Thanks for mentioning the article Karen but actually the credit goes to my sister!  She sent it to me as an email and I figured many people would relate so I published it.  Thanks again for the mention!

I think the other side needs to be heard also...the rest of the story, so to speak.  Here is a copy of a letter a business owner friend sent to me.  It had been forwarded to and from many other business owners.  If you are not aware, small business in the United States; our country, employes over 70% of our labor force.  The general response from all of these business owners echoed this letter.  It bears your attention.

Subject: Letter Worth Reading

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:

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.

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

Haha, that post from Charlie says it ALL. I couldn't agree more- from a "been there, still doing that" perspective by the way. I have yet to hire anyone, but we're getting there.

That was a great letter.  I own a business and employ 12 people.  I feel the same way.  I pay taxes on EVERYTHING.  I have crazy regulations that drive the cost of business up.  I have employees who work but don't care beyond what 's in it for them. This was  great letter.

the post from charlie says it all

people need to read it and start thinking of ways to keep there job safe

and start careing for there job with there co

How unfortunate that "Your boss" equates anyone who is not a business owner with the welfare mother or the disaffected worker or the poor (I'm not sure that being poor is a choice in every instance, are you?).  This is a compelling take on our current economy, and I'm interested in knowing what the business community has to say about how we might improve it.  But blaming everybody in the middle for having to pay taxes is akin to calling all business owners thieves and liars.  I've worked for a couple guys who were just that -- never hired additional employees, gave promotions or raises, even when promised.  Do I believe everyone with the dream of owning their own operation is that kind of person?  No.  You'll be happy to know our family hasn't lived beyond its means nor asked for help of any kind.  Our sons are workers your company would be proud to have.  My husband and I frequently sit on committees convened to provide input to help our companies work more cost-efficiently.  All too often, and for all our good intentions, we hear the threat that the business will pull up stakes and go overseas.  Employees pay taxes, too.  We also consume the goods and services businesses produce.  And our salaries no longer keep pace with those in the front office...yet personnel costs are frequently sited as the primary expense to a company's bottom line, and in a tone that suggests that workers are nothing but a thorn in the economy's backside.  Whaddya say that we all recognize we have something to contribute to this nation's prosperity and work together to pull our national finances out of the abyss so you can get some tax relief and we can start seeing some progress in our personal budgets?

Our great country has an economic engine that IS small to mid sized businesses. I could not agree more with the letter from that business owner. However, NOW is the time for leadership from these people who drive American commerce. We cannot look to the Obama administration or any government figure and presume that they know WHAT to do and HOW to do it for the times. There is every opportunity in a democracy to speak out and act out and lead -- there was even a Boston Tea Party type protest this week. The concept of passive democracy does not work. The business owner doesn't need to retire to another country, no, instead, be a leader, he needs to get out there and make things happen as he has for the last 30 years for his business and employees. Now is the time for leadership by ALL Americans, not just our elected officials. Our local congressmen and senators will be forced to listen to a group of 20 or 30 vocal small business owners if they worked together and brought in the strength of their companies and voice of the employees. Don't retire to the Bahamas, call your fellow business owners and make a statement for what small business needs.

(Also, Detroit's big 3 are nothing without the thousands of small suppliers, systems integrators, and distributors that feed the machine. For that reason, I believe a bail out of Detroit IS a helping hand to these smaller companies. That is no excuse for these car makers to keep business as usual -- it's time for radical change in Detroit.

The same can be said for other industries and markets. Our dependence on cheap Asian labor markets was a mistake while our own backyard was filled with low cost labor in low wage states. Government could have created more incentives to stimulate manufacturing and service jobs in this country (not protectionism) but industry stimunlation.

Look up Boston Tea Party protest, act locally, be a leader.

Wah, wah, wah.  We all have problems.  Just because YOU decided to own your own business and you don't like the taxes you have to pay or the hours you choose to put into your business doesn't give you the right to be a bad boss.  Employees aren't your slaves, they are a valuable resource, and unless YOU choose to treat them as such, expect to have employees with no loyalty and a lot of resentment.

Many of your employees made good choices too, and they are placed in the same bailout boat of those who made bad choices.  And just because your employees don't own their own business doesn't mean they are worthless or unproductive...and remember, your business wouldn't run without them.

Life is about choices, choose not to be a d***head boss.

A,

People like you are why I am glad to have liquidated my business and retire (with 99% of my retirement income free of federal income tax).

Good help is just so hard to find these days--your irrational rant is ample proof.

Man, I wish the libertaran party would get some new material.  I've seen Charlie's letter dozens of times over the last few years without even tyring to find it.  I thought it was a self-indulgent pice of whining then, and I still do.  The kind of statement that pushed people into voting for Obama because it shows all signs that you (business owners) think nothing of them (labour).  Why should labour by any less indifferent to management then they are perceived?

As has been said to us for many years: "life isn't fair.  Live with it."  Being in charge comes with costs.

Oh, and on a personal note, the "you work hard" thing loses credibility when your post is a copy / paste from some other blog.  I appriciate libertarian arguements, but have lost a lot of respect for a party of "free thinkers" that just seem to parrot each oter.