A makeshift cab, the real economy

". . . As it happened, the van wheezed its way to our house, and as Walt and I shook hands, him accepting 25 bucks with a huge smile, it was impossible not to reflect on the state of the economy and how men of ostensible good will had fallen off the grid, with no upside on the horizon. My son berated me, claiming that the hobo might've had a gun and stuck us up, but I told him to hush his mouth and go read a book. . . ."