I was bit disappointed with the discussion of Joe the Plumber in the last debate. But not because McCain chose to take from the discussion an issue that divided us: Should we “spread the wealth around” in a way that might seem be more equitable through a socialist-like redistribution of income? Nor was it because it propagated the fiction that there are lots of people just like us, teachers, fireman, and plumbers, who make $250,000 a year. I expected that. What disappointed me was that Obama didn’t take the opportunity to make a case for progressive taxation that was a foundation of the economic message in his book, The Audacity of Hope.
There are values that we all share. Values that define who we are as a nation: (1) The American Dream: that every American, no matter who they are or where they come from, can achieve a good life for their family it they work hard and play by the rules; (2) Fairness: Everyone should pay their fair share of the costs for the benefits they reap from our society; (3) We Are All in this Together: In America we rise and fall together. We don’t cut and run, abandoning those who stood by us in the social compact that binds us as a nation.
The case for asking Joe, or anyone else that rises far enough to make $250,000 a year, to pay more taxes than the rest of us has nothing to do with income equity and redistribution and everything to do with these basic values. Joe benefited from our educational system and from laws and regulations that kept the playing field level for people like him. Before he became successful, he couldn’t afford to fund these things from which he benefited as much as he can now. Does he really want to deny this same opportunity to those who, though no fault of their own, haven’t yet become as successful as he has?
Joe, because of his success, uses, and benefits from, more of the resources of our society than someone less successful. If you have seven houses, you benefit much more from the fire protection budget than someone with none. Joe has benefited more from the stable economic climate our military expenditures and economic regulations have provided. His fleet of vans and the chemicals he sends down drains cost us more as a society to clean up after than a teacher does. Does he really think it is fair to not pay his fair share for the systems he benefits from?
If Joe were to become old or disabled, lose his business, or face a catastrophic illness in his family, we as a society would not abandon him. We are only as good as we treat the least of our brothers, and only as strong as the weakest of our neighbors. He depends upon his neighbors being well off enough to buy his services. His quality of life depends on the people in his neighborhood having enough hope to keep them from turning to a life of crime or drugs. He is not an island: his customers, the people who serve him when he goes out to dinner, who bag his groceries, and valet park his car all affect him and make up his community. Now that he has made it, does he really want to abandon them? Will he really cut and run on the people with whom he lives? We are all in this together.
I thought Obama’s performance was good enough. But what I really would have liked to have heard in this time when fear is overpowering hope, what I really would have like to have seen, was Barack Obama’s calm face and warm eyes looking our from my TV screen and saying: “In America, anyone can become Joe the plumber. In America, if you play by the rules, anyone make a safe home for their family. In America, even in this time of trouble, we are all in this together. This isn’t just in Red America. This isn’t just in Blue America. It’s just America, and these are the values that define us.”
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