Who creates jobs?

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. Of course, as your employer, I am forbidden
to tell you whom to vote for - it is against the law to discriminate
based on political affiliation, race, creed, religion, etc.

Please vote for who you think will serve your interests the best.
However, let me tell you some little tidbits of fact which might help
you decide what is in your best interest. 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 saw 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 12 years ago. At that time, I lived in a 300
square foot studio apartment for 3 years. My entire living space 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 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 9 am, mentally check
in at about noon, and then leave at 5 pm, 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 me like a 1 day old baby.

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 mud 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 anymore. 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.

While tax cuts to 95% of America sounds great on paper, don't forget
the back story: If there is no job, there is no income to tax. A tax
cut on zero dollars is zero. So, when you make decision to vote, ask
yourself, who understands the economics of business ownership and who
doesn't? Whose policies will endanger your job? Answer those
questions and you should know who might be the one capable of saving
your job. While the media wants to tell you "It's the economy Stupid"
I'm telling you it isn't.

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 in the South
Caribbean sitting on a beach, retired, and with no employees to worry
about.

Signed, Your boss,

Michael A. Crowley, PE
Crowley, Crisp & Associates, Inc.
Professional Engineers
1906 South Main Street, Suite 122
Wake Forest, NC 27587
Phone: 919.562.8860 x22
Fax: 919.562.8872

This picture depicts Service Unions.  These are people whose salaries and benefit packages are taken from tax revenues and not from for profit businesses.