Letter from the Boss

Got this in a "ya gotta see this" email this morning and had to share it.

Subject: 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. 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 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'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 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 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 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 a.m., mentally check in at about noon, and then leave at 5 p.m., I don't. There is no "off" button for me. When you leave the office, you are done and you have the 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 one day old baby.

You, of course, only see the fruits of that garden -- the nice house, the Mercedes, the vacations. You never realized 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, sacrificed 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 just 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? Is it 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?

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 payment and for 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.

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 on a beach, retired, and with no employees to worry about.

Signed, Your boss

Point of view from the "other side" and valid as well.

That is an awesome letter. This guy deserves truckloads of handshakes.
I feel what he's saying, as an independant worker myself, 50% of what you worked very hard for is a real pain to accept.

I really like that. I think he is trying to say vote for Ron Paul.

Wow, that could have been written by my boss, right down to the 12 employees. Whomever did write it is completely correct.

Very riveting letter he (whoever "The Boss" is) wrote there.

Can't help but feel a little sympathetic for the situation he's been put in.

Excellent find!
Most of the people bashing the 1% are not aware of what it takes to own and run a business. Having owned several, he is correct. When I paid employees $12/hr, they did not see the added expense the government put on that pay. Matching SS, Medicaid, unemployment, workers comp. Yes it adds up. When I closed my last business, I vowed I would never again hire employees. When you gross $500k in a year, and only get to keep $25k, there is a real problem. And it wasn't because I didn't know how to run a business. It was because of the added taxes, fees and the new minimum wage. Yes I could have charged more for my product, but then I would not have been competitive. When you own a business, you are married to it. Sure, you get to take a nice vacation once in a while, but you never really enjoy yourself. You keep thinking about the business and wondering if everything is ok with it, or is it being run into the ground while you are away.

Until the masses own and run a business, then they have no reason to spout spread the wealth! When I started my first business, I had about $50 to my name and I used that to run my first ad in the newspaper. For a year my wife and I lived on mac and cheese and hot dogs. My truck was beat up and needed repaired about every other week. But I kept at it. After two years, things finally got easier. I hired employees, bought new trucks and equipment, paid well above what everyone else was paying thinking I was taking care of my employees and "sharing" the wealth. How stupid of me. When my last year closed out, not only did I go through $500k, I was also $16k in debt! I had pinched every dime I could but as taxes went up and insurance increased, it ate into everything. I could no longer keep the house of cards standing. I closed and many people lost their jobs.

Now imagine how a company that employs several hundred or thousands of employees has to deal with. I have no problem with a CEO making nice cash and getting a bonus. What I do have a problem with is them getting a bonus after our tax money bails them out. You ran the company into the ground, why are you being rewarded? I didn't get a bailout when I had to close my doors, why should you? If you make bad business decisions (like paying a decent wage) then you accept the consequences. There should be no government safety net. PERIOD!

reply to post by barkingdogamato


This guy is the rear end of a donkey in my opinion.

Without coming right out and stating who he thinks people should vote for, he is veiling his thoughts by threatening the jobs of his employees. I would hate to work for an opinionated person such as this.

The person can't be too badly off since they state that they could easily give it all up and retire to a beach somewhere.

Perhaps this person is upset that they won't be able to afford the best beach some place.........

reply to post by supine


You completely missed the point of this letter, didn't you? I'll bet you think every business owner should "share" their profits, right? Get a clue.

Originally posted by haarvik
reply to post by supine

 

You completely missed the point of this letter, didn't you? I'll bet you think every business owner should "share" their profits, right? Get a clue.

Not at all, but this lord of the manner does not seem to have the slightest bit of compassion for his employees who are tax payers also.

The point is, that this person is intimidating his employees with his whine fest.

I believe it's like telling his own employees that they are too stupid to make up their own minds about who they should vote for themselves.

Rather insulting in my opinion.

Correct and interesting, yes. However, I don't understand when this became a "class" war. Just because somebody has a little bit of wealth (abundance of green ink on some fibrous form) and started an independent business, does not make them "rich" by any monetary standard. I say monetary because some of the elite could still buy and sell any millionaire out.. Thousands, possible hundreds of thousands of times over.

I have plenty of friends in the same position as the character in this letter, I say character due to the fact that I don't have any clue as to the authenticity of the story.

I guess that I am saying, we are all in this together. Everybody is so so so worried about getting "theirs" that they forget about the true benefits of coming together. To damned hell with neighborhood watch, we LIVE here, of course I will watch over the area. Try a neighborhood garden, cut out the middle-man (chain grocers) and become a part of your community, a real cog in the figurative machine.

We all know what to do, it is a matter of killing your ego and working together. I really do believe this.

Besides, don't you want to positively impact those around you? Don't think you do ANYTHING to help the community by keeping a job, or by paying taxes, or being part of a city council. Those are all things set forth to make us feel good about feeding the man vs. man system of greed, fear, and strangely freakish control issues.

Do you see your chairmen sharing food, shelter, and water with the homeless?

Point;

Is that we need to focus on immediate surroundings and human life before we can change the whole world. It also makes it quite a bit easier to accomplish.

Sorry about the rant.

Originally posted by supine
reply to post by barkingdogamato

 

This guy is the rear end of a donkey in my opinion.

Without coming right out and stating who he thinks people should vote for, he is veiling his thoughts by threatening the jobs of his employees. I would hate to work for an opinionated person such as this.

The person can't be too badly off since they state that they could easily give it all up and retire to a beach somewhere.

Perhaps this person is upset that they won't be able to afford the best beach some place.........

This stupid email is way back from 2007, and it was a mass email propaganda piece put out there and distributed to campaign against OBAMA. It is not current....

This stupid email also represents the "corporate welfare mindset" of the owner. he does'nt care about his employees, he even puts them down in his letter. Screw this boss...how much would he have accompolished without the ones he clearly states "don't mentally check in til noon". LOL I hope he is out of business today with his elitist attitude. I am sure his top sales rep is a competitor now....I love America!

Ungrateful bastard!!!

reply to post by supine


As a successful businessman, he would be smart to quit while ahead if the Government continues to pile on more regulations and taxes.

It's his responsibility to have a viable business, not take care of others who refuse to help themselves.

It took 10 posts (including the OP) before anyone was able to set aside their own prejudices and vet the letter. It screams propaganda. Where is the 'Deny Ignorance' people? Come on! The majority of people aren't saying that you can't build a business and become wealthy. Far from it. This isn't and never has been a class war. This is a war against individuals and companies that circumvent rules, use their wealth to exert influence on legislation and policies that benefit them at the expense of the country as a whole, that push for and use loopholes and chicanary to off-shore assets to avoid tax liability, and who ship jobs overseas to boost their bottom line. What We want is a level playing field. I want to know that if I start a business I have the same chances to land that Federal contract as the big guy if I have the skills and experience. The fact that the Big Guy's lawyers can phone their army of K Street lobbiests and have a key Senator on the golf course by week's end is NOT a level playing field.

Let's use an analogy: You and I own adjacent properties. I have a ton of money you're living a comfortable upper-middle class existence. We both have wells and share the same aquifer. I hire a well contractor to come in and install a well 100' deeper than yours and put a 25hp pump on it cause I want a rushing stream on my property. You suddenly have no water. I didn't do anything 'illegal'. Screw yourself. Everyone has 'equal opportunity' in our neighborhood. Go build a deeper well.

Don't let the minions of TPTB convince you that this whole uprising is something it's not. Most of you are WAY too easily led and need to dust-off your critical thinking skills. Either we start to function as a Country or it's every man for himself. And the latter will not end well for any of us.

reply to post by MentalGiant


I knew this was a old one. But it is prophetic isn't it? Probably even more relevent today than in 2008.

If it were a actual letter, having all of 12 employees makes him a small business. Your average locally owned Bar & Grill employs more people than that.

Originally posted by TDawgRex

It's his responsibility to have a viable business, not take care of others who refuse to help themselves.

Yep, his responsibility is to run a business. It is not his business to suggest to others how they should vote.

In no sentence of his letter does he even consider the lives of his employees other than to suggest to them how they should vote, for his benefit. So, in order to persuade them, he uses their job security to threaten them. It has nothing to do with them helping themselves. It's all about him.

Originally posted by supine
... I would hate to work for an opinionated person such as this....

You wouldn't be welcome there either.

The person can't be too badly off since they state that they could easily give it all up and retire to a beach somewhere.

He could close the doors happily but he fights through each day anyways. At some point the cost/benefit analysis says go home. Enjoy your family and the fruits of your labor. Let the parasites eat each other.

Perhaps this person is upset that they won't be able to afford the best beach some place.........

Any beach is better...as long as we can keep the riff-raff out. I'm thinking Costa Rica!

First.. he didn't EARN what his employees worked for..


second...if those employees devote their lives to the BOSS and pour everything into the company, will they have mercedes's in the driveway?

will they have luxuries?

reply to post by supine


As I was reading the letter, both back in the day and now, the thought occurred to me that he was saying that the Company is already trouble and is subtly telling his employees that he may be closing the doors soon anyways.

Plus we don’t know what the product is nor the employee salaries.

I use work for a great company, they had profit sharing, 5% match on 401K, 100% Medical and dental and vested their employees after only three years. But they took a large hit after 9-11 and orders dropped substantially.

They struggled along with no layoffs for 4 months, but everyone could see the writing on the walls. We were working reduced hours and there was still downtime. They ended up having to layoff (not fire) almost 50% of the workforce. It had to be done or the company would have ceased to exist. As many in my town have already done.

But the owner was upfront with employees and made no bones about what had to be done. You could see the pain in his eyes. The HR lady was another story though. She was rather smug about it all.

They’ve since recovered, consolidated their holdings and have expanded to a degree. They still don’t have the workforce the size they had back in 2001, but they have recovered a bit.

I like his letter.

If I were him I wouldn't hire a single employee.

I wonder if the government of the people will get a clue and consolidate all of these taxes, social programs and insurances into a single tax and a portable benefit system for people to take with them where ever they go.

Atlas probably not.

Just more stupid is in our future most likely

I think the most fair way to tax companies would be to levee them like individuals. For companies with a market cap up to $100 million, taxes are low. For market caps from $100 million to $1 billion, the taxes are slightly higher. The most taxed companies should be ones who a huge market cap like Exxon, Apple, etc with a market cap of $100 billion+. That way the government is lenient on small businesses but taxes bigger businesses. Either that or drastically cut spending and lower taxes across the board.