59% Of Americans Think The Economy Is Getting Worse. The Other 41% Work On Wall Street.

Let's start with some good news and some bad news.

The bad news? Walmart — America's ultimate budget lifeline — just issued a worse-than-expected financial outlook. Investors panic-sold the stock after the company quietly admitted that Americans are struggling to afford budget groceries. Not steak. Not lobster. Budget groceries. When the people who built an empire on "Rollback Prices" start sweating… you pay attention.

The good news? Turns out people who can't afford groceries are at least smart enough to know where to live. A new national rankings report found that 9 of the top 10 best places to live in America are in Republican-run states — dominated by sprawling suburbs in Texas, Indiana, Georgia, and Alabama. One blue-leaning city snuck in at the bottom of the list, presumably by accident.

So to recap: empty shelves, full suburbs. America, baby. 🇺🇸

Mike Johnson — Trump's most loyal ally in Washington — refused to show up to a scheduled White House summit this week after Republicans revolted over the $1.8 billion January 6 rioter fund. A new poll confirms the mood: 59% say the economy is getting worse, just 19% think it's improving. That's not a base — that's a book club.

The Iran war is doing wonders for gas prices. 80 countries have imposed emergency fuel rationing, oil is threatening $180 a barrel, and a global recession could be weeks away. We went to the Middle East and gas got expensive. Again. Tulsi Gabbard also resigned as Director of National Intelligence this week, citing her husband's cancer diagnosis. Separately — and totally unrelated — she'd been clashing with the administration over the Iran war for months. No comment on the timing.

California remains the only state that hasn't repaid its COVID unemployment loans — on track to hit $23 billion in federal debt by year's end. Meanwhile the founder of a Minnesota nonprofit is claiming Rep. Ilhan Omar knew about a $250 million COVID meal fraud the whole time. Someone owes America a very long explanation.

Mortgage rates jumped to 6.51% this week as inflation — running at 3.3%, well above the Fed's 2% target — continues spooking markets. The Fed has now skipped three straight meetings without a rate cut. Wages are technically outpacing inflation by 0.3%. You got a raise. You can't feel it.

The Coinbase CEO was on Capitol Hill pushing a new crypto bill that could reshape the U.S. financial system. Major banks are already quietly integrating stablecoins. Digital money is happening with or without Washington's blessing.

Honda posted its first annual loss in nearly 70 years after its EV bet backfired spectacularly. Coca-Cola is shutting its California facility after a century of operations. Apparently even sugar water has had enough of the Golden State.

Seattle's mayor walked back her Starbucks boycott this week, admitting it "caused more harm than good." Starbucks responded by announcing a 2,000-employee hub in Nashville. Nothing says "we heard you" like packing your bags for a red state.

Trump invested millions into revolving sushi chain Kura Sushi USA this week. The portfolio diversification is genuinely impressive. And if you drive a Hyundai Elantra hybrid — maybe don't park it in the garage tonight. Hyundai is recalling 54,000 of them over a fire risk. Apparently "eco-friendly" and "doesn't combust" were two separate checkboxes.

Last Week:

We asked about digital grocery store price tags last week. 86% of you agreed they exist purely to rob you blind — and that there's nothing any of us can do about it. The people have spoken. Depressingly accurately.

This Week

Jeff Bezos just said the bottom half of America shouldn't pay a single dollar in federal income tax. The man's worth $200 billion, so maybe he knows something about how this game is rigged. But if we're doing this — what's the actual number that makes sense to you?

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Elon Musk:
SpaceX is on track to IPO above $1 trillion, with shares available through Robinhood, Fidelity and Schwab — meaning regular Americans actually get a seat at the table. Also confirmed this week: the only person who can fire Elon Musk is Elon Musk. Must be nice.

Trader Joes Fans:
New stores coming to 14 states. In a week this grim, we'll take it.

The CEO of ActBlue (Democratic Party Fundraising Platform):
Heading to a public congressional hearing June 10 over foreign donation concerns on their platform. Five employees. Combined Fifth Amendment invocations: 146 times. That's not a red flag. That's a red parade.

Chick-Fil-A’s Bank Account:
Closed Sundays costs them an estimated $1 billion annually in lost revenue. They still out-earn McDonald's, Starbucks, Subway and Burger King per location. Imagine what they'd do if they worked Sundays. Probably just buy Congress.

Wait. Stop. Is that actual accountability? Real humans. Real fraud. Real consequences?

We don't want to jinx it — we've been hurt before. But watch this.

Moody's Analytics chief economist just put U.S. recession odds at 40% — nearly triple the historical average. Stocks are at all-time highs. Real disposable income grew 0% last year. Someone's celebrating. It isn't you.

Translation: The stock market and your grocery bill are living completely different lives right now.

OpenAI is working with Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley on a confidential IPO filing, with a potential listing by September. No confirmed valuation — but we're talking about the most hyped company on the planet going public in the same year SpaceX crosses $1 trillion.

Translation: AI took your job, now it wants your investment portfolio too.

For those without TikTok — here's what you missed above. Aimee Bock, the Minnesota mom behind the $250 million Feeding Our Future fraud — falsely claiming 91 million meals served to hungry kids — was sentenced to 41 years in prison. America's largest COVID-era fraud. She'll be very, very old before she sees daylight again.

Translation: You can steal from hungry kids, but eventually the bill comes due.

Jeff Bezos told CNBC the bottom half of American earners should pay zero in federal income tax. The top 1% already cover 40% of the bill. The bottom half contribute 3%. Mark your calendars — this is the day millions of Americans accidentally agreed with Jeff Bezos.

Translation: When the second richest man alive says you're overtaxed, you're probably overtaxed.

Two Capitol Police officers are suing to block Trump's $1.8 billion "Anti-Weaponization Fund" — taxpayer money created to compensate Trump allies who claim unfair prosecution, born from a DOJ settlement after Trump dropped his $10 billion IRS lawsuit.

Translation: The men who got beaten defending the Capitol are now being asked to fund the people who beat them.

Memorial Day weekend is here — the BBQ is lit, the whiskey is flowing, and your credit card has absolutely no idea what's about to happen.

Do yourself a favor and browse the Red State Finance store before the night gets away from you.

Hawaii's first female TV anchor — 50 years in journalism — lost $60,000 to a man claiming she'd won a $5.5 million sweepstakes. Fake IRS letters. Fake U.S. Marshals. Daily friendly calls. If it can happen to her, it can happen to anyone you love.

Translation: If someone calls to tell you that you won money you never entered to win — hang up.

A Louisiana nonprofit owner spent $1,743 stocking a community fridge with food and diapers. She didn't make it off the property before three or four people stripped it bare. She asked for one thing: only take what you need. Four people apparently needed everything.

Translation: One woman's generosity vs. four people's greed. America has both. Honor the first kind.

Someone buried $10,000 in a San Francisco park, posted clues online, and is apparently stunned that hundreds of people showed up with shovels. City officials are furious. After 20 days the cash was found. The parks were not spared.

Translation: San Francisco can't keep its streets clean on a normal Tuesday — but sure, let's add a treasure hunt.

A Texas Chick-fil-A franchisee is being sued for firing an employee who wouldn't work Saturdays due to Sabbath observance — the exact same reason Chick-fil-A stays closed every Sunday. She disclosed it in her interview. They accommodated her. Then they didn't.

Translation: Closed Sundays for God. Fired Saturdays for God. One of these is a brand value. The other is a lawsuit.

The Trump administration released Pentagon infrared footage of an F-16 shooting down an unidentified craft over Michigan's Lake Huron in 2023. Diamond shaped. Jagged tail. Struck by an air-to-air missile. They sat on this footage for three years.

Translation: They told us there was nothing up there. Then they shot it down.

Wall Street just made a massive move into a small group of stocks tied to AI, energy, and emerging tech.

We tracked the buying and uncovered 10 names being accumulated right now.

See them inside The 10 Best Stocks to Own in 2026 report.

View the 10 Stocks

Thomas Massie just lost the most expensive congressional primary in American history. Not a Senate seat. Not a presidential race. A House district primary in rural Kentucky — and it cost over $34 million.

Here's what makes it worth talking about. In 2022, Massie's district saw 66,874 total votes cast. In 2026, that number jumped to 105,361. Roughly 45,000 brand new voters appeared in a low-turnout mid-term primary in one of the most reliably Republican districts in the country. Massie actually received fewer votes than last time. His opponent received 10,854 mail-in ballots. Massie lost by 10,280. Make of that what you will.

Of the $19 million spent to defeat him, nearly $9.4 million came from AIPAC and pro-Israel interest groups. Not from Kentucky. Not from his constituents. From an organization whose stated mission is tied directly to the interests of a foreign government. Massie noticed. In his concession speech he mentioned it took a while to reach his opponent — he had to find him "in Tel Aviv."

This is the same Thomas Massie that Charlie Kirk once called "one of my favorite Congressmen." The same Turning Point USA that Kirk built enthusiastically helped take him out this cycle. His crimes? Voting against foreign aid, pushing for Epstein transparency, and opposing an undeclared war. In other words — doing exactly what a congressman is supposed to do.

This isn't one race. Dark money in American elections grew from under $5 million in 2006 to nearly $2 billion in 2024. More than half of all outside election spending now comes from groups that don't fully disclose their donors. Foreign-linked money flows freely through nonprofits and shell companies that the law doesn't require to tell you anything.

There's an honest argument that this is just free speech, messy democracy, and the reality of a post-Citizens United world. People who care about foreign policy have every right to organize. Fine.

But there's another argument — equally honest — that when a foreign lobby can spend $9.4 million to remove a sitting U.S. congressman because he wouldn't vote their way, the voters of Kentucky didn't actually choose their representative. Someone else did.

So here's the question we're leaving you with this week. If outside money — foreign-linked or otherwise — can now outspend an entire district's grassroots support and simply erase whoever they don't like… what exactly is left of the idea that Americans choose their own government?

Hit reply. Tell us what you think. Good, bad, or ugly — we read every response.