Lunch at O'Brien's Irish Restaurant & Pub: six bucks (drinks not included) -- oh my! In Santa Monica, with Wilshire Boulevard rents yet -- unbelievable!

Sarah Gilbert and I have been finding little bits of information here and there (Economic indicators coming from more unlikely places) that support the notion the slowing economy is being felt by the "little guy" first, as usual. Small business owners see it first because they have very flat enterprises. (Venice Beach as a leading economic indicator) Owner and staff and that's it. Sometimes just themselves. Employees receiving a paycheck see it early and have the least options to adjust to change, and fixed income seniors -- they're totally stressed out.

Large companies have so many levels of management that by the time the guy at the top feels the pain (assuming he ever does) of the guy at the bottom he has already collected his bonus for his underperforming company. By the time the guy at the top responds to the needs of the guy on the bottom (assuming he ever does) the guy on the bottom has already figured out what he needs to do to survive and has helped himself.

Composing this post in my head walking back from lunch I wondered about how much attention we pay to Wall Street data each day, even though that data really comes to us second-hand from everywhere else.