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A Project of The Annenberg Public Policy Center

Defining the ‘Middle Class’

Q: Is there a standard, accepted definition of what constitutes the "middle class"?
A: No, there isn’t. "Middle class" means different things to different people – and politicians.

The Impact of Tax Cuts

Q: Have tax cuts always resulted in higher tax revenues and more economic growth as many tax cut proponents claim?
A: No. In fact, economists say tax cuts do not spark enough growth to pay for themselves.

How Many Have Bachelor’s Degrees?

Q: What percentage of the U.S. population has at least a bachelor's degree?
A: According to the Census Bureau, the figure is 27 percent of adults.

Abortions: Comparing Catholic and Protestant Women

Q: Do Catholic women get abortions more frequently than Protestant women?
A: Catholics are slightly more likely to get an abortion than Protestants, according to a 2000-2001 survey.

Romney on Huckabee II

Romney attacks Huckabee again with false and misleading claims.

The Sanctuary Spat

The Giuliani campaign says his immigration policy in New York wasn’t like that of other cities. That’s not true.

A Bogus Cancer Statistic

In a new radio ad, Rudy Giuliani falsely claims that under England’s “socialized medicine” system only 44 percent of men with prostate cancer survive.

Bush’s False Claims About Children’s Health Insurance

Summary
President Bush gave a false description of proposed legislation to expand the 10-year-old federal program to provide health insurance for children in low-income working families.
He said it "would result" in covering children in families with incomes up to $83,000 per year, which isn’t true. The Urban Institute estimated that 70 percent of children who would gain coverage are in families earning half that amount, and the bill contains no requirement for setting income eligibility caps any higher than what’s in the current law.