As of now, Herman “Deep Dish” Cain is being heralded as the frontrunner in the GOP’s race for the White House. His unlikely rise through a field of more qualified politicians, as well as his defeat over stage IV colon and liver cancer, makes him shine like gold in a room filled with rusted tin cans. In addition to this, Cain has a serious set of cajones in dealing with anyone who tries to bring him down with paltry facts. This is perfectly evidenced during the New Hampshire debate when Bloomberg TV questioner Julianna Goldman brought up a study that found that Cain’s “9-9-9” tax plan wouldn’t keep the country economically stable. Cain’s response? "The problem with that analysis is that it is incorrect," he said.
The problem with that diagnosis is that Cain is the one who’s incorrect. His economic plan would, in practice, effectively destroy the middle class and keep the Occupy Wall Street protests going until the end of time.
The plan itself calls for 9 percent tax on wages, 9 percent tax on businesses and a 9 percent federal sales tax. It’s short, sweet and to the point (Jon Huntsman even ventured the guess that it was based off the price of a pizza). The problem with this plan is that it makes those already burdened with high taxes (the middles class) have to shoulder more, while effectively ending taxes on inheritance and capital gains (otherwise known as taxes on the rich). The flat-tax plan, as Cain calls it, is far from fair. It would “drastically increase taxes on the working poor and middle class, and reduce taxes going forward on the rich,” said USC tax law professor Edward Kleinbard in Tax Notes. Kleinbard goes on to say that 90 percent of taxpayers would find themselves with a “vastly increased tax bill” thanks to the 9-9-9 plan.
Cain'sbusiness flat-tax actually works out to be an increased payroll tax on workers, and Kleinbard cites that the three 9s working together would be the equivalent of a 27 percent uncapped payroll tax. The only benefactors from Cain’s plan are the already wealthy, the less than one percent of Americans who control more than half of the investment income. With Cain in charge, almost a quarter of a million millionaires would find themselves no longer having to pay federal income tax. You heard me right. No income taxes on the super rich whatsoever.
Then comes the inheritance tax, or lack thereof. Currently, estate can reach up to 35 percent on estates of $5 million or more. Under President Cain’s plan, this would be reduced to zero. This means that the super rich would pay absolutely nothing in income tax and then get to deliver a tax free inheritance to the beneficiaries. Not a bad deal for less than one percent of Americans.
Under Cain’s plan there is also no method to raise more revenue. He seems perfectly content to sacrifice 99 percent of the American workforce; just so a few billionaires can keep every penny of their estates and inheritances. It’d be a shame to see those trust funds taxed unfairly, or at all.
The scary part is that Herman Cain actually is the GOP frontrunner, at least for the time being. He may know how to run a chain of pizzerias, but this guy has no clue how to run a country.
No comments:
Post a Comment