In an interview to promote his new book, Mackey was quizzed about an article he had written in The Wall Street Journal in 2009 that liken Obamacare to socialism.
‘Technically speaking, it's more like fascism,’ Mackey told NPR. ‘Socialism is where the government owns the means of production. In fascism, the government doesn't own the means of production but they do control it. And that's what's happening with our health care program with these reforms.’
His remarks have sparked an outcry among Whole Foods’ customers. The supermarket chain has a reputation as a mecca for fans of fresh vegetable and organic produce and health food fanatics.
MSNBC - The chief executive of Whole Foods Market Inc. wrote
anonymous online attacks against a smaller rival and questioned why
anyone would buy its stock, before Whole Foods announced an offer to buy
the other company this year.
The postings on Internet financial forums, made under the name
“rahodeb,” said Wild Oats Markets Inc. stock was overpriced. The
statements predicted the company would fall into bankruptcy and then be
sold after its stock fell below $5 per share.In February, Whole Foods announced it would buy Wild Oats for about $565 million, or $18.50 per share.
The company acknowledged that the postings by “rahodeb” were written by CEO John Mackey.
They were made public this week as part of a lawsuit by the Federal Trade Commission to block Whole Foods from buying Wild Oats on antitrust grounds. Regulators say the sale would combine the two largest organic and natural foods retailers and raise prices for consumers by concentrating too much power in one company.
6 comments:
I haven't shopped at his stores since he wrote that Op-Ed in opposition to ANY health care reform.
To me, that was the far more obscene offense than lacking rhetorical imagination.
I don't like Mackey and I don't like Obamacare. I guess it's an illusion to dream that single payer will ever come to the US (especially after the Clintons and now Obama have bypassed it).
I'm pleased the town I live in - Eugene OR - has twice stopped Hole Foods from coming here. We have locally owned health food stores and don't need Hole Foods, the Wal-Mart of health food.
Everyone's an asshole, just try to avoid the shit.
Backlash? Not in this family. Glad someone is speaking out. We're trying to figure out how the $716 BILLION ObamaCare is has cut from the Medicare/Medicaid program is going to make things better for Seniors?
Nationalize Whole Foods and send this clown to a Siberian labor camp.
Yea he's an outspoken CEO with foot in mouth disease, which has no natural remedy in the Whole Body section. And he is a libertarian. But if his idea is capitalists will self-regulate it's well self-refuting frankly. But having looked into Whole Foods via www.theyrule.net and littlesis, there's not a lot of dirt there.
http://littlesis.org/org/370/Whole_Foods_Market
Post a Comment