One Entrepreneur Speaks His Mind: Targeting the Wealthy Kills Jobs

Cypress Semiconductor CEO T.J. Rogers let it all hang out in the Op-Ed pages of The Wall Street Journal. He compared his San Jose, CA company’s investment totaling $797 million to create chip-making plants between 1983 and 2003 leading to the creation of 4,003 jobs -- roughly an investment of $198,000 per job-- and contrasts this with $500,000 to $4 million per job created by the Obama administration in the course of its stimulus program.

A native of Wisconsin but longtime Silicon Valley libertarian who does not suffer redistributionist fools gladly, Rogers challenged President Obama for allegedly dividing the country into haves and have-nots and using income disparity to engender envy if not class warfare. He cited 2012 IRS income tax data, showing the top 1% of U.S. taxpayers earned 20 percent of all income and paid 36 percent of all taxes. The top 5 % earned 36 % of all income and paid 58% of all taxes. “Will even higher taxes help the economy,”he asks? “My experience in Silicon Valley tells me that high and so-called progressive taxes are a major cause of the country’s current economic problems, not the solution.”

Rogers critics are many and they were out in force to savage him. Some pointed to a Reuters story that drew upon a Congressional Budget Office study claiming that allowing income tax rates to rise for wealthy Americans, and maintaining rates for the less affluent, would not hurt U.S. economic growth. Others cite the fact that during the 1950s, a prosperous decade, tax rates on the rich were high. This overlooks that with numerous deductions available at the time, no one actually paid taxes at those nose-bleeding rates.

Rogers is no stranger to controversy. In 1995, Sister Doris Gormley of the Sisters of St. Francis of Philadelphia wrote a scalding letter to him urging Rogers that he ought to add women and minorities to his board of directors. Rodgers sent a blunt reply suggesting that the good nun hadn’t the vaguest clue how business actually operated and what was required of a tech company board director. What may be acceptable to a consumer products company like Johnson & Johnson did not work for a B2B Silicon Valley firm. “Bluntly stated,” he told her, “a `woman’s view’ on how to run our semiconductor company does not help us, unless that woman has an advanced technical degree and experience as a CEO.” (Chief Executive later learned that Rogers was looking for a talented CEO with engineering experience and pursued Carol Bartz, then CEO of Autodesk and later CEO of Yahoo. For whatever reason it didn’t happen.)

The debate over wealth and job creation will likely intensify as we approach the2014 congressional elections. Not all entrepreneurs are of a like mind, Warren Buffett and Bill Gates being celebrated examples. Buffett made a big deal that he was being taxed less than his secretary, a somewhat disingenuous claim since the tax rates for ordinary wage income vs capital gains is like comparing chalk and cheese. It’s hard to argue, however, that the investments in most start-up companies must come from individuals who can wait 10 years or more to get a return on their investment. Only the well-to-do can be that patient.

Read: https://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324110404578630461045403872.html


MORE LIKE THIS

  • Get the CEO Briefing

    Sign up today to get weekly access to the latest issues affecting CEOs in every industry
  • upcoming events

    Roundtable

    Strategic Planning Workshop

    1:00 - 5:00 pm

    Over 70% of Executives Surveyed Agree: Many Strategic Planning Efforts Lack Systematic Approach Tips for Enhancing Your Strategic Planning Process

    Executives expressed frustration with their current strategic planning process. Issues include:

    1. Lack of systematic approach (70%)
    2. Laundry lists without prioritization (68%)
    3. Decisions based on personalities rather than facts and information (65%)

     

    Steve Rutan and Denise Harrison have put together an afternoon workshop that will provide the tools you need to address these concerns.  They have worked with hundreds of executives to develop a systematic approach that will enable your team to make better decisions during strategic planning.  Steve and Denise will walk you through exercises for prioritizing your lists and steps that will reset and reinvigorate your process.  This will be a hands-on workshop that will enable you to think about your business as you use the tools that are being presented.  If you are ready for a Strategic Planning tune-up, select this workshop in your registration form.  The additional fee of $695 will be added to your total.

    To sign up, select this option in your registration form. Additional fee of $695 will be added to your total.

    New York, NY: ​​​Chief Executive's Corporate Citizenship Awards 2017

    Women in Leadership Seminar and Peer Discussion

    2:00 - 5:00 pm

    Female leaders face the same issues all leaders do, but they often face additional challenges too. In this peer session, we will facilitate a discussion of best practices and how to overcome common barriers to help women leaders be more effective within and outside their organizations. 

    Limited space available.

    To sign up, select this option in your registration form. Additional fee of $495 will be added to your total.

    Golf Outing

    10:30 - 5:00 pm
    General’s Retreat at Hermitage Golf Course
    Sponsored by UBS

    General’s Retreat, built in 1986 with architect Gary Roger Baird, has been voted the “Best Golf Course in Nashville” and is a “must play” when visiting the Nashville, Tennessee area. With the beautiful setting along the Cumberland River, golfers of all capabilities will thoroughly enjoy the golf, scenery and hospitality.

    The golf outing fee includes transportation to and from the hotel, greens/cart fees, use of practice facilities, and boxed lunch. The bus will leave the hotel at 10:30 am for a noon shotgun start and return to the hotel after the cocktail reception following the completion of the round.

    To sign up, select this option in your registration form. Additional fee of $295 will be added to your total.