Comment by DirtyCalvinist

This phenomenon is called pauperization. Many countries in Europe experienced it acutely during the early 19th century. People were allowed to starve back then until production shifted to take advantage of the surplus labor. And though people in developed countries are unlikely to starve this time around, the real challenge for us is figuring out how to allow the change to continue (because we will all be better off for it) without destroying people's dignity and/or creating an economically futile and dependent underclass.