Herman Cain Denies 'SimCity' Influence On His '999' Plan (VIDEO)

WASHINGTON -- On Friday, Herman Cain responded to The Huffington Post's analysis of the similarities between his "999" economic plan and the default tax rate in "SimCity 4," saying he did not get the idea from the video game.

In a video aired Friday night on "The Rachel Maddow Show," a reporter asked Cain whether he had spent some time in the world of arcologies and flying lizards. "You said you had original ideas, successful people around you thinking ideas up," the reporter said while questioning Cain about the "999" plan. "Is it an original idea or modeled after a game?"

"It's an original idea, and for people to say it's modeled after a game -- it's a lie," Cain said during a campaign stop in Tennessee. "That's all I'm going to say. It is a lie. You see, that's the difference when you become one or two in the polls. People make up stuff. That is a lie. I'm not going to take it back and not going to politically say -- but unfortunately that is not totally true. It's a lie."

When asked for comment for the earlier report, Cain campaign spokesman JD Gordon replied, "Well, we all like '9-9-9.'"

In "SimCity 4," the default tax rate is 9 percent for commercial taxes, 9 percent for residential taxes and 9 percent for industrial taxes. In Herman Cain's America, the corporate income tax rate would be 9 percent, the personal income tax rate would be 9 percent and the national sales tax rate would be 9 percent.

Kip Katsarelis, a senior producer for Maxis, the company that created the 'SimCity' series, was excited that politicians may be looking to video games for ideas.

"We encourage politicians to continue to look to innovative games like SimCity for inspiration for social and economic change," said Katsarelis. "While we at Maxis and Electronic Arts do not endorse any political candidates or their platforms, it's interesting to see GOP candidate Herman Cain propose a simplified tax system like one we designed for the video game SimCity 4."

In the game, Katsarelis said, the hope was that a simpler tax code would enable a greater focus on infrastructure and national security. "Our game design team thought that an easy-to-understand taxation system would allow players to focus on building their cities and have fun thwarting giant lizard attacks, rather than be buried by overly complex financial systems."

On Friday night, Maddow quipped that Cain's denial of the "SimCity" influence was "giving up the opportunity to cultivate the aging but enthusiastic urban-planning video game market."

Comments

[ddanimal]

05:44 PM on 10/17/2011

So Cains 999 plan is the same as whats in Sim CIty. its a COINCIDENCE. Big deal. This doesnt mean anything. Its a distraction.

[Kevin Mills]

03:48 PM on 10/17/2011

I think there's something being overlooked here. If you leave the taxes at 999 in Sim City your city pretty much only grows crappy polluting factories and trailer parks, with really ugly gas stations, you can't afford schools for the sprawling residential areas, or hospitals, fire, and police protection, and you go bankrupt really fast.. It's just a game, but i'm just sayin, to be good at the game you need to incentivize through the tax structure, because when everything is equal, it becomes a race to the bottom, and the cheapest, and crappiest wins out. HC is giving this game a bad name.

[ZeraLee]

03:01 PM on 10/17/2011

SIMerica, the land of power-ups and cheat sheets. Now where's that God-mode?

[wrightthewrong]

10:13 AM on 10/17/2011

I'm still waiting for those not-to-be-disclosed nominees for the Fed and the Supreme Court that he has waiting in the wings. Can't wait to see who it is that the Koch Brothers have planned for our Supreme Court... This is reverse Robin Hood. Rob from the poor to pay for that which has been given to the rich. Every time I hear the words "flat tax," I know what they have in mind. I'm not in Mensa for nothing.

[PackFan76]

09:29 AM on 10/17/2011

A simple plan for simpletons.

[tlgpa]

09:05 AM on 10/17/2011

You're right Hermy. You didn't get the idea of 999 from a video game. You got it from your advisor Richard Lowrie, Jr.

The big question is where did Richard get the idea?? Considering he's merely an investment adviser working at a Wells Fargo branch in rural Ohio. Has no formal training in economics and has never worked on public policy.

[JDShipley]

09:02 AM on 10/17/2011

It was a dark and stormy day and President Cain struggled for solutions to the economy. So, he turned to his closest adviser, the God screen in SimCity. It was a critical time. If answers weren't found here, the Ouiji Board was next.

[nick1936]

07:23 AM on 10/17/2011

Let me get this correct under Cains plan if i live in a state with a 9% sales tax I would now have a sale tax of 18% and on goods and a 9% tax on food which I don;t have now This looks like a real TEABAG solution

[Kevin Mills]

03:55 PM on 10/17/2011

Also the goods you buy are being taxed before you buy them, so it's more expensive for the company selling them, they will pass the extra cost onto the customer, there are not business deductions allowed, so companies will have to raise prices even higher upon that. Basically, it's a tax increase on anyone making under 120,000 per year, but with the added bonus of no deductions, and its a tax break for anyone making more than 120,000 per year. It wouldn't much matter though because of the dire economic consequences it would lead to would cost everyone their jobs.

[Dick Rodda]

03:42 AM on 10/17/2011

Remember Cain's 9-9-9 only applies on new purchases. So, I guess the way to get around it is to buy used food, and we all know what that is, and used medicine. That pretty much turns into the same thing.

[runtwelds]

11:36 PM on 10/16/2011

Hmm, nothing says guilty like "that's a lie". Why couldn't he just say it was a coincidence? Isn't he the same person that says if a democrat has a good idea he'll use it? What's the difference if it's a video game. I didn't know what to believe before, but since he's protesting so much, I'm thinking it's true.

[Kevin Mills]

03:58 PM on 10/17/2011

His basic response to just about any question is "that's a lie" yet he has absolutely no retort beyond that.

[Harbinger08]

04:48 PM on 10/17/2011

He's just practicing. He figures if he gets elected he's going to need to use that phrase a lot. Very presidential sounding.

[satanlite]

10:52 PM on 10/16/2011

lol.... ok, who had the wonderful experience of explaining to him exactly what SIMCITY is??

[Stormwalker03]

09:41 AM on 10/17/2011

ROFL!!! That's the real reason he didn't get the idea from SimCity, he proly had no idea what it was!!

And sadly, if he HAD played the game, he would probably be a better politician.

__We Are the 99%!__

[mstock57]

05:03 PM on 10/16/2011

Of course he didn't. His plan came from a $9.99 Godfathers Pizza special.

[brahdog]

04:34 PM on 10/16/2011

nein! nein! nein!

[Craig Bovia]

04:15 PM on 10/16/2011

Oh, Rachel. You hit poor Herb with the truth? That must have hurt. The Koch Brothers might fire him. You know how hard it is for the elderly to find a job?

[Gaspar Ramsey]

03:14 PM on 10/16/2011

This plan, on the face of it, would tax food at 9%, as opposed to the 0% people--all people, rich and poor--pay in most places now. This idiotic notion would do a great deal for promoting a revolution in this country. It's a "Let them eat cake!" philosophy. I have a better idea--bring back the 40% excise luxury tax and apply it to all gold transactions.