Right now most people pay 15% of every pay check to Social Security and Medicare.
Corporations pay a 35% tax rate which is passed along to the consumers (us) with every purchase.
Most (well, some) Americans pay a progressive income tax which punishes success and gives a huge portion of the population representation without taxation, something that would have appalled the founding Fathers.
We have a large capital gains tax which discourages investment in American businesses and drives investment money overseas.
Thousands of pages of tax legislation, bought and paid for, give some businesses legal and tax advantages over others, which is a large part of the reason small and medium size businesses have a hard time competing with huge corporations who can pay armies of lawyers and lobbyists.
With Herman Cain's plan all that goes away. American businesses all play on a level field (at least as far as taxes) and pay a tax rate that kicks sand in the faces of most other countries. The Free Market and competition will pass those savings along to the consumers, therefore prices on most everything will plummet. The IRS will be eliminated. Washington will no longer be able to use the tax code to reward some groups, punish others and control your behavior. Everyone will have skin in the game. Everyone in the country would be able to see what Washington takes from them on the receipt of everything they buy. Can you imagine the furor from Democrat voters if Congress tried to raise their sales tax from 9% to 10%? They would riot, unlike now when all the taxes are hidden. The 15% payroll deduction taxes disappear so most Americans get an immediate 6% or more raise. For most of us tax payers it will be much more.
There will be one large downside, however. Millions of tax attorneys, accountants, tax preparers and lobbyists will be out of work. Luckily there will be plenty of new jobs for them in the booming manufacturing sector.
That's a good point!! How about a new amendment.... Only people who pay taxes have the right to vote?