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Whole Foods founder and CEO John Mackey is an avowed libertarian. He has never been shy about speaking out on his beliefs. Now he's paying a price for it. Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn is leading a crusade against Whole Foods, and is trying to quash a development project that would have a Whole Foods store as an anchor tenant.
When Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn recommended rejecting a West Seattle development because its anchor tenant, Whole Foods, doesn’t pay its workers enough, he upended the city’s typically nonpolitical procedure to granting street vacations
And here's what a Seattle Times commenter says about it:
Quote:
Originally Posted by moderndad
Whole Foods is a corrupt company with an odious, greedy "Mr. Potter" type of owner named John Mackey. Mackey and his company shouldn't just be denied this new store---they should be tossed out of Seattle and everywhere else in any country that values freedom and human dignity....
Mackey has bragged about his love for Ayn Rand, Margaret Thatcher and other right-wing miscreants.
I don't want A-Whole Foods in our city---or anywhere. Their logo makes me sick and I consider them a vile blight on our society.
I have followed Mackey's writings, speeches, etc. in libertarian circles for a few years. He's always thoughtful, always insightful, and always upfront. He started out as a liberal/socialist, but changed his views after running his health food business. According to Wikipedia:
In 2006, Mackey announced he was reducing his salary to $1 a year, would donate his stock portfolio to charity, and set up a $100,000 emergency fund for staff facing personal problems.He wrote: "I am now 53 years old and I have reached a place in my life where I no longer want to work for money, but simply for the joy of the work itself and to better answer the call to service that I feel so clearly in my own heart."
He has instituted caps on executive pay at the company.
The lesson to business execs of any political stripe in Seattle: don't speak out on your beliefs. If you do, you just might find yourself in the crosshairs of the Seattle mayor, and his loony left moonbat minions.
Location: By the sea, by the sea, by the beautiful sea
68,329 posts, read 54,389,283 times
Reputation: 40736
Quote:
Originally Posted by wutitiz
The lesson to business execs of any political stripe in Seattle: don't speak out on your beliefs. If you do, you just might find yourself in the crosshairs of the Seattle mayor, and his loony left moonbat minions.
So, in RW FantasyLand, business execs are allowed to speak out on their beliefs yet those elected by a majority of the people are not allowed to express beliefs which ideally represent that majority? The lesson to the people is that the right believes the beliefs of the people don't matter.
I applaud the goal of the Seattle Mayor, but not the tactics. If he wants living wages, then it needs to be a city wide initiative. He must not have been happy about this video:
So, in RW FantasyLand, business execs are allowed to speak out on their beliefs yet those elected by a majority of the people are not allowed to express beliefs which ideally represent that majority? The lesson to the people is that the right believes the beliefs of the people don't matter.
In RW fantasy land your political beliefs should not affect your ability to open a grocery store.
How can you honestly say you are fine with the government preventing business from oppose sting because they do not agree with their political views? Orwellian much.
Location: By the sea, by the sea, by the beautiful sea
68,329 posts, read 54,389,283 times
Reputation: 40736
Quote:
Originally Posted by shooting4life
In RW fantasy land your political believes should not affect your ability to open a grocery store.
How can you honestly say you are fine with the government preventing business from oppose sting because they do not agree with their political views? Orwellian much.
So, in RW FantasyLand, business execs are allowed to speak out on their beliefs yet those elected by a majority of the people are not allowed to express beliefs which ideally represent that majority? The lesson to the people is that the right believes the beliefs of the people don't matter.
You get several things wrong here. First of all, denying of permits by an elected official does not constitute expression of belief. To oppose discrimination of this kind does not mean that elected "are not allowed to express beliefs."
Read your First Amendment:
Quote:
Originally Posted by founders
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances
The Framers were not so much concerned about the ability of officials to express themselves, although of course the First Amendment does protect their freedom of speech too. But the language clearly shows that the founders were much more concerned that elected officials would try to quash the speech of others.
I love it...Whole Foods, the grocery store of choice for wealthy liberals being denied a place in the northwest Mecca of liberalism. I'm off to Walmart.
Exactly. The customer is king, and if the customer doesn't like what you're doing, why would they shop at your store? That's business 101. What I can't believe is that this guy, knowing that his customer base falls into market demographics that lean liberal (young, and well educated, urban professionals) would say some of the stupid things he's said. It was suicidal. Whole foods used to have a bit of a corner on the organic foods market (with the exception of little local coops) but that's not the case anymore--most grocery stores carry organics now. Customers have other options that they can easily access. They don't HAVE to shop at Whole Foods to buy many of the products they want.
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The lesson to the people is that the right believes the beliefs of the people don't matter.
