By JOHN MACKEY (Independent), co-founder and co-CEO of Whole Foods
Market
Is the United States
exceptional? Of course we are! Two hundred years ago we were one of the poorest
countries in the world. We accounted for less than 1% of the world's total GDP.
Today our GDP is 23% of the world's total and more than twice as large as the
No. 2 country's, China.
America became the wealthiest
country because for most of our history we have followed the basic principles
of economic freedom: property rights, freedom to trade internationally, minimal
governmental regulation of business, sound money, relatively low taxes, the
rule of law, entrepreneurship, freedom to fail, and voluntary exchange.
The success of economic
freedom in increasing human prosperity, extending our life spans and improving
the quality of our lives in countless ways is the most extraordinary global
story of the past 200 years.
Business is not a zero-sum
game struggling over a fixed pie. Instead it grows and makes the total pie
larger, creating value for all of its major stakeholders—customers, employees,
suppliers, investors and communities.
So why is our economy barely
growing and unemployment stuck at over 9%? I believe the answer is very simple:
Economic freedom is declining in the U.S.
The reforms we need to make
are extensive. I want to make a few suggestions that, as an independent, I hope
will stimulate thinking and constructive discussion among concerned Americans
no matter what their politics are.
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