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Papa John's Pizza To Raise Prices Because Of Obamacare, CEO John Schnatter Says

What do you actually know about their business?
I have an understanding of what my decision making process is when I order pizza.
I know that $0.25 price difference isn't enough to keep me from ordering a pizza.
They are in a very competitive market, you don't know that 20 cents isn't a price increase that will cause issues.
Does the law solely affect PJ's?
Or doe sit affect all pizza companies?
Cause if it's all of them, it seems that there's not much change in the relative advantage or disadvantage among the competitors.
 
Thats apples and oranges, GDP and percent of wages are not a simple comparison.

Rather than abandon the attempt to fix our run away healthcare problem, we should take the next step. Other countries negotiate drug costs with Big Pharma for Gubmint programs like our Medicaid/care. Our's is prohibited from such cost curbing measures.

With any luck we are entering an era where healthcare is finally being addressed without all the drama.

yeppers, the reason healthcare is so high in the USA is because the suppliers can charge pretty much what they want.
You and I as individuals can't negotiate, but your employer can....and medical services providers give each other discounts that they won't offer to the patient who might be paying out of pocket.
If you need an MRI on YOUR DIME, it is several times more than what your insurance company would be charged. Same for drugs.
 
Yea, really. It's people that don't think price increases cause demand decreases that economists consider "clueless" about the economy.
Some price increases would have that effect.
But a quarter on a pie... Come on.

Who is willing to spend $20 per pie who is not willing to spend 20.25 for a pie?
Seriously?
 
and employers will do what they always do, cut costs elsewhere. Don't plan on any decent pay raises for the next decade or 2....
I am retired for 8 years now, since age 58....and saw this coming back then. Salaries are often THE biggest expense, and not too hard to trim when they really want to cut costs....

So increased unemployement or wage cuts is the EXPECTED result of PPACA in your opinion? That is certainly reassuring. LOL
 
This is just the beginning. You get that...right? EVERYONES costs are going to go up...surely you see that?

That's OK, our employers will be generous with pay raises next time around....:roll:
 
It's not going out of business, it's simply charging more for pizza because they found a convenient excuse for doing so. Let's try not to use such stupid statements in the future.

Exactly. Puh-leeze, with the "going out of business" nonsense.
 
So increased unemployement or wage cuts is the EXPECTED result of PPACA in your opinion? That is certainly reassuring. LOL

Competition is no longer part of a business plan? if PJ can't compete in the pizza business because of PPACA, too bad. The demand for pizza won't change, and some other Papa will step in and meet the demand.
It won't be Papa Bill, tho. I take home more money retired than when working. No sense in me working and taking a job away from a youner person who needs the job.
But if I had a business, and govt mandated the same rules to all my competitors, I would find a way to deal with it, without appealing to the public, aka whining....
 
That's OK, our employers will be generous with pay raises next time around....:roll:
Assuming you still HAVE employers...
 
Some price increases would have that effect.
But a quarter on a pie... Come on.

Who is willing to spend $20 per pie who is not willing to spend 20.25 for a pie?
Seriously?

You are looking ONLY at the price increase of a pizza pie for that SINGLE labor cost increase (at ONLY the pizza store), but that is not ALL that will go up, the price of the dough, sauce, cheese and other toppings go up as well (they require labor to produce too). The cost of the vehicles, buildings, utilities and fuel used by EVERYONE involve labor too. The bottom line is that PPACA raises ALL U.S. labor costs so ALL U.S. prices will go up but NOT the U.S. worker's pay; that, my friend, is called INFLATION, the invisible "tax" that will help depress our economy even further. Yes they can!
 
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OMG...a 15 to 20 cent increase on a 14.00 pizza to give 16,500 employees a chance at having health care...

Anyone that doesnt believe thats a value is NUTS...because if they dont have insurance we will pay far more for their trip to the emergency room...

So, in other words, it's a tax.

Won't even get into promises not to raise taxes on the middle class, etc.

But will point out that it's an "evil" consumption tax.

And that as a tax, it impacts the lowest-income echelons the most severely.

Which is what's called a "regressive tax" by some.
 
Competition is no longer part of a business plan? if PJ can't compete in the pizza business because of PPACA, too bad. The demand for pizza won't change, and some other Papa will step in and meet the demand.
It won't be Papa Bill, tho. I take home more money retired than when working. No sense in me working and taking a job away from a youner person who needs the job.
But if I had a business, and govt mandated the same rules to all my competitors, I would find a way to deal with it, without appealing to the public, aka whining....

LOL. Yep it is called INFLATION. The costs of all goods and services go up but not the wages of the workers.
 
I'm saying that it will decrease demand, meaning if it's 20 cents a pizza now, if there is a 10 percent decrease in demand, that's actually much higher than 20 cents a pizza, more like 25 cents.
I see no reason to think that a small increase in the price of a pie will lead to anything but, at most, a correspondingly small decrease in demand.
But, I also expect that the effect of a price increase below a certain threshold will have a negligible impact.

A quarter certainly isn't enough to stop me or anyone I know of from ordering some pizza.
 
So, in other words, it's a tax.

Won't even get into promises not to raise taxes on the middle class, etc.

But will point out that it's an "evil" consumption tax.

And that as a tax, it impacts the lowest-income echelons the most severely.

Which is what's called a "regressive tax" by some.

Oh noez, poor people can't buy a greasy pizza loaded with fat, salt and nitrates.

Now they'll have to buy cheaper inferior products, like fresh fruits and veggies and rice. Horror of horrors...
 
So, in other words, it's a tax.

Won't even get into promises not to raise taxes on the middle class, etc.

But will point out that it's an "evil" consumption tax.

And that as a tax, it impacts the lowest-income echelons the most severely.

Which is what's called a "regressive tax" by some.

Not really since the benefits are going to those who can't afford healthcare. The medical benefits are a greater cost than 25C a pizza, if you get what i'm saying.
 
Oh noez, poor people can't buy a greasy pizza loaded with fat, salt and nitrates.

Now they'll have to buy cheaper inferior products, like fresh fruits and veggies and rice. Horror of horrors...

Oh, I see you blew right past the actual point.

I guess regressive taxes are OK as long as they support something you approve.
 
Not really since the benefits are going to those who can't afford healthcare. The medical benefits are a greater cost than 25C a pizza, if you get what i'm saying.

Same is true of any consumption tax.
 
But if I had a business, and govt mandated the same rules to all my competitors, I would find a way to deal with it, without appealing to the public, aka whining....

Please. Don't project DP's poster behavior (a/k/a "whining) onto the Papa John's CEO. He was asked by the reporter what effect AHA would have on his company. No whining involved.
 
Oh, I see you blew right past the actual point.

I guess regressive taxes are OK as long as they support something you approve.

There is no right to low prices, Harshaw.

What about the offsetting cost of lowered healthcare? Does the marginal increase of cost of production overshadow the lowered cost of healthcare?
 
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There is no right to low prices, Harshaw.

And you further try to put up a smokescreen with a (rather stupid) strawman. A strawman which works in favor of any consumption tax, by the way.
 
Oh, as you edited your post:

What about the offsetting cost of lowered healthcare? Does the marginal increase of cost of production overshadow the lowered cost of healthcare?

All you're doing is arguing in favor of a regressive consumption tax.

Keep it up! I like it.
 
And you further try to put up a smokescreen with a (rather stupid) strawman. A strawman which works in favor of any consumption tax, by the way.

As you focus solely on the tax and ignore the lowered cost of healthcare....?

I'd agree with you if there was no benefit on the other side for consumers, like a war tax.

But if people can ultimately save thousands of dollars on their healthcare costs, which everyone will eventually use, is the increase of few cents of products really going reduce demand? In the long run, people should theoretically have MORE money at the end of the year to spend on greasy pizza, which, ironically, will likely INCREASE their use of healthcare.
 
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Oh, as you edited your post:



All you're doing is arguing in favor of a regressive consumption tax.

Keep it up! I like it.

So what? It's pizza. It's relatively elastic. What about the more active movement of fuel prices? That is a much higher cost to businesses than a few cents increase for a healthcare tax. What's the data on how that affected the demand for pizza?
 
As you focus solely on the tax and ignore the lowered cost of healthcare....?

[RadicalModerate]Regressive tax! Woo-hoo![/RadicalModerate]


This is awesome. :)
 
I don't think a price increase this small is going to decrease demand. Raising the price of a $5.00 McDonalds combo by $1 that is noticeable, raising the price of a $15 pizza by 15-20 cents is not.
 
So what? It's pizza. It's relatively elastic. What about the more active movement of fuel prices? That is a much higher cost to businesses than a few cents increase for a healthcare tax. What's the data on how that affected the demand for pizza?

An army of strawmen. I didn't say a thing about fuel prices, and I couldn't care less how it affects demand.

You're tripping all over yourself here.
 
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