Real Letter From A CEO to His Employers

Yeah, it hits pretty hard. Let us remember this quote:

"The democracy will cease to exist when you take from those who would work and give to those who would not." --- Thomas Jefferson

castlewp,

I have tried to locate the source of this letter without success - including visiting snopes.com, urbanlegends.com, googling the company, the principals, etc.

The only valid thing I can locate is that the company does indeed exist. Beyond that, all I can find are various copies of this letter floating around in various forums without attribution.

My personal opinion is that this letter is phony.

I haven't looked this up yet but this was at the closing of the letter.   Regardless, the message rings true.

Michael A. Crowley,

PE Crowley, Crisp & Associates, Inc.

Professional Engineers 1

906 South Main Street, Suite 122

Wake Forest, NC 27587

 

919.562.8860 x22   

919.562.8872 Fax

castlewp,

My concern here is that this message is being passed around the web as if it were fact. Just because the name of a real person at a real company (http://www.crowley-crisp.com/Principals/...) is attached to the letter doesn't make the letter itself real. There have been many instances (many found on snopes.com) where emails and letters have been falsely attributed to a celebrity but the facts proved otherwise.

It would be permissible to state that "I don't know if this letter is true or not, but I agree with what it expresses." However, your subject line states that this is a "Real Letter" which you cannot prove.

If you are able to prove the validity of this letter, I will happily rescind my accusation. Until such time, I stand by my statement.

It should be noted that this letter was almost certainly not written by the real Michael Crowley, PE.

Firstly, the letter says that the company was started "12 years ago."  The real Mr. Crowley ought to know that, according to his own wesbite, the company was incorporated in 2001.

Secondly, the letter states, "[a]t that time, I lived in a 300 sq.ft. studio apartment for 3 years.  My entire living space was converted into an office so I could put forth 100% effort into building a company, which by the way, would eventually employ you."

Of course, the real Mr. Crowley also should know, that according to his own professional summary, he went into business for himself the year before incorporating with other associates, and prior to that had held executive-level positions "with several engineering firms in North Carolina and Maine."

Well spotted, jrf29! Would that mine eyes were as sharp as yours!

Forgive me guys, but I don't see why anyone should care whether or not the letter was legitimately from the "real" Mr. Crowley.

The letter offers strikingly candid insight that might help those who feel inclined to cry out that "the government should bail out the people next" to see the real picture. I assume that's why it was posted here.

I think the author of this letter makes several excellent points, and don't much care myself whether or not he is or isn't the "real" Mr. Crowley.

Erik

 

The real Mr. Crowley might care, however.

Arthur

I agree with Erik. Finding truth and verifying facts is important and it still is here. But let's not miss the major points of the letter. Let's not fail to realize what a great reflection this letter is of the reality many small business owners face. In some ways, the more I hear that the government is going to support small business, the more I know that fascism is more deeply entrenched than ever before.

I didn't even have to read the letter to have serious doubts regarding its authenticity. The website is after all Jeff Rense's. A man, who if you listen to talk for, say, twenty minutes on a specific topic you might consider very intelligent and agree with but whose site is stuffed with garbage to the point, I would argue, of intentional obfuscation. Agitprop at its finest.

But I agree with the notion that even a fictional letter can shed much light on any given situation. I mean who really cares if "Shakespeare" wrote Hamlet. It does nothing to change the quality of the work or its insights into human nature.

Oh pity the poor business owner/millionaire and how he is suffering just like the common man and its all due to teenage moms on welfare. Give me a break! This is just another distraction to keep our mind off the real problem (95% of the nations wealth in 1% of the people's hands) and or divide and conquer the masses tactic.

He wasn't blaming welfare mothers. He was making a point in regards to who stimulates the economy more.

Erik,

I'm surprised that you, of all people, would not care that a thread on this site was started with the subject "Real Letter....". One of the important aspects of this site to me, and I presume many others, is that it is a place for reasoned factual discourse about serious issues affecting our country and, ultimately, the world.

In trying to trace the source of this letter (I haven't found any), I came across a couple of other web sites where there was the typical "ranting and raving" going on about the contents of this missive. It is not something I would like to see occur on this site, yet I'm already seeing a little bit beginning in this thread.

Opinions are certainly welcome if they are stated as being just that. Purported facts must be backed up by valid links to the source. To me, starting a thread with the words "Real ..." (when it isn't) is misleading and is not what I consider acceptable on this site.

Not to mention which, how would you like it if some piece of fiction was spreading across the web that not only was incorrectly attributed to you but that was also stating things that were exactly the opposite of what you believe. But now it's spread all over the web without your permission. I suspect Mr. Crowley won't be too thrilled when he finds out his name has been posted to a piece of fiction.

Sam,

Look, I totally understand your take on making sure the authenticity of any post.  I also truly apologize that I cut and pasted the headline and letter from another site without verifying if it were original or not.

I however was looking at the message of the letter without regard to it being an actual letter from Mr. Crowley which short of calling him wouldn't be able to prove.

I think we may be watering the wrong plant and not looking at the true intent of why I posted this.  

In the future, I will make sure I preface any post that I can't authenticate with an editorial footnote.

Now, can we get on with the real issues? 

I wholeheartedly agree with your sentiments here, Sam.

Whether the story is real or not, agreement with the author's stance boils down to whether one agrees with the "Trickle-Down" theory of economics.   

First of all, if a business-owner has only 14 employees, most of whom are probably receiving average engineering salaries, and he is paying $288k grand a quarter in taxes, odds are he's doing just fine financially.  Especially if he states that he can pick up and retire at any time.

Second of all, the free market will determine what political and taxation systems are sustainable or not.  If washington is crippling businesses with taxes worse than taxes imposed on businesses in other countries, businesses will set up in other countries.  However, small businesses, which might serve a local demographic in a particular community, might not have the same mobility to where they can just pick up and move to another country.  This tug-of-war needs some political attention, not a gripe to one's own employees.

 Lastly, the author, by divulging his "bringing-himself-up-by-his-bootstraps" story, is indirectly showing everyone that he feels entitled to be compensated in some way for his hard work.  The ability to work hard in a skilled profession, have the freedom to start your own business, and to own a mercedes, among others, is a luxury many americans take for granted.  Just my $.02.         

castlewp,

Apology accepted. I've made my own goofs on this site for which I have also apologized. Guess none of us is perfect, eh?

Now, can we get on with the real issues?

I would like to do that. However, after reading through the letter a second time, I wonder what "real issues" you are referring to. It is obvious to me that the letter is very political. I started to address some of those politically charged comments, but realized that this would be in contradiction to what we are supposed to be discussing on this web site - and politics is not it.

The only other thing I get out of this letter is that it's supposed to be about a frustrated employer who feels he is being taxed and regulated to death. If he had stopped there, I would have been somewhat sympathetic. However, when he then lashes out and says,

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.

then he loses me. Apparently he's willing to jettison 14 (perhaps very hard working honest) employees without regard to their lives - as if they were so much useless material to be discarded when he no longer can use them. Hmmm - nice guy.

Bottom line, I personally don't find that this piece of fiction has contributed anything useful to the conversation. It seems to be written with the intent to inflame the average reader - not to engender reasoned, logical discourse regarding the over taxation and regulation that is prevalent in this country.

Keep in mind, as I've said in a different thread, not all regulation is bad. As someone who works in the medical industry, I can attest that too many companies left to their own, unregulated, devices, wind up injuring or killing patients. If anyone is interested in me backing this up, please let me know and I will be glad to locate the specific information and post it in this thread.

I think the authors point is that he is angry about what we're angry about.  Government interfering with his life, levying unjust taxes and ignoring the Constitution. 

He blames the culprits regarding the mess in this country today, the voters.  The responsible parties for the entire mess we currently have in this country is not the Republican nor the Democratic party, it's the voter in this country who keep electing these #$%$$ to office in the first place.  

 

Like anything, there are two sides to every story. Are you old enough to remember Pogo saying, "We have met the enemy and he is us."?

What a lot of people refuse to recognize is that this country cannot run on wishful thinking. Talk to the average person and ask them what they expect their government to provide to them. You'll hear: safe bridges, safe roads, safe hospitals, safe cars, protection from crooks, protection from our enemies, safe jobs, safe food, safe housing, safe clothing,  safe medical care - the list goes on and on. Then ask them who is going to pay for all of this and be prepared for some blank stares.

How you get safe jobs, safe food, safe housing, safe clothing, safe medical care is through taxes and regulation.

Without taxes, none of this would ever get done - after all, the money has to come from somewhere, right?

Without regulation, it would be a much more hazardous world out there. Do we have too much regulation? In some cases it is taken to an extreme and I would be the first to agree we could probably do without a lot of regulations currently on the books. BUT - we still need regulations in order to create a reasonably safe environment for our citizens.

You say the voters are the "culprits regarding the mess in this country today". Hmmm - who are the voters? You and me. The author of the letter, and presumably you, are mad because the government is not being run by the people you think should be running it. Does it occur to you that while upwards of 43 million people (who voted for McCain) are also upset, upwards of 50 million (or more) other people are pleased with the choice of Obama. A few million even wanted to see Ron Paul running this country. Who is right? If "it's the voter in this country who keep electing these #$%$$ to office in the first place.", then I guess that's what majority rule is all about and we will all have to live with the consequences.

I think what it comes down to is this. Ideally, each of us would like to run our own lives without any interference at all from anyone (especially government entities), but we want things magically taken care of for us like roads, parks, hospitals, etc.

The reality is that we as a people created our government structure for a reason. Like it or not, it is what it is. I've never seen anyone seriously suggest we switch to a different form of government even though there are plenty of examples around the world.

Bottom line, the author of the letter is ranting without offering any reasonable solutions - that doesn't do any of us any good.

I better cut this off now or it will be too long to read. I hope you understand the points I'm trying to make.

Sam, you make good points.  I don't disagree with you that we need regulations and taxes, but...  in the end it really doesn't matter. 

George Carlin says it better than I.  Oh, I did verify that this was him :-)

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=9KReZyAZLI...

 

Good old George, He always had an eye for entertaining thoughts. People who laughed were just living on borrowed time.

Now I am inclined to use Mahatma Gandhi quote “First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win.”

The letter is almost satirical in content. But still only a person who would care would write with such passion, and be so informative to his work force about his personal life. Some how I dont think this letter is real.

When interested in the facts, I check them out.  Along with several hundred others, I received this email.

Cat

 

In reference to the “To all my valued employees” letter currently circulating the internet:

This letter was forwarded to me by a colleague.  While the letter may indeed be authentic, I was not the author and I do not know the identity of the original author.  I forwarded it to the “John McCain Joe the Plumbers” email group prior to the election.  Someone moved my contact information into the body of the message making it appear that I was the author of the letter.  I would appreciate your removing my contact information prior to forwarding this message.

 

Michael A. Crowley, PE

 

 

Cat233 -

You beat me to the punch. I emailed Crowley's company and got the same reply. Clearly we were not the first to draw this to his attention!

Now my next question is, why is your name cat but your avatar is a dog?

Arthur

Arthur... LOL... To confuse you...  I