Thursday, October 16, 2008

When Anecdotes Attack

I missed most of last night's debate (was watching our young turks get beat 2-1 by T&T's AARP-sponsored squad), so I missed the saga of "Joe The Plumber." As I understand it, "Joe" had a conversation with Barack Obama about Obama's tax plan during a campaign stop in Ohio a few days ago. "Joe" claimed that he was about to buy a business that was making more than $250,000 a year, the cutoff below which Obama has pledged to cut taxes and above which to raise them. He got brought up repeatedly during the debate last night.

It's a tasty anecdote for the GOPer faithful - regular guy undecided voter takes it to Obama on his tax plan. Except, as it turns out, the whole story was just too good to be true:

An official at Local 50 of the plumber’s union, based in Toledo, said Mr. Wurzelbacher does not hold a license. He also has never served an apprenticeship and does not belong to the union. (The national plumber’s union, the United Association of Plumbers, Steamfitters, and Service Mechanics, endorsed Mr. Obama, it should be noted.)
But wait, there's more:
Wurzelbacher's new notoriety has brought to light the fact that he owes nearly $1,200 in unpaid taxes.

'There is a judgment lien against him for nonpayment of income tax,' Barb Losie, deputy clerk of the Lucas County Court of Common Pleas, told ABCNews.com. 'The state files hundreds of liens a day. It means he owes that money.'
Ah, but that's not even the best part (back to the Times blog):
And his question to Mr. Obama about paying taxes? According to some tax analysts, if Mr. Wurzelbacher’s gross receipts from his business is $250,000 — and not his taxable income — then he would not have to pay higher taxes under Mr. Obama’s plan, and probably would be eligible for a tax cut.
Hah!

To recap, "Joe" isn't actually a plumber, actually owes back taxes, and would likely benefit from Obama's tax plan. Reminds me of one of those "When Keeping It Real Goes Wrong" bits from Dave Chapelle's show.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

You are focused on the wrong thing. The "shocker" and reason why this whole story grew legs wasn't "Joe" the plumber. It was the "spread the wealth", unscripted response of Obama.

Doesn't matter if that guy was Brian the Dog who likes to drive cross country with a 1-yr-old named Stewie. Obama gave an honest answer, and it wasn't a good one to a lot of people listening.

Anonymous said...

I don't think so, Muze. The problem McCain has had on the tax stuff is that Obama has been clear that for a vast majority of folks - especially the middle/lower class undecided voters who are so cherished - their taxes won't go up. Yes, he's arguing for a slight increase over $250k, but does that resonate with most people? I'll agree that "spread the wealth" was a poor choice of words, however.

What McCain tried to get out of "Joe" was that here was a real middle American businessman who was going to be hurt by Obama's tax plan - a face to put on the theoretical argument. Equivalent to a pregnant rape victim asking Palin why she shouldn't be able to get an abortion.

So the fact that "Joe" isn't who he claimed to be and will benefit from Obama's plan is precisely the point.

crystal dawn said...

As mentioned in the Times blog, Joe most likely GROSSES 250K, rather than NETTING 250K. If Joe is netting more than 250K a year through his business then he is one successful man. But most likely, he is not deducting any expenses, payroll, or other misc. costs that would net him much much less than 250K a year. And therefore, he would not owe taxes, but get a cut.

It's sad that Obama has to keep explaining the tax FACTS to people. But then again, conservatives have nothing to run on other than fear and taxes.