It’s getting nasty out there, kids. With the Fed bailing out floundering investment banks, chopping interest rates, and trying to expand the scope of its regulatory powers, Ben Bernanke is scaring the crap out of everyone from the big Wall Street playas to the little guy just trying to keep his 401(k) afloat.

Last week, Denverism was in New York to visit old haunts and hang out with the old crew. To hear the talk around Wall Street water coolers – okay, martini bars – one would think the sky is about to fall. Which it just might if the current mess isn’t handled competently. The official line is, of course, that this will be all be over soon – so keep racking up that credit card debt, Mr. and Mrs. John Q. Public! And never mind the man behind the curtain!

Unofficially, however, people are frightened. Grapes-of-Wrath frightened. The thinking is, lose your job now and you next career may be selling pencils out of a tin cup. Don’t get me wrong: Denverism does not endorse selling all your stock and buying up all the canned goods and ammunition you can. After all, we’re not economists – just a blog with a soft spot for worst-case scenarios. Denverism is, however, advising everyone to be careful.

All that said, if you’ve got to be somewhere during an economic downturn, Denver is a better place than most. We have a diversified economy, reasonable housing prices, and a government that knows what it’s doing. So sit back, have a drink, and ride this one out. If there’s one thing the experienced Denverite knows, it’s how to weather a storm.