An email doing the rounds right now:
Date: Sat, 03 Jan 2009
>
> 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 Subaru Outback outside.
> You've seen my big home at last year's Christmas party. I'm sure all
> these flashy icons of luxury conjure up some idealised 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 2
> bedroom flat for 3 years. My entire living area 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 baked beans, stew and soup because every dollar I
> spent went back into this company. I drove a rusty Toyota Corolla with a
> wonky transmission. I didn't have time to go out with women. 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 $50,000 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 David Jones 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 Subaru, the
> vacations... you never realise 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 pay 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. Unemployment taxes. Taxes on taxes.
> I have to hire a accountant 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 cheque to the Australian tax Office for
> $288,000 for quarterly taxes. You know what my "stimulus" cheque was?
> Zero. Zip. 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 cheque? Obviously, government feels the latter is the economic
> stimulus of this country.
>
> The fact is, if I deducted (Read: Stole) 50% of your pay 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 the government suddenly
> mandated to me that I didn't need to pay taxes, guess what? Instead of
> depositing that $288,000 into the Canberra 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 Australia and always has been. To restart it, you must
> stimulate it, not kill it. But the power brokers in Canberra believe the
> poor of Australia are the essential drivers of the Australian 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 4WD 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 penalises 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 politicians that swept through this country
> changed its financial landscape forever. If that happens, you can find
> me sitting on a beach, retired, and with no employees to worry about....
> Signed,
>
I have left off the remainder since I can't verify the writer as given.