Does ‘Joe The Plumber’ Represent The Ecopreneurist’s Ideals?
Since last night’s presidential debate, all I have heard from everybody around me is ‘What about Joe the Pumber’? Clearly, the most talked about man in the U.S. presidential election is now a 34-year-old Ohio resident otherwise known as Samuel Joseph Wurzelbacher.
Joe was referenced more than 20 times in Wednesday night’s presidential debate, and has quickly found himself caught in a deluge of media attention, political parody and personal scrutiny. Obama and his running mate, Biden, both criticized Joe as a false idol of the Republican cause.
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“John [McCain] continues to cling to the notion of this guy Joe the Plumber,” Biden said on NBC’s Today show. “I don’t have any Joe the plumbers in my neighborhood that make $250,000 a year. The Joe the plumbers in my neighborhood, the Joe the cops in my neighborhood, the Joe the grocery store owners in my neighborhood, they make, like 98 per cent of the small businesses, less than $250,000 a year.”
Admittedly, Joe does not earn close to $250K per year but McCain’s point was that he he could indeed buy the business that he had dreamed of, then Obama’s tax policy (increasing taxes for those who earn over $250 K from 36 to 39 per cent) would make life much more difficult for folks like him.
Entrepreneurs all over America identify with Joe the Plumber which is why he has clearly become the talk of the town. Especially given the turmoil in the financial markets that has kept everyone on their toes lately. But what about the Ecopreneurists? To me you folks are the entrepreneurs of the New Economy who have the potential to not just to rebuild…but rebuild a sustainable economy. What are your thoughts on Joe The Plumber ? Does he represent you?
Please do send in your comments. In the next three weeks until the election, there is plenty of scope for conversation and opinion as to how ecopreneurists can take America to where it needs to be to support our individual and joint cause of sustainability.
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JOE MAKES ABOUT 40K!!!!!!
He is not a licensed plumber. And it turns out that he makes less than $250,000 a year,
which means he would receive a tax cut if Obama were elected president. The candidate in this race whose policies will help him is Barack Obama!
MaCain & Palin are based on half truths and twisted distortions THEY SUCKKKKKKK!!!!
Here is one of the links.
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1008/14652.html
JOE_SCAB@PLUMBER.COM
JOE THE UNLISCENSED “SCAB” PLUMBER
JOE THE NON-UNION, UNLISCENED, SCAB PLUMBER gives a bad name for Unionized Journeymen plumbers.
Using McCain’s 6-Day 10hr shifts Joe could have made in excess of $250,000.00 WITHOUT EVEN OWNING THE BUSINESS!
You say how? An PRIMARY “A” DIVISION JOURNEYMEN in LOCAL #1 makes $80.26 per hr (including benefits) X 6 days a week 10 hrs a day = $3,210.40 Regular Time + 20 hrs OT @ $120.29 = $2405.80 = $5616.20 x 52= $292,042.40!
So JOE THE “SCAB” PLUMBER could pay his TAXES and get a new van if he was a PROUD AMERICAN “A” DIVISION JOURNEYMEN in LOCAL #1.
Don’t believe the numbers? Call the Joint board and check!
(718) 752-9630 or I can post a link to the wages.
Good Luck JOE THE UNLISCENSED “SCAB” PLUMBER”
Vote Union Today = OBAMA 2008!
I too am concerned about Obama’s “tax” for those earning over $250,000. Anyone making that much is already spending more money, contributing more to charites, paying more taxes, than those that make less than that and now he wants to take more??? He acts like those that make that much as priveledged and yet I worked 2 jobs to get thru college and med/dental school. No trust fund, my parents were teachers. I had to take out student loans which I am still paying off after 10+yrs and will be for quite some time.
Since college, I have worked very very hard to support my family. I already contribute time and money to others around me, worldwide. And now because of all this hard work I am going to be taxed even more????? If the government takes more from me, I will have less to give to others…..has he considered the impact this will have to all the non-profit organizations that rely on this group of tax payers for contributions???
Why not take the money that Obama is spending on this 30 minute commerical before one of the World Series Games and donate it to the US! He must be spending an extraordinary amount of money to do this!
Since an average Joe probably makes far less than $250K, Obama’s tax proposal will help such a person get ahead far more than McCain’s tax breaks to the rich. Ironic that the real Joe the Plumber has a tax lien on his house and that he says that if he ever actually made over $250K, he wouldn’t want to share it with people with incomes like the one he has now.
I think Sen. Obama missed his chance when Joe questioned him. Maybe it is because the Senator has never run a business. It was instantly obvious that any small business that grossed $250,000 per year would not make a profit, taxable income, of anywhere near that amount. Even as owner of such a business (which I doubt he ever will be) Joe would probably have taxable income of less than $100,000. His taxes would almost certainly be lower under Obama’s plan than under McCain’s. The wealth would be “spread” in his direction! (see charts at http://freakonomics.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/09/16/competing-tax-plans-two-perspectives/ for more.)
Sen. Obama fumbled the question. Joe may have to return to the Natural Law Party, his former affiliation.
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Tlynn
“Anyone making that much is already spending more money, contributing more to charites, paying more taxes, than those that make less than that and now he wants to take more???”
You are assuming that people with high incomes are all donating to charities. The numbers say differently. Yes, they pay more taxes in actual dollars, but the middle and lower classes pay a much higher percentage of their wages. The USA as grand as it once was, is no longer as grand. To think otherwise is to bury one’s head in the sand. Our infrastructure was built in the 40s, 50s, and 60s with alot of it needing repair or replacement, forget about the “bridge to nowhere, but don’t ever forget the I-35W Mississippi River bridge where thirteen people lost their lives and 145 were injured because it was not build to handle 140,000 cars per day.We need to rebuild this great country, this can only be done through tax revenues, and sacrifices being made by the American people.
Too bad Senator Obama wasn’t president when you were in college, your debt would be smaller and you would have more liquid capital. Thanks for doing all of the hard work that you do
[...] McCain addressed his comments to Joe Wurzelbacher, a plumber who confronted Obama about his tax policies at a recent Obama rally in Toledo, Ohio. For a considerable amount of time, McCain and Obama debated over who would do a better job for “Joe the Plumber.” [...]
@ JOE_SCAB - It is now clear that I wasted my time working my way through college to become an engineer (no jokes please). Your base pay ($80.26/hr X 2080hr/yr = $166,940.80/yr) is nearly three times mine. Even though your skill has earned you a king’s ransom, B. Hussein O. will never specifically target your income (including future raises and/or overtime) for increased taxation. Your union dues have already paid the necessary protection money to the Democratic Party.
@ Tlynn - You are apparently a self-made, non-union success story. And since you lack a powerful lobbying machine (like a union), you are the target of B. Hussein O.’s campaign of change and hope. He “hopes” to leave you with only “change” in your pocket. The JOE-THE-PLUMBER smear campaign is of the magnitude of which the Clintons would be proud. Since Bill’s tryst with Monica, the left has told us that personal character has no bearing on a person’s ability to perform his duties. However, when someone like Joe steps to the plate to question the messiah’s tax plan, to what do the democrats resort? Character assassination and personal attacks! Rather than addressing Joe’s concerns about BHO’s plan, all we have heard is that Joe is non-union, unlicensed, and behind on his taxes. Rather than engage the man they have resorted to diverting the public’s attention to Joe’s CHARACTER flaws, and the diversion has worked without flawlessly. Just look at the ire JOE_SCAB has for a non-union person working within his craft. Do you wonder how many honest taxpayers now share a similar disdain as a result of the smear campaign? If the republicans were bold enough to use the logic of the left, they would be saying that none of those issues makes him any less qualified to execute his duties as a plumber, and that his question still begs for an answer. Instead, the republicans have abandoned the man who provided them a moment of thunder. Now that really is a shame.
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