In Press Conference, Fourth Woman Accuses Herman Cain of Inappropriate Conduct

AppId is over the quota
AppId is over the quota
Sharon Bialek speaks about allegations that presidential candidate Herman Cain sexually harassed her while standing with her attorney Gloria Allred (R) during a press conference at the Friar's Club in New York on November 7, 2011.

Escorted and represented by legendary discrimination attorney Gloria Allred, Sharon Bialek stepped out into the media’s bright lights to share her story of alleged inappropriate contact from Republican presidential frontrunner Herman Cain.

Bialek is the fourth woman to accuse Cain of inappropriate conduct, but the first to publicly share her story. Bialek begged Cain to “come clean” about the allegations of harassment that have cropped up in recent weeks. Bialek noted she “wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for the other [accusing] women.”

(PHOTOS: Herman Cain Through the Years)

Bialek says she met Cain while working at the Educational Foundation of the National Restaurant Association, the Washington-based organization for which Cain served as president from 1996 to 1999. Bialek, whom Allred introduced as a Republican Party supporter, explained that she was unexpectedly laid off from her position with the NRA in 1997. As she had met Cain on numerous occasions, she was comfortable reaching out to Cain for job advice. And that’s when, Bialek alleges, Cain took personal contact too far.

In recalling the 1997 episode that led to the alleged inappropriate sexual conduct, Bialek appeared empowered, almost giddy. She said she first met Herman Cain during the National Restaurant Association’s annual convention in Chicago that year. She was seated next to him at dinners and a luncheon during the association’s national convention, noting that he came off as “incredibly inspirational,” and even asked him jokingly, “When are you running for president?” But the next month, Bialek was unexpectedly let go from the organization. Her boyfriend, a Chicago pediatrician who had also met Cain during at least one of the convention events, suggested reaching out to Cain for job advice. She went through all the proper channels to schedule a D.C. meeting with Cain while she was traveling in the area. After a dinner meeting with Cain, she says he offered to show her the National Restaurant Association’s offices — but that they never made it there.

“Instead of going into the offices,” Bialek said, “he suddenly reached over and put his hand on my leg, under my skirt… He also pushed my head toward his crotch.” When she asked him to stop and drive her back to her hotel, she says he did, “right away.” And that was the last contact the two had until September of this year, when Bialek ran into Cain at a Chicago Tea Party convention. She noted that he remembered who she was, but appeared “uncomfortable.” After the incident, she said she raised no red flags. Since she was unemployed at the time, she didn’t file a workplace complaint, and confided only in her boyfriend and another male friend.

She says she has no plans to file a lawsuit or any other claim, but indeed the allegations of abuse are demanding answers from Cain’s camp. They continue to deny all allegations, issuing a statement Monday afternoon reading, “All allegations of harassment against Mr. Cain are false.”

WATCH: TIME Interviews Herman Cain

Debt Financing

Health Management

Read More

Herman Cain's New 9-0-9 Latest Campaign Clarification

AppId is over the quota
AppId is over the quota

Herman Cain announced revisions to his 9-9-9 plan Friday in Detroit, resulting in a new 9-0-9 for those too poor to pay income taxes.

[Check out our editorial cartoons on the GOP.]

With his recent rise in the polls. Cain's 9-9-9 plan, which would implement a 9 percent national sales tax, 9 percent personal income tax and 9 percent corporate business tax, has undergone increased scrutiny and faced criticism for its potential effect on the poor.

In his revised plan, Cain said that people who now do not earn enough to pay income tax would pay nothing in income tax under his revised plan. "If you are at or below the poverty level, your plan isn't 9-9-9 it is 9-0-9," Cain said. "Say amen y'all. 9-0-9."

During the press conference, Cain said this and his "opportunity" zone exceptions, which would allow businesses in area's with high unemployment to receive additional tax breaksto the plan were always in the works, but that he waited to unveil them as a way to "get people used to the whole concept."

The new plan, however, is a red flag to some GOP insiders who say this is just the latest in a week filled with explanations.

"He has qualities that appeal to people, he's charismatic, but he doesn't know what he doesn't know and that is going to hurt him in this campaign," said Matt Mackowiak, a GOP campaign operative. "What appealed about 999 was its simplicity. Now that he needs to describe it in detail, it makes it less simple and makes him look like he didn't know what he was doing in the first place."

[See a collection of political cartoons on the economy.]

This isn't the first time Cain had been forced to backtrack. Cain announced at a campaign rally in Tennessee last weekend that he would build a 20-foot border fence that would be electrified in places.

"It's going to have barbed wire on the top. It's going to be electrified. And there's going to be a sign on the other side saying, 'It will kill you — Warning'," Cain said.

The next morning, Cain appeared on Meet the Press and said he was just joking, but by Monday again recanted and apologized for his comments, meanwhile telling reporters he still thought a border fence was a good idea.

"He just doesn't seem ready for prime time," Mackowiak says.

Cain again stumbled Tuesday night during the CNN debate when he said he'd never negotiate with terrorists when just hours before he said he'd consider negotiating with al Qaeda.

"I misspoke," Cain told CNN host Anderson Cooper following the debate in Las Vegas. "Because I didn't, you know, things are moving so fast, I misspoke. I would not do that, I simply would not do that."

Mackowiak says it's obvious that Cain isn't prepared for the speed of this race.

"I really think the narrative here and the one taking hold with Cain is that he's just not ready for this and he's going to start to lose supporters if he keeps this up."

Home, Architecture and Furniture

Traveling Info

Read More

Can Herman Cain go the distance?

AppId is over the quota
AppId is over the quota
13 October 2011 Last updated at 23:13 GMT By Tom Geoghegan BBC News, Washington Herman Cain has stormed to the front of the pack of Republican presidential candidates. So what is the appeal of the former pizza company boss and will this surge of popularity last?

Judging by the attention paid to him by primetime television comedians this week, Herman Cain is the man of the moment.

David Letterman and Jon Stewart both poked fun at the former chief executive of Godfather's Pizza, thereby confirming his arrival upon the American cultural landscape.

It's been a heady few days for the straight-talking businessman, who held his own in Tuesday's televised debate with his Republican rivals in New Hampshire. He sat centre stage, next to the frontrunner Mitt Romney, but got twice as many laughs.

A poll the following day by NBC and the Wall Street Journal suggested Mr Cain had surged to the very front of the field among Republican presidential primary voters, putting him ahead of Mr Romney by 27% to 23%, and continuing a surge of support other polls had indicated in the last week.

He's not the first Republican candidate to attract a section of the party that seems reluctant to support Mr Romney. Donald Trump, Michele Bachmann and Rick Perry have all burned brightly in the role of "perfect torch-bearers", as one commentator put it, only to fade.

Continue reading the main story Rick Perry - support has ebbed after poor debates, but is well financedMichele Bachmann - rowed back on controversial statements and lost groundDonald Trump - pulled out of the race after urging Obama to prove his US birthBut Mr Cain, 65, shares little else with those rivals, and the differences go some way to explain why his sudden rise has raised eyebrows.

He's a man with no electoral experience and a CV which includes Baptist minister, mathematician, a director of the Federal Reserve Bank and radio talk show host.

The Cain campaign has no great financial backing and he has spent more time promoting his book than doing the hard graft in the key early primary states.

"It's definitively Herman Cain's moment and nothing short of astonishing that he's beating Mitt Romney in at least one poll," says John Avlon, author and columnist.

"He's the best communicator in the bunch by far, probably the best orator in the Republican party in recent times.

Continue reading the main story 1945: Born in Memphis but grew up in AtlantaFather was a janitor, chauffeur and barber, and mother a cleaner1967: Graduated from Morehouse College, Atlanta, with maths degreeEarly 70s: Begins a stellar career in business as systems analysts for Coca Cola1977: Moves to Pillsbury and takes over 450 failing Burger King restaurants1986: Heads Godfather's Pizza, rescuing them from brink of bankruptcy2000: Brief presidential run2004: Failed in Senate bid in Georgia"He's also long been a favourite of the Tea Party and the evangelical community, so he's the ultimate validator of the Republican conservative movement."

The surge could last, says Mr Avlon, but the experience of Mr Trump, Mrs Bachmann and Mr Perry - whose stumble has mirrored Mr Cain's surge - suggests it's unlikely.

But he is a fresh face, he adds, which means he can escape the Republican anger directed at Washington.

That he is now reaching for the White House at all caps a wonderful personal story. Born in Tennessee to a janitor and a cleaner, his parents' hard work enabled him to go to college to study for a maths degree and a master's in computing.

In his 30s he was running hundreds of Burger King stores in the Philadelphia area and then took over the reins at Godfather's Pizza, reversing its fortunes and earning himself a place on the board of directors at the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City.

For many years, he hosted a radio talk show in Atlanta, an experience that political blogger and radio show host Bill Press believes has helped him in recent weeks.

"His talk show host experience has been extraordinarily valuable because you have to learn to get to the essence of things fast, to say things in a provocative way, and in that sense he's a very effective communicator. He's good for the soundbite."

Continue reading the main story Scrap capital gains, estate and payroll taxesCorporate tax at 9%Federal income taxes at 9%National sales tax of 9% for all products, on top of any state and local taxesThe idea bears similarities with a computer game called SimCity4 but Cain's team deny a link"Nine, nine, nine," is the constant refrain from Mr Cain in every TV interview, hammering home his tax policy that would reduce federal income tax and corporate tax code to 9% but - most controversially - introduce a 9% national sales tax that many from within and without his own party have ridiculed.

He's a clown and his 999 slogan is a joke, says Mr Press, because it would be political suicide to increase taxes on the middle class. "It says something about the electorate that they would be so easily guiled."

His straight talking is part of his appeal, but some of his statements have drawn sharp criticism, particularly his comments in the past about Muslims. He has also implied that the unemployed only have themselves to blame.

He is most comfortable talking about jobs. And a glance at his website underlines his central message - that his success in business equips him to solve the country's severe economic problems.

Continue reading the main story

The Republican race has turned into The Wizard of Oz. Rick Perry wants a brain. Mitt Romney wants a heart. And any number of candidates are Dorothy, realizing there is no place like home and they should have stayed there.

Herman Cain is seeking courage. He needs the courage to face the fact he is never going to be the Republican nominee, no matter how well he does in the polls. He needs the courage to settle for something far better than the presidency: His own show on Fox.

Roger Simon, writing in Politico

Cain is a strong candidate who's bright, articulate and likeable, says polling expert Steve Mitchell, but while his lack of experience works in his favour because he has no record to attack, this could be viewed as a weakness when people cast their votes.

He will need to get an organisation in place, because Mitt Romney has a formidable one, and things don't happen without a strategy, says Mr Mitchell.

"A poll can prop you up and a good debate can prop you up, but when it comes to a campaign, it's dicey how well he can mobilise funds."

The instability in the polls suggests Republican voters are still under-whelmed by the choices on offer, and it could all change, says Shaun Bowler, a political scientist at University of California Riverside.

"The polls are picking up something - Cain comes across as folksy and straight talking which has an appeal.

"But I think the current polls shouldn't be taken as a set-in-concrete guide to how the actual electorate will vote in several months time."

Technology

News

Read More

Why Herman Cain's Economic Plan Has Merit

AppId is over the quota
AppId is over the quota

He's a fringe candidate with controversial views on Muslims and a soft spot for the Chilean retirement system. But Herman Cain also has a few economic ideas that are arguably better than those of his GOP rivals.

Mitt Romney, Rick Perry and most other Republican presidential candidates basically follow the conservative script when it comes to economic policy: Cut taxes, cut regulations, cut government spending and watch prosperity flower. Cain's ideas are radical by comparison. There's probably no chance they'd ever pass—in a Cain administration, or anybody else's—but they shouldn't be flippantly dismissed, either. It seems obvious that we need some new ideas for how to recharge the economy, and the former pizza-chain CEO has a few clever ones.

[See 11 things wrong with Congress.]

Cain calls his program the 9 – 9 – 9 plan. In theory, it's pleasingly simple. He'd scrap the current income tax system and impose a 9 percent flat tax on everybody, while cutting the corporate income tax rate from 35 percent to 9 percent and imposing a national sales tax of – can you guess? – 9 percent on most goods. Cain says his scheme would free up capital, boost production and create jobs, while raising roughly the same amount of revenue the government takes in now. The fact-checking Web site Politifact thinks Cain's revenue estimate may be a bit low, but is generally plausible.

In practice, of course, there would be all sorts of problems with Cain's plan. Liberals would howl about working-class people paying taxes at the same rate as the wealthy and about Cain's complete exemption for capital gains. Conservatives hate the idea of a national sales tax because it would generate a huge new pool of money for the government to spend and because France has one. And upending so many entrenched tax shelters would cause paroxysms among the lobbyists who have worked so hard to ensure favored treatment for their clients. One can imagine they might resist.

Still, Cain is on to something. I can't vouch for his numbers and he's sketchy about many specifics. But he has highlighted a few principles that ought to be explored if policymakers in Washington ever get around to fixing the overcomplicated tax code or making America more competitive. Such as:

Emphasizing saving over spending. Cain's national sales tax, which would be similar to the value-added tax some economists favor, would obviously make stuff more expensive. So people would probably buy less. That might sound like a bad idea, since more than two-thirds of U.S. GDP comes from consumer spending. But if people spend less they save more, and more national savings could provide a powerful economic boost in the long run.

[See Rick Perry's 4 economic vulnerabilities.]

A bigger nest egg would obviously help many families improve their finances, pay down debt and prepare better for downturns. A higher savings rate would also generate more investment, since the money has to go somewhere; even if you put it in the bank, the bank lends most of it out. Assuming that banks learned the hard lessons of the last few years about taking appropriate risks when lending, more investment could be one of the key things that shakes the economy out of its torpor and generates the kind of growth we need. There's also a cultural element to our spending addiction, and it's not hard to imagine that American society might become a bit more productive if we shopped less.

Like any major policy shift, altering the tax code to deter spending and encourage saving would be controversial and disruptive. Cain doesn't say anything about taxing services, which are a big part of the economy that shouldn't be overlooked. With any kind of national sales tax, there would probably have to be exemptions for food and staples. Many people would argue that a national sales tax should be progressive, so that the poor don't pay a disproportionate amount. But the basic idea has strong merit and the details ought to be negotiable.

Encouraging work and industry. Lower taxes on workers and businesses would in effect raise the return on work and on the risk required to start and run a company. So more people would be likely to do both. This basic principle should not be confused with trickle-down economics, which is the dubious idea that simply cutting taxes will leave people and companies with more money to spend, which will ultimately help create jobs and boost growth. In a closed economic system it might work that way, but if your taxes go down and you use the savings to buy a Lexus made in Japan or an iPad made in China, you're helping create overseas jobs; the impact on the U.S. economy is highly diluted. And companies don't hire workers just because they have extra cash; they might be more inclined to buy equipment (which could be made anywhere), raise the dividend paid to shareholders, or simply hold the money for a rainy day, as many companies are doing now.

[See why federal government trumps the states.]

Enriching the incentive to work or run a company in the United States, however, would have a more direct impact on the U.S. economy. The problem with many tax-cut proposals isn't low taxes; it's the huge cut in government spending that would usually have to accompany them, since most advocates of tax cuts don't suggest ways to replace lost government revenue. But Cain's national sales tax would provide cover for cuts to personal and corporate income tax rates and allow expensive programs like Social Security and Medicare to keep functioning normally. Again, there are many complexities, and Cain's math probably isn't bulletproof. But the principle of higher consumption taxes paired with lower income taxes is a sound one.

Simplicity. I don't know if Cain meant to mimic dollar-store discounts by calling his plan 9 – 9 – 9, but it does have an agreeable ring—and it hints at a bargain. In fact, my brain wants to call it Nine Ninety-Nine, like the price of an off-brand pair of sneakers or last year's version of Madden Football. Sure, it's gimmicky, but everybody knows we need a far simpler tax system that's not gamed in favor of those who can afford to hire accountants, tax attorneys and lobbyists to work all the loopholes. So what's wrong with the populist appeal of a tax code that sounds like a two-for-one pizza special?

[See 8 things missing from Obama's debt plan.]

In fact, the complexity of so many things about the economy—globalization, overlapping layers of regulation, financial engineering, the new Netflix video-rental plans—must certainly be one of the factors depressing confidence and stoking cynicism. Politicians exploit the information overload of the digital era by firing barrage after barrage of maybe-true claims that are too time-consuming or convoluted to check out. Many people feel overwhelmed, powerless and angry. Meanwhile, everybody knows that complexity is often a shield for graft, deceit and other shenanigans. A tax code that ordinary people can easily understand would in itself be a confidence-booster.

Cain will probably step off the national stage soon, as Republicans choose a more prominent candidate to face off against President Obama. But whoever wins might want to study the 9 – 9 – 9 plan. There are a lot worse ideas, including some that might ultimately make it into the official GOP platform.

Twitter: @rickjnewman

Home, Architecture and Furniture

Traveling Info

Read More

Herman Cain Sees Fundraising Uptick Off Debate, Straw Poll

AppId is over the quota
AppId is over the quota

Herman Cain is picking up steam this week, but it still remains to be seen whether he can take his five minutes of fame and use them to catapult himself into the top tier of GOP candidates.

Cain's team started noticing new fundraising success, they said, after his performance in last week's GOP debate. Cain's press team tweeted Saturday, before he won the straw poll, that Cain had fundraised more money in the 48 hours following the debate then he had in the entirety of his campaign. After winning the non-binding straw poll in Florida, however, the money kept pouring in with Cain's staff tweeting Sunday " WOW! Got word that our main donation page is slow due to excessive traffic!"

[Vote: Herman Cain vs. Morgan Freeman: Is the Tea Party Racist?]

By Monday morning his staff tweeted that they'd outdone themselves again reporting more contributions in three days then during the whole of the campaign. Notably, however, the campaign has refused to divulge any specific fundraising figures.

"I can say we have been raising several hundreds of thousands of dollars daily and gotten thousands of new donors," Cain's spokesperson Ellen Carmichael says.

Indeed, Republican consultant Matt Mackowiak says with the financial quarter ending Sept. 30, it's unlikely Cain will emerge as a frontrunner financially when quarterly reports are released in mid-October.

"Cain may not be able to fully take advantage of the straw poll victory and the notoriety that comes with it," Mackowiak says. "It takes time to plan a fundraising event where you can get chunks of money and you can't take advantage of that before this quarter ends." [See who's in and who's out of the 2012 GOP race.]

Carmichael says Cain isn't expecting to touch Mitt Romney's level of fundraising, but does believe Cain will do much better than many anticipate.

Regardless, Herman Cain trended second in Google searches Saturday and he scored some important meetings including one with Donald Trump, who ran briefly for the GOP nomination and has since reserved most of his time for candidates considered front-runners. Trump also met with Texas Gov. Rick Perry last month and met with former Mass. Gov. Mitt Romney on Monday.

Cain's official calendar initially didn't have anything scheduled for this week, but after his victory that certainly changed. Cain's Monday was booked with an appearances on the Today Show on NBC followed by spots on CNN's American Morning, CNN Newsroom, Neal Boortz's radio show, Dennis Miller radio program, where the host endorsed Cain and promised to headline a fundraising event for him, America Live with Megyn Kelly on Fox News, Sean Hannity's radio program and On the Record with Greta Van Susteren.

The surge of attention is exactly what he needed to stay in the race he said on Today. Cain also admitted that he thought about dropping out of the GOP race for the presidential nomination, and while he isn't counting on a victory yet, he is feeling reinvigorated to move forward.

Even more evidence that he's making moves? The Hermanator has been leaking into pop culture. Over the weekend, the former CEO of Godfather's Pizza, along with all the other major GOP candidates, was spoofed on Saturday Night Live as saying he'd "deliver". [Read: Herman Cain Would Have Dethroned Burger King Sooner.]

"I am using that line on the next debate," Cain said on the Dennis Miller show Monday morning.

View the original article here

Peliculas Online

Read More

Why Herman Cain's Economic Plan Has Merit

AppId is over the quota
AppId is over the quota

He's a fringe candidate with controversial views on Muslims and a soft spot for the Chilean retirement system. But Herman Cain also has a few economic ideas that are arguably better than those of his GOP rivals.

Mitt Romney, Rick Perry and most other Republican presidential candidates basically follow the conservative script when it comes to economic policy: Cut taxes, cut regulations, cut government spending and watch prosperity flower. Cain's ideas are radical by comparison. There's probably no chance they'd ever pass—in a Cain administration, or anybody else's—but they shouldn't be flippantly dismissed, either. It seems obvious that we need some new ideas for how to recharge the economy, and the former pizza-chain CEO has a few clever ones.

[See 11 things wrong with Congress.]

Cain calls his program the 9 – 9 – 9 plan. In theory, it's pleasingly simple. He'd scrap the current income tax system and impose a 9 percent flat tax on everybody, while cutting the corporate income tax rate from 35 percent to 9 percent and imposing a national sales tax of – can you guess? – 9 percent on most goods. Cain says his scheme would free up capital, boost production and create jobs, while raising roughly the same amount of revenue the government takes in now. The fact-checking Web site Politifact thinks Cain's revenue estimate may be a bit low, but is generally plausible.

In practice, of course, there would be all sorts of problems with Cain's plan. Liberals would howl about working-class people paying taxes at the same rate as the wealthy and about Cain's complete exemption for capital gains. Conservatives hate the idea of a national sales tax because it would generate a huge new pool of money for the government to spend and because France has one. And upending so many entrenched tax shelters would cause paroxysms among the lobbyists who have worked so hard to ensure favored treatment for their clients. One can imagine they might resist.

Still, Cain is on to something. I can't vouch for his numbers and he's sketchy about many specifics. But he has highlighted a few principles that ought to be explored if policymakers in Washington ever get around to fixing the overcomplicated tax code or making America more competitive. Such as:

Emphasizing saving over spending. Cain's national sales tax, which would be similar to the value-added tax some economists favor, would obviously make stuff more expensive. So people would probably buy less. That might sound like a bad idea, since more than two-thirds of U.S. GDP comes from consumer spending. But if people spend less they save more, and more national savings could provide a powerful economic boost in the long run.

[See Rick Perry's 4 economic vulnerabilities.]

A bigger nest egg would obviously help many families improve their finances, pay down debt and prepare better for downturns. A higher savings rate would also generate more investment, since the money has to go somewhere; even if you put it in the bank, the bank lends most of it out. Assuming that banks learned the hard lessons of the last few years about taking appropriate risks when lending, more investment could be one of the key things that shakes the economy out of its torpor and generates the kind of growth we need. There's also a cultural element to our spending addiction, and it's not hard to imagine that American society might become a bit more productive if we shopped less.

Like any major policy shift, altering the tax code to deter spending and encourage saving would be controversial and disruptive. Cain doesn't say anything about taxing services, which are a big part of the economy that shouldn't be overlooked. With any kind of national sales tax, there would probably have to be exemptions for food and staples. Many people would argue that a national sales tax should be progressive, so that the poor don't pay a disproportionate amount. But the basic idea has strong merit and the details ought to be negotiable.

Encouraging work and industry. Lower taxes on workers and businesses would in effect raise the return on work and on the risk required to start and run a company. So more people would be likely to do both. This basic principle should not be confused with trickle-down economics, which is the dubious idea that simply cutting taxes will leave people and companies with more money to spend, which will ultimately help create jobs and boost growth. In a closed economic system it might work that way, but if your taxes go down and you use the savings to buy a Lexus made in Japan or an iPad made in China, you're helping create overseas jobs; the impact on the U.S. economy is highly diluted. And companies don't hire workers just because they have extra cash; they might be more inclined to buy equipment (which could be made anywhere), raise the dividend paid to shareholders, or simply hold the money for a rainy day, as many companies are doing now.

[See why federal government trumps the states.]

Enriching the incentive to work or run a company in the United States, however, would have a more direct impact on the U.S. economy. The problem with many tax-cut proposals isn't low taxes; it's the huge cut in government spending that would usually have to accompany them, since most advocates of tax cuts don't suggest ways to replace lost government revenue. But Cain's national sales tax would provide cover for cuts to personal and corporate income tax rates and allow expensive programs like Social Security and Medicare to keep functioning normally. Again, there are many complexities, and Cain's math probably isn't bulletproof. But the principle of higher consumption taxes paired with lower income taxes is a sound one.

Simplicity. I don't know if Cain meant to mimic dollar-store discounts by calling his plan 9 – 9 – 9, but it does have an agreeable ring—and it hints at a bargain. In fact, my brain wants to call it Nine Ninety-Nine, like the price of an off-brand pair of sneakers or last year's version of Madden Football. Sure, it's gimmicky, but everybody knows we need a far simpler tax system that's not gamed in favor of those who can afford to hire accountants, tax attorneys and lobbyists to work all the loopholes. So what's wrong with the populist appeal of a tax code that sounds like a two-for-one pizza special?

[See 8 things missing from Obama's debt plan.]

In fact, the complexity of so many things about the economy—globalization, overlapping layers of regulation, financial engineering, the new Netflix video-rental plans—must certainly be one of the factors depressing confidence and stoking cynicism. Politicians exploit the information overload of the digital era by firing barrage after barrage of maybe-true claims that are too time-consuming or convoluted to check out. Many people feel overwhelmed, powerless and angry. Meanwhile, everybody knows that complexity is often a shield for graft, deceit and other shenanigans. A tax code that ordinary people can easily understand would in itself be a confidence-booster.

Cain will probably step off the national stage soon, as Republicans choose a more prominent candidate to face off against President Obama. But whoever wins might want to study the 9 – 9 – 9 plan. There are a lot worse ideas, including some that might ultimately make it into the official GOP platform.

Twitter: @rickjnewman

View the original article here

Peliculas Online

Read More