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
BrianO | Oct 10, 2012, 02:13 PM EDT
Found this on the web without looking that hard------Mrs. Siegel believes it is important to give back to the community and has extensive philanthropic involvement. This includes serving on the Board of Directors and fund raising for many charitable organizations such as the Westgate Resorts Foundation, Special Olympics Florida, the Mennello Museum of American Art, the Orlando Ballet, and Femmes de Couer among others.
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Smyrnian | Oct 10, 2012, 02:13 PM EDT
When you (or a business) are taxes more you keep less. When you keep less you spend less (and hire less). When you earn more you are taxed more and you spend more (and hire more and pay more) generating much higher tax revenue and economic momentum. Basic economics; not complicated. Socialism, however, takes from a productive group to 'share/redistribute' with another less productive group and that is why socialism has never worked. Good bye Obama.
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BrianO | Oct 10, 2012, 01:59 PM EDT
Oh and if you are down on your luck and can't afford health insurance, you will be fined.
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BrianO | Oct 10, 2012, 01:57 PM EDT
Searlit, If the billionaire is doing well and employing many workers, then those workers will have money to spend in small businesses. The economy that shrinks under The regressive obama regime hurts all, it's true the billionaire will have more reserves and personally will be fine. The small businessman and the employees of said billionaire will not fare as well. It therefore is more vital to the small businessman and employee to have a pro business government.One that doesn't bury them in red tape and tax collections. Without growing profitable business there can be no income for government to tax. Government produces no income, they take a percentage of it's citizens wealth. Growth is not discriminating, it helps both the rich and poor, to better themselves. Obama has done nothing for private small business except add another layer of bureaucracy with Obamacare. Under penalty of perjury you will have to prove you have insurance, I know because I live in Massachusetts, always nice to be threatened by the government you pay for.
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kubs | Oct 10, 2012, 01:21 PM EDT
A--hole!
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Nicomax | Oct 10, 2012, 01:14 PM EDT
Two questions: 1) With all they spent on that monstrosity of a house could they not afford an architect? 2) Based on their photo in the big chair which is bigger, his stomach or her chest?
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katiemac | Oct 10, 2012, 12:58 PM EDT
This man runs luxury resorts. When money is tight people don't have the money to splurge on luxury resorts. When the guests don't schedule stays, you do not pay people to stand around. You lay them off. This is the harsh reality of working in a luxury business. Why should this man's personal funds (or how gratuitously he chooses to spend them) have anything to do with the day to day operation of the resort? In your typically idiotic faux logic you seem to think he should underwrite the business with that personal fortune. That's like saying Obama should cover the federal budget with his campaign contributions and the preceeds of his book. Plus I don't recall you jumping in when administration bosses told federal employees they would be out of work under Romney. Hypocrite.
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Searlit | Oct 10, 2012, 12:46 PM EDT
BrianO, why are you so afraid for the bilionaires? Of course they could restart their businesses. Their money is safe somewhere in Swiss banks or Cayman Islands. This charicature of a businessman is in no danger of losing his business over Obamacare, Medicaid, Social Security or Medicare , and I'd wager you know that! All of these programs are but a drop in the bucket compared to the wealth of the multinational corporations. If working people all took a day off, at the same time that's what would really cause some businesses to fail. Everyone with any sense knows that it is the small busineses that create the majority of jobs in the United States. President Obama has done much to help small businessmen through the stimulus plan and the loans to the auto industry which increased demand. It's economics, BrianO.
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aloistmartin | Oct 10, 2012, 12:46 PM EDT
Economic Conspiracy, Insecurity, and Blackmail, used where Predator Drones and Cultural Hegemony Fail ! Support the Arab Winter !
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cillowen | Oct 10, 2012, 12:25 PM EDT
proves my belief - those mitt the gold controls us, Big Time.
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Bill Doherty | Oct 10, 2012, 12:19 PM EDT
1 ass is not an acceptable sample size we have many successful business people who are always stepping up to help through donations and charity. Once the house is clean of this socialist the US engine will turn back on.
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hollabackgurl | Oct 10, 2012, 11:55 AM EDT
Talk about a modern day Scrooge. Or is that a Mr. Potter? And it makes perfect sense that Romney is his candidate of choice. His gaudy mansion is grotesque.
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patrickesq | Oct 10, 2012, 11:47 AM EDT
Poor David Siegal. If Obama is reelected he may only be able to build an 80,000 sq. foot Versailles mansion with perhaps only 27 or 28 bedrooms. What will this world come to if the rich can not become richer and the poor poorer? Thanks in part to President Bush individual tax rates are the lowest they have been in 50 years. His tax cuts contributed heavily to our present deficit, in combination with fighting two wars that were not paid for pursuant to government funding. This tax cut will expire come Jan. 1, 2013 as was provided in the tax cut law itself. Now these crybaby millionaires and billionaires (not all, but many) want us to feel sorry for them because they may have to pay more taxes due to a very modest increase in their tax rate.
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BrianO | Oct 10, 2012, 11:33 AM EDT
And what the Cahirs of the world refuse to recognize is that when a billionaire loses everything his businesses close. When the businesses close all those employed by That billionaire become unemployed. Trickle down poverty to steal a phrase.
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