While regular people are hoping Social Security still exists by the time they hit 70, the political class and their protected allies have already cashed out. Not hypothetically. Not in theory. In reality.
A California lifeguard retiring with three hundred sixty five thousand dollars per year for life.
A California prison doctor walking away with one point two million dollars per year for life.
A California fire chief locking in three hundred seventy eight thousand dollars per year for life.
All guaranteed. All indexed. All backed by you.
This is not a debate about whether these professions matter. Of course they do. This is about scale, accountability, and honesty. No private sector worker lives in this universe. No small business owner. No truck driver. No nurse. No parent juggling bills while inflation eats their paycheck.
And here is the part that should make everyone stop pretending this is sustainable.
California’s pension system is one trillion dollars short. Trillion with a T.
That hole does not magically fill itself. When CalPERS comes up short, the bill does not go to the unions who negotiated these deals. It does not go to the politicians who signed off on them. It goes to you.
Your property taxes go up.
Your sales taxes go up.
Your fees go up.
Your cost of living goes up.
Meanwhile, many of these retirees walked away at fifty five with two hundred thousand dollars a year guaranteed, while you are being told to work longer, save more, expect less, and pray Social Security doesn’t collapse before you get there.
Let that contrast sit for a moment.
You are paying for their retirement.
They are not paying for yours.
And instead of reform, instead of honesty, instead of admitting the system is broken, the unions are demanding more. More benefits. More guarantees. More money from a pool that is already drained.
This is not compassion. This is extraction.
Under President Trump, this imbalance was called out directly. The idea that government exists to serve itself instead of the people was challenged head on. That is why the system fought him so viciously. Because once people see the math, the outrage becomes unavoidable.
A country cannot survive when one class retires early with gold plated pensions while another works until exhaustion with nothing guaranteed. A state cannot function when its future is mortgaged to protect deals made decades ago that no longer reflect reality.
This is not left versus right. This is insiders versus everyone else.
If this continues, it will not end with higher taxes alone. It will end with younger generations opting out entirely, businesses leaving, and working families crushed under obligations they never agreed to.
One trillion dollars is already gone.
The only real question left is how long Americans are expected to keep paying for a system that clearly does not work for them.