You go!
Does anyone else feel like pizza?
“Suing Obamacare”
I don’t think that’s how it works.
“Papa” John Schnatter, Papa John’s founder and CEO, is back in the headlines once more for his assertion that there’s no way on God’s green Earth he can afford to provide health care for a portion of his employees, as mandated by the Affordable Care Act. Now, Schnatter hasn’t been hurting for cash. As Brian Warner writes:
When Papa John Schnatter hosted a fundraiser for Mitt Romney earlier this year, the Republican candidate began his remarks by saying: “Who would’ve imagined pizza could build this? 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.” If your house impresses Mitt Romney, the ultimate one percenter, you know it must be pretty awesome. To start, John Schnatter’s 40,000 square foot castle is located in a wealthy country club suburb of Louisville, Kentucky. The property is spread out over a 16 acre estate and as Romney mentioned, features several swimming pools, a private lake and a golf course.
But who knows what’s going to happen now that the health care mandate could supposedly cost him $0.15 a pizza?! Schnatter claims the costs will be $5-8 million per year — though he had no trouble with giving away two million free pizzas this September that cost the company 24 to 32 million dollars.
Maybe he was counting on Mitt Romney winning.
Anyhow, I’ve decided to take Garfunkel and Oats’ advice and save the rich, one wealthy CEO at a time. Joining me is easy. First, get an envelope and address it [click to zoom]:
Mine reads:
Papa John Schnatter
1904 Stone Gate Rd. <— (address listed for political fundraisers)
Louisville, KY 40223Or you can send it to Papa John’s Corporate:
2002 Papa John’s Boulevard
Louisville, KY 40299 orPapa John’s International, Inc.
P.O. Box 99900
Louisville, KY 40269-9990My letter [click to zoom]:
As I wrote, I may not be able to afford their overpriced pizza, but I can afford a nickel, a dime, and a stamp. I encourage folks to help save the rich and send Papa John some nickels and dimes to offset this gigantic burden, especially since it’s not financially feasible for him to survive without the extra few million. Apparently.
It’s the least we can do for folks working under such a selfish bastard.
Cheers,
Meg
I’m not telling people not to join the boycott against Olive Garden, Papa John’s, Red Lobster, and Longhorn Steakhouse. I just want everyone to realize that this problem is much larger than these two particular companies and runs much deeper than conservative opposition to Obamacare.
If you’re outraged by what Darden and Papa John’s are doing, then I hope you’re also mad at every other corporate chain because they’re ALL doing the same thing and have been doing it for years. Whenever costs go up for any reason, profit is maintained by wringing more labor out of low-level employees. Being mad at Obamacare is just the latest excuse for owners to treat labor like shit. This kind of behavior is baked into contemporary American capitalism. Fixing this is going to take a lot more than a boycott of a few restaurants.
Anyway, if you do want to boycott Papa John’s, Olive Garden, etc., you should also write to the companies to inform them of what you’re doing. While you’re at it, write to your representative to express your feelings about the matter and to ask them what they’re going to do about corporate chains constantly screwing low-level employees. Ask them to work to raise the federal minimum wage to a living wage. Ask them to work to support the president’s efforts to raise taxes on the wealthy. Ask them to protect the social safety net and to work for the interests of the poor and working class.
Oh, and vote against Republicans whenever possible. They are consistently opposed to pro-labor legislation.
Two Years Under “Obamacare”
Republicans would never repeal it because it doesn’t make any sense to. They are only saying it because there is a conservative base, many who benefit from this legislation, who are dumb enough to think that it needs to be repealed.
Opposition to the Papa John’s pizza price increases aren’t about the price of pizza. Read why here.
I’ll miss Papa John’s garlic sauce.
But fuck it.
Not that much.
Starting today, health insurance plans will begin to cover contraception as part of women’s preventive care—with no copay or deductible.
Mitt Romney is booed while speaking at an NAACP convention when he promises to get Obamacare repealed.
He later said: “I submit to you this, if you want a president who will make things better in the African-American community, you’re looking at him. You take a look.”
Texas Gov. Rick Perry said Monday he will not implement ‘Obamacare’ provisions such as the Medicaid expansion and the insurance exchanges. The decision could mean that Texas ultimately loses an opportunity to cover half of its uninsured residents and relinquishes to the federal government more control over its health care system.
In other news, Texas adopts a new official state motto: “We sucked then. We suck now. We’ll continue to suck.”
