PolitiFact – PolitiFact Wisconsin ‘High Five’ for July 2022

From pipelines to politics to pilsners to political events (and their conventions), our 5 favourite truth checks from July 2022 coated a variety of subjects. To offer a greater sense of what resonated over the previous month, we’re altering our protocols on our Excessive 5.

We’ll embrace a few of the most-clicked objects, in fact, but additionally some others which might be particularly related or well timed – similar to those beneath in regards to the Republican Nationwide Conference.

Listed below are our 5 sizzling picks for final month:

1. U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis.: “Because of failed Dem insurance policies, beer is 9.1% dearer.” 

Johnson’s marketing campaign pointed to U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics information, which reveals the typical value of a malt beverage in a mean U.S. metropolis over time. 

Based on the info, the typical value of 16 ounces of beer went  from $1.50 in April 2020 to $1.66 in June 2022, which quantities to a ten.7% improve within the retail value. However there’s extra to it than that.

A few of that improve got here on Trump’s watch, and costs have truly been steadily rising for the reason that late Nineteen Nineties. 

What’s extra, whereas insurance policies enacted by Democrats, such because the American Rescue Plan, have performed a job, there are numerous different components which might be influencing the rising prices of products and providers, such because the fallout from the pandemic, the conflict in Ukraine, modifications within the labor market and rising power prices. 

We rated this declare Half True, that means it’s partially correct, however leaves out essential particulars or takes issues out of context. 

2. Former President Donald Trump: The Wisconsin Supreme Court docket resolution declaring poll drop packing containers unlawful “consists of the 2020 Presidential Election.” 

Trump, who fell almost 21,000 votes wanting successful Wisconsin in 2020, has by no means accepted defeat.

On July 8, 2022, the state Supreme Court docket dominated that Wisconsin regulation doesn’t allow absentee poll drop packing containers wherever apart from election clerk workplaces and that solely state lawmakers might make new coverage stating in any other case — not the Wisconsin Elections Fee, which had issued steering to clerks permitting them.

Trump claimed repeatedly the choice is retroactive to 2020, and — in his view — might one way or the other cancel the end result.

That declare defies logic, and the court docket’s order itself. The state Supreme Court docket itself has explicitly permitted the drop packing containers in some previous elections. Its order is potential — for the longer term, not the previous. And that evaluation got here from the group that filed the lawsuit.

We rated the declare Pants on Fireplace.

3. Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson: The Republican Nationwide Committee is “a $200 million financial infusion into our communities.” 

Johnson and different metropolis officers have boasted of the advantages of holding the Republican conference – together with one boast that we discovered goes too far.

Whereas the $200 million estimate from VISIT Milwaukee is grounded within the expertise of Cleveland in 2016, an knowledgeable who has studied a variety of previous conventions say it’s “wildly exaggerated.” What’s extra, even when the anticipated spending figures are reached, a lot of the cash would rapidly depart the native financial system for different locations – similar to the company homeowners of lodges, and such.

We rated the declare Half True.

4. Liberal teams:  “Milwaukee’s lodges and eating places are already stuffed in the course of the summer time. The RNC conference will merely change those that usually go to our metropolis.” 

A coalition of liberal group teams from throughout the state has decried Milwaukee’s effort to host the RNC.

The teams have a degree in regards to the financial impression, in that the baseline isn’t zero. There are guests who keep at lodges, and diners who eat at eating places with or with no conference. However the teams vastly overstate the purpose by suggesting there can be no improve or profit in any respect from the RNC.

Statistics have proven a typical Milwaukee resort occupancy price of about 76% within the month of August. And clearly all eating places are usually not 100% full both. So there clearly can be some financial profit to bringing the occasion to the town, even contemplating the substitution impact. 

We rated the declare Largely False. 

5. GOP gubernatorial candidate Tim Michels: The cancellation of the Keystone XL pipeline by Joe Biden “killed a whole lot of jobs, despatched gasoline costs means up.” 

Let’s begin with the roles. 

Based on a submit on Michels Corp.’s web site, the corporate anticipated to make use of greater than 350 folks for a contract to construct new pump stations in e U.S. A submit on Michels Canada’s web site stated the corporate anticipated to rent 1,000 employees every year over the two-year development interval for its work on a  Canadian portion of the pipeline.

But it surely’s essential to notice that the roles had been short-term. As soon as development was full and the pipeline was operational, about 50 whole workers had been required in america: 35 everlasting workers and 15 short-term contractors. 

As for gasoline costs, the pipeline resolution got here greater than a 12 months earlier than the Russia’s Feb. 24, 2002 invasion of Ukraine. That despatched gasoline costs rising sharply, peaking at $4.33 a gallon on March 11 earlier than a slight decline. They then began rising once more from late April via mid-June, once they reached a document $5.01 per gallon on June 13 earlier than declining once more.

In any case, the Keystone XL wouldn’t have but been operational, and as soon as it’s, it will solely have a marginal have an effect on on costs. 

We rated this declare Largely False.

Try these Tony Evers guarantees

By the way in which, PolitiFact Wisconsin has up to date our Evers-O-Meter, which tracks progress on the marketing campaign guarantees made by Gov. Tony Evers. (We did the identical for former Gov. Scott Walker, a Republican.)

We did two updates on latest promise-ratings for Evers, which will be discovered right here and right here. 

Yow will discover all of his guarantees – and our scores – right here.