NOTE TO ADMINISTRATOR: If this posting violates the rules please feel free to delete it. lock it etc.
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 facts 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. Sure, you see me park my Mercedes outside.
You've seen my big home at last years Christmas party.
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 worked 40 hours a week and made a modest $50K a year and spent every dime they earned on flashy cars, expensive homes and designer clothes.
Instead of hitting the Nordstrom's for the latest hot fashion item, I
was trolling through the Goodwill 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. 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.
Unfortunately, the cost of running this business, and employing you,
is starting to eclipse the marginal benefit and let me
tell you why:
I have state taxes, federal taxes, property taxes, sales and
use taxes. Then there are the payroll taxes, workers compensation taxes, unemployment
taxes and 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.
There are the government mandates and regulations and all the accounting that goes
with it and they 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? Try zero, zilch, nada.
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 is it the single mother sitting at home pregnant with her fourth child waiting for her next welfare check or the high school dropout who can't find a job to begin with? Obviously the government feels the latter is the economic stimulus of this country.
The fact is that if I deducted 50% of your paycheck you'd quit and you wouldn't work here. 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.
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.
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
