Public Opinion? Ask a Cabbie.
I know it's a cliche that cabbies are an accurate source for gauging public opinion, but it happens to be true. About forty-percent of a cabdriver's income is derived from tips. To be successful a driver has to engage his clients in conversation. The point is to be interesting, helpful, or worthy of sympathy. Whenever possible I like to mention that I used to be a high school teacher, but right now I'm just glad to be employed because a lot of people aren't. The sympathy gambit generates the best tips.
The curious part about these converstions is the widespread recognition that our economy is in the tank. Everybody knows somebody who has lost a job, had his business go bankrupt, or is upside-down on his mortgage. Our economic situation is very bad and everybody knows it. I can't offer any statistical evidence, but my anecdotal stories are probably as accurate as anything a pollster can offer. I don't discuss politics from behind the wheel, but I think it's pretty clear what this means for the incumbant in the White House. The press can spin the situation any way it likes, but common people know what's up. After all, we're the ones living it.
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Sep '10
Re: Public Opinion? Ask a Cabbie.
I caught the tip about the US economy going in the tank by grilling Las Vegas cab drivers about the strange fall off in casino business on Saturday night at the strip. The first 2 cabbies played dumb and fed me a line, but the 3rd was a long time shop steward and gave me the fall off in his daily take. His tip put me 6 months ahead of the market, because high net worth individuals were already putting the brakes on resort hops to Vegas, and shopping trips in the high end fashion stores.
Dec '10
Re: Public Opinion? Ask a Cabbie.
I'm not so sure about this. I do not think I am unusual for a person from my social stratus. I am middle class and do not live in a big city. I have not been in a cab in years.
May '10
Re: Public Opinion? Ask a Cabbie.
I find it more enjoyable to ask a Hooters waitress, who operates under the same incentive scheme, with a somewhat different skill set. Mostly they just want to know about whatever book I'm reading, though, so the segue is difficult.
Jul '10
Re: Public Opinion? Ask a Cabbie.
My usual cabby is a Cowboys fan. We just go back and forth over the heyday of the Redskins-Cowboys feud. Otherwise, it's just guys with hard to understand accents that want to know where the best sales are on industrial quantities of very specific fertilizers. I usually pretend my English is good not so much with these.
Dec '10
Re: Public Opinion? Ask a Cabbie.
I am barely employed, can't get funding from reliable sources for a decent business proposition, and we are upside down on our mortgage. Property values locally became very depressed; we have a very old mortgage with no re-fis, that has become upside down. We would have to pay somebody to buy our property, just to move towards better opportunities.
We are so rural that the nearest place to get a pizza is more than 10 miles away The local cab comapny is hiring. Basically, for either alternative towards a second job you would burn lots of gas and time to make $1. I am at the point, now, where despite my determination to go Galt and independent, we have to move back to a city, if I can get a corporate job again, leave our home and just pay the (tiny) mortgage, as property is unsaleable (and renting just brings further nightmares, plus constant maintenance).
If. I have to cut all of my old ties to business and industry and accept a new, coat and tie job, if I can get one. We have land, but we suck at farming and we can't eat dirt.
Re: Public Opinion? Ask a Cabbie.
Cliche? It's Tom Friedman's entire business model!
Seriously, Paules -- a very nice post.