VA Gov. McDonnell makes false claim about Obama's record on unions

(freddthompson)

Here's what, in the course of praising Rick Perry, Virginia governor and chair of the Republican Governors Association chair Bob McDonnell had to say about Barack Obama's administration in contrast to the awesomeness of Perry:

This administration is doing just the opposite. More taxes, more regulation, more unionization. It?s the wrong policy.

Now, I think taxes and regulation can be and unionization is good. Taxes can be done wrong, for sure, but they pay for safe bridges and clean water systems and schools and police and firefighters. Those are all good things. Regulations keep us from sucked into and killed by machines on the job, they reduce the pollutants factories spew out into the air and water, they make it less likely Wall Street will tank our economy. Unionization reduces income inequality, not just for union members but for all workers.

So, I disagree with the political content of that statement. But there's also truth content to be considered. As in, is it a true statement?

Obama has taxed cigarettes and tanning salons, it's true. At the same time, under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, 95% of working families got a tax cut, and Obama subsequently signed an extension of the Bush tax cuts. Obama's record on taxes is largely cuts?both good ones to working families who will actually put the money back into the economy and ones the U.S. really couldn't afford to give to incredibly wealthy people.

On unionization the picture is simple. In 2010, 11.9% of the working population belonged to a union, down from 12.3% in 2009. And the Obama administration has done little to affect this number in either direction.

That means Bob McDonnell is, at best, woefully uninformed. But more likely he's a liar.

Source: http://feeds.dailykos.com/~r/dailykos/index/~3/ty8wdLevHHY/-VA-Gov-McDonnell-makes-false-claim-about-Obamas-record-on-unions

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