Sign of the Economy

You can't open a newspaper, or turn on the TV, or listen to the radio, or look at a blog, without hearing about how the Economy is In A Downturn, and we Might Be Facing A Recession.  All those experts, saying the same thing.  Well, they might actually be right.  In an article in The New York Times, the shoe-shiners in Grand Central Station are saying that business is down.  And when shoe-shining business is down, you know the economy is doing badly.  It's one thing when the average, middle-class teachers and journalists and computer technicians start cutting back on their daily Starbucks runs.  But when the real-estate guys, the bankers, and the stock brokers start cutting back on shoe shines, that's when we can start worrying.  These are guys that used to get a shoe shine every day, like clockwork.  Now, they're down to only once a week, maybe twice at most.

On a plus side for the shoe-shiners (and environmentalists), their repair business is up.  Instead of buying a new pair of shoes, people are much more likely to get the shoes repaired - cheaper and good for the environment.