OnTheIssues Fact Checking: on Budget & Economy

Bernie Sanders: FactCheck, yes, 3 top people wealthier than half of America

Bernie Sanders said during the LMU debate that "three people own more wealth than the bottom half." He has said in past venues that three individuals--not three percent of the people--are richer than 50% of all of America. Is that true?

Yup, there's a summary on CommonDreams.org entitled "Three Richest Americans Now Own More Wealth Than Bottom Half of US Combined."

The summary comes from an Institute for Policy analysis, "Billionaire Bonanza 2017," based on data recently made public by the Forbes 400 list and the Federal Reserve's annual "Survey of Consumer Finances."

The analysis asserts: "The three wealthiest people in the United States--Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos, and Warren Buffett--now own more wealth than the entire bottom half of the American population combined, a total of 160 million people or 63 million households." So Senator Sanders is correct that the three wealthiest individual people are wealthier than the sum of half of all of America.

Source: OnTheIssues Fact-Check on December Democratic primary debate Dec 19, 2019

John Neely Kennedy: FactCheck: Yes, supported ARPA funds for natural disasters

Luke Mixon announced that he'll try to unseat Kennedy in Louisiana's 2022 election. Mixon said he doesn't believe the Republican senator has been representing Louisiana's interests. "Our infrastructure is crumbling and communities are flooding, but Sen. Kennedy voted against billions of dollars to improve our roads and protect Louisiana communities from natural disasters," Mixon said.

OTI FactCheck:: Mixon didn't explain himself, so contrast USNWR's report with Kennedy's response:

On Oct. 19, the Senate passed the Infrastructure & Disaster Relief Flexibility Act, cosponsored by Kennedy, to allow states to use unspent pandemic ARPA relief funds for natural disaster victims and for infrastructure needs.
On Sept. 30, Kennedy voted in support of the National Flood Insurance Program, including $595 million awarded to Louisiana.
On July 15, Kennedy introduced the Gulf Coast Hurricane Aid Act, with $1.1 billion in disaster relief.

Source: OnTheIssues FactCheck on US News & World Report Oct 5, 2021

The above quotations are from Presidential Primary Fact Checking by OnTheIssues.org. Click here for definitions & background information on Budget & Economy. Click here for other issues (main summary page). Click here for more quotes by Herman Cain on Budget & Economy.
*2024 Presidential contenders on Budget & Economy:*
	*Candidates for President & Vice-President:* V.P.Kamala Harris (D-CA) Robert F. Kennedy Jr.(I-CA) Chase Oliver(L-GA) Dr.Jill Stein(D-MA) Former Pres.Donald Trump(R-FL) Sen.J.D.Vance(R-OH) Gov.Tim Walz(D-MN) Dr.Cornel West(I-NJ)	*2024 presidential primary contenders:* Pres.Joe_Biden(D-DE) N.D.Gov.Doug Burgum(R) N.J.Gov.Chris_Christie(R) Fla.Gov.Ron_DeSantis(R) S.C.Gov.Nikki_Haley(R) Ark.Gov.Asa_Hutchinson(R) Former V.P.Mike Pence(R-IN) U.S.Rep.Dean_Phillips(D-MN) Vivek_Ramaswamy(R-OH) S.C.Sen.Tim_Scott(R)
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Page last updated: Nov 03, 2024