Herman Cain: pizza boss, radio host, ballistics expert, minister. President?

guardian.co.uk ^ | 8 October 2011 | Staff

[BarnacleCenturion]

He is the latest Tea Party favourite to burst through in the increasingly heated race for the Republican presidential nomination and see their poll numbers rocket them to frontrunner status.

However, unlike previous rightwing darlings such as Texas governor Rick Perry and Minnesota congresswoman Michele Bachmann, wealthy businessman Herman Cain, 65, can claim to be cut from a very different sort of cloth from the average Republican candidate.

First, he is not actually a politician. Cain, whose CV includes being a radio show host, a navy ballistics expert, a Baptist minister and a Federal Reserve official, has never held elected office in his life. His most famous job was as chief executive of the fast-food firm Godfather's Pizza.

Yet none of that seemed to matter to the cheering crowds at the Values Voter Summit in a Washington DC hotel late last week. There was much to celebrate. A Zogby opinion poll had just boosted Cain into first place in the race, with 38% of the vote, compared with 18% for former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney. Perry trailed in third place with 12%. The study even showed Cain beating President Barack Obama in a match-up by 46% to 44%.

[Beagle8U]

“It’s up to Beagle to show where this comes from.”

Here ya go, read it.

http://www.hermancain.com/999plan

[tirednvirginia]

People did hire another Pied Piper once and look where he took us. Don’t need any documetation to prove that.

[mkjessup]

Cain is below the level of novice. His serious lack of Governmental experience is illustrated in such a ridiculous plan. He just does not know that he is doing. We cannot afford to experiment, especially right now.

OK Psycho, if the choice comes down to Cain vs 0bama in November 2012, who you gonna vote for?

[Oceander]

I am with you 200% plus. If Mr. Cain is the nominee next November, I will get up at 5am to make sure I’m the first one at the polls to pull the lever for him, just as I would do for Mr. Perry. My only regret in regard to the two of them is that I wish we could get the two of them to see a little more eye-to-eye and to get them to realize who the real enemy are: Obama and the socialists, not each other.

I know that Mr. Cain has said he wouldn’t be Perry’s VP - I wonder if he’d consider having Perry as his own VP? I think a Cain/Perry ticket would be dynamite.

[ozarkgirl]

Few people mention how poorly Cain did in the two debates prior to the recent one and the reason was, the questions were based on economics, foreign policy, etc, and Cain’s answers were dismal. I completely wrote him off after those two debates, as well as, seeing how poorly he has been running his campaign.

I call BS on this, he did so well on the first debate, I sent him money. I've never done that before.

He did an EXCELLENT job on the first debate.

05/23/2011 POS Debit POS PUR FROM CHK FRIENDS OF HERMAN CAIN XXX-XXX-XXXX, GA

[ozarkgirl]

Few people mention how poorly Cain did in the two debates prior to the recent one and the reason was, the questions were based on economics, foreign policy, etc, and Cain’s answers were dismal. I completely wrote him off after those two debates, as well as, seeing how poorly he has been running his campaign.

I call BS on this, he did so well on the first debate, I sent him money. I've never done that before.

He did an EXCELLENT job on the first debate.

05/23/2011 POS Debit POS PUR FROM CHK FRIENDS OF HERMAN CAIN XXX-XXX-XXXX, GA

[tirednvirginia]

So you are telling me Cain does have a record? And that record is losing 3 elections?

[Durus]

Of course it does...that’s why I mentioned it. What is your motivation for using Alinsky tactics on conservatives?

[tirednvirginia]

So you are telling me Cain does have a record? And that record is losing 3 elections?

[magritte]

lol...those guys don’t need my cover, but they were quoting something I had posted earlier so I thought I would respond since I was hanging around this morning.

“Empowerment zones” is an exception, and once you start exceptions in the tax code, you end up with our current tax code as you well know, full of special interest exceptions.

If Cain’s real goal is to clean up the tax code, he needs to drop this particular provision.

[SueRae]

I tink he’s on to somethig with 999 but I, too, want to see the details. He is a methematician and has talked about an economic team that he worked with t out it together..and I would like to see his list of assumptions that they used going in. Then it can be fairly evaluated.

I wouldn’t mind a Simposn-Bowles look, a Paul Ryan look, etc. Art Laffer (the Reaganomics guy) has commented favorably on it and WSJ had a piece a couple of weeks ago that was favorable. But yes, let’s get the details. And I also believe it is a work in progress.

[AmericanInTokyo]

AS IF, even ABE LINCOLN hit it on the first try. lol

[PSYCHO-FREEP]

That's just it. Like your over zealous and sometimes abusive support for Palin, Cain also has little to no chance of getting elected. The political process will prove to be too much for his lack of experience and political skills. It's just a fundamental fact that reality is what it is, and cannot be forced to comply with a handful of people with a singular agenda.

I will vote for who ever gets the nomination. Period.

[ozarkgirl]

That’s alot of reading, just scanned and didn’t see anything about economic zones. Where is it?

Ah, there it is. “Empowerment Zones will offer additional deductions for payroll employed in the zone.”

That’s it?? He wants to get Detroit back into the mainstream paying tax environment?

Vision for Economic Growth
The natural state of our economy is prosperity. Freedom ensures that.
We must get the government off our backs, out of our pockets and out of our way in order to return to prosperity.
Policy uncertainty is killing the economy.
Economic Guiding Principles

Production drives the economy, not spending.
We can not spend our way to prosperity.
Government spending IS taxation.
Government spending is like taking a bucket of water from the deep end of the pool, pouring it in the shallow end. Then they HOPE that the water level will CHANGE.
Risk taking drives growth .
Business formation and job creation are dependent on entrepreneurs taking risks.
Investors who fund those entrepreneurs likewise take risks.
Measurements must be dependable.
A dollar must always be a dollar just as an hour is always 60 minutes.
Sound money is crucial for prosperity.
We Must Unite Not Divide

When one party seeks to spend so that the other party must focus on cutting, we must unite around economic growth.
Unite all tax payers, don’t divide them into “income” tax payers vs. “payroll” tax payers.
Unite those wanting to eliminate deductions with those seeking lower rates.
As a first step, unite the “Flat-Taxers” with the “Fair-Taxers”
Economic Growth is the Key

This is the worst recovery since the Depression.
If the President’s goal was to tie for last place with the previous worst recovery, he failed by 6 million jobs.
If we had a typical recovery, 13 million more Americans would be employed today.
That means more tax revenue, less government spending and 13 million less people opposed to reasonable spending cuts.
The Super Committee must deliver a robust growth solution.
America can’t wait for 2012, we need growth NOW
Phase 1 - 9-9-9

Current circumstances call for bolder action.
The Phase 1 Enhanced Plan incorporates the features of Phase One and gets us a step closer to Phase two.
I call on the Super Committee to pass the Phase 1 Enhanced Plan along with their spending cut package.
The Phase 1 Enhanced Plan unites Flat Tax supporters with Fair tax supporters.
Achieves the broadest possible tax base along with the lowest possible rate of 9%.
It ends the Payroll Tax completely – a permanent holiday!
Zero capital gains tax
Ends the Death Tax.
Eliminates double taxation of dividends
Business Flat Tax – 9%
Gross income less all investments, all purchases from other businesses and all dividends paid to shareholders.
Empowerment Zones will offer additional deductions for payroll employed in the zone.
Individual Flat Tax – 9%.
Gross income less charitable deductions.
Empowerment Zones will offer additional deductions for those living and/or working in the zone.
National Sales Tax – 9%.
This gets the Fair Tax off the sidelines and into the game.
Phase 2 – The Fair Tax

Amidst a backdrop of the economic boom created by the Phase 1 Enhanced Plan, I will begin the process of educating the American people on the benefits of continuing the next step to the Fair Tax.
The Fair Tax would ultimately replace individual and corporate income taxes.
It would make it possible to end the IRS as we know it.
The Fair Tax makes our exported goods and services the most competitively internationally than any other tax system.
Phase 1 Enhanced Plan – Summary

Unites all tax payers so we all pay income taxes and no one pays payroll taxes
Provides the least incentive to evade taxes and the fewest opportunities to do so
Lifts a $430 billion dead-weight burden on the economy due to compliance, enforcement, collection, etc.
Is fair, neutral, transparent, and efficient
Ends nearly all deductions and special interest favors
Ends all payroll taxes
Ends the Death Tax
Features zero tax on capital gains and repatriated profits
Lowest marginal rates on production
Allows immediate expensing of business investments
Eliminates double taxation of dividends
Increases capital formation. Capital per worker drives productivity and wage growth
Capital formation will aid capital availability for small businesses
Features a platform to launch properly structured Empowerment Zones to revitalize our inner cities
We all know the Fed has tripled the money supply since 2008. They have been printing money out of thin air to finance the Obama spending machine. While true Fed reform that restores sound money may have to wait for my election, the best thing we can do now is to pursue policies that increase the DEMAND for dollars to help mitigate the risks associated with the increase in the supply.
Pro-growth economic policies equal a strong dollar policy
This is Herman Cain:

Chief Executive Officer and President of THE New Voice, Inc., a business consulting company, and Head Coach of HITM (Hermanator’s Intelligent Thinkers Movement)
Former Chairman of Godfather’s Pizza, Inc. after serving as CEO and President for ten years, 1986 - 1996. In 1988 he bought the company from The Pillsbury Company
Former President of the Tax Leadership Council, the public educational component of Americans for Fair Taxation
Past Chairman of the Board of the National Restaurant Association (1994-1995), and former full time CEO and President of the Association (1996-1999)
Member of The National Commission on Economic Growth and Tax Reform (1995), chaired by former Republican Vice-Presidential candidate, Jack Kemp
Former Member, Strategic Air Command (STRATCOM) Citizens Advisory Board, Omaha, Nebraska
Radio Talk Show Host, “The Herman Cain Show”, News Talk 750 WSB – Atlanta, Monday - Friday, 7pm-10pm EST
FOX News Business Commentator and Columnist with NorthStarNational.com, World Net Daily and DailyCaller.com
At a nationally televised Presidential Town Hall Meeting on Health Care Reform (1994), challenged President Bill Clinton’s health care proposal when he said, “Mr. President, with all due respect, your calculations are incorrect…”
Served on the Boards of Directors of AGCO, Inc., Georgia Chamber of Commerce, Hallmark Cards Inc., Whirlpool, Inc.,and Morehouse College, Atlanta, Georgia
Graduated from Morehouse College with a B.S. in Mathematics in 1967. Earned his Master’s Degree in Computer Science from Purdue University in 1971. Recipient of eight Honorary Doctorate Degrees from Morehouse College, New York City Technical College; Suffolk University, Johnson & Wales University, Creighton University, Purdue University, Tougaloo College and the University of Nebraska
Author of four books, Leadership Is Common Sense (1997), Speak As A Leader (1999), CEO of SELF (October, 2001), and They Think You’re Stupid (May, 2005)
A native and current resident of Atlanta, Georgia. Married for over 40 years with two adult children and three grandchildren

[Beagle8U]

“I tink he’s on to somethig with 999 but I, too, want to see the details. He is a methematician and has talked about an economic team that he worked with t out it together..and I would like to see his list of assumptions that they used going in. Then it can be fairly evaluated.”

I think he said he would put that out next month or so, after this months book tour.

[tirednvirginia]

If nothng else works, you play the race card, huh?

[PSYCHO-FREEP]

I did not say the First debate. I also became interested in him after that one. But since the debate did not have Romney or Bachmann, and also lacked others, it was very hard to judge.

There have already been 4 debates. Because I was impressed by Cain from the first one, I watched the second one with high expectations and Cain failed them miserably. Then came the third debate when Perry first joined the race and Cain also was very much an amateur in that one also.

It was at that point that I dropped Cain as a possible candidate. His recent surge will not last because he lacks the political skills to win an election.

[ozarkgirl]

If Cain’s real goal is to clean up the tax code, he needs to drop this particular provision.

I won't argue with you on that.

Who are "those guys", there was one Beagle8U. All I asked is that he cite his source and he has. That was standard procedure back in the day.

[SueRae]

Good grief...I better get more coffee or learn to use the spellcheck..please pardon all my grammatical errors here.

I’m looking forward to hearing more. Herman Cain has a track record as a proven problem solver. THat’s exactly the kind of person I want. And, like Sarah, Herman Cain cannot be bought.

[Grunthor]

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