You might have noticed lately that a lot of what we read online these days comes packaged in lists. There are well-documented reasons for this, one of which is that it's apparently better at grabbing the average eye – even if it's one more number in a headline among thousands. (In fact, I think my Twitter feed has more numbers than followers.)
At any rate, I thought I'd try a similar approach this week by taking potshots at some of the stories making the rounds – without committing to a particular number.
So White Castle's become the latest company to blame the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act for slower growth and possible worker reclassifications.
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"In the five years prior to the health care law, we were opening an average of eight new White Castle restaurants each year," Jamie Richardson, vice president of government, shareholder and community relations for White Castle System Inc. told a House subcommittee this month. "In 2013 we plan to open just two new locations. While other factors have slowed our growth, it is the mounting uncertainty surrounding the health care law that brought us to a standstill."
Richardson also indicated the restaurant chain might resort to using more part-time workers despite the delay of the employer mandate penalty.
In other restaurant news, if you can call McDonald's that, there's a story bubbling up that's sure to get bigger as the week progresses. A University of Kansas research assistant, Arnobio Morelix, sifted through the fast-food chain's annual report – where he found the company spends a little more than 17 percent of its revenue on salaries – crunched the numbers, and determined that if they doubled the salary of every single employee the price of a Big Mac would jump only 68 cents. And those Dollar Menu entries? They'd only see a 17-cent bump.
Keep in mind that fast-food workers are striking across the country this week, for higher wages, better working conditions and related benefits. The string of protests began in New York City (natch) as a one-day walkout and has since spread to seven cities over four days. Interesting to see where this goes in a post-99 percent world, but we are a fast-food nation in more ways than one. Especially since we have a growing collective of business owners pushing back against Obamacare, just as workers asking for more, under the backdrop of growing economic malaise overall.
Which brings me to an Associated Press study that suggests four out of five of us have been touched by joblessness, poverty or government assistance, as some point in our lives (emphasis added). While this sounds bleak – and almost as if we've regressed 100 years – the caveat there is the qualifier at some point in our lives, which in that light, some of the drama from that headline fades away bit. Not that things aren't bad, with the economy puttering along like a hybrid at the Brickyard, but we haven't exactly wiped out, either.
My point with all of this? Well, it stared out as an exercise in highlighting some stories we should keep an eye on. And as I look back over it – and notice the thread weaving through them all – I can't help but wonder if it's true. The more things change, the more they really do stay the same. Employers still want to attract and retain the best talents. Workers want better pay, benefits and job fulfillment. And Uncle Sam can't seem to stay out of anyone's way.
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