Republican presidential candidate Rand Paul, speaking last week in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, said he believes a 50% tax rate leaves individuals "half-slave, half-free."

"Now you can have some government, we all need government," the Kentucky senator said while discussing Thomas Paine and the role of government at the local public library. "Thomas Paine said that government is a necessary evil. What did he mean by that?"

Paul said he believes that "you have to give up some of your liberty to have government," saying he was "for some government."

"I'm for paying some taxes," continued Paul. "But if we tax you at 100% then you've got zero percent liberty. If we tax you at 50% you are half slave, half free. I frankly would like to see you a little freer and a little more money remaining in your communities so you can create jobs. It's a debate we need to have."

Paul, who was discussing his recent tax proposal, described his plan to "leave more money in Iowa" and "send less money to Washington."

"This past week I put forward a plan to have a simple flat tax, where everybody pays there fair share," said Paul earlier in the speech. "Everybody pays, and you can fill it out on one page. Fourteen-and-a-half percent for personal income tax, fourteen-and-a-half percent for business tax."

Paul said he believed the way to create jobs was to leave money in the local communities.

"The way you get jobs creation is you need to leave more money in the productive sector," he said. "You are the productive sector. When you look at Washington, that's the non-productive sector."