This puts it all in good perspective. And to take it further... the resultant drop in the corporate tax rate will free up businesses to hire more employees, thereby broadening the tax base. That’s one prime factor the 9-9-9 detractors are missing.. or ignoring.
anyone who argues against Cain’s plan in defense of the current system is a socialist. That would be all democrats and a also few republicans posting incessantly on free republic!
Yes. They do ignore things that are hard to quantify. This plan should result in lower prices especially on “generic” food stuffs (luxury goods and gourmet goods are different) that most people buy. All goods should generally drop in price but luxury goods defy the traditional economic models but even in a fight between Mercedes, BMW and Lexus one of them will blink and lower prices on their US made goods.
They also ignore that since employers don’t need to kick up matching funds anymore, there is room for wage inflation. The 6.5% (or more) that payrolls collect is free to go to employees. While not everyone will get all that money, some will and this pushes up wages and/or allows for more hiring or both. Either scenario is good for workers as competition for employees is what pushes wages up, and high unemployment keeps wages stagnant.
They also ignore an important aspect - capital gains are not taxed. This is great to encourage investment but importantly it helps retirees who have saved and invested. No more taxes on your savings and gains. I am unclear if they will have to pay 9% on their SS checks but I hope SS is not considered wages.
Overall I am impressed with the plan and I am thinking I like it better than the FairTax. Cain needs to rethink whether we can actually make that transition, or if just a simple, visible, easy to understand system works better. FairTax to me seems to punish savers and retirees too much and I can’t see, politically, how it can pass. 999 might have a chance.