This is a wonderful presentation of exactly where our country is at right now in the form of a letter from an employer to his 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, 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. 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
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 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 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, 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
