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PostPosted: 10/10/12 8:27 am • # 1 
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Looks like it to me.

http://www.classwarfareexists.com/in-june-romney-told-employers-to-tell-employees-how-to-vote-now-theyre-doing-just-that/


In June of this year – Romney made some comments that seemed to fly below the radar. As he was speaking to a group of business owners, he urged them to “make it clear to your employees” the significance of their vote and “therefore their job and their future”. We’ve shared that HERE:

He said:

“I hope you make it very clear to your employees what you believe is in the best interest of your enterprise and therefore their joband their future in the upcoming elections. And whether you agree with me or you agree with President Obama, or whatever your political view, I hope you pass those along to your employees.”

“Nothing illegal about you talking to your employees about what you believe is best for the business, because I believe that will figure in to their election decision, their voting decision.”





Well … that’s exactly what’s happening. David Siegel – the CEO and founder of Westgate resorts – a multinational corporation that specializes in timeshares and developing resorts sent a letter to all of his employees telling them it would be in their personal interest to vote for Mitt Romney. This coming from the man who acknowledges he had all of 8,000 of his mostly Florida based employees take a survey in 2000 where the employees who liked Bush were made to register to vote and the ones who liked Gore were not.

Gawker has the letter he sent to his employees HERE; the parts in bold came from Gawker. Notice some of the language that he uses like “penalizing the productive” and “gives to the unproductive”. He means his employees. He makes it explicitly clear that their jobs are in danger. EXPLICITLY.

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% of your paycheck you’d quit and you wouldn’t work here. I mean, why should you? Who wants to get rewarded only 50% 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


Video and more of the article at the link.


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PostPosted: 10/10/12 8:49 am • # 2 
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I was just reading about this <add your own derogative> ~ this goes well beyond "encouragement" ~ sounds like an obvious THREAT to me ~ if Westgate Resorts is a public company, this might/should be illegal ~

Sooz


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PostPosted: 10/10/12 3:53 pm • # 3 
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The new slavery.


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PostPosted: 10/10/12 4:03 pm • # 4 
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Back in the 70's I was "encouraged" to donate to the United Way via a payroll deduction, no less. :angry

Although never outright threatened with my job, it was understood.

The company wanted to be 100% for participation. That way, they got a mention in local ads for the agency. Free advertising.... paid for by yours truly et al.

I was steamed, but complied. I loved the job!


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PostPosted: 10/10/12 10:54 pm • # 5 
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what a dick.


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PostPosted: 10/11/12 7:37 am • # 6 
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Solid background info here ~ Siegel's obviously out-of-control ego seems to have blinded him to ... reality in both his business life and his personal life ~ :g ~ Sooz

Why is David Siegel so Mad?
by David Frum Oct 10, 2012 3:30 PM EDT

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 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.

Quote:
“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?

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/10/10/why-is-this-persecuted-plutocrat-so-mad.html


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PostPosted: 10/11/12 8:53 am • # 7 
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It would be interesting to see what would happen if all those 40 hour a week people he had working for him suddenly stopped working. How many resorts could he build and timeshares would he sell on his own. He didn't build his business. The people he employed built it for him.


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PostPosted: 10/15/12 8:36 am • # 8 
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It gets worse ~ :angry ~ Sooz

Pro-Romney CEOs forgo subtlety as part of campaign push
By Steve Benen - Mon Oct 15, 2012 9:28 AM EDT

Plenty of eyebrows were raised last week when David Siegel, the CEO of a large timeshare company, sent a lengthy written tirade to his workers, telling them President Obama's re-election would "threaten your job." Siegel has long been a major Republican backer, including having boasted that he was "personally responsible" for George W. Bush's 2000 victory, thanks to efforts Siegel said "may not necessarily have been legal."

MSNBC's "Up With Chris Hayes" reported on another example over the weekend.

[Sooz comment: video clip here in original, accessible at end link]

For those who can't watch clips online, Chris highlighted a message Arthur Allen, CEO of ASG Software Solutions, emailed to his employees, pleading with them to "elect a new President and administration." The executive added, "If we fail as a nation to make the right choice on November 6th, and we lose our independence as a company, I don't want to hear any complaints regarding the fallout that will most likely come."

The Huffington Post added that Bob Murray, CEO of coal company Murray Energy, has allegedly pressured his employees to make campaign contributions to Romney; the CEO of auto parts manufacturer Lacks Enterprises has told his employees that an Obama victory may lead to pay cuts; and the Koch brothers have warned their employees of dire "consequences" of a Romney defeat.

http://maddowblog.msnbc.com/_news/2012/10/15/14450886-pro-romney-ceos-forgo-subtlety-as-part-of-campaign-push?lite


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PostPosted: 10/15/12 8:39 am • # 9 
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Ya know, the usual fear-mongering regarding health care, socialism, gay marriage et al, is one thing.

Making people directly fear for their jobs/income is a totally different story! It's criminal, imo.


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PostPosted: 10/15/12 7:21 pm • # 10 
Let's not forget the Kochsuck.... errr.... Koch Brothers:

http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/10/15/1010581/koch-employee-votes/?mobile=nc


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PostPosted: 10/17/12 9:25 am • # 11 
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Those companies need to be boycotted.


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PostPosted: 10/19/12 10:39 pm • # 12 
Mitt Romney Encouraged Business Owners To Advise Employees How To Vote

See video http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/1 ... _ref=false


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PostPosted: 11/14/12 8:31 am • # 13 
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HA!!! ~ I'm happy to read this, but it doesn't excuse David Siegel's pre-election idiocy ~ Sooz

CEO Said Layoffs Will Happen With Obama Reelection, Gives Raises Instead
2012/11/13
By Justin Acuff

David Siegel, CEO of Westgate Resorts, made news pre-election by stating that if Obama is reelected, the economy will end up being so bad that:

Quote:
“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. 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.”

He also stated that he’ll have to stop work on his new home, as reported by CNN:

Quote:
Before the election, he said that if Obama was re-elected, he might retire and even halt work on the 90,000-square foot home he now has under construction, which many believe will be the largest private home in the United States. But he said he’s going to keep working, and building the home, “as long as I enjoy going to work and there are not more obstacles thrown in my way.”

In a spectacular testament to this man’s awesome level of blindness, he gave his employees a five-percent raise instead. The blindness comes with the reasoning he gave: record profits posted last fiscal year.

Ah, yes, that makes sense. Obama is terrible for the economy and your company, and that’s why, in the fourth year of his presidency, you posted record profits that allowed you to give all of your employees a raise. Maybe it’s time to look at the facts — Democratic presidencies are better for the economy, and historically have been. The stock market does better, unemployment drops, and I won’t even start on the fact that blue states use less welfare. Maybe it’s time for this “if I can get mine f*** you” mentality to fade away. It’s been proven not to work.

http://www.addictinginfo.org/2012/11/13/ceo-said-layoffs-will-happen-with-obama-reelection-gives-raises-instead/


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