Sen. Bernie Sanders has repeatedly claimed that 1 in 5 seniors "live on an average income of $7,600 a year."
The reality is not quite so shocking. After FactCheck inquired, the expert who generated that income estimate revised it upward to $8,263, using more up-to-date figures and adjusting for a minor mistake.
The income figure does not count such non-cash government benefits as food stamps, housing assistance, Medicare or Medicaid, or proceeds from reverse mortgages. Nor does it include personal funds such as savings or insurance proceeds.
Sanders would have been correct to say that 20 percent of seniors in America lived on cash income of less than $13,292 in 2012 - not counting non-cash government assistance.
Kentuckian Paul misses the mark
Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul misrepresented cases involving the Environmental Protection Agency and the Clean Water Act. Paul said a Mississippi man served "10 years" for "conspiracy to put dirt on his own land."
Robert Lucas was in fact convicted of 40 counts related to filling in protected wetlands on a 2,620-acre lot and selling housing units with deficient septic systems.
He appealed the verdict -but continued to sell and lease homes at the development in question, and even continued filling in wetlands there.
The EPA has called this case - which spanned three administrations - "the most significant criminal wetlands case in the history of the Clean Water Act." Lucas served about seven years.
Chip Tuthill lives in Mancos. Website used: www.factcheck.org.
