The Corporate Conspiracy of Silence on “Affordability”

“Affordability” is on the lips of every politician in America and on the minds of most Americans. Surveys consistently find it to be a top concern for voters (though the war in Iran could soon displace it).

But one group is conspicuously silent: the companies that rely on the low-wage workers hit hardest by inflation.

On the one hand, companies haven’t been shy about their own affordability burdens resulting from Trump’s misguided policies. Walmart, for instance, has warned of rising costs—and consumer prices—as a consequence of Trump’s illegal tariffs.

Yet Walmart has said nothing about the affordability crisis facing its own workers, especially for those enrolled in Medicaid and SNAP (previously known as “food stamps”). The Republicans’ “One Big Beautiful Bill” passed last summer slashed nearly $1 trillion in from Medicaid and $186 billion from SNAP. Millions of working Americans will lose access to health care; millions will also face hunger.

Here’s one likely reason US companies stay mum: They’re reluctant to admit just how heavily programs like Medicaid and SNAP subsidize the cost of their employees (and how much money they save as a result). At Walmart, for instance, median worker pay is $29,469—significantly below the threshold for Medicaid and SNAP eligibility for a family of three. In states like Nevada, according to the Institute for Policy Studies, nearly 30 percent of Walmart workers are Medicaid enrollees. Dependence on federal programs is corporate America’s dirty secret.

In a new report out this week, the Institute for Policy Studies names the 20 largest employers of low-wage workers in America, which collectively employ 6.7 million people. Only five of these companies—Costco, FedEx, MGM Resorts, Tysons Foods, and Amazon—pay median wages above the federal Medicaid/SNAP thresholds. (Amazon is barely over the line.) The lowest-paid workers are at Ross (median wage: $9,602) and Starbucks ($14,674), likely because most of their workers are part-timers.

According to the Institute, many of these workers can’t afford to buy insurance from their employers, which is why they end up opting for Medicaid. Among companies with the largest share of low-wage workers, the Institute reports, just 43 percent get employer-provided health benefits—though 67 percent are eligible. (Some of these workers may get coverage through a spouse or through a parent if they’re under age 25.)

Among the solutions the Institute calls for is higher pay. But here’s another dirty secret: Stores like Walmart and Target are “affordable” for the rest of us because they pay their workers so little. Your Chipotle burrito is as cheap as it is because the worker who assembled it probably can’t afford to buy one for herself.

Republicans like to treat Medicaid and SNAP as wasteful “welfare” programs that reward idleness and support undocumented immigrants at taxpayer expense. That’s why they pushed for “work requirements” in the “One Big Beautiful Bill” and now want to strip even legal immigrants of access to these benefits.

In truth, Medicaid and SNAP are crucial supports for working Americans. For instance, nearly two-thirds of non-elderly Medicaid recipients are employed, as are a majority of SNAP recipients able to work. (It should also go without saying that undocumented immigrants are ineligible under federal law for Medicaid or SNAP.)

Both US companies and the American public should acknowledge the importance of Medicaid and SNAP—not just for the well-being of low-wage workers, but for their role in propping up the US economy. Companies need to step up on behalf of the workers—and the federal programs—that are the backbone of their enterprise.

P.S. If you’re interested in learning more about the “Low Wage 20” from the Institute for Policy Studies’ research, check out my interview with report author Sarah Anderson here.

New at the Monthly…

The coming quagmire in Iran. Assassinating world leaders without a plan is unlikely to lead to great results. That will certainly be the case in Iran, writes Politics Editor Bill Scher. “The unholy matrimony of American military proficiency and Trump’s megalomania produces dramatic content,” Bill writes. “It does not lead us to policies enabling peace, freedom, and stability. Democracy is not at hand for the Iranian people, nor the Venezuelan people. Assassination should not replace diplomacy.” Bill also contrasts Trump’s “dealmaking” with Iran to Obama’s and finds Trump lacking, despite his boasts. Read here and here.

Requiem for a trailblazer. In 1970, journalist Suzannah (“Suki”) Lessard published what’s now become an iconic—and prescient—piece for the Monthly on the fight for LGBTQ equality. Titled “Gay Is Good for Us All,” Suki, one of the Monthly’s first editors (and its first female editor), wrote of the movement’s relevance for all Americans: “When people realize they’re all up Queer Street together, the bonds of kinship can grow denser and stronger than any of the divisive factors of class, or caste, or suit, or kind.” Suki passed away in January at age 81, leaving behind a monumental legacy of journalism and art. Executive Editor-Digital Matt Cooper remembers her as a courageous and sensitive writer: “She had literary sensibilities not just because her prose could be novelistic but because, like great fiction writers, she explored people’s interior lives and the interior life of our nation.” Read Matt’s remembrance here.

How to fix graduate student loans. Too many students take out hefty student loans for graduate school programs that don’t pay off. The University of Southern California, for instance, charges $100,000 for an online masters in social work (despite the fact that most students make far less once they graduate). While unlimited student lending is bad policy, so too are the caps that Congress imposed in the “One Big Beautiful Bill.” (Witness the brouhaha over nursing as a career not deemed “professional,” and thus ineligible for bigger loans) The better solution, argues Arnold Ventures’ Kelly McManus, is to tie loan limits to expected returns. The higher the expected salary, the higher loan limits can be. (And nursing, btw, is an excellent investment.) Read here.

Plus…

• Contributing writer David Masciotra interviewed Channyn Lynn Parker, CEO of Equality Illinois, about the many threats to LGBTQ+ Americans under the Trump regime.
• Journalist and health policy expert Merrill Goozner argues that Congress needs to keep its eye on the ball on health care costs.
• Editorial Intern Samantha Powers writes that Texas Senate Democratic nominee James Talarico’s high road approach to politics might be what the party needs to—finally—turn the state blue.

Coda (Grab-bag edition)

Crony contracting. Not a week goes by without another batch of Beltway bandits making bank. Politico recently reported, for instance, that a tiny company with fewer than five employees is a top contender for a $25 billion contract to build nuclear power plants. The secret of course is the company’s ties to Trump. Meanwhile, according to NOTUS, Taser manufacturer Axon just won a contract to supply 17,800 new Tasers to ICE for $220 million. Axon reportedly did this the old-fashioned way—by spending $2.5 million to lobby Congress.

Cards Against Tariffs. The maker of the party game Cards Against Humanity is pledging to refund 100 percent of the tariffs paid by its customers. All you need to do is fill out the form on this website indicating the “Price You Paid Because of Our Demented Pedophile President’s Dumbass Tariffs.” And even if you haven’t bought the game, check out the FAQs.

Revisionist history. Have you ever imagined Laura Ingalls Wilder in a crop top and mom jeans? Yeah, me neither. But that’s basically the shtick behind American Girl’s new “Modern Era” dolls. The iconic brand is “reimagining” the first six dolls in its collection by plucking them from their historical context and dressing them like Gen Z fashion victims. For instance, reports The New York Times, “The Addy Walker character, who escaped slavery via the Underground Railroad, [is] now wearing her hair in long twists with slicked-down baby hairs, instead of her classic straw bonnet.” Another is wearing space buns. The dolls are also noticeably slimmer, which has provoked complaints about their “Ozempic-ification.” (“Nostalgic fans hate the Bratz doll glow-up,” writes the New York Post).

The iron law of no free lunch. Remember Trump’s proposal for “no taxes on Social Security”? The GOP operationalized this idea with a temporary additional deduction for seniors (not the same but close enough for politics). But guess what? The loss in revenue from this giveaway could soon mean serious cuts in another program sacred to seniors—Medicare. The Congressional Budget Office recently projected that the trust fund for Medicare Part A (which covers hospitals, nursing homes, and other care) will be exhausted by 2040. That’s twelve years earlier than CBO’s last estimate. CBO put the blame on the temporary deduction, as well as declining tax collections from “lower earnings”—which doesn’t indicate a lot of faith in the strength of the Trump economy.

As always, thanks for your readership, and never hesitate to reach out and share your comments and thoughts about our work.

Have a great week!

Anne Kim, Senior Editor