Both candidates said misleading things at the first debate. Here are some of the lowlights:
Romney - "I will not reduce the share paid by high income individuals" - Romney has proposed cutting all marginal tax rates by 20%.
Obama - over the last two years, health care premiums have “gone up slower than any time in the last 50 years.” - That is true of health care spending but not premiums which have gone up 4% in 2011-2012, 9% 2010-2011, 3% 2009-2010 compared to 5% from 2007-2009.
Romney - “The president said he’d cut the deficit in half, unfortunately, he doubled it.” - In Jan 2009, deficit of 9/30/09 was projected at $1.2T, ended up being $1.4T. Deficit as of 9/30/12 is $1.1T.
Obama - Romney tax proposals amount to a $5T tax cut - Romney has proposed cutting all marginal tax rates by 20%, cutting tax revenue by $5T over 10 years - $480B in 2015. In addition, Bush tax cuts would be extended, eliminate estate tax and repeal AMT, eliminate taxes on interest, capital gains and dividends for those with AGI >$200k. But he said any tax cuts would be "revenue neutral", meaning he would pay for it by closing loopholes and eliminating some deductions (no specifics).
Romney - Obamacare would allow the government to "take over health care" - Current federal government spending on health care is 29%, with the Affordable Care Act in place, it would go up to 31% in 2021. This is due to Medicaid expansion and subsidizing private insurance for millions.
Obama - "Under Gov. Romney's definition ... Donald Trump is a small business." - The Small Business Administration defines a small business as less than 500 employees, annual receipts of less than up to $21.5M. Trump Organization had 22,450 employees in 2007, but some of his businesses are small enough but since they are associated with a large business they would not qualify for loans.
Romney - Half of the 'green' companies that got stimulus money have gone out of business, and many were supported by campaign contributors - Of about 35 recipients, 3 are in bankruptcy. An Obama supporter, Kaiser, was an investor in the failed Solyndra.
Romney - Obama cut $716B from Medicare to pay for Obamacare - This is a 10 year target for reducing Medicare reimbursements mostly to insurance companies and drug manufacturers.
Romney - "Right now, the (Congressional Budget Office) says up to 20 million people will lose their insurance as Obamacare goes into effect next year." - From 2019-2022 1M to 3M fewer Americans would obtain health care from their employer under the Affordable Care Act. CBO projects that, overall, the number of uninsured Americans will drop by 29 million to 31 million due to the law.
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