Andrea French Section Editor
David Siegel, the CEO and owner of Westgate Resorts, told his employers that if President Barack Obama is reelected and his taxes are raised, he will have to lay off the majority of his workers and possibly shut the company down. Westgate Resorts is a real-estate company that sells timeshares and real-estate all around the world. Westgate was started in Central Florida in Siegel’s garage, and is now one of the largest privately held timeshare companies in the world. “If any new taxes are levied on me, or my company, as our current President plans, I will have no choice but to reduce the size of this company,” Siegel wrote. “Rather than grow this company I will be forced to cut back. This means fewer jobs, less benefits and certainly less opportunity for everyone.” Everyone is entitled to their own political opinions, but Siegel’s opinions are so controversial because he and his wife are known for extravagant spending. Mr. and Mrs. Siegel recently built the largest new house in the country, known as “Versailles”. “I have heard about the house called ‘Versailles’ before. It was shown in the documentary ‘Queen of Versailles’. This is one of the most extravagant ways to spend so much money. I just find it hypocritical for David Siegel to say that people are going to be fired if taxes go up, but can you imagine how much money in taxes he is paying on his house?” says an anonymous source. When Westgate began to lose money, “Versailles” went into foreclosure and was put up for sale. However, instead of looking for a new home and moving on, the Siegel’s could not stand the thought of losing this home. Therefore, they took their children out of private school, cut back on using their private jet, and cut some of their home staff. “I am outraged by this story. I think that everyone can believe what they want about politics, but they should never be influencing the votes of their employees by stating that their jobs may be in jeopardy if the current president is reelected,” says sophomore Samantha Fasbach. Robert Frank from NBC News conducted a phone interview with Siegel, who claims that his personal finances are back on track again. “I can’t tell anyone to vote. I want my employees to be educated on what could happen to their future if the wrong person is elected,” Siegel said. “I never thought that anyone, especially a CEO, could get away with politically influencing his employees by scaring them with their own jobs. There is no way that any single person who recieved tat email is going to vote solely based on their own political feelings and beliefs. These employees are all going to vote for Romney just to make sure they can keep their jobs,” says sophomore Catarina Santo.
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