« September 2008 | Main | November 2008 »

October 21, 2008

The more Starbucks, the worse your economy...

Well at least according to this theory presented in Newsweek.

Like American financial capitalism, Starbucks, fueled by the capital markets, took a great idea too far (quality coffee for Starbucks, securitization for Wall Street) and diluted the experience unnecessarily (subprime food such as egg-and-sausage sandwiches for Starbucks, subprime loans for Wall Street). Like so many sadder-but-wiser Miami condo developers, Starbucks operated on a "build it and they will come" philosophy.


I may live in Seattle, but I don't love Starbucks (neither its coffee nor its expansionist policies).  That may also be evident from my films...

So if this theory holds water, this must mean that New Orleans will recover quickly economically as Starbucks didn't quite return to a neighborhood or two out there after Katrina.  I'm looking forward to having a coffee and croissant at my fave Croissant D'or Patisserie, just around the corner from what has become my home away from home this year, the Hotel Provincial -- as I return to New Orleans for a "Rising from Ruins" film preview this Thursday.