Fast-food CEO making 291 times minimum wage opposes increases, blames Obamacare

A multimillionaire fast-food CEO on Monday cited President Barack Obama's health care reform law as a reason not to raise the minimum wage, and asserted that increases would only hurt low-wage employees.According to Forbes, CKE restaurants CEO Andy Puzder makes 291 times more than the minimum wage employees at fast-food chains Hardees and Carl's Jr., which are owned by his company, but he told Yahoo! Finance on Monday that his opposition to pay hikes was only about the welfare of the workers.

"I just want to make sure people understand the consequences of raising the minimum wage, which is… youth unemployment, and increased prices, and more automation," Puzder explained. "Labor participation for people 16 to 29 years old is plummeting, and it's plummeting because we're pricing them out of the market with these minimum wage increases, and there are experienced workers who are willing to take the jobs because they've had their hours cut to under 30 [hours per week] because of Obamacare."

Yahoo! host Shibani Joshi noted that surveys had shown that the median age of fast-food employees was 29, and more than half of the workers were forced to use welfare programs.

What an Asshole!