ladyliberal
Progressive Princess
- Aug 5, 2011
- 1,253
- 291
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During the December 10th Republican debate there were a couple claims that struck me as unlikely, and I mentioned on this forum that I would like to see them factchecked (http://www.usmessageboard.com/politics/198282-republican-debate-live-thread-dec-10-a.html). Politifact has now checked them both:
Romney: "Only one president has ever cut Medicare for seniors in this country . . . Barack Obama."
Some people in the thread said that the ACA cuts to the Medicare Advantage program made this statement true. Politifact didn't buy it, saying that there was no evidence that benefits paid to seniors as opposed to providers would be cut: PolitiFact | Romney says only Obama has cut Medicare. Further, they point out that these reduced payments don't lower the payments below current levels, they just keep them from rising as much as they would have otherwise. More importantly for falsifying the statement, other Presidents have cut benefits, so Obama can't be the first.
Next, comes Gingrich's claim that "In New York City, "an entry level janitor gets paid twice as much as an entry level teacher."
http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-m...inrgich-says-new-york-city-starting-janitor-/
This too factchecked as false. Starting "custodial engineers" earn more than some starting teachers, but not twice as much. Further, a "custodial engineer" is not an entry level position-- it's a supervisor position that requires experience and knowledge of a wide variety of building systems.
Sometimes crazy-sounding statements turn out to be true. This was not one of those times.
Romney: "Only one president has ever cut Medicare for seniors in this country . . . Barack Obama."
Some people in the thread said that the ACA cuts to the Medicare Advantage program made this statement true. Politifact didn't buy it, saying that there was no evidence that benefits paid to seniors as opposed to providers would be cut: PolitiFact | Romney says only Obama has cut Medicare. Further, they point out that these reduced payments don't lower the payments below current levels, they just keep them from rising as much as they would have otherwise. More importantly for falsifying the statement, other Presidents have cut benefits, so Obama can't be the first.
Next, comes Gingrich's claim that "In New York City, "an entry level janitor gets paid twice as much as an entry level teacher."
http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-m...inrgich-says-new-york-city-starting-janitor-/
This too factchecked as false. Starting "custodial engineers" earn more than some starting teachers, but not twice as much. Further, a "custodial engineer" is not an entry level position-- it's a supervisor position that requires experience and knowledge of a wide variety of building systems.
Sometimes crazy-sounding statements turn out to be true. This was not one of those times.
