Even I was surprised to see the size of my little town’s financial dilemma:
![pensions](https://slopeofhope.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/pensions-640x480.png)
I mean, for God’s sake, Palo Alto is a college town of about 50,000 people. Most of them aren’t exactly clamoring for government services. I’m not even sure what the 1,400 people who work for the city even do, except for the firefighters and police officers. But if you ever wanted a cushy job that paid over a quarter million dollars, just work for a union-protected government entity:
![salaries](https://slopeofhope.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/salaries.png)
…….to say nothing of the benefits, which rival a high-tech startup……
![benefits](https://slopeofhope.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/benefits-640x307.png)
I used to think if one had to work for the government, they basically couldn’t find a place at an actual enterprise, to they had to settle for the boring, low-paying job of a city or state employee. How wrong I was. These people are making money hand over fist, and they don’t even have to break a sweat doing it.
![](https://i.pinimg.com/originals/f1/33/bc/f133bca698ec6838e1f5c63ab3bf5a90.jpg)
As for the half-billion dollar pension problem my little community is facing: I’m sure the little darlings who expect a nearly full salary the rest of their lives have nothing to worry about. They’ll get bailed out with a fresh printing of fiat and go on their merry way.
Let’s face it. America had a pretty good run. Too bad to see it circle the drain like this.