Fact check: The first Democratic debate

[GMDino]

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2015/10/14/fact-check-first-democratic-debate/73882972/

Quote:We found several falsehoods and misleading claims in the Democratic candidates' first debate:

• Former secretary of State Hillary Clinton revised her earlier statement on the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal, claiming that she said she "hoped" it would be a "gold standard." At the time, she said it was a gold standard.

• Sen. Bernie Sanders claimed that his plan to lift the cap on income subject to Social Security taxes would extend the program's finances and expand benefits. He neglected to mention that the new taxes would not be used to calculate benefits for those paying them, a break from historical practice.

• Former Maryland governor Martin O'Malley claimed that "70% of us are earning the same, or less than we were 12 years ago." Not true. Average weekly earnings for rank-and-file workers are up 5.8%.

• Former Rhode Island governor Lincoln Chafee said that his state "had the biggest drop of the unemployment rate over my four budgets of all but one state." Actually, four states had larger percentage point drops, and 10 states had larger percentage declines over his tenure.

• Sanders claimed that African-American youth unemployment was 51%, but that figure pertains to underemployment, which includes those working part time and looking for full-time work.

• Clinton claimed that "we lose 90 people a day from gun violence." That's true, but only a third of those deaths are from homicides.

• Sanders wrongly said that the U.S. had "more wealth and income inequality than any other country." The U.S. ranks 42nd in income inequality and 16th in terms of wealth held by the top 1%.

• Clinton said that using a personal email account "was allowed by the State Department." It was, but federal rules also required Clinton to turn over her emails before she left office. She did so nearly two years after she left.

The Democratic candidates for president — former secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Sen. Bernie Sanders, former Maryland governor Martin O'Malley, former Rhode Island governor Lincoln Chafee and former Virginia senator Jim Webb — gathered in Las Vegas for their first debate on Oct. 13, hosted by CNN and Facebook.

Details at the link...