When you summarize the argument as just the "past", you're rounding off the actual error. Most often when people say "nobody wants to work anymore" they're not

When you summarize the argument as just the "past", you're rounding off the actual error. Most often when people say "nobody wants to work anymore" they're not talking about the entire historical past. They're business owners or parents or investors talking about their personal experience, compared to just a few years or decades ago. In that case, 150 years of people saying this every decade does show that these people are simply out of touch, yelling at clouds. Unless someone wants to argue that every few years there's a complete reversal of sentiment.