Starbucks’ Howard Schultz rips Democrats for going too far left
Howard Schultz, the outgoing Starbucks chairman, is blasting Democrats for alienating voters by deviating too far left when it comes to the party’s political agenda.
“It concerns me that so many voices within the Democratic Party are going so far to the left. I say to myself, 'How are we going to pay for these things,' in terms of things like single payer [and] people espousing the fact that the government is going to give everyone a job. I don't think that's realistic,” he said in an interview on CNBC.
Schultz seems to be taking aim at the wing of the Democratic Party that includes the likes of Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), who supported a single-payer healthcare system and other government-run social programs.
Georgia Congressman Doug Collins (R) echoes Schultz’s sentiments when it comes to spending, saying America is built on strong individualism fueled by a capitalist system that allows everyone to live out their dreams.
“He’s just simply stating what we’ve stated forever, you can’t pay for everything,” he said during an interview on FOX Business’ “The Evening Edit” on Wednesday.
Schultz, 64, announced his retirement on Monday effective June 26, leaving many to speculate a potential presidential run against President Donald Trump in 2020.
Rep. Collins said the longtime Starbucks executive gets what’s important to America after the company provided coffee to U.S. military troops in Afghanistan during the congressman’s trip a few years ago.
“He understands that you can’t go to the left where people don’t understand what the values of America actually are,” he said.