I'm not telling you who to vote for or anything like that...

[fatbuckRTO]

...but if Obama is elected you're fired.





CEO to Workers: I May Fire You if Obama Wins

By Robert Frank | CNBC – 22 hours ago.


David Siegel, the owner of Westgate Resorts, sent a surprising email to his employees Monday.

It said that if President Barack Obama wins re-election and raises Siegel's taxes, he will have to lay off workers and downsize his company - or even shut it down.

"If any new taxes are levied on me, or my company, as our current President plans, I will have no choice but to reduce the size of this company," he wrote. "Rather than grow this company I will be forced to cut back. This means fewer jobs, less benefits and certainly less opportunity for everyone."


In a version of Romney's "47 percent" remarks, Siegel added that "people like me who made all the right decisions and invested in themselves are being forced 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 42 years of my life for."

The points are ones that have often been made during this election. But what makes the letter surprising is the source.

David Siegel is the man who, together with his wife, Jackie, built the largest new house in America, known as "Versailles." His story first appeared in my book, "The High-Beta Rich." It then made it to the big screen with documentary film "The Queen of Versailles."


They became symbols of outsized spending, debt and real estate in America.

But when the company started buckling under $1 billion in debt during the crisis, the Siegels' home went into foreclosure and was put up for sale. They cut back on the jet, took the kids out of private school and gave up some of their staff.

So why is David Siegel - a man who defined excess and debt in the 2000s - now saying that debt and spending are ruining the country?

I asked David during a phone interview last night, and he told me that this was about his workers, not himself. He said his own finances have vastly improved. He has paid off all of his major lenders. "I have enough money for the rest of my life and enough to leave a good inheritance for our kids." He said the loan for Versailles is paid off and he's resuming construction on the home.

"The elevators are going in and they're preparing to put in the marble."

The deal with Versailles' lenders, he went on, worked out "better than I imagined," since he was allowed to go nine months without making any interest payments on the loan. Jackie has several offers for a new reality TV show "which we're in the process of ranking and evaluating," Siegel said.

He has learned his own painful lesson from the debt crunch. "We cut back, we're lean and mean. That's what the rest of the country has to do."

Siegel said he's not acting out of self interest, but for the interest of his workers. While Westgate has never been more profitable, the company has 5,000 fewer workers than in 2007.

He said that if Obama is re-elected and imposes Obamacare and higher taxes, he may just have to let more of his remaining 7,000 workers go. He said he might even shut down the company.

"The combination of Obamacare and taxes would be a disaster," he said." I would probably just call it a day and that would be a disaster."

Siegel stressed that he wasn't out to intimidate his workers into voting for Romney. "I can't tell anyone to vote," he said. But he wants to make sure his workers made an informed choice. "I want my employees to be educated on what could happen to their future if the wrong person is elected."

Below is the full email that Siegel sent to his employees Monday. (Siegel admitted to me that he used a similar email circulating on the web as "the basis" of his own email).

Subject: Message from David Siegel

Date:Mon, 08 Oct 2012 13:58:05 -0400 (EDT)

From: [David Siegel]

To: [All employees]

To All My Valued Employees,

As most of you know our company, Westgate Resorts, has continued to succeed in spite of a very dismal economy. There is no question that the economy has changed for the worse and we have not seen any improvement over the past four years. In spite of all of the challenges we have faced, the good news is this: The economy doesn't currently pose a threat to your job. What does threaten your job however, is another 4 years of the same Presidential administration. Of course, as your employer, I can't tell you whom to vote for, and I certainly wouldn't interfere with your right to vote for whomever you choose. In fact, I encourage you to vote for whomever you think will serve your interests the best.


However, let me share a few facts that might help you decide what is in your best interest.The current administration and members of the press have perpetuated an environment that casts employers against employees. They want you to believe that we live in a class system where the rich get richer, the poor get poorer. They label us the "1%" and imply that we are somehow immune to the challenges that face our country. This could not be further from the truth. Sure, you may have heard about the big home that I'm building. I'm sure many people think that I live a privileged life. However, what you don't see or hear is the true story behind any success that I have achieved.


I started this company over 42 years ago. At that time, I lived in a very modest home. I converted my garage into an office so I could put forth 100% effort into building a company, which by the way, would eventually employ you. We didn't eat in fancy restaurants or take expensive vacations because every dollar I made went back into this company. I drove an old used car, and 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, many of my friends got regular jobs. They worked 40 hours a week and made a nice income, and they spent every dime they earned. They drove flashy cars and lived in expensive homes and wore fancy designer clothes. 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 this business --with a vision that eventually, some day, I too, will be able to afford to buy whatever I wanted. Even to this day, every dime I earn goes back into this company. Over the past four years I have had to stop building my dream house, cut back on all of my expenses, and take my kids out of private schools simply to keep this company strong and to keep you employed.


Just think about this - most of you arrive at work in the morning and leave that afternoon and the rest of your time is yours to do as you please. But not me- 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 that freedom. I eat, live, and breathe this company every minute of the day, every day of the week. There is no rest. There is no weekend. There is no happy hour. I know many of you work hard and do a great job, but I'm the one who has to sign every check, pay every expense, and make sure that this company continues to succeed. Unfortunately, what most people see is the nice house and the lavish lifestyle. What the press certainly does not want you to see, is the true story of the hard work and sacrifices I've made.

Now, the economy is falling apart and people like me who made all the right decisions and invested in themselves are being forced 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 42 years of my life for. Yes, business ownership has its benefits, but the price I've paid is steep and not without wounds. Unfortunately, the costs of running a business have gotten out of control, and let me tell you why: We are being taxed to death and the government thinks we don't pay enough. We pay state taxes, federal taxes, property taxes, sales and use taxes, payroll taxes, workers compensation taxes and unemployment taxes. I even have to hire an entire department to manage all these taxes. The question I have is this: Who is really stimulating the economy? Is it the Government that wants to take money from those who have earned it and give it to those who have not, or is it people like me who built a company out of his garage and directly employs over 7000 people and hosts over 3 million people per year with a great vacation?

Obviously, our present government believes that taking my money is the right economic stimulus for this country. The fact is, if I deducted 50 percent of your paycheck you'd quit and you wouldn't work here. I mean, why should you? Who wants to get rewarded only 50 percent of their hard work? Well, that's what happens to me.

Here is what most people don't understand and the press and our Government has chosen to ignore - to stimulate the economy you need to stimulate what runs the economy. Instead of raising my taxes and depositing that money into the Washington black-hole, let me spend it on growing the company, hire more employees, and generate substantial economic growth. My employees will enjoy the wealth of that tax cut in the form of promotions and better salaries. But that is not what our current Government wants you to believe. They want you to believe that it somehow makes sense to take more from those who create wealth and give it to those who do not, and somehow our economy will improve. They don't want you to know that the "1%", as they like to label us, pay more than 31% of all the taxes in this country. Thomas Jefferson, the author of our great Constitution, once said, "democracy" will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work and give to those who would not."

Business is at the heart of America and always has been. To restart it, you must stimulate business, not kill it. However, the power brokers in Washington believe redistributing wealth is the essential driver of the American economic engine. Nothing could be further from the truth and this is the type of change they want.

So where am I going with all this? It's quite simple. If any new taxes are levied on me, or my company, as our current President plans, I will have no choice but to reduce the size of this company. Rather than grow this company I will be forced to cut back. This means fewer jobs, less benefits and certainly less opportunity for everyone.

So, when you make your decision to vote, ask yourself, which candidate 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 protecting and saving your job. While the media wants to tell you to believe the "1 percenters" are bad, I'm telling you they are not. They create most of the jobs. If you lose your job, it won't be at the hands of the "1%"; it will be at the hands of a political hurricane that swept through this country.

You see, I can no longer support a system that penalizes the productive and gives to the unproductive. My motivation to work and to provide jobs will be destroyed, and with it, so will your opportunities. If that happens, you can find me in the Caribbean sitting on the beach, under a palm tree, retired, and with no employees to worry about.

Signed, your boss,

David Siegel

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/ceo-wo...131640914.html

[OneSickPsycho]

Well, he's at least part right... My insurance and tax burdens are set to go up almost $3k/yr... and I know my company is eating a good portion of the insurance increase (which will ultimately lead to more 'right-sizing')...

I read elsewhere that he sent a similar message out during Bush's re-election campaign...

[Homeslice]

All that email is going to do is make people more likely to jump ship. Forcing him to recruit and train brand new people. Intelligent!

Also, if demand for his business is good enough that each employee is already maxed out productivty-wise, then it makes no sense to lay anyone off just because of higher taxes.

[shmike]

I couldn't read the whole thing. Shit got too thick, too soon.

Here is a great counter-article that paints a more realistic picture of Siegel:

http://www.thedailybeast.com/article...at-so-mad.html

A second thought about David Siegel, the time-share magnate who warned his employees of job losses if Barack Obama is re-elected.


Obviously, this kind of behavior by an employer is improper. It's one thing for an employer to warn that a particular government policy is potentially injurious to a firm or industry; another to demand that employees use their franchise to protect his personal interests - in this case, his present tax rate.

Yet inside this shabby story is a nugget of insight screaming to get out.
David Siegel and his wife Jacqueline feature in the recent movie, "Queen of Versailles." The movie ends with their timeshare company on the edge of bankruptcy, their preposterous 90,000 square foot mansion unfinished and for sale, and Siegel himself defeated and humiliated.

Siegel is now attempting to a comeback. In July, he gave an interview to Reuters in which he claimed, "We're the most profitable we've ever been." He is hiring employees and claiming that his company will be debt-free in 2 1/2 years. He says he is restarting work on his monster home - although still with a view to sale.

Siegel's company is privately held, so it's not easy for outsiders to check his claims. However, it is improbable that they are true, given the still very fragile state of the time-share industry. Even if the claims are true in the sense that Siegel's company now earns a higher return on investment than before the crash, Siegel himself must be a very much poorer man than he used to be. None of this has anything to do with national presidential politics, but it does cast some light on Siegel's intense personal embitterment - and his otherwise bizarre letter.

Think of it: In his letter Siegel celebrates his own work ethic and denounces those who work only 40 hours a week. "I eat, live, and breathe this company every minute of the day, every day of the week. There is no rest. There is no weekend. There is no happy hour." Siegel obviously believes this to be a commendable attitude. Apparently he believes that America would be a better place if more of us worked without rest, more of us worked through weekend. And maybe he's right. But I'll tell you one thing about such an America: It wouldn't have any time-share magnates.

“
Imagine Walt Disney denouncing animated cartoons. Imagine Henry Ford praising the bicycle. Imagine Dave Thomas going Vegan. That's what Siegel is doing here.

” And even weirder:

Think of David Siegel's market. It's not the 1%. I doubt you'll find a single time-share buyer anywhere from Dupont Circle to Chevy Chase. He is the Wal-Mart of the vacation industry, the Hyundai, the Applebees. His top concern ought to be seeing as much disposable income as possible flowing into the hands of the $65,000 a year family. An economic future that continues to shift wealth from the middle to the top is good news for the Four Seasons hotel chain, for builders of vacation homes in Aspen, for the fractional jet industry. But it's death to time-shares - and yet there is Siegel fulminating against his very own customers.

Fairly or not, "Queen of Versailles" leaves behind an impression of David Siegel as actually not a very astute businessman. He maintains no cash reserves. He has established no trust funds to protect the wealth of his wife and children. He signs his own personal guarantee to a bank note - a violation of the Prime Directive of real-estate development, never, ever, ever give a personal guarantee. Really, he's probably best thought of as a builder rather than a developer, somebody who keeps building as long as the banks keep lending and who is caught utterly unprepared when the lending ends, as it always does.

In the end, he seems as much the plaything of circumstances as any of the hapless victims of the despised 47%.

That's a frustrating and enraging situation to find yourself in. And it's a situation in which a man begins to look around him for somebody else to blame. Isn't that why we have a president?

[fatbuckRTO]

Originally Posted by The Daily Beast

Apparently he believes that America would be a better place if more of us worked without rest, more of us worked through weekend. And maybe he's right. But I'll tell you one thing about such an America: It wouldn't have any time-share magnates.

[EpyonXero]

Thats a good point. I think it relates to a larger issue of a lot of the 1% believing that the lower classes should be greatful that geniuses such as them exist to provide them with livelihoods when in reality its the other way around.

[OneSickPsycho]

Originally Posted by EpyonXero

Thats a good point. I think it relates to a larger issue of a lot of the 1% believing that the lower classes should be greatful that geniuses such as them exist to provide them with livelihoods when in reality its the other way around.

THAT'S the problem... it's a MUTUAL relationship. You can't have a billion dollars with no workers and you can't have work without people with a fuckton of money. It's not one way or the other, it's a mix. Painting it in any other way is like the chicken/egg argument.

[EpyonXero]

Originally Posted by OneSickPsycho

THAT'S the problem... it's a MUTUAL relationship. You can't have a billion dollars with no workers and you can't have work without people with a fuckton of money. It's not one way or the other, it's a mix. Painting it in any other way is like the chicken/egg argument.

There was a time when there werent CEOs, billionaires, or even kings. It was a long time ago but its definitely possible to have workers without a small minority getting rich off of it. It just doesnt last long because of human nature.

[OneSickPsycho]

Originally Posted by EpyonXero

There was a time when there werent CEOs, billionaires, or even kings. It was a long time ago but its definitely possible to have workers without a small minority getting rich off of it. It just doesnt last long because of human nature.

Right, just how communism is perfect until you factor in the people.