A Tea Party 'Buycott' of Whole Foods

What does one call a movement to patronize a business to show political support for it? To avoid doing business with such an enterprise is called a boycott. But doing business with an entity is now called a "boycott."

When John Mackey, the owner and founder of Whole Foods, wrote an op-ed piece in the Wall St. Journal opposing health care reform, he angered some of his more liberal customers and unions members who have vowed a boycott of the upscale food chain.

But now, John Mackey and the Whole Foods grocery chain has gotten support from a very unlikely source-the tea party movement. In locales such as St. Louis, Dallas, San Antonio, Pittsburgh, Phoenix and Connecticut, members of the tea party movement are vowing to buy a week's worth of groceries from Whole Foods to show their support for John Mackey and to show their opposition to the boycott. The tea partiers are calling it a "boycott."

Whole Foods was started in Austin in 1978 by John Mackey and is now a fortune five hundred company with stores nation-wide. Whole Foods sells organic produce and meat at a premium, along with exotic, upscale food products, including a full line of herbal supplements. Whole Foods main customer base are upscale, urban, and left of center.

John Mackey roused the ire of some of his customers and unions when he wrote an op-ed for the Wall Street Journal suggesting that health care reform proposals coming out of Washington would be harmful. John Mackey pointed out that his own company, Whole Foods, has a very generous health care package which would be placed in jeopardy if a government run health care system were enacted.

Lost in the noise about boycotts and buycotts have been the proposals that John Mackey made in his op-ed for real health care reform. These included:

"Remove the legal obstacles that slow the creation of high-deductible health insurance plans and health savings accounts (HSAs).

" Equalize the tax laws so that employer-provided health insurance and individually owned health insurance have the same tax benefits.

"Repeal all state laws which prevent insurance companies from competing across state lines.

"Repeal government mandates regarding what insurance companies must cover.

" Enact tort reform to end the ruinous lawsuits that force doctors to pay insurance costs of hundreds of thousands of dollars per year.

" Make costs transparent so that consumers understand what health-care treatments cost.

" Enact Medicare reform.

"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."

John Mackey also launched a spirited attack on the notion that health care was an intrinsic right. He pointed out the gross shortages of health care services caused by government run health care systems, such as exist in Canada. John Mackey suggested that the free market is the best mechanism for providing health care services to the most amount of people.

It is perhaps no wonder that the Left finds John Mackey dangerous, as his ideas about health care reform seem so far to be too sensible to be considered inside the corridors of power in Washington. It might be a wonder, though, if the controversy surrounding John Mackey's views might actually increase his sales of premium priced food as people decide to hold tea party buycotts at the local Whole Foods.

Sources: St. Louis Whole Foods buycott one of several nationwide, Kelsey Volkmann, St, Louis Business Journal, September 1st, 2009

The Whole Foods Alternative to ObamaCare, John Mackey, Wall Street Journal, August 11, 2009

Whole Foods Market