By Wayne Allyn Root
My new book, “The Murder of the Middle Class” paints a picture of economic devastation throughout America. Because of big government over-reach, onerous taxes, debt, regulations, lawsuits and increased IRS attacks on business, the odds of starting a new business and succeeding have been badly damaged. This is precisely why there is a severe shortage of new full-time, middle class wage jobs. Small business traditionally creates a majority of new jobs, yet small business is under withering attack by the Obama administration, the judicial system and our political class.
I can quote hundreds of factual statistics proving the American economy is in severe decline. Recently we learned American household wealth has declined by over one third in only 10 years. Over the same time electricity, water, fuel, food and tax costs have soared by as much as over 100%. But why deal with sterile statistics? Let’s go right to the source. Let’s hear the reason for the decline of American business direct from a mega successful businessman who has “boots on the ground.”
Wayne Gorsek is the quintessential American entrepreneur. He has lived the American Dream. Raised and adopted by his grandparents (who lived in a 14×70 single wide mobile home), Wayne started a tiny vitamin company in Springfield, Illinois out of a basement in 1994. Wayne grew his small company into the most successful online vitamin retailer in the world. His company became one of the few in history to earn “INC 500 Hall of Fame” status. For 15 years, Wayne’s company grew at a remarkable 50% a year pace, thousands of percent over 15 years.
Wayne Gorsek was living the American Dream. He took his company public on NASDAQ in 2009 for a $320 million valuation. Along the way he gave well over 1000 Americans a full-time job with good middle class wages and benefits. Many of his employees and investors made a fortune when his company went public, the average return to investors was measured in thousands of percent. Gorsek retired at the age of 42 and bought not one, but two new private jets and earned two single pilot jet type ratings. His story is a living, breathing example of how capitalism, combined with hard and smart work can produce extreme success for everyone involved.
But today Gorsek has a new story and a message every American needs to hear. Unfortunately, his updated story is proof positive that no recovery is coming, no middle class jobs rebound is possible.
Here is the eye-opening Part II of this story. Wayne Gorsek got bored by retirement and decided to get back in the game. He took about $26 million of his own money and started two new vitamin companies called www.drvita.com and natureslab.com (you’ve seen the brand at costco.com). His company also manufactures Martha Stewart’s new vitamin brand sold at Walgreens.
That’s where the story gets interesting.
Gorsek reports on how things have changed. “It doesn’t surprise me that there are 92 million working-age Americans no longer working and even worse 108 million are now on one or multiple forms of welfare. It doesn’t surprise me that for the first time in history more businesses are failing each day than starting. I’ve now seen the reasons for the murder of the middle class up close and personal.”
Gorsek says things have changed dramatically since he started his first company in 1994 and not for the better. “I have found it three times more expensive and far more stressful and difficult compared to 20 years ago. The differences are stunning. I did not have to risk $26 million of my own money to build a state of the art vitamin manufacturing facility in Las Vegas. I didn’t have to…but I wanted to. I did it to create jobs; to lower vitamin prices and significantly improve the formulations with MADE IN USA vitamins for consumers; and to help turnaround the economy.”
Gorsek continues, “Don’t forget my timing, I made the decision to invest $26 million during the worst economy since the Great Depression. Shouldn’t entrepreneurs and financial risk-takers like me be thanked and rewarded? Instead I feel demonized, denigrated, targeted and punished. Fear and uncertainty of the government is reason #1 why there are a lack of quality full time jobs.”
But Gorsek sees many more problems. “A trillion a year in welfare spending incentivizing people not to work has made it hard to find quality employees. Why work when you can stay home, sleep late and collect dozens of different welfare checks, free food, free cell phones, free healthcare and many other freebies from government…
Then there are the much higher income taxes and capital gain taxes; employment taxes, hundreds of thousands of pages of onerous regulations, fees and fines; plus the lawyer and accounting costs to comply with a maze of city, county, state and federal laws…
Now add in Obamacare, the biggest job killer ever. Because of the massive costs of Obamacare, many employers have no choice but to layoff employees, or create only part-time low wage jobs. When I started my prior company in the 1990s health care costs were $1 trillion per year, they are now at nearly triple that insane level to $2.8 trillion per year.
Lastly the ease for employees to file frivolous lawsuits is truly a disgrace. Lawyers are job killers, but guess who runs government and makes the laws? Lawyers. It just doesn’t pay to risk your money to start a business anymore when the chance of failure is now near 100% and the government has monopolized the wealth and power to the Fortune 1000 companies (because they are the only ones that can afford to “pay to play”).
Gorsek’s advice is simple, if only our political leaders would listen. “If Americans fail to elect politicians that will actually reduce the taxes, regulations and make it harder to file frivolous lawsuits (with loser pay laws), as well as reduce the size and spending of government, while providing incentives for businesses creating the jobs, you will see the continued decline of the U.S. economy, the death of good jobs and the murder of the middle class. We’re staring at the end of the American Dream.”
Priceless common sense advice from a proven business builder and job creator who has tried it twice, and who sees the stark differences in America today. Wayne Gorsek’s conclusion is simple: Because of these changes, the second time around is much more difficult, if not impossible. At this moment in time, the American dream, small business and the middle class are being murdered.
Wayne Gorsek wanted me to end this story by reminding everyone to only buy “Made in USA” brands whenever possible to support those companies creating jobs in the USA.
