Quote: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 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
No clue who authored it, but truer words cannot be spoken.
(01-15-2009 12:07 AM)Rebel Wrote: [ -> ]Quote: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 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
No clue who authored it, but truer words cannot be spoken.
Well, judging from the first paragraph, it might be Halliburton.
(01-15-2009 03:36 AM)RobertN Wrote: [ -> ]Well, judging from the first paragraph, it might be Halliburton.
Yeah, shut down Halliburton.
.....and put thousands upon thousands of people on the streets in what your Messiah calls "the worst economy since the Great Depression".
That's the problem with you libs, you hate the employer, but love jobs. How do you resolve the two? Think about it, when you see people leaving the Ford, Chevy, or Chrysler plant, are they wearing Ford hats? Chevy? Chances are, no. They're wearing UAW No XXX hats. Nice loyalty there.
(01-15-2009 09:13 AM)DrTorch Wrote: [ -> ] (01-15-2009 08:33 AM)Rebel Wrote: [ -> ]That's the problem with you libs, you hate the employer, but love jobs.
I always thought it was funny how ExxonMobil was absolutely vilified in the last election - they were ALWAYS the example used for "eeeeevil Big Oil." Obama and Biden, hell even McCain called them out by name numerous times in his debate, and I kept thinking "Companies like ExxonMobil are the boogeyman of the left, yet what percentage of ExxonMobil will still vote Democrat?"
I can assure you, that if some Republican mesiah candidate negatively called out my company on the world stage like the Democrats called out ExxonMobil, there would be no L. Stanley vote for the Republican candidate.
.
It seems to me that this only could have been written by someone who is or was a real small business owner.
That truly is a bit of 'inside insight' if it was just tossed out there by some 'Poet Laureate'.
But then again ... this should be "Common Sense" and evident to us all - - and that is why Robert will never get it.
.
(01-15-2009 08:33 AM)Rebel Wrote: [ -> ] (01-15-2009 03:36 AM)RobertN Wrote: [ -> ]Well, judging from the first paragraph, it might be Halliburton.
Yeah, shut down Halliburton.
.....and put thousands upon thousands of people on the streets in what your Messiah calls "the worst economy since the Great Depression".
That's the problem with you libs, you hate the employer, but love jobs. How do you resolve the two? Think about it, when you see people leaving the Ford, Chevy, or Chrysler plant, are they wearing Ford hats? Chevy? Chances are, no. They're wearing UAW No XXX hats. Nice loyalty there.
I don't think shutting down Haliburton is the answer. But I don't think giving them no bid contracts, especially after it has been proven that they are charging exhorbitant fees for services not being rendered, is the way to go either. Haliburton should have to compete for the right to serve the government, as was legislated years ago, before BU$H stripped away all protocols and proceedures in military procurement...
Haliburton should also be banned from such competition for government contracts for a period of 25-50 years - for defrauding the government in Iraq. If you have a company whose main focus is government service, and you aren't serving the government what you said you would, you should be banned from providing such services for an extended period of time...
(01-15-2009 09:42 AM)bitcruncher Wrote: [ -> ]I don't think shutting down Haliburton is the answer. But I don't think giving them no bid contracts, especially after it has been proven that they are charging exhorbitant fees for services not being rendered, is the way to go either. Haliburton should have to compete for the right to serve the government, as was legislated years ago, before BU$H stripped away all protocols and proceedures in military procurement...
Wrong. Bush didn't strip anything away. All he did was extend a no-bid contract that was initiated under the Clinton Administration.
I don't understand you Bush haters. Were we supposed to have some year-long bidding war while our troops were on the ground? I thought you were some super duper Rambo on steroids during Vietnam, would you have waited for supplies(C Rats, ammunition, etc.) just so it was fair back in the states?
(01-15-2009 08:33 AM)Rebel Wrote: [ -> ] (01-15-2009 03:36 AM)RobertN Wrote: [ -> ]Well, judging from the first paragraph, it might be Halliburton.
Yeah, shut down Halliburton.
.....and put thousands upon thousands of people on the streets in what your Messiah calls "the worst economy since the Great Depression".
That's the problem with you libs, you hate the employer, but love jobs. How do you resolve the two? Think about it, when you see people leaving the Ford, Chevy, or Chrysler plant, are they wearing Ford hats? Chevy? Chances are, no. They're wearing UAW No XXX hats. Nice loyalty there.
The problem is you must have balance. You can't let the employers run wild. We've been here before in the 1890-1920's. It works better more people have a real shot at the american dream.
(01-15-2009 10:05 AM)firmbizzle Wrote: [ -> ]The problem is you must have balance. You can't let the employers run wild. We've been here before in the 1890-1920's. It works better more people have a real shot at the american dream.
Sorry, those jobs belong to the employer, not the employee. Unions have outlived their purpose.
Blah Blah did ddity blah balhdity
and deductions after deductions. I've had my own reality company for about a year. I was able to deduct so many things off my taxes last year because I (took a loss on paper). It more than paid off for it. Get over yourself and get a clue. Tax shelters,,, bought landscaping rock for one condo and the leftovers went around my garden. Hell, the guy who showed me the ropes on small business is the biggest scamming GOP booster around. He runs thoose turn key 25 c candy deals at bars and restaurants. Major major tax loophole. He says he gives a dollar a month per machine to some lost kids benefit. Pockets the rest. Claims a loss.
Why were you taking deductions? You are free to give your hard earned money to the government. Why do you want everyone else to pay but you are taking deductions?
(01-15-2009 10:25 AM)Machiavelli Wrote: [ -> ]Blah Blah did ddity blah balhdity
and deductions after deductions. I've had my own reality company for about a year. I was able to deduct so many things off my taxes last year because I (took a loss on paper). It more than paid off for it. Get over yourself and get a clue. Tax shelters,,, bought landscaping rock for one condo and the leftovers went around my garden. Hell, the guy who showed me the ropes on small business is the biggest scamming GOP booster around. He runs thoose turn key 25 c candy deals at bars and restaurants. Major major tax loophole. He says he gives a dollar a month per machine to some lost kids benefit. Pockets the rest. Claims a loss.
If there is a way to avoid paying taxes, a Republican will find it. Rebel knows. Real Americans, ha.
(01-15-2009 09:52 AM)Rebel Wrote: [ -> ] (01-15-2009 09:42 AM)bitcruncher Wrote: [ -> ]I don't think shutting down Haliburton is the answer. But I don't think giving them no bid contracts, especially after it has been proven that they are charging exhorbitant fees for services not being rendered, is the way to go either. Haliburton should have to compete for the right to serve the government, as was legislated years ago, before BU$H stripped away all protocols and proceedures in military procurement...
Wrong. Bush didn't strip anything away. All he did was extend a no-bid contract that was initiated under the Clinton Administration.
I don't understand you Bush haters. Were we supposed to have some year-long bidding war while our troops were on the ground? I thought you were some super duper Rambo on steroids during Vietnam, would you have waited for supplies(C Rats, ammunition, etc.) just so it was fair back in the states?
I'm not a Bush hater...I'm a government hater.
The solution is NOT to wait until a war to decide this stuff. No bid contracts are unnecessary if those in power have some forethought.
These contracts are simply monopolistic...In this case...a coercive government created monopoly. Haliburton may well be the best company to supply these needs..but..If it gains a monopoly, it should be because of its superiority in the marketplace(market monopoly) not a coercive govt. monopoly.
(01-15-2009 10:31 AM)cb4029 Wrote: [ -> ] (01-15-2009 10:25 AM)Machiavelli Wrote: [ -> ]Blah Blah did ddity blah balhdity
and deductions after deductions. I've had my own reality company for about a year. I was able to deduct so many things off my taxes last year because I (took a loss on paper). It more than paid off for it. Get over yourself and get a clue. Tax shelters,,, bought landscaping rock for one condo and the leftovers went around my garden. Hell, the guy who showed me the ropes on small business is the biggest scamming GOP booster around. He runs thoose turn key 25 c candy deals at bars and restaurants. Major major tax loophole. He says he gives a dollar a month per machine to some lost kids benefit. Pockets the rest. Claims a loss.
If there is a way to avoid paying taxes, a Republican will find it. Rebel knows. Real Americans, ha.
Nice! He just posted about how he avoided taxes and you turn it into a republican thing.
I think the decision to give the whole contract to Halliburton was a dumb one for several reasons, but I also think the criticism needs to be realistic.
Based on my experience with government contracting, I would say that Halliburton's performance in Iraq appears to be pretty close to typical in those situations. I'll probably get tarred and feathered for saying this next bit, but it's true. Halliburton has probably come far closer to providing value for money received than the majority of the minority subcontractors that I've worked with on government projects, many of whom seem to have been organized for no purpose other than grabbing minority set-asides, with no expectation of actually having to do any work in return. That's not intended to be racist, and I apologize if that seems overly cynical, but there are a lot people out there gaming the system, and it has been set up to facilitate that particular game.
Most of the "fraud" that Halliburton has been accused of looks to me like situations where they made a decision on the spot, and then someone came along later with 18 months to reflect, and no time pressure, and said, "hey, you could have done it cheaper this way." Some of those have been dropped when the facts came out (but the dropping never gets as much publicity as the accusation), and some of those Halliburton has settled because it was cheaper and easier to settle than fight. I'm guessing they were shrewd enough to realize going in that they would have a target painted on there back, and to build into their pricing some cushion for the kinds of second guesses that have arisen. When you're making time-pressure decisions to save lives, any bean counter worth his salt can come along later and indentify beaucoup de ways that you could have done it cheaper.
It's sort of analogous to what I see as the very worst aspect of any "limited" warfare situation. We take a 19-year old kid and stick him (or possibly her) on the streets of Baghdad with a rifle, surrounded by thousands of people, some of whom are bad guys and some of whom are good guys, with no way to tell them apart. If there is an incident, he has a split second to react, and no time to sort things out before then. If he doesn't shoot, and it's a bad guy, he's dead. If he does shoot, we convene an 18-month investigation to figure out whether he might have shot a good guy by mistake, and if it turns out he did then we prosecute him--when all that the investigation really concludes is that if the soldier had 18 months to make his decision, instead on 18 nanoseconds, he wouldn't have shot either. If our leaders are going to put the youth of America into harm's way, they'd better have the cojones to back them up, something this group of draft dodgers (Cheney, Rummy, Shrub) has sorely lacked. You fight wars to win wars. When you try to fight them to cater to public opinion, you lose both the war and the public opinion. Fortunately, the surge may have come in time to reclaim what we were losing on the battlefield, but the public opinion war is long lost in this case.
So what should have been done about the Halliburton deal? There are maybe four companies with the capacity to have handled this--Halliburton (the democrats' favorite company for deals like this before Cheney), Bechtel (historically the republicans' favorite company), Fluor, and Schlumberger. The idea that anybody could ramp up and do this ignores the implication that it's okay to get more soldiers killed while they are ramping up. Split Iraq into its three parts--Shia, Sunni, and Kurd. Give one of the four overall lead responsibility (probably Halliburton), and split the three areas up amongst the other three. On balance it would probably have cost the taxpayers slightly more, and there would probably have been situations where goods and/or services would have been delivered slightly less efficiently, but the political cost would have been far lower. That's a very difficult tradeoff to make, particularly knowing that "less efficeient delivery" is a euphemism for "a few more soldiers get killed," but we live in a world where that is unfortunately the way things probably have to go. As I've discussed on prior posts, there could have been a huge political payoff from letting Schlumberger take the Kurd area, as that could have paved the way for an independent Kurdistan. I do agree with Joe Biden--Iraq needs to be split into three countries.
.
I will say it again and again ....
At the time needed, Halliburton was the ONLY company of Proper Size and Scope to go in and do "What Was Necessary" in the short time frame they had to get the ball rolling.
Like Reb said, what Soldier wants to be killed because Communications Lines, Supply Lines, all forms of Damaged Infrastructure go untouched ???
The "Combat Military Components" are only set up to handle so much Infrastructure issues and then it has been stretched beyond it's safe capabilities (Army Engineers) ...
So, Potable Civilian Water Services, All Public Utilities, Oil Field Issues that are Dynamically Micro-Management Long Term Issues, Road/Bridge Construction, Repair, and Maintenance, are all off the grid for Combat Troops MOS abilities.
I surely wouldn't want to be that kind of silly martyr so some 'Fringe Group' could be satisfied "Dick Cheney's Former Company" didn't get any Contracts.
We aren't talking Miles of Highway or Miles of Pipeline here - - we are talking MILES of BODIES if the kinds of jobs only Halliburton could have done on such short deployment were left for naught.
And please don't insult by throwing out names like Brown & Root and such ... it simply does not fly ...
.
Our system of taxation is fundamentally flawed, archaic, and counterproductive. It's like that house that was being built by the person who thought as long as she was building she would stay alive. I think it was a Winchester heir. Rooms without doors. Staircases without floors. Lobbyist who specifically pump money into a political pac for a specific insertion of a specific loophole. It's either into Team Red or Team Blue or the real good ones grease both. Pharma, Energy etc.....
I'll never forget that hotel who bought a coal processing plant. Sprayed a resin on the coal (either a pine tar or diesel fuel comes to mind)changed it's chemical formula. Sold that same coal under a HUGE tax break. They made millions.
We need to look to Europe and their tax code. Bring in Owl's VAT... tax the SHITE out of hydrocarbons. You watch where we go.
A part of me still can't believe Blago is being impeached for pay to play. He's guilty of being caught on tape. Hell I just thought it was SOP. You want the seat. 2 million here. Bada Bing Bada Boom.