The concept of “Joe the Plumber” was popularized during the 2008 presidential election. The term originated with Joe Wurzelbacher, a former plumber who has become something of a celebrity after being mentioned by both candidates in a 2008 presidential debate.The Plumber AnalogyThe plumber profession has been used to make many negative connotations over the years, but plumbers are generally considered the epitome of the working man. They work hard, pay their taxes and contribute to society. This makes them an easy analogy to the rest of middle-class America.Of course, “Joe the Plumber” can also be “Joe the Electrician,” “Joe the Small Business Owner,” “Joe the Teacher,” or any other respected profession in the world. The profession itself is only indicative of the mentality behind “Joe the Plumber.” He might not have a fancy car or a big house, but he’s proud of what he has and knows that he’s earned every cent in the bank.The Role of “Joe the Plumber”"Joe the Plumber” has come to serve as a guideline for how America should be governed. Rather than looking to the poor or the rich for a guideline, politicians are now looking to the heart of America in decision making and policy writing. Middle America, and therefore “Joe the Plumber,” encompasses such a broad spectrum of people that it makes sense to use it as a point of reference.”Joe the Plumber” is a symbol for the Americans affected most by tax increases and policy changes. Since he also contributes the most to society in the way of value and taxes, simply by sheer numbers, he is also who matters most in the long run. “Joe the Plumber” owns small businesses and climbs the corporate ladder.Are You “Joe the Plumber”?The qualities of “Joe the Plumber” are vague, to say the least, and every politician has a different definition of who constitutes the epitome of the middle class. In short, however,” Joe the Plumber” is a homeowner with a college education and a job or business that brings in less than $250,000 a year. The minimum income depends on the cost of living where he resides.Do you feel like you represent the heart of middle class America? If so, you are probably “Joe the Plumber,” regardless of whether you know how to wield a plunger.

Celebration, Florida October 22, 2008 – The real estate market has become a more cutthroat and aggressive institution than it’s ever been with the constant uttering of the word “foreclosure”. Another nasty word that has seeped its way into the vocabulary of sellers is “bankruptcy”. What is lost to both parties is the knowledge that, respectively, one word means “further chaos to our economy” and the other “a flimsy band-aid”. The utter terror brought about to more and more homeowners by the possibility of foreclosure should be just as frightening to the financial institutions that deliver letters with this term. By taking away homeowners’ equitable right of redemption, lenders take the blow of seeing a larger loss on the property as they expend on the foreclosure process. In a desperate attempt to stop this process from happening, sellers have also turned to a hasty choice, bankruptcy. Although doing so slows the process and gives sellers an opportunity to get their bearings, declaring bankruptcy may end up lengthening the economic nightmare. Being little more than an extension on payment, this option may prove to create a worse scenario for sellers in the end. A short sale, the people’s bailout, gives everyone the chance to cut their losses and bring some stability to the exhausted market. Sellers might ask themselves, “Why would (insert financial institution name here) accept a loss on the property?” Well, it simply makes sense in the long run. For lenders, accepting the sale of a property for less than it is worth helps them avoid the larger monetary hassle that a foreclosure process brings about. Something is better than nothing. Sellers reap the benefits of a short sale as well. Accepting the proceeds of a short sale, banks consider the debt fully settled and waive deficiency judgment. Plus, it comes at no cost to the owner as commission is paid out of the proceeds; The concept of a do-over is one in which MonkeySold, a marketing and short sale processing company, specializes, showing concern for today’s homeowners and hoping to lend a helping hand in giving them relief. In addition to processing short sales, the company negotiates lower payments, forbearance agreements, and deeds in lieu. Christian Bohyn is as more interested in helping distressed homeowners than selling houses, as a mortgage broker he will negotiate a loan modification if that is a viable option. That is why his clients such as, Joe The Plumber, call him a Real Estate Angel instead of a Real Estate Agent. Genuine interest is what gives MonkeySold the drive to do their best to give customers the second chance they deserve. Putting people first, the company maneuvers through today’s economy with an emphasis on getting the monkey off of peoples’ backs. About MonkeySold: MonkeySold is a Marketing and Admin Processing company dedicated to helping sellers, founded by Belgian real estate agent and licensed mortgage broker, Christian Bohyn. He learned to sell his real estate investments fast and started to help others do so with equally successful results. He is delighted to give back to the community because he loves the privilege of living in The Land of Opportunity. Contact: Christian Bohyn, Real Estate Angel MonkeySold 407-566-9495 866-585-4957 http://www.monkeysold.com

I know Joe. He lives in my town. I grew up with him. He’s my brother. Let me tell you about Joe because he’s a regular kind of guy. You know the kind of guy who has been running the government for the past eight years. What he thinks can mean a lot to everyone else, and what happens to Joe matters too.

Joe is a great friend and a wonderful brother. Every time I need him, he’s there for me. He’s older than I am, and I can count on him to come and help out any time I need something fixed, carried, or done around my apartment. He’s even got a handy truck to haul my furniture any time I move, unless it’s in the winter when he’s deer hunting.

Now Joe didn’t like school much. He said it was a drag. He and I used to quarrel about books and English classes and stuff like that. “Now don’t be some smarty pants, ”he said. “Just be an ordinary person because that’s really all a true American should be. So you be careful, and don’t get too ahead of yourself.”

Joe’s got a flag on the front porch of his house. It’s been there ever since I remember. I think that’s great, but I asked him why. He said he didn’t like those foreigners coming across the border, and he wanted to make sure that he staked out his place in the country so everyone would know he isn’t some wetback here illegally. Those complainers without flags: well, they just ought to leave the country if they have some quarrel with it, he said. He wants to make sure that people know he doesn’t complain.

My brother and I don’t see eye to eye on many things. I recently went to a Moslem mosque to interview a woman who has been teaching children in Dubai. She’s the sister of the chief of police in my town. Joe was pretty upset with me. He said if I didn’t stop associating with terrorists he’d disown me.

I went to a party the other night and got a ride home with this great fellow that I had been talking with at work for a long time. He’s smart, attractive and earns a good living, has a fine sense of humor, and just graduated from Harvard. I asked my brother if he’d like to meet him, and he said, “Why would I want to meet some intellectual elite? I hope you don’t get serious with him because he’ll never be able to understand common sense things. Men like him don’t understand guys like me. Well, I’ll bet he doesn’t even own a gun.”

The other day Joe and I showed up at our city council meeting. Joe took off his hat right away and led people in the Pledge of Allegiance. He always likes to do that, so he’s called upon at every community meeting to lead the people in the Pledge. Joe said that’s a great American symbol that’s been around ever since the country declared its independence from England. The guy who wrote it, he said, was a real patriot and George Washington was smart to add the words under God right away.

Joe and his girlfriend separated several months ago. I felt sorry for him; he’s was really sad about it. He said they couldn’t agree on children. Not that they both didn’t want them, but she said she’d like to wait a year or two before having a baby. Besides her family wanted her to be cautious about getting pregnant because she has severe diabetes, and they weren’t sure it would be good for her health. Joe said he didn’t want to marry a woman who was afraid to take chances, especially when he wanted a son to carry on his name. If she got pregnant, no matter what, he wanted her to have that baby. Joe told me, “now what was that woman thinking that her body was hers, when everyone knows it’s mine. After all, I got her first; and if she got knocked up, I said to her, she ought to be just like every woman is and have that baby for her man like other women do.” Joe couldn’t imagine she didn’t want to get pregnant right away and believes that the fact she didn’t is just a bunch of liberal, lesbian, big-government nonsense.

Now my Joe isn’t really Joe the plumber, but he certainly exists in my town, just like he does in yours. He’s a good brother, thoughtful and ready to help any member of the family who needs him. He’s a loyal American and would defend America if asked. So I love him. I just worry about Joe and how his vision multiplied by many can influence the outcome of elections and create long-term problems. So while I’ll always love Joe, I’ll worry about him at the same time because there’s a whole wide wonderful world he’ll never know exists.