I'm not a supporter of either major party, but this story was particularly egrigious. A "responsible" billionaire CEO warns workers that he just might have to fire them if Obama wins reelection next month. Doesn't sound like intimidation at all, does it?
David Siegel is a billionaire, and he has just made news by sending his employees an email concerning the Presidential election next month. More on this email in a second. In the decade prior to this one, Siegel spent lavishly, making a home for himself that he called "Versailles". Despite being superrich by any reasonable standards, he overspent, and saw his dream home foreclosed.
We all make mistakes, but this man can afford to have his criticized, since he speaks so loudly and boldly about his own virtues. Modesty, apparently, cannot be counted among his supposedly numerous virtues, nor does it appear that modesty is in this man's vocabulary. He talks about the sacrifice, the hard work, that it took to get where he is. Yet, in the same email, he claims that if his man does not get elected in November, he just might pack up and go to the Caribbean, sip some drinks and soak up some sun, and stay there. Those who work for him, given such a scenario? The hell with them. He feels good with his choices in life thus far, and apparently feels that retiring to some sunny paradise if the sitting President gets another four years is the only really responsible alternative out there.
Yet, this man now is telling his workers that he made all of the responsible choices in life, and that if they want to reach his level of responsibility and comfort in life, than they had better not vote for Obama.
Moreover, if they want to make sure they still have their present jobs, they probably had better not vote for Obama, and they'd better hope that the rest of the country does not vote Obama in, either.
The story by Robert Frank just broke today, and is sure to generate some attention. Just the idea of this billionaire, who holds himself up as a model of all that his employees can be if they make the right decisions and walk the straight and narrow, is simultaneously telling them, in essence, that they had better vote for Romney, if they know what's good for them. Of course, he knows that he cannot outright say that, so he does the next closest thing: writes an email warning about the dire consequences for him and for the company that he may have to downsize if Obama wins and continues to raise taxes and promote Obamacare.
He cannot legally tell them who to vote for. But he felt that he needed to let his employees know, out of an "obligation to keep them well informed."
This is not the first time that Siegel has gotten involved in elections. He urged his workers to vote for George W. Bush back in 2000, as well has giving a "big sales campaign" for Bush. But when asked about that in the movie, Siegel responded by saying, "I'd rather not say, because it may not necessarily been legal."
Of course, that is not stopping him from making headlines with his email this time around.
So, who is Robert Siegel?
Well, as mentioned already, he is a billionaire. He is the CEO of Westgate Resorts. But he and his wife, Jacqueline, are perhaps best known for their satirical documentary movie from earlier this year, "The Queen of Versailles", which is about their attempts to build their dream home, which they call "Versailles". It is a 90,000 square foot luxury mansion along the shores of Lake Butler.
They advertise their largesse and wealth, want it documented and immortalized for all to see. He apparently also wants people to understand his political point of view, and uses his powerful position to promote political stances that would be favorable to continuing his luxurious lifestyle. When it comes to providing his employees benefits and job security, however, all of that takes a backseat. He advertises himself as the picture of responsibility and hard work, and tries to tell anyone who will listen that all of the luxuries that he gets to enoy can be theirs, as well, if they are willing to sacrifice, and make the right decisions. However, far from his own idealistic version of himself, he seems to be the very picture of what is wrong with America today: a spoiled brat of a billionaire, old enough to have learned valuable lessons and really, to know better. But he conveniently chooses another path, the path that so many of the superrich 1% in the United States have chosen: tax those less fortunate so that they can continue to see their excessive lifestyles grow richer and richer. He makes it clear that his employees should be thankful to him for having their job, but makes little to no mention of how he would need workers to staff his resorts in order to make them work, and to provide many of the profits that he so elaborately (and loudly) enjoys. If he does not get his way in this election, if he does not get exactly what he wants, then he resorts to threats and a kind of a blackmail of sorts.
It is offensive that such an obviously irresponsible and excessively self-indulgent individual has as much sway as he does, and that he abuses the privileges that hard work (on his part, surely, but also on the part of those he employed to make his product succesful), but certainly also good fortune, has provided for him. given the excess of his lifestyle, and that he ironically named his home "Versailles", he might do well to remember what happened when others lived lavish lifestyles at the expense of those less fortunate than themselves, in another time and place, in the real Versailles. Although he might want the $200 million dollar man to get the majority in the upcoming election, his views do not, and cannot, represent the desires of the majority of Americans. What he wants has already proven to be a failure, and is not workable. I do not like Romney, nor do I like Obama. But I certainly don't want a billionaire with a false sense of entitlement telling the nation how to vote, or threatening his employees if he does not get what he wants. Nor is it good for the nation that he probably claims to be patriotic towards, but is willing to leave if the election does not go the way that he wants it.
Here's a link to an article about this, plus the full length email that was actually sent:
http://money.msn.com/politics/post.aspx?post=9c5331b5-72e8-4657-bccc-a3d84c72ff29
Here are some additional articles:
http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/news_local_namesblog/2012/10/timeshares-david-siegel-to-employees-re-electing-obama-threatens-your-job.html
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/09/david-siegel-email_n_1951801.html
This article I used with some specific quotes and information:
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/os-siegel-letter-to-staff-20121009,0,3816086.story
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