The riots in France put the apologist industry into overtime

Jack Kelly says the welfare state deserves some blame in the French riots:

The economic part of the problem is a lack of social mobility, compounded by idleness. An idle mind is indeed the devil's playground.

Since the lack of social mobility is a product of the welfare state, the standard liberal "solutions" -- appeasement, coupled with great gobs of taxpayer money -- are unlikely to be effective.

There is no social mobility in France because the economy is stagnant. Unemployment is high. If French scientists have to emigrate to find work, what chance do those with few job skills have of grabbing a rung on the shrinking corporate ladder, much less of climbing it?

For the children of immigrants to have the same opportunities in France they do in the United States, taxes must be cut, regulations slashed, the minimum wage reduced, trade restrictions eased, labor unions weakened. But no politician in France would dare propose such remedies.

Jack Kelly isn't up for tenure at Harvard.