In an appearance on Meet The Press on Sunday, pizza magnate turned GOP candidate Herman Cain got worked over by host David Gregory on the specifics of his now-famous “9-9-9” plan.
Last week, a series of articles citing independent analyses of the plan concluded that while some people would pay less in taxes, some would end up paying more. Robert Williams, a senior fellow at the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center, has looked at the plan and concluded that it would increase taxes for the poor and middle class.
Gregory began to lay out the findings of these independent experts, saying that the reality of the plan is “The wealthiest Americans would pay less, the poorest Americans and middle-class would pay more.”
At first, Cain attempted to argue that taxes would actually go down “based upon competition.”
“Suppose one breadmaker says I’m going to charge $2.20 for a loaf of bread, and the other one says he’s going to charge $2.40 for a loaf of bread. Well, guess which one is going to win out based on the quality of being the same?”
The incredulous Gregory hit back, and after several exchanges, Cain admitted “Some people will pay more, but most people will pay less is my argument.”
The damage didn’t stop at economic policy, however. Later on in the interview, Cain appeared cagey on foreign policy issues as well.
Gregory asked the candidate if he would describe himself as a neoconservative, after Cain named Henry Kissinger along with Ambassador John Bolton as influences on his foreign policy views.
“I’m not sure what you mean by neoconservative,” Cain answered evasively. “I am a conservative, yes. Neoconservative?–labels sometimes will put you in a box. I’m very conservative, but…”
“But you’re familiar with the neoconservative movement?” Gregory pushed.
“I’m not familiar with the neoconservative movement,” Cain replied. “I’m familiar with the conservative movement.”
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