Bernie Madoff stands at the entrance to the transitional gates of heaven and hell. Noticing a friendly face checking in the celestial line, he opts for the former. “Have you been good a good man asks the doorkeeper?” No, replies Madoff. “I stole $50 billion from my clients and spent the money on wine, women and New York penthouses.”

“Well, we all makes mistakes,” says the doorkeeper, who waves him right in. “Thanks Ken, the check’s in the post,” nods Bernie.

The recession is no laughing matter and especially to people who have been wiped out by the crooked Madoffs and Kenneth Lays of this world, but sometimes levity is the only way to get through it. As Monty Python wittily refrained, “Always look on the bright side of life.”

Here in Los Angeles, The Laugh Factory has been doing its bit for the cause with a twice weekly economic cheer up show, “Laughing with the Stars,” playing every Wednesday and Thursday at 10 and eight p.m. respectively (The Laugh Factory Long Beach also hosts a show at 8 p.m. on Thursday’s).

There’s free admission to the shows to anyone who can show proof of their unemployment. Meanwhile, the L.A. Thursday shows are hosted by comedian Tom Arnold, no stranger to the ups and downs of this wonderful life.

In fact, it’s the first time in over 20 years that the thrice-married, former addict and sports show host has taken to the boards.

“I volunteered to MC the show,” explained Arnold, 51, in an interview with The Independent before a set last Thursday.

“Jamie [Laugh Factory owner Jamie Masada] does a lot of stuff for charity, so we worked out this night. For people down on their luck they hear about my life and go, ‘You know things ain’t that bad.’”

As a proud, blue collar, working class liberal native of Ottumwa, Iowa, Arnold holds a sanguine perspective on life’s hard knocks.

“I say enjoy it now because you will be working again,” said Arnold. “That’s what I learned from the Redneck nation, not like white trash redneck, but Middle America. I’m from Ottumwa, Iowa, they work hard and when they’re not working they play hard because they know they’ll be working again. A lot of people live like that forever.

They’re close to their families, friends, the church and hold on to one another. In L.A. and New York it freaks people out when they lose their jobs.”

He added: “When you’ve never been rich, you seem to be happier. I’ve traveled all around the world and the happiest people don’t have much, but they have their families and friends.”

Ironically, this avowed liberal is also very much in the camp of his friend and former “True Lies” co-star, California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.

“He’s got 14 months and then he can play Harry [Harry Trasker, Schwarzenegger’s “True Lies” character] again and I’m really looking forward to it,” quipped Arnold.

“On the whole knife thing, I told him not to Twitter without my say-so, but I think he’s doing a job. First of all, he wants to tax marijuana, which is our biggest cash crop. He worked out a deal with the Indian reservations and he wants to legalize gay marriage. That will bring in another $1.3 billion to the state.

“I thought it was interesting that the day of the special election when he knew his initiatives were gonna fail, he went to see Barack Obama and came back with $7 billion, the amount he would have made [on those ballots]. He’s one step ahead. I believe in the guy, he’s doing the job for free and I admire what he’s given up and does.”

Arnold is also spreading the love to the younger standup fraternity, some of whom are cutting their teeth writing for network and cable shows, inviting them to perform on his economic cheer nights.

“The night Michael Jackson [and Farrah Fawcett] died I came on and said ‘I feel terribly, I can’t get over the fact that John Salley didn’t win ‘I’m A Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here.’. Then a young female African-American comic said ‘Yeah, what a sad day it is for America when two of our greatest white icons have passed.’ That’s great thing about comedy, it brings people together.”