Starbucks Chief Calls for Political Donation Boycott

Starbucks coffee chain chief Howard Schultz has brewed up a plan to force polarized U.S. politicians to compromise on a way to reduce the swollen U.S. deficit: Dry up their campaign donations.

Schultz cited the recent political crisis over the U.S. debt limit as grounds for the unorthodox boycott, charging in an email to fellow business leaders and obtained by Agence France Presse that elected officials "have failed to lead."

"Our country is better than this," he said in the appeal, accusing politicians of having squandered "our collective confidence in each other, in the future, and in our ability to solve problems together."

Schultz looked ahead to the next phase of the bitter battling over the debt, with a December 23 deadline for the U.S. Congress to approve at least 1.2 trillion dollars over ten years in deficit-cutting measures.

"We aim to push our elected leaders to face the nation's long-term fiscal challenges with civility, honesty, and a willingness to sacrifice their own re-election," he said.

Schultz said Americans want to see their representatives reach a deal "long before the deadline arrives" and consider "all options" from cuts to cherished social safety net programs to increases in taxes.

"That is why we today pledge to withhold any further campaign contributions to the President and all members of Congress until a fair, bipartisan deal is reached that sets our nation on stronger long-term fiscal footing," he said.

At the same time, he said, major U.S. firms now hoarding cash out of fear about the sour economy must "set in motion an upward spiral of confidence" and growth by tackling stubbornly high unemployment.

"Our companies are going to hire. We are going to accelerate growth, employment, and investment in jobs," he said. "Confidence is contagious. The best thing we can do now is to spread it."

"We don't pretend that our two pledges are quick fixes. We just believe that in this moment of great uncertainty, the government needs discipline, the people need jobs -- and leaders need to lead," said Schultz.