Letter from the Boss
 

I started a thread on this letter on another forum that I belong to and got alot of different views that I did not think about. My wife sent me this so I thought I would share. Not sure where she got it. As a previous business owner in the medical field, I would have to say I agree with the author.


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, 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 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 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. I'll 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, THE BOSS

It sounds harsh however it is reality.
However you may be in the minority of business owners that would actually do something to improve their local standing.

Harsh is hardly the word after you lived this life for 25 years. Employees who bitch about the boss have never been one and sadly don't have the rollers to even step up to the plate.

great letter.

Whether it's true or not, "AMEN" to that letter!

Millions of people who don't even PAY income tax will receive a check under Nobama's plan.

I would have voted this guy!

Really well-written, thought-out letter. I NEVER read stuff like that (even if sent to me in email by friends), but that I read. Good luck to everyone right about now.

good letter. My company has cut back 8 hrs off of everyone check and has laid off all tempary workers and some full time. If cars dont start selling soon it will only get worse for the company I work for. We make grills for cars and trucks , oem and aftermarket, foreign and domestic. This recesion is killing us. I am currently closing down one of our plants in riply tn. 2nd plant in 5 years to close in this company alone. That plant chrome plated plastic. this sucks. i could have had a chrome hawk :-)

I'm not the "boss" at my company, but I am on the "top floor" and soon will be. I "FEEL" this letter. There is no time off... vacations... or weekends to speak of. I am CONSTANTLY thinking of business. Trying to think of how I can generate more business, so I can put more people to work.. Thinking of dwindling bank accounts, low income, high expenses, aging fleet management.. counting down to the day the business fails if things dont turn around..

Employees come in, work their time, and go home... not thinking of work til they come back in.. I am always "working".


Thank you for posting this letter.

for some reason a chrome hawk sounds bad ass!

It's nice that the "boss" humanizes himself by giving a back story. I don't think harsh is a good word for it, just real. This guy has found success but is clearly fed up just like the rest of hard working america. I can't say i would have addressed the layoff rumors any differently.

Yea i thought so too. I really did want to get a second set of plastics just to try it out for the summer. Different is a good word. photoshop one please

i digress. My company is Siegel Rober Automotive , we were just bought out by a company called Gardian Glass. They were our competition so things could go either way for us. Please everybody , go total your cars and make AIG give you some money to go by a new car. This Will stimulate the economy, and help me keep a job. :-)

Well nu-hawk,

I admire you for your fortitude, and sacrifices, but as your company grew I KNOW you weren't rowing that boat alone. You don't grow without help. Your missive didn't even give a nod to the grunts who put in the overtime and made extra effort because they had a belief in what you were trying to do.

I did five years of eighty hour weeks on the promise of an equity position when the company sold, even had a contract that said so. It was with bitterness that I hired a lawyer to get it enforced, and by then the books had been cooked. It was FYC at the end of the story.

So is your playing field not level, doesn't your competition have the same onus that you have with the taxes and fees and regulations? If not, then you need a better legal team or cpa. And, I'm sure, that as you cull the staff you have, someone on your team has ideas to keep ahead of the faster rats out there. He's the one to keep and reward, but from your thrust, I'll guess when you shut down and take your gains off to the next project you won't look back from a solitary perch.

Don't take it personal, I'm just a grunt with a 10 year old bike, a 8 year old car, a mortgage and a credit rating over 800, meaning the bail out is going to skip over me.

I fear for the next generation
 

How much of the economy is going to be left in 10 years? Democrats tax and spend, Republicans tax and spend even more. It seems everyone here is against it.
Did everyone forget to vote, or are we being ignored.

Inflation will obviously continue to occur, but that is relative. There will always be money to be made. In 10 years or 100 years. It's not like the world's going to end. and no, Republicans do not tax and spend more than Democrats. Do a little research.

NObama

Republicans aren't SUPPOSED to spend as much as Dems, but Lyndon Baines Bush changed all of that. On the day Bush took office in 2001 the national debt was about 7 trillion. After 8 years, six of 'em with a GOP Congress, the debt is nearly 12 trillion.

Both parties seem bound and determined to spend us into oblivion. The difference? Dems want to take more of your money now, Bush Republicans want to buy you off with a "tax cut", spend just as much, and send the bill with interest to your kids and grandkids.

We went to war. I'd rather the money be spent by the military than the f-ing liberals. I'm not on the hating Bush band wagon. I think in 20 years Iraq will be looked upon as a good decision to go in. I was against it at first though.

howobamagotelected.com interesting site. not hateful or anything, but a good study on the medias major role.

Blah, blah, blah... the guy can do what he wants... but he didn't work any harder than the average Joe.

And my so-called conservative Republicans, as well as the Democrats, got us into this current mess.

Both parties believe in big government; where they differ is in their focus.

When we get passionate about either party we are just sipping their Kool-Aid. The parties love to get us thinking they are so different from one another: it helps mask the fact that they are essentially the same.

Here's an example of how our government oppresses the poor businessman in this country: in my business all dentist's get a 40% tax break when they invest in dental equipment. That means they buy $100,000 in equipment & we, the tax payers, put $40,000 of that money right back in their pockets. Yup, the rich have it tough. Pass the Ramen.

The cost of the war to date is about 600 billion. In other words, 5 years of war cost less than the one day bailout Bush pushed through Congress on behalf of the shyster Wall Street money whores who own his ass. The other 4.4 trillion Bush added to the national debt was for all HIS "f-ing liberal" stuff. That of course on top of the tens of trillions of dollars actually collected and spent on liberal stuff over the past 8 years. Can anybody tell me which "f-ing liberal" expenditures Bush has tried to roll back in the past 8 years? I'll settle for ONE!

If you think Bush is anything but a liberal Big Government Connecticut Yankee like his daddy and grand daddy, you ain't paying attention.

Hang em' high!

Well... I'm not pro taxes or big governement or anything... but I think either your reasoning or your maths is flawed...

If the dentist spends 100k and gets 40k back in a 40% tax break that would mean that the tax on the equipment is 100%... meaning he would then pay 200k? while you americans like to moan about your high taxes (try our for a month and see how it feels...:) ) I don't belive you guys have a 100% tax...??? Not even our politicians are that dumb...

More realisticly they spend 100k of which a certain % is tax and get 40% of that back? for example 10% tax means 10k is tax and they get 4k back...

Unless the 100k is the tax on their investment? And then they should propably consider another line of work... Cuz that makes it ridiculously expensive to buy equipment for a dentist...

Yeah. I don't understand the dentist 100k/40k thing either. Generally when a business buys equipment, it may be depreciated for tax purposes over a specified number of years. Each year the business would deduct a percentage of the equipment cost, reducing taxable income.

In some cases government allows a credit subtracted from otherwise due taxes, which saves the business a lot more money.

A business in the 35% tax bracket would recover 35% of its equipment cost over the years with deductions but 100% over the years with a credit.

In neither case are taxpayers "giving" anything to the business. The government is simply stealing less than it would otherwise.

If you have two bottles of beer strapped to the back of your bike and somebody steals only one of them when they could have stolen both, does that mean the thief "gave" you a beer?

I'm against the bailout, but its seems there was no other option. I mean millions of jobs were at stake. then millions more indirectly connected. I love how "in the middle" you are RK1....seems pretty safe to bash 'em all.

Ok using your numbers RK1 ( I have no knowledge of the actual % over your way...) that's 100k of which 35k is taxes and they get a 40% taxbreak... meaning they pay 21k instead of 35k... It's still money and I believe they are happy about it... but nope it's not 40k out of the taxpayers pocket into the buyers pocket... it's 14k.... A rather significant difference if you ask me... Politicians are stupid and shortsigthed... But maths is still maths...

What I don't really understand in all that business is why they "bailout" the companies... Wouldn't it be a smarter choice to have the governement loan them the money... Then they would have to pay back their own crappy desicions in the long run...

I agree maths is maths, and I just used the percentage as an example to show difference between a tax deduction and a tax credit.

But again, be it 40k or 14k, it isn't out of anyone's pocket. The business just gets to keep more of the money it actually earned. I think that is an important distinction; the difference between believing all wealth belongs to the State vs. wealth belongs to those who earn/create it.

And again, if I steal one of your beers instead of both of your beers, the beer you keep isn't out of MY pocket, it was your beer all along.

And were I to feel guilty and return the stolen beer to you before drinking it, that wouldn't be out of my pocket either because that beer was yours as well.

That's the limited government-private wealth principle America was founded on, but most people don't think about it anymore. They want the government to steal more from the other guy than it steals from them believing in the end that they will benefit from the larger of the thefts.