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Dueling Fiscal Cliff Deceptions

Dueling Fiscal Cliff Deceptions
December 5, 2012

A fog of misinformation has settled on the fiscal cliff, as both House Speaker John Boehner and Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner have traded conflicting, misleading and false statements in recent days on the president’s deficit-reduction plan:

Geithner falsely claimed on “Fox News Sunday” that the president’s proposals to slow Medicare growth are “not shifting costs to seniors.” There are four proposals that would increase costs to some seniors by $32.9 billion over 10 years, beginning in 2017,

FactCheck Mailbag, Week of Nov. 27-Dec. 4

December 5, 2012

This week, readers sent us comments about the “cost” of cutting taxes and the difference between the largest entitlement programs.
In the FactCheck Mailbag, we feature some of the email we receive. Readers can send comments to editor@factcheck.org. Letters may be edited for length.

Facing Facts on Fiscal Cliff

Facing Facts on Fiscal Cliff
November 30, 2012

The U.S. faces the possibility of another recession — the third in 11 years — if President Obama and Congress cannot find a way to avoid the so-called fiscal cliff. The one-two combination of massive tax increases and spending cuts …

Did FEMA Create a Youth Army?

Did FEMA Create a Youth Army?
November 30, 2012

Q: Did the Department of Homeland Security create a “standing army of government youth” known as FEMA Corps.
A: No. FEMA Corps is a civilian operation within AmeriCorps, a federal community service program. FEMA Corps prepares and responds to disasters. Its members, ages 18 to 24, carry no weapons.

Durbin (Again) Denies Social Security’s Red Ink

Durbin (Again) Denies Social Security’s Red Ink
November 28, 2012

Sen. Richard Durbin says that “Social Security does not add one penny to our debt.” That’s false. It was wrong 21 months ago, when Durbin said it once before, and it’s even more off the mark now.
The federal government for the first time in its history had to borrow money in 2010 to cover Social Security benefits to retired and disabled workers — a trend that worsened in 2011 and will not change at any point in the future unless changes are made.

Group’s ‘Obamacare Tax Form’ Evades Facts

Group’s ‘Obamacare Tax Form’ Evades Facts
November 16, 2012

A conservative group misleads taxpayers on the Affordable Care Act and the Internal Revenue Service’s future role in enforcing it. Americans for Tax Reform posted a “projected” IRS tax form on its website that claims to “help families and tax specialists prepare” for new tax provisions under the health care law. But ATR makes several false claims:

The group claims taxpayers will have to disclose “personal identifying health information” to the IRS to prove they have insurance.

Is Obama to Blame for Lockheed’s 123,000 ‘Layoffs’?

Is Obama to Blame for Lockheed’s 123,000 ‘Layoffs’?
November 15, 2012

Q: Is Lockheed Martin going to lay off 123,000 workers because of President Obama’s downsizing of the military?
A: No. Lockheed gave a “very rough” estimate of 10,000 potential layoffs (not 123,000) due to automatic spending cuts triggered by a 2011 bipartisan deficit-reduction bill. Obama and Congress are negotiating to avoid the cuts.

Our Subscribers Speak

Our Subscribers Speak
November 14, 2012

Once again, FactCheck.org’s subscribers tell us they find our articles to be clear, unbiased, accurate and useful. The results of our latest post-election survey are similar to those from surveys we conducted after the presidential elections …