Howard Schultz,
the anti-bitcoin, pro-digital currency executive chairman of Starbucks,
recently confirmed his intention to leave his role at Starbucks and is
said to be considering getting into politics, according to CNBC.
Schultz has denied in the past that he is planning to run for
president, but he has been active over the years in supporting political
causes.
Schultz, a political progressive, said that he is concerned about
increasing divisions in the United States and the country’s standing in
the world. He told his employees he will consider his options, including
public service and philanthropy.
A Political History
Schultz in 2017 said his company would hire 10,000 refugees in a
five-year period after Trump announced an executive order to block
refugees from some Muslim majority nations. He told his employees the
next month that Trump caused chaos for the U.S. economy.
He also criticized a Republican tax plan last year which Congress
passed in December. At the DealBook Conference in November, he claimed
Trump wanted to cut the corporate tax rate from 35% to 20%, the profit
of which he said would not help small businesses or the half of the
people in the country who don’t have $400 in the bank for a crisis.
Schultz gave $10,800 to Hillary Clinton’s joint fundraising committee
with the Democratic Party in 2016. This year, he gave $1,250 to
Washington Democratic Sen. Maria Cantwell’s campaign, and $5,000 to
VoteVets, a progressive political organization.
Also read: Starbucks could serve up a blockhain payments app
Opposed To Bitcoin, But Not All Digital Currency
Schultz earlier this year said bitcoin is not a legitimate currency,
but said a digital currency could play a key role in a cashless future.
He said distributed ledger technology could be used beyond
cryptocurrency. Schultz said he thinks a future digital currency could
have legitimacy and trust.
He also said Starbucks was not planning to introduce its own digital currency, as Burger King Russia and Kodak have done.
In February, Schultz said a proprietary digital technology could be integrated into Starbucks’ mobile app.
If rumors of his planned presidential run do prove to be true, the blockchain industry will have much to keep an eye on.
