Patricia Thurston's Radio Weblog

 



Subscribe to "Patricia Thurston's Radio Weblog" in Radio UserLand.

Click to see the XML version of this web page.

Click here to send an email to the editor of this weblog.

 

 

  Thursday, October 16, 2008


Joe The Plumber Is, It Seems, Not A Tax Expert

Samuel Joseph Wurzelbacher, a.k.a. "Joe the Plumber," is the topic of the day on the campaign trail, in part because he held an impromptu press conference Thursday morning in front of his house to discuss tax policy, his disdain for Social Security, and his critiques of Barack Obama.

Already, however, there is some dispute as to whether or not Wurzelbacher was being accurate with his critique of Obama. His business, as ABC reports, would almost certainly get a tax cut under Obama's plan, given that he does not expect to make anywhere close to $250,000 in profits.

Moreover, for someone worried about his taxes, Wurzelbacher doesn't -- it appears - always pay them. A filing with the Lucas County Court of Common Pleas shows that he has had state tax liens filed against him, meaning he was either delinquent or didn't fully cover taxes that he owed.

A representative at the court explained that Wurzelbacher had not paid $1,182.98 of personal income tax. The state filed a lien on January 26, 2007, and the payment remains outstanding. But the court rep also cautioned that this all may have occurred without Wurzelbacher's knowledge.

"We get hundreds of state liens every day and we don't have to make a judgment on them. We are just putting in there what the state says is owed. We don't notify that person and neither does the state. If there was activity on this lien, if they attempted to collect it on this case - which they haven't -- it would show up. But I am 99.9 percent positive that he doesn't even know about this."

Tax-issues aside, the "Joe-the-Plumber" fervor seems to be spreading beyond small town Ohio. On the streets of Manhattan this morning, a plumbing company car was spotted with a "Joe The Plumber For President" poster on its side.

But before Obama supporters fret about losing the plumber vote, it's worth noting that the United Association of Plumbers and Pipefitters has endorsed the Illinois Democrat, in part because the union thinks he has the best economic agenda for its members.

"Obama will help us keep existing jobs and work to develop new, higher paying jobs here in America, reform our health care system, fix our ailing schools and make sure that the pensions of our retirees are safe," the union said.


Add to StumbleUpon Add to digg Add to Reddit Add to del.icio.us
<a href="http://www.pheedo.com/click.phdo?s=ec5cab88e550d605d680c49e69d00a74";><img alt="" style="border: 0;" border="0" src="http://www.pheedo.com/img.phdo?s=ec5cab88e550d605d680c49e69d00a74";/> <img src="http://www.pheedo.com/feeds/tracker.php?i=ec5cab88e550d605d680c49e69d00a74"; style="display: none;" border="0" height="1" width="1" alt=""/> - The Huffington Post News Editors [The Full Feed from HuffingtonPost.com]
9:44:16 AM    comment []

Colbert On NSA Phone Sex Eavesdropping (VIDEO) - The Huffington Post News Editors [The Full Feed from HuffingtonPost.com]
8:54:59 AM    comment []

Fact-Checking "Joe The Plumber".

During a campaign stop in Ohio this week, Ohio plumbing business owner Joe Wurzelbacher questioned Barack Obama about his plan to increase taxes for the top five percent of income earners. Noting that he was planning to purchase a company that “makes” between $250,000 and $280,000, Wurzelbacher wondered what impact Obama’s tax plan would have on him.

Last night, "Joe the Plumber" was first invoked John McCain to attack Obama's tax plan. He was referenced 23 times by the candidates. After the debate, Wurzelbacher applauded McCain: "He's got it right as far as I go." But Joe is ill-informed.

Jake Tapper reports that it's not even clear if the figures Wurzelbacher cited take expenses into account. If his net profit is below $250,000, "Joe the Plumber" would be eligible for an Obama tax cut. Dean Baker explains that, under Obama’s plan, the tax on income above $250,000 would increase by 3 percentage points from 33 percent to 36 percent — which means that, if his net profits are above $250,000, Wurzelbacher could expect to see his tax bill rise by between $0-$900.

Wurzelbacher told the CBS Morning News that he feels like he's being 'used by the Republican Party as a pawn to make their point.' During a press conference this morning, Joe the Plumber answered some questions from the media. He said he was 'bothered' by the fact that his name was invoked so many times. "To be honest with you, I'm sure Obama didn't want my name mentioned," he said. "I wish they had talked about, you know, more important issues." Watch it:

Wurzelbacher isn't just wrong about Obama's tax plan — he's also misguided about a few other things. Here's a sampling of what he told the press this morning:

Social Security's a joke. I have parents. I don't need another set of parents called the government. Let me take my money and invest it how I please. Social Security, I've never believed in, don't like it, hate that it's forced on me.

I'm not sorry that we're in Iraq. We've liberated another country. I mean, you know, freedom. I don't know if you guys are Christians or not, but it's like someone coming to Jesus and becoming saved. These guys have freedom. Has it kept us safe? Absolutely. I believe in that 100 percent."

[Think Progress]
8:48:39 AM    comment []


Click here to visit the Radio UserLand website. © Copyright 2008 Patricia Thurston.
Last update: 11/4/08; 8:35:25 AM.

October 2008
Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat
      1 2 3 4
5 6 7 8 9 10 11
12 13 14 15 16 17 18
19 20 21 22 23 24 25
26 27 28 29 30 31  
Sep   Nov