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Appearing on Fox News Sunday yesterday, Herman Cain had this exchange with host Chris Wallace about Cain's "9-9-9" tax plan, which involves a 9 percent income tax, a 9 percent sales tax, and a 9 percent corporate tax:
WALLACE: How do you guarantee -- I asked you this in the debate and I'm not sure I got a full answer, how do you guarantee that 9-9-9 down the line doesn't become 12-12-12?I don't know who's being dumber here. Does Wallace think he's ferreted out some heretofore unknown loophole in Cain's plan? My gosh, it could be changed or reversed by a future Congress! Just like every other law that ever has been passed or ever will be passed. And as for Cain, this sounds like a great precedent. Why didn't every previous president think of that? Whenever a bill you support is ready to be passed, insert a provision demanding a supermajority to undo it. And why stop at 2/3? Why not have a 9/10 supermajority requirement, or a 99/100, or just go all the way and legislate that changing your legislation will require a 100-0 vote in the Senate and a 435-0 vote in the House?CAIN: In the legislation that I'm going to ask Congress to send me, I want a two-thirds vote required by the Senate in order for them to change it. That will impede cavalierly raising it.Secondly, the fact that the tax rate 9-9-9 is so visible, the American public is going to hold their feet to the fire and two-thirds majority in the Senate will be one of the ways to try to make sure that they don't raise it.
