Spring Break
'Joe the plumber' raises some important points
Aaron Igdalsky
Issue date: 10/21/08 Section: Commentary
John McCain approached the podium at the Alfred Smith Memorial Dinner in New York City on Oct. 16 and said that he had a major announcement to make: "I dismissed my entire team of senior advisers. All of their positions will now be held by a man named Joe the Plumber," McCain said.
"Joe the Plumber," also known as Samuel Joseph Wurzelbacher, became the nation's most famous plumber overnight after he was mentioned more than 20 times by the two candidates in their final debate Oct. 15. "Joe the Plumber," who first met Sen. Barack Obama while Obama was campaigning in Wurzelbacher's neighborhood on Oct. 11, approached Obama and asked him a very direct question that hit home for so many Americans: "I'm getting ready to buy a company that makes $250,000 to $280,000 a year. Your new tax plan is going to tax me more, isn't it?"
Obama concurred that any revenue over $250,000 would be taxed at a higher rate under an Obama administration than the present rate. But the best was yet to come: Obama then added, "It's not that I want to punish your success. I just want to make sure that everybody who is behind you, that they've got a chance at success too. And I think that when we spread the wealth around, it's good for everybody."
I guess I didn't get the memo that we had renamed our country the Socialist States of America.
"Joe the Plumber" spoke for so many millions of hard-working Americans when he put Obama on the spot and questioned why Obama desires to punish his success. The millions of Americans who get up every day and work hard, pay their mortgages and play by the rules want to know why they should have to fork over their hard-earned money to people who haven't earned it. Sen. Obama wants to play Robin Hood, taking money from people who have earned it and giving it to people who haven't, and that doesn't sit well with many likely voters in the upcoming election.
It's not that "Joe the Plumber" is so special in and of himself, but rather that he is a symbol of hard-working Americans who are concerned about the extremely liberal direction this country will be steered in under the direction of a President Obama. Everyday people who earn their own money and take care of their children are working hard to make it on their own, and the last thing they want to have is a federal government that is even more overarching that the present one. Isn't the entire point of the American Dream that people can come here and do anything if they put their mind to it and work hard enough? Obama is seeking to undermine this entire dream: instead of it being "in the US, if you work hard, you can make it" it is going to be "in the US, if you don't work hard, don't worry. Everyone else will just give you part of the money they earned."
"Joe the Plumber," also known as Samuel Joseph Wurzelbacher, became the nation's most famous plumber overnight after he was mentioned more than 20 times by the two candidates in their final debate Oct. 15. "Joe the Plumber," who first met Sen. Barack Obama while Obama was campaigning in Wurzelbacher's neighborhood on Oct. 11, approached Obama and asked him a very direct question that hit home for so many Americans: "I'm getting ready to buy a company that makes $250,000 to $280,000 a year. Your new tax plan is going to tax me more, isn't it?"
Obama concurred that any revenue over $250,000 would be taxed at a higher rate under an Obama administration than the present rate. But the best was yet to come: Obama then added, "It's not that I want to punish your success. I just want to make sure that everybody who is behind you, that they've got a chance at success too. And I think that when we spread the wealth around, it's good for everybody."
I guess I didn't get the memo that we had renamed our country the Socialist States of America.
"Joe the Plumber" spoke for so many millions of hard-working Americans when he put Obama on the spot and questioned why Obama desires to punish his success. The millions of Americans who get up every day and work hard, pay their mortgages and play by the rules want to know why they should have to fork over their hard-earned money to people who haven't earned it. Sen. Obama wants to play Robin Hood, taking money from people who have earned it and giving it to people who haven't, and that doesn't sit well with many likely voters in the upcoming election.
It's not that "Joe the Plumber" is so special in and of himself, but rather that he is a symbol of hard-working Americans who are concerned about the extremely liberal direction this country will be steered in under the direction of a President Obama. Everyday people who earn their own money and take care of their children are working hard to make it on their own, and the last thing they want to have is a federal government that is even more overarching that the present one. Isn't the entire point of the American Dream that people can come here and do anything if they put their mind to it and work hard enough? Obama is seeking to undermine this entire dream: instead of it being "in the US, if you work hard, you can make it" it is going to be "in the US, if you don't work hard, don't worry. Everyone else will just give you part of the money they earned."
Viewing Comments 1 - 2 of 2
Rob
posted 10/22/08 @ 1:05 AM EST
If we had a dime for every time Aaron Igdalsky relied on ad hominems and hyperbole rather than reasoned debate, there'd be no goddamn need for income redistribution here in the US. (Continued…)
Mark
posted 10/22/08 @ 8:30 AM EST
Aaron, you should know, as I do (I am a small business owner), that the federal taxes to which Senator Obama refers are based on INCOME, not gross receipts. (Continued…)
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