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Christie’s Tax Tale

September 28, 2011

Chris Christie shaded the truth when he took credit for closing New Jersey’s budget gap “without raising taxes.” It’s true he didn’t raise state taxes, but the governor’s first budget extensively revised and reduced a program that once provided residents with local property tax rebate checks. As a result, nearly 1 million homeowners received an average $269 property tax credit in fiscal year 2011, down from an average rebate check of $1,035 the year before.
The New Jersey governor spoke Sept.

More Bad Medicine in the Perry Vaccine Saga

September 28, 2011

A pro-Michele Bachmann ad claims that “doctors opposed [Rick] Perry’s order [to inject girls with HPV vaccine] for safety reasons.” But the pediatrician cited by the sponsor says the ad doesn’t reflect his views accurately. “At the time, my position was that the vaccine was safe and effective,” he told FactCheck.org. Although he had reservations about a government mandate, he was personally recommending the vaccine for all 11- and 12-year-old girls, the doctor told us.
Furthermore,

FactCheck Mailbag, Week of Sept. 20-26

September 28, 2011

This week, readers sent us comments about Ford Motor Company’s recent advertising campaign and Rep. Michele Bachmann’s comments about the separation of church and state.
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.

Obama’s Teacher Tax Whopper

September 28, 2011

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 —

Romney’s Health Care Law Killed Jobs?

September 27, 2011

The Perry campaign has been pushing a questionable claim that the Massachusetts health care law, signed by then-Gov. Mitt Romney in 2006, “killed 18,000 jobs.” But that number was churned out by an economic model used by a conservative think tank, and it’s unknown whether the figure is accurate.
At last week’s Conservative Political Action Conference in Orlando, Texas Gov. Rick Perry said: “If Romneycare cost Massachusetts 18,000 jobs, just think what it would do to this country.”

West Virginia Race Goes to the Dogs

September 26, 2011

If West Virginia’s special election for governor were a greyhound race, the winning dogs would be “Falsehood” and “Distortion.” In dead last? “The Truth.” Both candidates — Republican Bill Maloney and acting Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin — and their well-financed surrogates are engaged …

Fanciful ‘Facts’ At Fox News Debate

September 23, 2011

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 …

Sept. 23: Poverty, Auto Bailout, Crossroads GPS

September 23, 2011

Cherry-picking on Regulation

September 22, 2011

Q: Did Bush propose more costly regulations in his last two years than Obama did in his first two years?
A: Yes. But Obama’s regulations are far more costly than those of Bush’s first two years, and the yearly average is higher than that of the Bush administration.

FactCheck Mailbag, Week of Sept. 13-19

September 21, 2011

This week, readers sent us comments about congressional support for President Obama’s jobs plan and whether or not Social Security is a Ponzi scheme.
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.