Buffalo Wild Wings, ObamaCare & Transparency

by JASmius



There's only two ways for U.S. businesses to respond to ObamaCare on a practical, day to day basis: depression or inflation.  Buffalo Wild Wings Cantina has opted for inflation - and very illustrative transparency:

The Buffalo Wild Wings restaurants in both Amarillo and Lubbock recently attempted to pass their employee health insurance costs on to their customers by adding an [Una]ffordable Care[-Less] Act surcharge.

The two percent surcharge started appearing on bills January 1st – the same day businesses with one hundred or more employees were mandated to provide insurance to at least 70% of their full-time employees.

…Buffalo Wild Wings said it implemented the surcharge instead of cutting employee hours or raising prices.

Mad World News has more on the story:

“At first I thought this was a joke,” customer Joey Keenum said. “I asked the server, ‘What is this for?’ She said, ‘It’s for the ObamaCare cost.’”

When he spoke to the manager, they explained that it was their way of subsidizing the company’s healthcare costs, which is something many conservatives have been saying for quite some time would happen. However, Keenum was irate about it and doesn't feel it’s his responsibility to pay for others’ healthcare.

“It’s just absurd that I have to use my after-tax money to pay for someone else’s health insurance,” he said. …

Not too long after implementing it, the company was forced to overturn their new fee after customer backlash. …

[D]irector of public relations, Heather Leiferman, released a statement explaining that they ended up taking the added fee off their bills.

It's disappointing that BWW caved on this policy, though not surprising.  But it's the psychology of it that I find cynically fascinating.  "It’s just absurd that I have to use my after-tax money to pay for someone else’s health insurance" is spot-on target.  Need I remind one and all about the TANSTAAFL principle?  "There Ain't No Such Thing As A Free Lunch".  And that most definitely applies to "free" health care.  SOMEBODY has to pay for this overpriced, underqualitied, police state-decreed "care," either through higher prices for everything in the economy or through higher unemployment and greater public welfare dependency.  And, of course, it's not either or, but both.  All BWW did was make it visible, thus leveling with their customers about what the Obama Regime has forced upon them:

"Due to the [Una]ffordable Healthcare Act [sic] and its requirement of healthcare coverage to all full-time employees, our restaurant group has decided instead of cutting employee hours and raising food and beverage prices, to implement a two percent surcharge on all guest checks to offset the cost of the federally mandated employee healthcare with the least possible impact to the consumer."

And customers complained about this?  To the contrary, I think Buffalo Wild Wings should be commended for their loyalty to their employees and their courageous integrity in making this cost offset as visible as possible.

But of course, customers did complain, I imagine a great many of them twice voted for Barack Obama, and they simply do not want to confront what a grievous mistake elevating him to dictatorial power over this former Republic really was.

Plus, you know, they don't want to let go of that cherished fantasy of The Free Lunch.

Here's hoping - though not expecting - other retail establishments emulated Buffalo Wild Wing's patriotic example.