Cains 9-9-9 Plan: 5 Reasons to reject it

1. The plan wouldn't bring in enough revenue
"Cain claims his plan is revenue neutral," says Brian Montopoli at CBS News, but a Bloomberg analysis found that if the 9-9-9 regime were in place in 2010, the federal government would have collected $2 trillion in revenue — $200 billion less than what the current system produced
 
2. And it would open the door to dangerous new taxes
Cain is right that we need to fundamentally change our tax system, but introducing a new national sales tax would foolishly give Congress a new revenue stream to play with, says Matt Lewis at The Daily Caller. "And no matter what Cain says, it would only be a matter of time before taxes would be raised by others to, say, 11-11-11 — or 14-14-14." Worse, Cain's plan for a national sales tax opens the door to a value-added tax (VAT), says Dean Clancy at FreedomWorks. And a VAT is "the most insidious of all taxes, because it is built into the price of everything" so consumers never see it — and politicians love to raise it.
 
3. It's "shockingly regressive"
When you look past its "silly optics," Cain's 9-9-9 plan would usher in "a huge tax increase on lower-income and middle-class Americans," says New York University tax law expert Daniel Shaviro at his blog. It's "shockingly regressive." Worse, "with no tax on capital gains, the rich" — who make much of their money from investments — "would pay almost nothing" in taxes,
 
4. And probably unconstitutional
Cain wants to freeze his three taxes at 9 percent by requiring two-thirds of the Senate to approve any change to the tax rates. The biggest problem with that idea, says Brian Beutler at Talking Points Memo, is that it's "likely unconstitutional." Absent a constitutional amendment, "Senate rules could potentially be changed," says CBS's Montopoli, "but doing that would itself require a two-thirds vote — which isn't realistic in the divided chamber — and the Senate doesn't have the power to bind the House."
 
National sales tax sucks. Really.

The income tax sucks. Really.

A national consumption tax might be just the ticket to unburden ourselves from the monstrosity we call the IRS.

I'm not talking about you Matthew, but it does occur to me that the Hopey Changey crowd is awfully resistant to actual change.
 
5. Plus, the idea is a political non-starter
Not only is the 9-9-9 idea a featherweight "slogan masquerading as a plan," but Cain has no "political strategy to pass it," says Mytheos Holt at FrumForum. It would never get enough votes in Congress, and if he hopes to use the "bully pulpit" to sell it, he's dabbling in "magical thinking" — ask President Obama how well that works. Even conservative economist Gary Robbins, "the paid campaign consultant who scored the plan for Cain, said the idea was more of a theory than a politically viable solution,"
 
5. Plus, the idea is a political non-starter
Not only is the 9-9-9 idea a featherweight "slogan masquerading as a plan," but Cain has no "political strategy to pass it," says Mytheos Holt at FrumForum. It would never get enough votes in Congress, and if he hopes to use the "bully pulpit" to sell it, he's dabbling in "magical thinking" — ask President Obama how well that works. Even conservative economist Gary Robbins, "the paid campaign consultant who scored the plan for Cain, said the idea was more of a theory than a politically viable solution,"

That kinda depends on how long his coat-tails might turn out to be.

Taking back the White House is not the be-all and end-all, here.

Gaining a firm conservative control over both houses of Congress is also part of the plan.

You guys REALLY dislike even the thought of change.

:lol:
 
3. It's "shockingly regressive"
When you look past its "silly optics," Cain's 9-9-9 plan would usher in "a huge tax increase on lower-income and middle-class Americans," says New York University tax law expert Daniel Shaviro at his blog. It's "shockingly regressive." Worse, "with no tax on capital gains, the rich" — who make much of their money from investments — "would pay almost nothing" in taxes,

The rich would pay when they buy that 10M dollar mansion, or that 250k car. Plus they would no longer be able to hide income via charitable donation, that 9% would be on anything they earn, with no real deductions.

Looking at buffet, he had 36M taxable income based on a total of 63M in gross income. He paid around $6M in taxes. The 9% plan gives him $5.6M in INCOME taxes, a deduction, but now you are hitting him for 9% of his purchasing power. Say he spends only $15M of the $36M he has after charitable donations, we get him for another $1.3 Million, an actual INCREASE in what he now pays.
 
3. It's "shockingly regressive"
When you look past its "silly optics," Cain's 9-9-9 plan would usher in "a huge tax increase on lower-income and middle-class Americans," says New York University tax law expert Daniel Shaviro at his blog. It's "shockingly regressive." Worse, "with no tax on capital gains, the rich" — who make much of their money from investments — "would pay almost nothing" in taxes,

The rich would pay when they buy that 10M dollar mansion, or that 250k car. Plus they would no longer be able to hide income via charitable donation, that 9% would be on anything they earn, with no real deductions.

Looking at buffet, he had 36M taxable income based on a total of 63M in gross income. He paid around $6M in taxes. The 9% plan gives him $5.6M in INCOME taxes, a deduction, but now you are hitting him for 9% of his purchasing power. Say he spends only $15M of the $36M he has after charitable donations, we get him for another $1.3 Million, an actual INCREASE in what he now pays.

Except you aren't factoring in that he would be paying 0% for his capital gains under this 9-9-9 plan. Which would drastically lower his already low overall % rate.
 
3. It's "shockingly regressive"
When you look past its "silly optics," Cain's 9-9-9 plan would usher in "a huge tax increase on lower-income and middle-class Americans," says New York University tax law expert Daniel Shaviro at his blog. It's "shockingly regressive." Worse, "with no tax on capital gains, the rich" — who make much of their money from investments — "would pay almost nothing" in taxes,

The rich would pay when they buy that 10M dollar mansion,

Cain wants to apply his sales tax to real estate transactions?

Oh for fuck's sake...
 
3. It's "shockingly regressive"
When you look past its "silly optics," Cain's 9-9-9 plan would usher in "a huge tax increase on lower-income and middle-class Americans," says New York University tax law expert Daniel Shaviro at his blog. It's "shockingly regressive." Worse, "with no tax on capital gains, the rich" — who make much of their money from investments — "would pay almost nothing" in taxes,

The rich would pay when they buy that 10M dollar mansion,

Cain wants to apply his sales tax to real estate transactions?

Oh for fuck's sake...

The "beauty" of Cain's plan is that it affects everything. Food. Rent on your apartment. Tuition. Think of something you would spend money on, and it'll be taxed.
 
The rich would pay when they buy that 10M dollar mansion,

Cain wants to apply his sales tax to real estate transactions?

Oh for fuck's sake...

The "beauty" of Cain's plan is that it affects everything. Food. Rent on your apartment. Tuition. Think of something you would spend money on, and it'll be taxed.

I'm sure the American people will jump at the chance to pay up to 16% on everything they buy. Real incentive to take the family out to eat or buy a new car
 
Cain wants to apply his sales tax to real estate transactions?

Oh for fuck's sake...

The "beauty" of Cain's plan is that it affects everything. Food. Rent on your apartment. Tuition. Think of something you would spend money on, and it'll be taxed.

I'm sure the American people will jump at the chance to pay up to 16% on everything they buy. Real incentive to take the family out to eat or buy a new car

I don't want to pay 16 percent on everything I buy:(
 

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