Those That Are Not Preparing for the Collapse

[JohnyMac]

O-Kay, we have all read this type of article before however...Worth reading again if you are a senior prepper and especially if you are a new prepper. Well worth the 15 minutes or so to read it and absorb.

The next great economic crisis is rapidly approaching, and most people are going to be totally blindsided by it.  Even though the warning signs areglaringly obvious, most Americans continue to believe that our ?leaders? know what they are doing and that everything will be just fine.  But what will happen when the next great financial crash happens and trillions of dollars of ?paper wealth? disappear into thin air?  What will happen when the coming credit crunch causes economic activity to dramatically slow down and millions upon millions of people lose their jobs?  This shouldn?t sound far-fetched to you.  Remember, this is exactly the kind of thing that we saw back in 2008, and the next great financial crisis is likely going to be significantly worse.  Our economy is in far worse shape than it was back in 2008, and government dependence is now at an all-time high even though most Americans are still enjoying debt-fueled false prosperity.  We are living in the largest debt bubble in the history of the planet, and when it bursts we are going to experience a crippling ?adjustment? to our standard of living.  Some people understand this and are busy preparing for what is ahead.  It has been estimated that there are approximately 3 million ?preppers? in the United States, and that number is growing all the time.  Unfortunately, most Americans are not preparing for the coming economic depression and they are going to bitterly regret it....

http://www.shtfplan.com/emergency-preparedness/those-that-are-not-preparing-for-the-coming-economic-depression-are-going-to-bitterly-regret-it_08192013

[Well-Prepared Witch]

Very true.  I think of all the "doomsday" scenarios out there, the most likely in our lifetimes is probably another depression and/or hyperinflation.  There are so many in the world living in abject poverty today and, frankly, I don't want to be one of them.  I like my cushy middle-class life and want to be able to support it even if I can't buy things with paper money.

[JohnyMac]

Well written Wellie! 

On a similar note:

My grandfather, grandmother, Uncle's and Aunts all had gardens and canned - Some had chickens.

I asked my mom last year to help me can. She told me that when she was young, her mom & dad use to force her to help in the garden and can. She hated it so she had blocked out most of the experiences. What a shame. 

Many of us are all re-learning how to do these type (s) of things. That is the main draw to this page with a bit of libertarianism thrown in at times hence... Freedom Through Self-Reliance 

[Well-Prepared Witch]

Oooh... Freedom through self-reliance.  I like that.  I'm going to have to add that to my favorite prepping quotes along with "Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without" and "Keep calm and carry on".

[CrystalHunter1989]

I agree. Another depression would be terrible. Look at what happened during the last one. Guys like John Dillinger and George Nelson robbed dozens of banks to the cheers of the people because they hated all financial institutions. Pioneers of technology like Charles Lindberg went around promoting National Socialism when FDR's New Deal didn't work out. Heck, you might even see uprisings against the government in major cities like Munich 1919.

What I want to know is what would happen to the electronics market? We're so accustomed to getting a new cell phone every two years. Electronics are upgraded and flooded onto the market in regular intervals. Imagine if it suddenly took ten years to complete that kind of research and development.

But hey, when the money is worthless, we'll have free kindling! I see a future where BBQ grills are fueled by Ben Franklins.

[JohnyMac]

Welcome back Crystal!

IMO, China would be hurt more by na electronics (Toys) break down than the USofA would.

In 1930 the US population was 122M. Today it is 315M Plus many illegal aliens.

I tried to find out what % of US Citizens income came from farming in 1930 but I was unable to do so. Awhile back I do remember reading it was in the 40-50% range. In the 2010 census 8% of US citizens income came from farming. So that means that 92% or so of folks income now comes from manufacturing, sales, service jobs, professional, etc.

The point I am trying to make is that during the Great Depression the US had half the people living here than today yet  5-7 times more people farming. So think about all of the people today that live in suburbia/cities that will have no access to food in a collapse other than what the government gives them or they can steal.

Should be interesting, huh?


 

[Well-Prepared Witch]

Johnny you make some good points.  I will also say, Crystal, that although people may have been cheering Dillinger and Nelson and the like, but Dillinger and Nelson sure weren't putting food on people's tables with that stolen money. 

As for electronics have you seen the movie the Hunger Games?  One of the things I love about that movie (I love the books, too, but I'm talking cinematography here) is the way District 12 is portrayed as Depression era rural America and the Capitol is far more like our modern times.  I think in a new Depression it would be much like that again - most folks wouldn't have electronics, or wouldn't get upgrades as much, while the elite would have all the fancy new gizmos all the time.  I guess it depends on what's causing the Depression, too.  If components for electronics are still relatively cheap as they are now, you could have people with smart phones who can't feed their kids.

[CrystalHunter1989]

Thanks, Johnny. I spent 10 days in Utah, now I'm back in school, so I missed a lot of anniversaries for my history posts.

WPW, you're right about the electronics. China would use its rights over rare earth metals to get any kind of global leverage possible, thus our electronics would not be produced as usual.

I've been churning an idea for a fiction series that comes immediately after the end of a world war. People can't afford computers anymore, so they have to go back to typewriters. The postal service enjoys a nice revival since electricity isn't stable enough to guarantee phone service. Even government offices have to use old stuff, like teletype, to send documents.

A kind of technological Dark Ages.