Care 2: Would You Be Willing to Pay More to Dine Out if it Meant Healthcare for Workers?

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.care2.com/causes/would-you-be-willing-to-pay-more-to-dine-out-if-it-meant-healthcare-for-workers.html

by Robin Marty February 22, 2014 5:30 pm




A Los Angeles restaurant is facing heavy criticism from diners over a new policy that has added a 3 percent tax to the ticket when dining out. The new surcharge is meant to allow the business to pay for the health care insurance costs for their employees, but customers are split over whether the blatant add-on is an open and honest admission about the costs of doing business, or a sign that restaurant owners are simply gouging their guests.

According to the LA Times, Republique restaurant is embarking on a new, transparent means of passing on health care costs to consumers, with a 3 percent “Healthy LA” surcharge per diner. The charge, according to the restaurant owners, will go directly to paying for new employee health insurance plans, a must have under the new Affordable Care Act for any business that employs more than 50 full time employees. Some of the plans that will be offered will be completely paid for by the company, others will have employees pay a portion of the cost, but all will be accessible to all workers, regardless of whether they are hourly, tip based, at the front of the restaurant or back in the kitchens.

The charge, however, has some diners upset. According to the newspaper, one customer even asked if the surcharge could be removed from her ticket, saying “she doesn’t appreciate an extra tax that’s added without sufficient explanation, and she has no way of knowing whether the restaurant will use the extra money for the stated cause.”

If the restaurant were really trying to pull one over on its customers, though, it would make far more sense to hide the additional costs within menu items with higher prices or smaller portions. Instead, that was what the owners said that they were trying to avoid by putting the charge in the open, both in the menu and on the final bill.

Read more: http://www.care2.com/causes/would-you-be-willing-to-pay-more-to-dine-out-if-it-meant-healthcare-for-workers.html#ixzz2uBVuAVxJ

FULL story at link.

5 votes, 0 passes | Time left: Unlimited
	Yes
	3 (60%)
	NO WAY!
	0 (0%)
	Maybe
	1 (20%)
	Other (please post your thoughts on his one)
	1 (20%)
	Thanks to Reagan economics I (we) can't afford to eat out
	0 (0%)
	0 DU members did not wish to select any of the options provided.
Show usernames Disclaimer: This is an Internet poll

[RC]

1. That is 60 cents on a $20 bill. A $1.20 on a $40 bill.

If you can't afford that, how can you afford to go out? You do tip 20% correct? That is $4 and $8.

[Gormy Cuss]

2. Willing to pay more but would really prefer that the cost be reflected in the menu pricing.

Surcharges appear on some bills in SF, on others it's built into the menu pricing (San Francisco has a "Healthy SF" law.)

I'd also like to see the server minimum wage go away ---in CA restaurant owners must pay staff the full minimum wage and there are restaurants everyone and servers still get generous tips.

[democratisphere]

3. I'd rather remove wall street health care insurance companies from our health care cost equation....

so the restaurant wouldn't even need think about a 3% surcharge to provide health care for its workers.. Our country has a health care psychosis.

[FarCenter]

4. This way the diners can just tip 3% less

[JJChambers]

5. Dining out is already prohibitively expensive and, in my household, is a rare occasion

Nt

[Benton D Struckcheon]

6. Voted maybe

Unknown to a lot of people, businesses have leeway when contributing to 401k's. As in, they can take their sweet time putting that contribution in. Why would it be any different in this case?
So, I have my suspicions here. Not saying I wouldn't, so voted maybe. I trust the average businessman the way Vince Lombardi trusted rookies - like a grenade with the pin pulled.

[bemildred]

7. I'd be willing to pay more taxes if it meant health care for workers. nt

[Jamaal510]

8. I'm so broke, I wouldn't even

be having any business dining out in the first place.

[Adrahil]

9. Absolutely I would. NT

[RB TexLa]

10. I don't pay them now. It's cheaper to cook and serve the food to myself.