CNBC Transcript of 'Your Money, Your Vote' Republican Presidential Debate

CAIN: Sorry, I didn't hear the first part.

CRAMER: This question does not lend itself to 9-9-9 or any other thing. This is our final word, OK? And it comes from our viewers. And it is all about restoring trust and faith in our markets and in our way of life. I'm going to be quoting Joanne Kornbly (ph). She e- mails us.

She says, "Our stock market has turned into a casino with high- frequency computerized trading comprising 70 percent of all transactions and hedge fund speculation resulting in market swings. Before privatizing Social Security, how would you make the stock market safer for individual investors?

And Mr. Cain, just simple, how do we restore faith in the markets for the little guy?

CAIN: The first thing we do is restore faith in business by providing certainty so businesses can grow. A lot of the volatility is being driven by uncertainty.

Businesses are uncertain about what the health care rules are going to be, they don't know what the tax rules are going to be. All of the uncertainty has this economy stagnated.

So, the way you restore that, grow this economy. That's job one.

Many of the things we talked about up here today starts with growing the economy. And that's why we have got to use a bold plan -- I won't mention it -- in order to grow the economy.

(LAUGHTER)

CRAMER: When the economy was going great, sir, there was no trust. When the economy was going great, people were getting ripped off and there was insider trading. When the economy was going great, people were getting hurt in the stock market.

Forget the economy. Talk about the way the market is regulated.

CAIN: Jim, I feel your pain. Look, here is what I'm saying.

CRAMER: How about the 90 million people that got --

(CROSSTALK) CAIN: Jim, you've got to provide certainty in this environment so businesses will grow. They have been in a mode of survive. They need to be in a mode of growth. That's where we have got to do first.

And I agree with some of the others who have said we have got to repeal Dodd/Frank. There's three big things wrong with Dodd/Frank, which is why it needs to be a top priority to repeal.

Number one, it doesn't provide oversight for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. And we all agree that that was a catalyst for the meltdown in 2008.

The two other biggest problems with Dodd/Frank, Dodd and Frank.

(APPLAUSE)

BARTIROMO: Governor Perry, same question to you. The same question to you and Congressman Ron Paul.

How do you restore faith in the public markets?

PERRY: Well, we have the regulations in place, and we had the regulations in place well before the meltdowns occurred. We have a culture in Washington, D.C., where these corporate lobbyists have these cozy relationships with the people that they are regulating. And we have to have leadership in this country that not only recognizes that, but demands that those individuals who are working for us are in those agencies, whether it's in the stock market or whether it's Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac.

And when there are individuals who are breaking the laws, who are pushing the bounds, that there are clear efforts that are made to take those people either out of those jobs or prosecute them for criminality. One of the two, that has to happen.

And you can pass legislation like you said until the world looks level. But you have got to have men and women who are committed to the laws of this country and a president that will push his administration to make sure that they're done.

HARWOOD: Congressman Paul, Governor Perry was just talking about the culture of Washington. His critics in the state of Texas -- you're a congressman from Texas -- say crony capitalism is what he practices as governor. Are they right?

PAUL: I haven't analyzed it enough to call him a crony or not. So, no, I don't know the details of that. But there is a lot of crony capitalism going on in this country.

And that has to be distinguished from real capitalism, because this occupation stuff on Wall Street, if you're going after crony capitalism, I'm all for it. And those are the people who benefit from contracts from government, benefits from the Federal Reserve, benefits from all of the bailouts. They don't deserve compassion, they deserve taxation, or they don't -- they deserve to have all their benefits removed. But crony capitalism isn't when somebody makes money and they produce a product. That is very important. We have to distinguish the two.

And unfortunately, I think some people mix that. But this, to me, is so vital, that we recognize what crony -- what capitalism is versus crony capitalism. And believe me, when you have an inflationary environment, and all this speculation, and all the bailouts due to monetary system, believe me, you get a majority of crony capitalism, and that's why we're facing this crisis today.

BARTIROMO: We want to thank all of you tonight. That is all the time we have for CNBC's Republican Presidential Debate.

We thank all the candidates for being here tonight and spending the time and putting their plans forward.

We hope you now have a better understanding of where each of them stand on the economy, jobs, and your money.

HARWOOD: We would also like to thank our partners, the Michigan Republican Party, and all of the Grizzlies of Oakland University.

(APPLAUSE)