The Lies of the Center for American Progress




FreedomWorks show

Summary: In a completely deceitful report, the Center for American Progress Action Fund continued its disinformation campaign covering what the Center appears to believe are presidential election battleground states.  This particular report targeted voters in Colorado. The Center hired avowed communist and conspiracy theorist Van Jones after he was forced to resign as White House "Green Jobs Czar", the CAP Action Fund is its political arm. The CAP disinformation campaign involves a series of reports aimed at targeted groups of voters in swing states, attempting to persuade people to vote for Barack Obama over Mitt Romney. Here is the first paragraph of this particular report, with emphasis added to highlight the disputed portion: Behind dramatically different economic visions and a deluge of attack ads, this election comes down to numbers. Many Coloradans—and many families across the United States—are asking what this will mean at the kitchen table. What will be the cost of a second term of President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden or a first term led by former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and his running mate, Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI)?  The answer is that, in concrete and quantifiable ways, a Romney-Ryan presidency would mean higher taxes for the middle class, out-of-pocket health expenses for current seniors, fewer college loans and fewer health care options for young people, and the re-introduction of corporate outsourcing tax loopholes that have sent so many jobs overseas. Let's take a look at each of these claims, because as silly as each of them is, someone has to say they're silly.Higher taxes for the middle class The Romney tax plan is explicitly to lower marginal rates for all earners, including those for middle income earners. He plans to lower tax rates for higher income earners, as well, doing away with deductions to simplify interaction with the government. Romney says he will lead Congress to limit deductions in such a way that lowering rates for upper income earners is revenue-neutral. The Tax Policy Center study on which the CAP claims are largely based doesn't contemplate a dynamic economy that grows more when taxation is lower.   The claim that Romney will raise taxes on middle income earners (despite his plan actually lowering them) relies on bitter pessimism that the economy won't rebound, even, or especially, with lower tax rates. Out-of-pocket health expenses for current seniors The Ryan plan, and all other Medicare reform plans supported by the Romney/Ryan campaign, do not apply to current seniors. CAP, and the rest of the Obama campaign machine, are simply lying. Obamacare, on the other hand, does apply to current seniors. While Obamacare doesn't cut benefits to seniors directly, it does slash reimbursement rates for doctors, so that they will stop seeing Medicare patients.  Seniors will be forced to wait longer and longer to see a doctor.  In addition, Obamacare cuts back on Medicare Advantage, one of the more market-based parts of Medicare. The cuts are being illegally masked until after the election.  Fewer college loans This is another scare tactic from CAP. Despite the inflationary nature of college loans, Romney has no plans to reduce them. As part of repealing Obamacare, however, Romney would get rid of the virtual government monopoly on student loans. Before Obamacare nationalized them, such loans were popular, and banks were happy to offer them. Easy student loans are a primary cause of increased college costs, as schools know they can charge outrageous sums for tuition and innocent students will continue to pay them. The painful, decade-long battle people have repaying their student loans make it difficult to see how saddling people with more of them is a good thing, but neither candidate for President is talking about cutting back on them. Fewer health care options for young people  Obamacare forces young people to buy full-ride health insurance i