One of the few positives about my career choice is it's portability and global demand. I can and have gone anywhere in the world and for a premium been able to make more money than I could domestically, while also building my earning potential when I am home. It came with sacrifices, but the bottom line is if our economy goes to heck, I could be on a plane in two weeks to Abu Dhabi and probably double my current income, or head back to Australia and make what I am now in Aussie currency, or wherever major construction activity is going on. Chance favors the prepared mind.

Sure, if the economy tanks bad enough here at home the repercussions are global, but if you have the ability to take advantage of a mobile sort of career, then you can at least capitalize on whatever opportunities are still out there, and there will always be something, unless the whole world goes wonky.

Even within the states, though, there's still going to be plenty of opportunity. Municipal bonds don't feel the same effects as private sector funding programs until things really go to heck. Utilities and infrastructure must be maintained, regardless of what the economy does, or else civilization breaks down really quickly, and there is zero tolerance for that here (the feds would default their overseas investments before they'd let an administration fail like that).

As for the neighborhood/community response, I try to live in locations where the people around me are at least capable of taking care of their own responsibilities. I find communities where the residents will likely have the resources they will need to get by with under duress, and where if I had to re-equip myself it would not be too difficult an undertaking. Most likely there will be a handful of people in our little development that will be lacking, but will have other resources that might be worth something of trade. I would say about 6 weeks would be the absolute limit for my neighborhood before most would run out of essentials and have to seek assistance outside our walls.