President Obama’s proposed budget calls for rolling back President Bush’s tax cuts for couples earning more than $250,000 (and individuals earning more than $200k). The increase would take effect in 2011. And, not so surprisingly, it has some Republicans up in arms. One of their main beefs: The move would hurt small businesses.
On "FOX News Sunday" on March 1, Republican Rep. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin told host Chris Wallace that "more than half of the people who pay these higher taxes are the small businesses of America."
Person: Barack Obama
Bad Bankruptcy Stat, Repeated
Last week on our main site, we pointed out that President Obama used an incorrect statistic on bankruptcies caused by medical expenses in his address to Congress. And yesterday, he repeated it,
as Jake Tapper at ABC News noted
:
Tapper: "The cost of health care now causes a bankruptcy in America every thirty seconds," President Obama said at the opening of his White House forum on health care reform just now.
As we said then (and Tapper kindly links to us in his report): Last year,
The Fairness Doctrine
Q: Is the fairness doctrine coming back, and would it shut down conservative talk radio?
A: Obama has made it clear he opposes it. If it were revived, it probably would reduce the overall number of radio hours devoted to conservative talk shows.
More Citizenship Quibbles
Since our article about Barack Obama’s birth certificate came out in August, we’ve heard many frivolous claims, nutty theories and made-up facts advanced by a small clique of Obama deniers. It seems that every time a rumor is debunked, a new one crops up to take its place. Sometimes contradictory rumors even circulate simultaneously.
The most recent claim is that Obama’s short-form birth certificate is legitimate, but that it was made up after his birth in Kenya,
Tiny Iran
Feb. 26 marked the beginning of the Conservative Political Action Committee (or CPAC) annual convention. Conference speakers include leading figures from the Republican Party as well as conservative columnists, pundits and activists. Among yesterday’s speakers was John Bolton, U.N. ambassador under President George W. Bush and now a senior fellow with the conservative American Enterprise Institute. During his speech, Bolton repeated a bit of old bunk from the 2008 campaign, falsely claiming that Obama called Iran “a tiny threat.”
Infrastructure Jobs for Union Workers Only?
Q: Did Obama require that all infrastructure jobs in the stimulus bill go to union workers?
A: Obama didn’t set a requirement. He issued an executive order that "encourage[s] executive agencies to consider requiring" union labor for "large-scale" government contracts.
Fact Checking Obama’s Speech
President Obama’s first speech to a joint session of Congress was stuffed with signals about the new direction his budget will take and meant-to-be reassuring words about the economy. But it was also peppered with exaggerations and factual misstatements. He said “we import more oil today than ever …
Gun Control
Q: Is Congress going to require a federal license to own a handgun?
A: A Chicago congressman’s bill, H.R. 45, would require that, but it has little support. The same bill died quietly in a House subcommittee last year.
Hamas Refugee Assistance
Q: Did Obama pay for Hamas-affiliated terrorists to emigrate to the United States?
A: This claim is false. The president’s memorandum to the State Department would pay for refugee assistance in Gaza, not for transporting anyone to the U.S.
Stimulus Bill Bravado
In recent weeks, in his pitches to Congress and the public on the need to pass the economic stimulus bill, Obama has made several claims about what it would do. (Republicans, too, have made stimulus boasts of their own.) But these pronouncements are not a sure thing. Obama repeatedly said …