The very rich in our society have gone and shot themselves in the foot, but do they know it yet? Have we, the 99%, realized it yet? By keeping all of the money circulating only at the very top, they have eliminated the very reason their assets hold any value. As We The People, or the 99%, continue to be shut out of economic circulation due to outsourcing of jobs, downsizing, layoffs and pay cuts so that the one guy in charge can have an obscenely large bonus or golden parachute even after he runs the company into the ground, our ability to participate in the economy is further narrowed.
This economic stranglehold is the very reason the 1% will lose their shirts. The 1% as we know them have eliminated too much of the market share in too many sectors by causing money to no longer flow throughout the lower strata of society. With no middle class, there is no buyer. No buyer, no value. Things (assets, products, etc.) are only worth what someone is willing to pay, and money itself will lose value if we all start looking to other means of exchange outside of the dollars that are being controlled by, well, not us.
By holding onto the majority of the money in our economy, those with the most are going to make assets and currency worth less and less as We The People look within ourselves and to each other to ask the relevant questions of our time:
“How much do I really need to live?” The answer is, “A lot less than the market is trying to sell me.”
“How can I get what I need without having to deal with people whom I have never met and who don’t give a damn about my quality of life, about whether I live or die?” That answer could be, “I can make, grow and re-use what I can, and buy the rest from someone I can meet in person, exchange names and shake hands with, someone I can trust and with whom I can build a personal relationship.”
We buy less and less as the Great Recession wears on. Maybe there are spikes in spending here and there, but the long-term picture looks like frugality is here to stay. We trust less often anyone we don’t know personally with our money, or whatever else it is that we need to keep us alive. The fact that I am not the only person I know looking to grow more of their own food is telling. Food is so basic, if we are concerned about that, then we are not likely to go stimulate the economy with our old spending habits. That behavioral change is the lever that will stop the economic wheel from turning as it once did, hence the devaluing of assets.
My main concern in this is that we are one disaster away from civil unrest, be it another economic downturn or a natural disaster, a terrorist attack, or a combination of two or more of these events occurring closely together. If you look around you now, there is no supporting evidence that you should leave the assurance of your survival or that of your loved ones in the hands of someone else. It just takes too long for rescuers to respond, and depending on the magnitude of the event, resources could take even longer than the usual 72 hours to get to you and bring you relief.
I implore you to take responsibility for yourselves and start to stock at least 72-hours worth of food, water, medicine, fuel and batteries, flashlights, and the like. The more of us that do this, the less likely there will be violence or civil unrest in the even of a disaster. People will take to the streets if they think their survival is at stake. The lower the number of the affected is, the better off we will all be.
No, I do not believe the world is going to end sometime this year. I do believe that the likelihood of a natural disaster happening wherever you may reside is high enough to warrant a 72-hour emergency supply since that is about how long it usually takes for help to arrive. Remember how many died after Hurricane Katrina because they had inadequate food, water, or medicine? It’s not hard, it isn’t expensive, and it doesn’t take long to put the supplies in a backpack, a duffel bag or small suitcase with wheels. Pack 3 days worth of clothes, non-perishable food, water, a flashlight with fresh batteries, and a first aid kit. A sleeping bag and a tent are smart things to add in case you have to evacuate and there is not adequate shelter available. You would not be dependent on anyone else for shelter from the elements if your home is uninhabitable. Make up a bag for each person in your household, and then keep the packed bags by the door you most likely would escape through in an emergency.
This is not a hysterical move. This is what you do in order to prevent hysteria in the event of a disaster. Help will likely not come in time to make you dinner the first day, or even breakfast the next, or to bring you pain relievers and flashlights, etc. What medicines do you take regularly? See if you can keep 3 days worth in your boogie bag by the door, in its original container. You are more likely to make a mistake under duress and take the wrong kind or amount of medicine than under normal circumstances. I pack ibuprofen for pain relief, for example. The more people are prepared to take care of themselves during a disaster, the less stress and strain we put on available resources when help does come, and the more we in turn can help others in need.
2-liter bottles are an inexpensive way to store water for the house. Once they are emptied of soda, I wash them out with soap and water, rinse them well, fill them with tap water and keep them in the basement. In my area disaster would most likely be a tornado, though a major earthquake on the New Madrid Fault is possible, and the water and power will likely be disrupted. We won’t last long without water. Staying hydrated and staying clean are even more important to prevent illness and the spread of disease following a disaster than under normal circumstances.
I follow Peggy Layton’s advice in her book “Emergency Food Storage and Survival Handbook: Everything You Need to Know to Keep Your Family Safe in a Crisis” and put one 2-liter bottle of water in each bathroom and by the kitchen sink for brushing teeth and washing hands if disaster cuts off the water supply. It is smart to start with a 72-hour supply and then work your way up to a one-month’s supply, then three-months worth, and so on. This is the method described in Layton’s book, start small and work your way up to a year’s worth. Her approach is very sensible. She’s not a fringe-type who suggests you fill your garage with ammo or anything crazy. She is level-headed and realistic and tells you why she recommends what she does. The idea behind her philosophy is to be prepared for the unexpected, to be able to help yourself as well as others during hard times. We’ve become so accustomed to everything being instant and automatic that we’ve forgotten how to fend for ourselves.
A Perfect Storm would be the near-simultaneous occurrence of an economic collapse or at least another downturn from where we already are, a natural disaster or a terrorist attack, both of which would have devastating consequences on our economy. It’s foolishness to rely on anyone else for something that is so necessary to life. What if they screw up the emergency response the way the Bush administration did after Katrina? If everyone has enough to get them through a month or even six months, then the likelihood of civil unrest following a disaster goes way down.
The 1% have traded in the opportunity for the majority to live decent quality lives for multi-million dollar golden parachutes, vacation homes and condos, yachts, etc., and left the majority of the rest of us scrambling for survival. This leaves our country in a precarious position. The lesson King Midas has already taught us is that you can’t eat your gold and it doesn’t love you back. We can illustrate this lesson to the 1% by opting out when and where we can, buy local, shop small businesses, buy Made In The USA, or don’t buy at all. Vote with your dollars, folks.
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