Great article by Dave Johnson.
It is amazing that these eight items that the public doesn't know are republican talking points. The spread of mis-information is alive and well. Here they are:
1) President Obama tripled the deficit.
Reality: Bush's last budget had a $1.416 trillion deficit. Obama's first reduced that to $1.29 trillion. 2) President Obama raised taxes, which hurt the economy.
Reality: Obama cut taxes. 40% of the "stimulus" was wasted on tax cuts which only create debt, which is why it was so much less effective than it could have been.
3) President Obama bailed out the banks.
Reality: While many people conflate the "stimulus" with the bank bailouts, the bank bailouts were requested by President Bush and his Treasury Secretary, former Goldman Sachs CEO Henry Paulson. (Paulson also wanted the bailouts to be "non-reviewable by any court or any agency.") The bailouts passed and began before the 2008 election of President Obama.
4) The stimulus didn't work.
Reality: The stimulus worked, but was not enough. In fact, according to the Congressional Budget Office, the stimulus raised employment by between 1.4 million and 3.3 million jobs.
5) Businesses will hire if they get tax cuts.
Reality: A business hires the right number of employees to meet demand. Having extra cash does not cause a business to hire, but a business that has a demand for what it does will find the money to hire. Businesses want customers, not tax cuts.
6) Health care reform costs $1 trillion.
Reality: The health care reform reduces government deficits by $138 billion.
7) Social Security is a Ponzi scheme, is "going broke," people live longer, fewer workers per retiree, etc.
Reality: Social Security has run a surplus since it began, has a trust fund in the trillions, is completely sound for at least 25 more years and cannot legally borrow so cannot contribute to the deficit (compare that to the military budget!) Life expectancy is only longer because fewer babies die; people who reach 65 live about the same number of years as they used to.
8) Government spending takes money out of the economy.
Reality: Government is We, the People and the money it spends is on We, the People. Many people do not know that it is government that builds the roads, airports, ports, courts, schools and other things that are the soil in which business thrives. Many people think that all government spending is on "welfare" and "foreign aid" when that is only a small part of the government's budget.
Know the facts before you vote, or suffer the consequences after you vote.
Posts
Perceptions, talking points, half truths, and blatant lies have become reality for the masses.
ReplyDeleteIt is not the truth of the message but rather it is the message its self that matters.
Who ever brings that message out the best, wins.
If it be truth or a lie, it matters not.
What matters is the message, and how many times it is repeated.
Hermann Goering
ReplyDelete“Naturally the common people don't want war; neither in Russia, nor in England, nor in America, nor in Germany. That is understood. But after all, it is the leaders of the country who determine policy, and it is always a simple matter to drag the people along, whether it is a democracy, or a fascist dictatorship, or a parliament, or a communist dictatorship. Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is to tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same in any country.”
The republicans have taken a page right out of Hermann's play book.
ReplyDeleteJoseph Goebbels would be envious.
ReplyDeleteThe rethugs have taken it to a new level.
They have always been better at it than the dems.
Just saw a poll on rawstory.com that the Big O is now at 54% and the dems are gaining.
I never had much taste for polls though, no matter who does the counting. :-)
This was clear FACTS.. !!
ReplyDeleteThank you for printing it so clearly..
Betty Ann
the facts are clear and easy to understand. The problem is the wingnuts have no desire to read and learn facts especially facts about our brown president.
ReplyDeleteVery true, Sue. You hear them moan, groan, complain, call names, and make all sorts of claims, but narry a reference to facts. The best you get is a reference to another wingnut making the same claim.
ReplyDelete4) The stimulus didn't work.
ReplyDeleteMore private sector jobs were created in the first two years of the Obama administration than in all 8 years of the Bush Regime.
5) Businesses will hire if they get tax cuts.
Many huge corporations pay $0 in US taxes due to loopholes engineered for their benefit. Giving them a tax cut may be difficult.
7) Social Security is a Ponzi scheme, is "going broke," people live longer, fewer workers per retiree, etc.
Not yet, but it will be if Republicans hand it over to Wall Street.
http://gatewaypundit.firstthings.com/2010/11/community-organizer-in-chief-i-do-get-discouraged-i-thought-the-economy-would-have-gotten-better-by-now/
ReplyDelete