GOP Debate No. 4: Small Business in the Spotlight

Date: November 12, 2015

The fourth Republican debate focused on tax reform, Obamacare, the minimum wage and other key issues for small business owners.

At last, the Republican hopefuls shone the spotlight on issues that directly affect small business owners.

On Nov. 11, eight presidential candidates made the cut for the fourth Republican debate in Milwaukee: Jeb Bush, Ben Carson, Ted Cruz, Carly Fiorina, John Kasich, Rand Paul, Marco Rubio and Donald Trump.

Focusing on economic issues, the candidates expressed their views on tax reform, healthcare and business regulations. All candidates agreed that too much regulation is “strangling U.S. businesses,” especially small businesses, Fox Business reported.

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Here’s more on what the candidates said about key small business issues:

Tax reform

  • Some of the candidates propose a flat tax reform. Cruz, specifically, called for “10 percent for every American that would produce booming growth and 4.9 million new jobs within a decade.”
  • Kasich’s take: “I have a plan that would not only cut taxes [but] lower the income tax rate for individuals, lower the tax for businesses so businesses will compete here and not move operations overseas.”
  • Bush suggested a corporate tax rate of 20 percent, which he said “would create an explosion of investment back into this country, creating higher-wage jobs.”

Healthcare

  • Fiorina wants to repeal Obamacare because “it is crushing small businesses.” She believes “it has to be repealed because it’s failing the very people it was intended to help, but, also, it is crony capitalism at its worst.”
  • Rubio said, “We have a crazy healthcare law that discourages companies from hiring people” and to compete with the rest of the world, it needs to change.

Wages

  • Rubio had a plan: “Here’s the best way to raise wages: Make America the best place in the world to start a business or expand an existing business, tax reform and regulatory reform, bring our debt under control, fully utilize our energy resources so we can reinvigorate manufacturing, repeal and replace Obamacare, and make higher education faster and easier to access, especially vocational training.”
  • Carson called for increased education about minimum wage. “Every time we raise the minimum wage, the number of jobless people increases.”

*Note: This news coverage does not equate to an endorsement of any candidate by NFIB.

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