Detroit Free Press, where it matters:
Joe the Plumber?
October 15, 2008You could see how eagerly John McCain brought up “Joe the Plumber” Wednesday night, as an example of how Barack Obama’s tax plan would hurt working people.
McCain said “Joe” was a voter Obama encountered in Ohio this week. He was fretting Obama’s election because after some 20 years working for a business, he was now in a position to buy that business, and didn’t want to pay higher taxes.
But what an absurd example.
As Obama pointed out, his tax plan will equate to a reduction for some 95% of working families, and for any business that makes less than a quarter million dollars a year.
If “Joe” has done well enough to buy a business that’s doing that well, is he really the type of voter we should be worried about? People are losing their jobs. Losing their houses. Seeing their retirement and college savings evaporate.
McCain made his anecdote worse by trudging out the coded “Obama is a socialist” canard, saying he wanted to “redistribute” Joe’s wealth.
It’s a shame that McCain, once a Republican with real ideas of his own, has sunk to poorly told sob stories.
Average health care policy in USA is $12,000 per year says Obama. McCain says it’s $5,800. McCain’s rebate is $5,000 plus tax on the remainder. There are few regulations and little agreement. What will happen?