In A Spirit of Compromise, Starbucks Robber Takes Free Coffee Instead

A guy in Alabama tried to rob a Starbucks. The clerk there said he couldn't open the cash register and offered the robber a free coffee instead.

The robber accepted the deal.

The whole incident is a great parable for Congress, if you think about it. Instead of digging in their heels, the clerk and robber came to an agreement. The robber wanted a bunch of money, the clerk wouldn't part with it. But instead of a standoff, the clerk offered an olive branch: The free coffee.

We can argue whether it was a fair trade, but at least something got done. The robber and the clerk are not still standing there, saying "My way or the highway."  The problem has been solved.

Congress and the president and everyone else in Washington could learn from this example. Of course, the robber in Alabama was still arrested, but at least this whole thing was a start.