Starbucks chief urges boycott of campaign donations

Starbucks Corp chief executive officer Howard Schultz has urged other CEOs to boycott funding US political campaigns to pressure leaders to solve the nation's growing budget deficit.

''I am asking that all of us forego political contributions until the Congress and the President return to Washington and deliver a fiscally disciplined long-term debt and deficit plan to the American people,'' Schultz wrote in an e-mail sent to business leaders that was obtained by Bloomberg News.

Joining Starbucks around three decades ago, Schultz, 58, later served as CEO until 2000. He took charge of the company again in 2008 as sales declined due to the company's rapid expansion.
 
In the e-mail Schultz urged fellow business leaders to ''voice your perspective publicly'' adding that ''businesses need to do all they can to accelerate job creation.''

According to Corey duBrowa, a spokesman for Seattle-based Starbucks, the e-mail was sent last night and dated 15 August.

According to OpenSecrets.org, Schultz donated to Washington state Democrat, Maria Cantwell in March.

Starbucks is the largest coffee-shop operator in the world with around 10,900 US stores.