Wet Process Equipment

Nattering Nabobs of Negativism

2010-05-28T07:05:00.000-07:00

Spiro Agnew famously accused his detractors of being "nattering nabobs of negativism". Other alliterations of his were "pusillanimous pussyfooters" and "hopeless, hysterical hypochondriacs of history".
Wow! These are perfect descriptions of what we have been seeing and hearing from the talking heads in the new reality of the 24/7 news cycle. How do we business owners manage to get out of bed each morning after being bombarded with catastrophic oil leaks, rabid jihadists determined to change our way of life, bailouts of businesses deemed too big to fail, politicians who write our tax laws found to be evading taxes, foreclosures, dried up venture capital and european governments on the verge of collapse. Not to mention our countries astronomical deficits.
Yet, get out of bed we do. Each and every morning. We plunge headlong into our days with the expectation that something wonderful will happen. Perhaps its because we are Americans and Americans are by nature an optomistic lot with entrepeneurs being particularly so.
2009 was challenging for so many businesses; small, medium or large businesses were impacted. No one was spared. As much of a struggle as this recession has been for us all, I noticed that few, if any, of our competitors or suppliers permanently closed their doors. All of us adjusted. Maybe we learned our lesson from the drop in the semiconductor industry a few years prior. We learned to prioritize, to keep our debt down, to react earlier rather than later to the signs we see around us and to cross-market our products.
I was flipping through channels the other day and caught the tail end of an interview of a person who followed the business trends of the Silicon Valley. He argued that downturns in the past were followed by sharp upturns because the government eagerly supplied capital for innovation as well as infrastructure. This funding has dried up according to him (wish I caught his name). He indicated that high tech was growing at a fast pace in Israel, India and of course China due to their governments willingness to invest in their growth. What can we do about this? Anything?
We've all heard that small business is the backbone of our economy yet manufacturing is dwindling in the US while our government is growing. How can this possibly be sustaining?
Despite the negativity I've enumerated above, we are seeing real positive signs. Quoting has skyrocketed, budgets are being approved and alliances are being made. Are the improvements in the economy and our industry due to the government stimulus or is it a cyclical condition? I'm not sure, but everyday I get up in the morning and expect wonderful things to happen.

Taxes

2010-05-27T13:19:00.000-07:00

Ahhhh...taxes. You know what they say about death and taxes. According to a web memo I read titled The Historical Lessons of Lower Tax Rates written by Daniel Mitchell, PhD for The Heritage Foundation dated way back on August 13, 2003 :

"There is a distinct pattern throughout American history: When tax rates are reduced, the economy's growth rate improves and living standards increase. Good tax policy has a number of interesting side effects. For instance, history tells us that tax revenues grow and "rich" taxpayers pay more tax when marginal tax rates are slashed. This means lower income citizens bear a lower share of the tax burden - a consequence that should lead class-warfare politicians to support lower tax rates.
Conversely, periods of higher tax rates are associated with sub par economic performance and stagnant tax revenues. In other words, when politicians attempt to "soak the rich," the rest of us take a bath. Examining the three major United States episodes of tax rate reductions can prove useful lessons."

I admit that I haven't thoroughly researched the platforms of each of Californias gubernatorial candidates, so I may not have all the facts. If what I understand is correct, Meg Whitman proposes to eliminate the factory tax. According to her website, California is only 1 of 3 states which taxes manufacturing equipment without offering a tax credit or exemption. I whole-heartedly believe that if California eliminates this tax, it will be a boon to the California economy. Now, if she manages to get elected, will she be able to get this passed? This is something yet to be seen. As my favorite radio personality, Lee Rodgers, always said, "Never fall in love with a politician. They will always break your heart." How true!

It seems to me that if taxes are lowered in this state, it will create an incentive for companies to set up manufacturing facilities, create more jobs and increase our tax base. But then again, that's just me thinking again.

What do you think?

Welcome to WPS' New Blog

2010-05-27T10:46:00.000-07:00

Alot has happened since our humble beginnings 27 years ago. It's hard to imagine that armed with alot of ambition and energy, but less than $1400.00, Doug Caldwell decided to leave his position as field service engineer at Semifab and start a new company called Wafer Process Systems. Actually, Doug had first wanted to call his new company Wet Dreams, but that idea was vetoed. Looking back now, I think his original idea was a really good one! No one would have forgotten that name!

Initially, WPS only serviced existing equipment in the Silicon Valley. As our reputation for outstanding service and knowledge of the industry grew, so did the services we supplied. Soon after WPS was begun, we manufactured our first wet process bench for Fairchild in Mtn. View.

I'll continue with this walk down memory lane later, back to work for now :)