9-9-9 is 666 for consumers

Herman Cain is brash, bold, and sassy.

Not afraid to take on entrenched interests, not afraid to speak out for Corporate America and financial markets, he places the right and responsibility of wealth on the American people, not the government.

He has a catchy slogan for rewriting this country's tax code. Scrap the IRS, get rid of "sneak attacks" that harm job creation and benefit a limited number of interests, and simplify taxation so that everyone knows what they are paying in and what they are getting for it.

Cain would break down the byzantine tax code to three parts:

9% national sales tax

9% income tax

9% corporate tax.

In every news program since his resurgence in the Florida Straw Poll, Cain has emphasized that he would do away with every other taxes, including capital gains and the estate tax.

However, his program will mean that poor, working class, and middle class consumers will be paying a minimum 9% sales tax, whereas now in at least five states there is not state sales tax. In California, consumers would be paying an extensive 16-18% sales tax with every purchase. This tax hike is unacceptable.

Cain's desire to remove the growing tax burden on job creators is commendable, but to force free market communities (like Delaware and New Hampshire) to shoulder a greater portion of the revenue base, plus expecting struggling Americans to discharge a set percentage of wealth to the federal government on top of the state income tax, will only invite greater hostility and declining receipts.

Rather than pushing a greater burden on to those who already pay, close corporate loopholes, end welfare subsidies, bring our troops home, and compensate individuals who make responsible voluntary contributions to their retirement instead of depending on the government to care and carry them through their retirement years.