CEO David Siegel threatens to fire employees if Barack Obama's re-elected - VIDEO
Posted on Wednesday, October 10, 2012 at 10:00 AM
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| David Siegel pictured on his throne |
But this week he's become the public face of the new plutocracy. The plutocracy that are the main backers of the Romney/Ryan campaign, that is.
In a move that seems to have been crafted by Charles Dicken's to cause the maximum outrage Siegel, the founder and CEO of Westgate Resorts, one of the largest developers in the world, sent an apparently threatening email to all eight thousand of his hardworking employees suggesting that they will all be fired if Barack Obama is reelected.
Siegel and his wife Jackie came to prominence this year as the subjects of the documentary film The Queen of Versailles, which followed their quest to build the largest house in America, a 30 bedroom, 90,000 square foot monument to gaudy billionaire excess (including a golden throne for Siegal to sit in).
But their fabulous 1% lifestyle contrasts very sharply with the desperate anxiety they have just created in their own workforce.
Today they have also become the living symbols of the high handed heartlessness of a potential Romney/Ryan administration.
Siegel told Gawker yesterday that he has no retreats about posting the threatening email. Although it did resemble a 2008 chain letter, he said the sentiments it expressed matched his own: 'I did use the letter that had circulated before as a guideline, but I changed it to fit my circumstances. It speaks the truth and it gives employees something to think about when they go to the polls.'
If the big boss doesn't like the results the little people are going to suffer. Pretty nasty stuff.
There was a time when our gilded plutocrats made their threats in code or by implication. Apparently we can dispense with those times. Now we can just adopt the banana republic method where the powers that be can send you a blunt message telling you what will happen if you vote the wrong way.
It's appropriate in many more ways than he intended that the house he built has became known as Versailles. That was Marie Antionette's estate. I'm sure he missed the irony.
Despite himself Siegel has just unwittingly reminded us what this election is all about. He has reminded us exactly the kind of man who stands to benefit most from a Romney Ryan presidency.
72 comments
shuvonn | Oct 14, 2012, 08:01 AM EDT
It depends on the deal with the realtor, I have bought and sold three homes and out of those 2 out of the 3 were subject to not sharing of the fee. I suspect it is not so rare as you claim BrianO. And you ALWAYS have a choice in healthcare providers when you pay yourself :-)You can pick any company you want then but I suspect you do not want to pay yourself and wish to avail of the care your employer provides which is my basic argument about *Obamacare* the *I'm alright Jack* attitude. I made many rational, reasonable points that prove the value of ALL having access to affordable healthcare whereby you are ALL paying when well, not just the emergency room visits which cost a fortune and everyone pays anyway and you have not refuted ONE, only resorted to the same old whipping up fear mistruths. You can move to a different state at any time and CHOOSE your healthcare any time, nothing is stopping you I suspect except you do not want to have to pay for it yourself :-)
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BrianO | Oct 14, 2012, 01:47 AM EDT
most houses fee are divide through multi listings, very rare to receive the full six percent most realtors receive half or 3 percent. Check out the rise of health costs in Massachusetts. Soon most business will drop their better insurance coverage and force we citizens of this state to go on government health care. I hope that obamacare is repealled then i will at least have the option to move to a different state in order to buy the insurance I want.
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shuvonn | Oct 13, 2012, 04:34 PM EDT
I do not know what state you live in BrianO but most states the real estate broker fee is 6% unless pre-negotiated. And IF she does sell her house, and live longer it will be because she will have been able to afford reasonable cost health care, that you should not be refused because you have a pre-existing condition. Again it seems to be the ones who have health care (again I hope it keeps fine for them ) that do not care about others who do not who they will have to pay for anyway when they get sick, why not get some money from them when they are well first ? P.S. the Obamacare you object to is the very same thing Romney passed in Mass and now he objects to it? That's kind of like Ryan complaining about the stimulus package money while begging for it repeatedly for his state while claiming it would be *devastating* to have it stopped.
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BrianO | Oct 13, 2012, 11:20 AM EDT
Ephraim have you told granny that when she sells her house she will have to pay 3.8% to Obamacare, higher fee than her real estate broker will probably receive.
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EphraimKibbey | Oct 13, 2012, 01:17 AM EDT
pilib04 - I heard that this has happened at several of Romney's appearences. The next time you see a news clip of Romney in front of employees at some factory or business, look at their faces. They are not HAPPY faces! Compare them to the faces of the people behind Obama at his events. Add this tactic to the salting of the audiences with paid Romney people at several of his speechs before minority organizations and it makes one wonder what kind of tactics he will use if he becomes president, Heaven Forbid.
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EphraimKibbey | Oct 13, 2012, 01:09 AM EDT
shuvonn - you have perfectly explained what most of the Obamacare(s) bashering politicians fail to grasp. Interestingly, just today, I saw an old clip of a GOP politician saying almost word for word what you just wrote. It was Mitt Romney talking about HIS brand new Romneycare in Mass. as governer. It seems that he understood reality then. They say that watching Fox News can ACTUALLY make one more stupid (according to a study done by a college in New Jersey.) I wonder if that is what happened to Mittens. It is so sad to see a mind wasted like that.
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pilib04 | Oct 12, 2012, 10:06 AM EDT
In Ohio, miners from Murray Energy's Century coal mine in Bealsville, were forced to attend an August 14 rally for Romney. The mine was closed for the rally and the workers lost a day's pay. According to Murray chief operating officer, Robert Moore, "Attendance was mandatory but no one was forced to attend the event." Robert Murray is owner of the Century mine. He and his wife have contributed $471,185 to Republican candidates since 2008. His employees have very generously given almost 1.5 million to Republicans over the same period. For more information checck the UFCW324 web page. Quotes and stats are from a LA Times story by Neela Banerjee, August 29,2012.
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BrianO | Oct 12, 2012, 09:41 AM EDT
@Irishrose524, very funny, made me laugh.
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Will Hamilton | Oct 12, 2012, 08:58 AM EDT
An inspiring story. You can be enormously wealthy and stupid at the same time. So if you're a struggling entrepreneur with a simplistic brain and the tastes of a trailer trash Lotto winner you can still go far. America: anyone can make it.
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hollabackgurl | Oct 11, 2012, 05:47 PM EDT
We know employers have the right to hire and fire - it's when they threaten their ENTIRE STAFF to vote a certain way they've become plutocratic tyrants. And typical Romney voters, I might add.
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Murph46 | Oct 11, 2012, 05:17 PM EDT
Wake up Cahir most employees are working under an option by their employer,it is called being an at will employee-Check it out!
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conorsmom | Oct 11, 2012, 02:50 PM EDT
Irishrose524- I could not agree more with you! What do you think a billionaires hell looks like? Maybe they would have to make their own beds, clean up after themselves, cook and take care of their own children......
Hey wait, thats my life!!
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BigDaddy | Oct 11, 2012, 02:40 PM EDT
WOW! A virtual cornucopia of stupidity on this subject. No one I know hates the rich for being rich but when they stand on balconies and smirk while drinking champagne as they look down on regular people protesting the loss of their savings while the law protects the thieves, then they tend to get pissed off I find. In this case, however, with the intimidation factor so obvious, you have to ask yourself, if you and your ideas are so superior, why is it they cannot stand victorious in the market place of ideas? Why must you resort to cheating and illegal tactics to win? My guess is that you know you are undeserving of what you have and threatening people gives you the feeling of being a man that has long since expired naturally.
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irishrose524 | Oct 11, 2012, 12:58 PM EDT
I hope David Siegel burns in Royal Hell, which is alot worse then regular joe hell :-/
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