A not so subtle inference to a dark chapter in world history, I know, but, as the Democratic Party tightens its noose around the working private sector, the analogy becomes grimly appropriate.  These past weeks I have written about an insidious money grab that the Democrats have initiated in an effort to cover the effects of their liberal spend thrifty legislative practices.  Simply put, the Democrats can’t balance their own checkbook so they want what’s left in yours.  Everyone knows that, in liberalise, the word for fundraiser is regulatory fine, and if they can crush Independent Contractors in the process of raising a few “Bennie’s”…bonus!  It’s a trifecta of liberal accomplishments.  A one more time around infusement of stimulus (that’s socialist for stolen money) funds to balance the budget (I thought that money was supposed to create jobs, not cover bad bookkeeping?  I guess I’m not fluent in socialist.), gathering more “donations” by penalizing small business up the Gulfhagas Gorge, and handing the heads of Independent Contractors over to Unions on a silver platter.  The Democrats from Nancy Pelosi right down to Mike Michaud must be crazy giddy.

Sarcasm has its place and it is a weapon that I use as often as I can.  For many of my fellow contractors who have had the Democratic Party’s enforcers walk into their homes and crush their business, it’s not so funny.  My heart goes out to all of you and I can empathize because it is happening to me, too.  It is a helpless, infuriating feeling to jump through all the hoops this State demands and then have the compliance status that you worked to achieve altered so that the Department of Labor can attack the Contractors you are associated with.

I will not be silent.  Evil must be exposed.  I do this not merely in hopes of alleviating my hardship, although, I will fight to do that; but, rather, to fight in an effort bring some attention to the unfair, unlawful, and arrogant practices of the Department of Labor and the Democratic Party it receives its directives from.

A couple of months ago, one Shelliejo Merrill contacted my business to inform us that we were to be audited.  After asking over the phone what Contractors we did business with, asking for paperwork to be faxed, she set up an audit date.  I took the morning off work and sat in my dining room waiting for Shelliejo to keep her appointment.  She did not appear.  I later learned she appeared the next day to the audit of a Contractor I had business dealings with.  Ms. Merrill informed this Contractor that he had improperly identified my business as a sub-Contractor.  Quite surprised, as you can imagine, my business friend asked how she had come to that decision.  Her reply was to say that my status would not have been in question if I had not terminated my unemployment tax identification number.  When I was informed of this, I was stunned.  I had never terminated my ID number.  We contacted Shelliejo to protest this and was told this was the law, she had the power and there was no reason to investigate furthur.

Weeeeell, as you can imagine, that didn’t set well with this Conservative.  I contacted my Senator, Doug Smith and my Representative, Paul Davis, who expressed their disgust and helped us contact the State Commissioner’s office.  We talked with a Mr. Dean Coffin, who was very helpful.  He was surprised at the confusion, since his computer still showed our accounts open and active.  We agreed since we had had communications with the State in letter form (with a letterhead) a few weeks prior to the audit, which showed evidence to the same.  Mr. Coffin went on to say that Shellijo, as a field operative did not have the authority to terminate my status.  This could only be done by the State Commissioner and could only be accomplished with my signature.  Hmmm…then how could they…hmm?

Subsequent phone calls with Mr. Coffin proved to be less productive as the State Commissioner’s office began to “circle the wagons.”  Soon, it was communicated to my business, that our status had been closed, and not only closed, but backdated to 2008.  This, so that they could fine my associates for the entire year of 2009.  This, despite all the evidence supporting the legitimacy of my business.

For you that don’t understand the severe limitation this is to my business, let me explain.  I cannot sub-contact.  I can contract with a homeowner, but not with another contractor.  It is called divide and conquer.  Smaller Contractors survive on the contracts supplied to them by larger Contractors.  Add to that, the thousands of dollars in fines levied against my associates through the falsification of documents and you have a direct attempt to kill business in these rural areas.  To the Democratic Party the only legitimate business is a Union business.

We can only stop this money mongering of the Democrats by voting, in November, to give Paul LePage and the Republican Party the power to fight for working people.  Mayor LePage, one of the “first attitude adjustments” needed in Augusta is this: Shelliejo has got to go!