By Jason Grumet

Bloomberg

Feb. 1, 2012

As paralysis in Congress brought the U.S. to the brink of a government shutdown late last year, Starbucks Corp. Chief Executive Officer Howard Schultz let loose a corporate primal scream.

In an open letter, he accused members of Congress of putting “partisan and ideological purity over the well-being of the people,” and urged that they be punished. He pointed out, rightly, that the deterioration of our political system is at least partly caused by the ever-expanding election cycle and the treadmill of fundraising. And, in a laudable and rare effort to combine deeds with words, he vowed to cease all campaign donations and urged business leaders and voters to do the same.

More than 100 senior executives -- including AOL Inc. CEO Tim Armstrong, Nucor Corp. CEO Dan DiMicco and Nasdaq OMX Group Inc. CEO Robert Greifeld -- have signed on. Yet their effort doesn’t go far enough. By taking their marbles and going home, Schultz and his colleagues are unlikely to disrupt the partisan toxicity that pervades our politics. Recent Supreme Court decisions ensure that any effort to meaningfully restrict the flow of money into politics would require a constitutional amendment. By disengaging from political giving, corporate pragmatists only increase the peril faced by politicians with the courage to collaborate.

There is a better way for these leaders to use their checkbooks to bring about change and create real incentives that reward and protect members of Congress who work across the aisle.

Read the full op-ed here