Posted on 10/21/2011 1:13:18 PM PDT by SeekAndFind
Huh? After weeks of repeating 9-9-9 and, in the process, making his bold and original tax reform plan common knowledge, Herman Cain today altered his slogan:
GOP presidential candidate Herman Cain clarified his much talked-about “9-9-9″ tax plan Friday, saying those who fall at or beneath the poverty level would have a different plan: “9-0-9.”
Cain took heat over his proposal, which replaces the current tax code with a 9% corporate tax, a 9% income tax and a new 9% national sales tax. Opponents have argued the middle part of the plan would increase taxes on the poor, who currently pay little to no taxes.
But Cain fired back Friday, saying in a Detroit speech that those paying no taxes now would continue to pay zero taxes under his plan.
“If you are at or below the poverty level, your plan isn’t 9-9-9 it is 9-0-9,” Cain said. “Say amen y’all. 9-0-9.”
Presumably, no income tax for those at or below the poverty level was always a part of Cain’s plan — but that at least was not a commonly known detail of it. Perhaps his new jingle will ease the “political treacherousness” of proposing a flat tax, serving to underscore Cain’s concern for “income inequality” (despite his outspoken opposition to the Occupy Wall Street crowd). But, then, as Ed explained this morning, to propose a flat tax is less a political liability than some would have us think — and Cain’s new cry of “9-0-9″ undoes a little of the magic of the simplicity of his plan.
Cain today also explained his idea to create “opportunity zones.” Under this new element of his plan, in cities facing high unemployment, businesses could deduct a certain amount of payroll expenses (in addition to purchases) from their corporate taxes. That makes sense to me — but Cain’s entire speech this morning in Detroit (a city with the inordinately high unemployment rate of 14.4 percent) suggests 9-9-9, for all that it is emblazoned on the minds of those who have heard it, is subject to change. Political realities have always constrained its possibility (passage would be quite a feat!) — and the fearful prospect opened up by Rick Santorum at the Bloomberg debate a couple weeks ago of a new revenue stream for the federal government to exploit was never its strongest selling point — but nothing hints at its unfeasibility so much as the adjustments Cain seemed to make to it this morning. He’d like those numbers 9-9-9 to be inflexible, but, already, they aren’t. “Say amen y’all. It’s 9-0-9.” “Amen” frequently follows “forever and ever.” That’s clearly not the case here.
Update: A reader e-mailed me to say “opportunity zones” have always been a part of Cain’s plan. Formerly, they were called “empowerment zones.”
They will pay something under the NRST.
And not all “lower levels” are exempted. Only those at or below the poverty line.
If welfare benefits and food stamps are counted as taxable income under 999, which they should be, very few of what we presently call “the poor” will be below the poverty line.
They will have to pay 9% on their welfare benefits, effectively an entitlement spending cut. That’s a good thing.
Wow, sorry for the duplicate posts. That was some kind of mouse fart, for sure!
Looks like Herman is tweaking at least two major issues today. Taxes and abortion.
First it was 999. Now its 909, or 999/909! LOL What’s next week?
Enough already, Herman. Go with the flat tax. The fair tax is a dog.
This 9-9-9 thing has got to go. Any tax system which can be tweaked and generally f***ed around with will in short order expand beyond reason.
10% flat tax...AT MOST, with no witholding.
I know the flat tax plans I’ve seen had the tax on everything over x amount, depending on the author. That may be doable, but I guess we’ll have to keep the army of IRS agents to go after the “tax cheats” on whatever exemption(s) are allowed.
I’d eliminate all exemptions and witholding. The flat tax could be filed on a postcard.
The army won’t be as big!
A standard deduction is not complicated or hard to enforce.
P.S. I know you don’t love what we have now more!
Brother Herman needs to stop this thinking out loud stuff.
He sounds like a female, changing his mind a couple of times a day... at least.
BTW, while I don’t think it’s any surprise that there would be an income exclusion or standard deduction for an amount at or below the poverty level, if people want to “blame” someone for this, they ought to considering blaming Michele Bachmann.
While I appreciate all Bachmann has done for the conservative movement, her pathetic wailing that 999 with “hurt the poor the most” had to not only get on Cain’s last nerve (as he said in an interview), but it had to make conservatives seriously trying to get major tax reform passed shake their heads and think:
“Good grief. If we’re going to end up taking such potshots from people such as Bachmann on the Right, who supposedly is really in sync with the Tea Party, we have no choice but to parlay to fend off her criticism that only energizes the Left.”
Really: when you have one of the candidates running as an ultra-conservative start wailing Lefty talking points — this “hurts the poor the most”??, with no understanding of how the poor and ALL of us are helped by 999 — what are you supposed to do? Let that stand, and let Bachmann’s ill-advised and ill-founded debate zingers get entrenched and sink the entire effort?
Thanks, Michele. NOT.
This would be a disincentive to work. Bummer.
This thing won’t be recognizable by the first primary.
Supposedly, this was in the plan from the beginning.
There are also many exemptions for businesses and people working and/or living in "deprived" places like DETROIT! Ergo, the 9-9-9plan is NOT for everyone. And as far as I can tell, welfare and SSI payments will be exempt as well.
This plan has ALWAYS stunk on ice! Cain appears to neither know what is in it and is incapable of explaining it clearly, not to mention the fact that it does keep on changing. Thrown in the fact that presidents do NOT write tax laws ( so it has to originate in the House, get passed there, then get sent to the Senate, revised and passed there, sent back to the House, etc., before it gets to the desk of the president !), so throw out his claim that he will write it so that 2/3 of Congress has to vote before raising the taxes crapola.....that won't ever see the light of day;much less the plan as now stated!
And FWIW............the level at which "poverty level" is set, keeps on going up and up and up.
I remember him saying something about putting
his idea out there to be discussed...
That’s why I liked him, he stepped up to the plate,
he’s willing to open discussion on fixing a problem.
I consider him to be reasonable and to listen and
learn from other’s ideas. So put on your thinking
cap and throw some positive ideas into the pot.
I've watched this monstrosity grow ever since Nixon proposed it, Ford signed it into law and it has increased under every administration since, without exception.
If we ever get conservatives in large enough numbers, then perhaps we may hope that everybody has to pay at least some taxes. I say "conservatives" because just look at the Senate now with Brown, Collins, Kirk, Snowe, you may add to the list and therein is the problem, all named are as liberal as they come and all have the big "R" behind their names.
Rant off. I guess I'm just feeling pessimistic tonight. I want Obama out of office so badly I can taste it. I can't even look at his dumb communist ass/face on tv anymore.
You’re letting media dimwits and know-nothing high school bloggers manipulate you. Go straight to the source. Nothing has changed about the plan.
Explain what....that where the poverty level is today is higher than where it used to be?
Well said.
Bachmann has exposed herself. Thank God she imploded as soon as she did.
Every single candidate at that debate tried to demagogue this plan using liberal talking points that sounded like they were written by Media Matters. It’s obvious that Cain is the cream of this crop.
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