While the Occupy Wall Street movement and a shocking report from the Congressional Budget Office have shone a bright spotlight on America's record income inequality, the GOP's 2012 presidential field is proposing massive new tax cuts certain to expand that Grand Canyon-sized gap between the fabulously rich and everyone else. Of course, the gilded-class giveaways […]

Back in August, Americans learned that among Rick Perry's miserable grades in college was a "D" in "Principles of Economics." Now we know why. His contribution to the GOP's flat tax one-upsmanship not only fails to simply the U.S. tax code. As it turns out, Governor Perry's "Cut, Balance and Grow" scheme would undermine Social […]

As Steve Forbes learned in 1996 and 2000 and Herman Cain is learning now, the flat tax is a bad idea whose time never came. After all, the move to a single income tax rate for all earners inevitably shifts the tax burden from the rich to middle and lower income Americans. And if the […]

Judging by the headlines, Herman Cain's tenure as the frontrunner for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination may be a brief one. After his supposed "jokes" about lethal electrified borders fences, Politico and the New York Times wondered if candidate Cain is even "serious" about the White House. Following his jaw-dropping pro-choice, anti-abortion declaration, the Greg […]

Herman Cain's now ubiquitous 9-9-9 tax plan went from the ridiculous to the sublime during Tuesday night's Republican presidential debate. While House Republicans and Grover Norquist had complained that the pizza mogul's proposals constituted a tax increase, some of Cain's fellow White House hopefuls actually expressed concern that it would be lower and middle income […]

If nothing else, Herman Cain is a man who is very sure of himself. This week, Cain once again declared God told him to run for President. But on the same day Senate Republicans continued their unprecedented obstructionism by blocking President Obama's jobs bill, Cain's own 9-9-9 plan finally started to come under scrutiny. As […]

Five years ago, Massachusetts Governor and first-time GOP White House hopeful Mitt Romney declared, "People in this country want a person of faith to lead them as their president." Just not his faith, according to that most Republican of audiences at this week's Values Voters Summit. Hoping to capitalize on polls showing almost a third […]

It is altogether fitting that Sarah Palin finally ended speculation about her presidential prospects on the very day her boss Roger Ailes admitted he hired her at Fox News "because she was hot." But while her conserva-skeptics like David Frum pronounced her "already almost forgotten," her right-wing water carriers certainly remember why she made them […]

Judging from the recent media coverage, it's springtime for the Republican Party and Jewish voters. Driven by the special election results in New York's ultra-orthodox 9th district and President Obama's refusal to follow the Republican lead in toeing the Likud Party line, conservatives have tried to drive home that point by explaining "why Obama is […]

When you're worth $250 million, it's awfully tough - especially during a prolonged economic crisis - to present yourself as a down-to-earth, man of the people. But if you're Mitt Romney, the challenge is even more daunting. After all, four years ago the son of an auto magnate turned job-cutting venture capitalist spent $45 million […]