Joe The Plumber

About Joe The Plumber

Samuel Joseph Wurzelbacher (born 1973[citation needed]), also known as Joe the Plumber, is an employee of Newell Plumbing & Heating and a resident of Holland, Ohio, USA. He came to media attention during the 2008 United States presidential election when he was mentioned by Republican Senator John McCain and Democratic Senator Barack Obama at least 23 times during the third and final presidential debate on October 15, 2008.

On October 11, 2008, four days before the final presidential debate, Obama met residents in Wurzelbacher's Ohio neighborhood. Wurzelbacher, who had been playing football with his son in his front yard at the time, asked Obama about his tax plan. As an ABC News camera recorded the conversation, Wurzelbacher suggested that Obama's tax plan would be at odds with "the American dream." Wurzelbacher stated, "I’m getting ready to buy a company that makes $250,000 to $280,000 a year. Your new tax plan is going to tax me more, isn’t it?"

Obama responded with an explanation of how his tax plan would affect a small business in this bracket. Obama stated, "If your revenue is above $250[K], then from $250[K] down, your taxes are going to stay the same. It is true that for $250[K] up, …, you'd go from 36% to 39%, which is where it was under Bill Clinton."