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August 31, 2010
Defeat 1098 is the right thing to do
Dear Friend,
Each week, we here at Defeat 1098 report our contributions to the Washington Public Disclosure Commission (PDC) in accordance with campaign finance rules. Yes on 1098 is required to do the same. There has yet to be a week where the difference between our two campaigns has been more apparent. We are the grassroots campaign. They are not. We have the support of Washingtonians in every corner of the state. They are funded by wealthy government employee unions and Bill Gates, Sr.
To demonstrate the clear difference between Defeat 1098 and the proponents of the new state income tax, here is a by the numbers comparison:
Total raised last week:
Defeat 1098 - $441,608
Yes on 1098 – $366,810
Contributions last week:
Defeat 1098 - 498
Yes on 1098 - 14
From individuals last week:
Defeat 1098 – $409,608
Yes on 1098 - $1,810
Union contributions last week:
Defeat 1098 - $0
Yes on 1098 - $365,000
Overall total from SEIU:
Defeat 1098 – $0
Yes on 1098 - $997,954
Overall total from unions:
Defeat 1098 - $0
Yes on 1098 - $1,273,454
Overall total amount raised:
Defeat 1098 - $1,554,128
Yes on 1098 - $2,530,496
Approx. contributors:
Defeat 1098 – 1,425
Yes on 1098 – 200
Approx. avg. contribution:
Defeat 1098 - $1,084
Yes on 1098 - $12,652
The opposition is claiming to be the grassroots campaign leading the charge on behalf of the people. Nothing could be further from the truth. They continue to claim Defeat 1098 is funded by a small group of very wealthy citizens. As you can see from the data above, their charges ring hollow. The truth is, 70 percent of the income tax advocates’ funds come from two sources -- government employee unions and Bill Gates, Sr.
We enjoy tremendous support from people all across the state and are proud to be the true grassroots campaign in this race. Thank you for standing with us against this income tax!
A Washington State income tax will only benefit the unions and government employees with more tax dollars. It will sap competitiveness from Washington State and force it’s best companies and brightest citizens to consider moving (i know i am). It is also interesting to look at the data on who is actually funding what. The opposition is very grass roots. The pro tax camp is unions and Bill Gates Sr. Crazy talk
Posted by Martin at 1:48 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
August 4, 2010
The facts contradict Groupon’s spin machine
Ah to be a 24 year old CEO of a hot company again. The mistakes I would not make… Well the CEO’s job is to be optimistic and put a positive spin on things to the press, but it is quite embarrassing when you get caught red handed with your staff contradicting you. Ok, now to the fun stuff, Groupon’s latest gaff.
Groupon has been in the news lately for forcing merchants into overselling their inventory and causing excessive strain on the merchant. MSNBC had something on this just this week. In that article, Mason says: “CEO and founder Andrew Mason of Groupon says the company explains the risk shops take when they sign on. It tells its 30,000 clients not to expect to turn a profit on the deals and suggests they limit the number of coupons they sell.”
While the head is spinning to the media, the body is doing something else. Below is an actual email to a merchant from a Groupon sales person. (Yes Mr. Lawyer I have the entire email if you want proof of authenticity).
Hi XXXX,
So the verdict is as follows, the city planner is uncomfortable with doing a main feature that isn't 50% off and has less that 1000 tickets to sell. It sets a precedent for other businesses to be loose with the numbers and we would prefer not to allow that.
Hummm. Sounds like the sales people are NOT letting merchants cap the vouchers they sell and are pressing them for steeper discounts than the merchant is comfortable with. Wouldn’t want to set a precedent of doing deals that are actually good for a merchant now would we? Unfortunately this heavy hand is becoming more the norm that I hear from merchants in the field.
And yes again this week two merchants that we featured on Tippr were contacted by Groupon lawyers and threatened with law suits for running a promotion on Tippr after running on Groupon. Their lawyers are very aggressive enforcing the often overlooked exclusivity clause in the Groupon contract. No Tippr doesn’t have an exclusivity. That is bad for merchant. Why would we want to limit the ways our merchants can advertise?
I sincerely hope Groupon continues to annoy merchants like this. It is good for Tippr.
Posted by Martin at 1:24 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack