What I'm Reading Thursday, October 13, 2011

Politics

• A lousy pizza and a lousy president | THE BILL PRESS SHOW.
  

  Do they realize how silly they look?

  Desperate for some extreme right-winger to head the 2012 Republican ticket, tea partiers have now embraced their fourth impossible candidate.

  First, remember, it was Donald Trump, who was #1 in the polls. Then, briefly, it was Michelle Bachmann. Followed, ever so briefly, by Rick Perry. And now, the latest, new flavor of the month: Herman Cain.

  Are they serious? Herman Cain is a clown.

  One, he’s never held any political office before. Do we really want him to learn on the job – in the Oval Office?

  Two, he’s not even running that hard. He’s spending most of his time at book signings for his new book.

  Three, he’s put forth a plan – Nine, Nine, Nine – which is nothing but an empty slogan. Everybody knows Congress could not be trusted to keep income taxes or corporate taxes at 9 percent.

  And who wants a new, national sales tax – on top of already-existing local and state sales taxes? Add ‘em up. It means middle-class families would be paying 20 percent or more on every purchase at Wal-Mart. Is this really what the Tea Party wants?

  Herman Cain made a lousy pizza. He’d make an even lousier president.

  That’s my parting shot for today.

• The Last Word – Secrets of Herman Cain’s 999 plan revealed — MSNBC’s Lawrence O’Donnell explains how Herman Cain’s 999-plan would destroy Social Security and Medicare, and leave us with a 30 percent national sales tax. Bruce Bartlett, a former senior policy analyst in the Reagan White House, joins The Last Word to help us crunch the numbers.
  

  Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

• Bruce Bartlett: Inside the Cain Tax Plan – NYTimes.com
• Herman Cain: ‘Black Walnut’ flavor of the month? – CSMonitor.com
• Herman Cain Mentions Paul Ryan, Jim DeMint As Possible Vice President, Cabinet Picks (AUDIO) — Holy disaster Batman! Jim DeMint as a possible VP! The good news is Herman Cain will never ever be elected President.
• The tea party’s popularity problem – The Washington Post
• Little Green Footballs – Rick Perry’s Private American History
• Tort Reform Touted by Rick Perry Actually Increased Health Care Costs in Texas | Firedoglake
• Report: 25 Percent of Millionaires Pay Fewer Taxes Than the Middle Class – Derek Thompson – Business – The Atlantic
• Is Herman Cain’s 9-9-9 tax plan fair? – USATODAY.com
• via Little Green Footballs – Ry Cooder: No Banker Left Behind. This is the opening track from Ry Cooder’s incredible new record Pull Up Some Dust And Sit Down, an overtly political statement right in tune with the times.
  

Economics

• Milton Friedman’s Magical Thinking | NationofChange