The number was a real shocker when we first heard it: A single mother in Maine with two children working at minimum wage would have the equivalent income, when state benefits are added in, of $54,000 per year.

We thought this might come as a big surprise to most single welfare mothers.

State Rep. Brian Duprey of Hampden apparently first offered the example during debate on the House floor of a proposal to increase Maine’s minimum wage.

State Sen. Lois Snowe-Mello reportedly repeated his assertion in a column in the Twin City Times, and did so again in an interview with Maine Public Radio.

After doing some research, the numbers appear to be, well, a stretch.

Rep. Duprey told a reporter for the Sun Journal that he got the figures from the Maine Equal Justice Partners, and the numbers depend upon his hypothetical mom living in Cumberland County rather than, say, Washington County.

Since benefits vary depending upon the cost of living in a particular county, and since housing costs vary so widely around the state, and since Duprey opposes the minimum wage hike, he clearly chose a county that would produce the best “sticker shock” value.

But, even then, the numbers just don’t add up.

The mom would qualify for $366 a week in child care benefits in Duprey’s calculations, but only if she’s transitioning off another state program.

His mythical mom would also qualify for $100 per week in food stamps, he said. That figure would depend upon her having no other income, which, in Duprey’s example, is clearly not the case, since he’s adding in the woman’s income for working at a minimum-wage job.

And, finally, a big chunk of this fortunate mom’s “income” in Duprey’s example is the $13,000 per year he estimates it would cost her to buy health care benefits similar to those available to her under MaineCare.

Another stretch. This may be a valid number if Miss Mom had to buy a single health care policy from a major insurer. However, if she were part of a group, and she clearly would be as a MaineCare recipient, the cost could easily be half or less of Duprey’s estimate. Even so, the $13,000 isn’t exactly cash in hand, as his example suggests.

Sen. Snowe-Mello called the numbers “definitely true,” and said she’s had “a lot of people calling, they were just amazed. We’ve got the most plush welfare system in the United States,” she said. “People do come to Maine to get on the welfare system …”

That may be, but it’s clearly not very many people, since Maine has one of the lowest rates of in-migration of any state in the country. Far and away the largest number of people receiving welfare benefits here are native-born Mainers. National surveys also show that immigrants to the U.S. usually arrive with a fierce determination to work for a living, often more determination than that shown by native-born U.S. citizens.

We’d welcome a factual assessment of the state’s welfare system. Unfortunately, Duprey’s calculations were designed to generate more heat than light.