Meet Joe the Plumber

Everyone remembers Joe the Plumber from the last presidential debate.  Remember how I commented that I was surprised to hear of a plumber that makes $250,000/year?  Well, after all the hype, what do we know about Joe (whose real name is Sam)?

It turns out he’s not a licensed plumber at all.  In fairness, you don’t have to be licensed to work as a plumber, but he is not part of the plumbers union and is not licensed and so in order to practice, he must work under someone who has a “Master Plumbers” license in Toledo (where he works and the business is located).  This means that Joe could not legally operate the business he now works for in Toledo.

Secondly, Joe told ABC that he doesn’t make anywhere near $250,000, so Obama’s tax plan would not affect him adversely.  As for if his business were to make more than that, the $250,000 mark would only take place if he filed his business with his personal taxes.  Most small businesses don’t do this, as they would use an LLC or something to differentiate the two.

This isnt’ to say Joe isn’t a hard working, ambitious man with a lot riding on this election.  But now that we know who Joe is, it changes the arguments a little during the debate.

More information about who Joe is can be found here.