Katherine vs. Giuliani

Exaggerating on Tax Cut Record:
 
Giuliani repeated his exaggerated claim that he cut taxes 23 times as mayor, which has been repeatedly debunked by independent analyses:

• Giuliani Exaggerates His Record On Taxes, Taking Credit For Nine Tax Cuts Where None Is Due. In an article entitled "Giuliani's Tax Puffery," independent watchdog FactCheck.org found Giuliani's claims on cutting taxes highly misleading. They wrote that "the mayor takes credit for too many tax cuts" and called his claims an "overstatement." Their research showed Giuliani can't claim credit for nine of the 23 cuts he cites. They also found that "he takes personal credit for eight cuts that were initiated not by him but by the state, according to the city's Independent Budget Office, a publicly funded, nonpartisan watchdog agency that puts out highly regarded budget analyses."  [FactCheck.org, 7/27/07 (http://www.factcheck.org/elections-2008/giulianis_tax_puffery.html]

• Largest Cut Giuliani Claims Credit For Is One He Actually Opposed. FactCheck.org wrote that for example, with the personal income tax surcharge, "he strongly opposed one of the largest cuts for which he claims credit, reversing himself only after a five-month standoff with the city council." The personal income tax surchage reduction, worth an estimated $821 million in FY01, was a full 26% of the overall tax reductions reported by the Giuliani administration for that year and by far the largest of the 23 on the list of tax cuts he claims credit for. CNBC called it "the granddaddy" of the city's tax cuts, noting his original opposition to it. [FactCheck.org, 7/27/07 (http://www.factcheck.org/elections-2008/giulianis_tax_puffery.html); "Tax Reductions - Already Enacted," Budget Summary, City of NY Executive Budget FY 02, p. 50; "Squawk Box," CNBC, 10/5/07]

• CNBC's Truth Squad: In a segment called "Truth Squad," CNBC's Squawk Box found that "But a closer look at the numbers show he's claiming credit for some tax cuts that weren't his idea to begin with and others that he actively opposed." ["Squawk Box," CNBC, 10/5/07]

• Daily News: "Not Really True." The New York Daily News wrote that Giuliani's claim is "not really true, say tax-cutting allies of the former mayor, as well as experts at the city's Independent Budget Office and elsewhere." [Daily News (NY), 7/29/07]

Giuliani Refused To Sign Pledge Not To Raise Taxes. “Rudy Giuliani - who touts his record as a tax
cutter on the campaign trail - has refused to sign a pledge not to raise taxes if elected president.” [New
York Post, 6/2/07]

Giuliani Exaggerates His Record On Taxes, Taking Credit For Nine Tax Cuts Where None Is
Due. In an article entitled “Giuliani’s Tax Puffery,” independent watchdog FactCheck.org found
Giuliani’s claims on cutting taxes highly misleading. They wrote that “the mayor takes credit for too
many tax cuts” and called his claims an “overstatement.” Their research showed Giuliani can’t claim
credit for nine of the 23 cuts he cites. For example, with the personal income tax surcharge, “he strongly
opposed one of the largest cuts for which he claims credit, reversing himself only after a five-month
standoff with the city council.” They also found that “he takes personal credit for seven cuts that were
initiated not by him but by the state, according to the city's Independent Budget Office, a publicly
funded, nonpartisan watchdog agency that puts out highly regarded budget analyses.” The New York
Daily News wrote that Giuliani’s claim is “not really true, say tax-cutting allies of the former mayor, as
well as experts at the city's Independent Budget Office and elsewhere.” [FactCheck.org, 7/27/07
(http://www.factcheck.org/elections-2008/giulianis_tax_puffery.html); Daily News (NY), 7/29/07]

Largest Cut Giuliani Claims Credit For Is One He Actually Opposed. The personal income
tax surchage reduction, worth an estimated $821 million in FY01, was a full 26% of the overall
tax reductions reported by the Giuliani administration for that year and by far the largest of the
23 on the list of tax cuts he claims credit for. [FactCheck.org, 7/27/07
(http://www.factcheck.org/elections-2008/giulianis_tax_puffery.html); “Tax Reductions –
Already Enacted,” Budget Summary, City of NY Executive Budget FY 02, p. 50]

Giuliani Brought Suit To Stop Another Tax Cut. “In the case of one of the biggest tax cuts during his
tenure, the elimination of the commuter tax, Mr. Giuliani actually opposed the tax cut so vigorously that
he brought a lawsuit jointly with the city’s Democratic City Council speaker in an effort to get a court to
order state lawmakers to keep the tax in place.” [Editorial, New York Sun, 3/29/07]

Tax Revenue, Fines and Fees Went Up Under Giuliani. Compared to the last fiscal year budgeted by
his predecessor (FY94) under Giuliani, the city’s revenues grew by $5.3 billion (24%) by the end of his
last budget (FY02).
• Property tax revenue went up 12.71% ($988 million)
• Personal income tax revenue went up 40% ($1.45 billion)
• Total tax revenue went up 19.77% ($3.5 billion)
• User fees/fines went up 44.92% ($1 billion)
• Total City-Based Revenues went up 24% ($5.3 billion)
[IBO Revenue and Expenditure Summary
(http://www.ibo.nyc.ny.us/iboreports/RevenueSpending/RevandExpSummary.xls)]

Giuliani’s Tax Logic Leaves Business Executives “Bewildered.” During a September 2007 speech to
technological executives, Giuliani said that he could eliminate the alternative minimum tax (AMT), and
cover the costs with even more tax cuts. His logic “prompted a bewildered response from his audience
of technology executives” but was confirmed later that day by the campaign. [Associated Press, 9/21/07]

Giuliani Did A Flip-Flop-Flip On The Flat Tax. In early April 2007, Giuliani said that the flat tax
“would probably not be feasible,” stating his previous support was “half-jocular” and “academic.”
Giuliani said, “I didn’t favor it [the flat tax]. I said something academic. What I said was, and it was not
a joke, but it was half-jocular, was if we didn't have an income tax...what would I favor? First I would
favor no tax. That would be my first position. My second position would probably be a flat tax…[The
flat tax] would probably not be feasible.” Just weeks early, in late March, Giuliani, according to the
New York Times, “embraced Mr. Forbes’s signature issue, saying he liked the idea of a flat tax.”
[Politicker, The New York Observer, 4/3/07, http://www.observer.com/node/31918 ; New York Times,
3/29/07]

Exaggerating on Spending Record:
 
Rhetoric: Giuliani claimed NYC spending "went down 7%."
 
Reality: Spending Under Giuliani Went Up 30%. In New York City, spending went up 30% under Giuliani as mayor, or by $9.5 billion.  Even stopping the tally at the end of FY01, before costs related to 9/11, finds a 28% increase, or $8.9 billion more in annual spending then before he took office.  ABC's Rick Klein wrote "Rudy Giuliani claims to have 'lowered spending' in New York City - big asterisk has to be there for that to be accurate." [NYC Independent Budget Office Revenue and Expenditure Summary (http://www.ibo.nyc.ny.us/iboreports/RevenueSpending/RevandExpSummary.xls); Rick Klein's Blog, ABC, 5/15/07]

FactCheck.Org Agrees: Deficit Went Up Over 20% Before 9/11. Analyzing Giuliani’s radio
ad, independent group FactCheck.org said that “this ad's listeners are being misled” and that
Giuliani “ignores the fact that he also left a multibillion-dollar deficit for his successor, not
including costs associated with 9/11.” According to city records, when Giuliani entered office in
1994 he was facing a $2.3 billion deficit, but when he issued his last budget in May of 2001 –
before 9/11 – his own budget projected a deficit of $2.8 billion for his successor’s first year.
That’s a 21.7% increase. The city’s Independent Budget Office put the figure at $3.3 billion.
Ultimately after 9/11 the figure grew to $5 billion, but a deficit larger then the one he inherited
was already on the books well before the terrorist attacks. [FactCheck.org, 7/27/07
(http://www.factcheck.org/elections-2008/giulianis_tax_puffery.html; “Four Year Financial Plan,” Executive
Budget, Fiscal Year 2002, NYC Office of Management and Budget, p. 6; Analysis of the Mayor's Executive
Budget for 2002, NYC Independent Budget Office (http://www.ibo.nyc.ny.us/iboreports/may2001.pdf), p. 4]

NYC Debt Skyrocketed To Historical Levels Under Giuliani: By virtually every measure, NYC’s
debt went up dramatically under Giuliani. According to data compiled by the New York City
Comptroller, the city’s debt went up 30% during the Giuliani years, from $28.3 billion in FY94 before
his first budget went into effect, to $40.4 billion at the end of FY01 (the last pre-9/11 figure). The same
data shows that the “per capita net debt” went from $3686 for FY94 to $4628 for FY01, covering the
seven Giuliani budget years before 9/11. The Daily News noted that Giuliani’s budgets left the highest
debt in the city’s history, while the editorial board of the New York Observer wrote that “The city's
annual debt service has risen from $2.8 billion to almost $4 billion since he moved into Gracie
Mansion.” [NYC Comptroller Comprehensive Annual Financial Report FY02, p. 261-2
(http://www.comptroller.nyc.gov/bureaus/acc/CAFR-02-pdf/III_stat_sect-file3of4.pdf); New York Daily News 12/6/01; Editorial, New York Observer, 4/23/01]

Payroll Grew 35.6% Under Giuliani. Debunking Giuliani’s claims, the Associated Press wrote that
“Despite his pitch, records from New York City's independent budget office show the city payroll grew
during his tenure.” In addition, total spending on personnel by the city increased 35.6%, by $5.6 billion
from the year before Giuliani took office through the end of fiscal year 2001, his last full fiscal year in
office and the fiscal year before 9/11. The total for FY94 was $15.7 billion, and the total for FY01 $21.3
billion. [Associated Press, 4/17/07; NYC Independent Budget Office Agency Expenditures
(http://www.ibo.nyc.ny.us/iboreports/RevenueSpending/AgencyExpenditures.xls)]

After Giuliani “Hiring Spree,” More Employees, Not Less. Independent Budget Office data shows
that as Giuliani was preparing to leave office in the summer of 2001, there were 249,824 full-time
positions in the city government – 974 more then the 248,850 in summer of 1993 before he took office
and 3041 more then the 246,783 in the summer of 1994, when his first budget went into effect. The
New York Times wrote that “Mr. Giuliani went on a hiring spree, in the end leaving the city work force
slightly bigger than he found it.” [NYC Independent Budget Office, Full Time Positions
(http://www.ibo.nyc.ny.us/iboreports/RevenueSpending/FullTimePositions.xls); New York Times, 8/27/07]

Record High Employee Level. The Manhattan Institute’s E.J. McMahon wrote in 2001 that the final
budget “will raise the city's employee headcount to a new high,” while “his 1993 campaign platform
suggested that 35,000 positions could be eliminated.” [McMahon column, New York Post, 7/9/01]

Giuliani Got Much More State/Fed Money To Cover His Spending Increases
Giuliani helped pay for his spending growth by getting more state and federal dollars for his budget,
something a president can’t do:
• Federal Aid Up: The city budget’s use of federal dollars went up 54% ($2.1 billion) by the end
of FY02 compared to FY94 (the last budget under Mayor Dinkins). Even before 9/11, by FY01
federal aid had gone up $590 million.
• State Aid Up. State dollars used in the city’s budget went up 36% ($2.1 billion), or 31% ($1.8
billion) stopping the tally before 9/11.
• Total State/Federal Aid Up. Combined, help from the US and NY State increased 43% ($4.2
billion) compared to the year before Giuliani’s first budget. (Stopping before 9/11, the figures are
24.9% and $2.4)
[IBO Revenue and Expenditure Summary
(http://www.ibo.nyc.ny.us/iboreports/RevenueSpending/RevandExpSummary.xls)]
 

Giuliani No Friend of Working Families:
 
RHETORIC: Giuliani claimed he had a strong record in support of labor, even claiming that "I think unions have made a positive contribution." [Debate, 10/9/07]
 
REALITY: A Lousy Record For Workers, Venomous Relationship With Unions

• Giuliani Mimics Bush Opposition To Minimum Wage. On MSNBC's Hardball, Giuliani said that "The president is thinking about any increase in the minimum wage usually means less jobs." He explained on Fox, "I think the president sees the complexity of that. I mean, he's sees the fact that the minimum wage -- it's very politically appealing to say it should be raised, but the minute you raise it, you're going to cost jobs, lose jobs, create a lot less flexibility at the lower levels in terms of entry-level jobs." [Fox News Network, 10/13/04; Hardball, MSNBC, 10/13/04]

• Giuliani Vowed To Mount "Revolution" Against Labor. "Vowing to mount a 'revolution' in labor negotiations, a campaign-bound Mayor Giuliani yesterday said he would stiff municipal unions in upcoming contract talks unless they surrender their claim to across-the-board wage hikes..The surprise announcement in the mayor's preliminary budget speech angered union leaders" [Daily News (New York), 1/28/00]

• Teachers Union President: Giuliani Was Provocative; Unions Had A Hard Time. "Teachers union president Randi Weingarten looks back at Giuliani's tenure and observes simply, 'Labor had a really hard time with Rudy Giuliani. His rhetoric was inflammatory. He wanted to be provocative and was. I don't think it was helpful.'" [Los Angeles Times, 9/13/07]

  
Giuliani Refuses to Rule out Florida Coastal Drilling:
 
Rhetoric: Get More Alternative Energy. Today, Giuliani insisted that "you don't draw the line anywhere," when it comes to alternative energy, and wouldn't rule out even drilling off the coasts of Floridaand California.
 
Reality: Giuliani Profiting From Expanding US Dependency On Foreign Oil.

• 2007: Giuliani Firm Representing Saudi Oil Ministry. While Giuliani campaigned on America's needs to reduce its dependence on foreign oil, in March 2007, Giuliani's law firm began representing Saudi Arabia's oil ministry in a Texas court case.  [Associated Press, 5/14/07]

• 2005-2007: Giuliani Defends Law Firm Lobbying For Hugo Chavez's Citgo.  Starting weeks after Giuliani joined the firm in 2005 and continuing into 2007, Bracewell and Giuliani received as much as $250,000 to lobby for Citgo, the oil firm controlled by Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. On June 21st, Giuliani "defended his law firm's work for the company, saying Citgo employs 'thousands and thousands of people in America.[The law firm] represented them honorably. They represented them well.'" [Bloomberg, 3/14/07; Newsday (New York), 6/22/07]

• 2007: Giuliani Continued To Make Money Helping Increase Use Of Foreign Oil in Kazakhstan. Since 1997, Bracewell and Giuliani has operated an office in the Republic of Kazakhstan "to service oil producers and their lenders in the Caspian Sea region"  Among their clients is "BMB Munai, which develops oil wells in Kazakhstan"  [Associated Press, 3/20/07, 5/15/07]

  
Giuliani Failed To Answer Question on Private Equity:
 
This afternoon, Giuliani was asked about private equity: "Can you explain it as New Yorker where these billions of dollars come from? Where were they before, and is there any downside to this amazing bonanza in the hedge fund and private equity firms?"
 
Since Giuliani failed to answer the question, here are some key facts:

Giuliani Backs Private Equity Firms on "Carried Interest" Tax Battle on Capitol Hill. Rudy Giuliani opposes any efforts to increase taxes on private-equity-firm executives, who currently enjoy only a 15% tax on what is generally considered to be partners' share of profits at private equity and hedge funds.  Giuliani, campaigning against any increases those taxes said recently in New Hampshire, "Who knows what you're going to do to capital markets?" He continued to say that Wall Street is "quite sensitive right now" about tax and regulatory issues. [The Wall Street Journal, 8/3/2007, 8/30/2007]

• Giuliani Chairs Private Equity Fund. In his most recent personal financial disclosure, Giuliani reported "compensation he earned as chairman of Leeds Equity Associates IV, a private-equity fund that gave him the option of taking a $150,000 stipend or an undisclosed share of future profits. Mr. Giuliani opted for the share." [The Wall Street Journal, 5/17/2007]

• Giuliani's Campaign has Received $800,000 from Hedge Fund Industry. According to the Center for Responsive Politics, Giuliani's campaign has received $800,750 from the hedge fund industry.  The "securities and investment" industry gave even more,  almost $3.5 million in the first half of 2007, which is higher than any other candidate for president.  [Opensecrets.org, 10/4/2007]