Posted by Jed Lewison on Wed Jun 18, 2008 at 2:57 PM Pacific

Lies, damned lies, and John McCain

Paul Krugman catches a couple good ones.

First, McCain rips Obama for wanting to increase the top estate tax rate to 55%. Truth? Obama wants exempt the first $3.5 million entirely and the top rate would be 45%.

Second (keep in mind that Obama's tax plan would impact 479,000 small business owners, not 21 million):

So John McCain makes a typically Bush-like conflation: there are 21 million small business owners; there are small business owners in the top two tax brackets; therefore, Barack Obama plans to raise taxes on 21 million small businesses. It was nonsense, of course. (Most living things are microbes; men are living things; therefore, most men are microbes.) But sure enough, McCain’s claim is being reported as a fact.

Lies, damned lies, and John McCain

Paul Krugman catches a couple good ones.

First, McCain rips Obama for wanting to increase the top estate tax rate to 55%. Truth? Obama wants exempt the first $3.5 million entirely and the top rate would be 45%.

Second (keep in mind that Obama's tax plan would impact 479,000 small business owners, not 21 million):

So John McCain makes a typically Bush-like conflation: there are 21 million small business owners; there are small business owners in the top two tax brackets; therefore, Barack Obama plans to raise taxes on 21 million small businesses. It was nonsense, of course. (Most living things are microbes; men are living things; therefore, most men are microbes.) But sure enough, McCain’s claim is being reported as a fact.

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