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Whole Foods co-CEO John Mackey said Thursday that he regrets his "poor word choice" in a radio interview comparing America's health care system to "fascism."
In an NPR?interview on Wednesday, Mackey said Obamacare is driving up his health?care?costs, which he believes he?will ultimately have to pass on to his employees.?When asked about an op-ed?he wrote in The?Wall?Street?Journal?in?2009 likening Obamacare to socialism, Mackey?said: "Technically speaking, it's more like fascism. 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."?
Critics pounced on Mackey's comments, suggesting?on the Whole Foods Facebook page that?Mackey had alienated his customer base?and?calling on?Whole Foods customers to?shop elsewhere.?
Mackey addressed the criticism on Thursday?in remarks posted on the Whole Foods website.
"The term fascism today stirs up too much negative emotion with its horrific associations in the 20th century," he said.
"I believe that, if the goal is universal health care, our country would be far better served by combining free enterprise capitalism with a strong governmental safety net for our poorest citizens and those with preexisting conditions, helping everyone to be able to buy insurance. This is what Switzerland does and I think we would be much better off copying that system than where we are currently headed in the United States."
Mackey?was?on?NPR?to?promote?his?new?book,?"Conscious?Capitalism."
Whole Foods, based in Austin, has more than 340 stores in North America and the United Kingdom.
Mackey is not the first CEO to publicly criticize Obamacare. Last fall,?brand?perceptions?of?Papa John's, Applebee's and Denny's took a beating after executives?publicly?said?that??Obamacare would force them to stop building restaurants, cut worker hours and raise prices.
Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/business/whole-foods-ceo-regrets-comparing-obamacare-fascism-1B8022914
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