from another source: Well, it's 4:00pm and I just got in from seeing clients and am ready to sit down and deal with the results of the first day of President elect Obama.
Here's what happens now:
1. Two of my biggest clients called me into meetings this morning and cancelled three of my biggest jobs for the beginning of the year 2009. Reason? Fear and planning for the impending Obama tax plan and increase in corporate/capital gains taxes. Mind you, these clients are property investors, business owners, employers, and millionaires. They are going to hold on to their cash instead of investing...
2. The stock market fell almost 500 points. Yes, it's been up and down since September...but on the first day of the new elect? Not a good sign. Why? Investors are again pulling out to get cash...as did I today. I took a huge sting and pulled out of stocks that were already down so I could have some free cash in a money market. Why did I do that? So I could have cash available in light of the fact that the start of next year looks slow...read "#1 happening" discussed above. Obviously I wasn't the only one as a 500 point dip in the DJI is a pretty good selloff for one day.
3. I had a new employee scheduled to move to Midland from Corpus Christi in January. Why? Because of the fact that I had two clients with three huge jobs requiring an air tech at the start of next year. This air tech had been notified that his current company was closing at year end and this seemed like an easy transition. Now? I don't have those three jobs requiring another air tech...he's SOL. I informed him today that he needed to look elsewhere and that I would compensate him for one month come January if he hadn't found a job. Results:
A. One person looking for a job (i.e. one person unemployed) B. I'm possibly out one months salary that I would have otherwise invested (i.e. driving economy)
4. I had a new enclosed car trailer ordered for next years racing season. Mine is eight years old and is in need of some TLC. I chose to just order up a new one a couple of weeks ago from a place in Ft. Worth. After my morning meetings, I called and cancelled said order. Why? Because if my business has already hit three speed bumps on the first day of the president elect Obama...I think I'll hold on to the cash. Whereas otherwise, I would've been a consumer injecting cash flow into the economy thus driving the trailer mfgr's business, his supplier's business, and creating jobs...that's called trickle down economics...it works...
See the trickle up affect? Just the possibility of Obama cramming through his policies has already hurt my business...and I ain't the only one.
So that's what happens now. I'm really so glad we elected the right guy. I feel better already.