copenlu/druid huggingface dataset:
Claim: “Wage increases have exceeded” the cost of inflation. (Joe Biden, 2024-06-04)
Evidence (2024-03-06): To date, Medicare has had no authority to limit annual price increases for drugs covered under Part B or Part D. In contrast, Medicaid has a rebate system that requires drug manufacturers to provide refunds if prices grow faster than inflation. Year-to-year drug price increases exceeding inflation are not uncommon and affect people with both Medicare and private insurance. Our analysis shows that half of all drugs covered by Medicare had list price increases that exceeded the rate of inflation between 2019 and 2020. A separate analysis by the HHS Office of Inspector General showed average sales price (ASP) increases exceeding inflation for 50 of 64 studied Part B drugs in 2015. The Inflation Reduction Act requires drug manufacturers to pay a rebate to the federal government if prices for single-source drugs and biologicals covered under Medicare Part B and nearly all covered drugs under Part D increase faster than the rate of inflation (CPI-U). Price changes will be measured based on the average sales price for Part B drugs and the average manufacturer price for Part D drugs. If price increases are higher than inflation, manufacturers will be required to pay the difference in the form of a rebate to Medicare. The rebate amount is equal to the total number of units sold in Medicare multiplied by the amount, if any, by which a drug’s price in a given year exceeds the inflation-adjusted price. For Part B drugs with price increases greater than inflation, beneficiary coinsurance will be based on 20% of the drug’s lower inflation-adjusted price. The base year for measuring cumulative price changes relative to inflation is 2021.
Claim: “Wage increases have exceeded” the cost of inflation. (Joe Biden, 2024-06-04)
Evidence (2024-10-03): An area of persistent cost pressure for hospitals and health systems has been the rapid and sustained growth in drug expenses. Hospitals spent $115 billion on drug expenses in 2023 alone. One of the factors fueling this growth is drug company decisions to impose large price increases on existing drugs. However, 2023 also saw a continuation of a long-standing trend of drug companies introducing new drugs at record prices. In 2023, the median annual list price for a new drug was $300,000, an increase of 35% from the prior year (see Figure 7).24 A recent report by the HHS Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE) found that between 2022 and 2023, prices for nearly 2,000 drugs increased faster than the rate of general inflation, with an average price hike of 15.2%.25 [...] Though expenditures on contract labor have moderated since pandemic highs, the spending remains elevated and has added to the financial challenges hospitals and health systems face. This is especially true for smaller, rural hospitals where the local workforce pool is smaller and it can be more difficult to recruit staff. Hospitals’ labor costs also can be very sensitive to sudden fluctuations in the demand and supply of labor. Growth in wages and benefits of hospital employees has vastly surpassed economy-wide inflation over the last decade (see Figure 9).
Claim: “Wage increases have exceeded” the cost of inflation. (Joe Biden, 2024-06-04)
Evidence (2024-02-01): Released on January 31, 2024, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ 12-month growth rate of employer costs for employee compensation has exceeded consumer inflation for the third quarter in a row, despite declining to 4.2 percent in Q4 2023 from its 2022 high of 5.1 percent (Chart 1, Table 1). Remaining above the general price inflation experienced by U.S. households (CPI) for three quarters running reflects a solid reversal of the previous eight-quarter period of employee purchasing power erosion. [...] Softening of the overall ECI has been driven by the private sector. The 12-month growth rates of government sector wages and salaries and benefits have exceeded those in the private sector for three quarters. The ECI for government sector wages and salaries has remained essentially flat at 4.7% since December 2022. For private sector employees, the 12-month employment cost index for wages and salaries has declined steadily from its 5.7 percent peak in Q2 (June) 2022, with the ECI for benefits declining even more. It is important to note that the 12-month growth rate of the cost of government employee benefits has demonstrated a second quarter of notable decline. Government sector compensation responds more slowly to economic changes than does private sector compensation. Private sector compensation rose sooner in response to rising inflation beginning in 2021. That growth rate is now falling faster as inflation eases. The softening of benefit cost increases in the government sector may suggest the growth of wages and salaries in the government sector will begin a slowing trend.
Claim: “Wage increases have exceeded” the cost of inflation. (Joe Biden, 2024-06-04)
Evidence (2023-12-14): In April 2022, this space covered why – despite severe talent shortages and the ongoing impact of The Great Resignation – corporate salary increase budgets trailed inflation, and why salary increases move differently from inflation. A year later in mid-2023, salary increases continued to move differently than inflation under changing economic conditions, with salary increases potentially again exceeding inflation for the first time since 2020 (and in a manner keeping with most years of the past two decades). [...] With thanks to analysis by WTW’s Lori Wisper, several factors account for the difference between salary increases and inflation. While inflation and salary increases generally move in the same direction, influencing each other, they are driven by different inputs. Inflation is defined by changes in the cost of a market basket of goods (such as housing, groceries and fuel). Pay, on the other hand, is driven by changes to supply/demand for labor which can be caused by demographic trends, labor participation rates, unemployment levels, technological advances, and growth in productivity. For example, in 1979 – the year of the highest peacetime inflation on record – U.S. inflation was 13.3% but wage increases were a much lower 8.7%. Conversely, U.S. inflation was 1.9% in 2001, but salary increase budgets were much higher - near 4% - in 2001 and 2002. This difference tends to make employees feel advantaged in terms of real spending during low-inflation years and disadvantaged during high-inflation years. Independent of inflation, pay increases generally are expected to remain high as long as unemployment remains low.
Claim: “Wage increases have exceeded” the cost of inflation. (Joe Biden, 2024-06-04)
Evidence (2021-06-17): Medicare lacks a mechanism for limiting price increases in Part B physician-administered drugs and Part D retail prescription drugs. Some policymakers have proposed an inflation-based penalty that would require drug manufacturers to pay a rebate to Medicare when a drug’s price rises faster than the consumer price index (CPI-U).1 [...] Over the past 20 years, price increases for brand-name drugs in Medicare Part D have risen at more than twice the rate of inflation. In 2021, drug manufacturers increased prices an average of 4.2 percent on more than 900 brand-name drugs, a new record. Between 2018 and 2019, half of drugs covered by Part D plans had a price increase that exceeded inflation (which was 1.8%). Some increases were as large as 19.7 percent. [...] An inflation-based rebate penalty in Medicare would lead to federal savings of $36 billion for H.R. 3 and $82 billion for S. 2543 over 10 years, according to CBO. These savings would include a reduction in spending for the Medicare program and a modest gain in tax revenues that would result from employers shifting insurance premium savings into taxable wage increases for their employees.
Claim: “Wage increases have exceeded” the cost of inflation. (Joe Biden, 2024-06-04)
Evidence (2024-09-17): In August 2024, inflation amounted to 2.5 percent, while wages grew by 4.6 percent. The inflation rate has not exceeded the rate of wage growth since January 2023. [...] Despite the level of wage growth reaching 6.7 percent in the summer of 2022, it has not been enough to curb the impact of even higher inflation rates. The federally mandated minimum wage in the United States has not increased since 2009, meaning that individuals working minimum wage jobs have taken a real terms pay cut for the last twelve years. There are discrepancies between states - the minimum wage in California can be as high as 15.50 U.S. dollars per hour, while a business in Oklahoma may be as low as two U.S. dollars per hour. However, even the higher wage rates in states like California and Washington may be lacking - one analysis found that if minimum wage had kept up with productivity, the minimum hourly wage in the U.S. should have been 22.88 dollars per hour in 2021. Additionally, the impact of decreased purchasing power due to inflation will impact different parts of society in different ways with stark contrast in average wages due to both gender and race.
Claim: “Wage increases have exceeded” the cost of inflation. (Joe Biden, 2024-06-04)
Evidence (2024-01-05): Most workers’ raises have been larger than inflation If wages rise more quickly than prices, workers can maintain or improve their standard of living—and since the start of the pandemic, wage growth for a typical worker has been higher than inflation.4 Prices have increased 20 percent since the fourth quarter of 2019, while wages for a typical worker have grown 23 percent.5 (see Figure 1) In fact, real wages for a typical worker stand at about the level expected if there had been no pandemic or recession in early 2020 and if they had kept growing at the same rate as in years prior. 6 [...] The share of workers receiving an inflation-adjusted raise hit 50 percent in February 2023 and has hovered around its pre-pandemic level of 55 percent since May 2023. These widespread raises follow a period from April 2021 to October 2022 in which the share of workers receiving raises fell from about 55 percent to 45 percent. This decrease resulted from a surge in inflation mostly due to pandemic-driven supply chain disruptions and the war in Ukraine.10 As these disruptions and their effect on prices have eased in 2023, the share of workers experiencing raises higher than inflation has improved. This was also a period of rapid employment growth, so measuring the share of workers who received a raise does not fully capture the state of the labor market during this time because it excludes newly employed workers who do not have an initial wage to calculate the wage growth from.
Claim: “Wage increases have exceeded” the cost of inflation. (Joe Biden, 2024-06-04)
Evidence (2024-06-12): We begin by plotting yearly nominal wage growth for middle- and low-wage workers[1] against yearly CPI growth. The gap between the two shows that yearly wage growth has exceeded price growth for 15 months in a row. Over the past year, nominal wages rose 4.2% for these mid-level workers while inflation was up 3.3%, leading to real wage gains of 0.9% over this most recent period. [...] Wages are beating prices in many other important categories. Grocery prices, while still too high, have edged down (0.2%) during the past four months, and they’re up 1% over past year, well behind wage growth, which again, was up 4.2% over the past year. Motor vehicle prices have also been coming down, falling 0.8% for new motor vehicles and a whopping 9.3% for used vehicles. Housing costs, on the other hand, were up 5.4% over the past year, ahead of wage growth. Restaurant inflation, which has come down a lot less than grocery inflation, rose at about the pace of wage growth over the past year (4%).
Claim: “Wage increases have exceeded” the cost of inflation. (Joe Biden, 2024-06-04)
Evidence (2023-06-26): Rising corporate profits account for almost half the increase in Europe’s inflation over the past two years as companies increased prices by more than spiking costs of imported energy. Now that workers are pushing for pay rises to recoup lost purchasing power, companies may have to accept a smaller profit share if inflation is to remain on track to reach the European Central Bank’s 2-percent target in 2025, as projected in our most recent World Economic Outlook. [...] As the Chart of the Week shows, the higher inflation so far mainly reflects higher profits and import prices, with profits accounting for 45 percent of price rises since the start of 2022. That’s according to our new paper, which breaks down inflation, as measured by the consumption deflator, into labor costs, import costs, taxes, and profits. Import costs accounted for about 40 percent of inflation, while labor costs accounted for 25 percent. Taxes had a slightly deflationary impact. [...] Should wages increase more significantly—by, say, the 5.5 percent rate needed to guide real wages back to their pre-pandemic level by end-2024—the profit share would have to drop to the lowest level since the mid-1990s (barring any unexpected increase in productivity) for inflation to return to target.
Claim: “Wage increases have exceeded” the cost of inflation. (Joe Biden, 2024-06-04)
Evidence (2022-09-30): Prescription drug price increases create affordability challenges for patients and for the government. This report tracks drug price changes from 2016-2022. There were 1,216 products whose price increases during the twelve-month period from July 2021 to July 2022 exceeded the inflation rate of 8.5 percent for that time period. The average price increase for these drugs was 31.6 percent. Some drugs in 2022 increased by more than $20,000 or 500%. The Inflation Reduction Act introduces a new requirement for manufacturers to pay rebates to Medicare for Part D drugs whose price increases exceed inflation, beginning October 1, 2022, which was designed to reduce the frequency and size of drug price increases.
Claim: “Wage increases have exceeded” the cost of inflation. (Joe Biden, 2024-06-04)
Evidence (2024-06-26): Since Biden entered office, three key macroeconomic metrics gauging the purchasing power of Americans through their wages and disposable income have each increased at a slower pace than inflation, supporting Scott’s claim. [...] Biden made a similar claim to Yellen’s in an interview with Time Magazine on May 28, arguing that "wage increases have exceeded what the cost of inflation, which you’re talking about as the prices that were pre-COVID prices." [...] Recent short-term changes in consumer purchasing power also support Biden’s argument. Between May 2023 and May 2024, average hourly earnings growth has outpaced price increases, growing at an inflation-adjusted rate of 0.81%. Additionally, between the first quarter of 2023 and the first quarter of 2024, real disposable personal income per capita has increased by 1.11%. Finally, real median weekly wages increased by 0.55% between the first quarter of 2023 and the first quarter of 2024.
Claim: “Wage increases have exceeded” the cost of inflation. (Joe Biden, 2024-06-04)
Evidence (2022-02-24): Half of all Part D covered drugs (50% of 3,343 drugs) and nearly half of all Part B covered drugs (48% of 568 drugs) had price increases greater than inflation between July 2019 and July 2020, which was 1.0% (Figure 1). [...] Across all Part D drugs with price increases greater than inflation, the median price increase was 5.6%; for Part B, the median price increase was 5.4%. [...] The Congressional Budget Office estimates a net federal deficit reduction of $83.6 billion over 10 years (2022-2031) from the drug inflation rebate provisions in the BBBA for Medicare and private insurance. Actual savings would depend in part on the degree to which drug price increases exceed the inflation rate. In periods when inflation is running low, as it was in 2019-2020, even relatively modest drug price increases would trigger inflation rebates. But in periods of high inflation, as it is currently, only more sizable drug price increases would trigger rebates. In the absence of Congressional action on prescription drug proposals, rising drug prices are likely to continue to pose affordability challenges for many people.
Claim: “James Woods leaves Hollywood to join Mel Gibson’s new non-woke film studio.” (Facebook posts, 2024-06-02)
Evidence (2024-06-02): This claim originated on a self-described satire page.
Claim: “James Woods leaves Hollywood to join Mel Gibson’s new non-woke film studio.” (Facebook posts, 2024-06-02)
Evidence (2024-06-05): In a move that has reverberated throughout the entertainment industry, veteran actor James Woods has officially left Hollywood to join Mel Gibson’s newly established non-woke film studio. This partnership marks a significant shift for Woods, who has long been a polarizing figure due to his outspoken conservative beliefs in a predominantly liberal industry. [...] The reaction to Woods’ move has been mixed. While many conservative voices have lauded his decision as a brave stand against Hollywood conformity, others in the industry warn that this split could deepen the cultural divisions within the arts community. Critics of the non-woke studio concept argue that it might limit the diversity of perspectives that film can offer by favoring certain viewpoints. [...] In conclusion, James Woods’ departure from Hollywood to join Mel Gibson’s non-woke film studio is more than just a career pivot—it’s a cultural statement. It represents a burgeoning movement within the film industry seeking to reclaim what its proponents feel is a lost emphasis on artistic freedom over political correctness. Only time will tell how this bold move will impact Woods’ career and the broader cinematic landscape.
Claim: “James Woods leaves Hollywood to join Mel Gibson’s new non-woke film studio.” (Facebook posts, 2024-06-02)
Evidence (2024-07-09): A post shared on social media purports that Actor Robert Downey Jr. left mainstream Hollywood to create a new movie studio with Director Mel Gibson. [...] A post shared on Facebook alleges that Downey no longer wants to work in Hollywood, but will create a new studio with Gibson. The post shared a photo of Gibson and a smaller one of Downey in the corner. The caption reads, "BREAKING: Robert Downey Jr. Leaves Hollywood, Joins Mel Gibson’s New Un-Woke Film Production Studio."
Claim: “James Woods leaves Hollywood to join Mel Gibson’s new non-woke film studio.” (Facebook posts, 2024-06-02)
Evidence (2024-05-16): On May 15, 2024, SpaceXMania published an article with the headline, "Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson Leaves Hollywood for Elon Musk's New Non-Woke Film Studio." The article claimed Johnson was leaving his illustrious Hollywood career to pursue films that were free of content from the prevailing "woke" culture. [...] In a detailed statement released to the press, Johnson explained his reasons for joining Musk's studio: "As an entertainer, my goal has always been to bring people joy and entertainment, irrespective of their background or beliefs. Over the past few years, I've grown increasingly uncomfortable with the direction in which Hollywood is headed—where it seems that the art of storytelling is being overshadowed by an obligation to represent an array of societal and political issues." [...] We have frequently covered satirical stories about Elon Musk, including the claim that he invested $1 billion dollars into actors Mel Gibson and Mark Wahlberg's "un-woke" production company.
Claim: “James Woods leaves Hollywood to join Mel Gibson’s new non-woke film studio.” (Facebook posts, 2024-06-02)
Evidence (2024-07-10): Veteran actor James Woods has officially left Hollywood to join Mel Gibson’s newly established non-woke film studio. This partnership marks a significant shift for Woods, who has long been a polarizing figure due to his outspoken conservative beliefs in a predominantly liberal industry. [...] The reaction to Woods’ move has been mixed. While many conservative voices have lauded his decision as a brave stand against Hollywood conformity, others in the industry warn that this split could deepen the cultural divisions within the arts community. Critics of the non-woke studio concept argue that it might limit the diversity of perspectives that film can offer by favoring certain viewpoints. [...] In conclusion, James Woods’ departure from Hollywood to join Mel Gibson’s non-woke film studio is more than just a career pivot—it’s a cultural statement. It represents a burgeoning movement within the film industry seeking to reclaim what its proponents feel is a lost emphasis on artistic freedom over political correctness. Only time will tell how this bold move will impact Woods’ career and the broader cinematic landscape.
Claim: “James Woods leaves Hollywood to join Mel Gibson’s new non-woke film studio.” (Facebook posts, 2024-06-02)
Evidence (2024-04-04): On April 2, 2024, the Facebook page SpaceX Fanclub published a post featuring photos of Mel Gibson, Roseanne Barr and Mark Wahlberg and the claim that Barr was "joining forces" with Gibson and Wahlberg to open a "non-woke production studio." [...] Breaking: Roseanne Barr Joins Forces with Mark Wahlberg and Mel Gibson in Launching Non-Woke Production Studio In an unexpected move that has sent ripples through Hollywood, comedic icon Roseanne Barr has announced her collaboration with Hollywood heavyweights Mark Wahlberg and Mel Gibson to establish a groundbreaking non-woke production studio. The venture aims to shake up the entertainment industry by providing an alternative to the prevailing woke narrative that has dominated film and television in recent years.
Claim: “James Woods leaves Hollywood to join Mel Gibson’s new non-woke film studio.” (Facebook posts, 2024-06-02)
Evidence (2024-06-12): In a move that has reverberated throughout the entertainment industry, veteran actor James Woods has officially left Hollywood to join Mel Gibson’s newly established non-woke film studio. This partnership marks a significant shift for Woods, who has long been a polarizing figure due to his outspoken conservative beliefs in a predominantly liberal industry. [...] The reaction to Woods’ move has been mixed. While many conservative voices have lauded his decision as a brave stand against Hollywood conformity, others in the industry warn that this split could deepen the cultural divisions within the arts community. Critics of the non-woke studio concept argue that it might limit the diversity of perspectives that film can offer by favoring certain viewpoints. [...] In conclusion, James Woods’ departure from Hollywood to join Mel Gibson’s non-woke film studio is more than just a career pivot-it’s a cultural statement. It represents a burgeoning movement within the film industry seeking to reclaim what its proponents feel is a lost emphasis on artistic freedom over political correctness. Only time will tell how this bold move will impact Woods’ career and the broader cinematic landscape.
Claim: “James Woods leaves Hollywood to join Mel Gibson’s new non-woke film studio.” (Facebook posts, 2024-06-02)
Evidence (2024-04-04): On March 31, 2024, the Facebook page SpaceX Fanclub published a post with side-by-side images of Mel Gibson and Mark Wahlberg and a caption claiming the two actors had started a "non-woke" film production studio. [...] Breaking: Mel Gibson and Mark Wahlberg Join Hands to Create a Non-Woke Film Production Studio, "Hollywood Is Saved" In a bold move shaking up Hollywood, veteran actors Mel Gibson and Mark Wahlberg have teamed up to launch a new film production studio dedicated to preserving traditional storytelling and avoiding the pitfalls of woke culture. The announcement comes as a breath of fresh air for many in the industry who have grown weary of the pervasive influence of political correctness and social activism in filmmaking.