National Review and Grover Norquist on 9-9-9

The editors of National Review wrote a piece yesterday about Herman Cain's 9-9-9 plan in which they say it is "unworthy of conservative support." They write:

The two-stage scheme is self-defeating in another respect as well. The 30 percent national sales tax, whatever its other merits, would be significantly softer on the poor than the 9-9-9 transitional step, since the larger sales tax includes a “prebate” check to all Americans to exempt the basic necessities of life from being taxed, while 9-9-9 includes no similar provision. Leaving aside whether a major tax increase on people at the bottom of the income scale is a good idea, what is the point of first raising their taxes and then cutting them?

Grover Norquist, head of Americans for Tax Reform, used an original analogy:

He argued that each of the three taxes could end up growing, saying it was like “[putting] tapeworms in your tummy to try and maintain your weight — they may have their own idea about their growth patterns and what they want to do.”