I’m curious, what do you think Mr Cain meant by that comment?
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Cain to reduce or eliminate the 9% national sales tax burden for low income families.
(Excerpt)
Lowrie says it’s just “Washington thinking” to look at whether modest-income Americans will wind up shouldering much more of the tax burden. He repeatedly refused to say how much more of the tax burden would be borne by the poor and middle class than under the current system. But he implicitly acknowledged the problem by saying that the campaign would “fix this” with a new empowerment-zone plan that would be laid on top of the 9-9-9 plan and would presumably lower taxes in inner cities. But how fair is that to people living elsewhere? And aren’t we back to more complexity?
(End of excerpt)
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Cain's 999 plan to give tax credit to low income families to offset any national sales tax they may have to pay.
Analysis: Will Cain's 9-9-9 plan work? Is it fair?
October 13, 2011
Excerpt:
But a Wall Street Journal reporter rather bullish on the plan says that’s not the whole story -- that Cain’s plan would take steps to avoid putting too much burden on the lower income.
“Herman’s plan has a hold harmless provision for low-income people. It’s kind of a tax credit to keep people below the poverty line from really being hit by these taxes. And yet, Herman himself is not talking about this at all. It may just not be a popular product for primary voters.”
In fact, Cain’s campaign website cryptically addresses this issue -- without much detail. But he clarified a bit in the Wall Street Journal.
“My plan promotes enterprise zones, also known as ‘empowerment zones.’ Coupled with tax reform and monetary stabilization, empowerment zones would revitalize inner cities by providing tax credits to businesses that hire workers living and working in underprivileged areas.”
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The 999 plan to promote expanded federal empowerment zones (aka enterprise zones) to provide federally-chosen and federally-run services and entitlements to families living in low income minority neighborhoods".
http://detnews.com/article/20110930/MIVIEW/109300301/Call-999-CAIN-to-rescue-Detroit
Call 999-CAIN to rescue Detroit
September 30, 2011
(Excerpt)
Cain also believes the 9-9-9 plan can be used as the basis for an idea he hopes will spur urban renewal. (Seriously . . . a Republican talking about urban issues. Take a second to wait for the room to stop spinning.) In a few weeks, Cain plans to unveil a concept for urban empowerment zones in which the 9s would be replaced by lower numbers. He is not ready to commit to 8-8-8, 7-7-7 or anything else specific because he's still got his tax policy advisors running the numbers to see what would work. But he is convinced the idea can help bring about economic revival in the areas that most desperately need it.
(End of excerpt)
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Meet Herman Cain's "Enterprise and Empowerment Zones" - Your new 9% national sales tax at work
http://www.mitchellmoss.com/articles/power.html
(Excerpt)
During the 1980s, liberals latched onto the enterprise zone concept. They discovered that it offered a way to channel money into impoverished urban communities, subverting the rationale for the enterprise zone by expanding, rather than reducing, government involvement.
snip
Congressman Charles Rangel of Harlem, then the third-ranking Democrat on the House Ways and Means Committee, was largely responsible for inserting the empowerment zone proposal into the 1993 act, which combined tax hikes for the rich with tax credits for the working poor. Before that. President Clinton had given up on any large-scale public investment program, after failing to pass an economic stimulus package that would have channeled federal money into communities acre's the country
snip
The Harlem portion of the plan (empowerment zones) is a remarkable mix of programs to serve local needs for day care, education, social services, and health care, combined with a few large-scale physical development projects, like a new CUNY community college at the Washburn Wire Factory, that will not create private-sector jobs or attract private investment. For example, the proposal envisions a computerized drug referral system, security improvements in public housing, child-care program upgrades, "family preservation, development, and intergenerational programs," a community health center, and a cadre of community empowerment zone organizers to assist residents in gaining access to empowerment zone - and other government - programs. The proposal also envisions a "Medicaid Entitlement Zone" that seeks to make every resident of the zone eligible for Medicaid. The proposal earmarks 23 percent of the federal empowerment zone funds for children and youth programs, 12 percent for health and substance-abuse programs, 6 percent for other social services, and 17 percent for local administration of the program - 58 percent of the total.
(End of excerpt)
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Now can you see what "creating an equal playing field" means?
Thank you for compiling all that good vetting information in one place.
You might find this article interesting. I just saw it this morning.