Papa Johns is going to have a hard time selling hot fresh pizzas made in China.

Besides, I have never been a "free trader". I differ with many libertarians regarding the free trade issue, even though my principles are the same because I view the trade/economic model slightly differently. Explaining it would bring us into the weeds, so I will leave it for another post.

Suffice to say in short, that I endorse free trade with other free traders and free societies and endorse tariffs against regimes that make effective use of slave labor or interventionism. An economy is something shared, and sharing your economic pool in an unrestricted manner with those who would piss in it is unwise.

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Many people not needing a "livable" wage is simply an obvious observation. I find it hard to believe you would even try to make a contradictory case. "Livable" is also a relative term.

Lets look at this from a couple different angles -

First, it should be self evident that if less jobs are available then there will be more people with no non-supported income at all.

Second, lets talk about livability for a second. Kids, are going to be living with their parents regardless in almost all cases. Having a job simply lets them start gaining work experience and making their own monetary decisions, as well as getting the things they want without having to bug their parents for it. As far as students and young adults go, standards of living are different. A "livable wage" to someone living in a dorm, or in a house/apt with several roomates (like a great many people, including myself, did during their youth) is completely different than a "livable wage" for someone who wants to support a spouse and multiple offspring. Drying up the source of jobs for these people is completely counterproductive. Perhaps you think students taking on even more debt, being less able to work is a good idea- I would not agree at all.

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I do not see why Papa Johns should concern themselves with the idiocies of govt any more than needed. If the govt does idiotic things and creates silly arbitrary rules in a doomed attempt to engineer society, its simply for the rest of us - Papa John included, to navigate the waters of stupidity as best we can, even if that means making decisions that seem silly on the face of it.

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0.23 does not "sound" like a lot, when thinking in term of one pizza. However, in a macro sense it adds up to quite a sum. Also, there are other factors regarding price and marketability.

Lets say a pizza is $10. Not only is a 2.3% increase in inputs significant, but from a marketing standpoint 10.23 is an odd number to pay for anything. There is a reason everything is $x.99 and that is market psychology. Also, in increased costs are passed on - this can of course result in reduced sales.

So forgetting the supposed " rights" of workers for a second - lets think about the input supplier- people who sell the flour and tomatoes etc. Lets also not forget the shareholders... many of whom are not pizza moguls, but rather retirees with PapaJohns shares in their 401k, municipalities, and even unions who have Papa Johns stock in their pension portfolios...

In the real world, economics is complex. "Fairness" and causality can neither one be boiled down to simple 1-1 relationships, there are a lot of moving parts.

For who could be free when every other man's humour might domineer over him? - John Locke (2nd Treatise, sect 57)