Posted on 10/12/2011 6:07:16 AM PDT by US Navy Vet
There was one clear winner from Tuesday's Republican presidential debate, based on the simple metrics of name recognition: businessman Herman Cain's "9-9-9 Plan."
Virtually all the candidates at the debate table had something to say about Cain's plan to replace the tax code with three, flat nine-percent federal taxes on consumption, business and income. Cain, once delegated to the remote wings of the debate stage, has enjoyed a surge in the polls ever since he won the straw poll in Orlando, Fla., last month, and at the first debate since he joined former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and Texas Gov. Rick Perry in the top tier, Cain and his policy proposals took up more of the debate's time than the ideas floated by any other candidate.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
Nice try... Just cause you disagree with me? I’ve posted thousands and thousands of times in the past. Literally.
That's true -- and I say this as a Cain supporter --, but he has seemingly staked his entire campaign around this plan and it just isn't very good. And I don't see how he can walk it back as its unpopularity grows.
I suspect it would never pass were he elected, but that's not a very strong reason to ignore its flaws.
Very good question.
I took the time to read the plan, and frankly it is brilliant. You have to take the time to consider how dollars move through the economy and how taxes are currently collected to understand how the plan takes all of this into consideration.
Overall, it works out to a small tax cut also. Throughout the 20th and 21st century, the federal government has taken between 18.5% and 20% of GDP in revenue, regardles of tax rates. Cain's plan limits govt. tax revenue to 18%. 9-9-9 would look like 27%, but money gets taxed as either income (9%) or business (capital gains and dividends - 9%), not both, so money only gets taxed as 9% + 9% = 18%, regardles of which path it takes to the point of sale.
Combine that with the fact that a national sales tax really hits imported goods hard and profits from foreign business can be brought back into the US without additional taxes and this plan will create a boom in US manufacturing.
They act like that politicians don’t raise taxes under the current system.
I remember this “Read my lips: no new taxes” pledge quite well. And how about Bill Clinton and his big tax increase in the 90s?
I like Cain ALOT but his lack of willingness to go after Romney tells me he may be hedging his bets in hopes of at least becoming VP. Subtitling his book “my journey to the White House” makes me wonder if he has put pressure on himself to get there by any means possible. Just a thought.
“thousands and thousands of times in the past” since Oct 7 2011, REALLY! Boy YOU are QUICK!
There is nothing he said which is indefensible, new member or not.
Cnngress or senate would have to have a democrat majority and if Cain gets elected I don’t see either thing happening soon.
I am not afraid of the 999 plan and here is why. The very first thing to understand is the current tax system will be abolished. I’ll round out numbers to make it easier to understand. Today I gross $1000 per week. FICA/MED deductions is 7.5% plus employer match is 7.5% and income tax withholding is 10%. Total deductions from my pay is 17.5% so my net pay today is $825.00.
Under the 999 plan my gross pay increases by the amount of the employer match of 7.5% (because that always was my money) and gross is now $1075.00 per week. My new income tax deduction is 9% so my net take home under 999 will be $1075.00 minus $96.75 or $978.25. Under Cain’s 999 plan my weekly take home just went up $153.25 per week!
Even with the tax write-offs I was able to claim I still managed to owe money to the IRS every April. Not under the 999 plan because there will be no more IRS!!!! A whole government agency eliminated!
Now onto the 9% national sales tax. We will be saving money there too and here is how. Presently the people who make the food and products we buy pay taxes which they pass along to us. These corporate/proprietor rates are higher but let’s just use a 25% tax rate. Under the present system an item that sells for $100 has the $25 tax imbedded in it along with the profit the seller makes. Since the new business/corporate tax rate is going to be 9% the savings of $16 can be deducted from the cost of the product and that $100 product can now be sold to me for $84.00. After I pay the 9% national sales tax the cost to me is $91.56 instead of $100.
Now I am not a business person and do not fully understand economics, pricing theories, etc. and what I’ve presented here is very simplistic and basic, but if I understand Mr. Cain’s 9-9-9 plan as I’ve described here, I see nothing but good things. If I am wrong here in my calculations, please let me know.
It seems to me that the big fear is the government will increase it to 15-15-15 or something but if protective measures were locked in that shouldn’t happen. I have to take Mr. Cain at his word that this plan of his is revenue neutral and that it would supercharge our economy which would increase jobs and further growth. He also claims that the national debt will be paid off within 10 years under this plan.
WHAT IS NOT TO LIKE?
My problem is 9-9-9 will eventually become 30-30-30.
The key thing is that voters won’t support an increase to, say, 10-10-10 because no matter who they are, it will hit them personally. If all Congress can do is raise all three numbers equally, the people will prefer spending cuts.
She definitely said 22+5 and she definitely said 28. I made a post in the live thread about her having her hands full more than the octomom and that her household would make Octomom’s household look chaos free by comparison with 28 kids.
What do we do with “nothing?” We continue on as usual with an unsustainable COSTLY tax code which destroys growth, contains innumerable loopholes and hidden taxes, confuses everyone, ushers in more class warfare, socialism, collapse, and then ultimately communism and the collapse of the U.S. forever?
I’m for starting somewhere ...anywhere ...and tweak what we’ve got until we’ve got something GOOD. At least Cain can LEAD on that!
Thanks for your comments, some good things there, but every analysis I’ve seen has taxes going up within that tax bracket, not down
“There was an old woman who lived in a shoe ...she had SO many children, she didn’t know what to do ...”
Newbie liar.
Liar? Go scratch
“My problem is 9-9-9 will eventually become 30-30-30.”
Congress would have to raise the rate on the poor, the old, and their own voting blocks. They can’t do it now and they’re only tying to raise taxes on about 40% of us who are actually paying taxes. It would be very hard to go to 30-30-30 as you assume. However, if you like the current system then I’m shocked.
And no, I don’t think that Congress has the balls to pass 9-9-9 anyway. It takes away their power.
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