Herman Cain 2012: The Story of a Self-Made Man

He was raised in Atlanta, Georgia by Luther Cain and Lenora Davis Cain.  Cain said his father left his family's small farm at the age of 18 with just the clothes on his back...his belief in God, his belief in himself and his belief in the United States of America.

Cain said his mother was a domestic worker.

Growing up, the Cain family was poor but happy.  His father worked three jobs to achieve his version of the American dream. 

My father never looked for a government program, a government handout. I never heard my father complain about somebody owing him anything. All I ever saw was how hard my father worked to get what he wanted out of life, said Cain in a Parade Magazine interview.

Of his mother, he said she talked to me about God. She taught me that success was not a function of what you start out with materially, but what you start out with spiritually.

Cain's father's dream was to own his own house - something he achieved during Cain's childhood - and see his two sons graduate.  Cain graduated from Morehouse College in 1967 with a mathematics degree.

He went on to work for the US Navy and then Coca-Cola. In 1977, he joined Pillsbury - it was there that he grabbed the opportunity to turn around two faltering businesses.

He first turned around 400 Burger King stores in the Philadelphia region from the least profitable in the company to the most profitable.  He then saved Godfather's Pizza from bankruptcy and returned it to profitability.

Cain is a dedicated manager; for his Burger King stint, he got his hands dirty and flipped burgers on the grill in order to completely understand the business.

Now, he is running for the president of the United States on the Republican ticket.  His campaign promise consists of the following five points:

1) Lower the corporate tax rate to 25 percent from 35 percent.  Cain said the US is the only country to not have lowered the corporate tax rate in the last 15 years.

2) Take the capital gains tax rate to zero. Cain said it would encourage investments in US businesses and create jobs.

3) Take the tax rate on the repatriation of foreign profits for US companies to zero. Cain said this money, currently around $1 trillion for US companies, isn't coming back anyway because of existing taxes on repatriating them. Taking away that tax would encourage investments in US businesses and create jobs.

4) Cut the entire 6.2 percent payrolls tax for workers and employers for 1 year.  Cain said it would give American workers a 6.2 percent pay raise and guarantee that the US economy grows faster. Cain believes smart tax cuts like these are self-financing, meaning they'll pay for themselves by stimulating the economy and raising the tax revenues.

5) Make the tax rates permanent or indefinite.  Cain said uncertainty on tax rates is killing investments in the US economy.