Patriot54
A letter from the 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.
>
> 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 year's
> 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 studio
> 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 stores for clothing that
> didn't look
> like it was birthed in the 70's. My friends refinanced
> their mortgages
> and lived a life of luxury. I did not. I put my time, my
> money, and my
> life into a business with a vision that eventually, some
> day, I too,
> would be able to afford the luxuries my friends supposedly
> had.
>
> So, while you physically arrive at the office at 9 am,
> mentally check in
> at about noon, and then leave at 5 pm, I don't. There
> is no "off" button
> for me. When you leave the office, you are done and have a
> weekend all
> to yourself. I do not have that 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
> one-year-old special-needs child. You, of course, only see
> the fruits of
> that labor -- 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 it's 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. 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 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 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 wouldn't work here. And 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 government
> suddenly
> mandated 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 hiring more employees and generating 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, steam-rolled the Constitution, and changed its
> landscape
> forever. If that happens, you can find me sitting on a
> beach, retired
> with no employees to worry about.
>
> Signed, THE BOSS*
* The Patriot Blog was developed as a forum to support and defend the ideals as set forth by the Continental Congress of 1776. This is a great country and preservation of the ideals and principles as set up in our Constitution and Bill of Rights. We are not now and never will be a socialist nation
