By Dave Johnson
Note: The words that appear in red are links that you can click.)
There are a number things the public "knows" as we head into the
election that are just false. If people elect leaders based on false
information, the things those leaders do in office will not be what
the public expects or needs.
Here are eight of the biggest myths that are out there:
1) President Obama tripled the deficit.
Reality: Bush's last budget had a $1.416 trillion deficit. Obama's
first budget 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.
This stuff really matters.
If the public votes in a new Congress because a majority of voters
think this one tripled the deficit, and as a result the new people
follow the policies that actually tripled the deficit, the country
could go broke.
If the public votes in a new Congress that rejects the idea of helping
to create demand in the economy because they think it didn't work,
then the new Congress could do things that cause a depression.
If the public votes in a new Congress because they think the health
care reform will increase the deficit when it is actually projected to
reduce the deficit, then the new Congress could repeal health care
reform and thereby make the deficit worse. And on it goes.
More:
http://www.ourfuture.org/blog-entry/2010104222/false-things-public-knows-they-go-vote
--
Together, we can change the world, one mind at a time.
Have a great day,
Tommy
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