STARBUCKS GIVES UP ON MIDDLE CLASS, PLACES BET ON THE ONE PERCENT: As core clientele loses spending power, chain readies push into realm of $12-a-cup java.

About 25 years ago, Starbucks Corp. decided to become a public company on the bold idea that customers across the country would pay more than $1 for a cup of coffee.

Now, Starbucks is betting people will pay as much as $1 an ounce.

Howard Schultz, who built Starbucks into a global brand with more than 25,000 shops, said last week that he was planning to step down as chief executive to work on a project within Starbucks to build high-end coffee shops charging as much as $12 for 12 ounces of coffee.

A perfect instantiation of the Obama era.