Nobody makes running boards for cars anymore either.
There's no "pattling on" about the free markets and no one is blaming anyone or their age. It's up to you to remain current and relevant in your skills-sets.
Plenty of salaried people become stale and ossified in their jobs, and the corporate umbrella can only provide cover for so long before that catches up to them. Employees need to remain trainable for new things and current in what they do to remain competitive in today's employment market.
And it has always been so....
Whenever you land a new job, you start from day 1 planning for where or what your next job is going to be. That has a way of keeping your skills sets fresh and relevant.
Don't resent the fact that there are such things as free markets, else we'd all be paying for more things that only the government thinks we need. You'd best hope the free market stays free or with the ascendancy of a new breed of free-marketers (e.g., tea party) the world becomes more free and America's industrial productivity is once again allowed to become unshackled.
In the meantime, set your sights higher than Wal-mart. If you are 50 years old and the experience you gained in your career has real value, figure out a way to market it to someone who will buy that experience directly from you instead of the company you used to work for.
It's a liberating thing when you do. FReegards!
