NPR.

There is a statistic that crops up every now and then on social media or the news.

60% of adults say they are living paycheck to paycheck.

The new report finding more Americans are living paycheck to paycheck.

The problem is though it's not true at least not in the way you'd usually understand it.

And another economic myth?

Our trade deficit with China.

This false idea advanced here by Republican Senator Josh Hawley

that the trade deficit is always bad.

Every dollar of that deficit represents blue-collar jobs destroyed.

Another economic myth I always hear is about a different deficit, which is the U.S. government's deficit,

and this idea that we could just get rid of it by

taxing the top 1% of earners. Here is the former U.S. Labor Secretary under

Bill Clinton, Robert Reich.

The super wealthy have to pay their fair share.

The truth, as we often find out, isn't as simple.

This is the indicator from Planet Money.

I'm Dariam Woods.

And I'm Adrian Ma. Today on the show Economic Myth Busting.

We take three factoids about the American economy and run them through the fact checkers.

No mercy for anyone.

That's after the break.

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