The job market is in the toilet. More and more of our domestic jobs are being outsourced
to third world countries. The national
unemployment rate it over 9% and much higher than that among Hispanic and
African Americans. Our national debt is
now putting the next several generations of Americans in hock to China and
other people who are not necessarily our friends.
That warm fuzzy feeling that all is well or at least okay in the world is being
replaced by a sense of general apprehension.
Have you noticed the price
of food going up by leaps and bounds? It has risen almost 30% across the board in
2011 alone. As I write this it takes
almost $1900.00 U.S. dollars to buy an ounce of gold. How safe and secure
is your job? How’s that 401K doing since
the market started tanking? Does it
bother you that we are giving billions of dollars in aid to people that hate us
in places like North Korea while we have families here that are hungry?
Apparently enough people are feeling the need to make at
least some preparation for some kind of future event that even Madison Avenue
and the big box stores are getting into the act.
Could it be that people are figuring out just how fragile
the food distribution system is? I can't say for sure. The freeze dried food manufacturers around
the world can't keep up with the orders. Costco™ now has long term family
survival food packages that are actually sold by the pallet. Military surplus
stores are doing a very brisk business these days. Gun and ammunition
sales are at an all time high. Another
interesting symptom of all this that many of the people who were the donors and
contributors to food banks and soup kitchens are now some of the people being
served by those organizations! Food bank
contributions around the holidays are shrinking every year as more people fall
out of the middle class.
I’m not sure what the outcome of all this will be, but
things are certainly not heading in a positive direction. Here are some things that you can consider
and may be a small part of the solution anyway:
·
- Be as self sufficient as you can.
- Be as self reliant as possible.
- Be the change you would like to see. Live as an example to others.
- Plant a garden and grow as much of your own food as you can.
- Learn from each other. The skills like gardening, canning and drying food are basic and should be learned and shared and learned by all.
- Learn to cook and bake. Microwaving frozen foods is not cooking.
- Learn to defend yourself. (State, local, and federal laws taken into account)
- Avoid debt. (With the possible exception of a home loan).
- If something bad happens, deal with it the best way you can with the resources you already have. Relying on politicians and government agencies to help you is what got us into this mess in the first place.
- Keeping at least some of your assets in physical silver or gold is not a bad idea.
- Learn first aid.
- Get to know your neighbors. Form a mutual support network.
Throughout history societies have blossomed, prospered and
collapsed for various reasons. We are no
different today. The veneer of polite
civilization is and always will be fragile.
(Think “lord of the flies” etc).
I’m just a regular guy that has taken a hard look at what’s
going on around me. I’ve made the decision to try to be prepared for the future
whatever it holds. A disaster could be
simply the loss of a job or as bad as a nuclear war, there’s no way to
know. Would planning for the future now
and taking positive action now to cover
your back side in the future be a bad thing? Even
if nothing bad ever happened, wouldn’t you sleep better knowing have the skills
and resources in reserve?
