At times,
Washington Post fact-checker Glenn Kessler has been way too eager to give Mitt Romney the benefit of the doubt, but Romney's latest ad is so jam-packed with lies that Kessler
says it might as well be "a greatest hits" of Romney falsehoods. Here's the transcript:
If Barack Obama is reelected, what will the next four years be like? One, the debt will grow from 16 trillion to 20 trillion dollars. Two, 20 million Americans could lose their employer-based health care. Three, taxes on the middle class will go up by $4,000. Four, energy prices will continue to go up. And five, $716 billion in Medicare cuts that hurt current seniors.
Those are some serious-sounding claims, but they're lies. Here's the reality:
- Fact: Under the best case scenario for the Ryan budget, it would ad leave us with roughly the same amount of debt as they claim Obama would. The debt figure includes balance sheet payments owed to Social Security and Medicare, which is essentially money that we owe ourselves. But even if you accept the claim that debt will grow to $20 trillion, Paul Ryan's own plan projects a $19 trillion debt—and that assumes tax cuts generate increased revenue.
- Fact: Twenty million people will not lose insurance coverage under Obamacare. Twenty million is a worst-case scenario outlined by CBO, which says it's more likely that 5 million people would transition to individual market from employer-based care. But even in the worst-case scenario, much of the change would be from individuals choosing to get coverage on their own because they can get a better deal on the individual market. And no matter what, everyone will continue to have health care coverage. So unless you think giving up lousy employer plans for better individual plans is bad for America, that's a misleading claim.
- Fact: Obama will extend middle-class tax cuts. Romney's claim that taxes will go up by $4,000 is basically picked out of thin air. As Kessler notes, the only "evidence" to support it is a report from the conservative American Enterprise Institute. Obama has not proposed raising middle-class taxes and has in fact pledged to extend middle-class tax cuts.
- Fact: Obama's policies aren't increasing the cost of energy, but he is trying to develop energy sources for the future. Once again, Romney makes an assertion without offering any evidence to back up his claim. Gas prices today are basically the same as they were under Bush before the economic collapse. Obama has simultaneously pushed for increased development of fossil fuel resources while pushing to develop new green energy sources and technology. Meanwhile, Romney's energy policy is focused entirely on the expensive fossil fuels of the past.
- Obama has expanded Medicare benefits while reducing waste and extending the program's solvency. There is no $716 billion Medicare benefit cut. Instead, Obama has reduced future spending obligations to providers by $716 billion, extending the Medicare trust fund by eight years. Repealing those savings would hurt seniors and accelerate Medicare's fiscal crisis.
At least Romney told the truth about one thing: His name is Mitt Romney*, and he did approve that message.
* Yeah, yeah, I know his name is actually Willard.
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