I have long been of the habit of referring to the inner city lefty trendies as “latte sippers” its a somewhat sneering description that suggests that such individuals are dilettantes, posers and, well silvertail socialists, who actually despise the ordinary people their likes and aspirations and who have the arrogance of thinking that if only the poor would, see the truth of the world the way that they do then the poor would magically have all disadvantage lifted from their backs and the world would be a far better place. Such a belief is really the stuff of nonsense that reveals the shallowness of the thinking from that class of lefty thinkers but it is a rich source of well deserved mockery. Thus when I read of a scheme to help the poor enjoy the benefits of “good coffee” and “cafe′ society” I could not help but think that it must be an idea from the mind of a satirist but no its a dinkum scheme from the Darebin Council:
click for source
Like most people I enjoy a good coffee and its becoming ever more easy to get one at a decent price, heck even the Fine Scottish restaurant does reasonable coffee these days and its sold at a rather modest price as well. Sorry but I cant see this as anything other than a very stupid and indulgent waste of ratepayer’s money that is worthy of the most strident disdain. Is it any wonder that our politicians are held in such contempt by the public when they invent silly schemes like this one?
Anyway with that thought its time for my second morning coffee…
Cheers Comrades
Iain Hall's SANDPIT 
It’s so patronising it makes me want to puke. How appropriate is it that one of the councillors quoted is named “Trent”?
better to sip the latte than to drink the Kool Aid
Yes Ray its a crazy story that only a Latte sipper could dream up
Tessa spot on!
It’s a charity program, you bloody clown. People pay for the price of two coffees instead of one, and the coffee uses the surplus to supply hot drinks or meals to the homeless or destitute. Been going on in parts of Europe for years and it works well. Got nothing to do with ‘free coffee for all’ but helps out people who are down and out. The council contribution is an incentive for cafes to enter the program.
If you’re not interested in charity or helping your fellow man, then maybe you should just leave it to others who are!
Firstly Jim I want to offer you a welcome to this blog.
But to your particular point what makes you think that having a charitable purpose makes something either sensible or immune to criticism?
From the “Suspended Coffee Melbourne” brochure:
Click to access suspended_coffee_bnw41.pdf
There’s no mention of providing “meals to the homeless or destitute”, in fact according the HSun article, all that is required to receive a free ‘suspended coffee’ is a health card. Having a health card does not mean you are homeless or destitute. This is just some yuppie, feel-good, faux charity idea that seems more designed to promote the participating cafes than anything else.
I should add that it also seems designed to increase the revenue of the participating cafes. Think about it: The cafe is selling two coffees instead of one and is pocketing the extra money. It ain’t going to charity.
No Ray Dixon, it goes to charity. In many cases, the cafes in this program offer the suspended coffees at cost price, or below. But even if they don’t, so what? In any charity with a donor and a supplier, the supplier is usually paid. This is not “lining the pockets” of cafe owners, as you suggest.
I do not know where you, or the Herald Sun, get this idea of a “heath card” from. It is not a specific part of the program. When the program is working, the cafe owner has discretion about who receives suspended coffees. It is reasonably easy to tell who is down and out and who is simply scrounging.
Also, the scheme in Europe includes meals. I do not know if they plan to do that here. I guess it depends on how successful it becomes.
Iain, thank you for welcome. A more relevant question for you is… if this scheme allows homeless and destitute people to have access to free hot drinks, what possible reason could you have to complain about it?
I’ve read all the information on the website, Jim – there is no mention whatsoever of the suspended coffee being at “cost price”, in fact it’s quite clear that the customer pays full price for 2 coffees, one for him/her, one ‘suspended’. The proprietor then holds the suspended coffee for someone they deem fit to qualify for it. On what criteria exactly it’s not made clear. In any case, that means the proprietor sells two coffees at full price instead of one, thereby pocketing the gross revenue, all for the cost of supplying an extra coffee. The gross profit on a $4 coffee is over $3. It’s not a bad way to increase your revenue, profile & profit.
Jim
Well the council spending ratepayers money on it for a start but also it seems to me to be an assault upon the already compromised dignity of the poor by making them have to going into participating Cafes and asking if the largess is available and then having to prove that they are eligible.
To be honest if coffee drinkers want to help the destitute then they would be better off just giving them the money directly.
Anyway Iain, this has given me a good marketing/promotional/revenue-raising idea for my business. I might start up a ‘Suspended Stay’ program for our holiday units following the “Suspended Coffee’ model, as below:
I’ll then give the ‘Suspended Stay’ to someone who I believe qualifies. This person (or persons) of course would not normally be able to afford a weekend’s accommodation in Beautiful Bright, but if they have a health card they can get a free V-Line ticket up here and bingo, a free holiday.
The cost of 2 nights accommodation (for a double) is $150 per night, but this is a win/win/win situation:
1.The person who paid for the suspended stay gets to feel good about themself.
2. The person who gets the suspended stay gets something for nothing.
3. And I get an extra $300 and a shitload of good publicity for my business.
Hmm, I wonder how many I can sell? I should trademark this.
Well thats precisely the way this scheme works Ray but don’t forget that you need only offer the freebies on days when you have no bookings for the units in question so the “deserving” could come mid week and you would effectively be getting the weekend premium for those days as well 😉
Oh yeah, it’s not for peak times.
The motto of Buy two and give one too a stranger will make the scheme a sure fire winner…
It’s doubling your customers. Imagine if every customer at a cafe did this – revenue & profit would double.
From the Facebook page of ‘Suspended Coffee Melbourne’ comes this little ‘explainer’:
Now let’s see: So in this little interlude, 6 ‘suspended coffees’ were purchased and only one redeemed. Not a bad earner for the cafe owner.
Note the heavily patronising description of the ‘beggar’ in ‘shabby clothes’.
This is bullshit.
What do they say about walking and sounding like a duck? Because this strikes me as something of a scam to improve the profitability of Coffee shops, In any event we Aussies have had the “shout” at our public houses for far longer and I’m sure that there have been many occasions when someone down on their luck has been shouted an ale or two, for purely altruistic reasons of course….
lattes for all!
It’s the new basic human right!
Leon
Gillard would promise us all Lattes and the best that she would deliver is half a cup of cold Pablo instant, its the Labor Way 😉
I think you two gentlemen, don’t understand the spirit or the mission of this program. It is voluntary and not about promoting the business.
Yes you could give your $2 or $3 to the homeless person, instead of buying a suspended coffee? But would you? Somehow I doubt it.
What time, services or money do either of you contribute to charity? Not much, I am guessing. But I am happy to be corrected.
Let the poor solve their own problems. It’s the Thatcherite Way.
Peace.
Jim
I don’t know about Ray bit I do my bit for charity Jim, I spent years in a service club (Apex) doing good works for my community which is one of the reasons that I am so cynical about this idea and as It happens I don’t think that either of us was that fond of the late “Iron lady”
As I happens my feelings about the poor and destitute were largely solidified after reading “Down and out in Paris and London” and it is recommended to anyone who cares about the less fortunate and although it harks back to an earlier time much of Orwell observations about poverty are as true now as they were when he wrote the book.
Finally your suggestion that we should “Let the poor solve their own problems” actually has some merit especially when so many of those destitute on the streets have serious issues with substance abuse because we may just have to recognise that unless they find the desire and determination for self help then no about of well intended charity will really solve their problems
Jim, you don’t get it. If the cafes want to help the less fortunate with a free coffee they could just have a jar on the bench marked ‘throw a coin in here so we can give free coffee to those who can’t afford one’. Let’s face it, the cost to the cafe is under $1 per cup !! Well under. But no, they come up with a scheme that requires other people – their normal customers – to pay full price for someone less fortunate … and then they keep the profit. Seriously, can’t you see that’s not charity per se, but a money-making promotional scheme?
Poor McDonalds, they routinely give free hot food and drink to destitute looking people. Whether the burgers are close to being thrown out for sitting in the warmer too long is another matter. And Bakers Delight routinely give away unsold bread to charity groups. No need for other customers to pay 100% extra.
Also, I have a weekly late night Thursday shopping treat of a cafe coffee – the quality is superb, and it’s $6.50 (just the coffee, no slice or biscuit). I don’t know if cafes still have a sub-$5 coffee?
Ray:
For once I agree with you.
Tessa:
Hey, that Kool-Aid is running the country at the moment. Joolia would be lost without it.
Simon:
On any night on George Street in Sydney, the main street, you can walk into a Maccas and witness exactly what Simon has said. There’s no drama, no attention, the needy person is served along with everyone else.
This faux program, funded by a leftist council, is another example of how out of touch the leftist elite are with the real Australia.
They may have sucked the Darebin council in, GD, but this program was instigated by business owners. It wouldn’t be the first time a council had the wool pulled over its eyes but everything is not a political issue like you see it.
Have you never heard the phrase, ‘the buck stops here’, Ray? It’s disingenuous of you to place the blame on the businesses for this flagrant waste of taxpayers’ money. Then again, it’s only $10,000 of taxpayer’s money.
You reckon it’s not political? Darebin Council has form for ideological policies. Witness their recent banning of men at a number of council funded events because it may offend muslim females. Or their use of a grant to make muslims feel more at home.
Yes, Labor controlled Darebin Council has form.
But heck, why not, it’s only taxpayer’s money.
I haven’t placed the blame on the businesses for the council wasting $10,000. I have put the blame on businesses for coming up with this con-job of a scheme in the first place and then suckering the Darebin council into donating money to help it expand. I don’t give a shit if Darebin is Labor-controlled and yes I’ve heard they’re a loopy lot – that’s not the point I’ve been making. The point is that this ‘suspended coffee’ scheme is not a charity, it’s a just a way for the cafes to make more money and sounds like a sham.
Let us not forget the original inhabitants of Australia on Anzac Day, the Aborigine also died defending this continent—–“Lest We Forget”