Who doesn't want something for free?  It's basically a given that if you offer something to someone for free, they will take it, often with no questions asked.  However, if some people are getting something for free while others are not, then questions arise as to why free is only good for some people.

A recent article circulated on Facebook claims that the poorest people in the United States will be the beneficiaries of a completely free big-ticket item, all thanks to President Barack Obama.  A November 2, 2014 post on the website AmericanNews.com offered up this claim/article:

"Recently, the White House announced a plan to offer free vehicles to welfare recipients. According to reports, the bill passed in a narrow vote. The program was initiated by President Barack Obama, and in many way mirrors what has become known as ‘The Obama Phone’, or the alleged program through which welfare recipients can get free cell phone service.  John Earnest announced the program launch, stating ‘The free automobile program gives low-income Americans the opportunity to take ownership of a vehicle at no cost, and will also include a monthly gas card for $100."

Never ones to pass up something for free, our partners at PolitiFact took a look at this claim.  PolitiFact reporter Joshua Gillin has some bad news for those looking for a free car: the article gets a solid PANTS ON FIRE rating on the Truth-O-Meter.  Gillin says that there are plenty of things wrong with this "news article."

"This one came from a website called American News, and it said that not only did Congress pass a bill that gave free cars to welfare recipients, it would also give those people a one-hundred dollar monthly gas card in order to fill it up so they could drive it around," said Gillin.  "There's been no Congressional legislation for anything like this, and there's been no funding appropriated for either the cars or the gas cards.  The problem with this 'story,' of course, is that it comes from another site called Empire News, and Empire News is a satirical site that makes up stories like this."

Gillin notes that this is just another in a series of claims meant to anger conservatives over people who, they believe, are getting a literal free ride from the Obama administration at the expense of hard-working taxpayers who are not getting the same beneficial treatment.

"Unfortunately, sometimes they get picked up like this and passed off as real and a lot of people get outraged by it, but in this case, there's no way any of this is true," said Gillin.

Gillin points out that about the only thing accurate about this claim is that the article got the name of the current President correct.  Beyond that, the claims made in the website article receive a PANTS ON FIRE rating from PolitiFact's Truth-O-Meter.

 

SOURCES: Coming soon: the ObamaCar?