Sen. Bernie Sanders claims that in the United States, “almost all of the wealth rests in the hands of the few.” He exaggerates. At most, the top 0.1 percent of U.S. families own 22 percent of the nation’s wealth.
With the midterm elections now just days away, many campaigns and outside groups are making their final appeals. And, as has been the case all election season, some of the claims miss the mark.
Longtime Iowa Sen. Tom Harkin is retiring, and Democratic Rep. Bruce Braley and Republican Iowa state Sen. Joni Ernst are each hoping to be the one to replace him.
In Iowa, a Republican ad claims that Democratic Senate nominee Bruce Braley “voted to raise taxes on every single Iowa taxpayer.” That badly distorts Braley’s clearly stated position.
A TV ad from Democrat Jim Mowrer claims Iowa Rep. Steve King “did vote to raise his own pay by $20,000 a year and take perks like free health care for life.” That’s a double whopper.
Democratic TV ads in Iowa have repeatedly misrepresented Republican Joni Ernst’s position on Social Security, claiming she “would privatize Social Security” or that she has “proposed privatizing Social Security.”