Signs of the Great Recession

This summer it has been impossible to ignore the signs of recession especially at highway on/off ramps. Every expressway light now has someone standing there with a sign telling a tale of woe and asking for help.  Some people claim that this is just a new scam and these guys are working people's sympathy as a career but I tend to doubt it.  On one occasion a car zipped by and someone made some sort of comment to the guy looking for the handout. He became angry and shouted some four letter words and demanded that the car come back presumably ready for a fight.  If this guy was truly making big bucks and not humiliated by his  situation I don't think this would have been his reaction.   Panhandling at the intersection has been going on for years but what is new is the number of people out there.  They are the most visible and dramatic sign of our economic hard times. The stock market may have made a strong come back but don't expect any high fives from the guy standing on the corner.