Monthly Parking as an Economic Indicator

Economists have often toyed with clever and ingenious ways to gauge the state of the economy. For example, The Economist has long espoused its famous "Big Mac" theory of purchasing power parity. By comparing the cost, converted in U.S. dollar terms, of a McDonald's Big Mac hamburger in various countries, one can determine whether a nation's currency will strengthen or weaken versus other foreign currencies based on the notion that a McDonald's hamburger should cost the same in Seattle as it does in London or Kuala Lampur (link here). In much the same way, I have my own informal measures of how the local economy is doing. One such measure is the "Financial District Monthly Garage Parking" indicator. During the height of the internet boom a few years back, the parking garage across the street from my office building on California Street had a waiting list of more than fifty applicants all wanting to secure a monthly parking spot. The ones that did secure spots had to pay a "courtesy" fee to the garage manager. In third world countries (and New York City), this is better known as a bribe or kickback. But the tech bubble was at its apex. And employee bonuses and stock option gains ran amuck, driving up demand for monthly parking. Anyhow, I inquired at the same garage this morning as to what the wait list number was. The response? "What wait list? Go ahead and pick your spot. Price is a flat $360 monthly." While I am ecstatic about having secured a garage spot so close to work and at cost, what this might say about the ongoing state of the local economy is a bit sobering.