Bloomberg: Jobs crisis could spark riots here

http://money.cnn.com/2011/09/16/news/ec ... /index.htm

Just curious what others think about this? I really can't see 9% unemployment causing riots in this country with all our wealth, charity and safety nets. The only thing that I believe would cause riots is a government taking away freedom in a big way, or some massive natural disaster which caused the economy to not function. Is Bloomberg just a kook, or does he know something?

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg is worried that high U.S. unemployment could lead to the same kind of riots here that have swept through Europe and North Africa.

"You have a lot of kids graduating college, [who] can't find jobs," said Bloomberg, during his weekly radio show on Friday. "That's what happened in Cairo. That's what happened in Madrid. You don't want those kinds of riots here."

Those social nets are fraying pretty badly. The expression is that we are nine meals away from anarchy. There are tens of millions of people in this country who don't have that much on hand, nor the means to obtain it if the safety net breaks altogether.

Since my crystal ball is being serviced and won't be back until 2013, I won't speculate on the article or TEOTWAWKI. MSN had a story earlier that violent crime had dropped an unexpected 12% last year. That doesn't mean it couldn't go apocalyptic after several days of major failure like AV mentions. It will be an interesting ride.

bullets=gold

The seed has been planted....thank you Mr. Bloomberg..... it's going to be a hot 2012 summer.

HEARTLESS wrote: Since my crystal ball is being serviced and won't be back until 2013, I won't speculate on the article or TEOTWAWKI. MSN had a story earlier that violent crime had dropped an unexpected 12% last year. That doesn't mean it couldn't go apocalyptic after several days of major failure like AV mentions. It will be an interesting ride.

I am astounded that we haven't seen riots and a increase in crime since the ecnomy has gone south.

A couple theories? Lock up all the worst crimminals and they won't be ringleaders for mobs. Three Strikes while expensive may pay off in the end.
Eradication of lead paint: As the nation has worked to remove lead paint from homes, IQ has been going up and some believe too much lead in the bloodstream makes people more violent.
The strained social safety net is still keeping people fed and that may be enough to keep people content.

I could still see something setting off rioters, like what the UK just went through.

And social justice types are holding a protest at Wall Street today inspired by the Egyptian demonstrations.

SS109 wrote: [I am astounded that we haven't seen riots and a increase in crime since the ecnomy has gone south.

Prozac and internet addiction.

http://www.ny1.com/content/top_stories/ ... et-protest

Maybe I was wrong, hehehe Wall street protesters getting started.

"Protesters set up camp in Manhattan's Financial District Saturday for a demonstration stemming from the social networking site "Occupy Wall Street" that aims to last for months. NY1’s Nicole Ward filed the following report.

Lisa Fithian said she's not part of any official group and that the “occupation” of Wall Street is the work of many people coming together with the same message.

"Wall Street is certainly the heart of why we're here. It's the corporations — the big banks in this country have been destroying this country,” said Fithian. "Overfees or high mortgages, student loans, the banks are touching every aspect of our lives."

AspenValley wrote:

SS109 wrote: [I am astounded that we haven't seen riots and a increase in crime since the ecnomy has gone south.

Prozac and internet addiction.

One other theory about why youth crime is down is because kids are in their basements playing video games. Video games are a bigger industry than movies.

Look at the people at riots. Not likely the older people struggling to get by. Real, tear it all down, anarchists use students and protests to implement their agenda. I don't see parents at a riot unless starvation is a real probability.