Letter to the Editor

A few reasons there's no free lunch

Wednesday, June 21, 2017

Dear Editor,

I recently read Mr. Hendricks’ opinion regarding the increased prices of lunch. “No Such Thing as a Free Lunch” from June 16th to 19th edition. I respect his opinion and it got me to thinking. Below is a list of my thoughts …

* Loss of good-paying jobs forcing the Fast Food Industry to become the primary income of a family instead of an entry level job that it used to be for teenagers learning a work ethic.

* Increase of minimum wage because of this change in the status of this entry level job which has caused the employers to raise the prices, and/or get rid of workers or force an increase in overtime thus causing increased prices.

* Making employers responsible for healthcare, this includes the suppliers who have employees with higher wages and increased prices, etc., etc.

* Government regulations forcing owners to quit using trans-fats, also known as hydrogenated oils, GMOs, salt, large sodas, Styrofoam, calorie count documentation, etc. This causes employers to raise prices. I am not saying these are not legitimate concerns, I just don’t think the government is responsible for saving us from ourselves, and a good business will accommodate the customers, or they will have no customers.

* Workers’ Compensation taxes, important for employees, it is easier to pay the claimant than it is to investigate the legitimacy and court costs. This causes all of us to pay. Forcing over compensation for safety concerns and taxes.

Managers/owners should be there all the time to make sure their employees are safe and are working appropriately. I believe in Workers’ Compensation as it was first designed, unfortunately, we have people taking advantage of this and causing prices to rise to cover the cost. Do we see a pattern here?

* Frivolous lawsuits. The company must hire a lawyer to make sure they are covered for anything. This forces the people who really have a legitimate claim to be silent because the false accusations clog up the system. No one wins, and the prices go up.

If you have a fly in your soup talk to the manager. If you don’t get a new bowl of soup, don’t pay for the soup and don’t go back. If you are worried about the public, call an inspector. If there is a problem it will either close the business or force them to improve their process. Unless you are bleeding, diseased or disfigured, don’t sue first thing, trying to make a buck off someone; we all pay when this happens.

I am terrified to open a business because of the legal ramifications from customers and employees. I would be paying taxes over and above the reasonable amount to cover “everything that might come up” which brings me to Insurance, not just Workers’ Comp but covering the property, equipment and “everything else that might come up”.

I would like customers satisfied, my employees happy and productive, my community served and making a living and/or a profit might be nice, but these days it is just too risky. I am not sure but I think the above comments might be some of the reasons that lunch has gone up. Just my opinion.

Respectfully submitted,

Patsy Jones

McCook, Neb.

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