The Burger King national headquarters announced this month that they will be pulling their franchises from our military bases. Soon to follow will be Popeye's Chicken, Pizza franchises and the chain of barber and beauty shops which operates inside the gates of our military facilities. Reason? Obama's mandate that all companies who do business with the federal government pay a $10.10 per hour minimum wage.
The companies cite the fact that a limited military customer base cannot sustain acceptable profit margins while still offering up a hefty share of profits to the Army and Air Force Exchange System's Health and Morale fund and paying $10.10 an hour as Obama has directed for any contractor doing business with the DOD. For those who don't know, hundreds of commercial franchises have operated on military bases for years. This partnership has been a boon to the non-profit AAFES system. All profits go toward programs such as organized athletic programs for the military and their dependents, exercise equipment, support for social clubs and the like.
Coming at a time of tighter defense budgets the withdrawal of commercial franchises is going to put quite a squeeze on the military health and morale programs. Every time a military grunt got a haircut, every time a military wife got a manicure or hair styling, with every burger or slice of pizza or chicken dinner sold, a portion of the profits went to this much needed program.
Alas, as with all things Obama, every time he does something to please his socialist friends, someone suffers. In this case it will be our military. While this will be a serious loss for our stateside troops, the troops who will be most hurt by this are our troops deployed to remote areas of the world where our military folks had little to look forward to but a Burger King Whopper and fries at a small concession that might bring them a little bit of home to their lives.
This should not surprise me at all but it does. I should have been prepared for this when Obama eliminated hot meals for our troops in Afghanistan even as he and Joe Biden were booking $500,000 per night hotel suites in Paris and London....or Obama's total disregard for costs as he and Michelle have run up over $600 million dollars in vacation costs during his tenure.
Oh well, I understand the military's food research facility up in Illinois is working on "Pizza in a Pouch" for the new cold ration packs. "Screw the grunts" seems to be Obama's philosophy...even as he and Michelle host Jay Z and Beyonce at one of those fancy White House dinners.
Post Script: I'm happy to report that my blog going viral helped placed pressure on Congress and the U.S. Labor Department to reconsider imposing Obama's $10.10 minimum wage on Burger King and other commercial on base contractors who contribute to the military Morale and Welfare programs. I was unmercifully attacked as a "liar" from the Obamanites but I'm glad to to it for our troops. The Labor Department is offering each on base franchise to submit form E98 and request relief from Emperor Obama's "edict". This from the Military Times: http://www.militarytimes.com/article/20140418/BENEFITS07/304180061/On-base-fast-food-outlets-get-temporary-reprieve-from-new-wage-rules
52 comments:
Serelessly? No hot meals? That's horrible! How do I research this further? That is against all military training since the Romans!
Even the Gladiators got well laid and well fed before a fight.
The background on this Jerry: As the U.S. began the drawdown and began turning over bases to the Afghans one of the first contingent of troops to go were the cooks. To offset this insufficiency the military was flying in "hot boxes" of prepared food for breakfast, then the other meals would be meals ready to eat (MRE), in those brown, self heating pouches.
A few months ago the DOD initially announced that, as a cost-cutting move, the hot breakfasts would no longer be served. (Yes, the MRE'S do have a "hot breakfast" as the chemical in the pouch can heat your processed eggs and bacon (yum).
After families of grunts began getting requests from Afghanistan for breakfast cereal and long life milk, the families began to complain and the topic went viral.
The last I read was that DOD has now altered their reasoning for no hot meal...not a budget thing, but a logistics thing...
I'm not going to presume how difficult it is to chopper hot meal boxes in Afghanistan...but Ill bet if Obama were to visit he'd get a hot meal...at a cost far more than what it costs to bring bacon and eggs to a few thousand troops.
You can google this topic..Obama's media minions poo-poo the problem and the tiger eating anti-Obamanites say it's the worst thing ever....BUT, again, Jerry, you have become the master at taking one tiny point that has nothing to do with Obama's edict on minimum wage, and made that the discussion.
Any thoughts on unintended consequences of big government mandates and how they inevitably make things worse?
Forgot to add, Jerry. I guess what bother s the hell out of me was those news reports of Biden spending three nights in London in a $500,000 per night suite, and two nights in Paris at the bargain rate of $400,000 a night..and god knows what it costs Obama and Michelle (though we do know it costs taxpayers $7 million for one round trip to Hawaii on Air Force One)
So if Biden and Obama cut back their hotel costs to, say, $100,000 dollars a night 'bargain' suite...then the government could chopper some hot bacon and eggs to our freedom fighters in Afghanistan...JUST SAYING.
Ha, like any conversation, some things catch my interests and some are just more beating of the drum.
I used to work for $.90 per hour, the minimum wage when I was a kid, and thankfully, it has been raised many times since then. The world did not fall apart.
For a lot of reasons I have never been in the military, but we require a hard life of our servicemen. I may be against the politics that require them to go to war but I am 100% supportive of our servicemen and women while in battle AND when they get home. We could never do enough for what we have asked them to do. I am for hot meals and a whole lot more.
The idea of a veteran coming home to a seven dollar job is just appalling.
And the free market will decide what that vet gets paid....if and when government gets the hell out of the way. It always has..it always will.
If a vet comes back, doesn't take advantage of his G.I. bill to get an education, if he has not developed skills that equate to a civilian job he'll get minimum wage.
If he, like millions of high school drop outs, or idiots who thought it was silly to study in high school, hasn't upgraded his skill set, he'll flip burgers and like it. We already subsidize too damn many people who made themselves ill equipped for the world...we don't need to pay $10 bucks for a hamburger to further their support.
The G.I. Bill is certainly not "free market". are you picking and choosing which programs you like?
As I have said before, a Big Mac is the same price here and in Texas, states with vastly different minimum wages. I am with Henry Ford who thought that his employees, those who made the cars, should be able to afford to buy one.
Why isn't the G.I. Bill free market, Jerry? When I signed my enlistment contract I was promised specific benefits, one of them being the G.I. Bill for Education. Contract law is the basis for success in any society, and although the government is the biggest violator of contract law, it is none the less an contract....for services rendered. It was not a welfare benefit..it was an "entitlement" earned.
And you are wrong on the price of a Big Mac being the same everywhere...it is not. You very well might find Texas and Oregon sell a Big Mac for the same price but try buying one in Paris, or Tokyo..or for that matter in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia where I bought mine for awhile...it sells for what the market will bear.
BTW, didn't we dance around this Big Mac scenario before? Didn't we discuss differences in sales taxes, energy costs, advertising costs, property taxes and the like? And you are still trying the Big Mac gambit that just won't fly. I worry about you, Jerry. You have only to look at Obamacare to see what a fucked up mess the government can make of something....or, as the point today...the one you choose to not address...how Obama can deny a grunt a Burger King Whopper just to please those mouth breathing liberals.
Every day obama proves himself to be an even bigger piece of shit than the day before.
He surely does, Craig...he surely does.
"The idea of a veteran coming home to a seven dollar job is just appalling." - Jerry
Prove it.
Prove it is appalling to you.
Take the risks involved and start a business. Hire vets and pay them more.
Stop shopping at any restaurant, store, facility or anywhere else that pays people less than what you think is appropriate. Every single dollar you spend is a vote for the business practices you support.
Take some god-damned personal responsibility instead of punting to government to solve the problem. You admire Henry Ford? Be him, don't talk about him.
Luke, you're attacking the wrong guy. Jerry is all for paying a living wage even for minimum wage jobs. It was me, a retired 22 year vet, that said if a vet comes home, fails to take advantage of his free education under the G.I. Bill, does nothing to upgrade his skills, then he should expect to earn minimum wage...a wage the free market determines...not the government.
No...
"I used to work for $.90 per hour, the minimum wage when I was a kid, and thankfully, it has been raised many times since then. The world did not fall apart." - Jerry
Sounds to me like Jerry wants government to force employers to pay people more, rather than take personal responsibility either as an employer himself or as a customer of the employers he complains about.
Is he running a boycott campaign against companies who pay minimum wage? Is he writing articles about how jobs that currently pay minimum wage could be paid more, showing how to maintain profitability so businesses can stay in business and continue to hire? I doubt it. My guess is he is just fine punting to the government and using their guns pointed at American employers to get his way. Not willing to experience any discomfort or inconvenience himself.
That thing he is using to type his comments on was outsourced to people making far less than our "minimum wage" and yet there is he is using it - and by using it supporting the practice.
It is unrealistic to expect those things of him, but realistic to expect them from business owners?
My comment was pointed in the correct direction.
I appreciate you standing up for him though. People like you do that. Thanks for being who you are.
appalling you say and yet you worked for 90 cents an hour and the world did not fall apart...
SOMEONE NEEDS TO DO WHT SEAL TEAM 6 "NOT OBLAMER" AND TAKE THIS IDIOT OUT BEFORE HE DOES ANYMORE DAMAGE TO OUR COUNTRY
Obumma at it again...this nut is taking lessons from Putin I think..you do not threaten business that are on military bases with how much you pay your help...now the troops will have to deal with the crap they put out in the mess halls.
Do you know what Putin has for lunch? Obama.
This news is typical of the destructive Obama administration. A man that have absolutely no knowledge or reverance for the military forces of our country. I would however, like to challenge "A Modest Scribler" to provide some proof of his figures of "$500,000 hotel rooms" and "$600 Million vacation costs" of the Obama's. We all know the amounts are terribly excessive, but throwing out spurious numbers for effect does nothing but undermine the effectiveness of the message.
Leemart, those hotel numbers for Obama and Biden seem obscene and must not be true, huh? Well, you could have googled this for yourself, but let me do part of the work for you, including the government contract number for those $500,000 dollar a night hotel rooms.
Now, how's my message?
Whoops, here's the link:
http://www.ijreview.com/2013/03/43085-night-at-the-shmucksbury-biden-blows-half-million-at-london-hotel/
I agree with most of these negative comments!..
Miminum wage is a dog chasing his tale, you just never catch up, just keep trying. As soon as mim wage goes up, overhead goes up and there goes your raise. You have more money to spend for a short period of time. Proof, look what bacon costs years ago and look what your salary was. Look at what bacon cost today and look at your salary, the ratio is about the same, same for your utilities, housing, transportation, health care and every thing else your dollar can purchase. When will the dog learn, you can not catch wealth, it keeps climbing just like costs. I make more in comparison to what I made 50 years ago but, my salary increased by longegity, experience and education. That is how you make more, you don't start out as CEO, you work for the higher salary, you don't get it because you just think you are worth more and complain to the govt. to give you and increase. If you can't educate yourself, maintain and gain experience, you don't deserve an increase. I would have loved to sit on my butt and know someone will feel sorry for my sorry self and just give me an increase, NO, I worked for it and so should every one else. With NO increase in hourly wage, the production overhead will not increase and your salary will be worth more.
James, just read today that Chicago Alderman are preparing legislation that will mandate $15 dollars an hour. That nightmare of a city, where gun control equals a runaway murder rate and where $15 dollars an hour mandates will send thousands of jobs out of that city.
"..Craig Bailey said...
Every day obama proves himself to be an even bigger piece of shit than the day before. ..."
IF YOU THINK BAMMA IS BAD.....
JUST WAIT - IF HILLIARY, GETS IN...
YOU HAVEN'T SEEN NOTHING YET...!!!
Could be worse, remember under bush jr. gas and oil reached record highs, banks failed, markets crashed, unemployment jumped near 10%, economy crashed. My god!! can't wait to get back that.
We all know that the knee-jerk Libtards don't give a damn about our troops and you will certainly see the sounder members [look it up :)] will defending this latest attempt by King Barry to destroy this country.
I'm posting this on a number of forums.
DiscussAnything.com
PoliticalForum.com
USMessageBoard
and several military discussion forums and hope it results in an avalance of emails to the members of Congress who turn a blind eye to what the tyrant and his buttkisser Hagel does to us.
Am I angry?
Readers; do you now see why it's so hard to allow libtards in this forum? They are more than willing to deny and overlook actual facts.
According to the bureau of labor statistics the unemployment rate was 7.3 when Bush left office. It did not hit 10% until a year into Obama's term and AFTER the Dems passed a trillion dollar stimulus bill.
The price of gas in December 2008, the last month Bush held office, was $1.87 a gallon (bet you wish we still had THOSE prices. And last, but certainly not least, the Democrats controlled both houses of Congress when Bush was President so if anon libtard didn't like things then, let him blame it on those who controlled the purse strings.
And finally, after all the government geniuses got done investigating the CDO market mess they found that what really caused the crash was due to two things: Clinton's repeal of Glass Steagul which had previously banned banks from speculating in the market...and Clinton and the Dems forcing Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae to make bad loans to folks who cash their welfare checks at pawn shops.
Ultimately I get weary of having to present the facts to set the record straight and just start deleting the stupid liberal bastards. Let's see how long I have the patience on this one.
Dale, thanks for putting the word out; we need to turn the Dems out of office if we're ever going to stop this madness.
Bill Clinton interview on ABC news:
By Evan Harris
Apr 17, 2010 7:20pm
In my EXCLUSIVE “This Week” interview, I asked former President Bill Clinton if he thought he got bad advice on regulating complex financial instruments known as derivatives from his former Treasury Secretaries, Robert Rubin and Larry Summers. He acknowledged that he was wrong to take the advice of those advising him against regulating derivatives.
(Note: please see update at the bottom of this post.)
“On derivatives, yeah I think they were wrong and I think I was wrong to take [their advice] because the argument on derivatives was that these things are expensive and sophisticated and only a handful of investors will buy them and they don’t need any extra protection, and any extra transparency. The money they’re putting up guarantees them transparency,” Clinton told me.
“And the flaw in that argument,” Clinton added, “was that first of all sometimes people with a lot of money make stupid decisions and make it without transparency.”
The former President also said he was also wrong about understanding the consequences if the derivatives market tanked. “The most important flaw was even if less than 1 percent of the total investment community is involved in derivative exchanges, so much money was involved that if they went bad, they could affect a 100 percent of the investments, and indeed a 100 percent of the citizens in countries, not investors, and I was wrong about that.”
From The Liberal Huffington Post on Obama's current Treasury Secretary, Janet Yellen:
WASHINGTON -- Following President Barack Obama's failed effort to install his former economic adviser Larry Summers as Federal Reserve chairman, Janet Yellen, the central bank's vice chair, has emerged as the frontrunner to succeed Ben Bernanke in the Fed's top spot. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and dozens of other Democrats in both the House and Senate have endorsed Yellen to be the next Fed Chair.
While supporting Yellen has become a cause célèbre for progressives opposed to Summers' regulatory hostilities, Yellen supported a host of economic policies during the Clinton era that have since become broadly unpopular. She backed the repeal of the landmark Glass-Steagall bank reform and she supported the 1993 North American Free Trade Agreement. She also pressured the government to develop a new statistical metric intended to lower payments to senior citizens on Social Security.
From Canada Free Press:
As the fast and furious gutting of the US Treasury’s current and future funds continue, all too many Republicans have closed their eyes to the destruction of the US economy that has been so ably affected by Democrat leadership. Democrats began the house-of-cards-failures that started the nationwide close-to-collapse of the US economy with their Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac personal slush funds debacles.
Note: Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (which are responsible for thousands of bad-paper subprime and ARM mortgages that Democrat leadership forced upon banks) have been run by Democrats for decades and are used to fund predominantly Democrat political leaders—including very large contributions to Democrats Christopher Dodd, Barack Obama and John Kerry. If banks balked at carrying these bad loans to be given to patently unqualified borrowers, they were threatened with failure to follow the Democrat-passed CRA or “Community Reinvestment Act.” The CRA, which was begun under President Carter and expanded to even include illegal aliens during the Clinton Administration, forces banks to lend to home buyers ill-equipped to pay anyone back for anything—let alone a mortgage payment. Observations: Deaf ears followed closed eyes as even many Republicans marked their ballots for the Democrat Messiah. From his miserable ‘I-won’t-say-anything-truthful-if-it’s-negative-about my-opponent’s campaign, it appears that McCain may have also voted for Obama.
The failures of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac—oddly timed to influence the 2008 general elections in favor of Democrats—also negatively affected worldwide banking institutions that were leveraged with the bad loans. And, as has become all too typical of late, too many of the American people bought the Democrat lie “It’s the Republicans fault” when reality proves just the opposite. After the seemingly carefully plotted and implemented demise of the mortgage banking industry, the gutting of the US economy began. Citing ‘we can’t wait for anyone to look at the bailout language—we have to have taxpayers’ money now!’ Secretary of the Treasury Henry “Hank” Paulson appears to have carried out one of the biggest (if not THE biggest) scams in history. Note: Paulson and Company’s $700B-$100T scam surpasses Bernard L. Madoff’s $50B Ponzi scheme by a huge margin. And wasn’t it Paulson who promised that he would set up a website showing where all of the bailout monies were going? Thus far, there has been no website showing such accountability. Then, to add insult to injury, the US auto industry jumped in to claim their “rights” to a bailout and now the highly speculative-by-nature Real Estate Development industry is demanding its piece of the bailout pie! Soon the summary annihilation of our treasury will be complete—when most or all of our money is gone and has been placed in the pockets of politicians and their willing minions. In the meantime—as it now appears capitalism has ended—I’m demanding my bailout too. But, I’m not nearly as greedy as are the others. A few million dollars should do.
Why doesn't anyone talk about the REAL issue?
The Federal Reserve Bank (club of private bankers) monetary policies of devaluing the dollar, by printing trillions more, makes our dollars worth-less...
If they were not infusing $65 BILLION each month in quantitative easing (whatever that means) then our food, gas, electricity would not be rising.
And our 401K's, Union Pensions, Savings Accounts, and equity investments would still be "WORTH" something... Don't you realize that the 30% rise in the stock market only reveals the TRUE devaluation of our DOLLAR.
Now, lets talk about why the FEDS need to raise the minimum wage... BECAUSE THEIR POLICIES ARE MAKING OUR DOLLARS WORTH-LESS.
why isn't he impeached , why doesn't American march against THE WHITE HOUSE
Anon, they don't march against the White House for the same reason he got re-elected...apathy. There simply aren't enough Americans involved in the political process these days and they are being trampled by liberal dictatorship as a result.
Wiley, thanks for your comments. I'll accept the hits for any hyperbole you might have detected. However, Glass-Stegal was not repealed by Clinton, nor a vote by Congress. It was still in effect when the house of cards came tumbling down.
As to Fanny and Freddie Mac all one needs to do is go back the last five years and look at the staggering hundreds of billions of dollars the taxpayer has had to put out to cover bad loans. Yes, those dastardly bankers have their share of sin....but the bottom line is that big gov could have stepped in at any time and said "we ain't backing up no-doc loans, no down loans..or any loans where the borrower's credit profile and income do not meet minimum standards.
Slow down there, Scribler... Glass-Steagal was signed into law on Clinton's watch, but it was a bipartisan vote that got it done. (thanks Congress) And the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act which neutralized G-S was written by 3 Republicans. And the housing loan issue is not nearly as black & white as you try to make it. The intent of that legislation was to help *more* folks own homes, not *everybody* (simply because not everyone can afford a home). There's plenty of blame to go around all the way up the mortgage chain, and lots of folks in the finance industry took advantage of that legislation to make fat commissions off of interest-only loans and securities sold as low-risk investments.
Glass-Steagall may have still been law when the **** hit the fan, but it was effectively negated by the 1999 Gramm/Leach/Bliley Act. Those protections requiring separation of depositor's funds and investment funds had been in place since the 30's. Agree 100% the gov't could/should have done more but it seems the die had bet cast and the bankers had already got what they wanted. I'm still amazed nobody went to jail over what happened next.
I agree Wiley...and the banks are still getting what they want with 0 percent and fractions of a percent interest at the Fed's discount window, who then turn around and charge 15% for a charge card.
And all that quantitative easing crap is just a way to falsify what is really happening to our currency under the counter.
WELL ! frankly wish that people would stand up and write their Senators and Congressman to STOP all these atrosities and lies coming from the White House. This last one sending Those 5 criminals back to alquida so they can kill more Americans and other peoples in the world who don't agree with them Is AWFUL!!!! He just made America See
m Weak again!
I agree, anon...politicians only do what we allow them to get away with. Apathy is the greatest threat to our freedom.
1) How many people focus on what is good for them vs what is good for society? Good for them could mean feeding their family due to government support.
2) How many of the above group are now "dependent" on the government to focus on themselves... thing voters who will never change their minds
3) How many of the above have an impact on family members and friend in terms of how they vote?
4)Still here? If so... when do we reach the tipping point of where those voting are in the majority because they are either 1) depending on the government per my earlier definition or 2) because they support their friends or family members who rely on the government OR.. they see they are headed this direction? My math says we are close and have already reached this tipping point. This would mean apathy or activism do not matter as much as the "what is in it for me" human nature does.
All empires fall... the US may be the shortest in history
Anon, that is more or less the purpose of my blog..it was Jefferson who said that, when so many of our citizens vote for what government can give them, then we have lost the Republic.
That's your "tipping point" and Obama's 2012 victory clearly shows we've reached it.
This article is soooo untrue! AAFES operated Burger King's are direct operation (AAFES owns the franchise). As such, we already pay the minimum wage and therefore this will not affect AAFES Burger King's and other franchise operations that AAFES operates. The NEXCOM, on the other hand, is requesting exemption from this law.
Sorry, Jerry Johnston. It is you who is wrong..and you would have known that if you had done just five minutes of research. AAFES contracts with these fast food and other civilian commercial concerns and derives a share of the profits. You are ignoring the facts as have been reported in every publication from the New York Times to The Military Times. http://seeingredaz.wordpress.com/2014/04/02/fast-food-outlets-flee-military-bases-blame-wage-hike/ http://www.militarytimes.com/article/20140317/NEWS/303170027/Some-fast-food-outlets-closing-military-bases I could list another hundred references, but then why should I? on Burger King Fleeing Military Bases
As I understand it, I Believe under the Clinton Administration, the mess halls were privatized and civilian cooks and staff were contracted. So when our troops went into Iraq and Afghanistan there were no Army cooks to provide meals for our troops. The civilian contractors only came in AFTER it was safe enough to bring civilians in. Up until such time the troops marching into Iraq and in Afghanistan were reliant on MRE's...NO regular cooked meals at all...NOT a very good deal for our troops. I remember my two sons complaining of this and yes I did get requests for certain food items not available to them!!
Thanks for your insight, nanamom. And thanks for stopping by to visit. Hope your sons are safe now.
Anyone here have the source to backup the claim about Burger King closing? I shared this link and got hammered by PolitiFact and BK's official statements (a very weak statement, but denies closure non-the-less.)
Mr. Klein, I am the author of this blog. While I am perplexed as to why Burger King corporate retracted their announcement (perhaps the profit motive), here' s the link to the labor department's granting the franchises an exception to Obama's minimum wage edict. http://www.militarytimes.com/article/20140418/BENEFITS07/304180061/On-base-fast-food-outlets-get-temporary-reprieve-from-new-wage-rules
Two times they voted for change and they are getting CHANGE. They are changing from jobs to welfare. Back into slavery doing what the master says.
Wow, it's hard yo believe you have found a way to blame President Obama for Burger King fleeing Military bases to save a dime. How Un-American is it for a company to leave fleeing the soldiers that are out there fighting for their freedom? Your anger is misplaced.
Anon, you are obviously an Obamanite...one of those creatures who have never worked, never had to meet a payroll and think, $2.50 more per hour per employee, times five days a week, 365 days a year, does not eat into a franchisee's ability to make a profit and stay in business.
Drink that kool aid much?
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