January 1, Fact-Checker Details the 7 ‘Biggest Lies’ Biden Told This Week

ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY…
1878: Boston Bicycle Club, the first U.S. bicycle club, forms.

The Hill published an opinion piece by Alfredo Ortiz, the president and CEO of Job Creators Network, in which he detailed the “seven biggest lies” President Joe Biden told in his State of the Union address this week.

Biden’s speech “was full of lies and mistruths,” according to Ortiz. Here are the most egregious:

#1: “Take-home pay has gone up.”

According to recent data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, annual inflation is rising 50% faster than average wages.

#2: “We have created a record 12 million new jobs.”

The figure Biden mentioned in his speech includes positions that were already created and temporarily abandoned during the COVID-19 pandemic. According to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Biden’s actually created 2.7 million new jobs. Comparatively, former President Donald Trump created 4.5 million new jobs during his first two years as commander-in-chief.

#3: “[I have presided over] the largest deficit reduction in American history.”

There is a caveat to this claim, given the circumstances of the pandemic. According to Ortiz:

In reality, Biden has presided over the largest two-year deficit — $4.2 trillion — in American history. While it’s true the annual deficit is lower than during the once-in-a-century pandemic in 2020, due to the expiration of pandemic-era spending, that’s hardly something to cheer.

#4: “Two years ago, our economy was reeling.”

Americans saw an economic recovery during Trump’s last six months in office, with the economy growing by 11% in that time. Biden’s claim is revisionist history.

#5: Oil companies have “invested too little of th[eir] profit to increase domestic production and keep gas prices down.”

While oil companies would surely like to take advantage of high oil prices, Biden’s green energy policies impede on the opportunity. According to Heritage Foundation energy analyst Katie Tubb, the Biden administration “has proposed or finalized regulations that restrict nearly every aspect of the oil industry: financing and private-sector investment, exploration and production, pipeline construction and operation, and consumer use.”

Also, Biden’s administration “has leased fewer acres for oil-and-gas drilling offshore and on federal land than any other administration in its early stages dating back to the end of World War II,” according to The Wall Street Journal.

Oil production is still lower than it was pre-pandemic, according to data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration, yet gas prices are much higher.

#6: “Now, thanks to all we’ve done, we’re exporting American products.”

The latest government data — which was released the same day as Biden’s address — shows the exact opposite of Biden’s claim. The U.S. hit a record trade deficit of $948.1 billion in 2022 — a 12.2% increase from 2021.

#7: The wealthy don’t “pay their fair share.”

This is a popular talking point among Democrats, but the data does not appear to back it up. The top 1% of U.S. earners pay 42.3% of the country’s income taxes — nearly double their share of the total adjusted gross income. S&P 100 companies, the top 100 American corporations, pay an overall tax rate of around 18%.

The bottom line

Americans should be weary of so-called “fact-checkers” in the mainstream media, according to Ortiz. For instance, the New York Times found that Biden’s speech “contained no outright falsehoods, but at times omitted crucial context or exaggerated the facts.”

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Source: The Hill