I am a capitalist, and I believe in a free-market economy. However, in recent years, I have become increasingly suspicious of some of the things I have observed in Corporate America, and have come to the conclusion that there are many socialists and communists who have found a way to force their ideals on the American people through the workplace. It almost seems at time that corporate America has become an unofficial fourth branch of government - except that it has none of the restrictions of the three legitimate branches.

What am I talking about? I recently did a two-part series on Corporate Diversity programs. (See Corporate Diversity…Subverting the Constitution? and Corporate Diversity…Socialism’s Change Agent?

Well, the Corporate Diversity program is not the only place socialism has gained a stronghold. There is also the “Corporate Wellness” program. Now, at face value, this sounds rather benign, doesn’t it? Afterall, who’s really opposed to living a healthy lifestyle, and what employer, given his ‘druthers, wouldn’t wish for healthier employees?

Aahh…but how do we define “healthy?” Whose job is it to enforce “wellness?” How can a Corporate Wellness program be administered without invading the private lives of the corporate employees? (Hint: It can’t!)

Following is an excerpt from an e-mail sent to a corporate employee. The identifyable information has been replaced with “the company” to protect the employee:

We’re pleased to share with you that the company’s efforts to enhance employee health and wellness have been recognized by the Wellness Councils of America (WELCOA), one of the nation’s premier resources for work site wellness. WELCOA has honored the company with the 2007 Gold Level Well Workplace Award. This is great news, and it highlights one of the key ways we’re supporting our mission to promote health and wellness.

At the company, we recognize the importance of building on our high-performance, diverse and healthy work force and are seeking to provide as many programs and tools as possible to help you become or remain healthy.

WELCOA, which conducts a rigorous evaluation of the quality of corporate health promotion programs, determined that our employee wellness efforts permeate all levels of our company and that those efforts also have resulted in behavior changes that improved employees’ health.

During 2007, we offered flu shots, cholesterol screenings, and weight loss and exercise tips through online programs such as Ask-a-Nurse, Ask-a-Dietician, Ask-a-LifeCoach and Ask-a-Trainer, as well as introduced an enterprisewide smoke-free policy and provided the tools employees needed to quit using tobacco. We also launched a new Wellness Rewards Program, which enables benefits-eligible employees to earn up to $200 each year for taking steps to improve their health.

At the company above, the employee who submitted the copy of this e-mail explained that the “smoke free” policy mandated absolutely no smoking anywhere on or near the property or neighboring properties (including the city streets and sidewalks around the property, and even in the employee’s own vehicles, while parked on the property). The employee also related that in company meetings, it has been explained that the above-referenced, “$200 each year for taking steps to improve their health,” is a precursor to a mandatory weight-management requirement, and that at least one top executive within the organization has been put on notice to either lose a substantial amount of weight, or take early retirement.

Well?! You might be thinking, I would never work for a company that treated me like that! Good for you! Good luck finding a job with a major corporation that has not already bought into the “Corporate Wellness,” as well as the “Corporate Diversity,” philosophies. And remember, implementation of corporate philosophies often extends to researching and only doing busines with vendors and other organizations that also adhere these corporate philosophies.

Did you catch that?

The larger corporations are able to force these “Diversity” and “Wellness” philosophies on their vendors and business associates by refusing to do business with any organization that does not adhere to the corporate philosophy.

Why would they do such a thing? Wouldn’t it be detrimental to their business?

No. They get tax breaks and government contracts for adhering to these philosophies. Are you still with me? What this means is that officials in the government are able to pressure corporations to do the work they cannot get done through the legal system - namely, socialization of the “proletariat.” They can force the general population which is dependent either directly (as an employee of a large corporation) or indirectly (as an employee of a smaller corporation that contracts with the larger corporations) to follow their socialized ideals, whether we want to or not.

Why are we letting this happen in America? The powers that be are often no longer in America - the larger corporations are international (See NGO’s and IGO’s). Here’s a little information about the current president of WELCOA, the non-profit listed in the above e-mail (emphasis mine, in bold):

…Known for his pragmatic approach and strong background in organizational development and corporate leadership, Dr. Hunnicutt is widely recognized as a national wellness advocate. By dedicating his professional energies to advancing the cause of corporate wellness, Dr. Hunnicutt consults with hundreds of organizations each year including Merrill Lynch, Caterpillar, and the United Nations to help them link health promotion objectives to business outcomes. Widely published, Dr. Hunnicutt is completing his second book entitled The Competitive Advantage of Healthy Companies….

What kinds of “companies” buy into this Corporate Wellness Philosophy?

Here are some excerpts from WELCOA’s Awards Initiative:

To advance an aggressive national worksite wellness agenda, WELCOA has developed the Well Workplace Awards initiative. Like the Malcolm Baldridge Award for Performance Excellence, the Well Workplace Awards initiative is driven by a rigorous set of criteria. Since its inception in 1991, more than 600 corporations, health care systems, public agencies and educational institutions employing over one million people have met the criteria and been recognized as some of ‘America’s Healthiest Companies.

What People Are Saying About The Well Workplace Awards Initiative:

‘On behalf of the entire Criminal Justice Information Services Division of the FBI, I would like to express our sincere appreciation to The Wellness Councils of America for adding us to the ranks of other prestigious organizations that have received the Bronze Well Workplace Award….’

[Conagra:] ‘The Well Workplace Awards process has given the committee and company a chance to look inward at the relationship between employee health and company performance. The process gave meaning to programming and brought the feeling of accomplishment to the mission. Winning the award is a wonderful source of pride throughout the company.’

And from the Member Oranizations page, here are a list of some corporations you might recognize:

The Gallup Organization
Merrill Lynch
DaimlerChrysler Lego
Paine Weber
Lucent Technologies
Pfizer
Simon and Schuster
Xerox
UPS
Harley Davidson
Boeing
Home Shopping Network
Fed Ex
Whirlpool
Coca Cola
Motorola
Quaker Oats
Caterpillar
3M
Federal Bureau of Investigation
Union Pacific
Home Depot
Johnson and Johnson
Reebok
Hanes
The State of Maine
Aetna

There are schools and universities, healthcare institutions, government organizations and small businesses. Entire cities are involved, as well.

From WELCOA’s “News” page:

As WELCOA strives to push workplace wellness to its fullest potential, major media, magazines, nationally recognized newspapers, and television news programs have covered the growth. WELCOA and its member companies have been featured in a wide variety of publications, securing its position as the leader in workplace wellness and ensuring that corporate health is catching on.

It’s been covered in the Wall Street Journal, CBS Evening News, USA Today, The New York Times, Mewsweek, BusinessWeek Magazine, BusinessWeek-Small Biz, BusinessWeek Online, The New York Post, HR Magazine, Crain’s New York Business, Office Solutions Magazine, Business & Health, Omaha World Herald, The Chattanooga Times, Lincoln Journal Star, Rochester Business Journal, The Merrillville Times, and the Houston Business Journal.

So, WELCOA is to “Corporate Wellness” as Diversity Inc. is to “Corporate Diversity”. And while both pretend to espouse the values of America, their real purpose is much more sinister.

Corporations have far too long received the support of the conservatively-minded capitalists in the United States, under the guise of “free-market” ideas. But corporations, by their very nature, are not individuals, they are, “Business firm[s] whose articles of incorporation have been approved in some state.” Supporting “free-market capitalism” should not include allowing government-sactioned entities to circumvent our own constitution and legal system to change our American way of life to be more in-line with international socialism.

I will repeat here a quote from Abraham Lincoln who, as Rick Crawford said, “Foresaw…Corporations Being “Enthroned” After the Civil War and Re-Writing the Laws Defining Their Existence.”

I see in the near future a crisis approaching that unnerves me and causes me to tremble for the safety of my country. . . . corporations have been enthroned and an era of corruption in high places will follow, and the money power of the country will endeavor to prolong its reign by working upon the prejudices of the people until all wealth is aggregated in a few hands and the Republic is destroyed. –U.S. President Abraham Lincoln, Nov. 21, 1864 (letter to Col. William F. Elkins) Ref: The Lincoln Encyclopedia, Archer H. Shaw (Macmillan,
1950, NY)

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