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A thoughtful rebuttal to this for those willing to read a few paragraphs. The Papa John's theoretical price increase is small, and it really represents just the reallocation of expenses already being paid by all of us as taxpayers. If Papa John's doesn't provide health insurance to its meagerly-earning employees, YOU will pick up that tab anyways when they get on SCHIP, Medicare, show up at the emergency room, etc. Now, those who actually consume Papa John's product will bear that cost, which is more fair than the entire body of tax-paying Americans bearing it.
This is the intellectually accurate way to look at it - most people just don't "notice" this to be a reallocation and incorrectly consider it to be an incremental increase because they are so used to their own perspective within the status quo.
Let's circle back around to Papa John's, though. Part of what the act does is mandate that companies start providing health insurance to their employees or pay a penalty. Since some don't do that already, this will cost them money. They could take this out of profits or reduce the salaries of their executives, but they will probably do what every business does: They'll pass it on to the consumer.
This is as it should be. Some companies probably keep costs down by not providing comprehensive health benefits to their employees. Now, they will have to. I imagine some companies already do, which probably increases their costs, and now they will be on a more level playing field. Regardless, Papa John's is telling you that people who order its pizza will now bear the cost of its employees' health insurance.
Again -- as it should be! Should people who don't order Papa John's pizza have to pay for that insurance? That's what's happening now.
In 2004, for instance, more than half of Wal-Mart employees (PDF) did not get health care coverage through their jobs. More than a quarter of children of Wal-Mart employees therefore got their insurance through Medicaid or SCHIP. That means Wal-Mart didn't pay for their health insurance; taxpayers did. Moreover, every time an uninsured employee had to go to an emergency department and receive uncompensated care, who paid for that? The rest of us.
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One last point. My kids happen to love Papa John's. Some Saturdays, when my wife and I go out, they will order pizza from there. The usual delivery runs about $20. According to Schnatter, the cost of health insurance to his employees might raise the price about 1%. If it had gone up twice that because of a pepperoni shortage, I doubt it would have made the news at all.
More than 30 million Americans will get insurance under the Affordable Care Act. Tens of millions more will be protected from underinsurance, annual and lifetime limits, and unfair price increases. If the downside of this is that my pizza costs 20 cents more, that seems a pretty small price to pay.
I can bet a couple of pizzas that the executives there at Papa John's have had insurance coverage all along. Ambient is totally correct. We're paying for it anyway, so no big deal about the 15-20 cents more for pizza - I don't get my pizza there anyway. Never have understood why the right don't seem to mind providing full coverage healthcare for Iraqis, but mention helping an American taxpayer and it's argument time. It's especially foolish in that we ALREADY pay for it in the emergency room - and that is thanks to a republican, President Reagan.
I think perhaps one only has to loo at the help provide and the cost to americans to see your statement is pure non-sense .I eman its driven proverty level to 18000 a year without any assitance ;which use to be a lower middle class income. Its driven no=-partication rates to record $$% of adult age workers. I really don't see whay mericans are willing to push debt on their children and grand children for stufff they want for free themselves. Look at the proposal now such as healthcare;veryone wants to charge the rich only for evry increase in spending.What they ca tax they want to borrow on future generation credit card;so to speak, Then they wander why a Tex Party tax movement.
I think perhaps one only has to loo at the help provide and the cost to americans to see your statement is pure non-sense .I eman its driven proverty level to 18000 a year without any assitance ;which use to be a lower middle class income. Its driven no=-partication rates to record $$% of adult age workers. I really don't see whay mericans are willing to push debt on their children and grand children for stufff they want for free themselves. Look at the proposal now such as healthcare;veryone wants to charge the rich only for evry increase in spending.What they ca tax they want to borrow on future generation credit card;so to speak, Then they wander why a Tex Party tax movement.
Childless adults don't get assistance and thus don't get $18000 but they consume more healthcare in the long run than kids.
Bsically, the concept is that right now, taxpayers pick up a whole lot of the bill, from Papa Johns employees who are paid minimum wage and qualify for Medicaid and SCHIP. Apparently this is the case for about 25% of Walmart employees, so I'd guess Papa Johns is similar, if not greater.
So this is exactly what we want as a nation - you pay more for the stuff that is going to cover healthcare, instead of paying it thru taxes. Much more efficient.
What about those that barely get by now?
The elderly, on fixed incomes.
Cost of many services will go up in cost and not just .15¢
But with all the obesity contributed by Papa John's and other fast food chains, think how many FEWER people will be around to see their PENSION. Obesity saves PENSION MONEY.
They should stick that on a sign in the windows at Papa John's. They could do an advertisement and make it a "Your country needs you"......"to become a lardarse" kind of soundbite, a kind of gorgefest the more you eat the less the deficit. Could lift Romney's sinking campaign from the depths of the deep blue and morpd it into one of those floating ballooned inflated liferaft type thingies and help sail that shipwrecked vessel to victory.
Maybe fast food chains and tubby lardarses are the only thing that has kept America's bloated healthcare system afloat all this time. Maybe such devotion to lard doesn't deserve an extra 0.15-0.25 a pizza.
I'm with the roly poly lardarses on this one. Obesity is good for the economy. Just like lax regulation and ready availability of guns helps keep the population down in deprived neighbourhoods. Think how much the Crips, the Bloods, Latin kings and the Mexican drug cartels SAVE the economy each year in Obamacare and future pensions.
These guys deserve a medal. And they may or may not collude to smuggle drugs and guns across the border from Mexico. I say 'allegedly' because I saw it on TV. And as John Fogerty once sang because of that fact "I know it to be true!"
Last edited by Fear&Whiskey; 08-10-2012 at 05:00 PM..
My son worked at Papa John's as his first job. Most of the workers in the store were school age kids..HS and college.
These workers would still be covered under their parents.
Most of the delivery people did that as a second job so they would have had coverage under their first job.
Insurance was offered though to the workers.
Some comments here make it seem like these people need insurance, have no insurance and will end up on medicaid if Obamacare wasn't passed. Well the higher prices are due to the additional Obamacare costs because the insurance was offered to begin with.
And no, these types of workers don't run to the ER without insurance.
Guess which group run to the ER without insurance ? And they won't be covered under Obamacare. And they will still be running to the ER for medical care. And you will still be paying.
The next biggest users of the ER have insurance.
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