First of all, don't leap out of window over the recession (Like millionaires in 1929)!
Recessions reward the financially intelligent and keep in mind that business operates in cycles of boom and bust. People will continue buying, selling, and hiring. This is not the end of the world. To Republicans, politics operate in cycles too, so don't loose heart. Democrats, don't get ****y with your power and don't cause a backlash and shoot yourselves in the feet as the Republicans did. Use this recession as an incentive for yourself to learn about money. Never stop learning.
Eventually these things iron out and hopefully people learn from them. Assets can be bought on the cheap in recessions and their value increases when markets rally again. Invest in yourself, get accredited for in-demand tasks. Read Rich Dad, Poor Dad. Reading the book won't make you rich, but if you read Robert Kiyosaki's ideas with an open mind, it might help you begin learning about finance. Don't like to read? Find it on tape using a bit torrent and load it onto your iPod. Listen to it while in traffic or other times that are already wasted. Learn about "recession proof" jobs, specialize in them. Buy cheap outdated college text books on business, economics, real estate, finance, accounting, etc. from half.com, read them, learn how this happened, why, and how to prevent falling into the tar pits others have. Maybe you can one day be the jerk evicting people and profiting from it!
Luckily for me, I'm young and in college. I plan on staying in as long as I can afford, and hopefully firms will start hiring again by the time I get out.