As the son of a pipefitter, I’m proud to say that Joe the Plumber – with his common sense and courage to “speak his mind” and ask the right question at the right time – might yet become the hero of the 2008 election:
Of course, there is always the chance that the John McCain campaign makes the fatal mistake of calling Liquid Plumber first.* Let’s hope that doesn’t happen!
Even if he is from Ohio, God bless Joe Wurzelbacher.
*In case you were trying really hard to figure it out, this is neither a product endorsement nor any kind of deep metaphor. It’s just a bad joke.
Joe’s tax would only go up if his NET profits from the business were over $250k – the businesses gross profits would, of course, be even higher. Did your Dad bring home anywhere near $250k a year? If so, I clearly need to get into pipe-fitting.
Feel free to adjust for inflation of course, around $61k in 1975 dollars for example.
Forget the character attacks, however deserved or not. Let’s deal with the actual issue that was raised. Here’s a relevant excerpt from the conservative Wall Street Journal’s article of OCTOBER 17, 2008, ‘As Joe the Plumber Grows Famous, the Politics Get Murkier’:
“To reach a level that would be affected by Sen. Obama’s proposed tax increase, Mr. Smither said, a mom-and-pop plumbing company like Newell would have to clear $5 million in annual sales. [Joe’s company actually reports only $100,000 in sales.]
Even if Mr. Wurzelbacher reaped taxable income from his business of $280,000 a
year, he’d pay only about $900 more a year in taxes under Sen. Obama’s plan, which
would raise the tax rate on the income between $250,000 and $280,000 to 36%
from 33%.
[…]
If Mr. Wurzelbacher earns the wages of a typical Ohio plumber, $40,600, and holds a $90,000 mortgage, he would see a TAX CUT (emphasis added) under Sen. Obama’s plan of more than $1,000, compared with no tax reduction under Sen. McCain’s.
If he succeeds in buying the plumbing business where he works, he could see even more tax benefits, including Sen. Obama’s proposed elimination of capital-gains taxes for small-business investment, a 50% tax credit to purchase health insurance for employees and a $3,000 tax credit for every new hire over the next two years.”
Other issues and ‘things we wish were true’ aside, better to acknowledge facts and deal with them objectively.
CS, My dad was a union pipefitter for one of the Big Three auto companies. He didn’t try to buy a plumbing business like Joe W. wants to do, but he has a lot of respect for that entrepreneurial spirit. A bad comparison that utterly misses the point.
UI, So what you’re saying is that Joe the Plumber either can stay in his current position and get the wealth spread toward him or be punished for his success and have the wealth spread toward others? Nice try.