February 15, 2009

Dear Mr. President:

I am Dave the 63 year old small business man from Kentucky. I have almost
1000 employees and dependents that look for my direction, jobs and pay
checks each week.

I have a high school education with one year of college. The balance of my
education is from the School of Hard Knocks.

I am a Work-a-Holic…up daily by 4:30 a.m….I drive 2000 to 3000 miles a

week looking for work for my employees. Most weeks I work seven days a
week – 80 to 100 hours. I have been President of my company for over 42
years. I am the third generation; my son is the fourth and my grandsons are
the fifth. By most standards, I am a very successful, wealthy person.

Here is my problem. There are no tools in your incentive package that

allows my companies to grow and prosper.

Some of the things I do for a living are as follows:

I operate one of the largest re-location companies in the world.

I own an environmental company.

I own a trucking company.

I own an office furniture company,

I own a demolition company.

I own a re-hab company.

I own a bridal and event company.

I own a “home staging” company.

I own lots of warehouses and property.

I helped to start a very successful Community bank.

I have put not less than 20 people in their own businesses in my community.

I run a soup kitchen that feeds 65,000 persons a year.

PROBLEMS I SEE IN OUR ECONOMY AND WITH OUR

GOVERNMENT:

NOWHERE TO WORK

When I went to work for my father in 1965, Cincinnati, Ohio, alone, had 77
machine tool companies. They employed over 65,000 people. Cincinnati
was known as the “Machine tool Capital of the World”. Today there are
only five of these companies left, including Mazak that just moved here in
the 1970’s.

My point: You want to put people to work. I ask where? For the past 20
years, me, one person, Mr. 63 year old Small Business Man from Kentucky
have shipped 1000 to 2000 loads of factories to Mexico yearly, not to
mention China – some years as much as 5000 loads and the list goes on and
on until I am about to throw up. From Maine to Florida and Virginia to
California, the factories where people are supposed to work are gone.

Economics 101 – You must make something in order to spend something.

I just finished dismantling a huge factory for shipment to China. 1300

containers, 1200 jobs. The main Chinese man told me, “your American
eagle is dead.”

You know what Mr. President? He was probably right.

How did our government let this happen? You, Mr. President, make the
rules and set the agenda.
TOO MANY ILLEGAL MEXICANS

Call it the way it is. Hard workers, good people, but they have taken 15 to
20 million American jobs. And guess what? Nothing is being done about it.

They have broken our schools systems, hospitals, city and state
governments. They pay nothing toward running the system.

Mr. President: Address this issue now! You can’t address all of our
problems without first starting with this one.

Our American citizens and taxpayers now need these jobs. Policy starts with
you, Mr. President.

NO INCENTITIVES FOR THE BUSINESS MAN

No one knows how hard my parents worked and how much they sacrificed
to build our family-owned business and make our community a better place
to live.

My father spent his entire life trying to bring new businesses to Northern
Kentucky. Every week of my life, growing up, someone was at our house
with my dad, and he was trying to convince them to either move their
business to Northern Kentucky or start a new family owned business here.
He died almost 20 years ago. This Christmas I was going through a box of
his things which I had stored in my closet. I found a list of the top 20 family
owned businesses in Northern Kentucky. Guess what? They are almost all
gone.

You know, Mr. President, it is almost impossible to pass a family owned

business on today. For the past 3 years I have spent over $100,000 trying to
do so and no one has come up with a workable solution to do so yet.

Also, Mr. President, where is my stimulus package? I need to buy trucks and
equipment now. I am just one small company that me, alone, in 2009, needs
to purchase 2 million dollars worth of equipment. We have all been waiting
for our tax credit – where is it? Just think of the jobs this alone would
create. All business owners need equipment and machinery to operate. You
know, equipment wears out. Give us a deal…this one American will spend
more than his fair share buying equipment that will create 100’s of jobs, and
p.s., I need access to the money.

TOO MUCH DEBT AND SPENDING

If I spend too much money and don’t properly manage my debt, I am broke.

Well, guess what Mr. President? You are on the verge of being broke if not
already there. What are you planning to do about that?

Here is an idea… want to spend 1 or 2 trillion dollars, which I absolutely

disagree on doing, because nothing in your package helps me, Mr. 63 year
old small business man. There wasn’t going to be any Pork. Who are you
kidding? It is loaded with all your pet projects which do nothing for me or
my companies.

If I were the president…I would immediately invoke a 2 percent debt tax on

all goods and services. If 2 percent is not enough, then make it 5 percent or
whatever it needs to be. This way, all Americans, rich and poor and all
Illegals share in getting us back on our feet. Guess what Mr. President? I
hate taxes but we all need to chip in during this critical time in our economy.
Do what you have to do. You were elected to make change. Start with this
idea.

Just do it, because if you don’t, your daughters and my granddaughters are
not going to have a future.

LET US HELP OUR OWN

Americans have always done a good job in taking care of our communities
less fortunate.

For example: I have run a soup kitchen for the past 17 years and have fed
562,000 people and cared for almost 70 additional families each year I have
been in business. I have one full time paid person at the soup kitchen and
the rest are all volunteers. Last year I served 67,000 meals. I provide this
service 7 days a week. I spent less than 120,000 dollars doing this.

Mr. President, the Federal Government couldn’t have done this for less than
1.5 to 2 million dollars. Check your own statistics. Our government is not
fruitful like me. I think your incentive plan giving Acorn 4.5 billion dollars,
is absurd. I can run all the soup kitchens in American for a fraction of what
you are giving Acorn.

WE HAVE ALLOWED TOO MANY TO GET TOO TOO BIG

General Motors is just much too big and has too much political clout and
influence. I have spent the past 10 years moving most of their suppliers out
of the US, however this probably made my Hummer and Cadillacs much
cheaper, but it also eliminated 1000’s of American jobs and factories, plus
devastated 100’s of small towns across America. We Americans must be
willing to pay more for our goods or nothing will be made here in America
in the future. What happened to “buy American?”

I walk through Wal Mart weekly. Best value for your money in case you
haven’t figured it out, however, every fifth item on the shelf it seems I have
had something to do with moving that manufacturer out of the good old
USA. Most items in Wal Mart are a better value today than in the 1970’s.
Good for all of us Americans now, but all of those millions and millions of
American jobs are gone forever. Wake up America, we have got to make it
here and pay more for it if it is made here.

Mr. President: Quite honestly I can’t figure out where Americans are going
to work. Without factories and men like me, the American worker is “toast”.
Where are we going to create these 5 million jobs you are talking about?
Tell us specifics so we can all plan.

Oh the Banks…just go back to the small town bank, where the Banker
knows David Hosea. I don’t want to talk to the banker in Cleveland or New
York or someone new next month in some other city.

NO MORE OUT SOURCING

America must return to a manufacturing based economy, this is just simple

economics. Want to make it outside the USA ok then you must manufacture
50% here in the USA or pay a 20% import tax. It wouldn’t take long to
balance the budget or put 4 million Americans back to work.
GOD

How did we forget God? I don’t know about you, but Mr. President, you
and I don’t have too many people to turn to in crises and messes like we are
in today

I get 200 phone calls a day – most of them lately all crises and problems.
Quite honestly, day to day business isn’t any fun anymore and I have no one
to talk to.

It is me at the top…no dad to call…no old teachers to call – they are mostly
dead…no friends to call because they’re worse off than me. Who do you
and I talk to? The Man.

Today, I am sitting here in my log cabin, on top of a mountain, me alone,

trying to solve all of these problems. I don’t know about you, but God has
given me some input and inspiration this weekend. I am just trying to save
my business and my Country and provide the ground work for my
grandchildren to carry on the family business .

Mr. President, thanks for your very valuable time.

You know, I am your stimulus package and your soldier out here in
Kentucky. I am the one that makes the deals, makes things happen and
employs the people. All I want from you sir, are my tools back to run my
business. I only need the following from you and my government.

 I need access to money now.

 I need a tax incentive now to purchase equipment with

 I need a way to pass my 100 year old business on to my kids so

they can continue to employ people and build a better America

 I need a strong education system that gives me and my family

great future employees
  Other than that, stay out of my business.

Just for the record the Kentucky Governor Steve Breshear is my friend &
College fraternity brother.
How about an invite to meet with me, the 63 year old business man from
Kentucky? I’ve been around the block a few times, you know. There are a
lot of us out here that probably are more in tune with the times than are most
of our Congressmen. Get us all together.

You know, I love this country, my family, my job, who I am, and what I have
accomplished, but honestly, I am really really concerned about next week
and next month, not to mention the future. Whatever you do, you have the
support of this American from Kentucky.

Very truly yours,

David S. Hosea
a.k.a. Mr. 63 year old business man from Kentucky
38 Walker Road
Fort Thomas, Kentucky 41075