News flash to Papa John’s CEO John Schnatter: Obamacare isn’t the only thing costing your business money.
The pizza chain head has made his views on the Affordable Care Act clear in recent months, claiming the new health care law will cost his business about $5 to $8 million per year. To compensate Schnatter's said he will likely raise pizza prices and cut back some workers’ hours so he doesn’t have to insure them.
Caleb Melby of Forbes has graciously done the math on Obamacare’s cost to Papa John’s and according to his analysis, to cover the cost of Obamacare, the pizza chain would have to raise prices by 3.4 to 4.6 cents per pie -- way less than the 11 to 14 cents Schnatter claims he needs.
And there are other changes the chain could make to save some money, Melby notes, like not giving away 2 million pizzas for free at a cost of between $24 and $32 million to the company, for example.
We're guessing Obamacare won't impact life at Schnatter's lavish home, a 40,000 square-foot mansion in a tony suburb of Louisville, Kentucky, that features several swimming pools, a private golf course and a 22-car garage among other amenities, according to CelebrityNetworth.com.
“Who would’ve imagined pizza could build this," said former presidential candidate Mitt Romney earlier this year. "This is really something. Don’t you love this country? What a home this is, what grounds these are, the pool, the golf course…. This is a real tribute to America, to entrepreneurship."
Schnatter is just one of many company heads using Obamacare as an excuse to make changes at his company. Murray Energy's CEO laid off 160 workers the Wednesday following President Obama’s reelection, claiming his company was in “survival mode” due to regulations and taxes Obama put in place. The reality: the coal industry, of which Murray Energy is a part, is in decline thanks in large part to a recent influx of natural gas into the U.S., according to the Washington Post.
The owner of 40 New York-area Applebee’s franchises told Fox Business last week that he wouldn’t hire any new workers and would be cutting back the hours of some of his current employees as a result of Obamacare. Applebee’s parent company distanced itself from his statements as the company faced backlash over his comments.
One super-rich CEO backed down from his threat to downsize if Obama was reelected. David Siegel, the CEO of Westgate Resorts and the man who tried to build the biggest house in America, said that he actually gave his workers raises in the wake of Obama’s win. In the lead up to the election, Siegel sent his employees an email warning them to vote for Romney or else.
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