The rising of economic stability from the ashes of financial woes

I found this picture on the internet and was intrigued by the different aspect of visual metaphor it could take. The artist explained that one of her friends had noticed that the picture could represent a visual metaphor of the dwindling economy. Before reading her friend's thread, I looked at the picture and saw the dollar surrounded by dead leaves. One thing her nor anyone else noticed, and maybe it's because I'm from the midwest, is the lush green grass under the dead leaves and the dollar. Adding to her friends comment, this picture could portray the grass as a "phoenix" rising from the ashes of a crumbled economy. I guess how someone interprets this metaphor just depends on whether they see the glass as half empty or half full.