I think we are not in the same context as Europe after bubonic plague.
?? Parent didn't say we aren't in a labor shortage right now. Parent said labor shortages weren't a real thing.
"There is no Ferrari in my garage" vs "there is no such thing as Ferrari"
I'll be sure to tell my history professor. He'll be interested to know that all those textbooks he wrote about Europe immediately after the bubonic plague were wrong.