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Great ad.  I too am Joe the Plumber.  As I’ve mentioned before, I’m a recovering mortgage broker.  Once employing 15 people or so, and now on my own in a new industry.  I have seen both sides of Obama’s mythical $200,000 or $250,000 tax line.  Not in take home pay… not even close… but in business income.  And according to smart people at the Wall Street Journal and others, I would have had to pay Obama’s rich tax.  Now, as I start a new business from scratch and reset my career, I guess I would get his hand out.

I DON’T WANT EITHER.

I don’t want welfare or a handout.  I see the burden such programs put on small businesses.  Once we had a few employees, I spent the majority of my time dealing with regulations and licensing and compliance with this bureaucracy or some law.  Even at our most prosperous, I had to juggle our business income to meet payroll and health care, unemployment taxes, matching taxes, and all of the expenses associated with running a small business that employed a few people.

Even if I didn’t understand the burden of jumping through the government hoops to run a business, I would still be opposed to Obama’s socialist welfare scheme.  I was raised to work hard for what you want and need.  There are no barriers that you cannot overcome and no reward you cannot achieve.  Giving people who don’t pay income taxes a handout attempts to void that argument.

Joe the Plumber has not asked for nor does he expect a government handout to reach his dream.  The very idea of the American dream is you can do it with your own sweat and tears.  I too am Joe the Plumber and I stand with him.  We need less government interference or handouts to succeed, not more.

Don’t give me a hand out, just get out of the way.  America will be better off for it.