pawn shops-a measure of distress

"The upper middle class is feeling the crunch like never before," he said. "They're bringing in diamonds and gold to pay for margin calls on stocks. There's a feeling of despair.

"These people are used to paying their bills, no problem. Now it's a whole new world. They're struggling. So maybe they won't go on vacation this summer, and they'll pawn jewelry to fix the roof."

Man, things should never be so bad

Wow - I wouldn't have thought it, but they're exactly right. Pawn shop activity is a great economic indicator.