Joe The Plumber’s $250,000 Dilemma
Joe The Plumber’s $250,000 Dilemma has dominated the third and final US presidential election debate and has given me a bad headache.
Let’s be real here. $250,000 is (still) a lot money everywhere you go in the world. If I’d be a regular Joe the plumber from a US suburb and earn a quarter of a million US dollars, I wouldn’t mind paying a bit more taxes. A family can live very well with that kind of money. Just think about how many people live on minimum wage in the US or on less than $2 a day in other countries. McCain was saying that he wants to help Joe realize his American Dream. Still, that doesn’t mean that Joe is exempt from tax paying. It is like turning down a higher income job. No one would say, “No, I don’t want to earn more, because I don’t want to pay more taxes.” I understand that no one likes paying taxes. But in the West, we all need to pay taxes. That is how we finance our welfare.
In Italy, Silvio Berlusconi promised tax cuts to everyone and he actually cut some taxes. Unfortunately, a few years later, all of Italy complains that there is not enough money for anything and Italy’s infrastructure is falling apart. Stinky Naples being just one outcome.
Folks, it doesn’t matter if your income rises to a six digits amount. Be happy to earn more, even though you might have to pay a little more taxes. You will actually do something good for your country and for future generations. Someone who makes $250,000 a year should feel blessed that she has something to eat and a roof over her head. I get somewhat confused when hearing people complaining about having to pay taxes when earning a quarter million dollars a year.
Let’s be happy that with $250,000 we actually have money to pay our taxes.
I am an Obama supporter. But I don’t agree with the fact that if you own a small business, and because of sweat and hard work, long hours and few vacations, you make over $250,000, then you get a tax increase.
Tami Schmidt
October 23, 2008 at 9:40 pm
Other countries in the world give the possibility to entrepreneurs to hedge their money, if their income rises. Fact is that $250,000 are way above a normal middle-class income, and another fact is that taxes are needed to get the country going. We all want roads, education, and health care. That is why EVERYBODY needs to pay taxes. I agree with you, Tami. Sweat and hard work, long hours and few vacations shouldn’t be punished. And I’m sure there are ways to get around a higher taxation. Maybe, if entrepreneurs reinvest their money into their business and keep an actual income of less than $250,000 they could avoid a tax increase.
Honestly, if you’d earn $250,000, don’t you think you’d have a a less harder time pay taxes than someone who lives on minimum wage?
Sebastiano Mereu
October 24, 2008 at 8:58 am