Herman Cain’s 9-9-9 Plan: Not So Crazy

His plan is sloppy and, in parts, bizarre. But the impetus behind it — tax simplification and reform — is not

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In this week’s issue of TIME, editor-at-large Fareed Zakaria defends the basic idea of Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain’s infamous “9-9-9” tax plan:

His plan is sloppy and, in parts, bizarre. But the impetus behind it—tax simplification and reform—is not. The first 9 is a 9% income tax to replace the current tax code. Most Americans believe that the federal tax code is highly complex and fundamentally corrupt. They are right…Complexity equals corruption.

Read the column and learn about what Zakaria calls his own “9-18-27-18-9-50 plan.”