By Tony Huppert, CEO, Team Oil Inc.

Recently a large retailer was accused of costing the taxpayers $6 billion dollars because the taxpayers were having to provide public assistance to the retailer’s lower paid employees.

The next article reads, that same retailer paid $7 billion in taxes. If these articles are correct, that one retailer’s tax payment paid for all of the public assistance for its employees plus an additional ‘Billion’ for public employee healthcare.

Retail businesses are always on the front lines. Headlines never mention the billions and billions of tax dollars collected and paid by the retailers at the retailer’s expense. These are the billions of tax dollars that are used for public assistance and other social needs. Retailers are some of the largest taxpayers and hire the greatest number of employees for entry-level jobs in the country. The retailer taxpayers pay enough taxes in the U.S. to provide tax paid health care for every citizen in the U.S.

With the taxes paid to the government and the dividends paid to stockholders in all the retirement funds, and creating jobs, one would think politicians and the media would be more positive toward the retailers.

The very survey saying this retailer’s employee healthcare is subsidized by the taxpayers is a survey paid for by the taxpayers, the retailers.

Before the retailers are criticized about who’s subsidizing who, all the facts about whom the taxpayers are, should be considered.

Tony Huppert is a Wisconsin businessman of 40 years and CEO of Team Oil Inc., the family-owned and operated Team Oil Travel Center, and Subway in Spring Valley, Wis.