[DallasDeb]

Cost of ingredients is usually not the big cost. Overhead (store, corporate costs, electricity and other utilities, labor, shipping, etc) are usually the biggest costs to products. I heard the CEO of Starbucks complain about insurance costing the corporation more than coffee cost them.

[alloysteel]

Realistically, the cost of ALL mandates has to be passed on to the customer, and is reflected in the price of the product offered. The simple truth is, that if the cost of production (and mandates, such as Obamacare) are not fully recovered, and a margin of return on investment is not realized, the corporation goes out of business. Greater capitalization is not always the answer, there has to be a viable business model that makes a prediction of profit possible, before ANY prudent venture capitalist will make an investment.

[murron]

Plus salaries and benefits for employees.

[sarge83]

I have a friend who has a chain of pizza huts and he is going to
have to raise his prices because of obamacare. He watches the
bottom line closely. He had some stores in Illinois that were killing
him because his delivery drivers were all teamsters union thugs so he
said to hell with this your all fired and he discontinued deliverying pizzas
there. It hurt a little at first but then sales bounced right back.