A Message From The Boss

from the Mike McConnell Show (799WLW) site


Subject: A Message 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 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 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'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

h/t: Stop the ACLU