To All My Valued Employees

Guest

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 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 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:
Iam 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 (or fourteenth in the
recent news) 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 jeopardyHere is what many of you don’t understand …
to stimulate the economy youneed 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.
I do not 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.
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

Guest

Nice post Boss I feel for you.

Guest

As funny as this is its not a joking matter.

Guest

I am going to pass this around to as many people I can think of. Thanks for taking the time to write!

Guest

This trickles down if you don't think so just ask anyone who lives in Janesville Wisconsin

Guest

You can ask anyone in the USA if you have a brain you can see this trickles down all the way to the person who works at Mickey D's

Subject: Re: To All My Valued Employees Sat Jan 31, 2009 3:14 am

Nice letter. sunny

Guest

That is one of the best letters I have ever read Thank You to whoever wrote this. study

Subject: Re: To All My Valued Employees Sat Feb 14, 2009 9:31 pm

Very well written Thanks for the post