Reinforcing your 4th point, I was shocked by how many old mules who had big plans to pack it in until they were 75 suddenly called it quits after a year off wit

Reinforcing your 4th point, I was shocked by how many old mules who had big plans to pack it in until they were 75 suddenly called it quits after a year off with their families. They weren't all the highest earners, but relinquishing their spots in the org chart freed up a lot for the frustrated younger people who put in 10-20 years but could never meaningfully move up, either by responsibility or compensation. I remember the same thing happening in 2008 in the private sector then in 2010 in public but with the opposite effect. So many people that had put everything in the stock market and housing suddenly saw themselves pushing off retirement for another decade. A neighbor offered for me to take over the last 20% of a mortgage on a home because he'd sold his primary residence and had retired to Florida right before the crash, and I still don't know why I turned him down. It would have been a 800% return today, which is just stupid.