The driving forces restructurings, plant shutdowns and shifting markets are all symptoms of enclosure. But they'll still have Social Security. The political clout of the nation's senior citizens makes Social Security politically untouchable for budget-cutting. Even so, the government's universal retirement plan is an enormous financial drain. As the age distribution in the American population changes, Social Security is likely to be perceived as the tyranny of senescent, white middle class perpetrated against a young, predominantly poor workforce.
Future events become even less certain if the workforce is also largely non-white.
At that point, government may have to terminate Social Security payments in order to preserve public order. Nor will there be lots of great jobs to support the boomers and their progeny. Government unemployment figures, which tend to be optimistic for reasons of job security, do not give an accurate picture of developments. The rise of part-time employment is not just part of the usual economic cycle, economists say, but a structural change caused by America's decaying position in the world economy. Things are definitely getting worse.