I found the waiter/waitress quality model was pretty effective for judging the economy. If the economy was strong, the service would be worse, since the best p

I found the waiter/waitress quality model was pretty effective for judging the economy. If the economy was strong, the service would be worse, since the best people could get better jobs elsewhere. And if good people were having a hard time making ends meet, they would end up in the service industry displacing those that weren't good in their jobs. You could probably come up with similar metrics on the number of dented cars you see in a day that people couldn't afford to repair. Or the number of people who skip out on their checks at a restaurant. Or the number of people who buy lottery tickets. Or the number of people that are willing to gamble, not as entertainment, but as a way to get some money for the next bill due date.