Harry Styron - The Styron Observer & Commercial Appeal

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Need constitutional help? Who ya gonna call?

The United States Constitution is important as the statement of principles that restrain the things that the government can do.

While we think of the Constitution as the document granting basic rights—to keep and bear arms and to express ourselves—the Constitution, primarily the Bill of Rights and the Fourteenth Amendment, functions by restraining the government from taking our property without due process, from quartering soldiers in our homes, from punishing us for conduct that was legal when we did it, and from unreasonable searches and seizures, among other things.

Constitutional protections are implemented through procedures followed by courts. Associate circuit courts in Missouri are where persons accused of crimes are arraigned, which means that the government has to formally charge them with specific crimes, rather than simply holding them. Reasonable bail is set by judges, with the accused having a right to counsel.

Creditors are restrained from taking the property of defaulting debtors until the creditors obtain judgments. Property given by the debtor as collateral for a loan is not covered by the constitutional restriction against pre-judgment attachment.

The constitutional consultant and counselor who posted this sign on a door on Main Street in Golden City, Missouri, probably didn’t get the result he or she hoped for from the associate circuit court, but I think that it’s very significant that most of us feel confident that the procedure that the court followed was consistent with the United States Constitution.

Letter from the Boss Deconstructed

by Harry Styron

You may have found the popular “Letter from the Boss,” forwarded to you, probably by email. I received it again from somebody who I respect and who rarely sends me anything, so I read it.

I’ve posted it here, first as it came to me, and then with my comments. My comments aren’t based on any political point of view, but my analysis of the letter as an argument. I recently wrote a letter to some of my employees in which I expressed some of the same emotions as the Boss, after yet another lonely weekend at the office. I was feeling sorry for myself.

The letter is the Boss’s explanation of why he is willing to shut down his company if one new tax is imposed on him or his company.

The Boss, accusing others of “spewing rhetoric,” uses lots of it himself and makes several basic errors in logic. His favorite error is posing things as black and white, as though there were no alternatives. In logic, this is known as “false dilemma,” which I’ll point out with a big FD.

The argument of the letter also assumes that the employees have no other choices than to work with the Boss and that the Boss’s history and the situation of his Company are common to such a degree that policies that are good for the Boss are good for the country.

Here’s the letter, without my commentary, followed by one with my commentary.

To All My Valued Employees

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.

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.

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; and 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

Here it is, with my comments in red:

To All My Valued (we’ll see) Employees

There have been 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. (It must be nice to have a job in an industry not threatened by a worsening economy. I want to buy some stock in that company or at least work there.) What does threaten your job however, is the changing political landscape in this country. (“Changing political landscape” must refer to a majority of voters expressing themselves in a way that the Boss doesn’t like.) However, let me tell you some little tidbits of fact (watch for these, they’re scarce) which might help you decide what is in your best interests (which means “stop Congress now”).

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 (The Boss is apparently suggesting that if the employees knew his back story, they would understand why he’s on the verge of firing them all to retire to the beach, rather than ride out the storm with them.) 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 (or the Boss wouldn’t have had the Christmas party there).

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. (You, the future employee, apparently weren’t paying your dues while the Boss was paying his, but destiny brought you together, as though you had no other choices.)

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. (What does his friends’ behavior have to do with why he is considering shutting down the company? This paragraph contrasting his spartan life with that of his “friends” is a paper tiger. Perhaps this is a veiled description of how the Boss thinks his employees were behaving. )

So, while you physically arrive at the office at 9 am, mentally check in at about noon, and then leave at 5 pm, I don’t (FD). 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 (There is no weekend, but there are vacations.)… You never realize the back story and the sacrifices I’ve made (or at least you never tell the Boss how much his story moves you).

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. (FD. The Boss thinks there are two kinds of people: those who made all the right decisions and those who didn’t. No wonder he feels so alone, since very few people made all the right decisions.) The people that overspent their paychecks suddenly feel entitled to the same luxuries that I earned and sacrificed a decade of my life for. (FD. Where is the “tidbit of fact” that substantiates that people who overspent feel entitled to the luxuries deserved by those who made all the right decisions and saved their money?)

Yes, business ownership has is benefits but the price I’ve paid is steep and not without its 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 (but didn’t he say that that costs were just starting to eclipse the marginal benefit?) 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; and taxes on taxes (some of these are all or partially passed through to others, so this is another FD). I have to hire a tax man to manage all these taxes and then guess what? I have to pay taxes for employing him (I get to deduct my payroll and what I pay my tax advisor; no wonder the Boss is annoyed). Government mandates and regulations and all the accounting that goes with it, now occupy most of my time (Maybe he hired the wrong tax guy). 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. (I’m an employer and I got one, just as all the incumbents wanted, because it was an election year.)

The question I have is this: Who is stimulating the economy? (Big FD is coming). 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. (It may be obvious to the Boss what the “government feels,” but the Boss has already indicated that he would have likely saved his stimulus check, while everybody else would have spent theirs, which was the stated objective of the stimulus.)

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 (and who gets to decide how much 100% is) ? Well, I agree (with whom, yourself?) 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? (If the Boss is talking about the corporate income tax, he’s got a point. If he’s talking about payroll taxes, he doesn’t.) Instead of depositing that $288,000 into the Washington black-hole (as though he got nothing at all for his taxes, even a system of laws that allows him to enforce contracts and a relatively stable government), 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 (and the employees, not the Boss, would have to pay all the taxes). But you can forget it now (As though it were ever going to happen).

When you have a comatose man on the verge of death (Big FD here. The Boss seems to be saying that our choice is life or death, which is the ultimate FD, when the business is made of many components, not all of which are failing—there is not just one beating heart in a company), you don’t defibrillate and shock his thumb thinking that will bring him back to life, do you (I hope you didn’t fall for this FD)? 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 (Is he saying a marginal increase in tax rates on the Boss will do nothing less than kill his business, while a tax reduction for his employees will have no stimulus effect? So tax relief for the boss is good for the economy, but is bad for the economy if the employees get it).

Suddenly, the power brokers in Washington believe the poor of America are the essential drivers of the American economic engine (Did somebody other than the Boss say this? The bailout, so far, has been aimed at propping up the banking system and credit markets. The bailout legislation and the stimulus legislation are two different things, but you wouldn’t know it from reading the Boss’s letter; the stimulus package has subsidies for employers and employees, rich and poor ). Nothing could be further from the truth (FD) and this is the type of change you can keep.

So where am I going with all this?

It’s quite simple (of course it isn’t).

If any new taxes (FD) 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 (The Boss will abandon his valued employees, and the government will have made him do it. But they will eventually find a nicer Boss.)

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 (FD). My motivation to work and to provide jobs will be destroyed, and with it, will be my citizenship (If he has a good business, it’s a safe bet that somebody will replace it and recognize the value of some of his employees.)

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 (not the party in power for the past eight years, as I heard Joe Scarborough just say on “Meet the Press”), steamrolled the constitution (which provision?), 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….(How about you sell the company to me? Without your salary, we might be able to get by.)

Signed,
Your boss