What about Joe the Plumber?
Since we’ve been talking about Joe the Plumber in the comments today, here’s some background on Joe Wurzelbacher and how he got into John McCain’s debate script.
Joe Wurzelbacher was playing football with his son in Holland, Ohio, near Toledo, recently when Barack Obama was campaigning door to door, CNN reported. He voiced his concerns that Obama would tax him more if he bought the plumbing business where he works.
(As everyone has probably heard, Obama plans to cut taxes for everyone making less than $250,000 a year.)
Obama responded with an explanation of his tax plan, according to CNN, and a statement about "spreading the wealth around" being good for everyone. McCain’s whole point was to resurrect the antiquated notions held by some conservatives that Obama advocates a wholesale "redistribution" (gasp!) of wealth as has been done under communism and socialism.
What exactly does it mean to make $250,000? For a small business owner, who runs a sole proprietorship such as a plumbing business, that means $250,000 profit — revenue minus expenses.
If a plumbing business cleared a $250,000 profit after expenses, I think a lot of people would be really surprised. Are those gold-plated pipes?
This is not about transferring wealth from the rich to the poor. This is about enhancing the quality of life for the majority of Americans who work hard and have little reward for what they do. Maybe if they got a tax cut they wouldn’t be living beyond their means and charging up credit cards. Then they could legitimately patronize businesses like the one where Joe the Plumber currently works (something Obama pointed out when talking to Wurzelbacher).