Heidi Alexander: “No, I would say to my friend from Utah, I am afraid the President was mistaken about that. And we have talked about some…”

“No, I would say to my friend from Utah, I am afraid the President was mistaken about that. And we have talked about some specifics, but let me give some very specific examples of why I believe that is true. Some time ago I met with a large group of chief executive officers of restaurant companies in America. The service and hospitality industries are the largest employers in America. Restaurant companies are the largest employer of low-income, young, usually minority people. These are Americans who are often getting their first job or they are Americans of any age who are trying to work their way up the economic ladder, starting with a lower paying job, a job that doesn't require as many skills, and hoping that instead of having a minimum wage they will end up someday with a maximum wage. But in order to get that maximum wage they have to get on the ladder. They have to start somewhere. Here is what I was told. The chief executive officer of Ruby Tuesday, Incorporated, which has about 800 restaurants, said to me--and he didn't mind being quoted--that the cost to his company of implementing the new health care law would equal his entire profit for the company last year and that he wouldn't build anymore new restaurants in the United States as a result of that. He said he would look to expand outside.…”