My Take on Herman Cain's 9-9-9 Plan

To be fair, we ought to first understand the plan.  How does one do that?  It is simple as pie.  A closer look at that "easy to say" statement tells us what we are up against - making pies isn't always that simple.  First, there are a lot of ingredients, all of which must be applied in the proper proportions.  Then there is the sequence of steps as ingredients are combined and last but not least the conditions under which it is baked.  We could go on and on about the intricacies of baking a pie, even giving elaborate details about the ingredients, but here that would take us far afield from our main concern - understanding Herman's 9-9-9 plan.


In one sense, it is as easy as pie because there is a recipe.  It is there for us to see.  All we have to do is take a look.  Myself, I prefer the "horse's mouth" as a good starting point.  That leads us to Mr. Cain's web page that describes this little pie in terms, somewhat as the plan purports to do, that most of us can understand - simple terms.  This helpful beginning point can be found at http://cainconnections.com/999.


There you can find what the plan attempts to accomplish and it's main constituent parts.  It has links to more elaborate analyses of the numbers, their meaning and quiet frankly, with the myriad of tables, caused me to be overtaken with an acute case of drowsiness.  That is not meant as an incrimination of the facts as they were laid out, but simply an admission of my inability to digest it all.  


I do know that when I see an automobile and take it for a drive that I can conclude if it has an appealing quality.  I really don't need the technical jargon of compression ratios, torque, rigidity factors and the such to conclude my like or dislike of the automobile.  In the case of the 9-9-9 plan, understanding it at a conceptual or logical level is sufficient for me.  


To that end I constructed a visual comparison of it to todays tax code.  Remember, this is all at a simple level.  I'll leave the details to the devil.

above chart devised by the author

Now if you did not take the trouble to visit Mr. Cain's web site, let me just include a few quotes from it here to give you a taste of his guiding principals.

Vision for Economic Renewal

• The natural state of our economy is prosperity. Freedom ensures that.

• In order to return to prosperity, Government must get off our backs, out of our pockets and out of our way

Economic Guiding Principles

Production drives the economy, not spending. Production is the engine, consumption is the caboose.

• We can not spend our way to prosperity.
• Government spending is like taking a bucket of water from the deep end of the pool, pouring it in the shallow end. Then they HOPE that the water level will CHANGE.

Risk taking drives growth.

• Business formation and job creation are dependent on entrepreneurs taking risks.
• Investors who fund those entrepreneurs likewise take risks.

Measurements must be dependable.

• A dollar must always be a dollar just as an hour is always 60 minutes.
• Sound money is crucial for prosperity.

Proving that his plan is right for America requires more than this short article can do. But if nothing else, I hope it captured your attention, and perhaps, as it has for me, tickled the beginnings of thinking this may indeed be a well thought out and viable plan. The one currently in place fails that test miserably.