2012 - Page 19 of 43 - FactCheck.org

Romney’s Bain Years: New Evidence, Same Conclusion

July 12, 2012

New reporting cites strong evidence that Mitt Romney wasn’t actively managing Bain Capital while he was running the Olympics, despite what the Obama campaign (and some news reports) would have voters believe.
Dan Primack, a senior editor at Fortune Magazine, reports on previously confidential “offering documents” that Bain circulated to potential investors in June 2000, September 2000 and again in January 2001. And he says that in each of those three documents Romney’s name is conspicuously absent from lists of senior investment managers at Bain.

Tax Facts: Lowest Rates in 30 Years

July 11, 2012

Politicians talk about the burden of taxes incessantly. Now comes a rare chance to check the facts. And the fact is that federal tax rates had fallen to the lowest in 30 years when President Barack Obama took office — and fell again in his first year in office.
This news comes from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, which just issued the latest update of its invaluable series on “Distribution of Household Income and Federal Taxes,”

FactCheck Mailbag, Week of July 3-9

July 11, 2012

This week, readers sent us more letters about Mitt Romney and Bain Capital and the federal health care law. There were some letters of encouragement, too.
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.

Obama, Romney Surrogates Spin Jobs Data

July 10, 2012

A lackluster jobs report for June generated a flurry of false and misleading statements on the Sunday talk shows by surrogates for Obama and Romney:

Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee, falsely claimed U.S. automakers “had a record June … 7,000 auto jobs created.” It’s true that 7,000 automotive jobs were created, but it’s not a record for June or any other month.
Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley challenged Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal’s statement that the U.S.

Biggest Tax Increase in History?

July 10, 2012

Q: Is the new health care law “the biggest tax increase in history”?

A: In raw dollars, perhaps. But several tax increases just since 1968 were larger as percentages of the economy, or in inflation-adjusted dollars.

Twisting Romney’s Abortion Stance

July 9, 2012

An Obama campaign ad twists Mitt Romney’s stance on abortion, claiming Romney “backed a law that outlaws all abortions, even in cases of rape and incest.”
During a 2007 debate, Romney was asked if he would sign legislation to ban “all abortion” — assuming, hypothetically, that Roe v. Wade had been overturned. He said he’d be “delighted to sign it,” if there was a national consensus for it. But, he said, “that’s not where America is today.”

No End to ‘End Medicare’ Claim

July 6, 2012

Democrats are still hammering an old, and since replaced, GOP proposal, claiming it would “end Medicare,” and cost seniors $6,000 more a year for their health care. The newest Republican budget, proposed by Rep. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin, keeps traditional Medicare — unlike his plan from 2011 — and the increased cost claim is no longer applicable to it.
The latest string of “end Medicare” claims comes from the liberal Patriot Majority, a 501(c)(4), a nonprofit advocacy group,

July 6: Bain Capital, Insurance Penalty Tax, IPAB

July 6, 2012

Post-Supreme Court Spin

July 5, 2012

Shortly after the Supreme Court upheld the federal health care law’s constitutionality on June 28, presumptive GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney wrongly said the law “puts the federal government between you and your doctor.” The law doesn’t create a government-run medical system.
Read more about Romney’s and President Obama’s false and misleading claims made after the high court’s ruling in our June 28 article, “Romney, Obama Uphold Health Care Falsehoods.”

Taxes on ‘Sick Puppies’?

July 5, 2012

The National Republican Congressional Committee claims the federal health care law taxes “sick puppies,” but that’s a big stretch. No puppies are taxed by the law. Instead, the reference is to a tax on medical devices.
For more, see our June 19 story, “NRCC: ‘Obamacare’ Taxes Sick Puppies.”