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She’s No ‘Buffett’s Secretary’

She’s No ‘Buffett’s Secretary’

A liberal group’s TV spot features a working mother who says she’s like “Warren Buffett’s secretary” and pays higher tax rates than “many billionaires and millionaires.” Not quite. With her $40,000 income and three kids, she’d actually pay a far lower rate than Buffett says he paid on his income. So, she’s not like his secretary. Furthermore, her rate would also be lower than the rate paid by the vast majority of those making more than $1 million a year.

Obama’s Teacher Tax Whopper

Obama’s Teacher Tax Whopper

President Obama’s claim that he pays a lower tax rate than a teacher making $50,000 a year isn’t true. A single taxpayer with $50,000 of income would have paid 11.9 percent in federal income taxes for 2010, while the Obamas paid more than twice that rate — 25.3 percent (and higher rates than that in 2009 and 2008). And if the $50,000-a-year teacher were in Obama’s tax situation — supporting a spouse and two children —

Fanciful ‘Facts’ At Fox News Debate

Fanciful ‘Facts’ At Fox News Debate

Nine Republican presidential candidates debated for two hours in Orlando, Fla., and they served up more exaggerations and falsehoods — about Obama, each other, and even Thomas Jefferson. Perry claimed Romney supports Obama’s Race to the Top education initiative. In fact …

Another Rick Perry Whopper

Another Rick Perry Whopper

Texas Gov. Rick Perry makes another wildly false claim in a new Web ad — saying that the U.S. poverty rate has hit an “all-time high.” In fact, the rate is the highest since 1993, but 7.3 percentage points lower than it was in 1959, according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s most recent annual tallies.

Perry’s false claim about the poverty rate follows his false claim during his second debate appearance, when he said Obama’s stimulus measure “created zero jobs”

Our New Look

Our New Look

As you may have noticed, FactCheck.org has a new look. It’s been in the works for months, and it’s more than just a facelift. We’ve added some new features. We’ve also tried to make our content easier to read and easier to find.
Here’s some of what you’ll find:

FactCheck Wire items (you are now reading one of them) have become our staple, so they are now much more prominently displayed on the home page, in the left column.

House Majority PAC

A new “super PAC” focused on returning Democrats to the majority in the House.

Democracy for America

A liberal-leaning group founded by former DNC chairman Howard Dean.