(Image Source: Gage Skidmore/flickr)

BY VICTORIA CRAIG

GOP candidate Herman Cain made headlines with his catchy 9-9-9 tax plan. But as he continues his stay near the top of the polls, analysts wonder whether the plan is too good to be true. A political reporter for TIME argues under the plan, the rich would pay less, and the poor would pay more.

“Herman Cain … has a $29,000 problem. That's roughly the difference between how much more the average American family would pay and how much less the richest 1% would pay Uncle Sam each year under the tax overhaul proposed by Cain.”

A former advisor to President George H.W. Bush says Cain’s plan will do more harm than good. In an op ed for the New York Times, he says 9-9-9 would not only put a tax burden on those who don’t currently pay income taxes, but it would also hurt the economy.

“At a minimum, the Cain plan is a distributional monstrosity. The poor would pay more while the rich would have their taxes cut, with no guarantee that economic growth will increase and good reason to believe that the budget deficit will increase.”

Cain appeared on NBC’s “Meet the Press” Sunday and after several rounds of questioning, acknowledged the plan would raise taxes for some. But-- he added his plan would eliminate  the “invisible” taxes on the price of goods people pay now which would drive competition and keep prices low.

“Those invisible taxes are going to go away and we’re replacing it with a 9% visible tax. For example, take a loaf of bread. The farmer pays taxes on his profits, the company that makes the flour, the baker, the delivery man, by the time that loaf of bread gets to the grocery store, there are a series of invisible taxes, which are also called embedded taxes, which in reality, those taxes on go away so the prices of goods don’t go up.”

Another criticism to Cain’s plan is that it’s lacking in the detail-department. Fox News’ senior political correspondent reports--so far, the plan is just three and a half pages long.

“We haven’t really heard them flesh out what the hell they’re going to do to fix the economy yet because people aren’t paying attention. It would be wasted breath. Another month and we’ll get the real stuff, Don.”

But a reporter for the Wall Street Journal argues it’s that simplicity that attracted many voters to Cain in the first place.

“I think part of it is Herman Cain is a really good marketer and he sees an opening here. He understands better than many of these candidates that if you can come up with a concrete policy position that people can actually grasp and understand, you’re going to go a long way with that.”

While debate continues about whether Cain’s plan is the right one for America, the Alaska Dispatch says there’s no denying the 9-9-9 plan has already done a service to voters.

“It’s boldness has served to energize public debate about radical tax code reforms -- including the question of whether the government should rely more on consumption taxes and less on income taxes.”