The Rich Are the Real Parasites

ThinkByNumbers does the numbers on Romney's complaint that half of Americans are freeloaders. Doing the math, they discovered that the richest Americans are the biggest freeloaders.

"The government gives tons of favors to the largest corporations, increasing the significant advantage they already have over smaller competing businesses. If, in the court of public opinion, Wal-Mart has been tried and convicted for the murder of main street, mom-and-pop America, then the government could easily be found guilty as a willing accomplice. Wal-Mart receives hundreds of millions of dollars of subsidization by local governments throughout the country. These subsidies take the form of bribes by local politicians trying to convince Wal-Mart to come to their town with the dream of significant job creation. Of course, from that follows a larger tax base. For example, a distribution center in Macclenny, Florida received $9 million in government subsidies in the form of free land, government-funded recruitment and training of employees, targeted tax breaks, and housing subsidies for employees allowing them to be paid significantly lower wages. A study by Good Jobs First found that 244 Wal-Marts around the country had received over $1 billion in government favors."

So when Republicans talk about "helping small business" they don't really mean it, unless you're including the "small family business" of the Walton family. That would be WalMart.

The Walton family members who own WalMart hold more wealth than the bottom 40% of all Americans. That's six families. Politifact backs up this assertion.The tax code and commercial laws written by a generation of Reagan Republicans in Congress helps protect and subsidize their wealth.

And what is their wealth earned from? Lowballed products imported from Chinese factories that run American manufacturers and Main Street stores out of business.