Over time, the local economy comes to revolve around the activities of writing flood insurance, lending and financial services, home building, foreign car dealerships, retail and luxury goods and, importantly, the active trading of reinsurance contracts. Previous successful machinists and craftsmen close down their shops, some taking sales jobs at the new malls and restaurants. Others set up digs in one of several flashy new office buildings. There they become employees of the many rapidly expanding companies that are in some manner seeking to profit from escalating prices for homes and other assets, as well as from the boom in insurance contract trading. Many quit their jobs to trade contracts in the booming flood reinsurance market.
Trading becomes commonplace in the thriving community that has developed along the river.
The perception is of endless wealth, and to not play is tantamount to admitting a character flaw. Their actions seem perfectly rational, as the entire system has evolved to seductively capture the hopes and dreams of individuals throughout the community. In the past, some townspeople worried about floods, especially the older generation that lived through the Great Flood. Yet, it has been years since a major flood and with the current drought having lasted for so many years, most are now convinced that it's different this time with weather patterns having been altered permanently. The insurance companies are major media advertisers, constantly reinforcing how wonderful the drought has been and espousing continued optimism.