Inflation would be a real killer right now with wages and such so stagnant - adds to my suspicions that some really big entities will pull some strings that finish off the Middle Class within a decade.
If baby boomers and older are forced to burn through their savings in retirement, that's a lot of accumulated wealth that doesn't get to the next generation. If public sector jobs end up with their savings in federal annuities, that's the end of those savings outlasting the savers.
What's being destroyed is a permanent middle class that accumulates wealth. Those with government jobs and a few other fortunate sectors will have assets for middle class lives and comfortable retirement, but not anything that gets carried down to the next generation. Only the very wealthy and the very financially savvy will be able to that.
That's all opinion. It's what I'm seeing happening as people deal with the new economic realities.