more obambo lies from last nights debate....
OBAMBO: Said that if families get a $5,000 tax credit for buying health insurance and the insurance then costs $12,000, that's a loss for them.
THE FACTS: The tax credit offered by McCain is more generous for the vast majority of people than the current tax break, which they would lose, according to the Tax Policy Center. Now, people don't pay taxes on the health benefits they get from work. Obama's statement gives the impression that $5,000 is all that workers will be getting to help them pay for a health plan, but that's just what the federal government will provide. Economists say most employers would still contribute to their workers' health insurance. The Lewin Group, a health care consulting firm, found that by taxing health benefits but providing a tax credit, the average family would come out $1,411 ahead.
OBAMBO: "One hundred percent, John, of your ads — 100 percent of them — have been negative."
THE FACTS: The statement is mostly true when it comes to McCain's current commercial spots. But by saying McCain's ads "have been" 100 percent negative, Obama ventures into misleading territory. A recent study by the Wisconsin Advertising Project at the University of Wisconsin-Madison found that in the first week of October "nearly 100 percent" of McCain's ads were negative. The study also reported, however, that to date 73 percent of McCain's ads have been negative and that 61 percent of Obama's ads have been negative.
OBAMBO: Said he would be "completely supportive" of late-term abortion restrictions "as long as there's an exception for the mother's health and life."
THE FACTS: Obama leaves himself a lot of latitude in this answer. A woman's "health" has been so broadly interpreted that it can include conditions, including psychological conditions, that are difficult to diagnose or prove. Anti-abortion advocates say that makes the ban meaningless, because it leaves too much subjective judgment in the equation.
OBAMBO: "We can cut the average family's premium by $2,500 a year."
THE FACTS: If that sounds like a straight-ahead promise to lower health insurance premiums, it isn't. Obama hopes that by spending $50 billion over five years on electronic medical records and by improving access to proven disease management programs, among other steps, consumers will end up saving money. He uses an optimistic analysis to suggest cost reductions in national health care spending could amount to the equivalent of $2,500 for a family of four. Many economists are skeptical those savings can be achieved, but even if they are, it's not a certainty that every dollar would be passed on to consumers in the form of lower premiums. |
