Starbucks is merely a business. What is truly dismaying is that there are people willing to pay $7 for a cup of coffee.
This is a recession thing. When people cannot afford much they “treat” themselves to something they can afford and feels like luxury. It helps them feel like they have some control over the world.
In the eighties among business peons it was calling in FedEx to deliver some meaningless paperwork. Cheap but made the caller feel important.