Whole Foods to Be Boycotted: CEO Dared to Criticize ObamaCare

We all are familiar with people who love to complain about a situation, but yet never offer alternative solutions. It's easier to bitch than to problem-solve. Yes, there are many out there criticizing ObamaCare; but, here is one individual who not only criticized the plan, but turned around and then offered solutions ... and is now being threatened with boycotts by customers.

John Mackey, CEO of Whole Foods Market, on Tuesday published an op-ed piece in the Wall Street Journal in which he laid out eight "reforms" for improving health care without increasing the national deficit. According to ABC News, here's how Mackey got himself into hot even more water:

"Mackey also called for a move toward "less government control and more individual empowerment" instead of "a massive new health care entitlement that will create hundreds of billions of dollars of new unfunded deficits."

He added that many of the country's health care problems are "self-inflicted" and are preventable through "proper diet, exercise, not smoking, minimal alcohol consumption and other healthy lifestyle choices."

Now, customers are furious and are calling for a boycott of Whole Foods. Some customers have left comments on the company's website , saying they feel that a CEO needs to be careful in the political opinions he expresses, making sure to reflect those of the company's customer base. Really? Do they feel that way all the time, or just when the opinions expressed conflict with their own?

Mackey, who heads the 10th largest food and drug store in the United States, is himself apparently is a man of principle, besides the head of a very successful corporation. In 2007, he reduced his salary to one dollar, telling his employees that he was "no longer interested in working for money." His leadership continues to prove successful, too, with last quarter sales rising by 2%. Whole Foods Market is consistently ranked within the Fortune 500.

Here are excerpts from Mackey's piece from the Wall Street Journal (emphasis added):

The Whole Foods Alternative to ObamaCare
Eight things we can do to improve health care
without adding to the deficit.

by John Mackey

"The problem with socialism is that eventually you run out of other people's money." -- Margaret Thatcher

With a projected $1.8 trillion deficit for 2009, several trillions more in deficits projected over the next decade, and with both Medicare and Social Security entitlement spending about to ratchet up several notches over the next 15 years as Baby Boomers become eligible for both, we are rapidly running out of other people's money. These deficits are simply not sustainable. They are either going to result in unprecedented new taxes and inflation, or they will bankrupt us.

While we clearly need health-care reform, the last thing our country needs is a massive new health-care entitlement that will create hundreds of billions of dollars of new unfunded deficits and move us much closer to a government takeover of our health-care system. Instead, we should be trying to achieve reforms by moving in the opposite direction—toward less government control and more individual empowerment. Here are eight reforms that would greatly lower the cost of health care for everyone:

• Remove the legal obstacles that slow the creation of high-deductible health insurance plans and health savings accounts (HSAs). The combination of high-deductible health insurance and HSAs is one solution that could solve many of our health-care problems ...

• Equalize the tax laws so that employer-provided health insurance and individually owned health insurance have the same tax benefits. Now employer health insurance benefits are fully tax deductible, but individual health insurance is not. This is unfair.

• Repeal all state laws which prevent insurance companies from competing across state lines. We should all have the legal right to purchase health insurance from any insurance company in any state and we should be able use that insurance wherever we live. Health insurance should be portable.

• Repeal government mandates regarding what insurance companies must cover. These mandates have increased the cost of health insurance by billions of dollars. What is insured and what is not insured should be determined by individual customer preferences and not through special-interest lobbying.

• Enact tort reform to end the ruinous lawsuits that force doctors to pay insurance costs of hundreds of thousands of dollars per year. These costs are passed back to us through much higher prices for health care.

• Make costs transparent so that consumers understand what health-care treatments cost. How many people know the total cost of their last doctor's visit and how that total breaks down? What other goods or services do we buy without knowing how much they will cost us?

• Enact Medicare reform. We need to face up to the actuarial fact that Medicare is heading towards bankruptcy and enact reforms that create greater patient empowerment, choice and responsibility.

• Finally, revise tax forms to make it easier for individuals to make a voluntary, tax-deductible donation to help the millions of people who have no insurance and aren't covered by Medicare, Medicaid or the State Children's Health Insurance Program.

Many promoters of health-care reform believe that people have an intrinsic ethical right to health care—to equal access to doctors, medicines and hospitals. While all of us empathize with those who are sick, how can we say that all people have more of an intrinsic right to health care than they have to food or shelter?

Health care is a service that we all need, but just like food and shelter it is best provided through voluntary and mutually beneficial market exchanges. A careful reading of both the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution will not reveal any intrinsic right to health care, food or shelter. That's because there isn't any. This "right" has never existed in America

...

Rather than increase government spending and control, we need to address the root causes of poor health. This begins with the realization that every American adult is responsible for his or her own health.

Unfortunately many of our health-care problems are self-inflicted: two-thirds of Americans are now overweight and one-third are obese. Most of the diseases that kill us and account for about 70% of all health-care spending—heart disease, cancer, stroke, diabetes and obesity—are mostly preventable through proper diet, exercise, not smoking, minimal alcohol consumption and other healthy lifestyle choices.

...

Health-care reform is very important. Whatever reforms are enacted it is essential that they be financially responsible, and that we have the freedom to choose doctors and the health-care services that best suit our own unique set of lifestyle choices. We are all responsible for our own lives and our own health. We should take that responsibility very seriously and use our freedom to make wise lifestyle choices that will protect our health. Doing so will enrich our lives and will help create a vibrant and sustainable American society.

[Click here for the entire piece.]

Mackey has a blog on the company's website. He posted his original WSJ piece and invited comments from the public. I was happy to see that many were very supportive of Mackey. Here are some examples from the first few:

1. Ken Says:
   August 14th, 2009 at 4:25 pm

   Well said. I for one will be shopping more at Whole Foods. It is a bit out of my way, but I support those who are willing to take a stand for what is sensible and right. Thanks you John.

2. doug neiford Says:
   August 14th, 2009 at 4:30 pm

   Keep up to good work. I am a customer and agree with your point-of-view.

3. Ray Says:
   August 14th, 2009 at 4:30 pm

   I read your WSJ article, and also read that some folks are now boycotting the store. Fools. All you did was give some excellent alternatives to socialized health care. You expressed an informed opinion, which is still legal. Your arguments were reasonable and valid. I support your right to free speech and I also agree with your sentiments. Don’t let the naive naysayers bother you. Keep up the good work!

4. Eddie Says:
   August 14th, 2009 at 4:31 pm

   Amen! God Bless you Mr. Mackey. You are a true Patriot. Please run for office!

Perhaps now that the word is getting out about the backlash surrounding Mackey's opinion piece, more supporters of his right to free speech are stepping forward, let alone supporters of people who try to offer alternatives to jacking up the US deficit even more than it is now.

There is a Whole Foods Market near where I work. I have been there maybe 2 or 3 times, finding it a cool place but a little pricey. However, in light of this threatened boycott (and we'll see how it plays out ... but maybe these "progressive weenies" don't have the backbone to tough out a bonafide boycott), I think I'll make a point of shopping there on a fairly regular basis. They do have some mighty nice imported wines and cheese! Yummy!!!