While I agree with you that there are potential upsides, the problem is that this shift has happened so incredibly rapidly that markets and policies haven't had

While I agree with you that there are potential upsides, the problem is that this shift has happened so incredibly rapidly that markets and policies haven't had a chance to adapt. The boomer retirement wave has been anticipated for a while, and it was happening pre-COVID, but the pandemic supercharged things. While I've not personally dug into the numbers, the reporting I've come across suggests decent portion of the inflation we've seen wasn't a result of labour shortages leading to wage spirals and supply shocks. That inflation then destroys any gains made due to salary increases.