Are YOU a good recession citizen?

There are good reactions and bad reactions to living in The Current Economic Climate. Depending on what extremes you care to go to (and listed here in no particular priority) I venture to classify the following as good and bad responses:

Good: Pointing out to your offspring that college is very expensive and that excellent careers exist in growing fields like Unemployment Check Printing, Developing Dollar Menus at McDonald's and the like. Better yet, certain of these careers require only a fifth grade education, so you can also save money on school supplies and clothes from Abercrombie & Fitch by forgoing middle and high school.

Bad: Hoarding your money if you still have a good job and could be supporting the rest of us, for example by buying items we've placed in our front yards for sale, or have dangled temptingly before you on eBay. Buy something, wouldya?

Good: Letting your cousin or your brother move into your basement when she or he loses that job Printing Unemployment Checks.

Good: Planning for a dreamy life that isn't so expensive. My little dream? Waiting tables in the Virgin Islands and living in a hut with a grass roof. Yum. (Okay, sure, it's just a dream and yes, we'll turn in your projects next week as promised, dear clients!)

Bad: Trying to shame other people because they have to make an income and thus attempt to charge you a living wage. ("How dare you charge me $4 for a latte? Haven't you read the news?") Skip the drama and make your own coffee if that's the way you feel.

Good: Buying an investment property or investing in stocks. But read Suze Orman's new book and advice columns first, since I don't know bupkas about this.

Bad: Assuming this slump will last forever. It won't, especially if you keep working, buying grass huts and humming a little song as you go through your day.

Please tell us the good and bad recession citizenship examples you're seeing. All our readers are in the mood to hear them because all anybody talks about anymore is... surprise!... The Great Recession! Cheers.

I remember: "It's the economy, stupid."

... Only this time I've started worrying it's me that's stupid... okay, maybe not stupid exactly, but ill-equipped to be an investor in these times. Not that my concern will stop me - My greed (oh, must I call it that?) outweighs my caution when it comes to stocks and mutual funds.

[caption id="attachment_84" align="alignleft" width="116" caption=" Remember poor Mr. Bill from SNL? He's been investing. "Ooooh nooo!""][/caption]

But here's what scares me. Commentators such as Andy Serwer, speaking with Anderson Cooper on CNN, postulate that the market has become so complex, with its derivatives, complex mortgage securities and arcane computer modeling, that even the top people at investment banks and other firms DON'T COMPLETELY UNDERSTAND THE INSTRUMENTS and how they'll work. Kind of like artificial intelligence gone mad... or Frankenstein's monster... Ooooh nooo!