Romney vs. Cain

The choice for the Republican base is shaping up this way:

Do you want a tinkerer whom you don't really trust but who will watch out for corporate interests?

Or do you want a bold, unproven likeable optimist who presents grand plans without really fully vetting them?

Rick Perry

Rick Perry unveiled his flat-tax proposal, and it further buttresses my point of view about him: He's a panderer.

This flat-tax proposal does not seem a serious effort to fix our problems. Let's keep the crummy old tax code, make everybody spend the time figuring out that payment, then give them a simpler choice that only the rich really benefit from? Or people can just use the 20% flat tax if they don't care to sweat the details.

As I see it, nobody pays more taxes, but the wealthy pay less. Small businesses would not be helped. Those making money off the stock market would be helped. That seems like a good way to fix the deficit.

Perry will probably argue that massive cuts will solve this problem, when it gets pointed out to him. I'm waiting to see how he does at that.

Herman Cain's 9-9-9 plan

Can Herman Cain rebut his critics who point out his tax plan might not raise the revenue first expected? It's completely unclear to me, but this needs to get fleshed out and analyzed more. I do appreciate that Herman Cain is still crafting this plan, and he is announcing more and more exceptions to it. But this gets us closer to the current mess of a system.

I like the elimination of the payroll tax. I don't mind the national sales tax. It's just possible that 9-9-9 really should be something else, such as 10-10-10 or 15-0-15.

I still like Herman Cain. And I've long considered him likely as a VP candidate. I still do.