I didn't think it would take this long for the keepers of the faith to decide that Herman Cain must be evil because his tax plan is nothing but a well-disguised way to help those filthy rich people:
Herman Cain has a plan to radically reform the nation's tax system and make things a lot simpler for taxpayers.
Problem is, it could end up adding to the deficit and shifting the tax burden away from the wealthy and onto the poor, according to some leading tax experts.
Cain, who's recently moved up in the polls to become one of the leading Republican presidential candidates, is basing much of his campaign on what he calls the 9-9-9 plan, which would get rid of almost all current taxes and replace them with a 9% flat tax on income, a 9% flat corporate tax and a 9% national sales tax.
Cain claims his system would raise as much tax revenue as the current complex system of federal income tax, corporate taxes and payroll taxes. And he believes his plan could bring in additional revenue by boosting economic growth.
Cain's plan would shift the burden "away from the wealthy and onto the poor"? You mean the wealthy aren't already getting a free ride on the backs of the poor? Quick, somebody alert the Occupy Space movement.
I like the simplicity of Cain's plan. But it's scary, too, because it doesn't do away with the income tax. Taxes grow -- that's what politicians do. A tax might start out at 9 percent, but it won't stay there very long. As to whether his plan would be revenue neutral, bring in more money or add to the deficit, I'd say that's anybody's guess, and reading some of the experts' conclusions reinforces the uncertainty. Even if it did result in smaller revenues, that would add to the deficit only if we kept spending at current levels, and we shouldn't do that in any case.
