Copied from an email ... 10:49 PM 2/17/2009
> 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.
>
> 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, someday, 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 bailout
> 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'll fire you and
> your coworkers. 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, THE BOSS
>
> "The problem with socialism is that you eventually run
> out of other people's money." Margaret Thatcher