The Pointlessness of Boycotting Starbucks

The backlash against corporates who don't pay enough UK tax has hardened into a boycott of some London Starbucks outlets, some of which were empty on days this week when they were specifically targeted by protesters.

I understand the desire to feel that some kind of direct action will make a difference - and it will, but not the difference that the protestors are trying to make. Outlets like the ones that the protestors effectively closed this week are normally run by small business people, franchise holders who have invested large amounts of their own money, who employ people in the community and who all pay all their taxes on time and in full. Boycotting them will have no effect on Starbucks' corporate tax policy whatever - it will simply damage a small local business.

So while the protestors make themselves feel good about 'direct action', they just haven't really thought it through. Picketing shops is something that people can take photos of and punch it all up on Facebook and look like they're at the vanguard of the revolution. But they aren't - they're just putting local jobs at risk.  I don't remember people volunteering to give up their Vodafone contracts a while back when it transpired that that company had avoided a multi-billion-pound tax bill by moving its legal HQ abroad. But of course, you can't take photos of a Vodafone boycott - no-one would be watching, so there's no publicity angle. No-one will notice you.

A whole generation of people have been suckered into the notion that the presence of an issue in the social media pages constitues a real contribution to the debate about public policy. The bad news for them is that it doesn't. The furore will be over in just about the same length of time as it takes to order and drink a skinny latte. 

If you want to affect Starbucks' corporate tax policy, invest in a pension fund that specifically excludes them and has impeccable ethical credentials; don't punish the small businesses who serve you your morning cup of joy.