To all the Joe the Plumbers out there

Dear Joe the Plumber,

I've been thinking a lot about you since the debate last Wednesday and ever since I saw you on Good Morning America. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FeX3zfvIwAA) You seem like a very nice man, and I admired that you did not say who you were voting for and chose not become a McCain (or Obama maybe) spokesperson. You cleared things up a bit, too, and let the world know that, in fact, you do not make $250,000.00 a year. Your question to Obama at a rally was hypothetical, something along the lines of "If I were to start my own business and start making over that much, would I then have to pay more in taxes?" Fair enough.

What I've been thinking about most is your argument against having to pay more taxes. Your position, and that of many Republicans, is that you should not be penalized for being successful. Diane Sawyer asks if you feel the same about the very rich, those who make millions and can clearly afford to pay more in taxes. You said that these people, too, should not be penalized. I guess one of my problems is the word penalized. I mean, is paying taxes really a punishment? We pay taxes on a lot of things, and I never thought of it as a punishment. Annoying? Sure. Expensive? Sometimes. But punishment?

Everybody, or most everybody, pays taxes, right? It's just a necessary part of being an adult, right? So what would you suggest, Joe the Plumber, we do? Pay no taxes? That hardly seems doable. Should everybody pay the same amount? And what amount is that? What if we took the bulk amount of what the US takes in in taxes and divided it by the number of families in the United States and charged everyone that same amount? I wonder how that would go over? Probably pretty well, actually, since those with money would love it and those without money do not have a voice to say anything. They're always the losers, aren't they?

The way I see it, those with a lot of money should absolutely have to pay more in taxes. Certainly nobody should have to pay so much that they lose a business or go bankrupt, but is it fair that those making a ton of money are getting tax breaks while those in the middle/lower class are not? I just don't see how people that make three times or more in a year than most average families justify not wanting to pay more in taxes. Joe the Plumber said that he works hard, long days. Don't a lot of people work hard, long days and make barely enough to stay afloat? I keep hearing McCain talk about how proud he is of his supporters, how they are good, decent citizens - the salt of the earth! And many of them are. (Some of them are my close family!) But if you're really good and decent, do you complain about paying more in taxes if you know it's good for the country, takes the burden off those less fortunate, and you can easily afford it? That just seems wrong to me.

A family making $250,000.00 a year is doing pretty well, aren't they? They are going out to eat 2 times a week or more. They are taking family vacations. They go to Starbucks and don't blink an eye a their $5 latte. When the want something, they buy it. Sure, these are generalizations and not all these families live extravagant lifestyles, but they certainly sleep okay at night. (At least they did before the recent financial crisis.) So why should they make a big fuss at paying a bit more in taxes and helping out those families who do not have that peace of mind at night? Our tax dollars go to government funded programs meant to help people. Yes, some of these programs are flawed. And, yes, some of our tax dollars are misspent. But some aren't and our tax dollars go to programs that absolutely need to be funded. (Programs for education come to mind...)


I suppose the tax question represents a fundamental difference between Democrats and Republicans and goes along with the idea of smaller government. Smaller government is a GREAT idea...in theory. But the reality is that smaller government is just not enough sometimes. There are far too many people in the US and certainly far too many who are disenfranchised. We need good people in Washington working to do good things for EVERYBODY, not just those with money. Money = power. Those with it, have it. Those without it, have to fight hard for it.

Now, I'm not saying that Obama is a knight in shining armor who will swoop in and save the country. And I'm not saying that McCain is not a good man. And I'm certainly not naive enough to believe that the president has all that much power, either. But I do believe that Obama, as president, will do more than the other guy to bring this country together and stand up for those who have smaller voices. After all, helping those people is how Obama got his start, working with lower income families to organize and make their voices heard. Making sure these Americans do not have higher taxes, adding to their already heavy burden, is just one way to help.

Good luck climbing higher on the plumber rungs, Joe the Plumber. I do hope you become as successful as you'd like to be. And once you're there, I hope you remember those around you who have not been so fortunate.

Warm regards,
Michelle

P.S. Will wanted me to add that Warren Buffet, the world's second richest man, has said that he pays less in taxes now than he ever has before. Warren Buffet also supports Obama.