BUSINESS HATES SOCIALIST POLICIES AND MICRO-MANAGEMENT BY GOVERMENT SLACKERS

First there was the fear spread by our President advising that there is a CRISIS, in just about every aspect of our economy.

(Photo of government mandated future transportation.)

In fact there was a speech I no longer remember in which I believe that he used that word more than 20 times. Everything was a CRISIS, and he had the answer to that CRISIS, to every matter defined as a CRISIS.

Now keep in mind that everything in our economy was defined as a CRISIS, no matter what it was; bank capital shortages, bad loans, predatory lenders, high oil prices, low oil prices, no inflation, high inflation, high government deficit spending, the falling dollar, growing unemployment, GM rescue, insurance companies writing new policies or paying old ones, new organizing rules for unions, executive pay, Mexico free trade...on and on and on.

Everything was a CRISIS; nice scary talk by our fearless leader.

But, have no fear fellow Americans, there was a one size fit all solution to every conceivable CRISIS. That solution was to spend, spend and spend your children s and grandchildren's future income.

The solution was needed and immediately necessary, it had to be voted on right away, without reading, without further comment-TRUST ME, was the mantra of our fearless leader.

And so, as we all remember, the CONGRESS voted on a massive bill which nobody read.

It is expected that its present total impact will be a minimum of $12. 5 TRILLION over its life. That by the way is the value of the entire output of all the goods and serviced of the USA, in a year.

That is approximately equal to almost the output of all the G20, members ( for instance Russia's total output is $1.5 Trillion).

However, there was catch, a catch that nobody knew about because nobody read the bill. In fact I tried to see it in final form and as much as I tried all I got was certain versions on the Internet, making it difficult to decide which was the final bill.

The final bill, the one that Congress voted for, contained a few surprises that in effect were that the government would now run the businesses that took any money from the government.

Now keep in mind, that our new President, (as described by Joe Scarborough on his morning TV show today) has never had a job at a business, has never had to run a business and deal with the myriad of government meddlers ranging from local zoning to licensing, to all the other matters of daily managing of a business. he never had a paycheck from a real business, never.

Now he was going to tell the most sophisticated financial institution in the world how to run their business. He was going to tell them how to wind down their derivatives, and he fired the CEO of GM on the air, by saying so. The board of directors did not fire him, our President did!

Then, the government advised that GM would be building cars for which technology was not yet invented for, while stopping the realistic expansion of the availability of electricity, and outright stating that electric rates would rise dramatically for all users due to their mandates and initiatives.


The government (make that Barney Frank and Chris Dodd) also proposed what salaries, what bonuses would be paid to recipients of government money, and special taxes of 90% were proposed on bonuses.

Now something is starting to happen. The recipients of the government money, now read the bill-they read the conditions of doing business with the devil , sorry I meant the government.

The recipients want to give back the loans, or pay back the loans early and are being arm twisted to not pay the loans back!

In a free market, business attracts key employees by offering attractive pay, or bonuses or other perks to get the best people. In a new government run business model, such incentives do not exist.

For instance under the government model, a successful business that offers a $1 salary to an employee and unlimited bonus tied to financial performance, is penalized as he will be taxed at crazy confiscatory rates on his bonus.

For instance, the new employee making $1 billion in profits for the employer, and being rewarded with a bonus of 5% of the profit or $50 million, would have to pay 90% in taxes, under the government program of being employed by a recipient of government largess.

On the other hand, the government does not impose such a tax if the employee was paid $50 million in a guaranteed salary, and $1 in bonus!

So working for a government, at a company which has received government funds can be a better deal for a slacker, since his salary is guaranteed. But all the highly motivated employees will work elsewhere.

The government is using a Socialist type of compensation-equal pay for all slackers, as usual, and that is starting to become clear to businesses who want to be free of the government restrictions on how to run a business.

The banks, the companies taking government money are learning the hard way to Not do business with the government as they will be burdened by the usual slow moving and non-motivational policies of a bureaucracy, and will make that business not competitive with others.

As in the case of GM, we saw a failure of the company to exist on its own and causing an even greater and more expense bailout than a pure bankruptcy reorganization would have provided, not to mention that it is now a government run zombie company.

Socialism and free enterprise just do not mix, and the sooner our government gets it, the sooner will we see an economic recovery in the USA.

YOU'RE FIRED DUE TO THE STIMULUS PLAN! I'M RETIRING AND NO MORE EMPLOYEES

You're FIRED...due to " Stimulus" plan, Letter from Jack, your 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 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 decades 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 23 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, THE BOSS
Jack