A recent analysis of the 500 U.S. corporations generating the most profit per employee found investment firms, energy companies and Big Tech dominating the list — reporting extraordinary profits with relatively small workforces. Also high on the list: banks and financial institutions, which is particularly timely given that companies like Visa and Mastercard have been pleading poverty in response to recent legislation in Congress that would curb their ability to raise junk fees on retailers and consumers.

According to the research compiled by 24-7 Wall Street, Visa is the 21st-most profitable company per employee, recording $600,000 in profit for every worker. Mastercard, meanwhile, came in at No. 41, generating nearly $355,000 in profit per employee.

While Visa and Mastercard report these massive profits as they rake in more and more hidden fees, they simultaneously portray themselves as the victims of legislation designed to protect consumers and retailers and boost competition in the credit card industry.

That legislation is the bipartisan Credit Card Competition Act (CCCA), which aims to limit swipe fees (also known as interchange fees) that Visa and Mastercard are allowed to charge retailers nearly every time a customer uses their credit card to make a purchase.

Ironically, megabanks have claimed that if this legislative initiative were to pass, the subsequent “belt-tightening” in response might diminish or outright kill loyalty points programs that accrue on their customers’ rewards cards. This assertion is outright laughable, given their immense profits per employee.

Meanwhile, small-business owners and franchisees record a fraction of these profits. To put it into perspective, the typical traditional retailer earns around $5,000 in profit per employee, and restaurants often earn much less.

This is why swipe fees of up to 3.5% of purchases charged by Visa and Mastercard especially hurt small businesses when every penny of profit counts to stay afloat.

Elected officials have the choice of siding with Main Street businesses and their local communities or siding with Wall Street and their predatory, anti-consumer practices. They have the option of supporting companies that make over half a million dollars in profits per employee or with small retailers making just 1% of that profitability.

We are a capitalist country that celebrates “free markets,” after all: If leaders have a “let the market decide” perspective or if they believe in the idea of “letting the big dog eat,” that’s fine.

What is unacceptable, however, is demeaning an essential conversation about the viability of electronic payment systems going forward, security protections for consumers, loyalty programs and the crushing effect of swipe fees on retailers.

Visa and Mastercard’s six-figure profit per employee could address any required changes within their institutions without hurting their future offerings. Small businesses forced to pay higher and higher swipe fees don’t have the same luxury.

Joe Kefauver is a senior adviser to Americans for a Modern Economy/InsideSources