Washington Post Debunks Romney Job Numbers
MIAMI (CBSMiami) – Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney's claim that he will create 12 million jobs is coming under increased scrutiny after the candidate repeatedly used the number in recent debates.
Romney's claim is that he would use his "energy independence policy" to create 3 million new jobs. His tax reform to lower rates would create 7 million jobs and then expanding trade, cracking down on China and improving job training would add another two million jobs, according to Romney.
Moody's Analytics forecasted that regardless of who becomes president, 12 million jobs will be created by 2016. According to the Washington Post, Macroeconomic Advisors made a similar prediction of 12.3 million jobs created no matter who is in the White House.
According to the Post's fact checkers, Romney's numbers aren't representative of a four-year term and come from different studies with different timelines for recovery.
The Post found that Romney's tax plan number of 7 million jobs created would be over a ten-year period and is gleaned from a single study written by a Rice University professor.
The 3 million jobs claim for Romney's "energy independence policy," according to the Romney campaign, came from a Citigroup Markets study that didn't evaluate policies put forth by Romney. It found that 2.7 to 3.6 million energy jobs would be created over the next eight years because of trends and policies already in place, according to the Washington Post.
Romney's campaign told the Post fact-checker, "The big point is the 3+7+2 does not make up the 12 million jobs in the first four years (different source of growth and different time period."
The Post gave the Romney jobs claims four pinocchios, the worst rating it gives for false or misleading campaign messaging.
"In many ways, this episode offers readers a peek behind a campaign wizard's curtain – and a warning that job-creation claims by any campaign should not be accepted at face value," the Post wrote in its analysis.
