Beck wrong on Cabinet's private sector experience

By Louis Jacobson
Published on Wednesday, December 2nd, 2009 at 6:30 p.m.

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Less than 10 percent of Obama's Cabinet appointees "have any experience in the private sector."

Glenn Beck, Monday, November 30th, 2009.

Ruling: False | Details

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President Obama's Cabinet includes former officials of financial firms, lawyers who have done corporate work, and the former owner of a Dairy Queen.

A claim making its way through the conservative blogosphere says that the Obama administration has little understanding of American business because fewer than 10 percent of Obama's Cabinet members have private-sector experience.

The claim was picked up by Fox talk show host Glenn Beck on Nov. 30: 

"History has proven over and over again — and so has the post office, for that matter — that government is not the answer," Beck said. "You need to unleash the people. The entrepreneurs. And if you are wondering how it is that the government can't see that — how they can be pondering even bigger stimulus packages as they stare the failure of the first one right in the face — I'll show you. Here are the past presidents and the number of appointees in their Cabinets with private sector experience — folks that have done more than write on the chalkboard; they've been out there, in the real world. Let's compare President Nixon — he's over 50 percent — with President Obama: Under 10 percent of his appointees have any experience in the private sector."

We checked it out, tracked down the origin of the claim, and found Beck was wrong .