Wednesday, August 29, 2012

With more small businesses closing every day, this type of letter needs to go out to all employees:


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. Of course, as  your employer, I am forbidden to tell you whom to vote for -  it is against the law to discriminate based on political  affiliation, race, creed, religion, etc.

Please vote  for who you think will serve your interests the best.  However, let me tell you some little tidbits of fact which  might help you decide what is in your best interest. 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 saw my nice 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  12 years ago. At that time, I lived in a 300 square foot  studio apartment for 3 years. My entire living space 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 $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 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 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 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 me like a 1 day old baby.
You, of  course, only see the fruits of that garden -- the nice  house, a nice car, the vacations... You never think about 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 its 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 mud 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 anymore. 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. 

While tax  cuts to 95% of America sounds great on paper, don't forget  the back story: If there is no job, there is no income to  tax. A tax cut on zero dollars is zero. So, when you make  decision to vote, ask yourself, who understands the  economics of business ownership and who doesn't?  Whose  policies will endanger your job? Answer those questions and  you should know who might be the one capable of saving your  job. While the media wants to tell you "It's the economy  Stupid" I'm telling you it isn't.

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 in  the South Caribbean sitting on a beach, retired, and with no  employees to worry about.