Signs that the economy is bad, January 27, 2012

Welcome to another Friday here at The Itinerant Librarian and another edition of "Signs that the economy is bad." This is the semi-regular segment (as in when there are news worthy of the segment, and I have time to pull this together) in the blog where I scour the world (ok, mostly catch items from my feed reader and look over some news site) to bring my four readers those oh-so-subtle signs that the economy is bad. Not too many this week, but here we go.

• This item is a small leftover from the just finished holiday season. More people are returning more items they purchased. This past holiday season, things were so bad that a lot of people bought presents, and even before wrapping them, were already returning them to get cash back. Hey, those bills don't pay themselves, and if things are tight, it seems you need to find cash someplace. Those gifts that are not so essential after all represent that cash the people can use now. For retailers, this is not good neither. Via MSNBC. 
• Supermarkets are now more interested in those people on food stamps. Yes, things are hard. More people are getting food stamps and food assistance from the government. For the grocery stores and discount stores that means one thing: cha-ching. Sure, right wingers, Republicans and tea baggers may bitch and moan about those poor people on food stamps, but hey, for the supermarkets and grocery stores, those poor people bring in money, and may even help create jobs. I know somewhere in there you can find some irony. Via Bizmology.  
• Public college and universities are outsourcing the building, and often the maintenance, of their college dorms to save a few bucks. However, according to the article, the savings may be short term, if at all. Via The New York Times.