*by bleeding out, I mean laying off or “eliminating” jobs.
I think a case can be made that the “elimination” of jobs that you cite are largely middle management. Lots of people in their 50s and 60s who rose up a level or two and maybe got a six-figure salary. Then the company decides that they are old and slow and expensive. BOOM! Middle management is gone and your job is eliminated. As you indicate — this has happened a lot in the past few decades.
So what is left? A lot of hopeless people at the bottom, and a few mega-rich people at the top. There is mostly a gulf between the two. The people at the bottom see no path to the top.
And note — I’m not claiming that no hard-working young person has managed to be promoted in the past 20 years. Sure, that happens. Someone always has a story of a nephew who has done well. And that’s great. But no way is this as common as it used to be. Working hard used to almost always guarantee success in America. This really is no longer true.