Why Joe the Plumber Matters
By Alan Stewart Carl | Related entries in 2008 Election, Barack, Economy, McCain, TaxesI think Joe the Plumber is going to be one of those quirky political moments we’ll all remember for years to come. But outside of his name being invoked ad nauseam last night, do the concerns of Joe Wurzelbacher mean anything to this election?
I’d say yes. And here’s why: while 95% of Americans may receive a tax cut under Barack Obama’s plan, most of that 95% want to believe they can someday be in the 5% making more than $250,000 a year. And if they make it to that level, they don’t want to be penalized for their hard work. That’s just basic American psychology. Don’t you know we’re all going to make it big someday?
This issue will resonate with some voters – even those with little chance of ever making $250,000 barring lucky lottery numbers – because “higher taxes†and “sharing the wealth†are ideas that sound suspicious to most Americans, especially in an economic downturn when we all want to hold as tightly as we can to our hard-earned money. A tax cut sounds good. But a qualified tax cut – such as Obama’s – sounds fishy. If he’s willing to go after my rich neighbor’s money, what’s to stop him from coming after my money when he finds himself wanting more?
To be clear, the above paragraph is not my thought process, it’s just a description of how I imagine a certain percentage of Americans are thinking this morning as the Joe the Plumber story circulates through the media. It’s not a game changer. But it is the best shot McCain has landed in a long time and I expect him to ride it for the final three weeks of this election.
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October 16th, 2008 at 9:40 am
“Plumber”. Spellcheck.
October 16th, 2008 at 9:44 am
While I always admire what you have say, Alan, I’m not sure I can agree with you here. FWIW, Soledad O’Brian’s CNN focus were unmoved by his story, all except one person thought it was gimmicky. Now that could be b/c of its ham-handed presentation or maybe the story simply didn’t resonate with them. I don’t give much weight to such polls, except when there’s a landslide for a position, and that group had one.
Secondly, with his odd Sammy Davis Jr. tap-dancing comparison (why not use Fred Astair? Or Gene Kelly?) and his shaved head, I’m not certain that’s the face McCain wants on his campaign.
But McCain, since he has so little else, will probably try to exploit it.
Jake
October 16th, 2008 at 9:54 am
Seriously? Plummer?
October 16th, 2008 at 9:57 am
I’ve never understood the logic behind claims that a progressive tax “punishes” people who do well. Remember, we have marginal tax rates. Under the Obama plan, If Joe makes $250,000 one year and $260,000 the next year, his real tax rate does not go up to 39% of $260,000. Instead, he pays a bit more on the last $10,000 than he did on the previous ones. He still takes home more money making $260,000 than he did when he made $250,000. How is that “punishment”?
October 16th, 2008 at 10:04 am
So by your thinking these things need to happen:
1-The middle class voters accept that Obama will lower taxes on everyone making 250K.
2- These same middle class voters will be able to envision a future under Obama that allows them to increase their earnings to 250K+
3- Yet these same millions of struggling middle class voters, watching their retirement plans going down the drain, struggling to pay their bills, will penalize Obama and pre-empt their future prosperity, because they don’t want to pay a fairer share of the tax burden once they start making all that money.
The twisted logic of the right never ceases to amaze me.
October 16th, 2008 at 10:23 am
I am sure that plenty of Americans think like this guy, and that’s too bad.
He thinks that there is some chance that he is going to make more than $250,000 in the future, so he is against raising taxes for that income level.
He is willing to throw away the guarantee of more money today (when he may not be doing so great, financially) for the slight chance of some tax savings in the future (when he would already be doing great, financially).
The odds overwhelmingly show that he won’t ever make $250,000. Only 2% of households do.
This is the same type of backwards thinking that created this financial crisis. Businesses get greedy and take risks even though they are already rich. Lower income people run up huge credit card debts, even though they know it will cost them more in the end.
Don’t be the Joe the Plumber, America. There are lots of unwealthy Americans out there who need help. Vote Obama.
October 16th, 2008 at 10:40 am
PlumBer. Jeez — Fixed now. But not soon enough to save me the embarrassment. Sorry for the idiocy.
Anyway, Ed, no, I don’t think a huge amount of people will think that way, but SOME will. Joe the Plumber seems to.
October 16th, 2008 at 10:42 am
All income tax is a penalty for being productive. Bring on the Fair Tax.
October 16th, 2008 at 11:07 am
Yeah, I’m sure that all of those people making the decisions that led to this meltdown are “productive”. Productive and wealthy no longer necessarily go together. It’s one of our problems.
October 16th, 2008 at 11:30 am
I think Obama has a case to win this election. As long as the majority of the people in this nation do not make 250,000 dollars of more, he will win. As far as this country becoming socialist… well, call it an investment. Anyone against his idea is probably fine with the way things currently are… and that’s tremendously problematic.
October 16th, 2008 at 12:01 pm
Jim, you might want to adjust, your socialism is showing. Regardless of what Obama, Ayers, and Wright have trained you to think (and no, I’m not throwing their names around lightly–all three have clearly socialist, redistribution of wealth agendas), neither earning nor having money is inherently bad.
And do you understand the concept of the Fair Tax? Do you understand that the US didn’t have an income tax until it was needed–gasp–to fund a war? And once Washington got a taste of that money, that power, they were instantly addicted. Do you understand that in the 1890s, the Supreme Court declared the income tax to be unconstitutional, but a vote by politicians turned it into an Amendment?
Folks, we are so far off the track with the concept of taxation that it’s scary.
October 16th, 2008 at 12:08 pm
My issue with “Joe” (and I promise I will not go into the republican plant rant, even though enough evidence has come out that he is at least related to the Keating family)
Joe CANT make 250,000 a year as a plumber. Thats my issue. I know full well no matter how hard I work, as a IT tech unless I know someone and manage a sweet CIO job at a multi-billion dollar company, there is no way I will make more than maybe 150,000 a year. Even my advisor with a multi-million dollar small business only brings home around 200,000. So to think that Joe the plumber or Sally the seamstress, or whoever is going to make what is far beyond upper middle class and actually into Upper Class territories insane.
October 16th, 2008 at 12:33 pm
Hey Joe! My checking account leaks like a sieve, my health insurance has been watered down, and my retirement is down the toilet. No offense but I’m not really sorry if your business opportunity may spring a small leak.
Danno–Marietta GA
October 16th, 2008 at 1:04 pm
If this is true, that Plumber Joe has a tax lien, I wonder how the McCain camp can spin that: “Plumber Joe. He didn’t pay taxes and he won’t pay them now. Why should you? Vote John McCain.”
Jake
October 16th, 2008 at 1:28 pm
Although I don’t jump up and down at the idea of paying more taxes, I understand that it is taxes that pay for the road I drive on, the schools that children go to, and unfortunately sometime for pork. In the end I think the discussion should be about what our priorities are and then figure out a tax structure that supports that spending. I think the reason Joe matters is that is shows that we get tax sound bites and the average person really doesn’t understand what either candidate really will do.
October 16th, 2008 at 5:28 pm
OKAY PEOPLE….WHAT EVER HAPPENED TO THE NOTION THAT WITH GREAT POWER COMES GREAT RESPONSIBILITY? IN OUR FAMILY, WHEN THERE IS A BIG GATHERING, THOSE THAT HAVE MORE, CONTRIBUTE MORE…..AND THOSE THAT HAVE LESS, BRING WHAT THEY HAVE. WHEN WE SHARE IN THIS WAY, EVERYONE EATS AND IS ALLOWED TO ENJOY THEMSELVES. NO ONE GETS LEFT OUT. THESE ARE CORE FAMILY VALUES. WHILE EVERYONE IS TALKING ABOUT HOW THEY HAVE ALWAYS LOVED THEIR COUNTRY SO MUCH, WHAT EXACTLY DOES THE WORD COUNTRY MEAN? IS IT THE DIRT THAT WE STAND ON, OR THE PEOPLE DOING THE STANDING? LOVE IS WHAT LOVE DOES. IF YOU LOVE YOUR COUNTRY SO MUCH, THEN YOU SHOULDN’T MIND CONTRIBUTING MORE INTO THE TAX POOL TO HELP FEED THE LESS FORTUNATE, EDUCATE THE YOUTH AND TAKE CARE OF THE HEALTH CARE NEEDS OF THOSE IN NEED. ONCE AGAIN, LOVE IS WHAT LOVE DOES. SO GET A GRIP, SERIOUSLY AND STOP SAYING HOW MUCH YOU LOVE YOUR COUNTRY IF THE THOUGHT HAS NEVER CROSSED YOUR MIND THAT AMERICA IS “THE PEOPLE.”
October 16th, 2008 at 6:24 pm
John McCain did great tonight in the debate. But every time John mentioned “Joe the Plumber,†some of us in the campaign banged our heads against the wall. If Steve Schmidt had any hair left, I hear he would have been pulling it out tonight. He reportedly screamed at John’s debate prep team tonight (out of earshot of reporters, of course). “You idiots – he’s related to Charles Keating… of the Keating Five scandal!†They thought they had a real live Joe Six-Pack who’s spurned Barack Obama’s tax plan. But what they forgot to do was check on Joe Wurzelbacher’s background.
Turns out that Joe Wurzelbacher from the Toledo event is a close relative of Robert Wurzelbacher of Milford, Ohio. Who’s Robert Wurzelbacher? Only Charles Keating’s son-in-law and the former senior vice president of American Continental, the parent company of the infamous Lincoln Savings and Loan. The now retired elder Wurzelbacher is also a major contributor to Republican causes giving well over $10,000 in the last few years.
October 16th, 2008 at 7:52 pm
Why Joe The Plumber Matters…
Alan Stewart Carl, a moderate blogger, opines about last night’s presidential debate: “I think Joe the Plumber [pictured] is going to be one of those quirky political moments we?ll all remember for years to come. But outside of his name being invoke…
October 16th, 2008 at 8:11 pm
EI,
Your argument just doesn’t hold water. First, this
is just plain junk. I doubt I have to point out to the less partisan readers why. Secondly, gaining money by fraud is not being particularly productive or contributing anything positive to any business. In addition making money by basically writing a form of financial fiction that turns out to weave a web so complex that absolutely no one understood it in the end only made for equally fictional profits that couldn’t be sustained. That is the nature of why everything really went boom as badly as it did, not just the bad mortgages themselves.