How Trump is Killing the Dreams of a Whole Generation

... even the dreams of the idiots who voted for him.

=====================================================

I Worked Myself to the Bone My Whole Life. Under Trump, Everything I’ve Saved Is Slowly Slipping Away.
Bobbi Dempsey
Thu, March 20, 2025




I come from a line of poverty that goes back several generations. Many of my relatives—including my mother—lived in poverty for their entire lives. They could only focus on day-to-day survival and worrying about how they would get their next meal. For us, this meant that retirement planning was never something we discussed. In fact, I don’t ever recall hearing the word retirement mentioned at all. The idea of having a nest egg or a financial safety net felt like a totally foreign concept.

Few of us have a pension plan, let alone a 401(k). I’m one of the lucky ones. Though it’s never been much, I’ve been able to contribute a small amount from each paycheck to my retirement funds. Now, because of recent economic developments in the United States, coupled with the potential threat to Social Security, I’m starting to worry that I might never be able to retire at all.

Since Donald Trump returned to office, his actions (and threatened actions)—specifically regarding tariffs—have made investors nervous, which has led to market instability and trillions of dollars in losses in the S&P 500. Some economists have warned that there’s a good chance the U.S. may be heading toward a recession. Trump and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent both recently said they couldn’t rule out that possibility. Because of the way retirement plans are connected to the stock market, many people have experienced—or are waiting to see—a precipitous drop in the funds they thought they had. This disproportionately affects people in lower income brackets—people like me whose accounts don’t have much in them to begin with.


My employer’s retirement plan has a hybrid structure—half of it is a pension, and the other half is an investment plan similar to a 401(k). The pension part is less volatile and has lower risk, so I’m not nervous about that. The investment half, on the other hand, is a totally different story. Like many other people in this country with investment-based retirement accounts, I’ve been experiencing an increasing sense of dread as I track the daily stock market updates and realize the value of my retirement account is plummeting. As the balance gets smaller, the pit in my stomach seems to grow bigger.

I’ve been contributing to this retirement fund for nearly 15 years now. Financially speaking, I’d consider myself to be lower middle class, so while my monthly contributions may not seem like a huge amount, it’s a lot of money to me, as someone who lives on a tight budget. Diverting that portion of my paycheck into this retirement account has meant I’ve had to forgo nonessential “splurges” and cut other expenses. I’m crushed to see such a shocking drop in that precious fund, which represents years of sacrifice and hard work. It’s also disheartening to think about the devastating financial harm Trump has caused for so many families within the span of just a few weeks.

Meanwhile, another saga currently unfolding in the country is compounding my anxiety about how I will survive in my later years. Trump and Elon Musk (the latter of whom seems to be driving many recent national actions and decisions) appear to have Social Security in their crosshairs, with Musk referring to the critical program as a “Ponzi scheme.” It’s unlikely that Musk, currently the richest man in the world, has any idea about what Social Security means to the millions of people who rely on it to survive.

This makes me very nervous about the future of Social Security. Many other Americans feel the same way. Voters have swarmed town hall events held by GOP lawmakers to express concern and anger about recent changes and potential cuts to the program. “I paid into that my entire career,” a voter from North Carolina said at a town hall meeting, according to an Associated Press story. “I worked from the time I was 16. I paid into that, it’s mine and I want it.”

Some of my family members aren’t even eligible to collect Social Security because they haven’t paid enough into the system. Their only option for income in their senior years is Supplemental Security Income and any benefits that might be available through their state. SSI currently has a minimum benefit payment that is less than $1,000 a month—and that’s assuming there are no cuts or changes to the SSI system. For most people, that’s nowhere near enough to survive on, which is why some seniors are forced to choose between food and utilities or health care and medications. I’ve heard some of my relatives talk about receiving utility shutoff notices or skipping doses of their medication because their grocery bills are taking up so much of their monthly budget. Musk, who some say appears to be on a crusade against seniors due to a combination of “ego and spite,” is unlikely to care.

Social Security officials have already announced staff reductions and office closures. Other plans reportedly in the works include changes that would make it more difficult for people to file claims or get assistance. A former Social Security commissioner has warned that these and other changes recommended by the Department of Government Efficiency could lead to a “system collapse” and interruption of benefits. Some experts and lawmakers including Sen. Bernie Sanders have predicted that Trump’s goal is to privatize Social Security, a scenario that seems plausible to me, as well.

With this double whammy putting financial support that I’d hoped could help fund my eventual retirement on shaky ground, I now find myself among the nearly half of Gen Xers who feel like they will need a miracle to be able to retire.

My retirement fund balance is very modest by most standards. Some might call it minimal. It’s nowhere near enough to cover my current monthly bills. I have no delusions about living my senior years in luxury or with enough disposable income to travel the world. I know that I’ll need to tighten my belt and cut down on any nonessential spending. Still, I had hoped my relatively meager nest egg would be enough to cover my bare necessities and core living expenses. Now, even that simple goal seems like it might be too ambitious.

In my most optimistic dreams, I had hoped to be able to retire at around age 65, but I accepted the more realistic possibility that I would have to try to keep working until 70 to maximize my retirement benefits. (That’s assuming, of course, that I don’t experience any major health events that derail my plans and take the choices out of my hands.) With even that age-70 timeline now seeming too ambitious, I’m anxious that I might have no choice but to continue working even once my physical or mental health makes that difficult. I’m also sad that after a lifetime of hard work, I might never be able to slow down and relax or spend quality time with my future grandchildren.

I strongly hope that I am wrong, and that things change course soon and turn the financial circumstances in a more positive direction. Right now, though, things feel very unstable and worrisome, so it’s wise to try to prepare for challenging times as best as we can. In my case, that means shifting my mindset and not taking retirement as a given. I’m now focusing on cutting expenses, paying down debt, and exploring side hustles and additional sources of extra income. Instead of planning for travel and leisure activities in my postretirement years, I might have to accept the painful reality that, despite my efforts to make things different, retirement might be—as it has been for many of my loved ones—a luxury that I won’t be able to afford.