>The subcontractors for that autonomous F-16 fighter from the news last month are not underpaid, nor are the Palantir guys making the software used to target who autonomous drones hit, nor are the ML models guiding real-estate investment corporations that bought a quarter of all homes this year.

You are equivocating the profits of the corporations vs the wages of the workers. Also you are equivocating "Investment Banking" with "Retail Banking" the person making lending models isnt getting the same TC as someone at Two Sigma.

None of those places (retail banking, defense) you list are the highest comp employers. The may be massively profitable but that doesnt necessarily translates to wages.