"Some people will pay more, but most people would pay less is my argument... Who will pay more? The people who spend more money on new goods. The sales tax only applies to people who buy new goods, not used goods. That's a big difference that doesn't come out." (Republican presidential aspirant Herman Cain, on last Sunday's Meet the Press.)
Yes, because what better way to create employment and jump start the economy out of a recession than to encourage people to stop buying new shit and trade in used shit instead? You know what else doesn't come out? A lot of people will pay zero tax, because they will rob the grocery store instead of paying for the stuff they used to buy. And as an added bonus, if you are caught stealing and go to jail, not only will you pay no income tax; the government has to feed you, too.
It amazes me that these Republican buffoons are even taken seriously.
3 comments:
Cain's point is that people would have more money to spend on goods if they didn't have to pay payroll taxes and so much income tax. People tend to increase their consumption if they
have more cash on hand to spend.
The whole "regressive tax" rhetoric is just nonsense. Bachmann also has a point that once you put a tax on, you can't get rid of it, and likely it will just get expanded.
We do have, effectively, national sales taxes on alcohol and tobacco. There is no evidence that this has cut consumption of those products.
We could legalize marijuana and tax
that too, but no candidates have he
balls to propose that.
Now, I think that the Simpson-Bowles commission plan is much closer to a real solution than Cain's 9-9-9 plan.
John, I understand the argument Cain makes, and it is insane; particularly at a time when you want to jumpstart a lagging economy the thing to do is exactly the opposite: slash sales taxes and increase income taxes (on those who can afford to pay more). Most people who have a lot of extra money don't spend it. They save it or invest it. Their investement generates jobs... abroad, because that's where most companies are creating new plants.
But that wasn't even my main gripe with Cain's idea. He said people can buy used stuff to avoid paying tax on it. Aside from the obvious point that you cannot buy used groceries, used medicine, used gas, etc., the idea that you would encourage people to buy old stuff instead of new stuff further depresses the economy.
I am also all for legalizing pot and, in fact, all drugs and it always amazes me that fiscal libertarians morph into law and order types when it comes to people's personal choices.
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