THE MEANING OF AFFORDABILITY IN TODAY’S ECONOMY By Mark Anderson, Legal and Legislative Assistant, New Mexico Bankers Association When viewing the current political and economic climate in America, one of the most frequently deployed techniques by bad-faith actors is the manipulation of language, specifically using words outside their actual meaning and context, rendering them effectively meaningless or changing their meaning altogether. For example, a scandal-ridden federal politician can excuse his or her financial corruption under the guise of maintaining “national security,” even if the matter has nothing to do with the actual national security of America. “National security” has essentially become a catch-all term, something a politician can claim as a purpose while engaging in, say, insider stock trading and, in today’s media climate, reasonably expect minimal pushback. National security, like terms such as “seeking accountability” or “economic development,” often serves as a thought-terminating cliché that can mean everything and nothing at the same time, but it can accomplish the goal of stopping invasive lines of questioning from journalists or constituents. Certainly, economic development is a real, tangible concept that improves lives, but it can be invoked in a vague, opaque way for public-relations purposes, often to shield unpopular, harmful policies. Another word that has recently entered this zone of vague public-relations speak is “affordability.” Everyone understands that affordability, in its simplest terms, refers to prices the average person or family can pay for goods or services without incurring financial hardship or instability. For example, to your average American, who likely doesn’t have a great deal of savings, a dinner exceeding $100 on a regular basis is unaffordable. However, when today’s political and media classes discuss affordability, it can seem as if they are speaking a different language or referencing a separate reality, because for the average American family, very little is affordable anymore. But many media pundits and members of Congress appear reluctant to grapple with the reality that many Americans have been priced out of entire sectors of the economy, making affordability a moot point. The concept of affordability in the world of Congress and elite media punditry aligns with the budgets of individuals with net worths exceeding $10 million. The reality they fail to recognize is that, according to virtually every data set, more than 60% of Americans live paycheck to paycheck. These are people who, far from deliberating on notions of affordability, are preoccupied with survival. A recent article in Fortune highlights how difficult the current economy is to navigate for American families without high net worths. The article reports that, according to a new Pew Research Center analysis based on survey data from earlier in 2026, 60% of U.S. adults now identify as “working class.” Looking more closely at the data, this includes millions of top earners who believe their economic plight is largely synonymous with a term long reserved for low-income workers, including over half of college graduates. As the article further explains, “Working class has long been an ambiguous label for low-income earners, people without four-year degrees, and blue-collar workers. But according to survey data, half of upper-income adults (those earning more than $155,600 annually) now see themselves as working class. That income would have placed them firmly in the upper middle class in the early 2000s.” 10
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