"This economy is tough on everybody," the former CFO of a division of a major multinational American banking conglomerate said to the housecat selling mice on the sidewalk three miles from the rich, affluent, gated community where he'd lived until the Sword of Damocles crashed upon his neck.

Day 53, he thought to himself, spoke to tabby cat; looks like good source of protein. Things are rough. Burned last scraps of suit for warmth; stole new jacket from neighborhood kid. Tight. Uncomfortable. Serviceable for time being. Starvation a good diet.