Some Interesting Facts (At Least for Me!)

For those of us who usually find ourselves to the left of Barack Obama, it is useful now and then to at least remind ourselves of the facts (as opposed to the media myths).  Here are a few.

• The abortion rate is at its lowest since 1973.
• Illegals are entering the country at a lower rate today than when Reagan was president.
• There are 14 Congressional districts in my home state of Michigan.  Five are held by Democrats and nine by Republicans (36%/64%).  In last week's election, the five Democrat Representatives received more votes than the nine Republicans by 51% to 49%.
• Similarly, Michigan's Governor Snyder received about a million fewer votes last week than Obama received when he carried the state in 2012.
• The 35% corporate tax rate endlessly cited by conservatives is a meaningless number.  The average effective rate is far below that.  Depending on the time period used, it's actually something between 10 and 20%.  If someone cites 35% rate without also talking about the effective rate, then they are being intentionally deceptive.
• In addition, many of the countries with lower marginal corporate tax rates are able to do so because they also instituted a value added tax, something unlikely to happen in the US.  Here again, if someone cites the 35% rate without also talking about the VAT, they are intentionally leaving out half the story.

Okay, I seem to be drifting from "all fact" to "fact mixed with opinion" so I guess it's time to quit for now.