1713 Gold Hobos

They other day I saw this interesting street corner tableau. There was this guy standing on one corner with a sign. It was cardboard and had some writing on it. Then there was this other guy standing on another corner with a sign. It was larger and was mounted on a stick. They both were a sign of the times.
The first guy was definitely homeless. His sign said, "Need money for food, Need Job," and the kicker, "Need money for bus ticket." If that doesn't work nothing will. He was saying, essentially, "Hey, please help feed me. Failing that, give me a job and I'll feed myself. And failing that, give me some money to get out of town and out of your hair, not to mention vacating this guilt-tripping corner."
On the opposite corner, was the other guy with the larger sign. Instead of asking for something, he was promising to buy something---namely gold. He was dressed not unlike the homeless person, raggedey jeans and a sweatshirt, but was promising to all an sundry that he was prepared to buy their gold jewelry and coins. Not only that, he promised to pay more than any other gold buyer---20 percent more. Guaranteed.
I wasn't sure if he was promising to buy for more than any other storefront buyer, or any other streetcorner buyer. Kind of hard to guarantee something like that when you change corners all the time. "Where'd that gold buyer go? I know he was on Trosper and Tyee last week..."
So. Here was a guy without a job waving a sign and a guy whose job it was to wave a sign. The sign of the times?
This country doesn't need more factories to solve unemployment.
It needs more gold buyers.
America ya gotta love it.