Wednesday, September 2, 2009

No, I'm not boycotting Whole Foods

John Mackey has, in my opinion, some stupid policy ideas. For one thing, he seems to think we can address the millions of Americans lacking health insurance through charity donations. I don't think his ideas are terribly serious or helpful. But as far as I can tell, he hasn't done anything particularly egregious other than write an op/ed.

I'd rather Whole Foods were unionized. I'd rather they sold mayonnaise and cereal that was on par with their produce and meat. I'd rather they didn't charge so damned much. I'd rather a lot of things. But that's just not enough for a boycott.

Really, if I limited my shopping to companies with whose CEOs I agreed on policy grounds, my cupboards would soon be bare and my car would be out of gas. I'd basically just be living off Ben & Jerry's. I don't expect to agree with most CEOs on policies. They're concerned about different things than I am, and they make about a zillion times more than I make. I don't think a store should suffer because its CEO voices his or her opinions.

4 comments:

Joe said...

So you're not boycotting WF, but you flee to Canada on the news that productivity increased at a 6% annual rate. You should get a tattoo, "Don't include me in your focus group."

Seth Masket said...

As I see it, I'm finally getting around to leaving the U.S. in protest of W's reelection in 2004. I've been busy.

Joe said...

Oh, OK. If you see Alec Baldwin, tell him "hi" for me.

Lori said...

Again, very balanced and thoughtful...thanks for being such a cool Democrat.