[Vision2020] Joe-the-Plumber is Really a Tax Cheat (was RE: Joe the Plummer admits that he would not be taxed by Obama)

[Saundra Lund]

Stop the stampede of those running to switch careers in the hopes of become
rich plumbers!!!

Poor Joe-the-Plumber (aka Samuel J. Wurzelbacher) . . . in addition to not
having a plumber's license and the small business he's "interested" in
buying not earning anywhere near the $250,000 implied, it turns out he owes
state back taxes going back at least as far as 2006 and was uberly less than
honest about his personal & business income scenario.

Leave it to the GOP to try to make an American hero out of a dishonest tax
cheat . . . 

Personally, I think the McCain/Cheney . . . I mean McCain/Rove . . . oops --
scratch that . . . the McCain/Palin campaign owes it to the poor schmuck to
pay off his delinquent personal income tax debt for the mileage they've
gotten out of him  :-)  Does anyone know if that would be a legitimate
campaign expenditure?

For a more entertaining  and in-depth presentation, check out:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ruXEh8S12E

For those who prefer words to video, here's the story:
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5gJsPHiQlgYvAsrHz9mvHJlezQJLwD93RTEH80

Is 'Joe the Plumber' a plumber? That's debatable
By JOHN SEEWER - 1 hour ago 

HOLLAND, Ohio (AP) - Joe the Plumber's story sprang a few leaks Thursday.
Turns out that the man who was held up by John McCain as the typical,
hard-working American taxpayer isn't really a licensed plumber. And court
documents show he owes nearly $1,200 in back taxes.

"Joe," whose name is Samuel J. Wurzelbacher, was cited repeatedly in
Wednesday night's final presidential debate by McCain for questioning Barack
Obama's tax policy.

Wurzelbacher instantly became a media celebrity, fielding calls during the
debate and facing reporters outside his home near Toledo on Thursday morning
for an impromptu nationally televised news conference.

The burly, bald man acknowledged he doesn't have a plumber's license, but
said he didn't need one because he works for someone else at a company that
does residential work.

But Wurzelbacher still would need to be a licensed apprentice or journeyman
to work in Toledo, and he's not, said David Golis, manager and residential
building official for the Toledo Division of Building Inspection.

State and local records show Wurzelbacher has no license, although his
employer does. Golis said there are no records of inspectors citing
Wurzelbacher for unlicensed work in Toledo.

And then there was the matter of his taxes.

Wurzelbacher owes the state of Ohio $1,182.98 in personal income tax,
according to Lucas County Court of Common Pleas records.

In January 2007, Ohio's Department of Taxation filed a claim on his property
until he pays the debt, according to the records. The lien remains active.

At the debate, McCain cited Wurzelbacher as an example of someone who wants
to buy a plumbing business but would be hurt by Obama's tax plans.

Wurzelbacher, a self-described conservative, had spoken to Obama at a rally
Sunday near his home and asked him whether his tax plan would keep him from
buying the business that currently employs him, which earns more than
$250,000 a year.

"Your new tax plan is going to tax me more, isn't it?" Wurzelbacher asked.

Obama said that under his proposal taxes on any revenue from $250,000 on
down would stay the same, but that amounts above that level would be subject
to a 39 percent tax, instead of the current 36 percent rate.

McCain said Obama's plan would stop entrepreneurs such as Wurzelbacher from
investing in new small businesses and keep existing ones from growing.

The McCain campaign posted a Web ad featuring the exchange between
Wurzelbacher and Obama.

During an afternoon taping of "Late Show with David Letterman," McCain said
he had not yet spoken to Wurzelbacher, and apologized for the press
attention he had received.

"Joe, if you're watching, I'm sorry," McCain said.

Wurzelbacher had to deal with a clog of two dozen reporters outside his home
on a narrow street lined with ranch- and split-level homes Thursday morning.
No detail about the divorced father of a 13-year-old boy was too small: Was
he a registered voter? Did he have a plumbing license? Whom will he vote
for?

Leaning against his black Dodge Durango SUV, Wurzelbacher at first was
amused by it all, then overwhelmed and finally a little annoyed.

"I don't have a lot of pull. It's not like I'm Matt Damon," he said "I just
hope I'm not making too much of a fool of myself."

He indicated he was a fan of the military and McCain but wouldn't say who
will get his vote. He is registered as a Republican, the county elections
board said, because he voted in the GOP primary in March.

Wurzelbacher said a McCain campaign official contacted him several days
before the debate to ask him to appear with the candidate at a Toledo rally
scheduled for Sunday.

He told reporters he's unsure if he'll attend, since he's now scheduled to
be in New York for TV interviews.

On Thursday in New Hampshire, Obama said McCain was misleading voters by
proposing tax plans that favor the rich while criticizing an Obama tax plan
that would raise taxes only on people making more than $250,000 a year, just
5 percent of all taxpayers.

"He's trying to suggest that a plumber is the guy he's fighting for," Obama
said. "How many plumbers you know that are making a quarter-million dollars
a year?"

Wurzelbacher said he felt a bit overwhelmed by all the attention.

"I'm kind of like Britney Spears having a headache. Everybody wants to know
about it," he joked.

Associated Press writer Sharon Theimer in Washington contributed to this
report.

(This version CORRECTS name of Letterman's program to Late Show, sted Late
Night.)
__________



-----Original Message-----
From: vision2020-bounces at moscow.com [mailto:vision2020-bounces at moscow.com]
On Behalf Of nickgier at roadrunner.com
Sent: Thursday, October 16, 2008 10:52 AM
To: vision2020 at moscow.com
Subject: [Vision2020] Joe the Plummer admits that he would not be taxed by
Obama

Greetings:

Joe the Plummer also does not have a plummer's license, and he has not
decided whom to vote for.  McCain should have checked out his story before
embarrassing the poor guy on national television.

Nick Gier

Joe Plumber's Tap Dance 
The New Republic, 10/16/08

It's pretty ridiculous that somebody who earns more than 99% of Americans
should become a stand-in for the average working man. The picture becomes a
little more clear in this interview with Katie Couric, in which Joe the
Plumber admits he doesn't actually earn $250,000 a year:

COURIC: Well, he supposedly will raise taxes only on people who make over
$250,000 a year. Would you be in that category? 

WURZELBACHER: Not right now at presently, but, you know, question, so he's
going to do that now for people who make $250,000 a year. When's he going to
decide that $100,000 is too much, you know? I mean, you're on a slippery
slope here. You vote on somebody who decides that $250,000 and you're rich?
And $100,000 and you're rich? I mean, where does it end? You know, that's -
people got to ask that question. 

In the same interview, he says that Barack Obama did a "tap dance... almost
as good as Sammy Davis Junior." But Joe the Plumber is the one who lied
about the central premise of his question to Obama. So the whole premise
that made Joe the Plumber the icon of the debate turns out to be made up. I
don't think reporters should start investigating the details of his life or
anything. But if he's going to freely admit that he just made up the one
fact that gave his story any political salience, then that's pretty
relevant.