Immediate Change. This is going to hurt.

[OverkillZJ]

Had 3 interesting phone calls from clients today.

One needed accounts locked out because they let 2 folks go preparing for the worst (wealth management firm that helps rich folks take money the IRS otherwise collect, and sends it to Charity's of their choice instead.)

One wanted to know how much we can cut IT costs and possibly run (already old) servers another year minimum without it costing more to support them. Not to mention rolled back a plan to replace 6 old systems and run them indefinitely. (Construction.)

One is putting some new equipment up for sale because they don't feel it will be utilized enough (machine shop.)

I have two other wealth management / adviser firms, both of whom the owners are not accepting phone calls, and are so angry they're apparently hiding in their offices, not talking to employees.

I don't make anywhere near 250/year, but believe me, this is going to affect me.

Go... mother****ing... Obama.

[Bird_Flu]

I'm not surprised by any of those moves. Anyone who thinks taxing the "rich" even more won't have an effect on the economy, well, they're blind. Sorry it's hitting you already Matt.

[Muzikman]

Matt,

Even during the dot.com boom of the 90's I had clients that wanted to run servers and workstations well beyond their life and expect them to be reliable and stable. Hell, the last company I worked for use to pull machines out of the trash pile at their parent company to use and then running them another 3+ years.

I am not saying that your problems there are not caused by the economy, but I am just shocked that you are now just seeing this type of attitude.

[OverkillZJ]

That attitude is typical, but not of these clients.

[Ronin152]

I assume you service smaller firms? How do you compete with the larger companies who provide the same service as you ( I would guess they are able to offer faster servers at a cheaper price and better uptime due to just sheer quantity).

[OverkillZJ]

Quality over quantity.

Uptime? These are business with on site servers, not web servers in some farm.

[Ronin152]

Oh I thought you had your own servers and was like how the hell does this guy run servers out of his house for a business. Isn't it cheaper to run your servers offsite that way you don't have to worry about security, uptime, and all the bs.

[OverkillZJ]

2 servers are here, but they're the ones that host data to run the business / mail server / monitoring server only. There's web servers in a datacenter in VA (the one this site is on) - and a mail server that hosts mail for the rather small clients, but primarily I run their line of business servers that are on their site, and am essentially their outsourced IT department.

[Ronin152]

You work from home?

[OverkillZJ]

Yup

[Muzikman]

He owns his own consulting firm. So he works from where ever the work is at. :)

[OverkillZJ]

Haha, that's a good way of putting it; but home base is the office basement, which I was hoping to get out of my house to help with stress levels, but not now.

[Muzikman]

Go drive over some more laser printers. I will make you feel better. :)

[OverkillZJ]

See that's the REAL problem here. The less new equipment clients buy, the less old stuff I get to destroy! DAMNIT!

[Ronin152]

You might not be making 250K you got to be atleast making 80-100 which is not bad at all.

[OverkillZJ]

They why work so hard to make 80-100, when I can apparently sit on my ass and get hand outs, and spend more time doing fun things instead of working my ass off.

[OverkillZJ]

Was sent a funny found on Colorado 4x4



Dear Fellow Business Owners

As a Business owner who employs 30 people, I have resigned myself to
the fact that Barack Obama
will be our next President and that my Taxes and Fees will go up in a
BIG way.

To compensate for these increases, I figure that the Customer will have
to see an increase in my
fees to them of about 8%. I will also have to lay off 6 of my
employees. This really bothered me as
I believe we are family here and didn't know how to choose who will
have to go. So this is what I did. I strolled thru the parking lot and
found 8 Obama bumper stickers on my employees cars. I have decided
these folks will be the first to be laid off.

I can't think of another fair way to approach this problem. If you have
a better idea, let me know.
I am sending this letter to all Business owners that I know.

Sincerely



Your Boss
__________________

[Ronin152]

No I just meant no matter what you will still make a nice living for yourself due to the fact you work hard. But i guess it will just take the 4 years for people to determine if they would rather have more money in their pocket or enjoy "social equity"

[OverkillZJ]

Working hard is getting old. I haven't been on the trails for 6 months. Want less work, more play.

[Ronin152]

Move to Sweden! I read something once that people regularly take off 6 months paid leave due to "stress"

[OverkillZJ]

DAMN RIGHT I should move to Sweden!

http://www.eatliver.com/img/2008/3247.jpg

[Muzikman]

Again, just because someone makes 80K a year does not mean they are rich. Are they better off then others, sure, but 80K isn't all that much.

Now, I have no idea how much Matt actually makes (nor do I care).

[OverkillZJ]

Doesn't matter, I intended to continue making more, but now that there's an "obama happy cap" - the extra effort may not be worth it.

[Ronin152]

I was assuming that he was single. 80K for a single person with an apartment and a car paid already is pretty decent living.

[Effjae]

We wouldn't be in the shape we are in if it weren't for W. And don't try to blame Clinton. Bush squandered our surplus and bankrupted our country just like every corporation he ever ran. I believe the republican party may be reaping what it has sown. And I am not a dem or repub.....I am a moderate independant.

[BigDukeSix]

I'm hungry.

[Effjae]

I am starving.

[mxg342]

I was assuming that he was single. 80K for a single person with an apartment and a car paid already is pretty decent living.


80k per year doesn't go very far. Trust me. You're still young. Don't be stupid with money. I'm finally on track to be in a much better financial position in two years.

My best advice for all of you young guys and gals about to graduate college is don't fall into the "I'm making real money now, I'll buy whatever I want" syndrome. I can tell you it has stalled my life plans by about three years.

[Ronin152]

The best advice I have recieved is that stupid people try to make money by working hours. Smart people make money on investments while they sleep.

[Wrecker]

Nothing is made without hard work.

[Effjae]

Nothing is made without hard work.

Except for poop.

[JeepGeneral]

I agree with Wrecker, if you don't work hard you have no money to invest.

The best advice I ever heard was from my grandfather. The easiest way to make money is to put yourself in a position to have people make money for you. He worked hard and built his own business up over 50 years. At 81 he still brings in over $300K/yr from what he set up long ago and spends his days golfing, fishing and hunting. Hang in there Matt, work hard now and wheel later.

[nitrolegend]

I say give the man a chance. I am glad there is younger blood in the white house maybe he will have a couple fresh ideas. He is walking into a mess that is already in progress. I will ask everybody to remember that congress and senate has the real power and the president is a scapegoat 75% of the time. I think if they could forget about being dem or rep. and remember they are all americans we could get more done.

[Powerguy37]

I am starving.

I just finished a huge burrito from Chipotle sitiing here in a motel in Frederick MD. Yummy!:016:

[OverkillZJ]

We wouldn't be in the shape we are in if it weren't for W. And don't try to blame Clinton. Bush squandered our surplus and bankrupted our country just like every corporation he ever ran. I believe the republican party may be reaping what it has sown. And I am not a dem or repub.....I am a moderate independant.


Don't ****ing start with me.

[.J u s t i n]

I just finished a huge burrito from Chipotle sitiing here in a motel in Frederick MD. Yummy!:016:

Dana where you headed? Frederick is about 45 minutes north of me (when I'm actually home in MD)

Man do I miss Chipotle though!!!

[Sleeper]

Have you seen my red stapler?

[Effjae]

Don't ****ing start with me.
Sorry. LOL. I am all done w/ political discussions for a long time, I hope.

Did you guys ever lookup how many calories are in a chipotle burrito? I once had a 1700 calorie lunch in robinson. (1 chipotle burrito w/ everything, chips and salsa, Dr. Pepper, followed by 2 double chocolate cookies from Panera.) It was awesome and sad at the same time.

[OverkillZJ]

LOL, I love those things though... I first had them on one of my wheeling trips in Colorado and I was like WHY CAN'T WE HAVE THIS IN PA? Then a couple years later, we did, and I went WHOOHOO! 1700 FREAKIN CALORIE BURRITO! ****ING AWESOME!

[DMG]

We wouldn't be in the shape we are in if it weren't for W. And don't try to blame Clinton. Bush squandered our surplus and bankrupted our country just like every corporation he ever ran. I believe the republican party may be reaping what it has sown. And I am not a dem or repub.....I am a moderate independant.

The surplus we had with Clinton was not real. It included Social Security funds. The deficit increased every year of Clinton's presidency, in spite of the booming .com economy. Then the .coms tanked. A couple years later, 9/11 really tanked the economy.
Greenspan tried to prevent recession by manipulating interest rates but that really just delayed the inevitable. And don't forget, the Carter and Clinton adminastrations had started forcing lenders to give loans to people who weren't likely to pay them back. Of course the low rates made it easier to loan money to anyone. And it was legal to securitize these bad mortgages and sell them to investors. For a while, the housing market was booming and people could sell before foreclosure. It was almost a pyramid scheme.
Then China industrialized and had to get ready for the Olympics. Suddenly we were competing for fuel.

So Bush may be a retard, he certainly speaks like one, but he really inherited a perfect storm of economic problems. If we had let a smaller recession hit after the .com bust or 9/11, we would not have nearly the trouble we do now.

Of course the media and the whiny, spoiled American people would have burned Bush or Clinton in effigy if one of them had allowed a recession and the other party would have politicized it.

[EddyB]

I just finished a huge burrito from Chipotle sitiing here in a motel in Frederick MD. Yummy!:016:

I spent 6 months at the mainstay suites in Frederick.

[2002wranglerX]

We wouldn't be in the shape we are in if it weren't for W. And don't try to blame Clinton. Bush squandered our surplus and bankrupted our country just like every corporation he ever ran. I believe the republican party may be reaping what it has sown. And I am not a dem or repub.....I am a moderate independant.


we'll blame FDR and Carter then.

because they have more to do with it than W

[Effjae]

we'll blame FDR and Carter then.

because they have more to do with it than W

OK. You should continue to believe that. W is great, that's is reflected in his approval rating.

[Effjae]

LOL, I love those things though... I first had them on one of my wheeling trips in Colorado and I was like WHY CAN'T WE HAVE THIS IN PA? Then a couple years later, we did, and I went WHOOHOO! 1700 FREAKIN CALORIE BURRITO! ****ING AWESOME!

It wasn't just the burrito, it was the whole meal, but still. Check this out

http://www.chipotlefan.com/index.php?id=nutrition_calculator You will be shocked. Especially by the amount of fat too. Soooo good tho.

[Effjae]

The surplus we had with Clinton was not real. It included Social Security funds. The deficit increased every year of Clinton's presidency, in spite of the booming .com economy. Then the .coms tanked. A couple years later, 9/11 really tanked the economy.
Greenspan tried to prevent recession by manipulating interest rates but that really just delayed the inevitable. And don't forget, the Carter and Clinton adminastrations had started forcing lenders to give loans to people who weren't likely to pay them back. Of course the low rates made it easier to loan money to anyone. And it was legal to securitize these bad mortgages and sell them to investors. For a while, the housing market was booming and people could sell before foreclosure. It was almost a pyramid scheme.
Then China industrialized and had to get ready for the Olympics. Suddenly we were competing for fuel.

So Bush may be a retard, he certainly speaks like one, but he really inherited a perfect storm of economic problems. If we had let a smaller recession hit after the .com bust or 9/11, we would not have nearly the trouble we do now.

Of course the media and the whiny, spoiled American people would have burned Bush or Clinton in effigy if one of them had allowed a recession and the other party would have politicized it.


Well stated. I concur.

[2002wranglerX]

OK. You should continue to believe that. W is great, that's is reflected in his approval rating.

i'm not letting the guy off the hook, but it's not like he started a lot of these problems. It's not like i have an orgasm every time he talks like the libs do with Obama.

I disagree with how he handled deflation. He actually contributed to it with taking the inflation index rating or whatever it was called away.

I don't think he caused the housing market crisis. I don't think he made banks lend to inner city borrowers.

He dealt with his crazy spending by lowering taxes (40% of americans pay no income tax), cutting the fed, and keeping fed gains taxes low.



Now we got this new guy coming in, who wants to spend MORE and raise taxes... it's a recipe for complete disaster.

Even Clinton knew that. as the economy rebounded, he gradually raised taxes. There was no shock to the economy. But he also bandaided a lot of things as well.

[Muzikman]

And it was legal to securitize these bad mortgages and sell them to investors.

This right here is the core of our current problem.

[Ronin152]

And also the fact that rating agency's were paid by the issuing agencies.

[Effjae]

This right here is the core of our current problem.

Tell me about it. I used to work for a company in the heart of the mortgage business. We saw this coming years ago. You can't give a guy a mortgage on a double wide, just cause the wheels are off and it's on a concrete slab, but they found ways.

[Effjae]

i'm not letting the guy off the hook, but it's not like he started a lot of these problems. It's not like i have an orgasm every time he talks like the libs do with Obama.

I disagree with how he handled deflation. He actually contributed to it with taking the inflation index rating or whatever it was called away.

I don't think he caused the housing market crisis. I don't think he made banks lend to inner city borrowers.

He dealt with his crazy spending by lowering taxes (40% of americans pay no income tax), cutting the fed, and keeping fed gains taxes low.



Now we got this new guy coming in, who wants to spend MORE and raise taxes... it's a recipe for complete disaster.

Even Clinton knew that. as the economy rebounded, he gradually raised taxes. There was no shock to the economy. But he also bandaided a lot of things as well.

True.