | About Us | Disclaimer | Privacy Policy | Terms of Use | All Rights Reserved.