Bill O'Reilly has renewed a favorite Fox News theme: Viewers should be afraid of violent riots in the streets here in America. According to O'Reilly, there is much cause for concern because “36 percent of Americans who could be in of the workforce are not,” and many of those people “get by on government entitlements.” O'Reilly insisted those entitlements “will have to be” cut.

O'Reilly hosted Ben Stein, who predicted that “every single problem we see in Greece is coming our way.” (Not true.) Stein also reserved an especially vicious comment for young people: “There are a lot of young people especially who don't have jobs who are very angry, have nothing better to do, who would like to riot, and rioting is fun for them.”

From O'Reilly's May 17 show:

In fact, the statistic O'Reilly is talking about -- call it the nonparticipation rate -- has been far higher in the past than it is now:

This chart shows the percentage of Americans who counted as being part of the “civilian noninstitutional population” -- Americans over 16 years old and not in the military, prison, mental facilities, or homes for the aged -- but aren't a part of the labor force. It's where O'Reilly's “36 percent” number comes from.

As the chart makes clear, the nonparticipation rate has been far higher in the past than it is now and it didn't lead to violence in the streets. Simply put, O'Reilly doesn't know what he's talking about.

This is just the latest example of Fox News personalities predicting that spending on the poor and needy will lead to chaos and violence. Here are a few from the not-too-distant past:

• Hannity: European Unrest Partly Due To “Failed Liberal Policies”; We May “See [Violence] Here”
• Hannity Channels Beck: U.S. Is “On A Path To Becoming Greece. The Country's Going To Burn”
• Fox Uses UK Riots To Bash The Left In Britain And The U.S.
• Fox Regular Ralph Peters On London Riots: “It's Going To Get Nasty Here Too”
• Beck Predicts “Race Riots” In U.S., “Fueled By The Media And By Our Politicians”