There's been a lot of info flying around about health care reform from a lot of different sources. It's gotten so ridiculous, some people are even claiming that the President wants to create 'death panels' that would decide whether sick or elderly Americans live or die.

Here's the truth about death panels: they're completely made-up.

It's actually one of many scare tactics that opponents of health reform are using to confuse the majority of Americans standing behind President Obama's plan.

Rumors and scare tactics are powerful things - but not as powerful as the truth. Click here for some quick facts about health reform:

http://action.seiu.org/healthfacts

When it comes to something as personal and important as health care, we've got to be extra careful that we get the facts right before we make up our minds. Click here to get straight facts on the President's plan to fix health care.

The Chamber of Commerce continues their "Just Say No!" strategy against health care reform with a new ad this week that flaunts a series of misleading numbers to make the case (or rather, their lack thereof) against legislation that will guarantee Americans access to quality, affordable health care. After all, who needs real facts when you can just distort the reality of what fixing health care will mean to millions of Americans and small businesses instead? Not the Chamber!

Now for some truth: We all know America's health care system is broken. But instead of proposing solutions to help ease the crushing burden of rising costs, the right-wing continues to spend millions to champion the status quo and attack common-sense health care reforms. At a time when small businesses are crumbling under the weight of rising healthcare costs, the last thing they need is more attacks on legislation that will guarantee small businesses and their employees' access to quality, affordable healthcare.

Here are the facts on how small businesses and taxpayers would actually be affected by the latest proposals for fixing our broken system.

False U.S. Chamber Claim: Proposed Surtax On America's Wealthiest Will Push Tax Rate Over 50% in 39 States. In a new print ad, the new U.S. Chamber of Commerce claims that the proposed health care surtax will push "the top marginal tax rate over 50% in 39 states." This information is based on a study by the Tax Foundation. [U.S. Chamber of Commerce ad, accessed 7/21/09; Tax Foundation, 7/14/09]

REALITY: Tax Foundation Assumes Tax Rates Would Rise After Two Years. The Tax Foundation's analysis assumes that the tax rates would rise again in 2013. This is because "If additional savings didn't materialize at some specified date, this would 'trigger' higher rates coming into effect in 2013." However, the Tax Foundation assumes these higher rates in 2011. [Citizens for Tax Justice, 7/15/2009; Tax Foundation, 7/14/2009]

REALITY: Proposed Surcharge Would Help Recover Some of $700 Billion In Tax Breaks Given To America's Top Earners. According to Citizens for Tax Justice, "the graduated surcharge included in H.R. 3200 to finance health care reform would require the richest one percent to give back some, but not all, of the tax cuts they received over the 2001-2010 period." [Citizens for Tax Justice, 7/15/2009]

U.S. Chamber Ad Also Cites Misleading Wall Street Journal Claim. In the new print advertisement, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce also cites the Wall Street Journal, which claimed that the surtax "would hit job creators especially hard because more than six of every 10 who earn that much are small business owners, operators, or investors." [U.S. Chamber of Commerce ad, accessed 7/21/09]

REALITY: The Wall Street Journal Numbers Are Very Misleading and Overestimate Number of Small Businesses Affected.
According to Factcheck.org, it is unlikely that the number the Wall Street Journal used is that high, arguing the number "is a guess" and "some evidence suggests the true percentage is lower." Indeed, "only 2.2 percent of filers with small business income would be in the top two income tax brackets..." [Factcheck.org, Factcheck Wire, 3/6/2009; Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, 3/26/2009]

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce claims to defend the interests of small businesses, but even a quick examination of their legislative record shows them opposing bill after bill that may help small businesses--and health care reform legislation is no different.

More Than Nine Out of Ten Small Businesses Will Not Be Affected By Surtax. According to the Center on Budget on Budget and Policy Priorities, "More than nine in ten small businesses would feel no impact whatsoever," meaning "some 96 percent of taxpayers with business income would not owe the surcharge." [Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, 7/17/2009]

Even Those Paying the Surcharge Will Not See Any Impact On Business. According to Citizens for Tax Justice, the surcharge will only affect business profits, and "a small business owner deducts any money that she paid to employees as compensation, as well as any other operating costs...it is only business profits that are taxed." In addition, "even purchases of equipment to expand business operations would not be affected..." [Citizens for Tax Justice, 7/15/2009]

A Number of Small Businesses Will Benefit From Tax Credit Provided in the House Bill. According to the House Ways and Means Committee, "a substantial number of small businesses would benefit from a new tax credit included in the bill...the House proposal provides a tax credit of up to 50 percent of the employer's coverage for certain small businesses that choose to provide health coverage for their employees." [House Ways and Means Committee, accessed 7/21/2009]

Health Care Reform Can Save Small Businesses 36% Of Their Health Care Costs and Reduce Profit Losses By More Than 50%. With health care reform, "small businesses can save as much as $855 billion, a reduction of 36 percent." In addition, "over the next ten years...small businesses will lose $52.1 billion in profits to high healthcare costs. Healthcare reform can reduce these losses by more than 56 percent, saving $29.2 billion in small business profits..." [Small Business Majority, 6/11/2009]

Health Care Reform That Includes Shared Responsibility Will Save Workers Billions In Wages. According to a recent study, "Reforming healthcare, and providing support to small businesses under a new system of shared responsibility, can save workers up to $309 billion in wages over the next ten years. [Small Business Majority, 6/11/2009]

In response to new ads from out-of-state corporate lobbyists spreading lies about the Employee Free Choice Act, Nebraska Change that Works issued this statement from North Platte cafeteria worker Trish Meuhlenkamp:

"The ads by this outside group are a slap in the face to Nebraska workers. This is yet another example of the dishonest politics coming from weak outsiders. My job is more than just a paycheck. It's about people and it's about respect. These groups represent exactly the kind of greed that we need to rein in to protect our economy. They need to stop speaking for Nebraskans and start telling the truth."

The Employee Freedom Action Committee is spreading lies about the Employee Free Choice Act, claiming that unionization means that workers do not have a say in their wages and benefits and that higher unionization hurts companies. Nothing could be farther from the truth.

The fact is that union workers have higher wages and benefits than non-union workers. That is why more than half of all U.S. workers would join a union if they could. And research shows that unionization does not lead companies to fail. Higher unionization would actually put more money into workers' pockets, which would provide a much needed boost to businesses and our economy overall.

Below is a fact check on the many falsehoods in the ads.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce-backed corporate front group Coalition for a Democratic Workplace is out with a new video filled with falsehoods about the Employee Free Choice Act. Their new video, produced by GOP and corporate ad man Mike Murphy, peddles thoroughly debunked lies and misinformation about the bill.

Watch our fact check:

Media Matters Action has a thorough debunking of this ad, but here's some of our own fact checking as well:

Businesses Are Not Negatively Impacted by Unionization. A study released by the Economic Policy Institute found that unionized businesses are no more likely than nonunion ones to fail. [EPI, 2009]

Study That Claims Employee Free Choice Act Will Lead To Job Losses Is "Crackpot Economics": According to Larry Mishel of the Economic Policy Institute, the Layne-Farrar study is "crackpot economics." Mishel noted that by using the study's logic, the United States would have "negative unemployment" given that union membership has decreased over the past 30 years. Instead, U.S. unemployment has reached a 26-year high of 8.1 percent. [Daily Labor Report, 3/6/09]

Exhaustive Analysis Found No Link Between Unionization Rates & Unemployment. In 2006, according to CEPR's Dean Baker, the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) did an "exhaustive analysis" of the research on this topic and concluded that there was no link between unionization rates and unemployment. [Dean Baker, Op-Ed, Talking Points Memo, 3/13/09]

Greater Unionization Could Pump $49 Billion Into the U.S. Economy. A February 2009 report by the Center for American Progress Action Fund found that a modest increase in unionization rates would help restore the broken link between productivity and wage gains, pumping tens of billions of dollars into the U.S. economy. According to the report, "If unionization rates were the same as they were in 1983 and the current union wage premium remained constant, new union workers would earn an estimated $49.0 billion more in wages and salaries per year." [Center for American Progress Action Fund, "Unions Are Good for Workers and the Economy," 2/18/09]

Many Successful U.S. Businesses Thrive with Unions. Kaiser Permanente, Harley-Davidson Motor Company, and other top companies prove that employers can be industry leaders while still respecting workers' rights. [The Labor Day List: Partnerships that Work, American Rights at Work]