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October 15, 2008 11:16 PM

Who Is Joe The Plumber?

Posted by Maria Gavrilovic
(CBS)
From CBS News' Maria Gavrilovic:

(HEMPSTEAD, N.Y.) - The star of the final presidential debate was Joe Wurzelbacher, aka "Joe the Plumber." John McCain mentioned Wurzelbacher tonight shortly after the debate began, and both he and Obama said his name more than 25 times during the 90-minute debate. How many times did the word Iraq come up? Six. How many times was the word economy used? 16.

So, what makes Joe the Plumber so special? Well, Obama met Wurzelbacher on Sunday, just shortly after landing in Toledo, Ohio. Before heading to his hotel for an intensive two days of debate prep, the campaign organized a quick stop in Holland, Ohio. The plan was for Obama to walk down Shrewsbury Street, knock on doors, and ask people to vote. For all intents and purposes, it was a photo op.

But then Joe came into the picture, a burly, middle-aged guy with a goatee, who approached Obama and asked him if he believes in the American dream. He proceeded to tell Obama that, after working as a plumber for 15 years, he is going to purchase his own business. The catch was that the business was worth more than $250,000 and Joe asked if he would be taxed more under Obama’s plan.

"I'm being taxed more and more for fulfilling the American Dream,” he said to Obama.

While Obama made several attempts to explain his tax plan, the bottom line was always that Joe would suffer from increased taxes.

“I’m gonna cut taxes a little bit more for the folks who are most in need and for the 5% of the folks who are doing very well - even though they’ve been working hard and I appreciate that – I just want to make sure they’re paying a little bit more in order to pay for those other tax cuts,” Obama told Joe.

“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.”

Obama left the neighborhood right after the conversation with Joe, admitting that the conversation was good practice for the debate. Little did he know that this chance encounter was going to be the main flashpoint tonight.
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Add a Comment See all 55 Comments
by nasanja-2009 October 18, 2008 4:36 AM EDT
Joe the Plummer isn%u2019t even a Real Licensed Plummer!
I was so outdone, so I decided to tell you a real story about a Real hardworking Journeyman Toolmaker named Greg. Greg was a devoted toolmaker for a Big Three supplier for 36 years. Production supervisors passed up the list to call Greg because they knew the job would be up and running in no time at all and with precision expertise But one day our job decides to have us pack our jobs and send them to Canada. Plant closings followed, but with no severance package. With two kids in college and my health failing I was worried my REAL journeyman toolmaker might lose his cool. We refinanced three times, raided our 401k, and even pawned our wedding rings to save our home. Denied food stamps, foreclosed, bankruptcy. Salvation Army who told him that they would help him this ONE time but to NEVER come back. We paid our bills on time, went to work everyday, and did our jobs with pride.
Why is the tax money we paid all our life going to help banks that would not even try to help us when we need them to listen to us? It is a slap in our face to watch our dream house be for sale at a price that is HALF of what we pay now to Rent Scammers. Oh our new landlord just filed bankruptcy. We did not see anything in the bailout to help us. What are we supposed to do? Where is the help for Greg the Journeyman Toolmaker that paid his bills and saved his money and now is forced to live in poverty?
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by akrueger8 October 17, 2008 1:04 PM EDT
Wow. Joe the Plumber expects to make $250,000/yr net?? That is about five times what Angie the Lawyer will make this year. I guess I should have chosen a career in plumbing rather than law...
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by akrueger8 October 17, 2008 1:03 PM EDT
Wow. Joe the Plumber expects to make $250,000/yr net?? That is about five times what Angie the Lawyer will make this year. I guess I should have chosen a career in plumbing rather than law...
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by cbusstudent October 17, 2008 11:29 AM EDT
I''m sick of reading articles on websites and seeing the posts left by readers below them that are filled with hate and unbacked claims. That is what is wrong with this country today. All the negativity about everything is what is destroying this nation. Maybe if the two parties tried to work together more and tried less to slash each others throats our country would be in a better state.
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by tangolopez October 17, 2008 8:48 AM EDT
Joe the plumber is a plant from the McCain camp!!1
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by hatenomore-2009 October 17, 2008 4:35 AM EDT
It''s time for wealthy Americans to pay their share of taxes. The middle class is losing their shirts. No one wants to pay taxes but someone has to. Even on a state level, you can''t even build roads without taxes. By the way.... I think the war mongers who want this war should be paying for it instead of those who don''t want it. How is McCain going to pay for his never ending war? Think about it!
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by hatenomore-2009 October 17, 2008 4:31 AM EDT
I have one thing to say: McCain = Bad Judgement.
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by sulari1245 October 17, 2008 2:27 AM EDT
What is with Senator McCain , all he is left with is Bush Cheney Karl Rove gruff. He can''t even answer without rebuke or blame Sadly there is no seriousness or class in him anymore. He decides to use a tax evading man to represent hard working honest Americans. Mr. McCain is becoming more non presidential and desperate. These are serious times please show some substance. Worry abut us Americans not about how to to bully Obama. It is getting old. we have seen it already with the Bush Cheney Karl Roves. And while you are at it you may want to ask Sarah Palin to apologize to Obama for calling him a terrorist before asking Obama to apologize for Mr. Lewis remarks. She is YOUR running mate , check her credentials and records more thoroughly before pointing fingers on others. That is very non Christian of you Sir. ... And one more thing, Sarah Palin has yet to take care of that baby you all use for your personal political gain. You conveniently bring in the kids when you want to but then blame others for bringing the kids into politics. Take a stance Kids are in or not. Autistic kids and kids with Down''s need parents at home. She is busy buying votes for you Mr. McCain . And truly,she has no idea what it takes to be a really involved in raising kids of special needs , not till they are beyond 6 months old. Stop using her baby as a prize for your political aspirations.
Whatever happened to John McCain?
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by aileenhs October 16, 2008 9:02 PM EDT
If Joe the plummer would hire employees like he said he wanted to, his taxable income would drop below $250,000 and he would be eligible for the Obama tax cuts....Just a thought.
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by dmcgavock October 16, 2008 7:56 PM EDT
It sounds like Senator Obama didn''t hear Joe right. The business being worth 250,000 doesn''t equate to 250,000/yr in income for Joe.

If Joe earns less than 250,000 whether he works for himself or someone else, he gets a tax break under Obama.

Joe will also get a tax credit whenever his business hires a new worker here in America.

John McCain promises to tax Joe the Plumber for his health care and confirmed that in the debate.
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by Retina99 October 16, 2008 6:10 PM EDT
As more info on Joe the plumber becomes available, the more of a comical character he becomes. The company he hopes to purchase makes substantially less than $250K per year, so Joe, as a business owner, would actually benefit from Obama''s tax cuts!

And it turns out that Joe the plumber owes money in back taxes...apparently the guy doesn''t think he should pay any tax! And on top of that, he is on record as being against social security, saying he should be able to invest his money however he wants. So he''s against payroll taxes too.

Hey Joe, if you really want to buy that company, you''re going to need a loan - and you''re not going to be able to get one with tax liens against you! What a bozo.
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by dee196-2009 October 16, 2008 5:21 PM EDT
When you do check out "http://www.courtclerk.org/cpciv_namesearch.asp" do a search under his last name and first initial.
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by dee196-2009 October 16, 2008 5:19 PM EDT
Check out http://www.courtclerk.org/cpciv_namesearch.asp
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by Retina99 October 16, 2008 5:06 PM EDT
Another thing...the republicans certainly seem to be in a dither over Obama''s plan to "spread the wealth around". What the heck do they think has been happening the past few weeks, with nearly a trillion taxpayer dollars bailing out the financial industry? That''s certainly "spreading around" taxpayer dollars, an McCain was all for that. Obama''s tax plan is not redistributing millionaires'' dollars into my pockets, its just going to let me keep more of the money which I myself earn.
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by sweet_meliss October 16, 2008 5:05 PM EDT
Hey thurman6030, open wide- socialism''s coming.
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by Retina99 October 16, 2008 4:54 PM EDT
I''m an Obama supporter, but I do hope that he tweaks some of his tax plan for those making over $250K. I work for a small business, and its a C-corporation. We have about 8 employees and make about $2 mil in sales each year, but most of that money goes right back into the business. Being a c-corp, the owner reports the business profits as personal income, since the income tax rate is lower than the corporate rate (apparently a lot of small business c-corporations do this). So he files income tax earnings of well over $250K, even though very little of that actually goes into his personal account, almost all of it goes right back into the business (payroll, rent, goods, etc). The guy is not getting rich, trust me, I''m an hourly employee and I make more than him. (although he doesn''t work much, just 10-15 hours a week.) I''ve worked for a number of small businesses, and ALL of the owners barely worked at all...the small business owner who puts in a lot of hours is a myth in my experience...I''m sure there are some out there but I''ve yet to meet one.

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by fayecbs October 16, 2008 3:46 PM EDT
Is Joe a register voter? He is not list in the voter query for the state of ohio.


http://www.sos.state.oh.us/SOS/voterquery.aspx?page=361
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by dmh81352 October 16, 2008 2:52 PM EDT
I don''t believe joe the plumber has the money to buy a business that is netting $250,000.00. Maybe grosses $250,000.00 with net profits of under $100,000.00. What joe the plumber needs is a cpa and better business sense. This is the type of individual that can''t grasp simple arithmetic. Either he is just too dumb to get it or was a plant by the republicans. I won''t be calling joe the plumber to repair my plumbing.
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by kyblue51 October 16, 2008 1:51 PM EDT
Joe the Plummer was a plant by the McCain campaign, but that is not the issue for me. My question to both candidates is what about the lower middle class ($70k and below)? I have no dependents, no tax breaks and I am working two jobs just to afford my mortgage and to live comfortable and trying to get ready for retirement. The market has beat up my nest egg! What tax breaks am I going to get. I am 3 years from retirement do I have to continue to work just to maintain a decent lifestyle? What does McCain propose for me. He whined all night for a apology; I''m whinning for a break. He doesn''t have to worry about health insurance or his pension. As you can tell I am a Obama supporter. So Joe the Plummer if you are worried about a tax break for a business worth $250,000; and you got that kind of money to invest in the american dream be ready to pay your fair share. I already do.
Reply to this comment
by kyblue51 October 16, 2008 1:43 PM EDT
Joe the Plummer was a plant by the McCain campaign, but that is not the issue for me. My question to both candidates is what about the lower middle class ($70k and below)? I have no dependents, no tax breaks and I am working two jobs just to afford my mortgage and to live comfortable and trying to get ready for retirement. The market has beat up my nest egg! What tax breaks am I going to get. I am 3 years from retirement do I have to continue to work just to maintain a decent lifestyle? What does McCain propose for me. He whined all night for a apology; I''m whinning for a break. He doesn''t have to worry about health insurance or his pension. As you can tell I am a Obama supporter. So Joe the Plummer if you are worried about a tax break for a business worth $250,000; and you got that kind of money to invest in the american dream be ready to pay your fair share. I already do.
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