In the last week, Perlmutter received 3 tweets urging him to vote yes on the bill. In contrast he received 144 tweets demanding a no vote. Of course, several Twitter users, (myself included) sent him multiple tweets. After a final filtering of the data I found that 3 Twitter users are for the current bill and 68 are against it.

So There you have it Ed, 4.4% support you and only 95.6% are against you. I recommend you polish your resume!

In response to your question, “How do we reform Washington to deliver results to the American people?” I have the following thoughts.

Thank goodness for “partisan gridlock”; without it I shudder to think how much this congress would have spent. We don’t need to freeze spending at the higher levels you and President Obama have instituted, we need to SLASH spending. The historically unprecedented deficit and debt are a more serious threat to our nation than any foreign government or terrorist organization.

We need to end the thinking that “government solves problems for Americans.” Nowhere in the Constitution does it say the Governments job is to babysit citizens. The thinking that Americans need government to provide, jobs, health care, and happiness is flawed. Companies provide jobs when government gets out of the way and quits trying to control the economy. Health care is not a right; no one has a right to the labor or money of another person. Americans are the most self reliant and productive workforce in the world, quit treating us like children who cannot take care of themselves. Get out of the way and watch us grow.

Finally, quit governing to the lesser citizens. By this I mean we need to govern with the ideas in mind of how do we help the producers in our nation produce even more, hire more, innovate more. Instead our government keeps wanting to subsidize the net consumers in our populace. By subsidizing unemployment, “free” healthcare, and non-production we get increased government expenditures with no return. Oh you might get a return at the ballot box with people perfectly happy to be a dependent of the State but our Nation is made weak. No matter how much we spend subsidizing citizens who consume more than they produce, we cannot make America prosperous. However, by getting out of the way of producers and innovators we can make America strong as our history has proven.

Thank you for your time and I look forward to assisting you in reforming Washington to a “hands-off” model. Best Regards, Allyen E. Wilson III Lakewood, CO

I get uneasy being half a world away. I know it is only 20 hours, but it is half of a planet! I will miss the things that I have done every day for ten years. Repetition has not quelled the simple satisfaction of being an active parent. I will miss being there when they get home from school to get them a snack, hear about the day, and get them started on their music practice.

So, my excitement at traveling around our planet is tempered by the seperation from my kids. I hope I can come home with wonderous stories, pictures, and memories to delight their imagination and enrich them just a little, making the trip beneficial to all of us.

Lookout Dubai! One dad is on his way to collect precious memories.

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 Cadillac 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 Cadillac, 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

Fence on Cape Cod Beach

Beautiful beach on Cape Cod. My first trip to the north east outside of the city. The water was cold but great to splash around in with the kids. I hope to return to the beautiful east soon.