A few blogs ago I wrote about helping my daughter with two projects at her house.That blog addressed the issues of getting plumbers and landscapers to respond to an offer to give them money and their failure to recognize the change from a sellers market to a buyers market.
The plumber we finally picked for the job was impressive. He called and alerted me of every step in the project. He and his people were always there exactly when they said they would be there and finished the job on time on estimate. This project involved breaking up concrete and putting in a new drain and re-pouring new concrete. When the concrete was poured there was just a PVC pipe extending above the concrete until the concrete dried and the pipe could be cut and the drain installed. At 9PM the day the concrete was poured the plumber called me and said he was in front of my daughter’s house and rain was forecast and no lights were on and he needed to cut that pipe and didn’t want to scare anyone. If the pipe wasn’t cut and it rained the house would have flooded. How many plumbers would have bothered to do this at 9PM after a long day? So there are small business people out there that are working hard to do the right job. But, there wouldn’t be an Angie’s List if there weren’t more that are not people you want to hire to do your projects.
This plumber who did my work has been in business for years and has several men working for him. He probably could retire. This is the target for Obama’s proposed tax increase. A federal tax increase on top of the 66% increase in the state income tax, plus the real estate taxes in Wheaton, Illinois, may be just enough to prompt him to shut it down and move to Florida. He could move there and have no state income tax, downsize his house, and not run a business and enjoy the good life. If he does this, his employees are out of work, the state of Illinois loses more state income tax, the federal government loses most of what they get now, and he starts drawing social security. How’s that math work out for you Obama? I’m no financial genius, Mr. President, but I can do the math on this one for you. This is one of those billionaires and millionaires you say need to pay their fair share. A poor guy still working night and day to make over $250K a year and support several other families in the process. This man, however, does not have the dreaded corporate jet that is the downfall of America.
Every one of these good people you take out of the workplace, Mr. President, takes ten more out with him. He leaves a state like Illinois that is adopting your tax and spend idiocy and moves to a state that lets him keep his income. He goes from a city like Wheaton, Illinois, where real estate values have fallen but property taxes have risen. Another house on the market and prices fall further.
And, if he decided to tough it out, Mr. President and you get the Republicans to buy your tax increase, what will you do with this man’s money? Give it to GE to build another useless windmill that produces electricity at three times the cost of coal and needs this businessman’s money to survive?
This plumber would do a much better job of running this country than you. He understands how jobs work, you only understand politics. That’s why you spend all your time campaigning, you can’t run the store.
