On Connecticut Public Broadcasting, Managing Editor Lori Robertson talks about the off-base health care claims in President Obama’s and Mitt Romney’s stump speeches. Obama misleads on Romney’s Medicare plan, and Romney uses a false statistic about insurance premium increases.
For more on the candidates’ stump speeches, see “Romney’s Stump Speech” (Sept. 20) and “Obama’s Stump Speech” (Sept. 19).
Stories by Lori Robertson
Director, FactCheck.org
Romney’s Food Stamp Stretch
Mitt Romney claims President Barack Obama caused a doubling of able-bodied persons on food stamps by taking “work out of the food stamps requirement.” That’s an exaggeration. All but four states had already received waivers from specific work requirements for some or all of their residents before Obama became president.
The total number of persons getting food stamps is up 46 percent since Obama took office, a big jump but far short of a doubling. Romney is referring only to single,
Scary Medicare Claims
A new TV ad in Florida harkens back to the notorious “death panel” falsehood. It wrongly claims Medicare benefits could be “rationed” and seniors denied treatment by the new health care law. In fact, the law specifically forbids rationing or restriction of benefits.
American Crossroads, a super PAC launched with the help of Karl Rove, adviser to President George W. Bush, attacks Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson in the ad, which features a gloomy gray-colored hospital bed with the word “rationed”
Overselling the Affordable Care Act
At the Democratic National Convention, former President Bill Clinton went too far when he suggested that the Affordable Care Act was the reason the growth in health care spending has been low in the past two years. On Connecticut Public Broadcasting, Managing Editor Lori Robertson explains that the slow economy is the main reason.
For more, see our Sept. 6 article “Our Clinton Nightmare.”
Brown ‘Lying’ About Abortion Stance?
An abortion rights group says that Republican Sen. Scott Brown of Massachusetts is “straight-up lying” in a new ad that says he is “pro-choice, and he supports a woman’s right to choose.” That’s wrong. Brown has consistently said he is a supporter of abortion rights dating back to 2004, and he urged the GOP this year to change its platform to be more inclusive of Republicans like him. The group’s complaint concerns a few votes on matters such as federal funding and religious conscience clauses that have angered abortion rights organizations and earned support from anti-abortion groups.
Renewable Energy ‘Doubled’?
President Barack Obama has been claiming that the United States has “doubled our use of renewable energy.” Not true. Wind and solar have doubled, but total renewable energy consumption is up by about one quarter from 2008 to 2011. Plus, since wind and solar started at such a low level, a doubling may not be as impressive to voters as it sounds.
The largest category of renewable energy is biomass, such as ethanol that is blended in gasoline.
Romney’s Economic Exaggerations
Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney claims that his plan would balance the federal budget in eight to 10 years. But so far, he has not made public the details on how he would be able to do that, and one neutral budget expert calls it “an unrealistic goal.”
Also, Romney and running mate Paul Ryan exaggerate when they say “five different studies” prove that all of the stated goals of Romney’s revenue-neutral tax plan could be accomplished without raising taxes on middle-income taxpayers.
FactChecking Obama and Biden
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — In a rousing double-header, Democratic delegates heard Barack Obama and Joe Biden both accept renomination on their convention’s final night. And we heard some facts being spun.
President Obama boasted that his plan would cut the deficit by $4 trillion over 10 years, citing “independent experts.” But one such analyst called a key element of the plan a “gimmick.”
Vice President Biden quoted GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney as saying “it’s not worth moving heaven and earth” to catch Osama bin Laden.
How Much Is the Mandate Tax?
On Connecticut Public Broadcasting, Managing Editor Lori Robertson explains how much individuals will pay if they refuse to have health insurance under the Affordable Care Act. The minimum tax will be $695 per person, but no more than $2,085 per family in 2016. But that amount can be higher, depending on the taxpayer’s income.
For more on the health care law’s mandate penalty, see our June 28 Ask FactCheck, “How Much Is the Obamacare ‘Tax’?“
Medicare’s Finances
The Romney campaign has claimed that reductions in Medicare spending that are part of the Affordable Care Act hurt Medicare’s finances. But as Managing Editor Lori Robertson explains on Connecticut Public Broadcasting, the opposite is true. And such claims falsely imply that Medicare is losing this money and won’t get it back.
For a full explanation on how Medicare Part A’s trust fund works, see our Aug. 24 article “Medicare’s ‘Piggy Bank.’ “