CNN iReport

Paris....What's the economic sign of the times here?...Well, there's many..

This photo taken yesterday near Place de la Republique requires more that 1,000 words,.here's just a few hundred but the subject deserves volumes..

First of all what you see is a scene which takes place in front of food markets every day all around Paris.  People digging through garbage bins collecting food which has passed the recommended expiry date, but for the most part still safe to eat.  The people are generally cooperative, sharing with others whom they have come to know over time...knowing what the other needs or likes and exchanging.

Another sign is that of a wealthy society which is abundant and can afford the luxury and which has developed the practice of discarding "dated" food.

The Dow Jones Average has crept back up to nearly 10,000 with the predictable result of "the rich getting richer" but at the same time unemployment, at least in France and I believe in the USA, has increased and "the poor are getting poorer."...

And as for the banks?...well, they don't have to wait at the garbage bins for hand-outs,...they go directly to the tax payer.