Monday, March 23, 2015

Fact checking the PolitiFact way

Okay, kids, today we're going to look at how to fact check the PolitiFact way. We'll look at how to tell whether President Obama's signature health care reform bill, known as the ACA or "Obamacare," was a job killer.

It's okay to leak your findings at the beginning of the fact check:
Predictions about the health care law were a dime a dozen back in 2010. Supporters contended that virtually everyone around the country would soon have access to affordable insurance. Opponents said the law would cost a fortune by adding to the national debt and killing jobs.

Actually, none of those things have happened.
Next, provide evidence supporting your findings:
One of the warnings that the law’s opponents issued repeatedly in the months leading up to passage was that the health care law would kill jobs. In 2011, Republicans titled the repeal legislation they were pursuing the "Repealing the Job-Killing Health Care Law Act." But independent studies didn’t back up the claims that the law would end up reducing employment, so PolitiFact has rated such statements False.
Some might question whether it's appropriate to judge the ACA's effect on jobs by simply looking at employment numbers. Just assume that such people are biased and that their criticism will be drowned out by those who agree with your judgment.

Even though pointing to your own past work without getting into specifics ought to be plenty to convince people, it's okay to repeat your evidence for emphasis:
In the years since passage, employment in both the United States and Florida has been on an upward trajectory as the economy has recovered from a recession.
What more proof could anyone need? There we have it: the facts. Because the total number of jobs increased and the unemployment rate decreased, therefore the ACA had no negative effect on the number of jobs.


Seriously, how can PolitiFact take itself seriously?

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