999 is 666 Upside Down and Backward

"Let me tell you how it will be,
There's one for you, nineteen for me...
...Don't ask me what I want it for,
If you don't want to pay some more
Cause I'm the taxman,
Yeah, I'm the taxman."
From Taxman by The Beatles

No, I'm not claiming that Herman Cain is the Antichrist, though I'm sure that there are many others who will. I will say, however, that I'm scratching my head wondering how he got so popular promoting such a lame tax scheme. Are there really that many people who will fall for such a propagandistic gimmick? Are there really that many people who don't know how taxes work? Are there really that many people that don't understand that this is a tax increase for everyone? My guess is that the media is exaggerating Mr. Cain's popularity just as they are understating Dr. Paul's. I think the establishment is running scared at Ron Paul's popularity and so they commanded their corporate media lackeys to promote this guy as the next great messiah or some such thing.

If you haven't figured it out by now, the establishment wants to keep someone it can control in the White House, but it doesn't want you to think the president is controlled. They know that Ron Paul is too principled and wants to use the Constitution as a legal tool to force establishment entities to relinquish some of their power. His record shows he can't be bought off and he will likely deliver true change at least when it comes to how the executive branch of the government is run. With Ron Paul's surge in popularity and the ideas of freedom beginning to catch on, the establishment needs someone they can present to the Republican base as someone in tune with Republican concerns. It seems they've already given up on Mitt Romney with his Romneycare so similar to Obamacare and Rick Perry with his mandated vaccines and obvious globalist connections.

Looking at Herman Cain's past, it isn't hard to figure out who he really represents. From 1989 to 1996 he worked on the Omaha Branch Board, as a Deputy Chairman and as a Chairman respectively for the Kansas City branch of the Federal Reserve. Need I say more? This man reeks of establishment. He says the right things to appeal to the conservative base, but has no voting record to help determine whether he will stand by his views or if he's just paying lip service to conservative values. In this respect, he is a nebulous political figure much like Barrack Obama was in 2008. If nothing else, he certainly has shown that he loves taxes and that intimates to me that he'd as soon raise your taxes rather than cut spending.

What's more concerning to me than the more obtuse issue of where Mr. Cain's money comes from and who he represents is his insistence that more taxation is a viable solution for problems created by government excess and greed. While it is true that I am notorious for being anti income tax and believing the only fair tax is no tax, I wouldn't be so quick to speak out against a plan that actually reduced the tax burden of the common folk. Mr. Cain's 999 tax plan is not a tax break for anyone, and it is most definitely an increase for the poorest Americans. Right on it's surface it ensures that close to 27% of everyone's income will go to the federal government. That's in addition to property, state and local taxes that everyone pays. Too many people can't afford such an increase.

For those that might be unfamiliar with Mr. Cain's plan, he wishes to implement a 9% corporate tax rate, a 9% flat income tax rate, and a 9% national sales tax. Some of you might be thinking that Mr. Cain's plan only ensures that one would pay nine percent of his income to the federal government based on the nine percent income tax portion of his plan. Well, consider this, do you think that corporations are going to just accept a 9% hit to their bottom line and not do anything about it? I very much doubt that. I would venture to guess that such an increase in their costs would be passed onto you. It might not happen right away, but eventually the consumer will pay for the tax increase through higher prices. While one could make the legitimate claim that one can avoid this tax by not doing business with corporations, the reality is that corporations are so pervasive in this country that only a miniscule number of people would actually be able to accomplish such a feat.

As for income tax rates, according to the Tax Foundation the median percentage of income tax paid for the lowest half of earners in 2008 was 2.59%. There's no doubt here that these people would suffer a significant tax increase on this alone should Mr. Cain's plan be implemented. The top 50% paid a median income tax of 13.65%. A couple of things to keep in mind. The figures above are for adjusted gross income. Mr. Cain's plan, as far as I can tell, would be based simply upon gross income, so depending upon the numbers one paying 13.65% tax on adjusted gross might be paying less than 9% gross. Another consideration is that the top 50% median is greatly pulled up by the top 10% or so who pay much higher income tax rates then most of us. This tax plan would be a tax cut for those people. Once again we see a tax cut for the very rich who can most afford it and a tax increase for the poor. Kind of makes one wonder why anyone who isn't worth millions or tens of millions would support such a plan.

Lastly let's look at the 9% sales tax. Honestly, can you afford to pay 9% more for everything you purchase? This makes one wonder if Herman Cain has gone to the grocery store recently, or ever. Of course, a similar argument could be made here as above that one could avoid this tax by not doing business, but how many of us have the means and the ability to produce food, shelter, clothes and the essentials for life? That's not including all the nice modern conveniences that make life so much easier and enjoyable. With lower income people everywhere already having to make tough choices between things like medicine or food, heat or rent, etc., why would anyone think it would be a good idea to take another 9% of their income to give to the federal government and make it that much tougher for the already dispossessed to survive?

I've said it more than once and I'll say it again, to me taxes are theft. They are a form of extortion. One could say they are legalized, legitimized theft to help pay for socialized services provided by a monopolistic organization called the federal government. I say theft is theft no matter the excuses, no matter how covert. They more or less turn the populace into a quivering slavish mass of humanity too fearful to withhold their funds from the behemoth that has become the federal government no matter how much they disagree with the policies practiced by that organization.

There are those who would claim that we all need to "pay our fair share" for government services we all benefit from, and personally I wouldn't mind doing so if I felt I was getting fair value for the money I spend and if I didn't feel threatened and coerced to do so. If their services are so great than why can't they collect money on a voluntary basis like the rest of us? The problem is that I feel, as do many others, that many of the services provided by the federal government are not valuable, yet if I don't pay for them through my income taxes I will be audited and threatened with fees, fines, jail or worse. I've seen in my lifetime a lot of people whose lives have been ruined by the IRS, and the IRS never have to answer for their crimes.

A program like 999 is 666 upside down and backward. The fact that so many are touting this as a viable solution to our economic problems shows how misleading a successful marketing campaign can be. The little 999 mantra reminds me a little of the "hope" and "change" mantra I heard during the 2008 presidential campaign. It is not the mark of the beast which you will need before you can buy or sell anything, but it could become the law of the land that you will have to pay for to feed the beast known as the federal government. It doesn't mean that Mr. Herman Cain is the antichrist, but it does show how centralized government has become more anti Christ like. They don't care if they mark you or not, as long as they get their money. They don't care if you protest or not, as long as you continue to pay their taxes. They don't even care who you vote for, as long as they continue to pull the strings.

Herman Cain might understand that what is needed is less spending and a smaller federal government, but he is not the one who will manifest such changes. He wants to keep the status quo. He wants to keep growing the centralized federal government, to keep empowering Washington, DC, and to keep the populace obedient. He is just another control freak, big government politician that will say and do anything to get elected. Ron Paul is still the best candidate for instilling worthwhile change in government policies. He understands that the federal government is already too big. He understands that the federal reserve needs to be audited and that the income tax and the IRS need to be eliminated. Vote against the backward and upside down 666. End the fed. End the wars. End the income tax. Vote for Ron Paul.

My archived articles are available at szandorblestman.com. Please visit there and make a donation to help support me and my efforts. I also have an ebook available entitled "The Ouijiers" by Matthew Wayne.