This is an actual letter that was recently sent from a Latin-American business owner of a tobacco company to all his employees.  It's a good and sobering read:

To All My Treasured Employees,

There has been talk around the office and comments from a questionnaire that we sent out to all of you about the future of our company and about your jobs. As you well know, the economy is getting worse and thanks to your new President signing off on Schip it will present even more challenges. However, the good news is this: The economy doesn't pose a threat to your job. What does pose a threat to your job however, is the changing landscape in this country which is starting to mirror socialist countries in the European Union.
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 cast employers against employees, you have to understand that for every business owner there is a back-story. This back-story is so often neglected and overshadowed by what you see and hear. Sure, you see me park my Mercedes outside. You have even seen my home at our many get together's. I am sure all these flashy icons of luxury conjure up some idealized thoughts about my life.  However, what you don't see is the true back-story.

I started this company some 15 years ago. At that time I lived in a 1,000 square foot home in which my entire living room and small garage were converted into an office and a packaging room 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 and the free food my dear wife would bring home after a hard night waitressing to help us make a living. Also my second job was a big help. I gotta tell you the 18 hour days were tough. The little sleep I got was a luxury. We drove an old Nissan and Toyota Corolla that had a real bad window and a defective transmission. We didn't have many date nights. Often times I stayed in on weekends and of course worked even more! While my friends went out drinking and partying. In fact I was not only married to J_____- but also to my business--hard work, tireless hours, little sleep, discipline and a whole lot of sacrifice and pressure.

Meanwhile my friends got their jobs. They worked 40 hours a week, versus my 90 to 100 hours a week.They made a modest income and spent every dime they earned. They drove nice cars and lived in nice homes and wore fancy clothes. Instead of hitting Nordstrom's for the latest fashion items. I was trolling through Marshalls extracting any clothing item that didn't look like it was birthed in the 70's. My friends refinanced their mortgages and lived a real good life. I, however, did not. I put in my time, my money and my complete life into a business that eventually, I hoped would allow me to afford these luxuries my friends supposedly had. So while some of you physically arrive at the office at 8 am, mentally check in at noon then leave at 6 PM sharp .I don't. You see there is no "off" button for me. When some of you leave the office,you are done and many of you have the weekend all to yourselves. I unfortunately do not have that freedom. I eat and breathe this company every minute on the day. There is still not much rest. There are really no weekends There is no happy hour. You see every day this business is attached to my hip like a special-needs child. You, of course, only see the fruits of that garden- the nice house, the Mercedes, the vacation. You never realize the true back-story and the deep sacrifices that I have made.

Now, the economy is falling apart and I am getting whacked by huge taxes.  My biggest competition is now the United States Government. And I, the person that made all of the right decisions and saved all of his pennies, now has to bailout all of the people who didn't. The people that overspent their paychecks suddenly feel entitled to the very same luxuries that I EARNED and SACRIFICED over a decade of my life for.

Yes, business ownership has its benefits, but the price I've paid is very steep and not without wounds.  Unfortunately, the cost of running this business, and employing you, is starting to eclipse the threshold of the marginal benefit and let me explain to you why:

I am being taxed to death and the government thinks I don't pay enough. I have State taxes, Federal Taxes, outrageous Tobacco taxes, A.T.F. taxes, Property taxes, Payroll taxes, Workers compensation taxes, Unemployment taxes and Taxes on taxes. I even have to hire a Tax attorney and accounting firm to manage all of 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 occupies most of my time. This past month I wrote a check for over a quarter of a million dollars for quarterly taxes. Basically most of my profits went  to the federal government. You know what my stimulus check was? of course Zero, Nada, Zilch.
The question I have is this: Who is stimulating the economy? Me, the person who has provided over 3,000 people good paying jobs and serves thousands more with a flourishing business? Or the single mother sitting at home pregnant with her fifth kid out of wedlock waiting for her next welfare check. The very same check that her mother and grandmother have been receiving for years. Obviously this new government and so called President feels the latter is the economic stimulus of this country. So I guess that I am the 5% that this m*o*o*n said are the only ones that are supposedly going to be getting another tax increase!

The fact is if I deducted (Stole) 50% of your paycheck, you would quit and you wouldn't work here. I mean why would 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 truly stimulate our economy you need to stimulate what runs our economy. Had suddenly the government mandated to me that I didn't need to pay taxes, guess what? Instead of depositing that $250,000 into the Washington black hole and trusting Obama with my hard earned money in which he has never ever run or had a business in his life, hence his stupid socialist idea of a stimulus package that will never work. Folks I would have spent the $250,000, hired more employees, expanded my business and would have generated economic growth. My employees would have enjoyed the wealth of that tax cut in the form of promotions and better salaries. We would truly stimulate this economy. 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 and think 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 can be further from the truth and this is the type of change you can keep.
So where is Nick going with all of this?  It's quite simple.

If any more 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 your rent, 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 it 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 left winged political hurricane that swept through this country, steam rolled the constitution and unfortunately will have changed its landscape forever. If that happens you can find me on a beach, retired, and with no employees to worry about.

Sincerely,
Nick
Nick XXXXXXXX, President
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www.xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx.com

PS. The original letter shows  the contact information, but I have x'd it out to protect his privacy.