Herman Cain in They Think You're Stupid, by Herman Cain
On Civil Rights:
I oppose government-imposed hiring quotas
Though my positions on the political issues have wavered little throughout my life, I honestly did not realize I was a conservative until I began my campaign for US Senate. I am pro-life on the issue of abortion. I fully support the
Second Amendment right to bear arms. I am opposed to a government-imposed quota system on hiring practices. I believe we must replace the out-of-date federal tax code, and I believe
Congress must severely cut back on its wasteful spending. But I did not know the term conservative defined my belief system. Prior to initial consultations with my campaign consultants when I ran for US Senate in
Georgia, no one had ever packaged my political views into a single term.
Source: They Think You're Stupid, by Herman Cain, p. 21-26
Jun 14, 2005
On Civil Rights:
If you believe in Bible, same-sex marriage is moot point
The issue of same-sex marriage was a hot issue in 2004. Eleven states featured ballot initiatives that asked voters if they support a ban on legalizing same-sex unions. The initiatives passed overwhelmingly in all 11 states.My pastor had a reply ready
to those in his congregation who asked him his position on the same-sex marriage issue:"What part of the Bible do you want to throw out?" If you believe in the Bible, then the issue is a moot point. We cannot separate this "civil rights issue," as the
Democrats call it, from the moral issue. There is a tendency among liberals to lower a moral standard to accommodate a civil behavior. The difference between the civil rights struggle and the so-called gay struggle is that the civil rights struggle
constantly moved this nation upward to live up to the ideal that "All men are created equal, endowed by their Creator." The gay rights struggle involves altering the established moral principle of marriage as the union between one man and one woman.
Source: They Think You're Stupid, by Herman Cain, p. 89-90
Jun 14, 2005
On Education:
Vouchers in DC public schools made a better future for kids
D.C. Mayor Williams in 2003 helped initiate a system to provide more than 1,000 vouchers per year to poor children in the failing public school system. The voucher system, called the "Opportunity Scholarship Program," allows students from financially
troubled homes to attend private schools. Williams received the expected outrage and criticism from the teachers' unions, but he knows that education and doing all he can to provide a better future for D.C.'s children is more important than politics.
Source: They Think You're Stupid, by Herman Cain, p. 41
Jun 14, 2005
On Homeland Security:
FactCheck: No, Israel leader never mentioned our way of life
Cain misleads readers into thinking that Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu supports the concept that terrorists want to "destroy our way of life." Cain does so by juxtaposing his interpretation of Netanyahu's speech in the same paragraph as Cain'
"way of life" assertion. Netanyahu actually said no such thing.The closest Netanyahu comes is when stating, "Contrary to popular belief, the motivating force behind terror is neither desperation nor destitution. It is hope--the hope of terrorists tha
their savagery will break the will of their enemies & help them achieve their objectives--political, religious, or otherwise." Netanyahu does not say, nor hint, that those objectives include "destroying our way of life."
Cain's analysis of Netanyahu's
speech correctly concludes that Netanyahu seeks US resoluteness against terrorists, including fighting them abroad. But his juxtaposition with his own "destroy our way of life" conclusion falsely implies that Netanyahu agrees with that conclusion.
Source: OnTheIssues FactCheck on H.Cain's "They Think You're Stupid"
Jun 14, 2005
On Homeland Security:
No doubt that terrorists seek to destroy our way of life
In April 2002, former Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivered a captivating speech to the US Senate in which he called on his lifetime of experiences in confronting the evils of terrorist states and encouraged the US to remain resolute in
the global war against terrorism.Netanyahu's opening sentence is a strategic declaration: "The war on terror can be won with clarity and courage, or lost with confusion and vacillation." Netanyahu's speech was aimed at all US citizens who might
question for even a second the necessity of waging war against terrorist networks on their home turf. There can be no doubt that terrorists all over the globe seek to disrupt and destroy our way of life, our values, and our freedoms.
We know from the terrorists' own words that they hate us and our freedoms: Republicans and Democrats; Blacks, Whites, Latinos, and Asians; Christians and Jews.
Source: They Think You're Stupid, by Herman Cain, p.126-132
Jun 14, 2005
On Principles & Values:
US polarized: party divide; racial divide; economic divide
The polarizing labels and phrases used by our political leaders and elected officials have created three profound divisions throughout our country. I call these the party divide, racial divide, and the economic divide.
The party divide is represented by the extreme partisanship that exists between Republicans and Democrats in Washington, D.C. and throughout the country. The second great divide in our country is the racial divide.
Race is often abused by candidates and so-called Black leaders to keep voters neatly on their respective plantations. The third great divide in our country is the economic divide. Economics starts with education.
The long struggle to achieve equal opportunities for success in nearly all facets of our society has resulted in great progress for all citizens.
Source: They Think You're Stupid, by Herman Cain, p. 53
Jun 14, 2005
On Principles & Values:
Religious faith & political views inextricably intertwined
We live in a nation where most people have conservative social and economic values and where most people try to live their lives according to the morals and values taught to them in church and by their parents. The majority of the public does not support
removing the words "one nation under God" from our Pledge of Allegiance. They do not support removing the words "in God we trust" from our currency. They do not support presidents who carry on extra-marital affairs with interns in the Oval Office of the
White House. Democrats simply cannot understand why most people involve their faith in making the big decisions in their lives. They cannot understand why people do not and cannot switch their faith on and off because of a notion of "separation
between church and state"--a phrase that does not even appear in our Constitution! For most people, their religious faith, their personal and business lives, and their political views are inextricably intertwined.
Source: They Think You're Stupid, by Herman Cain, p. 75
Jun 14, 2005
On Principles & Values:
2004: Won second place in US Senate Republican primary
When I ran as a conservative Black Republican in the 2004 election for the U.S. Senate in Georgia, the party faithful considered me as an outsider because I had not asked permission from the Republican Party leaders in Georgia, nor had
I ever sought any elective office before. I won an impressive second place in the Republican Primary. It is this experience that has made me aware of the rising tide of the politically homeless. Democratic
Party insiders are nearing political bankruptcy. I have seen how many Democratic candidates distort, ignore, and even change the facts to try to get elected. Although Republicans are not innocent in this regard, their political capital is on the rise.
In fact, my own party has a unique opportunity to dominate the political landscape for decades if they do a better job of reaching out to the party outsiders with results, rather than waiting for outsiders to reach in.
Source: They Think You're Stupid, by Herman Cain, p. xv-xvi
Jun 14, 2005
On Principles & Values:
1986: As CEO, refocused Godfather's Pizza on brand identity
When I became CEO of Godfather's Pizza in 1986, it was a failing company. Our sales were declining & company moral was declining. Employees no longer knew the Godfather's mission. My #1 task was to get everyone to realize that we had a brand identity
crisis. Our management team had forgotten, and our customer base had forgotten, that Godfather's made the best-tasting pizza. Why? Because we gradually stopped making the best-tasting pizza. As a result, we lost customers, we lost profitability, and we
were losing our company. Strong messages are not enough, though, to create a strong positive brand identity. The messages must be credible. There must be substance underlying the message. At Godfather's we decided to have one goal-make the best-tasting
pizza. To achieve this goal we had to eliminate a lot of barriers that prevented us from achieving this goal. It's called focus. The Republicans have started to drift in that direction by losing their focus on fiscal responsibility.
Source: They Think You're Stupid, by Herman Cain, p.105-106
Jun 14, 2005
On Principles & Values:
2004 decision to run for US Senate was divinely inspired
If you do not believe in God, you will not believe this chapter. I believe that my decision to run for the US Senate was divinely inspired. Indeed, this has been the case for every major career decision I have made in my life.In May 2003, a fellow
conservative suggested that I run for retiring Sen. Zell Miller's seat, so I prayed a lot about the idea. As I picked up my Bible, it slipped & fell open on the floor. I picked it up and noticed it was open to the book of Mark's 8th chapter. I stopped in
my spiritual tracks: "For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? This was not the first time I had read this verse, but it was the first time it seemed to jump off the page at me. It made me think about giving
back more since I had been so blessed. At church the following Sunday, our pastor, preached a sermon titled "A Calling." He described a calling as "the intersection of your talents and human needs." I knew it was God trying to tell me something.
Source: They Think You're Stupid, by Herman Cain, p.185&198-199
Jun 14, 2005
On Social Security:
Congress is in gross denial; system is broken for decades
The candidates who get elected to Congress quickly lose focus and spend time working on the wrong problems. Worse they are forced into trying to fix some of the wrong solutions to the wrong problems of the past. The best example is the Social
Security system. It has been broken for decades and we are still not anywhere close to fixing it. One of my opponents, a congressman, said, "Congress does not act until there's a crisis." I wonder what the definition of a crisis is in
Congress when we are talking about the Social Security system. Someone is in gross denial. The current Social Security structure is headed for certain bankruptcy. Social Security must be totally restructured. It does not make sense to pay into a
broken structure. For too long, though, millions have been told that Republicans want to rob their Social Security benefits and give the money to the rich in the form of tax cuts. Of course, this deceptive rhetoric could not be farther from the truth.
Source: They Think You're Stupid, by Herman Cain, p. 2 & 5
Jun 14, 2005
On Social Security:
Throwing more money at broken system is simply stupid
Is throwing more money at a broken Social Security system a wedge issue? No, it is simply stupid. Are raising taxes and taking more of peoples' hard-earned money to fund inefficient government programs wedge issues? No, it is insane, and people are sick
& tired of it. A number of systems have been offered to save Social Security, including Pres. Bush's proposal to enact an optional system of personal retirement accounts. Instead of working on a solution to the looming Social Security crisis, however,
Congress continues to shirk its responsibility to the public by increasing the retirement age and decreasing benefits to future retirees.
Liberals do not want to face the reality that the Social Security structure is insolvent. Congressional liberals
view the Social Security payroll tax as another mechanism designed to relieve you of your money and provide you nothing in return. Millions of citizens should question why we keep in place a retirement system that is not funded at the necessary levels.
Source: They Think You're Stupid, by Herman Cain, p. 74&82-83
Jun 14, 2005
On Social Security:
Establish optional personal retirement accounts
A number of solutions have been offered to save Social Security, including Bush's proposal to enact an optional system of personal retirement accounts. Instead of working on a solution to the looming Social Security crisis, however, Congress continues t
shirk its responsibilities to the public by increasing the retirement age and decreasing benefits to future retirees.Three fundamental changes must be made if we are to keep the promise of benefits to our seniors & the soon-to-be-retiring baby boomers
while providing more benefit options to future generations. First, we must establish a system of optional personal retirement accounts. Individual citizens--not the federal government--will have the power to decide how a portion of their Social Security
contribution is invested. Second, benefits must no longer be reduced based on secondary or supplemental incomes. Third, seniors must be allowed to leave the balance of their personal accounts to their widows, children, and any other heirs they designate.
Source: They Think You're Stupid, by Herman Cain, p. 82&139-140
Jun 14, 2005
On Social Security:
Payroll tax is highly regressive
The highly regressive Social Security payroll tax only taxes wages, the primary source of income for most of the poor. Workers making more than $90,000 do not pay payroll taxes on their income over that limit. The entire salaries of workers making less
than the limit are therefore subject to Social Security payroll tax.Our so-called progressive system of taxation at the federal level is based on the premise that those who make the highest incomes should pay proportionately the most for the
government services that benefit all citizens. Those at the lowest income levels are in fact hit the hardest by our system of taxation. 100% of their wages are subject to the Social Security and Medicare taxes, which are of course automatically withheld
from their paychecks. When they retire and begin receiving their monthly Social Security benefits, they are taxed again because our government considers your Social Security benefits income--even though you already earned the money decades ago.
Source: They Think You're Stupid, by Herman Cain, p. 83&175
Jun 14, 2005
On Tax Reform:
FactCheck: No, middle-earners pay more than 20% of taxes
Cain states that "Facts Don't Lie" (p.78) but SELECTING facts do! Cain states, accurately, that the top 20% of earners pay nearly 80% of all income taxes. That's misleading because it's only about the FEDERAL INCOME TAX, ignoring all other taxes. When
accounting for payroll tax, sales tax, property tax, and state taxes, the top earners don't pay nearly as much as Cain indicates. One purpose of the federal income tax's "progressivity" (that high earners pay a lot more) is to make up the "regressive"
nature of all of the other taxes (that low earners pay relatively more).The most important example is FICA, the payroll tax withholding for Social Security. Cain himself calls that tax "highly regressive" (p. 83). Employees pay for FICA at 6.2% on the
first $106,800 of taxable earnings, and 0% above that earning level. That means low- and middle-earners actually pay towards FICA a HIGHER percentage of their income than do high-earners. Cain misleads readers by citing only the federal income tax totals
Source: OnTheIssues FactCheck on H.Cain's "They Think You're Stupid"
Jun 14, 2005
On Tax Reform:
FairTax will cause the US economy to skyrocket
Passage of HR 25 will replace the outdated mess that is the federal tax code with the national retail sales tax, also known as the FairTax. The FairTax will remove the current onerous tax burden from the backs of citizens and businesses and cause the
economy to sky rocket. Passage of the FairTax will dramatically benefit all citizens, especially the lowest wage earners. Why don't more members of Congress support the FairTax? Most are waiting to trade their vote for some "pork" to be sent back home.
Source: They Think You're Stupid, by Herman Cain, p. 11
Jun 14, 2005
On Tax Reform:
Estate tax causes farmers to have to sell the farm
If voters do not see how an issue personally affects them and their families, they will not feel connected to the message or the messenger. The debate surrounding repeal of the estate tax, until recently, most African
Americans felt no connection to this debate because they did not have any estates to pass on to their heirs. A large and growing percentage of African
Americans have achieved some financial success, which has produced a personal connection to arguments for eliminating the estate tax. The current estate tax does not merely "tax the rich" as the Democratic Party has argued for years. It causes farmers to
have to sell the farm to try to save the farm and unfairly diminish the ability to pass first-generation success on to the next generation in a family. A lifetime of hard work and risk-taking should not go to the government, but to one's family.
Source: They Think You're Stupid, by Herman Cain, p. 4
Jun 14, 2005
On Tax Reform:
Top 20% of earners pay nearly 80% of all income taxes
Liberal politicians have misled people about who actually pays most of the taxes in this country. One of their favorite promises is to provide a tax cut for the middle class. I have a breaking announcement--There is no middle class!Who pays
taxes in the US?- Top 1% of income earners pay 32% of all income taxes
- Top 5% of income earners pay 51% of all income taxes
- Top 10% of income earners pay 64% of all income taxes
- Top 20% of income earners pay 78% of all income taxes
-
Bottom 80% of income earners pay 20% of all income taxes
The statistics above show that 20% of the income earners in the nation pay nearly 80% of all income taxes.. Where is this middle class the Democrats keep talking about?
Yet we never hear an end to the liberal chorus that cuts in the tax rate are "tax cuts for the rich." Liberals believe that the amount of control they can exert over your life is directly related to the amount of taxes they can take from your paycheck.
Source: They Think You're Stupid, by Herman Cain, p. 49
Jun 14, 2005
On Tax Reform:
1990s: chaired Tax Leadership Council, promoting FairTax
In the 1990s I became chairman of the Tax Leadership Council for an organization called Americans for Fair Taxation. AFFT promotes replacement of the current federal tax code with a national retail sales tax, also known as FairTax. The idea of replacing
the federal income tax with the FairTax is gaining grassroots support and momentum across the country. The FairTax will result in an immediate increase in take-home pay for all wage earners and effectively "untax" the poor.
Source: They Think You're Stupid, by Herman Cain, p. 82
Jun 14, 2005
On Tax Reform:
Public doesn't understand elementary economics of tax cuts
Republicans have done a poor job communicating the effects of cutting or eliminating income, dividend, and estate tax rates on producing economic growth, job creation, and individual prosperity. They mistakenly assume that most of the public understands
elementary economics. They do not. Instead of framing the issue of tax cuts around the personal benefits available to individual taxpayers, such as more money in their pockets and their companies will be less likely to lay people off from their jobs,
Republicans defend tax rate reductions by arguing that federal coffers will swell and business will grow and hire more employees. Individuals care more about not being laid off than they do about a businesses growing. While the Republicans are technicall
correct, Republicans must remember that businesses do not vote in elections. Leroy and Bessie Public vote in elections and in the back of their minds is the thought that the Democrats might be right when they charge that tax cuts only benefit the rich.
Source: They Think You're Stupid, by Herman Cain, p.103-104
Jun 14, 2005
On Tax Reform:
IRS automatic withholding is immoral taxation
In 1943, the federal government began an immoral program that would forever change the way that Americans think (or in this case, don't think) about taxation. The federal government enacted what we know of as "automatic withholding." [Before
1943] people were responsible for sending the IRS a check by April 15 each year for the amount of taxes owed on their prior year's income. People knew exactly how much they were paying for government services. Automatic withholding was designed as a
way to fill the federal coffers every month and to mask the true cost of ever-escalating federal spending. Congress promised the public that automatic withholding would end as soon as the war was over. That war ended 60 years ago.
Of course, taxes are still automatically withheld from your paycheck. Automatic withholding is nothing short of immoral on the basis that it keeps people ignorant of the true cost of government and the amount of taxes they actually pay.
Source: They Think You're Stupid, by Herman Cain, p.136-137
Jun 14, 2005
On Tax Reform:
1995: Served on Commission on Economic Growth & Tax Reform
Several commissions over the last 20 years, including the one I served on in 1995 (the National Commission on Economic Growth and Tax Reform), have all concluded that a replacement tax system should satisfy six principles:- Promote economic growth
by reducing marginal tax rates and eliminating the tax bias against savings & investments
- Promote fairness by having one tax rate and eliminating all loopholes and exclusions
- Be simple and understandable. Simplicity would dramatically reduce
compliance costs and allow comprehending actual tax burdens
- Be neutral rather than allowing misguided officials to manipulate and micromanage our economy by favoring some of the expense of others
- Be visible so it clearly conveys the true cost
of government and so people would not be subjected to hidden changes in the tax law
- Be stable rather than changing every year or two so people can better plan their businesses and their lives.
The FairTax satisfies all six criteria.
Source: They Think You're Stupid, by Herman Cain, p.137-138
Jun 14, 2005
On Technology:
A New Voice: interconnected network of voters
Technology has dramatically transformed our nation and our lives and continues to do so at an accelerated rate. We must change public policy at an accelerated rate. To accomplish this will require A New Voice. A New Voice is the voice of those
voters who are tired of politics and politicians as usual. It is a voice of common sense and urgency. A New Voice is not a political party; it's a purpose. That purpose is to inform, educate, and inspire motivated voters to leverage their collective
voices to bring about more aggressive congressional action on the big issues.Our strategy is simple. Stay focused on a few big issues. Establish a highly motivated and mobilized base of voters. Make our voices hear in Congress clearly, swiftly,
and consistently.
A New Voice is your voice. While many organizations have struggled to keep up with the technology, a New Voice will maximize technology to develop a Vocal, Interconnected, and Persistent (VIP) network of voters.
Source: They Think You're Stupid, by Herman Cain, p.165-167
Jun 14, 2005
On War & Peace:
Undeniable connection between Iraq and War on Terror
Pres. Bush's campaign was clearly able to frame the election as a referendum on his leadership in winning the war on terrorism. What is perhaps most telling about the data in the table below is that, when given the opportunity, voters viewed the war on
terrorism and US military action against terrorists in Iraq as two separate issues. Voters were clearly more supportive of Pres. Bush's overall handling of the war on terrorism than on the status of the war in Iraq.2004 Voters' Most
| Important Issue | % of voters | Voted for Bush | Voted for Kerry | | Iraq | 15% | 26% | 73% | | Terrorism | 19% | 86% | 14% |
The disconnect in the
voters' minds between the war on terrorism and the war in Iraq demonstrate the the Bush administration and Republican congressional leaders have done a poor job in communicating to the electorate the undeniable connections between these issues.
Source: They Think You're Stupid, by Herman Cain, p. 99-100
Jun 14, 2005
On Welfare & Poverty:
Help poor by helping everybody; not by hurting rich
Abraham Lincoln said, "You don't help the poor by hurting the rich." I might add that you help the poor by helping everybody. I believe that the 3 great divides--the party divide, the racial divide, & the economic divide--polarize our nation. The liberal
political ideology seeks to enact policies that divide us and attempts to control all aspects of society. Liberal politicians seek to herd the public into groups and pit those groups against each other, as if as citizens we do not all share the dream of
educational and economic success. Liberal politicians do not share your dreams of success because your success and the success of your children and grandchildren spell the end to their reign of power over your life.Many citizens have come to believe
that as Americans they do not have to shoulder the responsibilities of individual achievement and participation in the political arena. For too many years, liberals have usurped our individual responsibilities and made our most important decisions for us
Source: They Think You're Stupid, by Herman Cain, p. 51
Jun 14, 2005
Page last updated: Feb 25, 2019
|
|---|