Tue Nov 20, 2012, 06:49 PM

aaaaaa5a (4,666 posts)

Papa Johns CEO back-tracks on ObamaCare. He now plans to add thousands of jobs.

This was an editorial written today by Pappa John's CEO John Schnatter.

It can be found at the Huffington Post:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/john-h-schnatter/papa-johns-obamacare_b_2166209.html

The Real Scoop on Papa John's and Obamacare

Reading what has been written about statements I made on the effect of the Affordable Care Act on our franchisees reminds me of a quote from Lewis H. Lapham, former editor of Harper's magazine: "People may expect too much of journalism. Not only do they expect it to be entertaining, they expect it to be true."

Many in the media reported that I said Papa John's is going to close stores and cut jobs because of Obamacare. I never said that. The fact is we are going to open over hundreds of stores this year and next and increase employment by over 5,000 jobs worldwide. And, we have no plans to cut team hours as a result of the Affordable Care Act.

Here is the part of the interchange that was the genesis of the news:

Reporter: "Do you think your -- you know -- franchise owners... are going to cut people hours back to make them part time instead of full time?"

Me: "Well, in Hawaii there is a form of the same kind of health insurance and that's what you do, you find loopholes to get around it. That's what they're going to do."

Reporter: "My understanding is that if you're a full time employee, which is 35 hours or over, you'd be covered. Or if you're part time then you wouldn't be. So wouldn't some business owners just cut people down like 34 hours a week so they wouldn't have to pay for health insurance?"

Me: "It's common sense. It's what I call lose-lose."

The reporter asked what I believed Papa John's franchisees would do in response to Obamacare, not what Papa John's would do. In fact, her question was "wouldn't some business owners just cut people down like 34 hours a week so they wouldn't have to pay for health insurance?"

My answer: "It's common sense."

During that same interview, talking about Obamacare I said, though it wasn't widely reported:

"The good news is 100% of the population (full-time workers) is going to get health insurance. I'm cool with that."
"We're all going to pay for it. There's nothing for free."

"And this way I get to provide health insurance and I'm not at a competitive disadvantage ... our competitors are going to have to do the same thing."

Papa John's, like most businesses, is still researching what the Affordable Care Act means to our operations. Regardless of the conclusion of our analysis, we will honor this law, as we do all laws, and continue to offer 100% of Papa John's corporate employees and workers in company-owned stores health insurance as we have since the company was founded in 1984.

More at link:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/john-h-schnatter/papa-johns-obamacare_b_2166209.html

This is a picture of Schnatter's popular pizza commercials with fellow Papa Johns owner, quarterback Peyton Manning. The Broncos quarterback regularly gives thousands of dollars to GOP candidates.

Schnatter's multi-million dollar mansion

Looks like backtracking to me. But you guys be the judge.

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124 replies	Author	Time	Post
Papa Johns CEO back-tracks on ObamaCare. He now plans to add thousands of jobs. (Original post)	aaaaaa5a	Nov 2012	OP
What a dickhead. nt	Lex	Nov 2012	#1
I saw this earlier today and all I could think was that franchises	okwmember	Nov 2012	#2
!00% of corporate and company owned store employees to have health insurance. Sure...	xtraxritical	Nov 2012	#121
bwahahahahaaa it's ALL about money to this guy.	spanone	Nov 2012	#3
He MUST be losing money	Politicalboi	Nov 2012	#4
+1	aaaaaa5a	Nov 2012	#7
And that's the only thing guys like that give two shits about.	Marr	Nov 2012	#23
A knee jerk reaction....not suprised	Tippy	Nov 2012	#25
He just gave away 2 million pizzas in a promotion. /nt	mwb970	Nov 2012	#107
I frequent Lenny's on 86th street in Brooklyn. Papa John was a great singer/writer in the 60s.	graham4anything	Nov 2012	#5
Cheers for Authenticity! nm	Cha	Nov 2012	#16
Agreed. Chain pizza in NYC? Why? Like Taco Bell in San Antonio.	Eleanors38	Nov 2012	#33
lol.	satxdem	Nov 2012	#52
Never had New York Style Pizza.	Unknown Beatle	Nov 2012	#36
In NY, it is just pizza. There are 1000s of local (mom/pop) pizza places. By the slice or pie	graham4anything	Nov 2012	#45
Exactly, it's just pizza: I laugh when I hear "NY-style pizza"	Populist_Prole	Nov 2012	#50
Interesting.	DanM	Nov 2013	#123
This message was self-deleted by its author	DanM	Nov 2013	#124
MA has great Mom/Pop pizzas too--you can find them all over New England.	MADem	Nov 2012	#98
Best pizza in the world	4 more years	Nov 2012	#108
It's not "New York Style Pizza" - it's pizza...what you eat in Chicago is some weird stuffed cheese	alcibiades_mystery	Nov 2012	#66
Come to the city with the best pizza in the world...	sellitman	Nov 2012	#90
They fry it in cornflakes - yuck	jpak	Nov 2012	#92
If I was Manning's advisor	Panasonic	Nov 2012	#41
I know that part of Bensonhurst very well.	closeupready	Nov 2012	#68
Sort of like "pasturized processed cheese food"?	catbyte	Nov 2012	#73
"Part of this nutritious breakfast." (n/t)	klook	Nov 2012	#112
Chicago pizza	xtraxritical	Nov 2012	#110
We live in the same neighborhood.	Bad_Ronald	Nov 2012	#113
"..You find loopholes to get around it..." - people are no more valuable than the pepperoni nt	msongs	Nov 2012	#6
shades of Soylent Green. Pepperoni Is people.	ChairmanAgnostic	Nov 2012	#11
Only the 47%	BainsBane	Nov 2012	#101
This election angered some and elated the rest	sandyshoes17	Nov 2012	#8
You're absolutely right. My hope is enough people boycott Walmart for this very reason.	Booster	Nov 2012	#15
his response is even slimier than his previous statements--it's common sense to screw your	niyad	Nov 2012	#9
noooo.... Peyton Manning donates to the GOP?	renate	Nov 2012	#10
Yepper, he's all up on the 'family values' squad.	Myrina	Nov 2012	#62
He's a union member too, NFL player's union	Bushfire	Nov 2012	#99
Stock dropped eh?	SomethingFishy	Nov 2012	#12
To Paraphrase Shnatter's BFF Willard...	KharmaTrain	Nov 2012	#13
Looks like Giordanos. Delish.	Ed Suspicious	Nov 2012	#26
Oh my God, that pizza looks like what I make in my cast iron skillet at home!	Trailrider1951	Nov 2012	#32
Chicago mayhaps? nt	wandy	Nov 2012	#34
Looks like Gino's East in Chicago to me.	Astazia	Nov 2012	#39
Yum! I miss that Chicago pizza.	Michigan Alum	Nov 2012	#44
It's Lou Malnatis...	KharmaTrain	Nov 2012	#46
Ooooo, I LOVE Lou Malnati's!! Esp. the cornmeal crust pies!	closeupready	Nov 2012	#71
that looks a lot like the pizza we got	barbtries	Nov 2012	#88
now thats deeeeeep dish	Kyad06	Nov 2012	#93
I hope the stock keeps dropping	mzteaze	Nov 2012	#14
Backtracking and Lying. Typical republicon.. how's mittLies working out for ya	Cha	Nov 2012	#17
Stocked tanked and he back tracks, typical Greedy A$$hat move.	sarcasmo	Nov 2012	#18
Too late, Porta John's.	xfundy	Nov 2012	#19
Well I suppose that since he's cutting all his full time employees to part time...	mojitojoe	Nov 2012	#20
He said Papa Johns isn't going to do that. nt	Honeycombe8	Nov 2012	#58
Yeah it's amazing what a consumer backlash will do to your memory...	mojitojoe	Nov 2012	#60
You're confusing what he said HE would do, and what franchisees would probably do.	Honeycombe8	Nov 2012	#64
Said before the election? It was a threat. It meant plenty.	aquart	Nov 2012	#81
no, you're the one confusing the two	SemperEadem	Nov 2012	#82
firstest question	onethatcares	Nov 2012	#21
In the end, most asshole business owners make sound business decisions.	Bucky	Nov 2012	#22
Translated: Business has sucked since I opened my big mouth. n/t	EmeraldCityGrl	Nov 2012	#24
Exactly. What a prick.	NC_Nurse	Nov 2012	#27
I actually would have more respect for him if he had stood by his position,	aaaaaa5a	Nov 2012	#29
Obamacare will create jobs	bluestateguy	Nov 2012	#28
We know what he said and meant -	Smilo	Nov 2012	#30
It doesn't matter if he's backtracking	JohnnyRingo	Nov 2012	#31
Still not going to order Papa John's.	Panasonic	Nov 2012	#35
Excuse Me But...	azbillyboy	Nov 2012	#37
15 CENTS	Locrian	Nov 2012	#55
Actually a CPA or someone crunched numbers and it was more like SIX CENTS per pizza.	Myrina	Nov 2012	#61
Kick. n/t	Hugin	Nov 2012	#38
C U in BK, asshole	DemoTex	Nov 2012	#40
I'm very disappointed to learn this, but Peyton Manning now owns 21 PJ's franchises	pacalo	Nov 2012	#42
he gave thousands to Bush	central scrutinizer	Nov 2012	#48
He gave money to Romney too.	aaaaaa5a	Nov 2012	#54
Manning and John Elway are big supporters of the GOP.	olegramps	Nov 2012	#70
Broncos are # 1 on my hate list	Kyad06	Nov 2012	#95
He's a great quarterback -	colorado_ufo	Nov 2012	#84
the boycott is working. Put this guy out of business!	aletier_v	Nov 2012	#43
too little, way too fucking late	central scrutinizer	Nov 2012	#47
Agree	octoberlib	Nov 2012	#49
"we have no plans to cut team hours as a result of the Affordable Care Act"	geomon666	Nov 2012	#51
If	John2	Nov 2012	#83
He should go out of business. One less pizza joint will not be noticed and it would be better	Lint Head	Nov 2012	#53
I loved their pizzas, never again.	Rex	Nov 2012	#56
Good deal. Glad he cleared that up. nt	Honeycombe8	Nov 2012	#57
Maybe he can hire someone with a sense of taste ...	Myrina	Nov 2012	#59
Don't care..his pizza STILL tastes like ass...	truebrit71	Nov 2012	#63
Just like war movies	SCVDem	Nov 2012	#65
Too late! Nobody likes shit on cardboard!	santamargarita	Nov 2012	#67
He likely didn't realize that boycotts can be painful to the bottom line.	closeupready	Nov 2012	#69
Pardon my French, but what an asshole.	catbyte	Nov 2012	#72
Too late, fuckhead.	Aristus	Nov 2012	#74
Too late for me, I found another pizza chain (easy to do).	joanbarnes	Nov 2012	#75
Same here.	mwb970	Nov 2012	#106
Quoting from the Buzzflash mantra	Justkd1	Nov 2012	#76
Papa John = Mama Fucker	Blue Owl	Nov 2012	#77
Still a completely	Flashmann	Nov 2012	#78
It was always bullshit. Almost none of his employees are affected by ACA	BlueStreak	Nov 2012	#79
I'm still not going to eat his pizzas	SemperEadem	Nov 2012	#80
Sheesh. These CEOs suddenly realize that everyone doesn't get their news from Fox.	Kablooie	Nov 2012	#85
I read where Papa John stock had fallen and he lost 140 Million dollars	Pakid	Nov 2012	#86
Hissy fit over.....	louis-t	Nov 2012	#87
Interpretation: Papa John sales are tanking big time.	LynneSin	Nov 2012	#89
Eh........ whichever way the wind blows	Plucketeer	Nov 2012	#91
Im on the Jersey Shore	Kyad06	Nov 2012	#94
Backlash against Denny's, too,	Ineeda	Nov 2012	#96
5000 min wage jobs. oh boy!	KG	Nov 2012	#97
Cottage Inn. back in Michigan blows this papa john's clown out of the water.	Crowman1979	Nov 2012	#100
Tasty Pizza	behindenemylins	Nov 2012	#102
That's where we dined after a night of bowling	Kolesar	Nov 2012	#119
too bad, so sad....	ReRe	Nov 2012	#103
Too late, asshole!	southern_belle	Nov 2012	#104
Hundreds more stores?	JNelson6563	Nov 2012	#105
Lost my business	Marje	Nov 2012	#109
Too late, jackass	RedCappedBandit	Nov 2012	#111
God-damned Saint, John Schnatter.	Don C. Nuttin	Nov 2012	#114
of course he is hiring more workers	krakfiend	Nov 2012	#115
i'm inclined to believe that, if the rest of the interview was reported somewhere.	HiPointDem	Nov 2012	#116
Agreed. However, this story has been out for months.	aaaaaa5a	Nov 2012	#117
papa johns is nothing like walmart. walmart is the market leader in all the categories	HiPointDem	Nov 2012	#118
Agreed. Papa Johns isn't close to Walmart.	aaaaaa5a	Nov 2012	#120
I HATE when they pull this "team" shit	NICO9000	Nov 2012	#122

Response to aaaaaa5a (Original post)

Tue Nov 20, 2012, 06:51 PM

Lex (34,106 posts)

Papa Johns CEO back-tracks on ObamaCare. He now plans to add thousands of jobs.

1. What a dickhead. nt

2. I saw this earlier today and all I could think was that franchises

121. !00% of corporate and company owned store employees to have health insurance. Sure...

3. bwahahahahaaa it's ALL about money to this guy.

4. He MUST be losing money

7. +1

23. And that's the only thing guys like that give two shits about.

25. A knee jerk reaction....not suprised

107. He just gave away 2 million pizzas in a promotion. /nt

5. I frequent Lenny's on 86th street in Brooklyn. Papa John was a great singer/writer in the 60s.

16. Cheers for Authenticity! nm

33. Agreed. Chain pizza in NYC? Why? Like Taco Bell in San Antonio.

52. lol.

36. Never had New York Style Pizza.

45. In NY, it is just pizza. There are 1000s of local (mom/pop) pizza places. By the slice or pie

50. Exactly, it's just pizza: I laugh when I hear "NY-style pizza"

123. Interesting.

98. MA has great Mom/Pop pizzas too--you can find them all over New England.

108. Best pizza in the world

66. It's not "New York Style Pizza" - it's pizza...what you eat in Chicago is some weird stuffed cheese

90. Come to the city with the best pizza in the world...

92. They fry it in cornflakes - yuck

41. If I was Manning's advisor

68. I know that part of Bensonhurst very well.

73. Sort of like "pasturized processed cheese food"?

112. "Part of this nutritious breakfast." (n/t)

110. Chicago pizza

113. We live in the same neighborhood.

6. "..You find loopholes to get around it..." - people are no more valuable than the pepperoni nt

11. shades of Soylent Green. Pepperoni Is people.

101. Only the 47%

8. This election angered some and elated the rest

15. You're absolutely right. My hope is enough people boycott Walmart for this very reason.

9. his response is even slimier than his previous statements--it's common sense to screw your

10. noooo.... Peyton Manning donates to the GOP?

62. Yepper, he's all up on the 'family values' squad.

99. He's a union member too, NFL player's union

12. Stock dropped eh?

13. To Paraphrase Shnatter's BFF Willard...

26. Looks like Giordanos. Delish.

32. Oh my God, that pizza looks like what I make in my cast iron skillet at home!

34. Chicago mayhaps? nt

39. Looks like Gino's East in Chicago to me.

44. Yum! I miss that Chicago pizza.

46. It's Lou Malnatis...

71. Ooooo, I LOVE Lou Malnati's!! Esp. the cornmeal crust pies!

88. that looks a lot like the pizza we got

93. now thats deeeeeep dish

14. I hope the stock keeps dropping

17. Backtracking and Lying. Typical republicon.. how's mittLies working out for ya

18. Stocked tanked and he back tracks, typical Greedy A$$hat move.

19. Too late, Porta John's.

20. Well I suppose that since he's cutting all his full time employees to part time...

58. He said Papa Johns isn't going to do that. nt

60. Yeah it's amazing what a consumer backlash will do to your memory...

64. You're confusing what he said HE would do, and what franchisees would probably do.

81. Said before the election? It was a threat. It meant plenty.

82. no, you're the one confusing the two

21. firstest question

22. In the end, most asshole business owners make sound business decisions.

24. Translated: Business has sucked since I opened my big mouth. n/t

27. Exactly. What a prick.

29. I actually would have more respect for him if he had stood by his position,

28. Obamacare will create jobs

30. We know what he said and meant -

31. It doesn't matter if he's backtracking

35. Still not going to order Papa John's.

37. Excuse Me But...

55. 15 CENTS

61. Actually a CPA or someone crunched numbers and it was more like SIX CENTS per pizza.

38. Kick. n/t

40. C U in BK, asshole

42. I'm very disappointed to learn this, but Peyton Manning now owns 21 PJ's franchises

48. he gave thousands to Bush

54. He gave money to Romney too.

70. Manning and John Elway are big supporters of the GOP.

95. Broncos are # 1 on my hate list

84. He's a great quarterback -

43. the boycott is working. Put this guy out of business!

116. i'm inclined to believe that, if the rest of the interview was reported somewhere.