PolitiFact.com
Statements about Income
Matt Wingard

Matt Wingard

Half-True

Number's right, meaning's relative

"Oregon’s per capita income is 9 percent below the national average and getting worse. This is a state that’s actually getting poorer."

Rick Perry

Rick Perry

Mostly True

Half congressional pay = $87,000

"A part-time Congress with half the pay would still make $38,000 a year more than the average American family."

George LeMieux

George LeMieux

Half-True

Mack also voted not to raise his paycheck

U.S. Rep. Connie Mack "voted to raise his own pay several times."

Joe Biden

Joe Biden

True

Decline in median income predated recession

"The median income of a middle class family went down $2,100 from 2001 to 2007."

Rodney Frelinghuysen

Rodney Frelinghuysen

Mostly False

Stat includes large biz

Says the Treasury Department "says 41 percent of all business income reported on individual returns would be hit by the [millionaires’] surtax" that "would harm small businessmen and women, the very people we are counting on to create new jobs."

Americans for Prosperity: New Jersey

Americans for Prosperity: New Jersey

False

We’re not #1 on this tax

Says state Senate President Stephen "Sweeney gave us the nation's highest income tax rates, driving out jobs."

Alan Grayson

Alan Grayson

True

Even Wikipedia can be right sometimes

"According to Wikipedia, there are only five countries in the entire planet that are more unequal than the United States in the distribution of our wealth."

New Jersey Democratic State Committee

New Jersey Democratic State Committee

Mostly False

Throwing stones in political glass houses

Says Vince Polistina is "collecting nearly $70,000 in taxpayer-funded salaries -- plus a government pension."

Vincent Barrella

Vincent Barrella

Mostly True

Private ownership's a beach

"Point Pleasant Beach does not own its beaches; they are privately owned and operated by businesses such as Jenkinson’s"

Jim Petro

Jim Petro

Mostly True

Sorting out dollar estimate requires higher degree

Every 1 percent increase in the number of Ohioans with bachelor’s degrees "means economic activity growing the next year and for each year thereafter (by) $2.5 billion dollars."

Sherrod Brown

Sherrod Brown

True

Does this count as coddling?

Says that Wall Street hedge fund managers "pay a lower tax rate than does a sheet metal worker in Parma or a school teacher in Cleveland."

Jessica King

Jessica King

Mostly False

When he didn’t pay, he didn’t owe

Says state Sen. Randy Hopper, R-Fond du Lac, unlike typical taxpayers, "didn’t pay taxes"

Randy Hopper

Randy Hopper

Pants on Fire!

No and no

Says Wisconsin Senate recall candidate Jessica King "voted to increase her pay with taxpayer dollars by 63 percent."

Lisa Hamler-Fugitt

Lisa Hamler-Fugitt

Mostly True

50 years of slow growth

"Ohio currently ranks 50th out of all states in income growth."

United for a Fair Economy

United for a Fair Economy

Mostly True

A striking pattern borne out in the statistics

From 1947 to 1979, family incomes for rich, middle-income and poor Americans grew about the same rate. But since 1979, incomes for rich families have grown much faster.

Chain email

Chain email

Pants on Fire!

Minimum service: 5 years. Maximum pay: 80 percent.

Members of Congress "receive full pay retirement after serving one term."

One Wisconsin Now

One Wisconsin Now

Mostly True

Most don’t pay in, but it’s not all because of tax breaks

"Two-thirds of Wisconsin corporations don't pay state income taxes."

Paul Krugman

Paul Krugman

True

Close--$60--call

Says taxes paid by the poorest residents of Texas are above the national average.

Mike Huckabee

Mike Huckabee

Mostly False

"Most" aren't on welfare or under-educated, and a big majority work

Says it’s a "statistical reality that most single moms are very poor, under-educated, can't get a job, and if it weren't for government assistance, their kids would be starving to death."

Sheldon Whitehouse

Sheldon Whitehouse

Mostly True

He's right, if you include all payroll taxes

The richest 400 taxpayers are taxed at a lower rate than a $29,000-a-year worker

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