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Sarah Palin
I see the campaign staffers are attempting to throw Sarah under the bus because they feel the need to blame someone for the defeat. The fact is Obama began his presidential campaign two years ago and Sarah was thrust onto the national stage and only had a couple months to make her case. I don't blame her for feeling insulted by the condesention from the media elites as well as the internal campaign elites. When I watched her interviews with Gibson and Couric, I didn't see a deer in the headlights, I saw a woman who was disturbed by the interviewers' condesending attitudes lining them up in the cross hairs of the scope on her moose rifle. Given the short amount of time she had and a 100 mile an hour press winds against her, she did a wonderful job. I do hope that she tries for President in 2012.
I joined Sarah Palin's "Team Sarah" Ning site awhile back and didn't get too involved there since I have been so busy here. I am not sure what the numbers were when I joined, but I just went to it and it is now over 46,221 !!!! Wow!
****Update 11/8 That number is now over 53,468 members!
That is 7,247 new members in less then 2 days due to one of the Team Sarah Co-Founder Marjorie Dannenfelser appearing on the Bill O'Reilly Show with host Laura Ingraham in the evening of 11/7 to discuss the post-election attacks on Sarah Palin.
Updated 11/10: 55,870 members
Anyhow I found this there and wanted to share... As a small business owner myself, it greatly concerns me.
Subject: FW: Message From A Business Owner
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 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 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 12 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, shit, 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 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 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.
While tax cuts to 95% of America sounds great on paper, don't forget the backstory: 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 South Caribbean sitting on a beach, retired, and with no employees to worry about.
Signed,
Your boss
I joined Sarah Palin's "Team Sarah" Ning site awhile back and didn't get too involved there since I have been so busy here. I am not sure what the numbers were when I joined, but I just went to it and it is now over 46,221 !!!! Wow!
****Update 11/8 That number is now over 53,468 members!
That is 7,247 new members in less then 2 days due to one of the Team Sarah Co-Founder Marjorie Dannenfelser appearing on the Bill O'Reilly Show with host Laura Ingraham in the evening of 11/7 to discuss the post-election attacks on Sarah Palin.
Updated 11/10: 55,870 members
Anyhow I found this there and wanted to share... As a small business owner myself, it greatly concerns me.
Subject: FW: Message From A Business Owner
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 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 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 12 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, shit, 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 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 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.
While tax cuts to 95% of America sounds great on paper, don't forget the backstory: 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 South Caribbean sitting on a beach, retired, and with no employees to worry about.
Signed,
Your boss
Tags: sarah palin, small business owner
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by TheRetroMetro on -
Yeah. She's the butt of many jokes, but my nieces ADORE her. She's a beautiful woman and as with such, you will always have critics... She's a smart woman... and she is just as apt as the rest of us to succumb to the evils of shopping. Do I think she was politically inept? Yes. Honestly, realistically, though only because she was introduced to the game rather abruptly and LATE in the process. This does not contribute easily to trying to bring her up to date on policies, POVs agreed/disagreed upon... etc... It's like knowing you have a debate for which you are not allowed to prepare. As far as the wardrobe... meh... Even Michelle Obama had no real criticism over Sarah's "wardrobe bills" which of course are now blowing up about us now that the election fray is complete. Michelle even knows how difficult it is to maintain one's self AND do your job effectively - for women, I think this is all part of your image. We have to be dressed to the nines, pop out the babies and take care of them and perform our jobs BETTER than the men... still for less pay. Again... if it were a man... *insert accusation here* . I don't need to bother explaining the fact that she IS doing all this AND her best to be a good mom. I may not agree with her stance on abortion, but I do know how hard it is to balance it all... (being the perfect mom that I am! *sarcasm * snort*). I'm not nearly as concerned about Sarah as I am for Joe W, post election..
That being said, if the man who wrote this letter can afford to retire to the South Caribbean, knowing how costly a home (not apartment; not shanty) is in the area and that payment is expected up front, I do not feel sorry for him. Especially since he can afford to drop $288, 000 in quarterly taxes. Heck.. Let him go. I want to work with someone who will not throw a temper tantrum over a 3% tax hike (according to this article mid Oct: http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/hotstories/6062246.html) for that economic level which has to be WELL above $250,000 annual amount to be dropping $288,000 quarterly.
THOUGHT: As small business owners, how many other small business owners do you know who can drop a $288,000 check to the IRS for quarterly taxes? If I had that much money that they would let me keep.. I would have FIRST invested it back into the company. What's left I'd have spent generating substantial economic growth... locally of course, because it's good to do so... to show your support for your local colleges, high schools and other writeoffs. On the other hand.. he could be talking about it being spent on wine, fast cars and women (outside of the wife if he has one)... There is also a Lifetime gift tax that can explain the 288,000 tax he was discussing. Note: there's no income tax on gifts but there is a gift tax which is imposed on the donor. Most of us don't worry about this though because we don't make enough or give away enough to exceed annual exclusions per person gifted. Additionally there is interplay between gift tax and estate tax. This can help if your estate is $2,000,00 and will graduate by $45,000 for amounts over that. "Gifts" can offset estate bills like that. The person plunking that much money down for quarterly taxes...again... I don't know anyone personally who can do that..who qualifies as middle class...or a small business owner... Although I do admit authors can qualify as small business owners...in the sense that that could just be a small part of their overall empire. IE: Stephen King, yes, even McCain...and Obama... *shrug*
The author of this letter talks about self sacrifice initially... and ends with punishing the so-called employees who work for him by moving somewhere only he can afford... for someone who is/was as hardworking as he says...why is he willing to say eff it/screw you to the "valued" employees... I think that before long, we will find this note on snopes... I've looked for the origin of this letter and I find it odd that I can not only find it here.. but also at the list below:
Here: http://www.trapshooters.com/cfpages/thread.cfm?threadid=170060&...
Here: http://messages.finance.yahoo.com/Stocks_(A_to_Z)/Stocks_A/threadview?m=tm&bn=2&tid=122658&mid=122658&tof=6&frt=2
I need to see origin, before I give anything like this credence. I would not back this without proof that this person was who he says he is. Since he allegedly owns his own company, there would be no backlash from employers if he/she owned up to the letter. If I wrote something, and I were doing it for McCain/Palin I would be proud of it being passed along to strengthen support for them. I would also be sure that my numbers were accurate as possible and not inflated in order to not bring them shame.
Additional Sources:
http://www.parade.com/news/intelligence-report/archive/how-much-wou...
http://www.payscale.com/research/US/Job=Plumber/Hourly_Rate
http://www.factcheck.org/
http://snopes.com/
https://www.ask-dcp.ct.gov/lookup/default.asp (to check licensure)
http://www.dgmcpa.com/print/print.asp?ArticleID=58 (This is the only place where I see someone plopping down $288,000 - Gift tax info. It's not exactly the same thing but I still think the author of this letter intended to mislead and misdirect information)
http://turbotax.intuit.com/tax-tools/the_gift_tax_turbotax/article (TurboTax)
http://www.fairmark.com/begin/gifts.htm (Tax Rules for Gifts)
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Permalink Reply by TheGratefulNed on -
My thought in reading this was similar. I don't know how paying more than a quarter million in quarterly taxes would make you think you still qualify as a "small business." Even if that $288,000 quarterly was also going to state/local taxes and not all to the "US Treasury" as is claimed...that's still a far cry from actual small businesses that aren't even making $288k/yr let alone paying it per quarter.
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Permalink Reply by TheRetroMetro on
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Yeah.. but being here at Geeks... I'm realizing I need to start making my points with one or two sentences.
I've run the numbers on my projections. My patterns will do well... but won't be nearly as profitable as all that...like... $288,000 quarterly. Plus since I've learned about the Gift tax vs estate taxes, I know what will be allowed to decrease future tax when it's my time to go so my daughter won't bear the burden. So that's a plus! That $288,000 number is from an example of a gift tax if someone cleared like.. 3 million? Who the hell makes that and still considers themselves small business. It's completely misleading.
It's been an emotional election for so many people, whether they want to admit it or not. I've heard from both sides that "they aren't thinking with anything but emotions"... but I found solid results that helped me reach my decision. I've talked to my local folks. I've reviewed past promises and researched how they stacked up (state, local, etc)...what's twisted and what's not...truthwise... I get annoyed that some folks purposely pull at emotions... and passions.. so much... and rev others to the point they are sooo gungho that they miss the finite details...
Now I better understand why my mother used to get soooo annoyed with me... "Can't you just stop thinking?!?" I was a total geek then, too.. I just played soccer! *Laugh*
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Permalink Reply by David on -
A small business is defined as having less than 500 employees. Has nothing to do with annual revenue.
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Permalink Reply by TheRetroMetro on
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This is truth to a point. It is also considered SB if you have none according to SBA. See...once again size matters...
According to SBA, depending on the industry, size standards/considerations can also depend on average annual receipts. It depends on the industry.
Example: Travel agencies... regardless of amount of employees, are considered SB up to $3.5 billion. Who knew???
I think the point I should have added, which I took for granted was understood (that we are Average, that there are few of us who know folks with that kind of capital, regardless as to company size), was that most of us do not deal with those kind of receipts.. My fault because I was working on two pieces of writing at a time. . . I know better...
We're used to seeing what we see on say.. landscaping business... Small construction...which definitely has potential to do well, because of what my father and I call the "sub" factor. By the time the write offs have happened, we can keep a little more, yes... but ...it's no where near what us "Average" folk see.
PS: I have SBA pdfs. Folks can message.... or you can get SBA stuff from http://www.sba.gov/ which is probably easier...
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Permalink Reply by SchneiderStudios on -
i love palin!
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Permalink Reply by TheRetroMetro on
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Palin is very likable, yes. My cousin lives in Alaska had nothing but praise for her. I'm sure I'll like her more when the next election rolls around. I'll definitely be watching her progress until then.
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Permalink Reply by Dizzle on -
Good Post,Yeah She Had A Gay Staff And I wanted jonmccain to win i also went to a sara palin rally here in virgina it was pretty cool and i even met her
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Permalink Reply by CoffeehouseSchmuck (Ed Webb) on -
I dont blame our loss in the election to Palin,I blame McCain.....I dont vote on a canidate based on thier policies,I vote on a canidate based on how THAT canidate supports my policies and standards..many people do the same. I voted for McCain/Palin on tuesday,but i dont like McCain,I like Palin,and thats why i voted that way.
i hope she runs and wins in 2012
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Permalink Reply by Dark_Reign on -
there are way too many of you who put together words like "cute, pretty and well dressed" when all along those words do absolutely nothing to help our country. This was a major failure of McCain's campaign. She doesn't even know the stats of her own state of Alaska. Hopefully she will just go back there and we never hear from her again. I actually liked McCain, though I didn't think he'd make a good president, but I did like him as a person. Palin only added to his failure. I agree that she's a great looking woman but what does any of that have to do with America's troubles? Is her hairstyle going to make me forget that we have to pay more taxes to cover those who can't hack it? I just think we need to really look at everything and take the "cute" out of it and really dig down deep within ourselves and hold those liable for the failure of America. I hope that Obama doesn't find any of this "cute".
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Permalink Reply by David on
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You're forgetting something... Men often think with their "other" heads. McCain could have have won by a landslide if he would have made Palin wear a bikini.
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Permalink Reply by CoffeehouseSchmuck (Ed Webb) on
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you wrote:
You're forgetting something... Men often think with their "other" heads. McCain could have have won by a landslide if he would have made Palin wear a bikini.
so what you are saying is WOMAN also would have voted for her had she been in a bikini?
would you vote for McCain or Obama had they been in a Borat Mankini?
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