I have a good longtime friend, works his ass off 7 days a week average 8 to 12 hours a day, he has a towing service for a couple auto clubs, he has done this for years, well things are getting harder and harder hes been selling off tools and equipment to keep the boat afloat. today he tells me in confidence that hes not giving the govt another dime for taxes fees registrations nothing, he says he knows its going to end ugly and hes ready. ive known him over 20 years the man doesnt bullshit ever period. how do i de escalate this thing i dont want to see this go bad ?
Last stand
- Thread starter packmule62
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i dont know what you should do or tell him, but everyone has hard times. i was convicted of a felony back in 1992 for posession of marijuana, and that mistake has haunted me ever since. now i have a good paying warehouse job, well good enough for me, but i have a herniated disc, so many days can be a struggle. people in the past have told me go back to school, for me thats a waste, when i looked for jobs, even crappy ones, they would not even give me a chance for a stupid mistake i mad many years ago. sure i regret it, but i believe in 2nd chances also. things can always be worse. hell i work circles around alot of 20 year olds, thats why i get the respect at my current job, plus the decent pay.
If we could all do that we might fix this country....
Why are things getting so tough for him? Towing business should always be good. Everyone gets flat tires and breaks down. I know insurances and taxes are stupid.
Is he running his business smart? I dont know the first thing about running a business of my own. But I understand capital, cash flows, budgeting, and long term planning at my job. Its not easy but with the right programs and planning it can be balanced. If its not feasible then maybe he needs to shut it down and get a 9 to 5 and let someone else worry about the business end.
Take my job in the coal mine. We run a 10 year plan based on sale projections and production potential. Our sale projections are down. We lowered production. But yet we balanced our budget and plans to reflect this to allow the mine to operate at its current man power. We wont hire or replace retirees, quiters and fired employees till we hit a certain level. Everything can be planned for if a business is ran right.
Why are things getting so tough for him? Towing business should always be good. Everyone gets flat tires and breaks down. I know insurances and taxes are stupid.
Is he running his business smart? I dont know the first thing about running a business of my own. But I understand capital, cash flows, budgeting, and long term planning at my job. Its not easy but with the right programs and planning it can be balanced. If its not feasible then maybe he needs to shut it down and get a 9 to 5 and let someone else worry about the business end.
Take my job in the coal mine. We run a 10 year plan based on sale projections and production potential. Our sale projections are down. We lowered production. But yet we balanced our budget and plans to reflect this to allow the mine to operate at its current man power. We wont hire or replace retirees, quiters and fired employees till we hit a certain level. Everything can be planned for if a business is ran right.
Fact is real inflation is running a lot higher than they say and the wealth ain't getting spread around.
A lot of people are not happy and I can understand that.
Without spouting any of my usual leftist rhetoric I will simply say life is not fair.
But that does not mean anyone of us has the right to take actions that contravene the law.
Tell your chum its not just him, but decent law abiding people do not do things that will result in...... Well you be the judge Packmule what is he capable of.
Remind him he has responsibilities to his family he can not do anything for if he is in jail or facing fines for his actions.
A lot of people are not happy and I can understand that.
Without spouting any of my usual leftist rhetoric I will simply say life is not fair.
But that does not mean anyone of us has the right to take actions that contravene the law.
Tell your chum its not just him, but decent law abiding people do not do things that will result in...... Well you be the judge Packmule what is he capable of.
Remind him he has responsibilities to his family he can not do anything for if he is in jail or facing fines for his actions.
honestly he would have to make some changes to see a higher profit margin which would include laying off his daughter and a long time friend that is a good employee, the reason is its tougher now, fuel costs, registration fees , insurance costs are all on the rise,auto clubs beating him down on service calls and tows that you know your going to lose on but if you dont take them they dont call you for the good ones. for years untill the last few it was a good profitable business. thats not the real issue, he is laying the blame on the gvt. with all there fees taxes red tape DOT stuff. I KNOW ALL THIS , im just trying to figure out what to say to keep him from having a NUTZO any suggestions guys or girls?
I am in the same boat as Buckeye. Because the materials I use for my business are traded as commodities, (Urea, Potash, Ammonium Sulfate etc) my costs have doubled. Yet the market will only allow me to raise my prices about 10%, so I am not seeing the same profit margins as I did ten yrs ago. It does not help that I am not in my 30s anymore, as the nature of my work is physical.
Here's the deal, your friend will just be out of business soon. If you are a tow truck operator, and refuse to pay registration fees or insurance, it won't take long before you get pulled over and shut down. If the market won't support his business model, and he is as burnt out as he sounds, maybe he'd be better off selling his business and doing something different.
Here's the deal, your friend will just be out of business soon. If you are a tow truck operator, and refuse to pay registration fees or insurance, it won't take long before you get pulled over and shut down. If the market won't support his business model, and he is as burnt out as he sounds, maybe he'd be better off selling his business and doing something different.
Everything is going up but peoples pay. Gas,food insurance. Everything. Except pay.thats getting less.
Our labor rate hasn't changed in 4 years,insurance companies are writing dirt cheap estimates so we have to do more work to make the same money we took home 4 years ago. Then when you get home,it doesn't go as far.All you can do is your best to stay afloat. Luckily for me I'm old enough that all my shit is paid for. But still,with car,life,health,homeowners, and flood insurance, utilities,food,gas and a few other things,i still have to come home with 5Gs a month.I just can't see how some people make it making less and having bills on top of all that. Hell when i won the little lottery ,by the time they took the taxes out i had just enough to pay a few remaining things off.thats the only reason i feel blessed or otherwise I'd be in trouble like alot of people.
Our labor rate hasn't changed in 4 years,insurance companies are writing dirt cheap estimates so we have to do more work to make the same money we took home 4 years ago. Then when you get home,it doesn't go as far.All you can do is your best to stay afloat. Luckily for me I'm old enough that all my shit is paid for. But still,with car,life,health,homeowners, and flood insurance, utilities,food,gas and a few other things,i still have to come home with 5Gs a month.I just can't see how some people make it making less and having bills on top of all that. Hell when i won the little lottery ,by the time they took the taxes out i had just enough to pay a few remaining things off.thats the only reason i feel blessed or otherwise I'd be in trouble like alot of people.
I don't know your friend's total situation but I have watched a lot of businesses come and go over the years. Failure to pay the employers half of SS and unemployment taxes brought down most of them. There is just no way to hide that and the government will liquidify your business in a heartbeat to collect. Everything you own will be attached in an effort to collect. If he is at that point better to shut it down and salvage what he can.
If your friends debt is not too great there are ways to restructure that could lessen the impact on himself, his daughter, and his friend but not paying SS and unemployment will only allow someone else to buy their equipment for pennies on the dollar at the government ordered auction.
If your friends debt is not too great there are ways to restructure that could lessen the impact on himself, his daughter, and his friend but not paying SS and unemployment will only allow someone else to buy their equipment for pennies on the dollar at the government ordered auction.
He is doing his daughter and friend no service by going to jail for not paying taxes.
He either needs to restructure and rethink his business plan if the auto clubs are screwing him over, or pack it in and sell.
Things won't get better for him by doing that.
Only part that might be cool, is if he freaked out, turned his tow truck into a Kill Dozer type deal, and wreck havoc. That's a joke, and I do not wish to see you friend in jail, hurting anyone, or himself.
He either needs to restructure and rethink his business plan if the auto clubs are screwing him over, or pack it in and sell.
Things won't get better for him by doing that.
Only part that might be cool, is if he freaked out, turned his tow truck into a Kill Dozer type deal, and wreck havoc. That's a joke, and I do not wish to see you friend in jail, hurting anyone, or himself.
For me......the word is simplify.........a very hard thing to do.....but in my financial struggles i learned i can live without credit cards and i learned to want less.......mini bikes not included...........i have no higher education.....all i have is life lessons and they have taught me to be more simple.........unfortunately that lesson comes late in life......but i was also a part of a family business and my cousin who owned and worked the business lost it much the same way as your friend.........its sad but i think todays government does not support small businesses anymore...so the only thing to do is get out before you sink.....unfortunately my cousin lost his life trying to give his family the best of everything and not restructuring his business or family life........its taken five years for me to get over the effect of this but made me realize i dont have to have the best of everything to enjoy my life.........
your friend has a better chance of robbing a bank and not getting caught!
something so obvious as not paying taxes or registration will just out in the eyes of the collectors far faster than almost anything else.
there are so many mechanisms to alert city and state offices about this plus the historical records.
remember "death and taxes" can't be avoided!
something so obvious as not paying taxes or registration will just out in the eyes of the collectors far faster than almost anything else.
there are so many mechanisms to alert city and state offices about this plus the historical records.
remember "death and taxes" can't be avoided!
That is a VERY good point and a very good life lesson you have there. Keeping up with the Jones's only leads you down the path of major debt and being a truely unhappy person because you are no longer living your own life.
Don't get me wrong, we all want nice things and to be financially stable. I would love to have a new truck, but the one i have now is 100% paid for, it serves it's purpose of getting me to and from work and haul what i need it to when I need to haul stuff. I would much rather do maintenece on my truck when it's needed than to pay $300-$400 a month PLUS insurance on a truck that would do the same thing.
Sometimes you don't realize that you are trying to keep up with the Jones's until you stop and take a step back and look at what you are doing, life has a way of getting you caught up in things that you never knew you were doing in the first place.
At our house I pick things up at the store and talk myself back out of them before i pay at the register just by thinking in my head "Is this a WANT or a NEED?" and it usually costs me a whole lot less when I do pay for my stuff.
Don't get me wrong, we all want nice things and to be financially stable. I would love to have a new truck, but the one i have now is 100% paid for, it serves it's purpose of getting me to and from work and haul what i need it to when I need to haul stuff. I would much rather do maintenece on my truck when it's needed than to pay $300-$400 a month PLUS insurance on a truck that would do the same thing.
Sometimes you don't realize that you are trying to keep up with the Jones's until you stop and take a step back and look at what you are doing, life has a way of getting you caught up in things that you never knew you were doing in the first place.
At our house I pick things up at the store and talk myself back out of them before i pay at the register just by thinking in my head "Is this a WANT or a NEED?" and it usually costs me a whole lot less when I do pay for my stuff.
exactly my point hemi............i have come to love the word simplify.......and it amazes me how happy i am that i am no longer in debt.........when i first had to cut my credit cards up i got a major panic attack, but it wasnt long before i realized that credit is not freedom......being free of debt is.............but as this thread points out.....the government doesnt want us to be that way........we are taxed out the wazoooo........but think of this........if everyone paid their fair share........it may not be so bad.......those who only collect from the government are the burden....which makes it difficult for those who support it........i say tax food.........everyone has to eat.....and everyone will pay taxes.........i know it sounds altruistic but i dont try and cheat the government.......i declare my wages and pay my taxes and if everyone worked at doing the same....it might be different........just my thoughts......
hemi, i have an ses, and it will be onmy record forever. they gave me the option of sis and 3 months in prison, 5 years probation. or ses and 6 months jail time, which was work release program, and 5 years probation. i only had to stay in work release program for around 3 months, due to no further problems, and passing drug test, breathalizers. then i was granted early release from probation after 3 years. i look back sometimes and think i should have went with an sis and the 3 months prison time. but then again i am not a big guy, about 5ft 9 in 175lbs. i was just a stupid young adult that did not want to go to prison at the time. if only some of these compainies that would not hire me in the past new that they could have many employees that had an sis conviction. they have no clue