Who the heck is Joe, the plumber?

I don’t know! But I’m sure sick of hearing about him.
What about Jill, the hairdresser?
Tom, the schoolteacher?
Frank, the zookeeper?

What about themmm?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vFC9jv9jfoA

Actually CNN just talked about this. He is a man Obama was talking to in the midwest who is buying a plumbing business and asked Obama if his tax plan will hurt Joe’s revenues.

Check on CNN.com for more specifics.

He’s Joe6packs son.

Oops wrong person

He’s the guy hiding in McCain’s cheek. If Johnny doesn’t drop Joe’s name, Joe bites him.

Joe the Plumber is someone who, if he buys his plumbing business, will apparently make a quarter of a million dollars of profit annually, if you listen to what McCain says and compare it to Obama’s tax policy.

It sounds like Joe plans on charging quite a bit for his plumbing, though. Either he’s the best plumber ever, or his snake is made from solid gold.

@Laureth: My brother-in-law owns a plumbing business and his company makes well over $250,000 a year. His snake is only plated with gold though. :)

He is the lowest money bracket I have ever heard John McCain show concern for or mention in his debates.

The debate: Who is ‘Joe Plumber’?
By The Associated Press
10.15.2008 10:54pm EDT

(Columbus, Ohio) Who is Joe the Plumber?

He is Joe Wurzelbacher, an Ohio man looking to buy a plumbing business who came to symbolize the notion of spreading the wealth in Wednesday night’s third and final presidential debate between Democrat Barack Obama and Republican John McCain.

Earlier this week, when Wurzelbacher got a chance to speak with Obama during a campaign appearance in Toledo, he told Obama that his tax plan would keep him from buying the business that currently employs him.

Sensing an opportunity during the debate, McCain cited that exchange when the candidates were asked to explain why their economic plans are better than their opponent’s. McCain said Obama’s plan would stop entrepreneurs from investing in new small businesses and keep existing ones from growing.

“Joe wants to buy the business that he has been in for all of these years, worked 10, 12 hours a day. And he wanted to buy the business but he looked at your tax plan and he saw that he was going to pay much higher taxes,” McCain challenged Obama.

“You were going to put him in a higher tax bracket which was going to increase his taxes, which was going to cause him not to be able to employ people, which Joe was trying to realize the American dream,” McCain said.

McCain then looked directly into the television camera and said: “Joe, I want to tell you, I’ll not only help you buy that business that you worked your whole life for and I’ll keep your taxes low and I’ll provide available and affordable health care for you and your employees. And I will not stand for a tax increase on small business income.”

Obama denied that was true.

“Not only do 98 percent of small businesses make less than $250,000, but I also want to give them additional tax breaks, because they are the drivers of the economy,” Obama said. “They produce the most jobs.”

So what did Wurzelbacher (pronounced whur-zell-BAHK-er) think about becoming the center of the debate?

“It’s pretty surreal, man, my name being mentioned in a presidential campaign,” he said minutes after hearing McCain utter his name.

Wurzelbacher came up again when the debate turned to a discussion of health care policies. McCain charged that Obama’s plan would fine the company Wurzelbacher wanted to buy; Obama said small businesses were exempt.

“Hey Joe, you’re rich. Congratulations,” McCain said mockingly.

Wurzelbacher said Obama’s reaction left him feeling uneasy.

“I didn’t think much of it the first time I heard it,” Wurzelbacher said, adding that he still thinks Obama’s plan would keep him from buying the business.

About McCain: “He’s got it right as far as I go.”

Even so, Wurzelbacher declined to say which candidate would get his vote on Nov. 4.

“That’s for me and a button to know,” he said.

critter1982 – when you say your brother in law’s pluming business “makes” over $250k a year, do you mean they bring in $250k in billings, or do you mean that each owner of the business brings home $250k or more? Therein lies the difference. Taxes are collected on PROFITS, not REVENUES. I agree with Laureth, for Joe the plumber to actually take home $250k or more a year in his first year with his own business, he’s the most expensive (and busiest) plumber in America.

Maybe next week the candidates will start talking about Pete, the pothead, and his struggle for affordable piff in this time of economic uncertainty.

A colleague greeted me this morning, ” Here’s Jan the librarian.”

LOL

Well, all I know is Dale the accountant is going to lunch now.

Hey, you know what’s funny? McCain may have done poor Joe a disservice by bringing up his name. Apparently he’s not even certified to be a plumber. And, he owes back taxes.

http://blog.newsweek.com/blogs/stumper/archive/2008/10/16/the-real-meaning-of-joe-the-plumber.aspx

Samuel the plumber doesn’t have the same ring.

Joe Wurzelbacher is neither a small business owner nor a plumber. He has been employed by AW Newell plumbing for the last 6 years. When he was hired, they discussed Joe possibly buying the company one day. AW Newell Corp. has two employees- Al Newell and Samuel “Joe” Wurzelbacher. The company has estimated sales of $100,000 a year. Al is a licensed plumber, Joe is not. According to OH law, he needs to be. He is not a member of the local plumber’s union in Toledo, nor has he taken any training through them. Last year, Joe earned $40,000. He has an outstanding tax lien from 2007 for $1,100. Nothing has been paid towards it. He is a veteran. He used to live in Tuscon AZ until 2000. He voted for the first time in March.

He is not a small businessman. He’s a man with a dream to one day own a business and grow it to where he can earn $250,000 from it. Maybe one day he will. My dad owned an appliance business and had sales of $5 million. He was never able to take more than $150,000 a year from it. There is some question as to whether or not he’s related to Charles Keating’s son-in-law.