Latest Posts

PolitiFact Ohio claims increased federal expenses for the ACA’s Medicaid expansion do not contribute to the federal deficit

May 27, 2013 0 Comments

What about (Ohio state senator Maag’s broader point — that Medicaid expansion under Obamacare would result in more deficit spending? … But the facts, projections and law, as they exist today, do not support his claim. We rate it False. —PolitiFact Ohio   Overview PolitiFact Ohio uses specious reasoning in its rating of a Republican lawmaker from Ohio. The Facts…
Read more

Fact Checks, Zebra Fact Checks

, , , ,

Nancy Pelosi says health care reform drives the decrease in the budget deficit

May 21, 2013 0 Comments

 “The Affordable Care Act is bringing the cost of health care in our country down in both the public and private sector. And that is what is largely responsible for the deficit coming down.” —House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi, May 13, 2013   Overview A logic deficit undermines Pelosi’s claim about the budget deficit. The Facts House Democratic Leader Nancy…
Read more

Fact Checks, Zebra Fact Checks

, , ,

President Obama says there’s no evidence that Obamacare increases insurance premiums

May 20, 2013 0 Comments

“And whenever insurance premiums go up, you’re being told it’s because of Obamacare — even though there’s no evidence that that’s the case.” —President Barack Obama, May 10, 2013   Overview Perhaps the president misspoke.  The ACA has a number of features that experts agree will raise premium costs. The Facts President Obama made his remarks about the ACA in…
Read more

Fact Checks

, ,

How do you solve a problem like Martina?

May 10, 2013 0 Comments

Pardon the “Sound of Music” pun. The liberal blogosphere is once again agog at the inadequacy of PolitiFact’s rating system. Tennis great Martina Navratilova claimed 29 states lack legal protections against job discrimination over sexual orientation.  Specifically, she stated a person could be fired for either being gay or simply because the boss thinks they’re gay.  PolitiFact noted a few…
Read more

the Blog

FactCheck.org says federal spending has increased ‘far more slowly’ under Obama than under Bush

May 7, 2013 0 Comments

“Federal spending under Obama has grown faster than inflation, but far more slowly than it did under President Bush.” —Annenberg Fact Check   Summary We rate a second recent claim from FactCheck.org, stemming from the same “Obama’s Numbers” article that prompted our earlier fact check.  Again, Annenberg Fact Check spins like a politician. The Facts The federal government substantially increased…
Read more

Fact Checks, Zebra Fact Checks

, ,

Annenberg Fact Check says Obama beats George W. Bush on jobs.

April 22, 2013 0 Comments

“Now that we have figures for the full four years of Obama’s first term, a surprising fact emerges: The economy added more jobs during four years under Obama than it did in the entire eight years under Bush.” —Annenberg Fact Check   Summary FactCheck.org closely imitates the methods of a typical misleading political campaign advertisement. The Facts We do not…
Read more

Fact Checks, Zebra Fact Checks

, , ,

PolitiFact says gun prosecutions didn’t nosedive under President Obama

April 21, 2013 0 Comments

“Sessions said that Obama “has allowed, each year he’s been here, the prosecutions of gun cases to go down. .. [sic] They’ve declined every year since President Bush left office.” That’s true — but the data covers only the first two years of Obama’s term, and it didn’t nosedive under Obama since it was already a tiny percentage under Bush.”…
Read more

Fact Checks, Zebra Fact Checks

, , , ,

John Boehner and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s survey stats

April 19, 2013 0 Comments

“Small business owners ‘say the law makes it harder for them to hire new employees.’ ‘77% say the health care law will make coverage for their employees more expensive.’” —Infographic from Rep. John Boehner’s website   Overview Speaker Boehner accurately represents the most recent results of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s small business survey, but we sound a note or…
Read more

Fact Checks

, ,

Social Security, deficits and the fact checkers

April 14, 2013 0 Comments

On April 10 we published a fact check of a House Democrat presentation of Social Security, claiming that Social Security has never added so much as a dime to the deficit.  We found the claim false based on the Social Security Administration’s reports of revenue falling short of expenses. We’ve since surveyed the way various mainstream fact checkers treated similar…
Read more

Commentary, Zebra Fact Checks

, , , , , ,

House Democrats say Social Security ‘has paid for itself without adding a single dime to our national deficit,’ now has $2.7 trillion surplus.

April 10, 2013 0 Comments

“House Democrats stand united to protect and strengthen Social Security today and for future generations, and we will fight any Republican efforts to privatize Social Security.   Although Republicans have proposed “retooling” Social Security in the name of deficit reduction, the facts are clear: the Social Security program is healthy.  Since its inception, Social Security has paid for itself without…
Read more

Fact Checks

,