"how many plumbers you know making a quarter million dollars a year?"

[NotThisTime]

Obama just said it and grinned, saying McCain is trying to represent plumbers, it was funny LOL... the crowd laughed....

[louis-t]

1. Actually, plumbers make good money.

Especially licensed, union ones. Not 250k, but 100k is not out of the question.

[SoonerPride]

2. Plumbers should make good money and get a tax cut from Obama so they keep more of it.

Exactly.

[NotThisTime]

7. Of course they can make a hundred grand, but there aren't many making 250! Unless they own a huge

company...

And as noted, Obama likely knows the truth behind Joe the plumber who isn't licensed, he answered the questions as he would to anyone asking a legitimate question however.

Oh, and nobody in the crowd knew of any plumbers who made 250, hell, I know our plumbers don't make that. Now, orthopedic surgeons make that, just sayin'

[joeglow3]

10. Plumbing companies make good money

A friend of our family had his own small CPA practice. After seeing what they made, he decided to open his own plumbing company (although he is not a plumber). Within in a couple of years, he sold his CPA practice and is making much more as the owner of his plumbing company.

[Yes We Did]

17. Probably closer to $150K

Most plumbers work in excess of 50 hours a week, and I have not found one for less than $50 an hour for... well... I can't remember.

But no, it is highly unlikely he would clear that kind of cash... especially without a license.

[Recursion]

25. And they deserve it. But a quarter mil?

I'm not saying good plumbers don't deserve a quarter million dollars a year, incidentally, if they are damn good. But just like everybody else that fortunate they can also afford to kick in a slightly higher marginal tax rate on the money they earn over $250,000.

[renie408]

3. Hello...All of them??

Maybe not the workers who work for a business, but plumbers make damn good money. My husband swears that plumbers and electricians make a killing on remodels.

[Left Is Write]

6. All of them? I don't think so.

[renie408]

11. Ok, so maybe that was an exxageration. But a small plumbing business

could easily make $250,000 a year. Easily. And individual plumbers who have a regular flow of remodels could easily make over $100,000. My husband has a small construction business that handles remodeling jobs that range from completing 2000 sq ft basements to redoing bathrooms. The plumbers and electricians make in the neighborhood of $50 to $70 an hour. It doesn't take long at that rate to rack up a decent annual salary.

[Left Is Write]

12. $100,000 of personal income is a lot different from $250,000 of personal income.

A small plumbing business could easily make $250,000 a year in revenue or net income?

[renie408]

14. Net income is not out of the question.

Think about it. If you only had 4 servicemen out making $60 an hour for 8 hours a day, five days a week (which does not include emergency services which are charged at a much higher rate) that is roughly $500,000 a year. Add in emergency services, residential contracts, etc, I don't think it would be from outerspace for a small plumbing business to clear $250,000.

Again, I said I had exxagerated. I apologize. I will now go self-flagellate to save you the effort of beating me to death.

[Left Is Write]

16. Beating you to death? I thought I was simply responding to your posts.

:shrug:

[renie408]

24. I hate smilies. n/t

[Marrah_G]

20. more then 250,000 TAXABLE income? After all the business deductions?

[renie408]

22. Jesus...I am sorry...I exxagerated. I am sorry. I won't do it again.

You are right. I am wrong. I am sorry. I have written that three times already.

I know plumbers make a killing. We alone have paid out roughly $20,000 this year to our plumber and we are a VERY small remodeling business. I typed before I thought. I apologize.

But to have a taxable income over $250k, a sole proprietership would probably have to start with a minimum of $500k in income. You are right, they can write off so much you can easily hide over half your income in deductions. I actually wrote a post about that earlier. I was just thinking about Wayne living in a McMansion and driving a giant Merc when I wrote that.

[MindMatter]

13. Hello?? None of them

If by "make" we mean taxable earnings, after expenses. To make that kind of month, you would have to work about 60 hours a week on the clock and get paid an hourly rate of about $70/hour, not counting any of your tools and supplies, depreciation, gas, health insurance, professional fees, union dues, gas, tires, etc.

I bet there isn't a single "regular old Joe Plumber" in the entire country doing that. The only people who can pull that off are people who are scamming government contracts or honest businessmen who build up a business with a staff of 30 plumbers out there making $50K a year.

[renie408]

18. I apologize. I am sincerly sorry that I overestimated the earning potential

of plumbers.

I happen to know a plumber and by god, after today you can bet I will ask how much he makes. Since he has three helpers, lives in a $750,000 house and drives a Mercedes as big as an oil tanker, I just figured he made a lot of money. I am just going to ask him pointblank how much he makes. I think he is enough of a show off to tell me. I guess you are going to want to see tax records though, right?

[Marrah_G]

21. He will tell you a high figure: What counts is what his tax returns said

He could be writing off that car for all you know.

[renie408]

23. Not the car, it isn't used for business. The vans, certainly.

But he would have a hard time deducting the car and getting away with it.

[MindMatter]

26. With a good accountant, he could write off his $750K house

as plumbing practice. :)

[renie408]

19. dupe

[TornadoTN]

4. Sounds like Obama knows the truth about Joe

Which is funny, because you know what Obama would have changed about their encounter?

Absolutely nothing. He answered the guys questions and did his best to illustrate to him the benefits of his plan. He wouldn't change a thing.

[MindMatter]

15. Definitely. And there is also an opportunity to run a deadly set of ads on "John the Liar"

He'll let J the P get out there a day or two to set McCain up for a bigger fall. With any luck, Palin will be crowing all about "J the P" because those will be perfect clips to include in the ad.

This could be devastating to show McCain and Palin pumping J the P, then expose the truth

He's not a registered voter, what's he doing at a rally?

His brother lives in Wasilla and is a snow machine buddy of Todd's

He is relatives with Charles Keating.

He isn't even a plumber and doesn't own a plumbing business

But if he did, it would undoubtedly be like 95% of he other small businesses out there, and not have a tax increase under Obama and be exempt from Obama's health insurance provisions.

[SmileyRose]

5. Joe doesn't make that kind of money either - it's a lie.

Like Obama said, he wants to put more money in Joe's pocket now for things like decent medical care and further educational money so maybe someday Joe the plumber CAN make over 250 grand. Right now, Joe's visions of that kind of moolah is right up there with my vision of boinking George Clooney.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

8. Joe the "Plumber" makes 100,000 more per year than Senator Obama.

:shrug:

[tsuki]

9. This was a big gaffe for McCain. There are a lot of us out here who

are small business people, and Joe the Plumber is stooooooooooo-pid. I predict he would fail within a year.

And John, we also know the difference between taxation and targeted taxation (fees, fees, fees.) Fees have trebled here in the past eight years.