Ah, Social Security and Medicare—the sacred cows of American politics. The programs that were once untouchable, invincible, and supposedly “safe.” Funny how that worked out.

Every election cycle, politicians swear up and down that these programs are off-limits. “We’ll protect Social Security! We’ll strengthen Medicare!” they proclaim with the confidence of a used car salesman telling us that rust is a feature, that gives a car character, not a flaw. And yet, here we are, watching them chip away at the very programs we funded with our own hard-earned money, and rely on now.

And let’s get one thing straight: Social Security is not an entitlement. It’s not some government freebie. It’s money we earned, money we worked for, and money we handed over because we were told it would be there when we needed it. Except, apparently, Congress had other ideas. Instead of keeping it locked away for retirees, they decided to use it like their personal piggy bank—raiding it for who-knows-what, leaving behind a stack of IOUs and a pile of excuses.

Now, suddenly, there’s “concern” over its solvency. Suddenly, there’s talk of “necessary reforms,” which, in political language, usually means making people work longer, pay more, and get less. Funny how there’s never this level of concern over corporate subsidies or tax breaks for billionaires. Those funds are mysteriously always available.

But sure, let’s keep pretending we’re the problem for expecting what we were promised. Let’s keep pretending that when we retire, the check we spent decades earning should still be there.

At this point, the only thing more exhausting than watching them mismanage our money is listening to them promise they won’t do it again.