AP FACT CHECK: Claims from the 1st Democratic debate

WASHINGTON (AP) — Ten Democrats seeking the presidency tussled on a Miami stage Wednesday night in the opening debate of the 2020 campaign, with 10 more on tap Thursday.

A look at some of their statements and how they compare with the facts:

TIM RYAN: “The bottom 60% haven’t seen a raise since 1980. The top 1% control 90% of the wealth.”

THE FACTS: Those figures from the U.S. representative from Ohio exaggerate the state of income and wealth inequality. While few studies single out the bottom 60%, the
Congressional Budget Office calculates
that the bottom 80% of Americans have seen their incomes rise 32% since 1979. That is certainly lower than the doubling of income enjoyed by the top one-fifth of income earners. And the richest 1% possess 32% of the nation’s wealth, according to
data from the Federal Reserve
, not 90%.

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Associated Press writer Christopher Rugaber contributed to this report.

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