Another melodramatic multi-gazillionaire has been at it again.
Papa John’s International Chief Executive Officer John Schnatter — a supporter of former GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney and opponent of the Affordable Care Act — said he estimated compliance with the healthcare reform law would cost his company about $5 to 8 million annually.
The company made $1.2 billion in revenue last yer, with total operating expenses of $1.131 billion and a gross profit of $87 million.
In using Schnatter’s estimate that healthcare reform would cost his company $5 to 8 million more annually, Forbes magazine said providing healthcare translated into a 0.4 percent to 0.7 percent increase in the price of a pizza. Steve Colbert, and Schnatter himself, claim (OMG, are you ready for this? Please sit down if you’re standing)… they claim about a 14 cent increase in price will pay for the additional cost of ObamaCare! Well, slap some garlic and hot peppers on that and raise your pizza a whole quarter if you want. I have nary a clue as to what the price is now anyway. And the price does vary depending upon location. I don’t think they’ll lose on whit of business with a 25 cent increase for a pie. In fact, I may even come in and just pay for a pizza but not order one since I don’t care for their pizza. If that helps a student, or a young parent, or a divorcee get some health care coverage, I have no problem with that. Actually, I should order the pizza and give it to some of our homeless folk here.
According to Forbes, their estimate is roughly 3.4 to 4.6 cents per pie. I still say raise the price a quarter. Donate that additional revenue then after the tax write-off, you’ll actually see more profits compared to pre-Affordable Health Care. Additionally, the two million pizza giveaway costs more than the Affordable Healthcare Act (link in the related articles below).
CNN’s Tom Foreman has his own opinion from fact-checking, and it is not in Papa John’s favor. This fact check was from August 2012, so Schnatter has been carrying on for some time now.
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Fact-Checking Papa John’s CEO
What has happened to business owners and CEOs with ethics? They’ve always been hard to find, but even more so now. Isn’t it a proven fact that happy employees are more productive employees with a lower turnover rate? Sure this is pizza, but this concept still applies. What is an integral part of being happy? Being healthy. I might add that knowing your big boss cares about your well-being is a nice mental boost, too.
You know, for supposedly being so successful, which typically takes strong person to make it that high up on the income ladder, there sure are a lot of cry-babies now that Obama won.
Get over it, raise the price of your pizza, and provide your employees with some healthcare. Not because you are required to do so, but because it’s the right thing to do.
I think Schnatter should be more concerned about this new item in the news from Huffington Post, “Papa John’s Allegedly Sent 500,000 Illegal Text Messages To Customers.” Their stock fell because of this on Tuesday, and Papa John’s faces potential damages of more than $250 million. The plaintiffs may each potentially receive $500 or more in damages for each text message.
Sources and related articles:
UPI: Forbes: Papa John’s ACA cost, 5 cents
Mediaite: Papa John’s Pizza CEO John Schnatter Owes President Obama Two Words: Thank You
Forbes: Breaking Down Centi-Millionaire ‘Papa’ John Schnatter’s Obamacare Math
Papa John’s gives away 2 million pizzas
MSN Now: Papa John’s pizza giveaways cost more than Obamacare, report says
Motley News 
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