The greatest entitlement grab in American history has come from the least likely of places—not the welfare queen, the poster child of government dependency, but Wall Street.

The original welfare queen was the oft-cited star of one of Ronald Reagan’s favorite anecdotes from his 1976 campaign. “She has 15 names, 30 addresses, 12 Social Security cards, and is collecting veteran's benefits on four non-existing deceased husbands,” the Gipper said in genial tones. “She is collecting Social Security on her cards. She's got Medicaid, getting food stamps, and she is collecting welfare under each of her names.”