“Joe the Plumber” [UPDATED]
By Larry Doyle on October 16, 2008 at 6:45 PM in Barack Obama, Economy, John McCain
[From Larry Johnson: The so-called progressive blogosphere is going after this guy hammer and tong. And millionaires like Obama and Biden are dismissing Joe the Plumber (aka Joe Wurzelbacher) as a clown who couldn't earn $250,000 a year. If you have contact numbers or address for Mr. Wurzelbacher let me know. I want to send him some money. We need to let him know he is not alone.]
We all know guys like “Joe the plumber.” In fact, we probably know many guys like Joe.
What do many of these individuals have in common? Work ethic, dedication to family and community goals.
“Joe” often times works two jobs. Maybe he is a fireman, works construction or has a stake in a construction business. He is a plumber and runs a bar. He is a cop and does some private security patrols. He has his own plumbing business and collects a little extra doing some property management. He has a pool business and caters parties.
He often volunteers to coach Little League and is the one working the grill at the neighborhood party. While Joe is a “great guy,” you know that if need be Joe can just as quickly say “don’t screw with me” and ”get your hand out of my pocket.”
That’s not to say that Joe is not charitable because he often will give not only of his time and talents but often is there to give his $$ for causes that he believes in, such as the local PTA board, the disabled Vet, the young widow, the church food pantry.
When Joe does know that he is getting hustled, though, how does he respond? He takes his street smarts and he adapts.
See, what many politicians do not appreciate is that people are savvy and will always adapt to their surroundings.
If Joe has a customer or a sub who sticks him on a bill, not only will Joe NEVER work with him again but he will spread that name to his buddies and make sure that they never work with that individual.
If Joe knows he has “gotten beaten,” he will never forget. Joe is a dyed-in-the-wool American, but he knows what is fair and right for everybody needs to be fair and right for him.
He has played by the rules his whole life but there comes a point where “enough is enough.” He pays his taxes and then he is putting money aside for the kids college education, a little extra to pay off the mortgage, a little extra to help his daughter get extra tutoring, a little extra to send to his Mom who is now living on her own after Dad passed.
When Joe “feels that hand in his pocket,” Joe may very well start to “barter” with some of his subs and fellow blue collar workers. Joe may start to discount some of his business for cash transactions. Joe may look to increase his bartending instead of taking on another apprentice in his plumbing biz. Joe may close the shop on Saturday morning because the marginal increase in revenue “just isn’t worth it.”
If Joe’s business is a little bigger and includes distribution and production, he will explore the possibility of opening an office in Canada or perhaps Mexico.
See, you may think Joe is just a “regular Joe,” but Joe is America and while he is willing to give you the shirt off his back, you had better be willing to jump in the ditch with him to get the job done, as opposed to grabbing his dough and getting out of town. No, that won’t work!!
by Ronald Scott
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