Herman Cain changes 999 to 909

[Tx4obama]

Herman Cain Defends 9-9-9 By Dropping One Of The 9s

SNIP

... Cain said those at or below the poverty line were never going to live with the 9-9-9 plan. All along, he said, the plan doesn’t include income taxes for poorest Americans.

“If you are at or below the poverty level, you’re plan isn’t 9-9-9,” Cain said. “It’s 9-0-9. Say Amen, y’all.”

Eliminating income taxes for the very poor certainly changes the view of 9-9-9 a bit — but it doesn’t answer the arguments about the plan raising taxes on mostly everyone but the very, very rich. A recent analysis found the plan means most Americans get a tax hike — not just poor Americans — while the very wealthy (well, not very wealthy if you’re talking to Democratic Sen. Chuck Schumer) get a big tax cut.

Still, 9-9-9 is now down a nine. Who knows what other changes are in store for Cain’s signature program now that he’s leading the polls.

http://2012.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/10/herman-cain-defends-9-9-9-by-dropping-one-of-the-9s.php?ref=fpblg

[Horse with no Name]

1. It was only a matter of time

but the 9 didn't disappear.

It will magically reappear and the working poor will end up shouldering 99% of the burden while the rich buy new yachts with their windfalls.

[Capitalocracy]

2. Aw, was your "everyone should have skin in the game" BS not working out?

Whoda thunk it?

[FrenchieCat]

3. What's he gonna do? Give poor people a Po' card to walk around with....

so they can identify themselves when making a purchase?

This man is out of his mind!

[iris27]

4. It's the income tax "9" that he's getting rid of, not the sales tax.

They would still be stuck with a 9% fed. sales tax ON TOP OF whatever their state sales tax is.

[nadinbrzezinski]

5. Actually there is precedent, Elizabethan poor laws

They did the equivalent.

[Fire Walk With Me]

6. I wish Herman Cain were 404.

[Digit]

7. Oh Herman, go suck an egg

Enough already.

[Saving Hawaii]

8. I wonder if he drew his inspiration for this one from the Beatles

[sandyj999]

9. His 9 % national sales tax will hurt purchasing ability for a lot of us.

In Michigan for example we already have a 6% state sales tax so his "idea" would raise the tax on a purchase to 15%. Do I want to add $30.00 to a $200.00 purchase? It would definitely stop me.

[spedtr90]

10. But the poor must move to an "opportunity zone" to get the tax break

And for an area to quality as an "opportunity zone" it has to eliminate the minimum wage, use school vouchers, and become a "right to work" area.

"Cain, quite literally, only grants deductions to those who are willing to move into these inner city zones where his tax breaks magically apply, and in exchange they have to forego basic economic protections. Everyone else is out of luck."

Cheap labor for companies, low wages for workers cramming into cities, no worker protections....once those pesky child labor laws and the EPA are gone we can enjoy a return to the good old days our immigrant ancestors enjoyed!

http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2011/10/21/349944/herman-cains-opportunity-zones/

[quaker bill]

11. Finally, an answer to outsourcing

Cain is setting up miniature third world countries in our inner cities where a population of economic captives can be fully exploited for low wages. You can't leave these zones because as soon as you do, you pay massive taxes.

This is a really special plan, in the Sci-Fi sense. It gets the poor out of sight by concentrating them in "opportunity zones", where they lose a number of rights and protections in exchange for lower taxes. I have read dystopian novels written off concepts like this.