Dear Employees
Posted: Sat Jan 10, 2009 8:09 am
I received this in an Email and think it speaks to the truth. As a former business owner, I have felt the pain of taxes first hand.
>> To All My Valued Employees,
>>
>> There have been some rumblings around the office about the future of
>> this company, and more specifically, your job. As you know, the
>> economy has changed for the worse and presents many challenges.
>> However, the good news is this: The economy doesn't pose a threat to
>> your job. What does threaten your job however, is the changing
>> political landscape in this country.
>>
>> However, let me tell you some little tidbits of fact which might help
>> you decide what is in your best interests.
>>
>> First, while it is easy to spew rhetoric that casts employers against
>> employees, you have to understand that for every business owner there
>> is a back story. This back story is often neglected and overshadowed
>> by what you see and hear. Sure, you see me park my Mercedes outside.
>> You've seen my big home at last years Christmas party. I'm sure all
>> these flashy icons of luxury conjure up some idealized thoughts about
>> my life.
>>
>> However, what you don't see is the back story.
>>
>> I started this company 28 years ago. At that time, I lived in a 300
>> square foot studio apartment for 3 years. My entire living apartment
>> was converted into an office so I could put forth 100% effort into
>> building a company, which by the way, would eventually employ you.
>>
>> My diet consisted of Ramen Pride noodles because every dollar I spent
>> went back into this company. I drove a rusty Toyota Corolla with a
>> defective transmission. I didn't have time to date. Often times, I
>> stayed home on weekends, while my friends went out drinking and
>> partying. In fact, I was married to my business -- hard work,
>> discipline, and sacrifice.
>>
>> Meanwhile, my friends got jobs. They worked 40 hours a week and made
>> a modest $50K a year and spent every dime they earned.. They drove
>> flashy cars and lived in expensive homes and wore fancy designer
>> clothes. Instead of hitting the Nordstrom's for the latest hot
>> fashion item, I was trolling through the discount store extracting
>> any clothing item that didn't look like it was birthed in the 70's.
>> My friends refinanced their mortgages and lived a life of luxury. I,
>> however, did not. I put my time, my money, and my life into a
>> business with a vision that eventually, some day, I too, will be able
>> to afford these luxuries my friends supposedly had.
>>
>> So, while you physically arrive at the office at 9am, mentally check
>> in at about noon, and then leave at 5pm, I don't. There is no "off"
>> button for me.
>> When you leave the office, you are done and you have a weekend all to
>> yourself. I unfortunately do not have the freedom. I eat, and breathe
>> this company every minute of the day. There is no rest. There is no
>> weekend.
>> There is no happy hour. Every day this business is attached to my hip
>> like a
>> 1 year old special-needs child. You, of course, only see the fruits
>> of that garden -- the nice house, the Mercedes, the vacations... you
>> never realize the back story and the sacrifices I've made.
>>
>> Now, the economy is falling apart and I, the guy that made all the
>> right decisions and saved his money, have to bail-out all the people
>> who didn't.
>> The people that overspent their paychecks suddenly feel entitled to
>> the same luxuries that I earned and sacrificed a decade of my life
>> for.
>>
>> Yes, business ownership has is benefits but the price I've paid is
>> steep and not without wounds.
>>
>> Unfortunately, the cost of running this business, and employing you,
>> is starting to eclipse the threshold of marginal benefit and let me
>> tell you
>> why:
>>
>> I am being taxed to death and the government thinks I don't pay
>> enough. I have state taxes. Federal taxes. Property taxes. Sales and
use taxes.
>> Payroll taxes. Workers compensation taxes. Unemployment taxes. Taxes
>> on taxes. I have to hire a tax man to manage all these taxes and then
>> guess what? I have to pay taxes for employing him. Government
>> mandates and regulations and all the accounting that goes with it,
>> now occupy most of my time. On Oct 15th, I wrote a check to the US
>> Treasury for $288,000 for quarterly taxes. You know what my
>> "stimulus" check was? Zero. Nada.
>> Zilch.
>>
>> The question I have is this: Who is stimulating the economy? Me, the
>> guy who has provided 14 people good paying jobs and serves over
>> 2,200,000 people per year with a flourishing business? Or, the single
>> mother sitting at home pregnant with her fourth child waiting for her
>> next welfare check?
>> Obviously, government feels the latter is the economic stimulus of
>> this country.
>>
>> The fact is, if I deducted (Read: Stole) 50% of your paycheck you'd
>> quit and you wouldn't work here. I mean, why should you? That's nuts.
>> Who wants to get rewarded only 50% of their hard work? Well, I agree
>> which is why your job is in jeopardy.
>>
>> Here is what many of you don't understand ... to stimulate the
>> economy you need to stimulate what runs the economy. Had suddenly
>> government mandated to me that I didn't need to pay taxes, guess
>> what? Instead of depositing that $288,000 into the Washington
>> black-hole, I would have spent it, hired more employees, and
>> generated substantial economic growth. My employees would have
>> enjoyed the wealth of that tax cut in the form of promotions and
>> better salaries. But you can forget it now.
>>
>> When you have a comatose man on the verge of death, you don't
>> defibrillate and shock his thumb thinking that will bring him back to
>> life, do you?
>> Or,
>> do you defibrillate his heart? Business is at the heart of America
>> and always has been. To restart it, you must stimulate it, not kill
it.
>> Suddenly, the power brokers in Washington believe the poor of America
>> are the essential drivers of the American economic engine. Nothing
>> could be further from the truth and this is the type of change you
can keep.
>>
>> So where am I going with all this?
>> It's quite simple.
>> If any new taxes are levied on me, or my company, my reaction will be
>> swift and simple. I fire you. I fire your co-workers. You can then
>> plead with the government to pay for your mortgage, your SUV, and
>> your child's future.
>> Frankly, it isn't my problem any more.
>> Then, I will close this company down, move to another country, and
>> retire.
>> You see, I'm done. I'm done with a country that penalizes the
>> productive and gives to the unproductive. My motivation to work and
>> to provide jobs will be destroyed, and with it, will be my
>> citizenship.
>> So, if you lose your job, it won't be at the hands of the economy; it
>> will be at the hands of a political hurricane that swept through this
>> country, steamrolled the constitution, and will have changed its
>> landscape forever.
>> If that happens, you can find me sitting on a beach, retired, and
>> with no employees to worry about....
>>
>> Signed,
>> Your boss
>> To All My Valued Employees,
>>
>> There have been some rumblings around the office about the future of
>> this company, and more specifically, your job. As you know, the
>> economy has changed for the worse and presents many challenges.
>> However, the good news is this: The economy doesn't pose a threat to
>> your job. What does threaten your job however, is the changing
>> political landscape in this country.
>>
>> However, let me tell you some little tidbits of fact which might help
>> you decide what is in your best interests.
>>
>> First, while it is easy to spew rhetoric that casts employers against
>> employees, you have to understand that for every business owner there
>> is a back story. This back story is often neglected and overshadowed
>> by what you see and hear. Sure, you see me park my Mercedes outside.
>> You've seen my big home at last years Christmas party. I'm sure all
>> these flashy icons of luxury conjure up some idealized thoughts about
>> my life.
>>
>> However, what you don't see is the back story.
>>
>> I started this company 28 years ago. At that time, I lived in a 300
>> square foot studio apartment for 3 years. My entire living apartment
>> was converted into an office so I could put forth 100% effort into
>> building a company, which by the way, would eventually employ you.
>>
>> My diet consisted of Ramen Pride noodles because every dollar I spent
>> went back into this company. I drove a rusty Toyota Corolla with a
>> defective transmission. I didn't have time to date. Often times, I
>> stayed home on weekends, while my friends went out drinking and
>> partying. In fact, I was married to my business -- hard work,
>> discipline, and sacrifice.
>>
>> Meanwhile, my friends got jobs. They worked 40 hours a week and made
>> a modest $50K a year and spent every dime they earned.. They drove
>> flashy cars and lived in expensive homes and wore fancy designer
>> clothes. Instead of hitting the Nordstrom's for the latest hot
>> fashion item, I was trolling through the discount store extracting
>> any clothing item that didn't look like it was birthed in the 70's.
>> My friends refinanced their mortgages and lived a life of luxury. I,
>> however, did not. I put my time, my money, and my life into a
>> business with a vision that eventually, some day, I too, will be able
>> to afford these luxuries my friends supposedly had.
>>
>> So, while you physically arrive at the office at 9am, mentally check
>> in at about noon, and then leave at 5pm, I don't. There is no "off"
>> button for me.
>> When you leave the office, you are done and you have a weekend all to
>> yourself. I unfortunately do not have the freedom. I eat, and breathe
>> this company every minute of the day. There is no rest. There is no
>> weekend.
>> There is no happy hour. Every day this business is attached to my hip
>> like a
>> 1 year old special-needs child. You, of course, only see the fruits
>> of that garden -- the nice house, the Mercedes, the vacations... you
>> never realize the back story and the sacrifices I've made.
>>
>> Now, the economy is falling apart and I, the guy that made all the
>> right decisions and saved his money, have to bail-out all the people
>> who didn't.
>> The people that overspent their paychecks suddenly feel entitled to
>> the same luxuries that I earned and sacrificed a decade of my life
>> for.
>>
>> Yes, business ownership has is benefits but the price I've paid is
>> steep and not without wounds.
>>
>> Unfortunately, the cost of running this business, and employing you,
>> is starting to eclipse the threshold of marginal benefit and let me
>> tell you
>> why:
>>
>> I am being taxed to death and the government thinks I don't pay
>> enough. I have state taxes. Federal taxes. Property taxes. Sales and
use taxes.
>> Payroll taxes. Workers compensation taxes. Unemployment taxes. Taxes
>> on taxes. I have to hire a tax man to manage all these taxes and then
>> guess what? I have to pay taxes for employing him. Government
>> mandates and regulations and all the accounting that goes with it,
>> now occupy most of my time. On Oct 15th, I wrote a check to the US
>> Treasury for $288,000 for quarterly taxes. You know what my
>> "stimulus" check was? Zero. Nada.
>> Zilch.
>>
>> The question I have is this: Who is stimulating the economy? Me, the
>> guy who has provided 14 people good paying jobs and serves over
>> 2,200,000 people per year with a flourishing business? Or, the single
>> mother sitting at home pregnant with her fourth child waiting for her
>> next welfare check?
>> Obviously, government feels the latter is the economic stimulus of
>> this country.
>>
>> The fact is, if I deducted (Read: Stole) 50% of your paycheck you'd
>> quit and you wouldn't work here. I mean, why should you? That's nuts.
>> Who wants to get rewarded only 50% of their hard work? Well, I agree
>> which is why your job is in jeopardy.
>>
>> Here is what many of you don't understand ... to stimulate the
>> economy you need to stimulate what runs the economy. Had suddenly
>> government mandated to me that I didn't need to pay taxes, guess
>> what? Instead of depositing that $288,000 into the Washington
>> black-hole, I would have spent it, hired more employees, and
>> generated substantial economic growth. My employees would have
>> enjoyed the wealth of that tax cut in the form of promotions and
>> better salaries. But you can forget it now.
>>
>> When you have a comatose man on the verge of death, you don't
>> defibrillate and shock his thumb thinking that will bring him back to
>> life, do you?
>> Or,
>> do you defibrillate his heart? Business is at the heart of America
>> and always has been. To restart it, you must stimulate it, not kill
it.
>> Suddenly, the power brokers in Washington believe the poor of America
>> are the essential drivers of the American economic engine. Nothing
>> could be further from the truth and this is the type of change you
can keep.
>>
>> So where am I going with all this?
>> It's quite simple.
>> If any new taxes are levied on me, or my company, my reaction will be
>> swift and simple. I fire you. I fire your co-workers. You can then
>> plead with the government to pay for your mortgage, your SUV, and
>> your child's future.
>> Frankly, it isn't my problem any more.
>> Then, I will close this company down, move to another country, and
>> retire.
>> You see, I'm done. I'm done with a country that penalizes the
>> productive and gives to the unproductive. My motivation to work and
>> to provide jobs will be destroyed, and with it, will be my
>> citizenship.
>> So, if you lose your job, it won't be at the hands of the economy; it
>> will be at the hands of a political hurricane that swept through this
>> country, steamrolled the constitution, and will have changed its
>> landscape forever.
>> If that happens, you can find me sitting on a beach, retired, and
>> with no employees to worry about....
>>
>> Signed,
>> Your boss
on here as that as well as pornography, and racism and the main things we want to avoid and have done sooo well with thus far.
