It happened again. Another restaurant chain is under attack from the left. This time, it’s Papa John’s Pizza. What was so terrible that the liberal talkers are going bonkers? The CEO simply spoke the truth — if Obamacare kicks in, there will likely be cuts to employee work hours in order to cover the new healthcare costs. Don’t liberals realize that bigger government comes with consequences?
As reported by The Washington Times, John Schnatter, the CEO of Papa John’s Pizza has come out swinging against Obamacare, and the liberals don’t like it.
Recently, however, Papa John has come under fire for his comments about ObamaCare. ObamaCare is expected to hit Papa John’s with recurring costs of $5-8 million per year. Schnatter has said that he intends to pass along the costs of ObamaCare to the consumer, as any normal business would. He mentioned that the total cost of ObamaCare will be an estimated 15 to 20 cents per order. “Unfortunately, I don’t think people know what they’re going to pay for this.”
Most recently, he claimed that many of Papa John’s franchises are considering cutting employees hours in order to pay for ObamaCare. Papa John is not alone in this. ObamaCare will require businesses large and small to pay extra costs for healthcare. Hundreds of other businesses have released similar statements about the law that kicks into effect soon. These businesses will not be able to hire or will have to fire employees as a result.
His observation of the costs of ObamaCare has been taken as a political statement. Many leftists have demanded that he pick up the costs of ObamaCare with his own hefty fortune, rather than building it into the cost of the pizza or cutting employees’ hours.
It’s amazing that those on the left have absolutely no comprehension of how business works. Just like regular corporate taxes or compliance costs due to extra regulations, costs forced on business by the government will be forwarded on to consumers or result in cost cutting measures elsewhere.
As left wing groups are calling for a Papa John’s boycott, some conservatives are stepping forward to organize an “appreciation day” for the pizza chain. Here’s a report from Fox News:
Daniel Wetter is just 16 years old, but his plan to support pizza chain Papa John’s amid a backlash of liberal criticism is no pie-in-the-sky idea.
Wetter is part of an upstart group called Rebooting America that is proposing that Friday be a national day of appreciation for the pizza chain, whose chief executive officer is being attacked for saying employees’ hours might be cut to cover the cost of implementing their health insurance under ObamaCare.
The conservative group has hatched a social media-based campaign that centers on encouraging people to buy a pizza pie at a Papa John’s store, taking a photo of the outing and then posting it on a Facebook page or tweeting it.
Of course, the liberal talking points are that Schnatter and his corporation have enough money. They should pass it along. That’s not the point. It is for no one to judge if a person has become “successful enough.” The real point is that government is stepping in where it does not belong, and businesses will react accordingly.
Here is a law that the American people did not want. They had a chance to vote for change and didn’t. And now, the effects will be driven home… into everyone’s pocket book. Whether it’s in the form of taxes or higher costs for goods and services, the lesson is the same: there is nothing that is free. Someone will always have to pay. Good for Papa John in speaking out!
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