Why would I listen to a plumber? ?

You shouldn't listen to a plumber, you shouldn't listen to the media, you should listen to yourself and that's it! Don't let people get in the way of your decisions ..

You're right. Joe the Plumber obviously doesn't understand how the current tax system works or he would already be crying socialism. The more money you make, the higher percentage you pay in taxes now. This is nothing new. Obama is making a very small adjustment by adding a 3% increase to the net profit of anything over $250,000.

Obama will , with Pelosi and Reid's help let the Bush tax cuts expire and the Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee( that is where tax legislation begins) Charlie Wrangel already has a new tax bill in committee. by the way, you need to look up the definition of some of your terms., They make me laugh.

You should listen to a plumber because they have life figured out: Crap flows downhill and payday's on Friday. Life is good

ah... no love for Connor. No one likes a know-it-all, buddy.

I gave you a thumbs up though.

I had heard (perhaps incorrectly) that joe the plumber was behind on his taxes. If that IS true I wonder if the other folks working for that company are going to vote for Obama in hope that Joe feels he won't be able to buy the company?

I wouldn't not be thrilled if a co-worker who can't even manage to pay his taxes was trying to buy the company our families relied upon for our livings.

As a former small business owner, I kind of doubt Joe will ever buy that company. People who have the guts to get into business don't let the political landscape scare them out of it. People who are all talk do.

I will listen to a plumber before I listen to a political hack that only wants to (help me, ah ha), and take all my hard earned cash.

So what you'ree saying is that we are all limited to the lower middle class. Hmmm.. sounds like socialism to me.

Don't listen to the plumber listen to the guy who answered his question..."Spreading the Wealth" is pure socialism...

Definition of Socialism- the stage following capitalism in the transition of a society to communism, characterized by the imperfect implementation of collectivist principles.

Fascism - a governmental system led by a dictator having complete power...not quite the correct use of the word!!

And what incentive do you offer your poor people to get off their a$$es and actually do for themselves? Aim high, Barry lovers! LOL You're getting angry, because you are on the losing end. Barry lost one voter and you're ready for a meltdown...wait till he blows the entire election.

Wonderful question!

And here's alllll that the dear plumber is ignorant of:

Should small business owners fear for their wallets if Obama is elected? Not the vast majority, business and tax experts say.

To make its claim, according to a McCain spokesman, the campaign counts as a small-business owner any taxpayer who files a Schedule C, E or F - the forms used to report gains and losses from business ventures and farms.

Using that definition and citing IRS data, the campaign notes that "56.8% of total small business income is earned by businesses in the top two rates, which Barack Obama has pledged to raise."

It's true that Obama has proposed raising taxes on the top two income rates.

But there are three main problems with McCain's charge.

What is a small business?

First, it relies on a broad definition of what counts as a small business, including everyone who files a Schedule C, E and F.

But most people who file those forms don't run a business for a living: Those forms are also used to report income from freelance and consulting work, real-estate rentals, and most other non-salary sources.

For example, McCain and Obama both file Schedule C returns, thanks to their book royalties - but they hardly should be considered small business owners.

In 2005, there were 21.5 million Schedule C returns filed, according to the IRS.

A more realistic definition of small businesses turns up far fewer firms. The Small Business Administration estimates that there were 6 million small businesses in 2005, as measured by those with fewer than 500 employees and with staff on the payroll other than the owner.

Who pays?

Second, even using the broad definition of small business that McCain likes, very few owners would see their own taxes rise.

That's because the lion's share of taxable income comes from a small number of wealthy businesses. Out of 34.7 million filers with business income on Schedules C, E or F, 479,000 filers fall into the top two brackets, according to an analysis of projected 2009 filings by the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center.

The other 34.3 million - or 98.6% - would be unaffected by Obama's proposed rate hike.

That includes Joe "The Plumber" Wurzelbacher, whom McCain invoked nearly two dozen times at the debate Wednesday night to illustrate the plight of the average worker and small business owner.

"Joe wants to buy the business that he has been in for all of these years ... he wanted to buy the business but he looked at your tax plan and he saw that he was going to pay much higher taxes," McCain said.

In an interview afterward with WTOL, Wurzelbacher acknowledged that he'd still like to eventually buy the plumbing company he works for but that he wouldn't yet be hit by higher taxes.

"I want to set the record straight: Currently I would not fall into Barack Obama's $250,000-plus," he said. "But if I'm lucky in business and taxes don't go up then maybe I can grow the business and be in that tax bracket - well, let me rephrase it. Hopefully, that tax won't be there."

Few owners are that lucky in business. In a member survey conducted late last year, the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) found that only 14% of respondents said they had $200,000 or more in annual income.

The only social responsibility I have is to myself.

Because you have a leak, or clogged drain.