(Washington Free Beacon)—The Department of Justice is asking the Maryland supreme court to dismiss three local lawsuits, which accuse the nation’s largest oil companies of selling products that they know cause global warming. It represents the first time the Trump DOJ has weighed in on such active litigation, which has become more common in recent years and seeks to extract crippling damages from oil companies.
In a brief filed this week, officials in the DOJ’s environment division said the issues covered in the cases—like air pollution, greenhouse gas emissions, and climate change—are national and international matters. Using state law to regulate those issues, therefore, “would override policy choices made by the federal government and Maryland’s sister states,” the brief added.
“Each state is alone responsible for controlling air pollution within its borders—subject to EPA oversight—and [federal law] contemplates no role for states reaching out and applying their law in other states,” it stated.
The filing sends a clear message that the Trump administration is prepared to fight the lawsuits and assert its authority over such issues. It marks the first time that the administration has weighed in on active climate litigation. The DOJ sued Michigan and Hawaii in May to prevent the states from pursuing similar litigation mirroring the three cases in Maryland, but those two states had not yet filed lawsuits against oil companies.
The Maryland cases—which prosecutors filed in Baltimore, Annapolis, and Anne Arundel County between 2018 and 2021—are part of a coordinated effort from dozens of Democratic-led cities and states, which have filed identical lawsuits against many of the same companies. If the pending lawsuits are all successful, oil companies would collectively be forced to pay in excess of $1 trillion in damages.
- Read More: freebeacon.com
The Biggest Threat to Your Retirement Is Actually a Very Good Thing
When you look at the headlines today, you’ll see experts in the retirement industry warning about big threats to your financial security:
- De-dollarization and the rise of BRICS
- Soaring national debt
- Unstable interest rates
- Weakened U.S. dollar
All of these are real concerns. But they aren’t the biggest threat to your retirement savings. The true risk isn’t political, monetary, or global.
It’s longevity.
Why Longevity Is the Silent Threat
For most of human history, the problem was the opposite — life expectancy was short, and few people even reached retirement. Today, thanks to medical advancements, healthier lifestyles, and better living conditions, people are living longer than ever before.
And while that’s a wonderful thing, it comes with a financial catch: Your retirement account has to last far longer than you might expect.
- A 65-year-old couple today has a 50% chance that one of them will live to 90.
- Some projections suggest that many of us will live well into our 90s, even 100+.
- This means your nest egg may need to stretch not for 15 years, but 25, 30, or even 40 years.
That’s where the real danger lies: running out of money before you run out of life.
The Retirement Equation Has Changed
While market volatility, debt crises, or central bank policies may feel like the scariest threats, they’re temporary storms. Longevity, however, is a structural shift. Every extra year of life is another year of expenses, another year of inflation erosion, and another year of financial pressure.
If your retirement plan doesn’t account for longevity, you could face tough choices later in life — downsizing, working when you’d rather not, or becoming financially dependent on others.
How to Take Control
The good news? Longevity is a blessing — as long as you’re prepared for it. With the right planning, your retirement savings can work for you instead of against you. The key is learning how to protect your wealth, outpace inflation, and ensure your savings grow even as you live longer.
That’s why our friends at Augusta Precious Metals created a free resource to help you get started:
👉 Get Instant Access to the report, “How to Take Full Control of Your Financial Future”
This brief report will show you practical strategies to safeguard your retirement from the biggest threat of all — the one that comes from the gift of living longer.
Don’t let longevity catch you unprepared. Take the steps today to secure tomorrow.
