Posted on 10/16/2008 3:40:56 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
As of last night, the tax burden on small businesses has become one of the central (if not THE central) issues of the 2008 presidential campaign.
In a year when wars both foreign (Iraq and Afghanistan) and cultural (latte-sipping media elites versus hockey moms) dominated the headlines, how did this happen?
Strangely enough, we can thank one man: Joe Wurzelbacher of Ohio, or as he is better known, "Joe the Plumber." His feelings about Obama's tax plan were basically the centerpiece of last night's debate.
Wurzelbacher's complaint is that if he bought the small business he works for, he would pay higher taxes in a world with President Obama because the business's income is over $200,000.
Obama has tried to show that he is not the big-government socialist that Wurzelbacher makes him out to be by admirably saying he would cut capital gains taxes on small businesses (although it's not clear what he means by "small business").
There are at least two reasons why that position, however, does not perfectly defend Obama from the criticisms of "Joe the Plumber."
First, not all small businesses pay capital gains taxes. All of them, however, pay income taxes.
Second, while it might be true, as Obama argued in the debate, that 98 percent of small businesses make less than $250,000, the few that do are the most productive and the ones that contribute the most to economic growth. Also, we can't pretend that that 2 percent are the only ones that will be affected. We don't know how many small businesses with less income will fail to grow because Obama's higher taxes will act as a disincentive. That's the challenge that Wurzelbacher is presenting to Obama: "Why do you want to make it harder for me to grow?"
Fortunately, there's an alternative that Obama (or McCain) could support. As I've discussed with Mark Cuban, let's have an across-the-board tax cut on small businesses and start-ups, based on either the size or the age of the firm.
Although initial polls show that most people think Obama won the debate, I don't think that should dissuade Obama from thinking that he needs to fight back and support more aggressively pro-small-business policies. He shouldn't wait and see just how much damage the "Joe the Plumber" story does to his support from independent voters.
It also matters that dems are trashing the poor guy because of what OBAMA said to him! Be afraid, be very afraid.
The media and Obama are going after Big Plumbing.
JOE THE PLUMBER does matter and it has gotten under the skin of the dems and most bottom-feeder progressives in our society who have the time to sit home and rig polls to feed their insecurities. They SO bad want to discredit a true America, as they have Sarah Palin, and it could seriously cost them dearly. *****We love you, Joe The Plumber. You speak for most Americans who love tis country, unlike the radical leftist leeches. I think most plumbers, like Joe, WILL vote for McCain because they/he recognizes socialism (Barack Hussein) when they/he see it and DOES NOT dare vote for it. +++++PLUS, more good news — ACORN is now being infiltrated by the FBI. This is getting good. over 600,000 in question? The DEMS were so sure. Never stop fighting to win! ***** MCCain/Palin ‘08!!! GOD BLESS!
We have borrowed to keep our employees on board and modified our personal plans to keep their wages and benefits the same. Albeit, at during bad times we were not able to give them raises.
Under Obama’s plan, during bad times is the Government going to give the small business a break? Can we do income averaging? Do we fire our existing employees and hire new ones to get the Obama $3,000/employee credit?
Obama has no idea what a small business person does to make a small business work!
Obama and his cronies are elitist who have probably never been in Sam's to buy office supplies, never given an employee Christmas Party at his house or given Christmas bonuses to your employees rather than treating yourself and your family to a winter vacation in St. Thomas.
Obama is talks the talk but has never walked the walk!
He caught Obama in an unguarded moment, and the usually unflappable, cool facade dropped, and we saw the ugly message of every socialist regime--redistribution of wealth from those who earn it.
It is the very definition of tyranny, and America's Founders decided against it over 200 years ago. Their choice was for private enterprise, private property rights, liberty for individuals, and limits on government power.
One is fond of giving out tickets for violations of laws that don't exist, dragging us through court fights and intimidation. They send out notices of code violations with inspection dates that never happened. One notice said we violated a law that required the posting of the approval that we could only get by paying the fine, and that was the first notice.
Another cash-strapped government we deal with is demanding all sorts of documentation into years past, finding all sorts of reasons why we owe them money.
Payroll runs about 30%, with 5 employees and two partners. If our gross ever got down below $250k, I don't think we'd be in it very long.
I've been involved with the rescue of this little hardware for the last several years, much went in, very little has been returned. It occupies almost all of my time and perhaps sad to say it is making a huge notch into who I am and what my life is. "Something like a wife", some business owner told me.
We're growing still in this economy! We believe because that's in our nature. It's our own hard work paying back and we are hiring because we haven't stopped growing.
We don't need the federal government getting all squirrelly on us too. We live and die by doing an honest business. We expect and demand nothing less from our interactions with governments. Big or small.
Obama doesn't even want to understand about small business in America. He lives and breaths big government. He scares me, but I fully expect him to be roundly defeated.
Thank you.
Speaking as a female, the bald look is very sexy. The media is jealous of Joe’s sex appeal.
I’m a woman too but would rather see ‘hair’, lol. I think he is one of those who starts getting bald and just shaves the rest of it off.
It's a good strategy, though.
As a small bidness owner, IF Osammie is eleced, the firings will begin on 11/5. Count on it!
So cool. I could watch Joe on your slide show all day. Solid as a rock. I await further statements from him as the MSM and rat thugocracy try to ruin him. He’s sturdy enough to withstand it.
I’m glad we had Joe the Plumber from last night’s debate, rather than another Ponytail Guy who wants to know which candidate will be his mommy.
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