Back in May, I made the decision to start weaning myself off of Starbucks Coffee—which I’ve been drinking for more than two decades. I’d been well aware of the company’s politics, but as I’ve said in the past, I don’t let politics dictate my entire life.
But then I learned that the woke coffee company would reimburse employees for travel expenses they incur while seeking abortions or gender transition surgeries out of state. “Partners enrolled in Starbucks healthcare will be offered reimbursement for eligible travel expenses when accessing abortion or gender-affirming procedures when those services are not available within 100 miles of a partner’s home,” the company said. “This benefit will also apply to a dependent of a partner enrolled in Starbucks medical insurance.”
Reimbursing travel expenses for transgender surgeries for kids? As far as I’m concerned, this is aiding and abetting child abuse, and Starbucks had finally crossed a line.
Starbucks will certainly do fine without my business, but the company has much bigger problems. This week, Starbucks decided to close 16 stores in various cities over concerns about worker safety due to criminal activity. The company reported it will close six locations in Seattle, six in Los Angeles, two in Portland, Ore., and two in both Philadelphia, Penn., and Washington, D.C.
A company spokesperson told the Seattle Times, “the closure decisions were based on how many crime-related complaints were logged at each store… and whether attempts to lower those rates were successful.”
The situation has gotten so bad that the company will also address safety concerns in the design of future stores.
In a video from an internal company meeting obtained by The Post Millennial editor Ari Hoffman, Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz said that “America has become unsafe” and pointed out that the stores they are closing down weren’t unprofitable; they just weren’t safe for the employees anymore.
EXCLUSIVE: Today at an internal meeting CEO Howard Schultz said: "Starbucks is a window into America… we are facing things in which the stores were not built for… we're listening to our people and closing stores, & this is just the beginning. There are gonna be many more. 🧵 pic.twitter.com/E9ayQqSmB8
— Ari Hoffman (@thehoffather) July 13, 2022
“It has shocked me that one of the primary concerns that our retail partners have is their own personal safety,” Schultz admitted. “And then we heard the stories that go along with it about what happens in our bathrooms, the issue of mental illness, the issue of homelessness, and the issue of crime.”
Schultz also said more closures are likely to happen. “We have stores in every community, and we are facing things… the stores were not built for. We are listening to our people and closing stores.”
Schultz also blamed political leaders who have allowed crime to overtake our nation’s cities. “At the local, state, and federal level, these governments across the country, and leaders — mayors and governors, city councils — have abdicated their responsibility in fighting crime and addressing mental illness,” Schultz said. “Despite the challenges of COVID and post-COVID, and the changes in customer behavior… the demand for Starbucks coffee by our customers, domestically and around the world, has never been greater.”
He may not have called them out specifically, but look at where the current closures are: Seattle, Los Angeles, Portland, Philadelphia, and Washington, D.C.—these are all Democrat-run cities, and Democrats nationwide have become increasingly soft on crime since the death of George Floyd in 2020. Leftist district attorneys are no longer prosecuting shoplifters and have eliminated cash bail. Woke policies created the mess that Starbucks is now paying for. I don’t mean to sound vindictive, but it feels like Starbucks is getting what it deserves.
