A new study showed the affordability crisis in New Mexico and nationwide is not just about housing, groceries and health care. Low worker wages also contribute to the problem.
The report said while companies like Amazon and Walmart are making their CEOs and shareholders richer, front line workers are struggling.
Sarah Anderson, director of the Global Economy Project at the Institute for Policy Studies, said many workers get paychecks so small they can qualify for programs like SNAP and Medicaid. She argued the low-wage business model amounts to a form of corporate welfare paid for by U.S. taxpayers.
"Twenty of the largest and most profitable corporations in this country are not paying their workers enough to meet basic necessities," Anderson stressed. "Many of them are having to rely on public assistance just to get by.'
In the new report, titled “America’s 20 Largest Low-Wage Employers and the Affordability Crisis,” none of the companies listed pay workers enough to afford the average rent for a two-bedroom apartment. A year’s wages at seven companies on the list is not enough to pay the average price of a used car. Meanwhile, the pay of the average CEO topped $18 million.
The corporations are not keeping wages low because of tight profit margins. Between 2019 and 2024, companies spent a combined $260 billion buying back their own stock. Anderson noted buybacks can temporarily increase stock values, which benefits executives and shareholders but does nothing for workers' paychecks. In 2024 alone, the companies spent more than $32 billion on buybacks.
"If these companies had taken the money that they put into stock buybacks and put it into worker pay, they could have lifted a million workers up to the level that you would need to be able to afford a two-bedroom apartment," Anderson pointed out.
The New Mexico state minimum wage is currently $12 per hour for general employees. Some cities have higher rates, including Santa Fe where the rate increased to $15.40 per hour March 1.
Source: Public News Service
