Thought-provoking piece on the economic roots of the French riots--specifically, the lack of job opportunities for young people, especially minorities. "Among the young, immigrant men who live in satellite slums, unemployment reaches 40 percent."
I disagree with Elisabeth Eaves' diagnosis, though. She says the problem is that the minimum wage is too high--about $10/hr--and there are too many social protections; those already ensconced within the system keep voting for benefits for themselves, even if it strangles productivity. I'm no economist, but we don't have either of those "problems" here in America, and we're not exactly bursting with opportunities for youth either: Half the Black men in New York City aged 16+ are unemployed. Actually worse than these boys who are out burning cars.
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Um, job market's fantastic right now. What do you want to do for a living? i can set you up. I got my first post-graduation job back in '99, and through the entire 'recession' I fielded job offers on a weekly basis.
Seriously. Go onto Monster.com sometime. If you can't get hired in this environement, then you're doing something wrong. Let me help you.
Oh, the job pays very very well. Bachelor's in Political Science. No family connections. Piece of cake.
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