Democrats claim their $10.5 billion in proposed cuts are "halfway" to the GOP’s $61 billion. We give that arithmetic an "F."
President Barack Obama claimed during his March 5 radio address that "my administration has already put forward specific cuts that meet congressional Republicans halfway." And White House Chief of Staff William Daley repeated the "halfway" claim during his appearance on "Meet the Press." Earlier, Gene Sperling, director of the White House National Economic Council, told reporters: "The White House has been willing to move halfway to where they are."
Year: 2011
Walker’s Tax Cuts
It’s not true that Gov. Scott Walker’s tax cuts are the cause of Wisconsin’s current budget deficit — a false claim widely spread by MSNBC‘s Rachel Maddow and repeated in numerous e-mails to us since we wrote about the state’s budget problems earlier this week. In fact, the state’s nonpartisan Legislative Fiscal Bureau estimates the tax cuts won’t add a penny to the current year’s $137 million deficit.
Here’s a typical question that we have fielded since our article ran:
Q: How do the $140 billion [sic] in tax breaks that Walker gave out in January 2011 affect the Wisconsin deficit?
March 4: Social Security, Obesity, Obama ‘Report Card’
Wisconsin’s Baffling Budget Battle
The budget battle in Wisconsin has generated much confusion and misinformation, as we have seen in e-mails from our readers in recent days: The state is not on track to end this fiscal year with “a slight surplus.” It is facing a $137 million deficit …
FactCheck Mailbag, Week of Feb. 22-28
This week, readers deluged us with comments about Social Security and the federal deficit, and continued to e-mail us about our new FactCheck Quiz.
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.
Christie Misrepresents State Workers’ Contract
Chris Christie is misrepresenting the facts about New Jersey union contract negotiations under his predecessor.
Christie has been battling state unions since becoming New Jersey governor in 2010. On CBS’ "Face the Nation" Feb. 27, he exaggerated the generosity of contract terms negotiated (and renegotiated) by Democratic Gov. Jon Corzine’s administration. He also misquoted Corzine’s comments at a state worker rally.
Christie and host Bob Schieffer discussed the budget showdown in Wisconsin and whether state workers had the right to collective bargaining.
A Big, Fat Mistake
Mike Huckabee cited a bloated statistic, claiming obesity disqualifies three out of four young Americans from military service. The actual total is closer to one in four.
The former Arkansas governor (and possible GOP presidential contender in 2012) was on "Fox News Sunday" on Feb. 27, explaining why he has defended First Lady Michelle Obama’s anti-obesity campaign against attacks by some fellow Republicans.
Huckabee: What Michelle Obama has proposed is that we recognize that we have a serious obesity crisis,
Democrats Deny Social Security’s Red Ink
Some senior Democrats are claiming that Social Security does not contribute “one penny” to the federal deficit. That’s not true. The fact is, the federal government had to borrow $37 billion last year to finance Social Security, and will need to borrow more this year.
Feb. 25: IRS, U.S. Popularity, Federal Spending
Sorry Statistics
Q: Do statistics in a chain e-mail give an accurate “report card” of President Obama’s first two years?
A: Not exactly. The author made many minor mistakes and some major omissions in describing the terrible economic conditions he attributes to the president.