As Jeb struggles to compete on a national stage dominated by Donald Trump, his super PAC, Right to Rise, has stepped in with a whopper of a television ad. The ad’s claims about Jeb’s record as governor reveal a commitment to obscuring Jeb’s truly radical and out of touch policy proposals.

Right to Rise’s Jeb Fallacies

“As Governor, he helped create 1.3 million new jobs.”

Jeb Bush’s job creation rate “was the lowest of Florida’s past five governors.” “A strong state and national economy fattened Florida’s budget by 45 percent — from $49 billion when he took office to more than $71 billion this year. Bush credited his tax cuts for strong job growth, although the rate was the lowest of Florida’s past five governors.” [Miami Herald, 12/17/06]

Jeb Bush built Florida’s economy on the housing bubble, causing the majority of the state’s job gains to be wiped out in the four years after he left office, once the bubble burst. “When you account for the role of housing, Bush’s economic record looks a lot more mixed. Almost all of the gains he talks up today, including three-fifths of the job creation, were wiped out in the four years after he left office, once the bubble burst.” [Washington Post, 6/16/15]

• After Jeb Bush left office, Florida’s economy averaged -2.4 percent growth, as opposed to the 0.3 percent national average. “The most striking stat, though, is growth. Under Bush, Florida indeed averaged 4.4 percent growth per year, after adjusting for inflation; at the same time, the nation averaged 3 percent growth. In the four years after Bush left office, as housing prices tumbled and recession set in, the nation averaged 0.3 percent growth. Florida averaged -2.4 percent.” [Washington Post, 6/16/15]

“He vetoed billions in government spending.”

Jeb Bush used the line-item veto, a tool unavailable to the President of the United States, to unilaterally cut state spending he didn’t like. “Bush came into office in 1999 vowing to use his line-item veto on state spending he didn’t like, and he followed through with a vengeance. […] We should note that if Bush wins the presidency, he likely won’t get to whack as much. A president doesn’t have a line-item veto and has to either accept or reject an entire piece of legislation.” [PolitiFact, 5/26/15]

“He cut taxes $19 billion…

Jeb Bush bragged about cutting taxes by $19 billion in Florida, when in reality at least $6 billion of those cuts were enacted by his brother at the federal level. “Bush regularly tells interviewers that as governor he cut state taxes by $19 billion. A review of state records by the publication Tax Analysts, however, found only $13 billion worth of cuts. The difference, according to PolitiFact Florida, an independent political fact-checking website, is that the campaign included what Floridians saved because of the elimination of the federal estate tax, which Bush’s brother, President George W. Bush, got through Congress in 2001.” [Bloomberg, 7/28/15]

Jeb Bush repealed Florida’s “intangibles tax” on stocks and investments. “The state’s intangibles tax on stocks and investments, worth about $131-million annually, has been eliminated starting in 2006-07; the budget includes money to provide merit pay for teachers; and it sets aside $390-million for Bush’s economic development initiatives.” [St. Petersburg Times, 5/26/06]

• The intangibles tax was “one of Florida’s only progressive sources of tax revenue; eliminating it primarily benefited the state’s wealthiest residents and made its tax system even more regressive.” “During his eight years as governor of Florida, Bush pushed through about $13 billion in tax cuts, a substantial portion of which went to the wealthiest Floridians. The most significant was his cut and eventual repeal of Florida’s intangibles tax, which amounted to more than three times the size of any other category of cuts enacted under his watch. This low-rate-tax on the value of residents’ intangible assets (such as stocks, bonds and accounts received) was one of Florida’s only progressive sources of tax revenue; eliminating it primarily benefited the state’s wealthiest residents and made its tax system even more regressive.” [Tax Justice Blog, 7/9/15]

St. Petersburg Times editorial: Under Jeb Bush, “for most Floridians, the state and local tax burden has become heavier still. It has been lightened only for the wealthiest.” “In his inaugural address four years ago, Gov. Jeb Bush complained about the ‘crushing weight’ of Florida taxes. He has prided himself on cutting taxes every session since then. But for most Floridians, the state and local tax burden has become heavier still. It has been lightened only for the wealthiest, who were taxed the least to begin with.” [St. Petersburg Times editorial, 1/12/03]

…balanced 8 budgets…

Jeb Bush, like all Florida governors, was constitutionally obligated to balance Florida’s budget every year. “Of course Jeb balanced the budget; that’s literally a constitutional requirement in Florida. Jeb could not legally submit or sign into law a budget that wasn’t balanced.” [Vox, 8/7/15]

…and shrank state government.”

Jeb Bush moored his budgets to “a bounty of new tax receipts” resulting from the housing bubble to offset his tax breaks. “Once a millionaire real estate developer, Gov. Jeb Bush is now profiting politically from Florida’s housing boom with his whopping $70.8 billion budget proposal that’s moored to a bounty of new tax receipts. Before becoming governor, Bush made his fortune buying and selling commercial projects in partnership with developer Armando Codina. Now, heading toward the exit in his eighth year as governor, Bush is polishing his political legacy by spending freely on schools, the environment and social programs, while still dishing out a record $1.5 billion in tax breaks. A look inside the numbers shows much of the black ink is rooted in Florida’s soil. Revenue from real-estate taxes will skyrocket to $3.5 billion this year — a remarkable 300 percent increase since Bush left the development business for the governor’s mansion in 1999.” [Orlando Sentinel, 2/5/06]

Under Jeb Bush, Florida’s local property taxes grew faster than personal income and inflation. “Property taxes. While Bush gained a reputation as a fierce tax-cutter, he and the GOP-controlled Legislature relied on growth in property values to pay for public schools. Property taxes have grown faster than personal income and inflation, according to information that Bush’s office presented to a tax reform committee the governor set up this past summer to make recommendations on what should be done.” [Miami Herald, 12/17/06]

Under Jeb Bush, the portion of Florida’s local tax burden determined by the state legislature “grew considerably.” “Unbeknownst to most Florida homeowners, a sizeable chunk of their property tax bills — at least a quarter of it in many cases — is dictated by the state Legislature. It is known as the ‘Required Local Effort,’ and under Gov. Bush that local tax burden grew considerably. Even as the actual tax rate decreased some years, people paid more for required local effort because their property values increased. When your governor embraces sending you a higher tax bill, is that a tax increase?” [Tampa Bay Times, 5/1/15]

“He took on unions and won with new accountability and over 200 new charter schools.”

FL Education Commissioner Tom Gallahger: Jeb Bush’s Department of Education failed “to assign leadership,” created “a lack of accountability,” and paved the way for “possible criminal activity” in his school choice program. “‘Overall, the Department of Education’s failure to assign leadership to this program . . . has created a lack of accountability and has put the success of these vital school choice programs at risk,’ Gallagher said in a letter to Phil Handy, chairman of the state Board of Education. He said the lack of state oversight paves the way for ‘potential abuse or possible criminal activity.’ Among his complaints: Some students are getting money from two voucher programs at the same time. Agencies that give out vouchers do not now have to demonstrate fiscal soundness. There often is no verification that a child receiving a voucher is attending school.” [Orlando Sentinel, 12/12/03]

• An executive at one of several private organizations designated around the state to distribute money collected from Jeb Bush’s corporate tax credit voucher program stole $268,125 in voucher money from the state. “An Ocala man was arrested Thursday on a charge of pocketing state money intended to pay the private-school tuition of poor children under one of Gov. Jeb Bush’s prized school-voucher programs. James Kirk Isenhour, 56, chairman of the Silver Archer Foundation, was charged with grand theft in the first degree and booked into the Marion County Jail. Prosecutors say he took $268,125 in voucher money during 2003 and spent it for other uses. The money was to have financed a year in private school for 75 students. Silver Archer is one of several private organizations designated around the state to distribute money collected from corporations to pay for private school tuition.” [Orlando Sentinel, 1/30/04]

• Officials at a Polk County school defrauded the state out of more than $200,000 in voucher money. “A Polk County Christian school accepted state voucher money for disabled children who didn’t attend the school, leading to seven arrests Tuesday, authorities said. Faith Christian Academy in Bartow also defrauded a voucher program in which corporations receive tax credits for providing private school scholarships to poor children, according to an affidavit filed by investigators. In addition, it took money from a federal free lunch program for more students than actually attended the school. The school’s officials defrauded the state and others out of more than $200,000, using some of it to purchase cars and real estate, said an affidavit investigators filed to obtain arrest warrants.” [Associated Press, 6/29/04]

• The state’s investigating attorney was surprised at how few controls the state had over its voucher money and said that taxpayer money was “being diverted to criminal enterprises.” “Jerry Hill, the state attorney for Polk County who conducted a seven-month investigation that ended Tuesday with fraud and racketeering charges against seven Christian school employees in Bartow, said he was surprised at how few controls the state had over its voucher money. He suggested that lawmakers develop ways to audit how taxpayer money is spent on vouchers. ‘I think to do otherwise means that education money is being diverted to criminal enterprises,’ he said Wednesday.” [Palm Beach Post, 7/1/04]

Jeb Bush “refused to require [voucher] programs to meet the same standards required of regular public schools.” “The problem remains that Gov. Bush’s education policy is gimmick-driven. He and the Legislature have created a plethora of voucher programs and eased the way for creation of record numbers of charter schools, but they have refused to require those programs to meet the same standards required of regular public schools.” [Palm Beach Post editorial, 9/19/05]

• Jeb Bush’s voucher programs did not require private schools receiving taxpayer dollars to be accredited by reputable accrediting groups. “Despite several high-profile cases of fraud and abuse in voucher schools, a new Senate Education Committee report says private schools getting state vouchers should not have to be accredited. The report, released before the spring session of the legislature, says it would require too much state oversight to monitor the accreditation status of the estimated 1,000 private schools that accept vouchers and that accreditation doesn’t necessarily equal a quality education program. […] The report also said that requiring accreditation would force many private schools out of the voucher programs, either because they can’t afford the accreditation process, or they can’t meet the standards of reputable accrediting groups. That would limit private-school choices for parents, which is a major tenet of Gov. Jeb Bush’s education reform effort.” [Palm Beach Post, 1/12/05]

• Petersburg Times: Jeb Bush “has so adamantly opposed standardized testing for voucher schools that he has no credible way to tell whether the voucher students are learning.” “He has so adamantly opposed standardized testing for voucher schools that he has no credible way to tell whether the voucher students are learning.” [St. Petersburg Times editorial, 5/3/06]