How I gauge the depth by the lenght

How deep is the current economic downturn? You can measure it by the fall in GPD, the thrashing of stock markets, the increase of unemployment, the decrease in consumer confidence, the reduction in auto sales, retail sales, and industrial sales. But I gauge it by the length of the taxi queue in front of my favourite department store in Valencia (Spain). The fact is that the queue has lengthened in the last months. The idle drivers chat with one another with long faces, no jokes here, please.
If the queue lengthens, what does it mean? It means that consumer spending has reduced: either fewer customers go to the store, or same number goes, but more of them get out empty-handed. You don’t need a taxi if you don’t carry any packages, do you? A taxi fare is typically 7 € and a bus or metro ride is about 1.20 €. With the difference you may eat a one-course meal in a restaurant with wine and coffee.
A queue that shortens or lengthens is easier to understand to the layman than all the stock exchange charts in the world. However, there is a catch to this: if the current crisis continues, many taxi drivers may loose their jobs and the queue will shorten. This is what an economist in its inhuman jargon would call a demand – supply equilibrium (the price is fixed in this case).