Not to cross franchises, but Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) said during his Tuesday ‘filibuster’ that Obamacare is a hamburglar of business growth, citing White Castle as an example.
Cruz alluded to the July congressional testimony of Jamie Richardson, a White Castle vice president, which said that the Affordable Care Act was crimping the company’s ability to expand. In the half-decade before the law took effect, the fast food chain was opening an average of eight new White Castle locations per year — in 2013, that number stands to be only two.
“I want you to think about that for a second. Eight White Castle restaurants a year. I like their little burgers!” Cruz interjected before continuing. “That dropped to two. That means six a year in the last four years — that’s 24 White Castle restaurants.”
Cruz continued to extol the goodness of the slider in describing the tangible effects of the law.
“Now number one, just as a consumer, I’m a big fan of eating White Castle burgers. That’s 24 places you can’t go to get them,” Cruz said. “But that’s not the real hardship from it. The real hardship — I want you to think of all those jobs at those 24 restaurants, every one of which would have multiple shifts, would have managers, would have cashiers, would have kids just mopping the floor. And those jobs would all be on the ladder to success; on the economic ladder toward the American dream.”
At time of publication, Cruz’s speech was ongoing.
