Obama's False Claims In Tuesday Night's Speech To America!

MarineReconDad — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 01:44:54 GMT

TR has put together a press releases debunking the top five false claims made in Obama's address to a joint session of Congress on Tuesday night.

Here is an example of just one of the claims:

CLAIM #1 : "...not because I believe in bigger government – I don’t."

FACT: When Obama took the oath of office, federal spending for 2009 was on track to be about 22 percent of GDP, according to the CBO. Now with the passage of the trillion dollar Pelosi-Reid-Obama spending and debt plan, spending could hit 30 percent of GDP this year. That would be the highest level since World War II, and the biggest one year jump since Pearl Harbor. If that's not a belief in bigger government, then what is?

WASHINGTON, D.C.— Americans for Tax Reform today released the following list of false claims made by President Barack Obama during his first address to a joint session of Congress:

CLAIM #1 : "...not because I believe in bigger government – I don’t."

FACT: When Obama took the oath of office, federal spending for 2009 was on track to be about 22 percent of GDP, according to the CBO. Now with the passage of the trillion dollar Pelosi-Reid-Obama spending and debt plan, spending could hit 30 percent of GDP this year. That would be the highest level since World War II, and the biggest one year jump since Pearl Harbor. If that's not a belief in bigger government, then what is?

CLAIM #2 : "A failure to act would have worsened our long-term deficit by assuring weak economic growth for years."

FACT: When the government spends more money, it crowds out the private sector. 30 percent of GDP being spent by the government leaves only 70 percent for the private sector. Over time, it's the private sector--not government--which grows the economy. When the private sector gets crowded out, economic growth gets choked off.

CLAIM #3: “Because of this plan, 95 percent of the working households in America will receive a tax cut – a tax cut that you will see in your paychecks beginning on April 1st.”

FACT: This is a mathematical impossibility. According to the IRS, there were over 138 million families filing income tax returns in 2006. Only 93 million returns paid income tax. That means that one-third of households had no income tax liability in 2006 (and this doesn't even account for those households that don't have to file tax returns, like most seniors). You can't cut taxes on 95% of families when one-third of them don't pay income taxes.

According to the Joint Tax Committee, 15 percent of families have neither an income tax nor a payroll tax liability.

No matter which way you slice it, you can't cut taxes for 95 percent of families. It's impossible. All you have left for the low end of the income spectrum is spending money, using the tax code as the distributor.

CLAIM #4: “We will restore a sense of fairness and balance to our tax code by finally ending the tax breaks for corporations that ship our jobs overseas.”

FACT: The U.S. is one of the only countries left in the developed world that double-taxes the international income of our companies. In order to ameliorate this double-taxation, a host of credits, deductions, and deferrals have been put into the tax code.

It would be far easier to simply conform to Japan, the U.K., Canada, and the rest of our trading partners by taxing only income earned in the United States. But making the double taxation problem worse by "closing loopholes" is a clear path toward outsourcing jobs and companies to friendlier nations.

CLAIM #5: “In order to save our children from a future of debt, we will also end the tax breaks for the wealthiest 2% of Americans. But let me perfectly clear, because I know you’ll hear the same old claims that rolling back these tax breaks means a massive tax increase on the American people: if your family earns less than $250,000 a year, you will not see your taxes increased a single dime. I repeat: not one single dime.

FACT: To be clear, the top 2 percent is a lot closer than you might think. According to the IRS, a family is in the top 2 percent of income if it makes about $300,000 per year. That's a comfortable family, to be sure, but not exactly the image of the Monopoly man that Obama would seem to imply.

Let's take a look at the top 1 percent, the truly "evil" in the Obama-Pelosi-Reid worldview. According to the IRS, they earn about 20 percent of the income in America, but pay 40 percent of the income tax. The top 5 percent pay 60 percent of the income tax. The top 10 percent pay 70 percent of the income tax.

Does the term "blood from a rock" mean anything to President Obama?

Furthermore, most of the small business profits are earned in these top-two percent households. 40 percent of the sole proprietor profits are earned there. Almost 90 percent of business partnership and Subchapter-S corporation income is earned there. All told, more than $2 out of every $3 in small business profit is earned by families that Obama said he was going to raise taxes on last night. Since small businesses pay their business taxes on their owners' 1040s, to raise their taxes is to raise the tax rate on the lion's share of small business profits in America.

RE: Obama's False Claims In Tuesday Night's Speech To America!

Sherry — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 10:12:41 GMT

Thank you for putting that out there while so many people believe in him and say give him a chance why should we, who is he? Where did he come from? I do not trust this man. How foolish of so many people who judge him not on his abilty which I dont think he has but by the first black american who has been elected into office. I have seen my fill when bush was in office I lost a son because of his actions but now god help us all with Obama as president. sherry

RE: Obama's False Claims In Tuesday Night's Speech To America!

Sherry — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 10:12:54 GMT

RE: Obama's False Claims In Tuesday Night's Speech To America!

Sherry — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 10:13:43 GMT

RE: Obama's False Claims In Tuesday Night's Speech To America!

MarineReconDad — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 23:29:28 GMT

My deepest sympathies madame on the loss of your son. Please know that we appreciate his service and grieve at your loss. I have a son doing his second tour in Iraq with a Marine Recon unit.

Unfortunately, what Obama has failed to tell the American public is there will be 50,000 of our sons and daughters left in Iraq AFTER the August 31, 2009 date he stated that the military mission would be over! The truth is the troops left there will be doing terrorist interdiction duties and security as they are doing NOW!

And, the troops that are being removed from Iraq are merely being redeployed to Afghanistan. As we speak my son's unit is packaging their equipment for transfer to Afghanistan!

So, this will be Obama's war now. When he said he would end the war, which he didn't, (that agreement was signed prior to him ever setting foot on the White House lawn) he didn't tell people he would expand another? I wonder if "Code Pink" will go after him like they did Bush?

The MOST inexperienced President in our history, at our MOST critical time in history!

God Save Us All!

RE: Obama's False Claims In Tuesday Night's Speech To America!

Sherry — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 09:48:57 GMT

Thank you and please know that I will pray for your son to come home safely as I do for so many of the sons and daughters that are in this war that never should have happened. When I speak your very words to people they just turn a blind-eye thinking that this inexperienced man who has become president will save us all. Its true that he is a good speaker but people just dont hear what he is really saying and what he really means to do. People hear what they want to hear. I really fear for this country not only because I lost my only son -which as far as I am concerened life will never be the same especially for my husband who has'nt been the same since but for the lack of knowldege that this president and many of his followers have. Which by the way he was elected for all the wrong reasons. Thank you for being so honest and posting what people should really hear. May your son come home soon safely. My thoughts are with you. Sherry

RE: Obama's False Claims In Tuesday Night's Speech To America!

MarineReconDad — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 02:26:15 GMT

Sherry, keep the faith, do not give up! Continue to ask people to believe what their eyes see, America slipping away. The America that most of their fathers, grand-fathers, sons, and daughters have fought and died for.This is something that is going to take keeping people focused on, if there is to be any hope! Please tell your husband for me that the loss of his son is something I cannot understand,(I don't think that anyone who has not endured that loss can truly understand) but life must go on for your son's memory and for yourselves.

God Bless you both!

MRD

RE: Obama's False Claims In Tuesday Night's Speech To America!

Sherry — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 09:59:33 GMT

Thank you so much and I did show him your posts. Its been a while since he was able to respond to all of this as a former marine himself it gets him so angry to know and see what is really going on. But he does have a voice and uses it. We belong to a group of wonderful people who have gone through what we have to endure and that really helps a lot. But the reality of it all is what you are saying = our children are no longer here and for what? America as we know it IS going down. And all we can do is standby and watch. We want all our children home and we just can-not rest untill that happens. People some ignorant people will disagree and thats why we need a voice in this matter. Its a shame that this man was judged on the color of his skin rather than someone who really belongs in office. God help us all. We are going to need it. I continue to pray for all of our children and now yours included. May he come home safe and sound. And you my new friend keep fighting for the right to express your veiws. Sherry