Among the commandments of life under the Obama administration: thou shalt not speak ill of Obamacare. Papa John’s CEO John Schnatter was hammered with Twitter abuse after informing shareholders and franchisees in August that implementing Obamacare would necessarily increase costs of running the business. Applebee’s is under the gun today after Zane Tankel, a franchisee whose company runs 40 New York-area restaurants, told Fox Business Network that a hiring freeze might be in the works.
WHAT a JACKASS-Applebee’s CEO Threatens To Fire Emps / Freeze Hiring Because Of Obamacare http://t.co/fE3Ry3Jt via @thinkprogress
— ᖇᑌSTY ᕼOᑌGᕼ ᗷᗩᗪᕮᖇ???? (@TheRedNightBird) November 10, 2012
More fools…Zane Tankel, Applebee's Franchisee, Says He Won't Hire Because Of Obamacare (VIDEO) http://t.co/cahdSPQO via @HuffPostSmBiz
— Pamela Brockman (@PamelafBrockman) November 10, 2012
https://twitter.com/floridajewel/status/267064710728384514
https://twitter.com/lindakaybruce/status/267058731131498496
https://twitter.com/iam_seanbond/status/267041554282201088
https://twitter.com/Politicolnews/status/267052108942024704
https://twitter.com/BetsyStover/status/267084759841267712
Note that in his TV appearance Tankel did not say he was laying off any employees; rather, he speculated that “if it’s possible to do without cutting people back, I am delighted to do it, but that also rolls back expansion, it rolls back hiring more people, and in a best-case scenario, we only shrink the labor force minimally. Best case.” What a monster, huh?
https://twitter.com/keithandreen/status/266941660280262656
https://twitter.com/msrehreh/status/266954459354116096
last thing before i get out of here….these people….disgust me http://t.co/fKfHkJtL
— Darth Kriss (@insanityreport) November 9, 2012
Add @Applebees to the list of unpatriotic businesses who are firing people because @BarackObama won http://t.co/j5yHgweC #fb
— Hercules Mulligan's back b/c that energy is needed (@johnvmoore) November 9, 2012
Rather than treat their employees like people deserving of healthcare, they've decided to fire them http://t.co/W4PrFJ2u #BoycottAppleMetro
— Cassandra Duffy (@SapphicPixie) November 9, 2012
Um, no. Again, Tankel said only that, faced with paying annual Obamacare penalties of $80,000 to $100,000 per restaurant, he was evaluating his options and would most likely halt expansion. It seems reading comprehension is tough, so we wonder how these people accusing Applebee’s of firing employees made it through all 2,700 pages of the Obamacare bill (like Nancy Pelosi did) to find out what was in it and how much it would cost other people’s businesses.
For its part, the Applebee’s corporate office was anxious to distance itself from the Obamacare controversy and point out that franchisees speak for themselves.
@thinkprogress It’s not Applebee's place to engage in political commentary. Our franchisees’ views as private citizens are their own. ~ARL
— Applebee's Grill + Bar (@Applebees) November 9, 2012
Related:
Papa John’s becomes latest boycott target after opposing Obamacare; class warfare ensues
Dan Savage speaks for Jesus in ‘Twitter play’ defending Obamacare price hikes
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