The cartoon by Clay Bennett on the paper’s Feb. 3 editorial page depicted a job applicant saying they’ve never heard of Medicaid and food stamps described as “job benefits.”

I urge readers to check out news.walmart.com/walmart-facts. Walmart has 1.3 million workers in the United States and 11,000 stores in 27 countries. It increased net sales to $466.1 billion in the fiscal year ending January 2013, returning $13 billion to shareholders.

I understand that most positions are part time and provide no benefits, so the majority of Walmart’s U.S. employees qualify for Medicaid and food stamps provided by taxpayers. If anyone is caught collecting Medicaid or food stamps illegally, it’s a crime and they’re prosecuted, yet it isn’t a crime for any business returning $13 billion to its shareholders to operate in a manner that places the cost upon taxpayers to feed and provide medical care for their employees. This is sanctioned by the government, which looks for different ways to cut back entitlements while looking the other way when it comes to corporations.

Perhaps that deal at Walmart isn’t the sale taxpayers think it is. We really pay more when we include employees “benefits.”

Starting this year, we will pay fines if we’re uninsured. Perhaps we the people should insist upon a law that profitable corporations also be required to provide health care to their employees or be fined accordingly per employee just like the law pertains to individuals. After all, the law says that corporations are treated as individuals, so why are not all the people under their umbrella (employees) be considered their dependents?

Please refer to en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corporate_personhood. Show me any business that wouldn’t jump at the opportunity to operate in this manner under Obamacare.

Stanley G. BoyntonWinthrop