A lot of noise is being made about Herman Cain and his 9/9/9 tax plan. Mother Jones has a good article that explains how this plan will actually raise taxes on working people.
At this point, I think it’s a waste of time to focus on one candidate vs. another in the GOP primary as polls this far out tend to have little bearing on who will actually get the nomination. What is instructive about the 9/9/9 plan is that it’s like every other Republican taxation plan – it’s regressive. The less money you make, the heavier you’re hit by the tax plan. This is nothing new. For years the right wing has pushed various “Flat Tax” schemes that transfer the tax responsibility to the working class while giving the 1% a free ride.
What does bear pointing out is that President Obama is not pushing for a progressive taxation program. What Mr. Obama proposes is that the top 1% pay the same rates as everyone else instead of the lower percentage they pay now. While this makes for a good sound bite, it ignores the fact that the wealthy have traditionally paid much higher percentages – progressively more per income bracket – than lower income earners.
Source: taxpolicycenter.org
Starting in the 1980s, we drastically dropped taxes on top marginal incomes coinciding with Reagan’s war on the middle class.
President Obama should be fighting for a return to actual progressive taxation. The top 1% reap proportionally more benefits from the system and should pay more for its upkeep than those who extract less. This is what has people out in the streets across the country. We can’t afford Obama’s timid defense of the Reagan legacy.
Tags: herman cain, republican primary, taxes
