“Welfare moms are worse for our economy than welfare CEOs.”

For years, you’ve heard Teapublicans rail against freeloading welfare moms. They portray them as lazy, drug-addled minority women who turn themselves into baby factories to scam the system and live in relative luxury. Right?

In fact, a Teapublican candidate for the Nebraska Unicameral recently compared them to racoons saying, “They’re going to do it the easy way if we make it easy for them.” And Florida Governor Rick Scott recently signed into law a bill that requires Floridians to submit urine, blood and hair samples before they can receive cash aid from the state.

However, according to the statistics, the majority of those who receive Aid For Dependent Children are white and receive benefits for 2 years or less. Half of all welfare recipients leave the program in the first two years.  Most have only one or 2 children.  And the majority are over 20 years old.

Many succumbed to the “if you really love me, you’ll…” line. But many are divorced and a few are widowed. Contrary to Gov. Scott’s expectations, very few are chemically dependent. And they’re hardly living in luxury.

For example, those who qualify for W-2 Transition (W-2 T) funds reserved for participants who have limited ability to work receive payments of $628 per month with a lifetime eligibility limit of 60 months. Not exactly what Teapublicans want you to believe about so-called “welfare queens” is it?

Now, let’s examine the “welfare kings” of corporate America.

We have given millions of acres to mining companies while requiring no royalties in return. We gave railroads millions of acres and millions of dollars in subsidies for construction. We built and maintain 340,000 miles of logging roads for the timber industry in addition to giving them subsidies of more than $111 million annually. Subsidies to oil and gas companies total more than $40 billion per year.

We provide billions to corporations for the research and development of new drugs and new weapons systems, even providing foreign aid to other nations to help them buy our weapons. We offer corporations insurance at below market rates to encourage overseas investments in high-risk nations. We provide farm subsidies to corporate farmers. State and city governments provide incentives to attract large corporations. They also provide millions to help billionaire owners of sports franchises to build new stadiums and sports arenas.

And, lest you think the Troubled Asset Relief Program was the first time we bailed out financial institutions, don’t forget that we forked over $500 billion to the savings and loan industry in the 1980s.

In short, we allow large corporations to privatize their profits and socialize their risks. Is it any wonder that in previous generations their owners were called “Robber Barons?”