Wednesday, October 12, 2011
More on Herman Cain's 9-9-9 Tax Plan
- New York Times, Inside the Cain Tax Plan, by Bruce Bartlett: "At a minimum, the Cain plan is a distributional monstrosity. The poor would pay more while the rich would have their taxes cut, with no guarantee that economic growth will increase and good reason to believe that the budget deficit will increase. Even allowing for the poorly thought through promises routinely made on the campaign trail, Mr. Cain’s tax plan stands out as exceptionally ill conceived."
- Start Making Sense, Herman Cain's 9-9-9 Tax Plan, by Dan Shaviro (NYU): "One thing I hope I can contribute here, however, is a more succinct version of some of their key conclusions - Kleinbard's in particular, as Bartlett focuses much of his attention on Cain's apparent long-term plan to replace '9-9-9' with a national sales tax."
- ABC News, Bush-Era Economic Adviser Calls Cain’s 9-9-9 Plan A ‘Monstrosity’
- Bloomberg, Cain Reveals 9-9-9 Math With Projection of No Revenue Loss
- USA Today, Is Herman Cain's 9-9-9 Tax Plan Fair?
https://taxprof.typepad.com/taxprof_blog/2011/10/more-on--1.html
Comments
I suppose it is necessary to sagely consider any and all proposals, no matter how cracked the pot that they come in. Thousands of hours will be spent analyzing in minute detail such wonderful schemes as a flat tax, a VAT, a 999, a 666 or just getting rid of all taxes and paying as we go. What would really be nice is if politicians would quit using the tax code as a cheap and easy way to pander to voters in the hopes of getting their turn to ruin the country. Find another topic. Trying to get rid of the deficit by lowering taxes is like trying to square the circle. It will take thousands of years to finally understand that it cannot be done.
Posted by: George | Oct 12, 2011 9:26:09 AM
As usual, Bartlett misportrays the issue. Flat tax or national sales tax proposals are not "regressive" except in the sense that such tax systems would force Congress to openly pass legislation appropriating funds to help less fortunate members of American society -- and bear the full political risk of such a policy -- rather than disguising such wealth redistribution under the banner of "progressive" taxation or so-called "tax expenditures."
Posted by: Jake | Oct 12, 2011 7:27:12 AM
@George: "Trying to get rid of the deficit by lowering taxes is like trying to square the circle. It will take thousands of years to finally understand that it cannot be done."
Sure it works, IF the government stops the pork spending, eliminates the waste on stimulus and green energy programs, and doesn't offer new entitlements. Revenues have increased in the past by lowering taxes, but deficits cannot be reduced if spending goes up even more.
Video link: Ronald Reagan
Posted by: Woody | Oct 12, 2011 6:16:10 PM