Third World Country ?

The scrap metal boom is interesting because it shows how hard up people in Maine are now for money.

It's not just that scrap steel prices are much higher than they used to be (due in part to the crashing value of the dollar vs. other currencies). But that's only one part of the equation. The second and necessary complement is that lots of people in Maine need cash because, like scrap metal, the price of everything people must buy to survive is skyrocketing.

Suddenly, people who never would have done it before are piling up every piece of unwanted metal they can find and hauling it to scrap dealers for instant cash.

This reminds me of those times when you have no $$$ and you search all your pockets for pennies, cash in that coffee can of pennies and dimes, and bring every last bottle and can to the redemption center.