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A Project of The Annenberg Public Policy Center

Perry’s Dubious Tax Promise

Perry’s Dubious Tax Promise

In his speech unveiling his proposed “flat tax” overhaul of the tax system, Rick Perry promised that “taxes will be cut across all income groups in America.” But a newly released analysis of his plan by the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center concluded that many lower-income persons and families would see their taxes go up.
In his Oct. 25 “Cut, Balance, Grow” speech, Perry said a beefed up standard deduction assured lower- and middle-class residents would see a tax break.

Axelrod Ups the Ante

Axelrod Ups the Ante

President Barack Obama’s reelection strategist David Axelrod said on CNN’s “State of the Union” Oct. 30 that “all economists agree” that the White House jobs bill “would create millions of jobs.” That goes beyond the usual White House exaggeration, and is simply not true.
Axelrod, Oct. 30: Obviously the American Jobs Act, all economists agree would have a marked effect on economic growth and would create millions of jobs. We just have to get the Congress to act on it.

A Father-In-Law’s Attack Ads

A Father-In-Law’s Attack Ads

It’s not every day you see a guy sinking over a million dollars into political ads to attack his son-in-law’s opponent. But the truth-stretching in the ads? That’s all too common.
The revelation that an in-law is the money behind a relentless campaign, featuring several attack ads, is the latest twist in a spirited race for Kentucky governor, to be settled Nov. 8.
The race pits incumbent Democrat Steve Beshear against Republican challenger David Williams, the state Senate president.

A Sneaky ‘FactCheck’ Front Group

A Sneaky ‘FactCheck’ Front Group

A sneaky Ohio group, using a name similar to ours, is accusing a Cleveland-area real-estate developer of making false and misleading claims in a local zoning fight. But the fact is we have nothing to do with “SouthEuclidFactCheck.org” and don’t endorse the statements that group is making in mailers and on a website.

Ironically, one mailer sent by this group says that “facts are too often replaced by lies and distortions,” and it says that the group,

FactCheck Mailbag, Week of Oct. 18-24

This week, readers sent us comments about crime rates in Flint, Mich., and benefit cuts for seniors.
In the FactCheck Mailbag, we feature some of the e-mail we receive. Readers can send comments to editor@factcheck.org. Letters may be edited for length.

Romney Didn’t OK New Benefits for Illegal Immigrants

Romney Didn’t OK New Benefits for Illegal Immigrants

Texas Gov. Rick Perry is claiming that Mitt Romney “OKd health care for illegal immigrants” by signing Massachusetts’ 2006 health care overhaul law. But the law didn’t give illegal immigrants anything new. It merely continued and renamed a state program that had long allowed low-income, uninsured residents, including those in the country illegally, to get care at community health centers and (as in all other states) hospital emergency rooms.
Perry’s campaign seized on an Oct. 23 Los Angeles Times story that said the law Romney signed “includes a program known as the Health Safety Net,

FactChecking Health Insurance Premiums

FactChecking Health Insurance Premiums

Health insurance premiums for employer-sponsored family plans jumped a startling 9 percent from 2010 to 2011, and Republicans have blamed the federal health care law. But they exaggerate. The law — the bulk of which has yet to be implemented — has caused only about a 1 percent …

Biden’s Flint Fiasco, Continued

Biden’s Flint Fiasco, Continued

Murder, rape and robbery are declining in spite of police layoffs in Flint, Mich. — according to the most recent official report released by the State Police. Those and other reported “index” crimes were down 11.5 percent overall during the first six months of this year, compared with the same six-month period last year.
We’ve continued to dig into the statistics for crime-ridden Flint because we caught Vice President Joe Biden misrepresenting them repeatedly as he argued for passage of the administration’s jobs legislation.