Whole Foods Market co-chief executive John Mackey, known for his outspoken style, says business in the US is “under attack.”
Speaking at a Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce breakfast Thursday, Mackey said businesses are often unfairly maligned.
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Whole Foods Market co-chief executive John Mackey, known for his outspoken style, says business in the US is “under attack.”
Speaking at a Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce breakfast Thursday, Mackey said businesses are often unfairly maligned.
Comments
I think that "big business" is synonymous with "greed," and Mackey's reluctance to offer health care to his employees despite the tremendous profit generated by Whole Foods only helps to fuel that correlation.
And your comments indicate that he is absolutely correct. Without business, big or small, there would be no jobs, no economy, nothing to buy, nothing to sell and no money to pay for health care, mortgages, or anything else one values in this life. Of course, you might be happier catching and killing your own food, wearing animal skins you or your wife cured by hand, building your own logings or hiding in a cave. And just to stay eco green, forget fossil fuel... you might rub 2 sticks together to start a fire to cook on or keep warm. Sounds like nirvana to lefty Liberals.
You're right. More equitable wages and affordable health care will lead to a return to hunter/gatherer society. I can't believe I was so blind to see this, caught up in my "left Liberal" fantasy.
ha. Mittens did a great job of pimping for big business ;)
". . .it has been completely hijacked by its enemies who create a narrative that business is selfish, and greedy, and exploitative.”
There has been more than ample over the last decade that American business has been all of the three things mentioned above.
The question is, rather, can business conduct itself in a manner consistent with the moral principles that most of us try to teach our children. Or do we accept a society in which grown-ups only adhere to those principles on the Sabbath when they attend religious services? Those who do business in a manner guided by moral principles are in the minority.
The only "war" here is Mackey's propaganda war.
Could we possibly return to the era of the 1950s when organized labor participation was highest, people enjoyed a living wage with benefits, the middle class and higher education were attainable by all who wanted to work for it and CEOs earned an average of 7-10 times the salary of their workers?
The lesson here is a rather simple one. Organized labor, taxation and regulation of big business by these mechanisms ensures prosperity for the many instead of just for the few.
Hard working, insightful, and articulate! Could not agree more. Unfortunately, you will likely be attacked as a publicly employed socialist union hack by people who are victims of the Stockholm syndrome. But to echo your theme, there was once a time when the game was not rigged against the working and middle classes as they are now.
Under attack? Seriously? Capitalism completely dominates everything about our lives. Big business is thriving.
Of all the problems we face, this is what Mackey thinks is the biggest? The fact that people are put off by the avarice that created this recession?
He's just not seeing the forest through the trees.
Legitimate criticizm of the excesses of capitalism does NOT mean that capitalism is "under attack." This guy Mackey is giving me a serious hate-on for Whole Foods. He needs to shut his yap & stop acting like WF is still his own company. It is a public corporation and if the board has a lick of sense, they'll cut this yahoo loose.
I agree. The WF near me does not look like it is under siege.
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