Clark,

The “escape-to-another-country” ploy might work for the first few American adults, but as the numbers igrow those to follow them will find the gates slammed in their faces. There are some countries (New Zealand comes to mind) that enjoy the peace and prosperity that comes from a comparatively small population sharing abundant resources, and if they’re separated from the rest of the world by thousands of miles of ocean can be fairly blase’ about admitting “guests”. Contrast this with all the hoops you’ll have to jump through even now if you try to move to Canada.

The other factor in this is that most middle-aged Americans are too proud and too invested in their skills (even if they’re hardly marketable) to willingly accept a life cleaning the toilets of their more affluent neighbors. For our children and grandchildren, however, it’s going to be another matter. There’s nothing coincidental about the right’s frenzied efforts to trash public education. In their planned dystopian future, our offspring likely won’t have the same qualms about menial work, because they won’t know how to do anything else.