In today’s Wall Street Journal, Arthur Laffer provides a high-profile endorsement of Herman Cain’s 9-9-9 tax plan. Laffer writes, “Mr. Cain’s 9-9-9 plan was designed to be what economists call ‘static revenue neutral,’ which means that if people didn’t change what they do under his plan, total tax revenues would be the same as they are under our current tax code. I believe his plan would indeed be static revenue neutral, and with the boost it would give to economic growth it would bring in even more revenue than expected.”

Discussing a (very) rarely mentioned aspect of Cain’s plan — one that Cain would do well to start emphasizing — Laffer writes that “the plan exempts from any tax people below the poverty line.” That certainly helps combat the charge that the plan is regressive. Laffer elaborates, writing that the “9-9-9 plan has made certain that even on static terms those below the poverty line will be better off — period.”