Whole Foods founder calls Affordable Care Act “fascism”

by David Safier

We've got a new Whole Foods in town — Grand Opening yesterday. The market is a favorite of the yuppie and health-conscious crowd. If you're a health conscious yuppie who thinks food is better if you pay more for it, Whole Foods is definitely your kind of store.

Just realize, though, Whole Foods founder John Mackey may not share your world view. He said in an NPR interview yesterday that the Affordable Care Act is fascism. This, apparently, is a correction of an earlier statement where he said it's socialism. Single payer would be socialism because it's government run. The current form of "Obamacare" is fascism because it's the government controlling the means of production.Thanks for the clarification, John.

Mackey is a healthy foods guy, a vegan who even avoids oils, and so he likes what Michelle Obama is doing to promote better eating habits, but beyond that, he wants government to keep its hands off of damn near everything. His answer to the mandates in the new health care law is that he's going to have to cut people's hours so they don't qualify for health care or stick employees with the extra cost by cutting their salary or benefits.

The guy has a right to his opinion, and everyone has the right to shop at his markets. But I think I'll stick with Sprouts and Trader Joes, which carry similar goods. I'm sure those two aren't perfect employers, but I can't stomach the idea of supporting someone like Mackey.