At this point, the news that The New York Times did another story about fun things to do in Kingston and Ulster County (among other Hudson Valley places) doesn’t come as a surprise to your Editorial Team. But try as we might, we’re still triggered by them. Over the past 10-plus years, we’ve been through the entire emotional-response arc of this subsection of a subsection of American journalism: Astonishment that a global thing like the NYT even knows we exist; excitement over having that kind of spotlight on us; qualms when the gentrification these stories foment starts to become obvious; and, finally, the kind of repulsion, exhaustion and anger felt in olden times by regular folks when the Vikings show up to sack the place again.

But there was something about this new thing that just hit different for us. It wasn’t the story itself: it was one of those typical NYT things that highlights places to see and things to do, complete with an itinerary and timetable for those who need that kind of structure imposed on them by a global media giant. (Not that there’s anything wrong with it; we’re just too independent in thought, word and deed to understand why anyone would want it.)

Rather, it’s this moment in our community. Kingston and Ulster County seem to be, with the rest of America and the world, spooked hard by uncertainty, especially when it comes to money. For the larger story, check out the Times — that’s what they do well. Locally, a huge red alert happened a little while ago when County Comptroller March Gallagher announced that sales tax numbers for February were down 26 percent. What this means is that commerce of almost all kinds in Ulster County fell by more than a quarter. That’s a pretty clear indication, it seems to us, that in the face of this economic uncertainty people are reacting in a perfectly reasonable manner by spending less money. All of us certainly have.

The implications for the county and city budgets aside, this is bad news for much of what makes Kingston Kingston these days. More than other places, many sectors of Kingston’s economic wellness are tied to discretionary spending. If you’re feeling flush, you don’t mind paying the kinds of gentrification-fueled prices for food, entertainment and art items which have allowed these businesses to flourish in recent years. But when you’re feeling strapped, you watch your spending far more closely.

Where does this leave any number of Kingston’s restaurants, bars, music venues and artisans? We don’t know. But if discretionary spending dries up, that means places closing and people losing their jobs and, in some cases, their shirts. And it’s not like there are a lot of great options for the unemployed around here. More people out of work means more pressure on social services and nonprofits, which are barely coping now, and it means more people leaving town for good.

Tourism has always been a big thing here. While it’s often knocked for not providing the kinds of good-paying jobs we need here, next to agriculture it’s our oldest industry. Many of us have this version of history in our heads where we see our community as having gotten by just fine in a self-sustaining bubble until the city people showed up and ruined our little ecosystem with all their money. But Kingston and New York City have always been connected and have always been part of each other’s ecosystem. It’s only recently that the two have become too close for locals’ comfort. But at the end of the day, they’re the ones with the money, and it looks like Kingston’s going to need that money.

We know some will think, “Good. I can’t stand these [expletives] who charge $30 for a pizza, and if it takes a deep recession to get rid of them, bring it on.” But we remember what happened when all the IBM money left town 30 years ago — beset by poverty, addiction and crime, Kingston almost didn’t make it. While we’re mindful of the problems too much money can bring to a community (we ought to, we write about them enough), we’re low-key scared by the kinds of high-key problems not enough money can bring.

So when your Editorial Team read the NYT thing, after our usual eyerolls came a new sensation: the fear of what could happen if the city people stop spending money in Kingston. Perhaps, in this time of economic peril, we should be less, “Drop dead, citiots!” and more, “Welcome to town, how can I help you?”