John Mackey Speaks Out Against HealthCare Reform

   John Mackey wrote an opinion piece for the Wall Street Journal, outlining his views on healthcare reform. In the process he angered many people, some of whom showed their displeasure by picketing their local Whole Foods Markets and protesting within the stores.
   Mackey suggests eight reform ideas he believes would lower the cost of health care, including “Remove the legal obstacles that slow the creation of high-deductible health insurance plans and health savings accounts (HSAs)”, and “Equalize the tax laws so that employer-provided health insurance and individually owned health insurance have the same tax benefits.”
   While we agree with many of these ideas,  there are a few we do not agree with, such as, “Enact tort reform to end the ruinous lawsuits that force doctors to pay insurance costs of hundreds of thousands of dollars per year,” and “Repeal government mandates regarding what insurance companies must cover.
   Mackey goes on to state that people do not have an equal right to

the same quality health care. He also states, “Health care is a service that we all need, but just like food and shelter it is best provided through voluntary and mutually beneficial market exchanges.”
   But there are some things to love in his piece to the Journal, like “Rather than increase government spending and control, we need to address the root causes of poor health. This begins with the realization that every American adult is responsible for his or her own health.” This is a hard pill for many to swallow, but it is absolutely necessary, and the only way to have true health care reform.
   At the time this article was written 25,000 Facebook users had joined the Boycott Whole Foods Facebook fan page.
   John Mackey is well known for speaking his mind, though in the past it was often under an alias, a practice that got him into some trouble with the FTC. If you read our interview with John Mackey, you know he is a libertarian.
   So, why the uproar?  Mackey’s views are the party line views of a staunch libertarian, beginning to end. We don’t agree with some of his views; we do agree with others. More importantly, we appreciate John Mackey’s willingness to speak his mind.
   That said, we as a nation should strive to ensure that all people have equal rights to high quality health care, as well as food, shelter, and education. The free market can work its magic everywhere else. It’s amazing what people can do when they do not need to worry about basic survival.
   On the other hand, we don’t need healthcare reform nearly as badly as we need health reform!