Barack Obama - Taxing Joe the Plumber's American Dream

Barack Obama explains his vision of "spreading the wealth around" to Joe the Plumber from Toledo, Ohio. Joe shares his thoughts via phone interview on Neil Cavuto's show on Fox News

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• Obama
• Joe
• the
• Plumber
• Election
• 2008
• taxes
• socialism
• spreading
• wealth
• redistribution
• of

[FiveBoxes]

As Yale economist William Sumner wrote in his 1883 piece "The Forgotten Man", in order to lift one class up, you must push another class down. Yet he who ultimately pays is The Forgotten Man: he who works hard and asks for nothing except for to be left alone. By taxing businesses more, businesses either pass that additional cost on to the customer as higher prices, or cut payroll, wages, or benefits. All of these things effect The Forgotten Man: ALL OF US. Visit FiveBoxes for more.

[2punchpikey]

If someone's making over $250,000 and is in the top 5% of small businesses, they shouldn't complain about not getting MORE money! Money is finite. If they get more, someone else is getting less. Hard work is important, but there's a lot more hard workers that would be benefited under Obama (about 19 times more). If this top 5% really wanted to get around increased taxes, use some of that revenue OVER $250k for workers benefits and compensation. Appreciate THEIR hard work!

[FiveBoxes]

Business owners are able to provide better wages and benefits and hire more people when the burden of taxes is less. You cannot help society by taking money from people who earned it, and giving it to people who have little or no desire to work. As Benjamin Franklin said, "I think the best way of doing good to the poor, is not making them easy in poverty, but leading or driving them out of it."

[EnigmaHood]

LOL! He looks like he's on welfare. He's an uneducated hick. Check out my video that I did on him. I expose him for the dumbass that he is.

[LoveTruth86]

Joe the Plumber was on welfare so he had no problem taking money he didn't "work hard" for then.

What a complete contradiction.

[2punchpikey]

Beyond your first line, we seem to be in complete agreement. Owners of businesses are in a position to dispense their work and reap the profits their employees are making for them. The 95% of small businesses making under $250k are burdened enough with making money work; reducing their taxes alleviates some of those issues. Better wages and benefits with more job availability comes into popularity more more with the vast amount of small businesses (the 95%) than a few big businesses.

[ImTheSecretSquare]

"You cannot help society by taking money from people who earned it, and giving it to people who have little or no desire to work."

When exactly did "making less than 250K" become equated with having little or no desire to work? Do you make $250K? I don't -- but I think I have a pretty high desire to work.

[ImTheSecretSquare]

"By taxing businesses more, businesses either pass that additional cost on to the customer as higher prices, or cut payroll, wages, or benefits."

Businesses are taxed by profit, not by revenue. If they spend more, they pay LESS in taxes. Businesses essentially choose how much income tax they want to pay in any given year.

"he who works hard and asks for nothing"

He doesn't drive on roads? Enjoy police protection? Send his kids to school?

[ImTheSecretSquare]

"A flat tax with no exemptions, no exclusions, and no loopholes is the only fair tax."

Fair in what sense? It's certainly "fair" in that everyone pays the same percentage of income, but it's unclear why that would be a positive.

And you say 12% of "wages". What about deductions? If I'm a self-employed contractor like good ol' Joe wants to be, do I have to pay 12% on the gross revenue I receive for my services? What about all the money I spent on my business?

[FiveBoxes]

A flat tax with no exemptions, no exclusions, and no loopholes is the only fair tax. It would be a simple 1-sheet tax form: insert your wages in Box 1. Multiply Box 1 by .12 and put the result in Box 2. Box 2 is how much you owe. Period.

[DouglasinPhily]

This kind of American Fantasy brought us to to where we are today. People thought they would start making enough to pay off their mortgage. If Joe and other middle class people have some fantasy about making 5 times what they are making today and want to worry about the 3% loss on every dollar they make over $250,000 they are fools. This guy cant even afford to pay his taxes now! Why would he sneeze at Obamas plan to help him pay less taxes? Some pipe dream of being the big boss!