By Robert Higgs, PolitiFact Ohio and The Plain Dealer
Last week was a week of extremes for PolitiFact Ohio, with two claims earning ratings of True, while two others prompted us to cry out Pants On Fire.
Along the way there were also a statements rated as Half True and Barely True.
You can read the full columns at PolitiFactOhio . Here's a quick look at items that appeared in The Plain Dealer:
Where's the beef: While touting legislation that led to repeal of Ohio's estate tax, State Rep. Jay Hottinger told a radio interviewer that Wendy's founder "Dave Thomas left the state, literally on his death bed," to avoid having to pay it.
PolitiFact Ohio rated Hottinger's tale as Pants On Fire .
We found that Thomas moved to Florida at the age of 49 when he retired as Wendy's CEO. He lived there the next 20 years, establishing himself as part of the community and engaging in philanthropic causes. He finished high school, resolving a longtime regret. Ultimately, he registered there as a voter.
Hottinger's claim was that Thomas fled the state "literally on his death bed, to avoid the estate tax." That clearly isn't the case, unless he lingered 20 years before dying. And at that, it would have been three years too soon.
Until 2005 (three years after Thomas' death), Florida also had an estate tax.
Statehouse misdirection: Senate President Tom Niehaus grudgingly expressed admiration for the efforts of protesters at the Statehouse to object to Senate Bill 5, the collective-bargaining overhaul. But as he praised their ability to command attention, he also accused them of vile behavior.
"Unfortunately, we have documented instances where people defecated in the building," Niehaus told a group of reporters.
The Capital Square Review and Advisory Board, which handles building management for the Statehouse, told us that no one had defecated in the Statehouse. Someone did defecate in a stairwell that connects an underground parking garage with a heated shelter where people wait for buses and homeless people sometimes congregate.
There was no proof that the deed was done by one of the protesters, a board spokesman said. And it had happened other times when no protesters were at the Statehouse, he said.
Accurate statistics: Gov. John Kasich, in an interview with CNN, made a claim to illustrate Ohio's tough economic times.
"We have lost 600,000 jobs over the period of the last 10 years. Only Michigan and California have done worse."
PolitiFact Ohio checked federal labor data from December 2000 to December 2010 and found he was right on point. The number is even worse if you compare it to the peak job level of May 2000. The net loss by December 2010 was more like 640,000 jobs.
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