It is safe to say that America is weathering a storm of political upheaval.
The Democratic Socialists of America and their aligned candidates have the Democratic establishment by the scruff of their necks. On the right, the first shots of a civil war between a Republican old guard and a new populist right have been fired, with the conflict primed to explode in the 2028 presidential primary.
Outside the world of D.C. politics and bitter infighting, Americans are struggling to afford groceries, gas, rent, mortgages, and even resources as basic and vital as water. Locked out of a system they feel no longer addresses their basic needs, increasingly, many are heeding the siren call of socialists. For those who believe socialism only offers false promises, they nevertheless remain disillusioned with the current political system. Politicians, in their eyes, do not serve the needs of their constituents; rather, they serve the highest bidder while making sure to line their own pockets. They want change, but change without a socialist revolution. (RELATED: GOP Snake Rears Its Ugly Head Offering 2028 Preview Of Battle Against MAGA)
Two recent charts help explain why so many Americans, regardless of whether they identify as Republicans or Democrats, Libertarians or Independents, are demanding new ideas and policies that break with the stale consensus of the past several decades.
The first is from America’s financial kingdom: Wall Street. While everyday Americans struggle to pay their bills, Wall Street is, so far, having an incredibly profitable year. New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli’s office released a report Tuesday that showed the pre-tax profits of Wall Street firms were $45.9 billion in the first half of 2026, up 51.3 percent from $30.4 billion in the same period last year. The figure is also well above New York City’s full-year forecast of $45.3 billion.
If the pace holds, 2026 profits would exceed $90 billion, far surpassing the 2025 record of $65.1 billion, according to the comptroller’s office. It would also smash the inflation-adjusted record set in 2009 during the Financial Crisis and taxpayer-funded Bank Bailouts.
The report found that the gains came from underwriting revenue, up 68 percent year over year; charging fees, up 16.4 percent; and trading revenue of $40.3 billion, up 1.8 percent, which was driven in part by the AI boom. DiNapoli also expects the 2026 bonus pool to rise (the 2025 pool was already a record $49.2 billion). (RELATED: ‘Repeating Mistakes Of The Past’: Outgoing SEC Commissioner Warns Trump Letting Wall Street Off Hook)
The second chart is the picture from Main Street, provided by Heather Long, the chief economist at the Navy Federal Credit Union. The graph shows that U.S. wage growth has fallen to the lowest level in five years.