Herman Cain Exposed: His “Economist” Works At Local Wells Fargo Branch, Has No Formal Training
A couple days ago, Harry Belafonte put Republican presidential candidate hopeful, Herman Cain, on blast. Responding to Cain’s claim that racism doesn’t have the negative impact of “holding back” Black folks today. Belafonte in an interview with Joy Behar on CNN called Cain “false,” and a “bad apple” who isn’t good for the Black community.
Dr. Cornel West himself has also slammed Cain for his position on racism, by saying that “he must be smoking the symbolic crack pipe.” This however, has come with great timing because Cain has since been endorsed by Uncle Ruckus, and cited as the best white man for the job. An endorsement that should sit well with Black Republicans and Teabaggers alike.
Last night, during the GOP debate on Bloomberg TV. Cain said that he had an economist work with him in crafting his “9-9-9 Plan”. He also said he had it tested by independent sources to confirm it’s effectiveness as an economic boost. Given that his plan has been debunked as an effective way of stimulating the economy, and has been proven to be a regressive tax policy. One has to wonder: who is this economist that helped to craft Cain’s plan? Well…
WASHINGTON — Herman Cain’s now-famous “9-9-9″ tax plan was crafted by a rank-and-file investment adviser working at a Wells Fargo branch in an affluent rural Ohio town with a population of about 6,000 people.
Cain name-checked Richard Lowrie during Tuesday night’s Republican debate on economic policy, and his campaign confirmed to HuffPost that Richard Lowrie Jr., a Wells Fargo employee in Pepper Pike, Ohio, outside of Cleveland, was the official adviser to his campaign who hammered out the “9-9-9″ plan. The plan calls for creating a new 9 percent federal sales tax on everything consumers buy, while cutting the corporate tax rate to 9 percent and imposing a flat 9 percent income tax on all wages.
Cain said on “Meet the Press” that his program is “revenue-neutral,” meaning it will raise exactly the same amount of tax money as the current tax system. By cutting corporate taxes and taxes for the wealthy, the program puts a heavy new tax burden on the poor and the middle class.
It is unusual for a presidential campaign to employ a local investment adviser as an economic policy expert. Major electoral campaigns typically seek out high-profile economists with federal policymaking experience or academic gravitas.
According to Lowrie’s LinkedIn profile, his education tops out with a Bachelor of Science in accountancy from Case Western University. He has no formal training in economics, and there is no indication that he has ever worked on public policy. According to that same profile, Lowrie’s political experience includes working on the board of advisers for Americans For Prosperity, a hardline conservative outfit founded by the Koch Brothers, until 2008. In 2011, the group ran into trouble for posting fake eviction notices on the doors of Detroit families. Lowrie’s LinkedIn profile also says he works on the volunteer advisory panel for the American Conservative Union. (source)
I think I’ve finally figured out this Herman Cain character. I’ve come to the conclusion that he’s not interested in running for president. He wants to have us believe he is; but, what he’s actually doing, is interviewing for a job over at Fox (read this). I mean why wouldn’t he? After all, he was a a Conservative talk show host in Atlanta, wasn’t he? Yesterday in a radio interview, Cain said that Obama has never lived the Black experience in America. He also said in last night’s GOP debate that he was “po’ before being poor.” My guess is he has dreams and aspirations of becoming the Black Rush Limbaugh, and riding off into the sunset with the money of fools in his pocket. Like Belafonte said, he’s a false representation of “Blackness” in America; and, there’s no denying that from where I’m sitting. As a matter of fact, watching him being exposed as an ignoramus like he was by Chuck Todd this morning, had me hanging my head in shame. He might know pizza, but he doesn’t know economic policy. But then again, maybe he does. Maybe Cain doesn’t give a damn about the working poor as much as he does the wealthy. That makes him a good Republican, yes?
