Originally Posted by rubicon

Cain's 9-9-9-plan has many answers and depends on your present tax situation. Some will view it as a problem because it contains both an income tax and and national sales tax simultaneously and will have the potential to become the 29-29-29 Plan following the European welfare state. Others will complain that the 9% consumption tax unfair for anyone with after tax savings because it re-taxes money that has already been taxed; especially seniors whose nest eggs aren't earning and interest and/or being dramtically reduced by inflation and down markets. In effect it means retirees in this situation will be subsidizing everyone else; i.e a retroactive raise to a previous tax brackets by 9% more.

Forget all that because what we have here is a concept just like the Fiar Tax and the Value Tax both of which have inrinsic problems and can create unintended consequences for certain tax payers.

Irrespective of what plan people settle on thischange (reaction) will create a change (counter reaction) meaning spending. I have not met a governement employee who wasn't a spendthrift, especially with taxpayers money.

So when the Cain's of the world start their populist talk of reducing your tax burden you have to ask at what costs and for how long before government spendthrifts tell you more is needed.

IMHO our tax system is so complex and so entangled in our economic system the truth is any attempt to change it has to be tken in gradual steps lest we throw out the baby with the bath water.