Anybody out there read “Starbucked: A Double Tall Tale of Caffeine, Commerce, and Culture” by Taylor Clark? I ask — and will add it to my wish list — because it seems to examine the sorts of questions behind Starbucks that I’ve wondered about. Here’s a few assertions of mine, I wonder if Clark backs up.

• A Starbucks coming to your community is a boon to business of other (local) coffee shops. I’ve read articles asserting this claim, and it just makes sense. When a Starbucks opens, people just “think coffee” more often and if your local shop has a good product and atmosphere, they’ll come.
• Starbucks, through its Ethos Water campaign has done a lot of good in the world, given millions to water projects in Africa.
• If we can get Starbucks to use more fairtrade, shade-grown beans, the world will be a better place more quickly than if we buy Folgers at home and just feel guilty about how their beans are grown.

Now these are mostly uniformed assertions, and I’d be interested in reading Clark’s book.  I know these things are really complicated and don’t pretend to understand much of anything about the ethics of multi-national corporations.  But heck, in the back of my mind these days is the knowledge that Starbucks has good insurance benefits — much better than what I have now — and they’re not too proud to hire workers with masters degrees. Mostly, though, I frequent many (and I mean MANY) a local coffee shop in Decatur. Cheers.