How many 'Joe-Six-Packs' have enough equity to buy a 250K business?

[bigtree]

I don't believe this election is about 'Joe the Plumber' as McCain pretended in the debate. Joe is one of the Americans who has done well enough under the policies of Bush and the McCain republicans in Congress that he should be more than willing to allow the rest of small businesses (98% who earn less than the $250,000 threshold for tax cuts in the Obama plan) to enjoy a sustaining slice of the economic cake. Also, Joe will ultimately benefit from the 95% of taxpayers who will receive a tax cut under the middle-class benefits contained in the Obama economic plan as more of these folks will be better able to afford to hire him for their plumbing needs.

That's the kind of bottom-up economics which Obama intends to replace the McCain/Bush trickle-down policies which, in the four Bush budgets McCain voted for, gave the wealthiest 2% of taxpayers and gave them over 70% of the benefits of their record re-distribution of wealth to those at the top of the income ladder. McCain is still convinced that wealthy folks like him are the best stewards of our tax dollars.

Repeatedly siding with those folks who have done swimmingly over the last eight years during the Bush/McCain raid on our treasury, McCain demonstrated last night that he just doesn't realize how overdue the majority of Americans are for the same level of concern and assistance he so willingly and exclusively has reserved in his budget for rich corporations and individuals, at the devastating expense of the rest of us.

[notalemming]

1. 42

:-)

[amitten]

2. 13.

Oh no wait--that's the number of McCain residences.

[bigtree]

3. that's joe shit-pack

[Bluebear]

16. :)

[Oregone]

4. Joe could get an alt-A loan....

Which a bank could insure by having investors purchase swaps on them. So Joe just has to now stretch that 40K he makes a year just a bit further.

[The_Casual_Observer]

5. IT should have been obvious to them by appearances that he was a fraud.

What would a responsible businessman type be doing at an impromptu rope line mid-day dressed like that?

[aquart]

12. What a good point.

[aquart]

6. He made $40,000 in 2006. 2007 must have been a very good year.

Or perhaps someone promised him a loan?

[bigtree]

8. he's bullshitting then

sigh. Of all the folks who have problems out here . . .

[hfojvt]

7. Republicans want to pretend that any business with gross income over $250,000

will face a tax increase from Obama and Democrats. Republicans always lie about taxes. They have to because they always promote policies which primarily benefit a small, rich minority. They look after their base - the haves and the have mores.

[Leopolds Ghost]

9. The VAST majority of small businesses inc. family farms & restaurants need $150K

At minimum.

To be a professional plumber with guys working for you requires $50 K in tools alone.

I'm afraid this is another instance where Dems who are used to pulling down $60-120K
salaries in the professional sector have been devorced from the manufacturing and
small business economy which both parties seek to eliminate in favor of Big Business.

(google Çap Rates and Commercial Retail Industrial Zoning Restrictions.)

The commentators and bloggers here & elsewhere are killing themselves
with their ignorance of what Main St. is supposed to be about.

Main St. is not Target (where everyone on DU seems to shop.) Nor is it prissy
little boutiques (which are the only things allowed in most eucated college towns these days.)

[Leopolds Ghost]

10. Have any of you guys ever tried to start a small business or co-op?

The huge number of liberal commentators and bloggers who pull down $120 or more in financial services sector (ironically) or professional/political/administrative salaries are laughing hypocritically at Joe the Plumber. I find it sad.

[bigtree]

13. If there's any confusion it's not the fault of observers

He claimed that his income, potentially, would fall outside of Obama's $250k didn't he? If it does manage to earn that much, he should be expected to take on some of the burden of allowing the middle class to regain some of their tax power that was stolen by Bush/McCain republicans. And, it's not like the Obama economic plan wouldn't work to enable and enhance his business, both in the incentives promised and in the increased business from those folks in the vast majority who make under $250k who would be better able to hire him.

If he doesn't have the potential to earn that much, he would be advantaged by Obama's economic and tax plans. It's not like folks are ignorant of what the middle class is. It's just that McCain's economic plan leaves them out and Obama's seeks to advantage them. That's the only thing that really is relevant in this election in regards to the 'Joe the plumber' debate.

[Selatius]

14. Is that revenue you talking about or profit?

I'm not sure about the plumbing business, but I know that a typical small store, such as the little grocery mart my parents use to run, annual revenues easily topped 300,000 with maybe about 15 percent of that being realized profits in a good year. The rest went back into the costs of running the business such as purchasing more goods, paying the rent, maintenance, the utilities, taxes, etc.

[Iterate]

15. I've known quite a few people in his position.

Generally very nice people who, astonishingly, don't put politics at the center of their lives. They work, they enjoy family, they fix up a house, and once in a while they get a chance to work for themselves. Once every four years they try to figure out the presidential race.

It's impossible to know much about this particular guy, and I'm very uneasy about people mocking him. It's also unclear what he's talking about financially. Sounds like he's just beginning to learn the system.

The odds are not in his favor -I saw five "Joe the Plumbers" loose their businesses on one WalMart store construction alone. Good luck to him. He'll need it.

[Contrary1]

11. Joe the Plumber doesn't even have a license. How could he open his own business?

http://www.contractors-license.org/oh/Ohio.html