Bogus Claims in Boca
Any way you look at it, though, Giuliani's being misleading. In December 2001, his last month in office, the unadjusted rate was 7.5 percent, the same as the adjusted rate. If you go back to August 2001 (pre-Sept. 11), the seasonally adjusted rate was 6.2 percent, unadjusted was 6.3 percent. There was just one month, May 2001, when the unadjusted rate fell to 5.0 percent, the only one during his tenure when he could claim to have cut unemployment "by more than half." (The lowest point for the adjusted rate was January 2001, when it fell to 5.2 percent.) In our judgment, it's deceptive for Giuliani to cherry-pick a month that wasn't at the end of his time in office to compare to the rate in the month he was inaugurated.
Update, Jan. 25: We originally wrote that Giuliani was wrong to say that unemployment was "ten-and-a-half percent" when he took office. Giuliani's campaign called us to say that the former mayor had been using the seasonally unadjusted unemployment rate. We've rephrased the above section to account for his interpretation – and ours.
As for deficits, we've said this before: When he took office, Giuliani faced a $2.3 billion deficit for the next fiscal year. His last budget, issued in May 2001, projected a nearly $2.8 billion deficit in fiscal 2003, the first budget year the incoming mayor would face. Because of 9/11, the gap grew to about $5 billion.
We've dealt with the former mayor's 17 percent tax cut claim before, too. It's actually the tax burden that declined that much, not the tax rate, as one might think from listening to his words.
Republished with permission from factcheck.org
Sources
Clinton, Hillary. "American Health Choices Plan." HillaryClinton.com, accessed 25 Jan. 2008
"Clinton Unveils Health Plan." "Good Morning America." ABC News, transcript. 18 Sept. 2007.
Bartlett, Bruce. "Why the FairTax Won't Work." Tax Analysts (2007).
U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Local Area Unemployment Statistics, seasonally adjusted figures for New York City, NY. BLS website, accessed 25 Jan. 2008
United States Census Bureau. Profiles of General Demographic Characteristics. 2000 Census of Population and Housing. May 2001.
NBC News. Meet the Press. 11 Apr. 2004.
Moore, Stephen. " 'Reform. Reform. Reform.' " The Wall Street Journal, 26 Nov. 2005.
Zuckman, Jill. "McCain wants no yes men in his White House." The Swamp, Chicago Tribune, 18 Dec. 2007.
Brooks Jackson, Jess Henig, Joe Miller and Lori Robertson
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Member Comments
Posted By: LibertyorDeath @ 02/12/2008 11:44:11 PM
Comment: Don't worry about it. Ron Paul has started something big and he is releasing a book about how we should continue to Revolution!! The first thing to do is READ books about US history and how Congress works. Understand the system and then get into the system to change it from the inside!!! Our Government is completely corrupted, we can change that over the next 4-8 years!
Posted By: Aaron Davis @ 02/05/2008 3:54:18 AM
Comment: that's the problem with a debate produced by a TV network... they're in this business to make money... and they do that by selling advertising. Boring debates get the channel changed, changed channel is lower ratings and theoretically speaking, their airtime is devalued (i.e. the value of their airtime on TV, which they sell to the highest bidder to advertisers). They'd rather show you lascivious shows about sex slaves in America than have you change the channel or give Ron Paul equal exposure on their channel.
Posted By: hydroponicrose @ 01/31/2008 11:29:31 AM
Comment: The first time I saw them cut off Ron Paul, I was pissed. I support Romney, but DAMNIT! All men are created equal! I want to hear what ALL of them think! That is what a debate is about! They didnt even let RP finish his sentence a few times. I like Ron Paul, and a lot of his positions, but it's just pathetic that he doesnt even get the chance to give a good debate performance.