Pennsylvania, Pittsburgh City Council Chamber.
The usually solemn and dignified hall was now filled with an irrepressible air of anxiety. The seats were packed with people, their weather-beaten faces etched with the exhaustion and anger of being squeezed by life. Leo Wallace sat in the mayor's seat, the indicator light on his microphone blinking.
"Mr. Mayor!" A middle-aged man in a pilled plaid shirt rushed to the podium, slamming his hands against the wooden edge. He was Tom, the owner of a hardware store in the South District. "You people say on TV every day that the economy is recovering. Tell me, where is the recovery?"
Tom's face flushed red as he waved a few crumpled bills in his hand. "Yesterday I went to get gas, and regular gasoline has gone up to four-fifty a gallon! A batch of screws I ordered had its wholesale price hiked by twenty percent just last week, and this week they sent another notice saying they're adding another fifteen percent because of shipping costs!
