Results: How Panera Proved That Socialism DOES NOT Work (Part 1 of 2)

The "Panera Cares" chain once operated five restaurants – one each in Boston, Chicago, Dearborn (greater Detroit), Portland (Oregon), and St. Louis (Missouri). It was the brainchild of Panera founder, Ron Shaich. In a recorded talk, he explained that the concept arose after he and one of his children volunteered at a food bank. That evening, he decided to devise a far more efficient way to make quality food available to those suffering from "food insecurity." Do you agree that this was a noble idea from Mr. Shaich to feed those "less fortunate"?

Mr. Shaich has a long record of success in food preparation. Before founding Panera Bread, he owned the bakery chain Au Bon Pain, which operates in 29 states, mostly in large cities and university towns. Au Bon Pain created an Americanized version of a French bakery. Mr. Shaich later sold that chain and founded Panera. Both of his companies operated on a similar premise that people wanted high quality baked goods, and were willing to pay a premium price for them. The two chains were so similar in concept that recently they merged and now offer similar menus. Did you know that Panera and Au Bon Pain were started and owned by the same founder?

The basic idea behind Panera Cares was simple. The restaurants would serve food similar to the fare at other Panera locations. However, patrons would only pay as much as they thought themselves able to pay. In this way, Panera would be able to provide food security on a small scale to the needy. Does this sound like a good idea to you?

In 1875, Karl Marx penned his most famous line, "From each according to his ability, to each according to his need." The idea was not original, but his precise wording is seared into the consciousness of every socialist and pseudo-socialist in the world. Do you agree that this concept (socialism) sounds good (at least on paper)?

Unfortunately, Mr. Shaich's faith in this premise proved overly optimistic. Eater Detroit describes Panera Cares' short history. "[T]he restaurants weren't financially viable… Panera Cares was reportedly only recouping between 60 and 70 percent of its total costs. The losses were attributed to students who "mobbed" the restaurant and ate without paying, as well as homeless patrons who visited the restaurant for every meal of the week." Does it surprise you that this concept didn't bring in enough money from "those with more" to cover "those without"?