Then the only way there's room for you is if somebody else goes away. If the other person doesn't go away, you have no slot to fill.
In a declining economy you get calls for lowering the retirement age. Get rid of those who have been around, make way for the newbies.
In an expanding economy you only get that kind of call from those who believe their unique, special gifts and talents are too slowly acknowledged and rewarded, who don't move up the social or corporate ladder as fast as their egos demand.
Of course, there's an unspoken assumption: That seniority trumps skills and talent. Sometimes true. Sometimes not. (When "not," then it's the inherent greed of employers who want to hire young, low-paid workers instead of the wise, skilled, expensive older worker.)
Me, I like expanding economies. They produce labor demand, drive up wages, and while they're often rough on the environment they also produce revenues and prosperity that lead people to value clean air and water.