France is on the warpath about a plan to raise the retirement age from present 60 to 62.
Many workers are striking and the warning is out to tourists that a visit right now might be unpleasant.
It is interesting to look at the footage of the rioting that is taking place there. The rioters are about 99 percent young people.
That makes perfect sense when you think about it. Unemployment is a problem there as well as here and many of the unemployed are young.
These rioters are not protesting that they will have to work longer, they are protesting that they will have to wait longer to get a job.
If retirement age goes up two years, that is a lot of jobs that won't be available to the unemployed.
Same effect would be felt here if we shifted the retirement age. If American moved mandatory retirement back to 62, unemployment would go down.
But how could we afford it? Many Americans are wondering if they will be forced to work longer than 65 -- because they cannot afford to retire.
As more workers carry on after 65, it does have an impact on unemployment, particularly among the younger workers.
How is it that the French can afford to retire so young? And who is paying for it?