In the annals of Politifact, never* has the publication sunk
this low:
In downtown Providence, as in other cities around the globe, protesters inspired by the Occupy Wall Street movement are trying to raise awareness about economic inequalities.
On a recent visit to Occupy Providence’s encampment at Burnside Park, a Providence Journal reporter spotted a hand-written sign that compared the earnings of a minimum wage worker with those of Goldman Sach’s CEO, Lloyd C. Blankfein.
The sign read: "Minimum wage = $16,000/year CEO-Goldman Sachs (Lloyd Blankfein) $16,000/Hour."
... we decided to check it out.
Yes, that's right. The organization dedicated to "help[ing] you find the truth in politics" harnessed the troops to uncover the truth behind what an anonymous person wrote on a piece of cardboard.
For the record, yes, a minimum wage earner in Rhode Island does in fact make about $16,000 a year, but the CEO of Goldman-Sachs doesn't make anywhere near $16,000 an hour. It's more like $9,165 an hour. Liar! (Or the use of political rhetoric to make a point.)
So kudos to Politifact. They've debunked the guy with a magic marker. But do they think that in the middle of a Republican presidential primary and the ongoing battle over job creation there might be bigger targets out there for their truth-o-meter?
*We rate the word "never" in this context as "pants on fire." Politifact has in fact sunk to these depths many times before.
