Who Steals Bricks?

I was skimming through the NY Times today, and I stumbled upon this article about how bricks are being stolen in St. Louis. I was kind of confused and interested at the same time, so I proceeded to read the article. The article went into detail about how it has become a major problem for the city to stop brick harvesters. Thieves illegally harvest the historically precious St. Louis  bricks by setting fire to entire buildings, and removing the bricks, selling them down south for $100 per a palette of 500. 

I thought that this article goes to show the extent of the American recession that has plagued the nation. People are resorting to stealing bricks and burning buildings to provide for their families and keep their businesses running. The American economy is in a terrible position for small business owners and low class citizens. The poor people are always affected first by national finical difficulties. If people are resorting to burning buildings now, what's to happen in the next few months or years if the crisis does not improve anytime soon? 

Im my opinion, American has more problems to worry about than people stealing bricks. If things continue on he path that they are on. The robbing of armored cars, banks, and homes will be more of an issue than some old bricks. With all of the technology and resources that the US retains, I believe that America is more than capable of pulling itself out of the whole it has dug.