Within a year after I retired my former employer laid off hundreds of people. (And they didn't re-hire my position, they just spread my former duties among others who were already in the department)
It's not the lack of retirees that is the major problem here...
The last war America won without help was a war against itself.
I know Americans like to claim they personally won WW2, but they only joined the fight in the 11th hour after everyone else had been fighting for 4 years.
I'll call it backfiring when anyone does anything effective to stop them.