Herman Cain Gets Down to Business at GOP Presidential Debate
GOP presidential candidate Herman Cain has been playing the back to Rick Perry, Mitt Romney and Michele Bachmann in headlines, but the Georgia businessman recently made headlines of his own after taking part in the Republican presidential debate at the Reagan Library in California Wednesday night.
During the debate, Cain kept his focus on some of the nation’s most pressing issues. When the issue of taxation was brought up, the former pizza restaurant CEO offered a solution called the "9-9-9" plan.
Cain's plan proposes replacing the current federal tax with a nine percent sales tax, nine percent income tax and a nine percent corporate tax.
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After proposing the idea, the live audience at the debate in Simi Valley, Calif., erupted in applause, according to Politic365.
According to Cain, his plan gives all Americans an equal opportunity.
"This is why I propose my 9-9-9 plan," Cain said on Wednesday. "It levels the playing field for all."
Cain, also a Baptist minister, used a biblical analogy to bring his point home.
"If 10 percent is good enough for God," he said, "nine percent should be enough for the federal government."
Cain also expressed his concern for saving the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) funding that House Republicans have been threatening to cut.
"I believe that there is enough money to go around. Don’t eliminate FEMA,” Cain said during the debate. "Let's fix FEMA, let’s fix it."
Another topic that emerged during the debate was centered on Mexican-American relations, immigration, and border control.
In the past, Cain had been criticized joking about building a 20-foot electrified barbed wire fence around the Mexican border.
On Wednesday, Cain seriously addressed the issue.
"Let's promote the path to citizenship that is already there," Cain said. "Let's empower the states to solve the problem [of illegal immigration]."
In the GOP Ames Straw Poll conducted in August, Cain placed fifth with 1,456 votes.
