The One Investment Strategy You Need to Know to Protect Yourself Against the Coming Inflation Monster

by | Apr 23, 2012 | Emergency Preparedness | 420 comments

Do you LOVE America?

    Share

    This article has been contributed by Tom Chatham, author of The American Dream Lost: Economic Survival Strategy For a New Paradigm.


    The Inflation Monster Cometh, Prepare Yourself
    by Tom Chatham

    Let’s just take a quick review of the situation as we know it. The real inflation rate is over 10% and the real u6 unemployment rate is over 22% according to Shadowstats.com.  General Mills recently reported that their input costs rose from 10% to 11% year over year. This is no shock to anyone that goes to the grocery store every week.  The Baltic dry index, the measure of shipping rates worldwide , dropped over 65% between Nov 2011 and Mar 2012. This means a lot of cargo ships are sitting around with nothing to do. The housing sector is still in shambles and will take at least a decade to work off the Millions of foreclosures  on the books and the millions about to be added in the next few years.  This means the price of houses will continue to fall for the foreseeable future so if you decide to buy please do some research and go into it with both eyes open.

    Recently the BRICS countries held a meeting and agreed to conduct more commerce in their own currencies instead of U.S. dollars. Iran is selling oil for anything but dollars. Saudi Arabia is building a huge new refinery in cooperation with China  on the Red Sea.  It is estimated that there are about $700 Trillion in derivatives  in the world banking system. This is over 10 times the World GDP.  This is insane.

    So why is it a bad thing if no one wants to use our currency to do business? The Dollar is the world reserve currency. This means that all major commodities in the world are priced in Dollars. If someone wants to buy oil or grain  they first have to exchange their currency for dollars to make the purchase. Because of this many foreign banks keep a large supply of dollars to do business.  The only one that can print Dollars is the U.S. so we don’t need to convert anything to do business. That means we don’t need to have a lot of exports to make money to pay for stuff, we can just print all the money we need.  This is exactly what we have been doing for decades. It has worked so far because foreign banks needed the money for their own use , but we have come to a point that there is too much money. The more money that is printed , the less each dollar is worth. Other countries are tired of losing buying power because of this so they are deciding to use something else. This means all of that U.S. money that is sitting in foreign banks is about to start moving back to the U.S.

    Most of the things we now buy are made overseas. If all of this money comes home it will flood the economy with money making the dollars you hold worth less. If we lose our reserve currency  status we will then have to exchange our dollars for other currencies for whatever we buy just like everyone else. The more we print , the less it will be worth in other currencies. This means we won’t be able to just print what we need , we will have to make money by exporting goods. This will be difficult to do with the destruction of our manufacturing sector.  In short , losing reserve currency status will make everything we import much more expensive and the continued printing of money will make things even worse.  Every time you hear about someone moving away from the U.S. dollar you need to keep this in mind. And what are those pesky derivatives about? They are merely bets between banks , just like the bets you place in Vegas except when these bets have to pay off everyone will lose.

    Everything we buy will continue to rise in price at a faster and faster rate. It will be impossible for people to keep up in purchasing power. So what can you do to protect yourself? Consider this. If you buy $100 worth of food and put it in your pantry until you need it next year , and the price of this food goes up 10% , that is the same as making 10% interest on this $100 , just the same as if you had it in a savings account. The best thing is you will have no risk of losing this money as you would in the stock market  or some other investment.  If you do this with items you know you will need over the next few months , you can save a great deal of money and protect your buying power. If you keep a year supply of food and keep it rotated , you will effectively be eating at last years prices and this will shield you from any supply disruptions should they happen. This can also be done with things like clothing. You may want to put some of your extra money into something like silver to preserve your buying power. The best way for the average person is to buy pre 1965 junk silver coins or 1 oz bullion coins , but be aware that China is flooding the U.S. with fake gold and silver coins so buy them from a reputable dealer that can verify their authenticity.

    A good book to read on this subject is The Alpha Strategy (PDF), which can be downloaded free on the internet. It is well worth reading if you want a better understanding of economics. Most people like to be optimistic and think things will get better , but what if they get worse? Anyone living outside of D.C. knows that things are difficult these days so it only makes sense to be responsible and be prepared to take care of your family if the situation should continue to deteriorate. Some estimate the real  inflation rate will hit 14% this year and possibly 25% next year. If QE3 is launched the estimates are as high as 50% within a year. If these estimates are even half right , it will destroy the average working class American.  A can of ham will always be worth  a can of ham but a dollar is only worth what someone is willing to trade you for it. Prepare yourself accordingly.


    SHTFplan Editor’s Note: Millions of Americans invest their hard earned money into paper assets that have counter-party risk. These paper assets like stocks, bonds, or delivery receipts are only as good as the firm (or country) backing them. If those entities fail  (as we have seen countless times before, most recently with MF Global), even though they say you have ownership of those assets, you actually own nothing but the paper receipt in your possession. Back in January of 2010 we recommended a strategy that called for buying commodities at today’s lower prices to consume at tomorrow’s higher prices. Investing directly into commodities, namely food, precious metals and other supplies, as Mr. Chatham suggests, will provide you with a zero counter party risk investment, because you have physical possession of those goods and you are free to consume them at anytime. Not only that, but as the dollar depreciates against these assets you are enjoying a relatively decent return. With inflation at roughly 10% (unofficially, of course), had you invested into assets that include long-term storage supplies like rice, beans, wheat, etc., you’d have turned a decent profit – with no risk of those assets ever being MF’d by Wall Street brokers who are out only to protect their own interests. This strategy is as timely today as it was in 2010, and for the reasons Mr. Chatham outlines above, may be more important now than it was then. 

    This article has been contributed by Tom Chatham, author of The American Dream Lost: Economic Survival Strategy For a New Paradigm.

    URGENT ON GOLD… as in URGENT

    It Took 22 Years to Get to This Point

    Gold has been the right asset with which to save your funds in this millennium that began 23 years ago.

    Free Exclusive Report
    The inevitable Breakout – The two w’s

      Related Articles

      Comments

      Join the conversation!

      It’s 100% free and your personal information will never be sold or shared online.

      420 Comments

      1. I recommend small denoms of gold, since breaking a 1-ounce gold coin could be a challenge.

        • @ ScoutMotto… did you read the article? it says: “A can of ham will always be worth a can of ham but a dollar is only worth what someone is willing to trade you for it. Prepare yourself accordingly” Please substitute the words “gold or silver” in place of “dollar”. In a real SHTF situation, FOOD and WATER will be far superior than currencies. Anything but those two items will be basically worthless. I have repeated this philosophy for the past twenty or so years with just about everyone looking at me like I had three eyes! I fully expect the usual thumbs down for saying this but I simply DO NOT care. For instance, if you were approach me to trade, oh, let’s say GOLD or SILVER for my foodstuffs, I would send you on your merry way. However, if you approached me with WATER, the trade would be considered…. unless I have plenty of water. Get the idea? Besides, the Gov’t will devalue the PM’s you have acquired at present market value, making the future currencies comparable to the “dollar” at that time. Thus, you have lost current values to future values. This practice has taken place since the dawn of the U.S. Or for that matter, time itself.

          • George,

            The only way the government can “devalue” precious metals is by flooding the market with them. They cannot change the true value of the metals, even by statute. Unless you are expecting a tremendous flood of gold into the market, the value is not going to go down.

            As for food and water, if you have it to barter, fine. But if you have something that someone else needs, but they don’t have what you need, wouldn’t it make sense to offer a store of value that doesn’t change, that’s universal? I guarantee you if thieves came around, they won’t look at your gold and say “That’s no good. It’s not food and water. Just leave it.”

            Since I cannot work, talk on the phone and read this, I accidentally clicked over on thumbs up, when I really wanted to click Reply. So please ignore that thumbs up. it was me being clumsy while on the phone.

            • Scout- consider your thumb put in it’s place. LOL. ” They cannot change the true value of the metals, even by statute. Unless you are expecting a tremendous flood of gold into the market, the value is not going to go down.” is not entirely true. Have you noticed the increase of Obeyme’s EO’s lately and what they represent? Historically speaking, didn’t FDR “recall” all gold during the Depression? Basically making PM’s illegal and worthless to the public ? If I recall, that EO changed the price of gold to about $18 an oz. to remain there for decades. just sayin’.

            • Dont confues Wealth with Money. They are not the same.
              Property of most types does not devaluate. There is property that has a shelf life and there is property that does not. Your house never goes up in value unless you add something. It is just that inflation has devaluated the money. Gold will not change either It might have fluctuations by medeling of man but in general one oz will still buy you the 2 cows that it bought in biblical times. It dosent change. You cannot destroy wealth but you can destroy money. The plan is to take yourwealth from you by making your money worthless.

              For example. A friend bought his house in 1955 for $20,000. He sold in 2005 for $235,000. He thought he was rich. But he needed someplace to live. All the other houses were even more expensive than the house he just sold so he would need to get a mortgage to buy another house. Did he make any money? No he didnt The house was still just a house. He rented for a few years and then bought a forclosure in 2009 for $100,000. Did he make money there, No. The house was still worth only $100,000 plus he had to put $50,000 in to it to fix it up and minus his rent he still did not gain any wealth. Its just that the money was worth less……

            • I agree when the collapse happens, SPAM (nom nom nom) and shotgun shells will be the new currency. $20s will be toilet paper and $100s will be kindling

              I think rational traders won’t trade for gold but it will attract looters and thieves. Of course so will SPAM but shotgun shells keep them away. Stock up on useful preps first, gold, silver, and other shiny metals are secondary.

            • curious george wrote, “If I recall, that EO changed the price of gold to about $18 an oz. to remain there for decades. just sayin’.”

              Ah, but that wasn’t true throughout the world. The unitedstate doesn’t control the world.

              Also, FDR didn’t make PM’s “basically worthless” a Person could still own five ounces, and they were not worthless, they bought quite a lot.

              Joe wrote, “and minus his rent he still did not gain any wealth” … that’s not for certain.

              Renting has been the move of the decade, so far. There’s no account for how many expenses your friend avoided by renting. It’s quite possible he did make money, he just made a bad purchase in the end as there were much better deals later on down the line.

              It’s cracking me up how People such as jasoncookies think, “rational traders won’t trade for gold but it will attract looters and thieves.” … Dude, what-the-heck? If looters and thieves are attracted to it,… it has value.

            • The thing is, you are taking it to extremes. Gold and Silver are not really for use in the middle of a crisis. They are a life raft to store wealth in so that you can come out on the other side more or less intact. They also provide a way for you to preserve some wealth in the midst of a crisis when you may well still need to pay a mortgage payment or property taxes lest you be evicted from your land. It also lets you take advantage of plummeting stock and land prices (in real net value terms) at the height of the crisis and will let you come out ahead when it subsides. Ever hear the old saying “Buy when there’s blood in the streets”? This is what it means.

              Say you put $100 into silver coins and also put a $100 bill away right now. If hyperinflation were to hit, which one would preserve it’s power to pay the bills? Not that paper $100! Prepping is about having a diversified strategy to deal with a number of scenarios. Food and the means to get water are crucial in the event of an economic catastrophe, but so is purchasing power. In the end, collapses never last forever. Order is ultimately restored. When it is, many times debts are reassessed to their debtors at a rate that compensates the lender for the inflationary value loss. This has happened to some extent in places like post-revolutionary France and Wiemar Germany (have you taken the time to study historical hyperinflationary collapses? I have!). Thus the debt did not get erased, merely hyperinflated into the stratosphere. This is why being debt free (as much as possible) should be a part of prepping, not to mention regular life.

              Should you throw all of your money into gold and silver? Absolutely not! However, you need to have some on hand to deal with more likely scenarios than a global mad, mad, Mad Max world. I do believe a collapse is coming but in the end the form and severity it will take are unpredictable. Putting a few hundred or a thousand dollars into some junk silver makes more logical sense than thinking it will be of absolutely no use. Just be sure to time the markets properly so that you can get the most silver for the least amount of cash outlay. After all, prepping is about storing up things for when they may not be readily available. Doesn’t it make sense to get the most of these things you can for your money?

            • They revalued gold in 1933 after they made it illegal to own and confiscated it from the private
              holders!

              That’s what ” government ” does….they confiscate! Via taxes, gold, land, inflation, war land grabs, liberties etc!!!! USA will fail just like every Union in the history of the world…..Rome, Babylon, British Empire, USSR, now USA……this government will get what it deserves!

            • There will be a two-stage collapse, one where inflation or hyper-inflation will call for the use of commodity money, such as gold and silver, as the Official Government Paper Dollar Substitute is debased through inflationary depreciation and the next, after the hyper-inflationary depression completely destroys the economic market structure, that is when you will need utilitarian commodities for barter. To make the mistake of not having both types of commodities is not wise. As the second stage of the collapse progresses, it will be necessary to have a stock of “Trade Goods” ranging from small packets of medicine, razors, lighters, matches, soaps, spices, rope, needles and thread, etc. as a means of barter.

              For those who think you can’t eat gold and silver, during the first stage of the collapse it will be gold and silver that will make the difference between starvation and survival, during the second stage you probably won’t be able to give it away.

              Gold and silver are currently reflecting various things in the market, one is the growing lack of confidence in the governments of the world, the other is the drastically decreased value in the currencies of the world relating to purchasing power. Since the U.S. Dollar is nothing more than a money substitute, a legal notification of a debt obligation, it has been steadily and intentionally devalued over the decades in order to fund an illegitimate government. Today, it takes $23,170.91 of those paper money substitutes to buy what $1000.00 bought in 1913, prior to the advent of the Federal Reserve System. Less than a month ago, it only took $22, 870.64 paper money substitutes to by what $1000.00 did in 1913, as you can see there has been an enormous depreciation in the U.S. Dollar Substitute in just a month! Those numbers, btw, are based on official government CPI, the real rate of inflation is much greater, but is being hidden effectively through manipulation and the lowering of weights in food packaging.

              Inflation is here folks, hyper-inflation is on the way!

          • Curious George – precious metals are for “excess” commodities. Unless you have unlimited storage facilities, you can only store so much wheat, ammo, water, etc. Wealth, represented by precious metals, will only become irrelevant if there is a true TEOTWAWKI. No social structure, no surplus of anything, hand-to-mouth survival.

            While I believe we’re going to crash hard, I don’t believe we will experience the end of civilization.

            • Thank you for the dose of reason. Hyperinflation will not completely destroy the means of production. It may just leave them abandoned until a new value metric is introduced. A nuclear war will. These scenarios have nothing in common except the irrational alarmism with which they are merged in some of the comments.

              In the event of hyperinflation, PMs should be your strategy because by definition they represent the value against which any currency valuation or devaluation is measured. Things will ultimately reset, and your wealth will be preserved.

              In the event of a nuclear war, gold is completely useless and how much viable food and water you have available pretty much directly determines how long you will live.

              Long story short the relevant considerations in the case of hyperinflation vs a true TEOTWAWKI event are miles apart. Any statements not making this distinction are pure paranoid alarmism.

              That said, since the article speaks to hyperinflation, I concur that gold is the best hedge. Civil unrest caused by hyperinflation is a non-issue. You have gold. At the first sign of trouble you can exchange it for currency, buy a plane ticket, and go anywhere in the world where circumstances are stable. End of story. Would any of you really stick around until things digressed to rock bottom? Any advice is useless if you can’t apply an appropriate amount of your own rationality.

          • @ Curious George @ ScoutMotto ;

            You both make valid points on both arguments.., I believe the difference you both have is at what level we attain at a SHTF event and the perception we see what our future will bring us.

            Both thumbs up gentlemen.., also correct me if I was wrong. 🙂

            • Off topic Question.

              Has anyone read about the internet shutting down in July due to a virus? I saw on the local news and also on Fox.com a story about a fix for the problem. Do any of you more experienced geeks know if I,we should visit the site provided by the GOVERNMENT to fix this supposed problem???

              I have very little computer experience, I need some sound advice. This is the link provided for the fix.
              http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2012/04/23/hundreds-thousands-may-lose-internet-in-july/?test=latestnews

            • I believe Ninao and DPS had a link to this story a month or so ago. It involved comparing your IP address to a list. If your IP was on the list you were supposedly going to be shut off when the FBI shut these servers down. They postponed the shut down date to July. My IP was not in the ranges stated so I was fine. I don’t have the link anymore, but I followed your link and my IP still showed clean. I really don’t think there is a problem using the link even though I am not a computer geek. Best to find out before July.You should also open your cookies and look for any with “fbi” embedded in the cookie. I think some visitors to here and other sites had cookies attached when they visited the sites. Again, when Ichecked, my cookies were clean.I know Mac had a story about this a while back. I disabled 3rd party cookies, but when I visit I have to re-register every time to post.

            • Thanks JRS. I saw some of the stuff posted earlier but don’t reall understand much about it.

          • George

            You have convinced me. I’m going to cash my IRA, sell the house, and put all my money into buying loaves of bread and sticks of butter that I will save until I need to eat them.

            • Larry & George: We could cash in our 401k but the tax penalty would be high. Just started drawing it out monthly this year. If someone really had a correct timeline on the econ collapse, then we’d consider it..many predictions, date setting over the years. These “expert financial gurus” made predictions since the early 80’s selling high priced newsletters, books, etc and here it is 2012, now some I knew with preps & PM’s are six feet under. In a few years these “experts” will be too. (Skousen, North, Jim Rogers, Celente, et al)

            • Larry, it’s difficult to say WHEN something will happen, as no on will know the date. Your reaction was not what my comment mandates, but feel free to take any and all steps you feel are correct. In reference to my comments, I will say this: many here have a semi-correct thought pattern… including myself. What I was trying to convey to all here is that in April of 1933, FDR signed EO 1601 to proclaim that all U.S. citizens cannot own gold, confiscating as much as sheeple would “give” him, and devaluing gold as a bonus for the welfare of the US. If you think history doesn’t repeat itself, I feel for you. It always has. If someone has PM’s to trade, will not a gov’t “agent” ( read neighbor) report you if gold was confiscated? If a second stage Depression should occur, can you eat them? Would you trade a commodity such as sustenance for PM’s if you thought you had a few weeks or a year to eat? At that time would you regret taking PM’s? Here is my deduction of all this– I do not believe for a small moment that this will be a short lived event, afterwards, whereby someone including myself will be rich by owning or trading PM’s. I plan to be as self reliant as possible for all my families needs… not gonna go to FEMA camp, sit around a bonfire roasting friends and sing koombya with strangers. My biggest problem with people is that most I have talked to seem to believe if they have wealth now, it will remain afterwards. here’s what I believe: MATTHEW 19:23 “Verily I say unto you, it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than a rich man to enter unto the gates of Heaven”. I ALSO am going to give freely to as many as I can and denounce the hope for wealth in the upcoming events. I may be a fool, but not a damned old fool!

          • Filled 7 gallon plastic jugs with water and a teaspoon of bleach per gallon.. how long can I count on that for drinking water before it is unsafe to drink?

            • The conventional wisdom is to replace your water storage every six months and the LDS church, who has been doing this for decades, recently changed their position stating the bleach is unnecessary if you are filling the jugs with chlorinated water from a municipal supply.

            • WATER IS ALWAYS WATER ….it’s change is due to the dangerous critters sleeping in it.
              Keep calcium hypochlorite (pool shock, $4 a bag) around and water will always be safe to drink.
              Solution: 1 tsp c.h. to 2 gallons of water…and then make the bleach from the solution by adding 3 TB to 6 quarts of water..and purify water by adding 5-10 drops of the bleach.

            • Once you have used the chlorine and the bugs are dead nothing else should grow inside the “jug”. Plastic 2 or 3 liter soda bottles are best. Sit them in the sun. The sunlight will activate the oxygen,too.

              Dry pool shock can be dangerous if it starts to degrade and release gas in an enclosed space. It should be stored outside, well secured, and in a vented place.

              Tap water is always suspect. Some parasites have entered the population through “city water” in various places.

              See Paragraph one.

            • Laura M- don’t waste your time here. You are correct. Not one thing that Slavo or Mr pizza head Celente predicts has come to pass. Slavo’s history goes back to the Y2K end of the world. There is no end to their bullshit.But they will continue to sell their newsletters and prep crap made in China.

          • There are many preppers who are just getting by. Likewise, there are many preppers who have so much money they don’t know what to spend it on. The first group is probably the majority, and, they simply don’t have the budget for gold and/or silver. So, their priorities focus on the “essentials” and work out concentrically from there. Working “out from there” simply means gradually, over time, accumulating those sustainable “basics” that one deems necessary to live on for a certain amount of time. Who knows how long? That’s anybody’s guess. A year, 5 years, 10 years? Who cares, really. In some ways the whole thing is silly. As if one is going to eat all their stored food and then, bingo, the collapse is over and the sun comes out and everything is hunky dory again. I don’t think there will “ever” be enough food one can store. That concept is an illusion and another part of why we preppers are in some form of denial, still. Anyway, I’m off on a rant.

            However, on the other hand, for those who simply don’t know what to do with their extra savings, buying silver and gold is a splendid idea. If one already has the 1 year, 5 year 10 year supply of provisions, why not go out and buy a gold brick or two, plus smaller sizes to boot.

            Where as Curious George would turn gold or silver down in exchange for some of his essential provisions, if I had more than I would ever want, I would gladly barter for some gold or silver. It’s ALL relative.

            In a perfect world, well, a perfect situation to ride out the storm, I’d have 20 years worth of grub, enough to feed a few hundred people, and a treasure chest full of doubloons and I’d be happy to trade with either.

            • PS
              Your out after curfew, 30 minutes past the start of the dark hour. You drive around a corner and there is a military road block. It’s too late to turn around. Their weapons are loaded and the crosshairs are on you. You drive up slowly with both hands on the steering wheel.

              If you were to miraculously get through, what item in your possession might be the secret pass to pay off the well fed, military men in camo;

              a can of beans or a $20 gold piece?

            • European American, excellent multiple choice question, however; if they are like most young men, a smiling pretty woman is worth her weight in rubies. Even for just a moment of spending time with. I know it’s gotten me out of a jam or two with the cops. … I was shocked the first time it happened, she just leaned over and took a bit of control and it was as if the cop was under her spell or something.

              Not that I have any extras of those around. Wish I did. And if I did I’d hoard them.

            • Euro American— how about a BEER?

          • This is a common misconception. You can’t eat guns and ammo either. You can’t use food as a weapon. Gold and silver will protect your savings before the collapse, become a medium of exchange during a collapse, and become a basis of wealth after the government restores order. Obviously you should buy everything you’ll need to prepare yourself for a societal collapse. After that you should have your remaining wealth in precious metals. That makes a lot more sense than having 20,000 rounds of ammo.

            • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VEvxcZeQyNk&feature=related For you cat please watch!!! People say “you can’t eat gold” BUT if you spent all your money NOW on food, you can’t BUY gas with it NOW, with gold and silver you can trade it NOW(if you have to, and many of us ARE in collapse mode now)

              Whats that saying-“it’s a recession if your nieghbor is out of work, but if YOU are out of work- it’s a depression”

            • It’s true you “can’t eat guns and ammo” however the guns and ammo can be useful in acquiring your dinner! Like archery equipment or fishing tackle, hunting supplies may be of a greater barter exchange value than PM’s.

          • If they close the boarders, and forbid trade in gold, then yes they can devalue gold in the usa. It will be like this, you have two weeks to turn in your gold, after that it a felony, and oh since the crash all currency is digital. So don’t try to sell you will be in trouble. We will know.

            Buy what you need then, now. Prices will be so sky high, it won’t realy matter if gold is 6000 on oz, when a can of beans cost a weeks wage. You get the point.

            1 bar of gold now, or $1600 of supplies at todays prices.
            You decide.

            • 1600 dollars is a piece of gold, not a bar…and what are you going to do ..walk around with a salami and a gallon of water to get gas for your car?? you will be SHOWN what to do w/salami..and with water you can have a wet and wild time….What ..is the govt going to confiscate the water in america??

          • Exactly, precisely, and to the point. One cannot eat gold or silver, nor drink it. All one needs to do is use common sense, now what resources do I need to be nourished, hydrated, and sheltered? And don’t forget protection, eg.(Rock, Scissors, or Paper)

            • … and taxes. If you cannot pay your property taxes you cannot keep your home and in some states even your car. Taxes rates will rise to compensate for the deteriorating base and cannot be paid with barter. Many farms were lost during The Great Depression because they could not pay their taxes.

              I have yet to meet anyone who had $ 100,000 to prepare and spent it all on food. Those who cannot afford precious metals should neither buy them nor discourage others from doing so if they can afford.

          • question, if the gov’t can devalue gold,why hasn’t it done so? The gov’t can revalue gold after it recalls as much as possible, but the gold still has value to other governments. Why does a one dollar gold coin buy the same amount of goods today that it could have purchased in 1880 versus $1 USD today buying squat? please explain

          • George–You left out of your absolute imperatives guns and ammo. You cannot protect your food and water without guns and ammo. When the bad guys show up to take your food and water, you better have something to throw at them besides that food and water. But I agree with the principle–PMs and fiat and jewelry and gemstones will be worth a hell of a lot less than essentials such as water, food, guns, ammo, fuel, shelter, clothing, and the like.

            • Don’t worry about me, Federalist45… I got my bases covered. Thanks for the thoughts, I appreciate that. I’ve read so many people here defending PM’s and I wonder– seems to me that everyone ALWAYS equates gold , silver, lead, buying a home, land,etc. to…… wait for it…. wait…………. the …. DOLLAR !!!!!!!! how quaint. So who contends with any integrity that gold is not based on the dollar? Or the London Exchange? Everyone in the world equates SOMETHING to a monetary currency. Understand what I say now? If not, you’ll never get it. Mankind has always used a convenient, easily manipulated ( by politicians and bankers ) item to use as currency.

          • IBD REPORTS today THAT THEY will choose Rubio for Romneys VP, Things NOT looking good for Obobo to even survive until election.
            They must be done with him,and I guess he has outlived his usefulness.
            ROMBIO,will allow the sheep to feel good for a few more years, as the takeover kicks in…….

            • sORRY …BY THEY i MEAN THE bilderbergs NOT IBD…

            • Hey, ran across these lyrics by a co-star of SNL, Victoria Jackson. Her song begins:

              It seems these days I’m in a haze
              And I can’t concentrate on things.
              Can’t eat or sleep, feel incomplete
              Feel kind of scared and creepy.
              I look over my shoulder lots
              And shudder when I watch TV.
              I bite my nails and cuticles
              And watch my words very carefully.
              I bite my lip a lot and fidget with the buttons on my blouse
              Why? Because there’s a communist living in the White House

              Also her fellow actor, Jon Lovitz, went on a tyrad cussing out Obama, while doing his live podcast titled “the ABC’s of SNL”, calling him a F@#kin’ Asshole, among other things. And he voted for him in 2008.

              When will Hollywood learn? Wake up sheeple….

          • As for myself I don’t want gold because I can’t afford it, and what an ounce of gold cost I can make my farm much more worthy. You could bring me a truck load of gold when there is no more food in the stores and I would tell ya to keep it, but if you where hungery I would feed you for free, I give my produce and eggs away free or barter, and when people are starving you can rest assured gold will be the last think on their minds.

            • Karen– THIS was what I was talkin’!!!! I gave ya a thumbs UP and wish I could give ya a million more. If we were to get more of us like this onboard, there would be very few problems– but NO… everyone wants more wealth, more guns, more bullets, and even MORE violence! sophomoric! think people- if everyone had as many weapons as y’all want, you’d be dead too. I thought this was a PREPPER site not a guns and ammo store.

          • you should check out truthnevertold youtube channel and watch the silver bullet and the sliver shield series of videos, it will explain almost everyting you need to know about silver and why it will be the “new” currency “after” a collapse not during the collapse, thats something i think people forget, of course pms will not be as valuable as water/food…until after….when thihngs get back to some semblance of normal people will want to use money again to barter with not their food/water. just check out the series and you will see what im talkin bout beised historically speaking, interms of dollar amouts now…silver should be at around 1000 dollars an ounce and silver will be worth more than gold soon if current trends hold ie, silver is used up gold is hoarded and stored, we used silver in tons of things and then throw it away cause its not worth it to recycle micro grams/ounces of silver so while we “waste” sliver there is still plenty of gold, thats why i believe that silver is the true metal of value!!!! besieds check out the historical account of the crime of 1873- the demonitization of sliver which put this country in the worst 20 years before or since all cause of sliver, not gold…to hear an account of this crime please watch “the wizard of oz” and you will see the symbolism and motifs of the monetary system and how to save the common man(by the way in the book Dorthys shoes were sliver not ruby, by using sliver the common man had the means to save himself the whole time he just didnt realize it…click your shoes 3 times and youll go home you had the power all along…so many parallels to the crime of 1873 and many of todays dealings right there in a beloved american novel/movie, i guarrente that you will never watch the wizard of oz the same again!!)

          • “Anything but those two items will be basically worthless.”

            You’re acting like a sophist. The value in gold and silver is STORAGE of wealth. Sure, if you can STORE water, you wouldn’t trade it for gold, and if you can STORE food until you need it; ie: you can maintain some food value and 2. the STORAGE costs are not prohibitive, then you wouldn’t trade it for silver.

            It is when you DO NOT have this ability to retain value in a certain medium you may be able to maintain it in another. This is why we TRADE. We move items that are cumbersome but durable for trade in perhaps another local, for items that are handy and time sensitive. Fresh food and wet water. Buy items that are cheap and plentiful and trade them when {or where} they are scarce and desirable.

            • Messianic, people always seem to forget that fact: gold is a STORE of value as well as money.

              George also seems to miss the obvious point that even lots and lots of stored food can not only be stolen, but run out of too.

              Better to learn how to grow food and raise animals and hunt (all of which become a lot easier if you have guns.) Store your #10 cans and buckets of wheat for the short term, but you’d better be putting some effort into learning how to feed yourself from scratch, too.

          • Excellent points, @ScoutMotto! WATER first, then FOOD, sit atop the list of items more valuable than gold, to the thirsty, or starving! Excellent long-term insight, as well, into what happens to ‘spot’ prices of silver and gold, when a new currency is implemented – just more theft, to keep the masses down!
            It is definitely more important, to have the necessities, that you’ll need to weather the storm, including water, food, protein bars, vital medicines, multivitamins, aspirin, etc., toiletries, TP, antibacterial handwipes, etc., as well as silver for long-term wealth protection and BARTER, coupled with luxury items for BARTER, such as liquor, chocolate, cigarettes, etc.

          • What you’re trying to say, curious george, and it makes sense, is having a trade item(s) that there is a definite demand for. During the hurricane in Sept 2011 water, lanterns, batteries, generators, and flashlights were in very high demand meaning the store shelves were bare. One item, which you can’t get easily and will be in great demand during an economic upheaval are meds. They are something NO ONE came make it without, especially diabetics. I oughta know. I have pneumonia and had to wait 5 hrs to get meds from the emergency room four wks ago. Two wks later I had/am having a relapse and am too sick to drive to get more meds.

          • Scout Motto and George,

            I like where you’re going with this. Both valid, to say the least. Hence my average supply rotation now consists of about 200 lbs. sugar and salt, 40 gallons olive oil and a bunch of dry yeast. At least we can eat bread right? I also have a deep-freezer full of beef and chicken and another full of frozen vegetibles and fish. All and all its only enough to sustain my small family of 3 for about 6 months. Possibly more if rationed and copius amounts of salt for trade if things actually get that bad. I keep a small H-E generator as a backup for the freezers but have yet to figure out when the fuel (about 100 gallons) will expire or how to make it last longer when needed. Lately, I’ve been focusing on guns and ammo. Although I feel I have made a healthy start, my goal is to have a full year supply of these basic items.

            As far as silver/gold goes. I have a healthy suppy of silver only, no gold. I sold roughly 1/3 of it when I could get $45 per ounce for it. Since I made over 450% from my original investment, my remaining silver cost me $0 respectivly. I was able to buy most of the stock pile I have now (mensioned above)with a portion of my profits. I had some gold and sold it to buy silver. In the same period I made about 400% with silver eagles and bullion I made only around 150% with the gold. It took longer and cost me more to sell the gold. I also do not see the value in gold as I do in silver. Especially when it comes to an end of the world scenerio. Silver is heavily used in industry around the world (not just here in the US. It also has many uses, namely the most efficient known purification of water. Anyone interested in learning more uses of silver can do some research. My point, silver will never be worthless.

        • No paper assets PERIOD. Only physical metal. 60/40 gold/silver is what I recommend, or just go 50/50.

          Put enough into long term food supplies, fuel, other consumables, and tools.

          These are the things to focus on:

          Gold/Guns/Garden
          Silver/Bullets/Seed

          • Silver bullets, eh? 😉

            Seriously, silver is good second metal to have for when gold is just too much value in one coin/bar. The 1-gram bars could still be very handy for barter, or the 2-peso gold coins.

            Ferfal pointed out in his book that links of gold chains could also be used. Break off so many links for barter in small items.

            • Yah! Ferfal has it right. Cash is needed for most trades as mushroom has pointed out also. Great read and look what’s happening in Argentina again. A lot of noise out there.

            • Gold chain is good. That’s how some of my wife’s relatives made it from Russia to China by car after the Revolution in 1917. They drove all the way, paying for food and fuel with links of gold chain. That was definitely a SHTF scenario, and gold was still worth something to enough people to get them where they needed to go.
              Gold (and silver) is definitely a store of value, and it is easier to bug out with gold than with enough food to last more than a few days.

            • Davidus Romanus, that’s an interesting story, one I’d not come across before, from Russia to China, wow. Thanks for sharing. Perhaps you’ll write more about that trip?
              Would make for a good film, too.

        • Tom says: ” that all major commodities in the world are priced in Dollars”.

          I disagree.

          I believe that all major commodities are already priced in gold, as the gold price is fixed in London and every currency is priced and adjusted to it, based upon their relationship to each other, via gold.

          It would make little difference if grains had to be purchased with rubles or pounds or any other currency for that matter, because whatever currency was exchanged for rubles, or dollars, or pounds, would be still be exchanged by the major commercial banks (read GB’s) who facilitate all currency transactions; and for a fee of course.

          I definitely disagree with his premise: “So why is it a bad thing if no one wants to use our currency to do business?”

          That is simply not factual. That is hypothetical and not reality. It is fear mongering. It is not what is happening in the marketplace. Everyone is using dollars and will continue to do so, albeit at a smaller ratio of transactions to world GDP as world wide trade expands; and until the dollar is incorporated into a basket of currencies a number of years into the future.

          Having said that, it doesn’t mean that the dollar is not going to decline in value against other currencies. It will. And significantly so. That is the FED’s SHTF Plan and has always been its intent.

          Personally, I wouldn’t pay the premium for pre-64 silver coins. If you cannot buy Rmb’s directly, and most Americans cannot, then buy 1 oz silver.

          Invest in gold, speculate with silver, and hoard your lead. They won’t be making any more of it after the Changes.

          • All of you brillant economists who thumbed me down, please explain your position. Please, Edify me! 🙂

            Tell me why it matters if grain is bought and sold in dollars or rubles, or pounds, since all of them reflect their value in gold as set by the London Gold Fix?

            • I gave you thumbs down for being such a jerk to Laura the other day. You will never get another thumbs up from me prick!

            • Your looking at this from the wrong direction. Try trading currencies and you get a different perspective.

              As the dollar drops in value, other currencies go up in value in relation to the dollar. SO – If you need OIL and they have to be purchased from Russia with devalued dollars, It will take more dollars to buy it — OR — The price goes up — INFLATION.

              It is the same for whatever we import, Which is most everything but food now days.

              Conversely – If we sell grain, we get less for it due to currency exchange.

              Take a trip Canada. The exchange rate is now around 1 to 1. Use to be Canadian stuf was a bargain for Americans. Not any more.

              So your theory about all currencies priced around gold is BS. Look into it a little further.

            • Oh yeah – Currencies are not priced around london gold fix.

              Currencies are priced against each other. The dollar index is priced against a basket of 8 currencies to arrive at the dollar price.

              Currency prices float.

              BTW – the US government has the official gold price at $42.

            • Our dollar used to be based on the Gold Standard, but it hasn’t for a very long time…in fact it was August 15, 1971 when Nixon eliminated it. Since we are no longer on a Gold Standard, our Dollar is based on literally nothing. Durango, that is why our illustrious government prints, prints and prints money like it’s nothing!

              One of the main reasons Gold and Silver goes up is because it counteracts the depreciation of the world currencies as the governments worldwide are playing the “devaluation game”.

              Some of your points are valid, don’t get me wrong… but to snipe back because others disagree with you is not resolving a thing. We all do it, basically I guess because we’re all human.

              Anyway, I could go deeper in explanation but I have to get things settled here at the homestead before dark… have a good evening!

            • everything has to be priced and traded in the dollar because it is the reserve currency, as decided under Uniform Commercial code , on every transaction a certain percentage is taken of for America, but as I say everything has to be traded in the dollar, hence the world turning its back on the dollar is a major event because not only goes the dollar so goes the UCC.

            • Blu Lou: Laura has been pissing, moaning, crying, and whining for two years. I am sick of her spreading defeatism, discouragement, and despair among a population that is burdened by the difficulties they face already.

              It is the propaganda of the NWO / PTB designed to make the average American believe that they are helpless and without power when nothing could be further from the truth.

              As long as Americans refuse to exercise their political power into NEW structures, the PTB will dominate them, destroy OUR liberties, and shred the Constitution.

              She should just STFU and suck it up if she isn’t man enough to engage her managers. She is part of the problem, not the solution.

              She is a tool of the PTB whether she realizes it or not.

            • Quick: You haven’t told me anything that I do not already know. All that you say is true but the point I am making is that while Uncle Ben says that “gold is not money” he sits on more gold that anyone else.

              Gold is the true wealth. It is the true wealth of the GB’s who control the central banks.

              The price of gold is determined by the London Gold fix who is the market maker setting the price for everyone else. Its not a bid and ask system like currencies. The price at the London Gold Fix is “determined”. It is arbitrarily pegged.

              All markets, all currencies and all commodities are then reflected in the price of gold. Why the price of gold?

              Gold is the wealth of the central bankers (GB’s). Fiat is a tool for them like a nail gun for a roofer. It doesn’t matter to them which fiat is used. The FRN is now the world reserve currency. Eventually something will replace it when the GB’s use it up. Until then it gives them control over the markets.

              Anyone who uses any fiat will be paying the GB’s their price; as if they were priests in Egypt. While anyone buying oil that is priced in FRN’s may be paying a premium if the value of the dollar drops, they also get more for their money if they are holding dollars and the value of dollars rise.

              Japan and China need a mechanism to recycle their dollars gained from their manipulated currency advantage. This is how America gets some of its wealth back.

              The currency market is the largest market in the world and the most manipulated market as the major banks make a profit on every transaction as a fee, and manipulate the bid and asked with their lightning fast computers.

              It is also structured to fluctuate within certain parameters to allow spread and from spread profit.

              You are telling me that currencies are the tail that wags the dog because you are a currency trader.

              I am saying that gold is the real tail that wags the dog and is the true basis of the global economic system; much of which is hidden from the public.

              When the value of the dollar drops it costs more money to buy gold in dollars. But the cost of gold is static for someone who buys gold in Swiss Francs.

              When the price of gold is changed by the London Gold Fix, the price of gold changes for every fiat currency except the pound. Then all currency and commodity prices adjust.

              See the difference?

            • Blue Lou

              We all get the thumbs down…it’s a discussion board, it happens. I get hammered in here sometimes….so what ? Just because it’s my opinion I don’t expect every one else to agree with me.

              Take care

            • Blu Lou: thanks for comments. All I do is repeat what high level patriots say on talk radio, yes Durango is a real jerk, loser and bully. He cow tows to third party losers like others I know who never produce any results. If Durango only knew that these third parties are CONTROLLED OPPOSITION

            • laura m: If you are parroting “high level radio talk show hosts” accurately, who are spreading this PTB propaganda, than you are dumber than I thought, if you accept it.

              True Patriots speak victory not defeat.

              True Patriots recognize the psychological war fostered by the NWO PTB, to demoralize US, deter US, and disenfranchise US.

              True Patriots rally around the US Constitution and encourage their friends, family, and neighbors to do likewise.

              True Patriots do not lament or dwell on the problems, they look for doable, practical solutions to remedy OUR situation.

              True Patriots encourage others and initiate action that will preserve OUR rights and roll back tyranny.

              People like Daisy Luther are true patriots.

              I suggest you turn off the radio hosts that are spewing NWO propaganda, which you have obviously accepted as your own, and read her blog. She is a true patriot and someone to emulate.

              You are a fucking sheeple posing as a patriot.

            • Southern boy: You are correct, We are no longer on the gold standard; and the FRN, like all other fiat, is backed only by the full faith and credit of the United States.

              Gold does not guarantee any fiat. The central bankers (GB’s) have seen to that.

              But gold is still the basis for the world economy run by the GB’s, whether the general public recognizes it or not.

              The central bankers have said that gold is not money. What they mean is that they do not want you to use gold as money; because gold is the currency of the GB’s and they want you to possess paper instead of THEIR gold.

              If a “reserve currency” like the FRN or Pound, really ran the world economy, then the GB’s would manipulate the world economy by arbitrarily pegging that currency and allow every other currency to adjust to that reserve currency.

              And they do when they use THEIR currency, gold, to manipulate all the other currencies.

              Mentally move beyond the classical theories of money, markets, and the economy and analyse what actually transpires within that context.

              Actions, events, and processes reveal the true intent of the GB’s.

              Their actions reveal that gold is THEIR money and paper was created for US.

            • Hey Durango Kidd,

              Yet Gold is, and always has been since I suppose the discovery of that little yellow metal, the standard that all things are based. It has value, it will continue to have value no matter if the banks THINK it belongs to them or not. The truth is… it’s not even ours. God created it, He owns it, as He does everything and everyone He created. But, be that as it may, even if the Gold rises and falls with the strength or weakness of the Dollar (and other currencies), it is still the basis for the overall price of goods worldwide. And in a SHTF scenario, it and Silver, will still have value and those nice little greenbacks we have in our hip pockets won’t even be worth the effort to wipe with.

              It’s kinda like what has already been said, if I were to come to you in a bartering (during and post the SHTF scenario) situation and presented you with Dollars, you would laugh your backside off at me. Yet, if I came to you (or anybody else for that matter) with a Gold or Silver coin or bullion, you would listen and probably do business with me. Yes, you would (I hope and pray) fairly trade for the current value of my item (Godl or Silver) and your item, knowing all too well that someday that Gold or Silver will be worth A LOT more, thereby making you a nice little profit. It’s the way it always has worked, and unless this planet ceases to exist (which means the Good Lord has fulfilled His promise), then I see it working that way in the future too.

              🙂

            • Southern Boy: I still agree with everything you said but the GB’s run the world. They want the gold. They don’t want US to have it. They want US to use paper.

              And they want to control the paper that they have created for US.

              Its not called GOLDman Sachs for nothing! 🙂

          • You really are a moron..are you getting paid to stir up trouble on this site? So ill informed.

            • Hiya Laura

              I am confused. There is a chap on here, Mel,who takes exception to almost everything I say, and vice versa to be fair. Thing is if Mel stumped up and said something I agreed with I would still credit him with it. It is called freedom of speech, and we are all, at this point still allowed that freedom. Do you not believe in this? Having beliefs, or views does not make a person a bully, loser jerk or anything else…and having someone disagree with you sure as hell does not make them a moron.

              DK and I have disagreed on several things…and I dare say will continue to do so, but I must say I would prefer to have an out and out adult slanging match with DK or Mel who at least have original thoughts on things, than have to listen to someone who by her own admission “just repeats ” what she hears on the radio.

              This of course is only my opinion, which I am entitled to. you and blu agreeing or otherwise is purely incidental and matters not a jot.

              Take care

          • Durango, you might want to read Jim Rickard’s book, “Currency Wars” and then get back to us.

          • Burt the Brit: I only repeat good sensible info I read and hear that makes sense. You, Durango or anyone need to argue, debate w/rbn radio hosts and blog talk radio shows, Jones/coast to coast, etc and their guests, and other patriot radio b’casts; not me. Take it up with them..if you both want to “trust in” third party losers, go ahead with that too.

            • Laura

              The clue is in my name love…BRITish, your radio hosts are generally not on wavelengths i can receive, and the question was not about them, is was about your assumption that anyone who disagrees with you…or the radio hosts for that matter is a moron. The term third party losers means nothing to me either, I have no axe to grind with anyone, but you can’t deny Blulou jumping up and down calling DK a prick and vowing never to give him a thumbs up again because he dissed you is very infantile isn’t it ?

              Opinions vary Laura…we will just have to agree to disagree.

              Take care

            • PS Laura

              You only repeat good sensible info

              That’s the whole point really, just because you regard it as sensible doesn’t mean it is does it?

              One mans trash is another mans treasure…it all comes down to point of view. If you regard your, and these radio hosts points of view as the only right view then that, in my book, is not patriotism…its dictatorship.

              Take care

        • I know a lot of talk about ‘gold being worthless in a crisis’, but I know a fellow who’s family escaped the fall of Saigon and now live here in the US because of the gold coins that his parents kept buried under the house.

          Not I am not discounting the value of beans, bullets and band aids, far from it, but do not discount the value of a few gold coins.

          There is a village in South America that exists today because a Confederate officer’s gold was buried and therefore not confiscated (looted). That gold financed the movement of the entire plantation and several of the neighbors to Brazil, where they stated over at the end of the war…..

          Bubba Man – One of the Bubba’s of the Apocalypse.

        • AMERICANS, NOT SLAVES

          In days of old when knights were bold
          And dragons still breathed fire, the girls were chaste, the men laid waste
          No way to pacify desire
          But chastity did not last long, the population grew
          Millions of people, ruled over by the few
          And so it went for centuries, a thousand years and more
          Then overseas a pebble dropped, sending ripples to our shore
          The ripples they got bigger, turned to great big foaming waves
          The message was quite simple
          We’re Americans not slaves
          This scattered rag tag army,held out hands across the sea
          I reached right out and grabbed them
          And they held on tight to me
          They taught me things I never knew, like how to save and store
          About how to spot the danger signs….
          And then they taught me more
          They call themselves the Preppers, the tinfoil hat brigade
          But they’re really just Americans, Americans not slaves
          So this little poem’s a thank you, for opening my eyes
          And helping me to make damn sure my little girl survives

          Thank you

          • That’s awesome!!! Thank you for sharing it!

            D

            • Thank you Daisy…I feel very silly posting it now LOL

            • I agree, what a lovely poem! Thank you for writing it. It makes up for all the times I got dirty looks for asking for extra ice in England’s assorted and sundry pubs. C’mon, I’m an American, I need my ice in my “lemonade”!

          • durango: I got on Daisy’s web site and she has links to some shows I listen to one being Intel Hub. Various other links on her site: many of them spew out defeat offering no solutions except prepping, buying PM’s, Thus you are a hypocrite loser not making any sense. The patriot movements mostly fail because there is no consistency even among those web sites she posts. Young people see hypocrites among older patriots bickering among each other. Apparently you detest all talk shows since none agree totally with you. I pick several shows and yes, most fail to offer solutions. If no one agrees with you totally, they are NWO shills..your a dumb prick and agitator.

            • Why get Daisy involved in your quarrel? Just forget about it and go on. That’s what is so great about debates, no one is right and yet no one is wrong, more or less. Ha! You won’t change any’s mind, only make them more annoyed. I think we all got your message, just saying….

            • I’m butting in here, I realize… but, can we just end it here? It’s getting (or has gotten) ridiculous! Aren’t there bigger fish to fry, so to speak, than to skewer each other???
              🙁

            • laura m: I did not say that links she has posted are the sites of Patriots. I said SHE was a Patriot. That is evidenced by her Posts..

              As far as Intel Hub is concerned, or any other alt media site for that matter; I don’t think it is un-patriotic to point out problems in the country and talk about them.

              I do believe it is un-patriotic to piss, and moan, whine, and complain like a cry-baby for two years puking out the defeatism that you have.

              Daisy is not giving up against impressive odds stacked against her; she is fighting the good fight, like all US who know and love the real America should do.

              You wallow in despair. You magnify defeat. You accentuate the difficulties. You make the problems bigger than they are because they seem insurmountable to you, and discourage any unified dissent to the forces that are stealing OUR economy and OUR liberties.

              You are a fucking sheeple posing as a Patriot, emphasizing defeat rather than demanding victory.

              You are not a true patriot by any stretch of the imagination; and anyone who has followed your comments over the past two years know it.

              Do not justify your acceptance of the PTB and your complicity in their propaganda by pointing to someone else; as if its ok for you to do it if someone else is doing it.

              How fucking lame can you get? 🙂

            • Why bring Daisy in on your argument? Just keep your quarrel between you and durango. That’s what is so great about debates, no one is right and yet no one is wrong, more or less. HA!

              Besides, I don’t think you can out do durango, no offense. I think we all know where you stand though on your thoughts. Thanks for your input….

              And now back to our regular scheduled program —-

            • Well, just read durangos new post~~

              like I said, you can’t out do him. Might as well throw in the towel and retreat quietly.

              There’s always next time….

            • You know what’s so weird, earlier I accidentally double posted this remark, one went thru under anonymous because I forgot to sign in. So I re-did it not realizing that it had been posted.

              Yet the 1st post had 3 thumbs up…
              And the 2nd post is split – 2 up & 4 down.

              I am one and the same, just screwed up on posting. Off night I guess….

          • Burt: Not only do you sound like a reasonable person, but you obviously have artistic (poetic) talents. My compliments.

            One of my often repeated quotes is “They make the same mistakes as (did) their grandfathers”. Actually, the mistakes are a bit different, modified by full bellies and hence no need to strain in making a living. So here we are, fat and happy, looking at the ending of the empire.

            That’s why some of us may appear to be preceptive in reading the writing on the wall. It was a nice ride that got us to this point. But my guess is that the ride will be getting a lot more “bumpy” – – perhaps like in the U.K., during the 20th Century.

          • Very nice Burt!!!

          • Burt the Brit,

            Great poem! Thank you for sharing this! 🙂

            Take care.
            KY Mom

          • I have to say I like it Burt,thanks!

          • BRAVO!!

      2. If you can’t afford gold, can’t afford silver, for $14.99 at Costco right now you can get 36 rolls of 2 ply toilet paper….I’m guessing a roll for a loaf of bread will be most possible at some point.

        • @ Jim. Fine advice. If things go as bad as they could, the ONLY thing that may be of any value are items that people can actually use. Silver coins and gold are the only currency that will probably be used at first, but eventually people will ONLY accept barter. I sure like the idea of toilet paper as currency as it is a lot softer on your backside than cash money that will likely have just about the same value.

          Most people just don’t understand what 700 trillion in derivatives means, that is almost 3/4 of a quadrillion dollars. They don’t usually even teach basic math to kids that go that high. All money though can be ZEROED at for the New World Order, probably what they are planning if the ICBM’s and WW3 doesn’t start first. Like someone said the other day, prep like there is no tomorrow. Feel deep pity for those that don’t prep because they are going to be in such deep manure and trouble when this starts. Non-preppers are so clueless to the living nightmare coming on the close horizon.

          • I know a couple people that have invested heavily in gold. They pay around (whatever current value is) per coin. Probably in the neighborhood of 1600 to 1700 an ounce. That’s their preps. I pay around 50 cents per pound for sugar and flour. I imagine the day when my 50 cent investment could net me an ounce of gold return lmao

            • cshellz, I hope you’re right (not really, I hope this is all a bad dream, the universe is a hologram after-all) but if you are right, we’ll make a bundle. Of course you won’t make anything with People like me, cause we did the same thing,… so, what else ya got?

              The more I read this thread the more I think not only will PM’s be a good move, but so will bottles of wine and those small bottles of hard liquor.

              Ya know I heard the grape crop was really bad this year…

            • Cshellz:

              May I suggest storing whole grains rather than flour? Flour (ground grain) oxidizes somewhat quickly making it less suitable for storage than whole grains.

              Of course, for making bread from whole grains you may want a mill, but not always needed. While grains such as rice, quinola, oats, etc., can be cooked and eaten, it is nice to have even flat bread. Just have a mix with some grains. Also, get some sprouting seeds; it’s great to have vegetables, too.

              Also, jerky is good to store. Sure, people can live on sugar and other carbohydrates and some vegetables, but a pack of jerky will go a ways on a menu as well as being a nice tradable item.

          • Jim wrote, “If you… can’t afford silver, for $14.99 at Costco…”

            Yeesh, for 15 bucks you can just about buy half an ounce of silver, last time I looked. How many dimes is that?

            Be informed wrote, “… the ONLY thing that may be of any value are items that people can actually use.”

            Ah-hem, or think they can use in the future.
            And I think I can use silver and gold in the future. I got enough T.P. and if yours gets wet I certainly got no use for it, sooo unlike PM’s. Plus, sponges will the thing is SHTF as bad as that.

            Maybe you haven’t heard? Girls like PM’s, they always have and they probably always will, so there’s a whole big market of young men who will want it to impress the love of their lives.

            Got value? … Yeah, I know food and water fit the bill, but when was the last time any young Person ever gave their lover a bucket of water and got a kiss? Rare is that event.

            Also, PM’s got their uses. For instance, never had a tooth go bad?

            • I meant to write, “Plus, sponges will BE the thing IF SHTF as bad as that.”

              …And I’m only half-way through this thread.

              And such an interesting thread it is.

            • I agree. Also, if there should be a tornado, fire or flood, gold or silver could be taken with you should you need to leave home quickly.

              At least you would have something of value to get supplies you need.

            • Just last weekend I huffed some bags of gardening soil to the garden area and she kissed me… not bad at all. Although, I still can’t believe a real man would fall for the oldest paradigm in the world— “DIAMONDS… that’ll shut her up!” never had a ‘vette, and never will.

            • Even in the Bible there are references to buying food. Trade/commerce of some sort will always occur. PMs will not be totally worthless.

        • Another good thing about toilet paper is you can stock up all you want, it never goes bad. Same with paper towels. But I bet alcohol/cigs/chew tobacco would be worth plenty to a lot of people. I personally would rather go that route, it sure wouldn’t hurt to add them to the stash….

          • In historic German hyperinflation, one writer wrote that the most coveted items were sugar, coffee, and bacon.

            • My guess is perishables would be a high value commodity, but investing in them isn’t like investing in gold/silver. With the later (and toilet paper) you don’t have to worry about your stash going bad.

              Also if you simply add a bundle of TP to each grocery store trip you can really stock up. If its in the way – put it in the attic and it adds to the insulation = double value.

              BTW someone mentioned silver bullets. Great idea, but look into it. Google it – I did – its impossible or almost impossible due to the extreme heat needed to mold silver 🙁

            • I’ve stored mega amounts of coffe and sugar as well as many other items in hopes that me and mine dont starve when the SHTF.

              And Bacon ? — Wild boar/feral hogs are everywhere around here. I got the bacon covered too !

              After all the common sense preps are done — DONT BE STUPID — buy some gold and silver with any extra cash !!

            • Well, how are we going to fend off the werewolves if we don’t have silver bullets?!! Just kidding….

          • Yeah, squirt, T.P. can “go bad” or so I’ve heard, bugs supposedly love the stuff. Ha, imagine trying to pawn off bad T.P. That – could be dangerous. Er, it could backfire on ya?

          • I do not know about toilet paper, but many paper towels have chemicals in them to make them more absorbent which also causes them to go brittle over time.

            • I have had a few run ins with old and brittle toilet paper and it was a coarse experience.

          • “Another good thing about toilet paper is you can stock up all you want, it never goes bad. Same with paper towels.”

            If you ain’t had stuff “go bad” you ain’t been prepping long. Water in the basement will ruin some things stored there, especially paper things.

        • DK : apparently, anyone that promotes prepping, stockpiling wallows in despair, defeated crybaby and unpatriotic. Thus most all bloggers are defeated, because they (like talk radio shows) promote the same, so by doing this we are defeated moaners, whiners, unpatriotic. You’re whacked, that’s for sure; very inconsistent. Intel hub is very negative and I no longer read it; ditto for many on RBN by the way,therefore you see anyone pointing problems with the gov. is not a patriot unless they totally agree with you; you act like a Bircher, org. run by controlfreaks, a controlled opposition org. only losers join. You are really twisted. Other problem: there is no unified dissent that is effective so far. Go to: Sweet liberty.org and read about “controlled oppposition” wolves in sheeps clothing, and how they neutralize sincere people in these many org. by using dialectic.

          • laura m: Not at all Laura, those are your words not mine. All Preppers are not cry babys. All Prepppers are not un-patriotic. Some are. You are.

            Your logic is flawed too! 🙂 (i.e. “Thus most all bloggers are defeated”. Speak for yourself.

            I see resistance everywhere. Try reading Yahoo comments. They run about 10 to 1 against the goings on of the PTB.

            I am not talking about what others may or may not be doing. I am pointing out what YOU have been doing for two years, and YOUR comments are here in the archives for anyone to evaluate.

            I am just exposing YOU for the NWO shill that YOU are.

            YOU are defeated. YOU are discouraged. And YOU have allowed yourself to accept the propaganda of the PTB/NWO.

            Worse YOU parrot that defeatism and spread that propaganda every time you post; encouraging others to give up hope and activity which might just develop into serious resistance to the NWO.

            If YOU really are patriotic; if YOU do not mean to promote the defeatism, discouragement, and disenfranchisement propaganda of the globalists ….. Just STFU.

            Otherwise, you are complicit with the PTB and a COLLABORATOR. 🙂

            • I wish one of you would call the other a Nazi and get it over with.

            • I lied DK. I just gave you a thumbs up after saying I never would. I really thought you were a smart ass, but now think you are just an ass.

            • DK: look who is calling the kettle black; lying hypocrite parroting third party groups, i.e. “controlled opposition” etc. I don’t see anyone group having a viable solution to “fix anything”except to prep. for the worst and hunker down. All political activities as you should know for the last 60 plus years has been fruitless. You sound like a young kid; don’t you study the NWO history??? you really need to get a life, maybe a dating service, pizza delivery, etc.

            • laura m: I suggest you read the party platform of the America First! party which is posted on line at their website.

              They definitely have solutions to the problems WE face. These opposition parties are not “controlled” by anyone. They are under funded and under exposed to the masses.

              90 million gun owners in America choosing to support any of these parties en mass, could transform American politics and restore the US Constitution with a $100 donation.

              Pick one. Any one of them. Engage. 🙂

          • DK is an egotistical, thin-skinned jerk.

            • I’m a prick too! 🙂

            • I’ve got one too! My favorite hunting is ring neck cocks. Now, that’s funny DK.

            • laura m: What everyone should see as they read your comments, is that you continually seek an excuse to fail, rather than seeking a way to succeed; that you continually blame someone else for your own lack of initiative.

              Your defeatism is a losing attitude that is embedded into your perspective. You must have a great life! 🙂

        • Now I know why Granny and Paw always kept a little basket of corncobs in the outhouse; “the hard times”.

          • I stock up on tp but I also buy no name brand diaper wipes. LOTS of them lol 500 sheets that take less space in the cupboard than a gallon of milk and cheaper than tp. Doesn’t matter if they dry out because a little water and you’re back in business and could take the place of a full on shower if truly necessary.

            • Thank you for this information concerning diaper wipes. I knew that they would dry out in time, so I have not bought any. But now with this new intel that the wipes can be dehydrated with water to work again, I think I will start stocking up on them.

              I do think TP is expensive, and I think paper towels such as Brawny with divided half sheets might be a better deal than TP. I am going to see about it.

              Also, if you use one-part baby lotion to one-part rubbing alcohol on a washcloth or paper towels, a person can take a bath in a WROL situation, or even when there is a temporary electrical outage or water shortage.

              If you do not have hot water or heat in the winter, it is a great way to bathe without harming yourself in cold water, which can be very brutal to the elderly and children.

              I recommend wool blankets as the number one cold winter heating preparation along with polypropelene long underwear, both top and bottom. This is because eventually, unless your back yard is a forest, and you do not have solar panels, you will run out of fuel to heat your home in a WROL worst-case scenario. If you have enough wool blankets ( supplemented with fleece blankets and Down blankets (if you can afford the latter), you can survive extreme indoor cold temperatures.

              Extreme cold indoor temperatures can be gauged if your dog’s water bowl is frozen with ice in the morning when you wake up from sleep.

              Get your wool blankets now while they are available, and if you can buy extra, what a great bartering item they will make.

              In Proverbs, a virtuous woman seeketh wool. Seek wool today, and you will have no fear of the cold for your household.

      3. First mate: Is that an iceburg ahead?
        Captain: There are no iceburgs in this area, keep full speed ahead!

      4. In early 2010 I sold my house and moved in with my new wife. To those funds I added some savings and borrowed some money from my retirement penalty and tax free.

        I divided it 1/3 into food, ammo, and other commodities, 1/3 into building a solar-powered, wood-heated retreat, and put the remaining 1/3 I bought Silver Eagles $16/oz. + $1.99 premium.

        Today the food and ammo would cost about 30% more than I paid, the sweat equity and recycling of materials has doubled the value of real estate investment, and despite recent declines silver spot prices are hovering around double.

        • Where in the world did you get Eagles for spot + $1.99? I’m paying spot + $2.97

          • I bought at Gainesvillecoins.com during a special they were offering when the new 2010 issue was released. They have had similar specials since, but their current rate for a monster box is $2.35 over spot which is a lower % of spot price than I paid in 2010.

            • Gainesville is a generally regarded as a good resource for coins. I don’t personally buy from them but do your own research into Mark Yaffe who is apparently connected to Gainesville Coins in some way, and he ran into some sketchy financial troubles. Just do your diligence. I prefer to buy from local coin shops.

            • When I bought they were the highest rated company with third-party evaluators. They shipped immediately insured and I picked up my order at the post office within a week. I talked to my local coin shop, but they were unwilling or unable to meet the match the terms.

      5. Also, save your newspapers. There’s a variety of uses for rolled newspaper. Side note: even the dollar stores are more expensive than Walmart and such. My wife is a bargin hunter and we’ve done a lot of comparative shopping over the years.
        Ammo has gone up everywhere except cheaper than dirt. Just got another batch that saved me about $2.50 per hundred rounds.

        • DRD5508 wrote, “even the dollar stores are more expensive than Walmart”

          Not in my neck of the woods. Heck, even Menard’s (a hardware store) beats Wally-world prices.

          Someone elsewhere wrote, “not even the boxes the items come in are valuable/useful at Wal-mart.”

        • I, a bargain hunter, have been buying TP from DG for 3 years..always Angel Soft, 24 double rolls, @ $9.
          Or Big Lots, 24 double rolls @ $8.

          Have over 6 years supply for two. (smiley face inserted here— and I ain’t bartering for any gold or silver)

          • Sounds like a hoarder to me… don’t be so stingy. LOL.

            Isn’t that something to think about in a SHTF situation:
            Being held up and robbed over friggin’ TP!!!

            “Hand over the TP or else…”

            • squirt, a few years back, there were signs in some of the gov’t building’s restrooms that stated ‘due to TP shortages, we are now required to use both sides of the TP’. Yes, it was a hoax, but it showed that people were starting to understand how tough it is and will get. Enjoy squirt.

      6. I agree, I bought butter one week at 3.99 a pound, the following week it had jumped to 4.39 a pound and is still there. If I had put that same 3.99 in the bank, it would about 3 years before I had gained .40 interest. Much higher return on putting any extra towards groceries that can be consumed at a later date.

      7. Purchase as many years in advance as you can. You are just paying yourself forward. It’s way better than making 2.5% in the bank. Especially when inflation is a double or triple that. Compound that with only two rate increases at work in 5 years and you can see the picture. WE ARE GETTING POORER! Even if you have a good job the inflation rate is growing quicker than any increase you will see in pay. Knowing this (And keep in mind the rest of the world knows it) Why are on earth is there not a mad rush from the dollar?

      8. Purchase as many years in advance as you can. You are just paying yourself forward. It’s way better than making 2.5% in the bank. Especially when inflation is a double or triple that. Compound that with only two rate increases at work in 5 years and you can see the picture. WE ARE GETTING POORER! Even if you have a good job the inflation rate is growing quicker than any increase you will see in pay. Knowing this (And keep in mind the rest of the world knows it) Why are on earth is there not a mad rush from the dollar?

        • ~disector 284~

          Because…believe it or not & contrary to those who say the dollar isn’t backed by anything….I call “bullshit”!!!

          …in truth, the dollar is backed by a huge arsenal of “thermonuclear weaponry coupled to insanely accurate delivery systems”!!!!

          …the “back-up” conventional forces are…(ditto)…the worlds premier wrecking crew…bar none!
          No other nation possesses the “all ’round destructive potential/capability”…of the US military!

          …No one!!!!!!!!!!

          …Call it Full Spectrum Dominance, writ large…encompassing the entire globe!!!!

          ***********************************************************************************

          That said (see above analysis)…..

          …one can only wonder at/over the philosophy/M.O of “Regime Central”, where the using-up/wearing out/over extension, of such a superb military machine…..is beneficial to the REPUBLIC & its citizenry…via stupid/non-logical wars, for the profit of a few !!!!

          • Gunsmith wrote, “… the dollar is backed by a huge arsenal of “thermonuclear weaponry coupled to insanely accurate delivery systems”!!!!…”

            Um, but what does that produce exactly? Anything useful?

            Still seems like nothing. Positive anyway.

            A negative is not a positive.

            Have you ever read some stuff by this guy named Frédéric Bastiat? He mentions something about broken windows that might have relevance here.

            I like your last point though, Gunsmith.

      9. The fantasy will go on…until it stops. When the govt can’t keep the EBT cards charged with inflated fiat, The social axe will fall. The BLS numbers are B.S. Real inflation is already here. Filled your gas tank up? bought any food?

        • Yeah, when they said any one living outside the D.C. area knows of the difficult times we are in, they should have said …. any one living outside the D.C. area as well as Hollywood, knows of the difficult times. Theses celebrities haven’t got a clue what it’s like in the real world outside of their glass bubble. Same goes with the politicians. And it gripes my azz when they open up their mouth acting like they understand and can FEEL our frustration,… oh please, give me a break!!!

          • I always thought, almost everyone inside the D.C. beltway was wealthy and lived like kings off of the sheeple. Then, in 1998, I was working for a vehicle recovery transport company, and I got the job of handling the “disabled” vehicles with a rollback/snatch truck. My area was the Baltimore/D.C. area and south to Raliegh,NC. On one of those trips, I got inside the beltway for a pick-up at a salvage/repo yard and ended up on Pennsylvannia Avenue. Just N East of there was some of the slummiest areas I have seen. After loading my vehicle, I stopped at a Micky D’s, before getting back to the beltway/I495. The “wow” factor set in, as there were people packed in there like three baby roos in momma kangaroo’s pouch. After getting near the counter to place my order, it dawned on me that the only caucasians in the place were me and a pimple faced skinny guy handling the soda fountain drinks. It had a small parking lot, so most of those people must have walked there. I’d say there are a lot of people in the DC area that knows what difficult times are, but definitely not the politicians and lawyers there.

      10. This is a pretty good article, I think I will show some non-preppers that have their head cemented in the sand this. Might do some good, who knows.

      11. At Preppin Pastor: Right on! Be prepared. Water and water supply (drinkable). Food (I have good water availability so I like freeze dried). Ammo for defense if needed and hunting if game available. For most of us, prep our bug in location (alternative energy sources, get at least a small solar setup that can recharge the cell phone, computer, radio for news and contact purposes). Silver Eagles (made in America). Get one per week, month, whatever you can afford. Start stacking. Get healthy, walk and exercise.

        • I agree Peter, except with one thing. If it does hit the fan and we need our own sources of electricity, cell phones will be worthless. Now the computer and radios will still be worth something. Also, the solar setup can be used as a barter setup to charge peoples batteries in exchange for food, ammo, or what ever you need.

        • With all this talk about EMP/CME, I picked up an old exercise treadmill on Freecycle and am stripping it to build a wind generator. Hopefully soon I can wrap my solar panels in Mylar and put them in the cellar to protect the diodes and keep my batter bank topped of with wind since we are only there on the weekends.

          • I bought a container of magnet wire from a motor rewinding company that went bust right after the crash. I was going to sell it as scrap but no one wanted it at that time. So ive been making small PM alternators for people wanting to make bikes like you did and small wind or water turbines. I sure made out on that deal

          • What do you do when the wind doesn’t blow?

            • I can start the gasoline generator every couple weeks to keep the batteries topped off if necessary. If gasoline becomes unavailable then I will be living there full time and deploy the solar panels. I also have wall mounted kerosine lanterns for backup and when I want a rustic atmosphere.

              Ultimately, I hope to score another treadmill from FreeCycle and mount that generator on my bicycle.

            • Wind turbines can now operate and produce electricity in a 3 mph wind. You Tube has a video of a Japanese professor who has been experimenting with a fan-like collar casing around the blades.

              It creates turblence and a vacuum like effect that magnifies the wind moving through the blades by at least a factor of three.

              Southwest Windpower turbines in Flagstaff Arizona could be modified with these “collars” to make them operate in the slightest breeze.

              The times they are a changing.

      12. Agreed… I’m buying canned salmon and coffee at a blistering pace

        • You might think about soap, toothbrushes, TP, antibiotics, medical supplies. A lot of this little shit is going to be worth a gold mine when this hits. Barter Barter. How do you fight inflation, taxes, a fucked up government or losing your life? Barter. A strong barter system will derail a lot of this nonsense. We live in and depend on a paperless system. Credit cards worthless Federal Reserve notes and Hope and dreams, LA LA LA LA LA LA. Some people are going to fall into this blindly following the Messiah and his bullshit and be dead or being a slave in the end. And then there are going to be others that will fight this to the end. Get ready to stand along or closely with others of like ideas. Our Liberty and freedoms are at risk.
          We may have to fight and die for them once again here on our land! Armor up!

          • Hammerun

            Agreed..100%

            Been buying a 4 pack of tp everyday @1.99.
            Stacks up quite well.
            Antiseptics/peroxide/isopropyl/baking soda/white vinegar etc are all cheap still..and serve many purposes for sanitation and cleaning..
            22LR HP are still cheap at $8 per 100 rnds..stocking up weekly..and very effective at 50 yards or less ..
            Don’t forget gun oils and cleaners as well..get em while you can.

            possee

            • small pocket knives, CHAPSTICK X 10,,tp and matches, all kinds, kitchen, small stick, and book type…we all should know this already,,defend a woman as if she was your sister..

            • jason from marss wrote, “… defend a woman as if she was your sister..”

              What are you, a terrist?

              Like you said, “we all should know this already”, so sad so many don’t, especially the T.s.a. and all the other alphabet soups.

            • Hammerun: So, you have $8 in 16 rolls of regular TP—at DG, 24 double rolls @ $9, Angel Soft.

              On sale; but I watch for them and DG brand is $7 for 24 double rolls.

              Just saying.

          • I’m with you. Every day I write down items I use and when I do my “prep” shopping I stock up. People take a lot of what they have for granted. Think about the necessities, that won’t be there or as this article points out, too expensive. When you’re comfortable with that, then stock up on some extra’s that you know you can trade with. BTW I have a silver stash and want to add to it, but not until I feel comfortable with about a years stash of food, ammo, medical/medicinal supplies and a few other basic necessities.

            • Learn how to reuse “waste water”

              If you save the water you use for, let’s say washing in, and add the bio chemical tablets for chemical loos you can buy in camping shops when they have done their work the water will be clean enough to reuse, for example to wash clothes in,or clean the bathroom, or floors or whatever. Doing the same again can allow you to reuse that same water the for same type of things again, or for watering plants. It seems to me a good way to make a water supply last longer.

              Take care

            • very small tubes or samples of lotion and perfume will go a long way as well. you could fill a shoe box full, and when times are tough these little treats will be very important to a woman. they will help to remind us of “normalcy”. kind of like chocolate and panty hose did for our grandmas.

          • hammer, I stock a huge amount of Anitbacterial (Dial) bars of soap. I was watching a documetry once about the Haitian people and watched two Women fight tooth and nail over bars of soap. It can make the difference between life and death for children. We all know dirty kids and hands mean intestinal diesease and dehydration.I figure it will be a good barter item if needed.

        • pacific salmon is now contaminated with Fuku radiation

          • Keeps better that way

          • What about Starkist tuna from the south Pacific? Would you buy it?

            • @iowa, As I recall Dr. Mercola says to severely limit your intake of tuna due to high mercury content. (Maybe he said to avoid it altogether, I forget, too tired to look it up and post a link) … Wish I woulda read that before I got a bunch of them.

              As to radiation,… I think that’s totally over blown.

              I could be wrong, but if radiation killed everything off volcanoes would have done so long ago as they spew out much more radiation than mankind has ever produced,… and yet, here we are.

              Plus, have you ever known any Japanese to glow in the dark?
              Hmm, Mona?

              Psft, give up sockeye salmon, are you all crazy? I think I’d rather give up beef first,… maybe. Geeze, I ain’t letting the beef scare get in the way either, whatchya got left to eat then? Dirt? Soylent Green?

              I takes my chances with what there is. YMMV I guess.

        • With that Jananese nuclear power plant down, are you sure you want to eat salmon?

          • Mona and michelle:

            Yes, that makes me worry, too, about any ocean-sourced seafood. Since may, 2011, I have been consuming bentonite clay and now Zeolite, too, since March, 2012. Fingers crossed…

            Cheers,

            – Stoosh

        • Keep in mind that Chris Martenson has something that he wants you to buy. How do you tell when a salesman is lying? His lips are moving.

      13. I found this little disturbing article on Steve Quayle’s site: http://thedailybell.com/3814/Spain-Bans-Cash It is not as severe as it seems as banning business transactions of 2500 Euros, but a true sign of the times on how countries are “experimenting” with killing off cash money. The “excuse” to get rid of the black market and tax evaders. Now where have I heard that one before.

        • knew italy was doing this….thanks for the link!

        • Don’t know if it is true or not, but I recently read that the Jindal administration in Louisiana has banned cash transactions on used/second-hand items like in a private sale, yard sale, or flea market. Every transaction has to have an electronic record available. Can anyone substantiate this???

          • I live in Louisiana and it is true you can’t use cash on second hand items, however you can still use cash to buy groceries or things not second hand.

          • How do they require credit card payment for second hand stuff at a garage sale? It takes money and time to get the “required set up” for credit/debit card transactions.

            Sweden is moving toward the cashless society too. Public buses won’t even take cash anymore to purchase tickets. Businesses get charged a fee for every credit card transaction (just like in the USA), and a law passed by the Swedish Parliament prevents businesses from passing on that charge to consumers.”

            Who wins here? … The banks of course. For every debit/credit card transaction the bank charges a fee.

        • They’ll just have more illegal economic activity. A desperate move destined to fail.

      14. As I see it, it’s kind ‘a like this for those of us who come to this site. All the extra capital is already infused into our personal “game plan” to ride out the storm out at sea, with minimal discomfort. Any money we generate from now on out is used to keep the boat, full of those essential provisions, fueled up and pointed into the storm so we don’t capsize.

        This article seems stale to me or I’m getting senile. (Probably the latter)

        • I do not know that I would agree with “stale,” but certainly it is very basic. It is probably hard to find something earthshaking to post every time.

          I skimmed the free book the author mentions and there was nothing new in their either. Basic economics and purchasing information.

          • However! For my family that is every soooo slowly coming on board with me, (as I have only had my ‘boat’ for a year,)
            This article is good for newbies.
            There are always new poeple joining the ranks daily.
            Lets give them all the ideas we can!

      15. the next 1/2 of the year will tell all tails..

        best to be prepared for the worst case to happen.. it seems all likely that it will..

        as for gold and silver hording to trade.. you will be a great target.. so dig a hole..and plant a time capsule until its safe to trade.

        what do i know anyways!!!!!!

      16. Hey toomany, make sure that Salmon was canned before Mar 2011.

        • Well, if one is “REALLY” concerned about “that” contamination, then there’s the thickener, stabilizer, and emulsifier Carrageenan. You know what that can be found in?

          • Besides ice cream?
            What else?

      17. It never ceses to amaze me how blind many people are….. so unaware of what is going on around them.

        • CEASES….sorry to all you spelling nerds out there.

          • I stood under what you meant.

            • ~Highspeed~

              LOL!!!!

              thanks dude…I needed a good laugh tonight!

            • I’d rather have a bottle in front of me than a frontal lobotamy!

            • Gunsmith, Glad I brought a smile to yer face.

        • Yep.., to many frogs going to be warmed up and boiled alive. 🙁

      18. I am wondering if Pre 1982 Pennys will be worth saving.
        (I have some already) Copper wise they are currently worth about 2.5 cents. (coinflation.com) They can easily go to 10 cents or more in an inflationary situation.

        During a collapse, you might sell them off shore for their raw value. Especially if the paper Dollar is tanking.

        Post collapse, they might be the new Dime or more likely Quarter.

        • James Rawles say’s nickel’s as they’re still 75% copper and worth almost twice their face value of 5 cents.

          • Here in the UK copper is stolen from buildings regularly now. If you do a house refurb and have any common sense you’ll use plastic piping where it’s visible to the pubic to avoid theft.

            My Mums Church is holding it’s 3rd fundraising campaign in 5 years to replace the lead nicked off the Church Roof. War memorials have been damaged. It’s so disrespectful that it’s hard not to get cross about it.

            A silver coin can be turned into collodial silver to stop that cut from festering. Check your tetanus and other basic jabs are up to date and study herbalism for simple painkillers & antivirals. Basic sanitation and simple infections kill far more in times of war and poverty than fancy diseases noone can pronounce.

            More than “things” – the key tools are gonna be
            1/knowledge (how to fix stuff when it breaks, grow food, set bones etc). All the stored rice in the world won’t save you if its riddled with pests or you can’t cook it. (this one realy jumps out at me now microwave cheese toasties are a top seller at my local grocery store!)

            An OPSEC friendly way of aquiring non-grid skills & crafts I’ve recently discovered is historical reenactment societies – this deffo one tip I wanna pass onto other Mums. Just choose a period prior to the onset of mass-electricty & you are good to go learning all kinds of stuff + the kids will love it too, (unike the scouts the life hasn’t been sucked outta these groups yet!).

            Don’t just store “stuff” store as much knowledge and skils as you can.

            2/ The other thing will mental attitude – sheer stamina in the face of grinding adversity. We’ll have to remember the story of the footsteps in the sand at times and hang onto our faith, because testing times are ahead.

            I get accused of being very cynical IRL but when I look around – sheesh – it’s so hard not to be!

            • lonelonmum wrote, “Check your tetanus and other basic jabs are up to date”

              Whoa, obviously you haven’t read this at The Daily Bell:

              Does the CDC Tell the Truth About Vaccines and Immunizations?

              or…

              Is the Vaccine Industry Beginning to Fail?

              Among so many others.

            • I recommend Dental appointments ( an abcess can kill) and eye appointments while: A) your money is still worth something. B) you still have any type of insurance at all. Every household member here, has had back to back dental appointments this month. I almost had to drag the hubby there, but I am absolutley not going to yank out a bad tooth from his whining self. period. ever. Meanwhile, the local dentist is a happy man and even gave me a cash discount.

            • Clark – As a Mum with a kid who has autism I’m prob overloaded on the vaccine debate, as it’s a BIG issue globally within our sub-group of parents as you know.

              I didn’t say go get a hit of every single thimerisol loaded embryo contaminated disease so rare noone can spell it.

              A tetanus shot is good for 10 years and still worth having so long as you have no personal contra-indications. If you garden, you shoud prob get one, so long as you’ve read & checked the ingredients list.

              Different drug firms use different ingredients, different locales and climates carry totally different disease risks.

              I said get your Tetanus and *basic* shots – I’m trusting the readers on this site are smart enough to do their proper research & to know exactly what’s in anything they inject into their bodies.

          • I read his article too. If they change the composition of the nickel to zinc or tin then old nickels could be the new silver. It couldnt hurt to stock up on rolls from the bank. At least its coinage and not paper.

          • Debasing the coinage is treason and should be punishable by death. Tim Geitner should by high on the list of traitors to our republic.

            • @jrs-Amen to the coinage act. May wilson, johnson and ALL the others BURN IN HELL for what they have done(if they are dead). Geithner and his ilk are either
              A-satanists OR
              B-Jewish

              Either way, they can go to HELL as far as I am concerned.

              P.S. to all the haters that say the kev is anti-semetic for that statement. GROW UP!!

          • I’ve read Survivalblog and JWR’s Nickel argument. And it’s well thought out and you cannot go wrong. But consider this. Five Pre 82 Pennys are worth 12.5 cents at current prices. If you have the room and the time to sort them, it’s worth it.

            Sure it’s easier to buy bulk Nickels. But there isn’t as much profit.

            On the positive side. If the Dollar gets devalued and we DON’T have a complete collapse. The coinage will appreciate in direct proportion the the paper moneys declined value. So it’s good to have both.

          • No, it’s not copper – – it is indeed about 8 cents worth of nickel in current US 5 cent pieces,

        • I’ve hand sorted and am saving over four hundred dollars worth of the pre 82s.I do know people who have bouight ryedale machine and sort a few hundred dollars everyday.Many expect the gov to changew the law so they can melt them down for the copper eventually.

        • Hell, why not save both, nickles and pre-1982 pennies. They might come in handy. And if nothing happens, well, spend them.

          As a hobby over the years, I have always kept silver coins or old pennies when ever I’d run across them when receiving change at the stores. However any more, it’s few and far between finding any. Still I always check the change in my pockets before I spend it. I can always tell by the sound and look, I know that sounds weird but it’s true. Copper pennies look different in color and silver coins have a different sound when laid up on the counter. The minute I hear that “sound”, my radar goes up. If I use a coin machine at a car wash/laundry I listen for that sound and stack them together to see if one is silver. Strange, I know, but it works for me. And over the years I’ve accumulated a pretty cool stash of coins.

          • just give a coin a flip…silver gives a high pure ring, clad more of a dull clunk.

            • Like I said, when I hear that sound, my radar goes up and I go in for the kill….. well, so to speak. LOL.

            • Like I said, when I hear that sound, my radar goes up and I go in for the kill…..so to speak. LOL.

            • Sorry for the double reply… happened at the top too I noticed. Must of forgotten to log in & then re-posted it when I didn’t see it.

              ~~Apologies ladies & gents ~~

          • @squirt- I do the same/ feel the same. Why have a zinc penny when you can have a coin with a metal thats worth more. @barn cat- Question- Would you rather have a dime made out of silver or copper? Answer-silver. Question-Would rather have a penny made of copper or zinc? Answer-copper. ITS THE SAME CONCEPT just different metals! A copper penny is also constitutional “money”. There is a reason they made a penny out of copper(in the constitution) and not out of zinc.

            • Long before there were coins there were people trading in gold, silver, and copper. Coins were a way of trading in a guaranteed amount of metal. They were a way of knowing what you were getting was real metal.

        • I think so. You may have to store quite a bit to make it worthwhile but copper is copper no matter what the source.

        • I think pre-1982 pennies are a waste of time. Is ANYBODY going to want to sort through them and count them before they accept them in trade or buy them? Current coins are useless. Pre-1964 90% silver coins are the way to go. I can buy junk silver coins for 6% over the spot price at Providentmetals.com and that includes the credit card service charge.

          • I found my grandfather had been saving old pennies when he died and we cleaned out his house. I took them to Coinstar. They were simply not worth lugging around. I feel the same about nickels. Only $5,000 worth weighs more than my car will carry. If I have to walk away with nothing but the pack on my back, I would rather be digging up a silver stash along the way than pennies or nickels.

            • you’re right, you can buy 90% silver, but pre 82, 95% copper pennies are free for the sorting. when and if the time comes when we can junk them, a scale will tell the buyer what they’re getting or they will just run them thu a ryedale befor buying.

      19. Land guys.

        Fertile land, a strong house, a strong woman, many kids, and the will to fight.

        So many things to tell you, but our time is running out.
        May 6, we have elections. The condition is pathetic.
        The left parties are rising along with the fascists.
        People have gone to either extremes.
        They no longer trust the democrats, the socialists, and the conservatives.

        We live daily clashes between anarchists-communists and fascist-nazi blocks.

        All of them are assholes who try to provoke trouble, and cause terror to plain people.

        History repeats itself, and we probably live the days of 1933.

        so funny. so tragic. so bitter.

        I’ll try to send news while i can. People are afraid of a military coup, in order to avoid the “communist” danger. But that’s crap. In this specific period, communism is not our enemy; or at least not the only one.

        Take care guys and stay alert. Today we read that Holland is going down also.

        Manos.

        • manos, thanks for the update, my prayers are with you and your countrymen.

        • God bless you and your family Manos. Thanks for the update. I say a prayer for you whenever I read/watch anything about Greece.

        • Holland is a potential powder keg – far worse than Greece. I have relatives & a dear friend in Holland so am watching that one closely.

          God Bless Manos.

          • lonelonmum, I hope your family and friends will be okay. Please keep us up-dated on any news that comes out of Holland. Can’t depend on our media for any important news. Hell, can’t depend on the media for any thing now a days, especially the truth.

          • What is going on with Holland? I have heard very little.

            Thanks in advance. 🙂

            • Basically the PM has resigned and the government has collapsed over “austerity measures”. eg the coalition government couldn’t hold it together in rows over the budget.

              My take on it:-

              It’s significant as Holland is not considered to be one of the “flaky” nations of the south such as Portugal or Greece, or even a “new economy” like Ireland or Hungary. The Dutch are supposed to be sensible like the Germans, and to perfect lil’ NWO subjects. Rebellion wasn’t ancipated like those pesky Greeks who won’t forget they invented democracy lol! Geographically it’s close to the EU parliament et all in Brussels.

              There are significant racial tensions – mostly caused by too much immigration in the big cities of religeous fundamentalist types into a very cosmopolitan, easy going society. You put too many rats in a cage, they always turn a bit nasty due to lack of space iykim. Not the same issues as you have in the US – this is simple overcrowding. The Dutch “attitude & temperment” is normally very placid & polite. In terms of land mass it’s a small country. Civil unrest in Holland would very quickly spread to the heart of the EU & places like France.

              To draw your own conclusions google “Dutch government collapse”

            • They are having elections Eagledove.

              I am not aware of anything insanely bad out there but if someone else is maybe they will share. France is the one to watch Hollande, if he gets in, will turn everything on its head…he hates Merckle.

              Take care

            • THANKS Lonelonmum; I have seen on tv about racial tensions and the ever growing Muslim population that is over whelming Holland.

              The death of Van Gogh.

              Is it fair to say , that if nothing is done about the Muslim expansion., that the original people of Holland could be under the thumb of the Muslims, just by the power of the vote? 🙁

            • Thanks Burt !

        • manos. Do you have a party running for election that favors ditching the Eurozone membership? Perhaps if you drop the euro and go back to the drachma and maybe set up an alliance with another country that is not run by the ECB? Of course you would have to have cooperation at the political level and that doesn’t seem likely at this point.

          • JRS,

            There are some political parties speaking of leaving the eurozone.
            Their problem is that they don’t have actual solutions for the day after.
            Interestingly enough, only the communists have short and long-term goals and plans.
            They are stuck in the stalin stereotypes, but this anyway is what they were telling in the first place:

            Leave euro, create collective type of businesses, agriculture, and the rest. All these will be achieved through some revolution in ideas, mentallity, and customs.

            I’m not negative to a change, but history has proven that communism developed to a stagnant and fascist monarchy of one person.

            I’ll go with the simple capitalism and not the manipulated one, which we live today.
            No political party, gives me the inspiration to follow, so i’m gonna vote for some psycho guy who includes in his party one former hooker. 🙂

      20. Luckily a $20 whore still costs $20!

        • Is that what you Mom charges, or is that your price?

          • My source was your husband who told me what he usually pays.

            • My husband, you had better ask my wife of 30+ years about that, o.k. douche?

            • Hey I’m not gonna judge if your into men and women. Assclown

        • really? but will they finish the job for that price now?

        • What? You secrete service! LOL

        • Hey Mclovin, what if she want’s to barter? HA!!

          Personally I gave you a thumbs up, what’s wrong with a little humor every now and then….

        • @ McLove
          From your name and comments I guess that you are pretty young. So maybe you don’t know that most whores are abused tragic figures who are often beaten by their pimps and addicted to drugs as well. They often die very young.

          Why don’t you go to your Doctor and have him x-ray your chest for a heart and your head for a brain. I’ll pray for you tonight.

          • @Auntie I proved my heart in Iraq Auntie, and If jokes are a sin then I don’t want to be in your heaven, so keep your prayers to yourself doucher.

            • Well, I found God in Viet Nam sonny, and you really do have much to learn about life.

              Hey how about some jokes about cancer or Special Needs Kids, they were always good for a laugh in 6th grade, hey troll?

      21. Evening,

        I totally agree with what you are saying….all of you. The problem is the diminishing household budget just doesn’t leave that much money to buy food or storage. I sometimes feel like I spend most if my free time searching shops for bargains. I don’t know the price you pay for food, but I do know that for me even minor price rises are starting to have an effect. I am good at making money stretch, but if I stretch it much further it is going to snap.

        Take care

        • Things may be different there, but in the U.S. the average home is 2,300 square feet and the average new car costs over $30,000. Living in an 800 square foot house and driving a 20+ year old car frees up hundreds of dollars from our budget each month.

          Being middle age also helps. The discipline to invest only a dollar a day during my adult life thus far would put over $40,000 in the rainy day fund.

          • I agree with you PP. my home is 800 sq ft, the average is about 1100, I also drive a “pre-loved” vehicle. It is the general cost of living that is killing me..groceries are soaring, even the cheaper end stuff, petrol and diesel costs silly amounts

            The average rent for a low end property here is over £600 a month in the provinces, much higher the further south you go.

            I am so fed up of this shit.

            Take care

            • @ Burt how r u girl. I am in the same boat prices keep goin up and up. I started preps a year ago and I am nowhere where I need to be. Still trying to get my act together and money is getting tighter and tighter, I even took a part time job ( hubby is full time elctrician) and my part time job is just helping make ends meet not extra money. I search for bargains and seem as though I am loosing time to prep because I am hoofin it around town lookin for a bargain or wastin money buying something that is not on sale to sace time. Geez it is just gettin harder and harder and I too am fed up with this sh*t.Only debt is house all cars older and paid for etc. no credit cards or anything and still stuggling. Not a second goes by that I do no worry for my kids futer ( as I know you are worried also for them what mom is not) Hang in there and take care.

        • Burt,(Carol) send me a request, if you like; and I’ll send you, or anyone the article on stocking up on low cost dry meals of rice/beans, muffin mix, etc. There are calorie figures and other helpful info, especially for the newbies. It’s too lengthy to post, but I’m sharing via my email. Request to [email protected]

          • I’m having some issues with this computer and if you click on the address it may bring up some other name, so just type it in on your end. Thanks

          • Don’t tread

            Thanks for that, all information is very welcome. Be on to you later.

            Justincase

            Good as can be expected in the circumstances LOL how about you.? I have a few new “essence of meat” recipes suitable for those of us that can no longer provide a full portion of the stuff for their families…sorry I get sarcastic when I am fed up. I know what you are saying about bargain hunting, it’s insane isn’t it? I am working on several ways to make things last longer..the problem is you find something that is quite easy and doable and have no way of sharing the info..I think it would well and truly hack people off if I popped up on here once a week posting 101 ways to use a banana skin, or any other item for that matterLOL…and I can see why to be fair.

            The time taken for all my hunting trips …for all those of you are not lead deficient as we are in the UK, this means foot slogging around the shops not chasing furry critters in the woods, is getting to the point where it will soon exceed the time I spend at work…there is in my opinion something wrong with that equation. Maybe I should ask Daisy to do a weekly spot on her blog “austerity tips for the financially impaired ” or maybe an article “tackling obesity…the starvation method”

            I really need to go when I get to this level. I will come back when I am feeling more sensible.

            Take care

            • http://www.cheap-family-recipes.org.uk/costings.html

              This site will feed a family of four for £290 per year. Recipes etc all there ready to use – it’s UK centric so based on what we have easily available Burt. Worth you taking a look at.

          • Don’t tread

            Done it…look forward to hearing from you

            Take care

            • Lone

              Read the title page again…it does not say that. It says each person, it then says prices have gone up by 4% since they wrote the recipes and that was a year ago, so another chunk on top. Still cheap but like I learned here a long time ago if you would not eat the food it is not a bargain.

              It lists things like onion rings for dinner, admittedly there are other meals maybe I am a greedy bitch but that would not do it for me LOL. They are also high in fats and calories, I think they are quite unhealthy but some look quite yummy.

              I think there are some good recipes on here for occasional use.

              Thanks for the link

              Take care

        • Burt the Brit

          A family of 4 could EAT reasonably well on $100 / week making virtually everything from scratch. The other items like toilet paper, cleaning / laundry detergents and the like can increase that cost another $30 easy. Going back to the wash board for laundry and growing a garden might enable a family of 4 to eat well enough on $80 a week. The rabbits in the neighborhood would cease to exist or learn not to get so close. Speaking of that I remember when rabbits were so frightened of humans that you could not close to within 60ft. Now it’s more like 20ft before their comfort zone is reached.

          Oh I seen on the net where a good slingshot propelling a .4″ diameter lead ball would penetrate completely through a water filled 1 gallon milk jug (both sides). I know you Brits are effectively disarmed but in a pinch that thing is lethal at 20 ft or so.

          • Kevin 2

            Good morning.

            I live on a housing estate in a large city. I cook from scratch, I container grow, I make do and mend, I work. It is almost, not quite but almost, at the point where these measures are it enough to make ends meet.

            There are four distinct groups of people over here. Those that have no work ethic at all and never intend to change that. Those who have a work ethic and have through no fault of there own become unemployed. Those who work for moderate wages and scrape to get by as they get no government help whatever, and those who are rich.

            Groups 1,2, and 4 do okay, group three is our equivalent of the middle class that are being destroyed in the United States…we fall through the net. More and more people in this group are falling behind on house payments etc, on the whole they are the people who have been sensible, do not own the 52″ tv or the fancy car, are not in debt upto their eyeballs, cut down using the heating to free up cash for the shopping, and, as I said, it is getting to the point where it is just not enough.

            Like I said. I really have had enough of this shit.

            Take care

            • Not enough….sorry

      22. But…but…I was told all I needed was this college degree! Seriously wish I had more that I could prep with, and that I had woken up when I was 18.

      23. This is not anything new. Obma’s EO’s are similar in both spirit and wording to Lenin’s, while Stalin used inflation to break the middle class like Ovomit is doing now. Only differance, the U.S. a whole lot bigger chunk to swallow than 1917 Russia.

        • Auntie, we Americans are also not serfs with generations of conditioning to obey the Tsar. In the rural areas, there are not just a class of rich farmers and many sharecroppers, either.

          It is a lot more difficult to enslave a people that has known freedom for over 250 years and two generations of affluence. It is frustrating to see how many people are simply not standing up to these totalitarians, but I believe there is a simmering hatred being kept barely in check by our conditioning towards civility. As some groups seem to believe they can simply launch on the majority however they wish and where ever they wish, the majority is getting the message that they are under threat, loud and clear. No one is quite ready to light the fuse, but I believe everyone is checking their pockets for a match.

          • @Blue

            Just an FYI, the Russian Serfs were armed and fought back very hard for almost 20 years.(Many were in WWI and thus kept their weapons). Millions were killed because of this. The Cheka would go into a village, kill most of the people, and take everything of value.
            First Lenin, then Stalin, issued orders to kill huge portions of the population simply because they belonged to a certain segment. They were called “Class ememies of the People”.
            If you are really interested in the history of this time period try reading “The Black Book of Communism”.

            • Auntie:

              That book has been on my *to read* list for awhile, so thanx for the additional incentive.

              My understanding has been that some serfs rebelled, but the Tsar was stronger and could also count on setting factions of the peasantry against each other and against the land owners. The government could marshal horse-mounted troops against any region and burn them out. Besides the generational inculcations, those years prior to the October Revolution reinforced the beliefs that no one could win against the government. When the left managed a win, it was a brief Constitutional Monarchy, followed by the Soviet repression that was even worse that that of the Tsar. From what I’ve read to date, the civilian deaths under Nicholas were far less than those under the Soviets, which I believe is the point of the Black Book.

              When my grandfather fled in the early 1900s,prior to the October 1905 revolution, they were hanging ten Jews, strikers, and assorted leftists a day in St. Petersburg, as a constant reminder of who was in control and another *subtle* implication of *who* was to blame. (This should, of course, be a lesson to Occupy.) His family fragmented and upon reaching America, all changed their names, some converted to Christianity and the last cousin died in the 1980s, still refusing to reveal anything about the family’s past. They weren’t rural peasants, but my grandmother’s family was. That branch was in the Ukraine and while she, also never said much beyond “It’s better here”, she was the original prepper, capable of doing just about anything that was needed for self-sufficiency and survival, most of which she had learned by age 18. I still miss her.

              I still don’t think that the Russian pre-Soviet populace had the same relationship to and expectations of individualism and liberty as present-day Americans, although all of that was “in the air” all over Europe at that time. However, it was leftist-oriented, demanding rights from the government, rather than emphasizing inalienable rights inherent in all humans by virtue of our Creator. That concept of inherent rights endowed by God in all humans is what makes America strong. Another thing in favor of Americans today is that we have so many veterans of our volunteer citizen military embedded in the general population. This, of course, is something else the administration is in process of changing as much as they can, but, right now, the strength of that is on our side, not theirs.

              Our present culture of social civility is being worn thin. I tend to believe that, while there may be a few ill-conceived attempts at reciprocal violence by the general populace, there is more likely about to be some sort of organized revolt that is not going to go the way the PTP hope. It will be better planned, multi-front and will include political and social elements.

            • @Bluewater,
              Millions of Russians fought back, millions. That is how the Communists came to power in the first place, as the promised the serfs their own land to farm.

              After the “Red Terror” started and they started to take almost a million small farms a year away, the serfs took on armed units with pitchforks and rifles and cut some Cheka units to pieces. Up to 1933 there were areas which the Reds did not even control.
              When the Nazis invaded many Red Army units went over to the German side, just to get rid of Stalin.

              I’m a proud American Vet, but in my opinion, we’re wimps compared to those brave people.

          • ~BlueH2O~

            You are a PROPHET!!! You have no idea of how “spot-on”….you are!!!!!!!!!!!!

          • BlueH20

            More and more I ponder how numerous the freedom loving opposition is. I suspect that when rebellion does erupt it will come seemingly out of the blue, and the actions of some brave few will spur others into action in sort of a chain reaction. I do think that as the pain and suffering increases the number of potential rebels will swell.

            I don’t think conditions are quite yet ripe, but then bad economic times are just near the beginning.

            • That is why they are “boiling us frogs slowly.” TPTB are deathly afraid of waking the sleeping giant, they want to “condition” us all a little more before the final push to 100% enslave us.

          • Hear, hear, BlueH2O:

            I wonder if concerned people are wrong to protest, such as Occupy, which I support. I believe that a good way to get T.B.T.B. to stop and change course would be for people to stop working – i.e., a general strike. This seems to happen a lot in France.

            Of course, in America, and in most Western countries, I imagine, that many people could NOT afford to stop working for like a week-plus.

            Still, by not participating in the economy instead of being gassed, bludgeoned,and arrested in a protest, that might produce better results. The economy would grind to a halt.

            It’s a version of the Great Gandhi’s non-violence approach. Peaceful resistance by not actively participating in the fraud.

            Yet, how would we get tens of millions of people to participate in this? I.e., not to participate in the workforce?

            Cheers,

            – Stoosh

            • Stoosh:

              Take your Alinsky advice elsewhere.

              For anyone who doesn’t understand what Stoosh is advocating:

              This sort of General Strike provides cover for Black Bloc action. It never stays peaceful. Things escalate and people become frightened and tired of the chaos. They beg the government to stop the Occupiers and especially, the anarchists. The government happily complies and adds another layer of draconian control to an already regulation-oppressed society.

              In shorthand, the bottom rises up, the top clamps down and a new order is instituted. This new order is never one of increased liberty.

              Oh, and Stoosh? They then purge &/or eliminate all the original activists, because they were actually just useful idiots.

              Stoosh is an agent provocateur, folks. Just sayin’

            • Dear BlueH20:

              I’m surprised to sense the animosity in your reply to my comment. I was on your side, guy.

              I looked at a couple of your other posts, and you “seem” intelligent and well-read. I could be mistaken. Been known to happen.

              I’ll chalk your nastiness up to you having an upset tum-tum or a bad day.

              Warmest regards,

              – Stoosh

              /sarc off

            • Normally, I’d let BlueH2O’s comments slide.

              I will say that I’m not an agent provocateur. That seemed harsh, and, if you knew me, uncalled for. I don’t intend to allow aspersions to be cast about me without correction, so I refute the claim.

              Other comments are opinions and we can agree or disagree.

              Regarding Saul Alinsky, I, not being an American, had never heard of him. Thanks for that new topic to search.

              See…never too old to learn. That’s why we come here.

              Peace.

              – Stoosh

      24. There are many smart people on both sides of the inflation/deflation views of the future. I am not convinced that we will have hyper-inflation of prices as this article argues.

        Look at the way new money enters circulation. Banks create checking account balances out of thin air and loan them into circulation to people, businesses and government, collecting interest on this counterfeiting operation. The M2 money supply in 1932 was $50 billion, and today it is $9,849 billion. The increase was created by the banking system and loaned into circulation, and this had two effects. One was that debt levels grew, and the other was that as the money was spent price levels went up (the value of the money went down as supply increased).

        So one factor in price increases is the supply of money. Another is how fast or slowly this money moves through the economy. If someone borrow newly created money and spends it, but the person receiving it holds on to it or slowly spends it, the effect on prices is mitigated by the slow velocity.

        But the real deflationary force out there is debt. If you owe a bank money when you write them a check to pay the loan and the interest on it, that cancels you debt to the bank, but it also cancels your checking account balance and that reduces the money supply. So payment of loans and the interest thereon become a drag of economic activity. Repayment of debt fuels deflation, sending money back into the netherworld from which the money was originally created out of thin air.

        If government today borrows more newly created money and spends it, this offsets some of the deflation that is being caused by businesses and people repayment debts. It simply postpones the day of reckoning, creating even larger future obligations what will drag down future economic activity.

        At some point, if price increases were to become large, the willingness of banks to create new money to loan out would be compromised since they do not want to themselves be repaid later with money that has significantly lost its purchasing power. They would demand increased interest rates to compensate. And as the public would be forced to pay more and more for what they buy, they could buy less; the rate of price increases always outruns the increase in incomes.

        Price increases on some required goods like gasoline can trigger more economic contraction as apparently happened as a result of the $4+ gasoline prices that drained purchasing power from the economy before the 2008 contraction began. And economic contraction diminishes demand for goods and services, affecting prices.

        This is a complex picture. Those in power are attempting to outrun the huge deflationary force of debt by trying to force credit expansion. One thing is certain and that is inflation of money supply sows the seeds for the boom/bust cycle where first economic activity expands and then contracts as the effect of the new money wains.

        I don’t think hyper-inflation can occur under the current monetary system where new money is loaned into circulation. If you see the federal government changing the system and prints new money, bypassing the banking system, and spends it into circulation, then it is possible to rapidly destroy its value since the drag of debt would be removed. Until that happens I think deflationary collapse is a much larger risk.

        I believe that all currencies of all countries are being competitively devalued. If the dollar goes down so too will other foreign currencies, so it is not likely that suddenly everyone will just want foreign currencies and not dollars. I think the relative value of currencies has a lot more to do with the underlying strength or weakness of respective economies.

        I personally sold all my gold and silver investments last April, 2011 after having bought most of them in 2001 near the prior cyclical bottom. My profits were large. I don’t think gold and silver will be good investments until mid 2014 at which time I will be buying all I can; silver likely will do worse than gold, and could reach levels under $5 (yes, $5 is not a misprint). Until then I think most gold and silver investors will be very unhappy.

        Just my humble opinion.

        • @sid davis— you stated to…”look at the way new money enters circulation”…. I ALSO suggest looking at the way ALL U.S. dollars are entering circulation. For the past several years, I have noticed a larger amount of OLDER bills being passed to me from my bank…. in essence, the older bills slated for destruction by the FED is in my opinion, re-introduced, without being reported. Therefore, all those old bills now double (or at least increase) the amount in circulation, making it appear the U.S. is stronger financially. Has anyone else noticed this? If this is a fact, the illusion just got worse. Or am I being obtuse?

        • Sid Davis

          “If you see the federal government changing the system and prints new money, bypassing the banking system, and spends it into circulation, then it is possible to rapidly destroy its value since the drag of debt would be removed.”

          When the Federal Government buys weapons and pays entitlements with money above it’s tax revenues and the Federal Reserve for all practical purposes supplied 61% of that deficit with money created out of thin air the banking system was indeed bypassed. That is as much as a direct injection of money into the system without a rise in interest rates to moderate the spending as one can have. It is no different then just sending out checks (which for the entitlements is happening).

          • Kevin2

            Of course, I don’t have the complete answer. Clearly the borrowing by the federal government of newly created checking account balances from the FED inflates the money supply as you point out. This is one part of the equation. But there are many other parts some of which I mentioned, such as debt repayment, further economic contraction undercutting demand, dampening effect on the economy of higher prices, and the market forces of interest rates opposing the FED’s efforts to control them.

            There is also the possible public run from holding cash and government debt if prices start to get out of hand. When people withdraw money from banks it deprives them of reserves which then dampens lending. And public refusal to hold federal debt undercuts bank solvency; already most banks are insolvent, only being held up by fraudulent accounting for their investments.

            So the outcome of this inflation/deflation battle is not certain. It will be difficult for most of us to navigate the unfolding debacle.

            • Sid Davis

              Uncertain as to when but not if. The money the Federal Government is putting directly into the economy by overspending is increasing M1. The rate is increasing too. Velocity is presently low but we’re still seeing oil and food climb upwards while the demand for oil within the US has dropped from 20 million bbls / day to 17 million. The money in the US exchanges hands a few times and ends up overseas. It’s position as the World Reserve Currency is getting weaker by the day. When not if those dollars come home to roost as they will when they are no longer needed in international finance will result in hyper inflation with very low velocity.

              They’re running out of tricks. Wait for a replay of the nonsense “wage price freeze” in the early 1970s where government demands low prices. No inflation but no goods either.

              There is no way in the world this will result in the USD having more purchasing power in the long run any more than a perpetual motion machine is possible.

            • Sid Davis

              “There is also the possible public run from holding cash and government debt if prices start to get out of hand. When people withdraw money from banks it deprives them of reserves which then dampens lending”

              Let that happen and no lending will be required to fuel hyper inflation. People in the above circumstance will not even make it home with their money stopping first to buy every necessity (and anything else as an investment). Velocity? When the public divests itself of money they don’t bury it in the back yard. They spend it while it still has some value. Germany did not need lending to fuel their hyper inflation. They just needed massive increases in M1 and a well deserved bit of panic.

              “already most banks are insolvent, only being held up by fraudulent accounting for their investments.”

              They’re being held up by the influx of the bottomless pit of money creation complements of the Federal Reserve.

        • Sid..I mostly agree with this. You are right about the velocity of money is what causes hyperinflation. We do not have that currently . The TBTF banks are taking the Fed QE money and parking it at a higher interest rate . This way they skim free money and it really never is loaned out as credit.I cost average my silver purchases and buy dips but whether this is a good investment now remains to be seen. If we could all time the best investments we would all be rich. The REAL inflation rate is above 10% ( my opinion). It will be “death by a thousand cuts”. Of course, until it isn’t.

        • Buy gold on this current dip. Its nearing a bottom. Israel will attack Iran with a First Strike, sooner rather than later. When that happens gold will spike.

          Sell your basis. Bury the remainder in your backyard.

      25. I’m gathering people who want to get away from the fuku radiation – going to South America. I will check back to see if any replies if this message gets posted. I think this is important if you have children, you want to protect them from the radiation that’s coming. I love this site and check it every day. I would like to hear responses to this.

        take care everyone, and mac, thanks for the great site and great info you post!

        • Hello Michelle,
          I have thought abouit it.
          My family even has land in Costa Rica that they visit twice a year at least.
          But with the world governments going bonkers all over the globe, I think that I’ll just take my dose of poison here in my own back yard, around plants and people and terrain that I know.
          I am installing multiple types of water filtration devices, have a large green house and am thinking about hydroponics. Eating wheat grass grown indoors and lots and lots of sprouts rather that california vegys, detoxing on occasion, older in my years and family members who can’t or won’t go…
          Staying off meat, mushrooms, fish and milk.
          I think I’ll die of over work before any radiation contamination gets me.
          My grandchildren, however, are facing another thing entirely.
          Good Luck and keep us posted!

        • don’t run; you’ll only die tired.

          • Teach them to be God-fearing. Teach them patriotism. Teach them gardening and other skills. Radiation may go global; at least here they can live with American spirit and American fight. The best way to protect your children is to teach them.

            It is good that you want your children to survive, but to become an ex-pat to me seems cowardly; don’t teach your children cowardice. The problems we face people all around the world are facing and they don’t have the American exceptionalism that gives us hope.

            • Mike & The Mechanics has a fair song that goes along those lines….just some trivia.

            • Sorry….called “Silent Running”.

        • Relax buy a good Rad meter. Cost a lot less than moving. Unless something else happens; The Japan Rad is not significant to US. Most of it is already gone. I-131 and some others are way gone. Lots worse out there than Fuk unfortunately

          • Hello, Paranoid:

            Can you suggest some good rad meters? Do you know of any from personal experience?

            Thank you.

            Cheers,

            – Stoosh

          • so when the rad meter starts going off I should make plans to leave? At that point, leaving will be much more difficult, if not impossible.

            Better a year early than five minutes too late…

        • Michelle; What part of the U.S. are you from? Assuming you are from here.

          Are you having any luck getting people to go with you?

          Like for you to elaborate more if you can.

          Thanks in advance. 🙂

          • I’m in S. CA. I have about half a dozen people who are interested – so far. Are you?

            • @ Michelle; I don’t have any plans on going to S. America., so , I am going to stay put in the states, where all my family lives and will be helping them out if things get very bad for them.

              I pray and hope you that your family and friends are making the correct choice. Take care. 🙂

        • Michelle: Check SHTF Real Estate for the links you need for South America in the lower right hand column.

          I used it today.

      26. Its all an illusion, that 12 oz. package was never 16 oz’s. According the the FR we really don’t have any inflation to speak of.

        Its just an illusion when you buy $100 worth of groceries and there is almost nothing in your cart. Its just an illusion when I checked out at Sam’s the other day and the 3 women in front of me paid $107 for $595 worth of groceries. $488 was food stamps. No its not food stamps its my money they used and it was 3 generations deep, Mother, Daughter and Grand Daughter.

        Its government subsidies at its best, they eat Cake and steak and shrimp while I eat beans and pasta. Is it just me or is anyone else starting to see what’s in plain sight.

        Slavery has made a come back in America in reverse. The workers of America are now slaves to the government and entitlement class!

        • @Patriot One.
          The wife and I have no kids, never have. But we joke all the time about how many “Welfare Kids” we put thru collage with our tax money…..just say’s

          • Amen to that, I feel your pain.

        • Patriot One….you are cracking me up

          • If it were not true, it would be funny. As for me I’m crying. We no longer have any choice with the fruits of our labor. I use to support 7 families with a job, today I only support 1. They are sucking the life out of the golden goose.

        • Yeah, it pisses me off that they eat better them me, but in reality they don’t. All that processed food is just tearing up their bodies and they don’t even know it. Sadly they will be the first to go when it dries up. While you (and I) will be surviving because we are already conditioning ourselves.

        • You are correct. We hear all the talk about this victim group and that victim group that the government wants to help. Seems like the real victims are the ones being forced, under threat of imprisonment, to send our money to Washington so they can send it on the the designated victims. Of course, the feds take their cut before sending the money on, and they don’t even point out that those of us who are working make the whole charade possible. The real victims seem to be the ones who are being robbed by the feds to facilitate the vote buying.

          Of course, there are genuinely helpless people, and those who are in a bad spot temporarily. Having a pack of illegitimate kids, though, only makes a person the victim of their own bad judgement. I didn’t play, so I don’t feel the need to pay.

        • did you haappen to hear nancy pelosi say we need to get mor americans back to work so they could pay the gov more taxes? Yep let us continue to be slaves …everyone sing Ole man river while chained at the ankles.

        • Ya, its always been there but now its just more”in your face” than it used to be…. and people who are living that way seem to have gotten even more of an “attitude” they give off…gonna come a day of reckoning sometime soon and that insolent smirk wont be on their faces anymore…..just sayin…and No, its not just you…most sane people see it…

      27. Michelle Would love to move to S.A. Sid…..big mistake trying to time gold…..ever look at a gold graph ? From the bottom left to the top right. The problem is debt and we have more than ever before. I have also been buying since $297/oz……Right this minute China, Russia, India, and the rest of the Brics, plus arabs are planing a definitive move away from the dollar. My quess is by mid yr whan the Euro hits the skids. The dollar will fall and continue to fall. Last time I looked gold was priced in dollars. Ergo, gold will rise……

      28. I spent the last few weeks at the farm everything is looking great still lots to do, it never ends. Looking at building a spring house soon. As well as adding solar panels w/ generator. Added a few security features and tested them and then tested them again just for fun. The farm still looks like a farm. 🙂 Had my home treated with a fire retardant, with a mobile fire suppression unit in the barn at the ready I feel much better. We are locked stocked & …. hoping for more time.

        • Thank you for mentioning the fire retardant! After reading all the other comments I had forgotten what this article is about!

          One thing that was not mentioned was insuring your investments in beans & beer! Either have your investment distributed or protect your home from theft and fire!

          All those investments are worthless if they burn to the ground.

      29. life is no longer any fun…sigh

        • I still have fun…Wally! You got to make it fun..

        • Yes, pretty easy these days to get bummed out, BUT I won’t give the M.F.’s the satisfaction of knowing I’m on the low end. I do know that those evil bustards will get theirs. When the welfare check stops coming, the grid goes down & they decide to “chimp-out”, I do know that there are solid people that will take care of business. Meantime, I’ll eat rice, fish heads & increase my skills.

      30. Cheer up wally, the Beav will be here soon.:)

      31. Oh, and while I’m thinking about it.

        We’re the middle children of history man, no purpose or place, we have no Great war, no Great depression, our great war is a spiritual war, our great depression is our lives, we’ve been all raised by television to believe that one day we’d all be millionaires and movie gods and rock stars, but we won’t and we’re slowly learning that fact. and we’re very very pissed off.”
        ― Chuck Palahniuk, Fight Club

      32. Two things.

        I was given $500 in gold when it was 35. an oz. it would of been about 25% of a down payment for a house at the time. It is now worth the entire 20%+ down payment for an average house today. Any commodity will hold its value… and some will do better than others…

        Find a piece of land with water… seriously… don’t be silly about this… get a place out of town you can get to. We are on completely uncharted waters here. But one thing is true.. no gov ever fed it’s people in a time of crisis…

        • Agreed. I’ve tried to buy gold on a regular basis. The sizes have gotten smaller over time. You can order 1/10 ounce proof gold eagles from the mint for about $225. No reason not to pick one up monthly. Less than most car payments, if I had a car payment.

          Agreed on the land, too, but we have to develop the skills to survive on it. This afternoon I set up a blind back in the hills to use for turkey hunting. Archery only area. For the cost of what I burned in gas I could have bought a turkey at the store. I know, though, that I have to develop the skills to do without the store. Anyone hoping to rely in the kindness of the fed, I believe, is in for a surprise. The reason governments don’t prioritize feeding the population in times of crise is that they feed the military and law enforcement. Unhappy militaries topple governments, and unhappy police don’t follow orders.

      33. Are we really ready? I want to think we are ,that I am.I think we are being set up.The dollar will be no more.When can’t say.The truth of the matter is there will be some kind of money set up.May-be world bearing or say South America Central America North American come together? I have seen some stuff put out on the web.Make’s me think it all a plan. It’s just getting set up for the Big fall .And then the New Plan will be unveiled.Hip Hip Oh no sorry.

        • Hi, Frosty:

          There were posts about the U.S. Postal Service having a webpage (buried on the site) showing the conversion from USD to SDRs (Special Drawing Rights), which are a basket of currencies. Heck, the original page is **still up** and it was first brought to my attention about a year-and-a-half ago, maybe more.

          Look at the table of numbers for the words “SDR”:

          http://pe.usps.com/text/imm/immc3_007.htm

          Now, why do you think that he U.S.P.S. would do this? Hmmmm…?

          – Stoosh

      34. In whose vault(s) does the gold that is/was domiciled in Fort Knox held? Serious question. Could a lien be placed…?

      35. For several years, me and the little woman discussed the gold/silver investment strategy. To buy or not to buy, to sell what we have or not. We both lost our jobs/insurance last year and with plenty of medical problems, we don’t have any savings but what we do have is security. We decided to sell what gold and silver we had (excluding items with sentimental value) when gold hit 1500 $$ an ounce. We decided that gold and silver might become high risk investment when the dollar finally collapses. Our gold/silver $$ became food reserves and ammo. We sold because; If and when the dollar is totally de-valued, we feared a scenario (whereby TPTB would take dominion over all PMs, and we would be stuck in a quagmire of shiney metals versus food, etc. or we would be holding all those shiney coins wishing we were holding shiney bullets. The other scenario that scared us, was the possibility of USA being merged with Canada and Mexico and a new currency replacing the dollar, possibly the Amero, and with a rate closer to the value of the peso (currently about 7.5 cents for every dollar). If the dollar no longer exists, what is the “real” value of gold/silver? There is much debate/discussion and international banking involvement for anyone to actually know for sure what the answer is. So, is better to err on the side of caution, I think. I’d hate to be sitting on a $100K pot of gold investment, only to be told it’s worth about 8000 Ameros, and a loaf of bread now cost 20 Amero.

      36. im investing in diapers, there will be a lot people shitting themselves in the near future

      37. best to learn counting to $100 backwards.

      38. hey folks..

        Russian Stock Market closed..emergency!
        check zerohedge..

        Harbinger of things to come?

        and manos is correct..

        This is not a drill – the Russian Stock Market has closed indefinitely, and reports are that the Russian Government has declared it an Emergency. In other news, the entire cabinet of The Netherlands resigned this morning because they could not come to an accord over budget and austerity issues…

        and the Czech Republic is collapsing as well..

        here we go..

        possee

        • Great here we go and I am not near prepped the way I need to be. I am just a good house to be robbed now. Shheees It all needs to slooooow down a bit. Wher ya getting your info from. I am interested in reading any artocles on this and proving to hubby we need to move on things FAST. Thanx.

        • Friend called. Told me his relatives there in Romania are saying this is a major disaster for the banks there. I can’t verify this with a site ref. Stands to reason that most of the former Soviet Bloc counties are heavily vested in the Russian Market & a closure like this is a prelude to some rough times for Europe. Just hope it’s not the Black Swan.

          • Please keep us updated.

            • It’s important to watch the warning bells folks.

              MICEX was shut down for all trading yesterday..precluding some Emergency..now back up..
              The last time Russian trading was shut down was Oct 8 2008..and that was both markets..hmmm.

              Remember what happened here in late 08?

              Oh well..could be a precursor of a flash crash or just a mere pre -quake for the big one..

              Time will tell..

              possee

            • forbes is reporting china will start paying for iranian oil in GOLD, starting june 28th. This news deservers double posting. First india, then china and soon the other brics will.

        • rts(dot)ru(slash)en(slash)spot(slash
          Watch live. Stock Market in Russia is back up. Don’t know about their Currency Exchange (MICEX).

          There is a concerted left-wing global effort against the Czech Republic ever since they elected a center-right government. People there are supposedly not happy, but they have a technical, export-driven economy. Could be their own government benefits crowd are the unhappy ones. They’ve weathered worse.

          Housing data due today in the US. Could go either way.

          Everyone take deep breaths.

        • Possee

          Greece who forecast a 4.5% contraction have just announced they are revising that down.
          Netherlands government has resigned en mass
          Belgium may or may not have a government they went without one for so long nobody cares now
          Hungary is falling apart
          French banks are really going down the tubes
          UK government spends its time sticking its head up it’s own arse hoping nobody notices
          Spain is bankrupt, ditto Ireland, Portugal and Italy

          Now you hit me with this….and I thought you were my friend.

          Seriously, good info, thanks

          Take care

          • And………they have finally admitted the UK is back in recession….well there’s a shock, Joe Average could have told them this a considerable time ago.

            Duh

            Take care

      39. I heard today Ron Paul won most of the delegates in Iowa and Minnesota, then 1/2 in Missouri.

      40. Off topic question, what removes radiation from water. filters etc. And where do you get this clay stuff that removes radiation form? I am in southeastern North Carolina, and wondering how long it will take to get here. I have a little one to look out for. Thank you to anyone who can help.

        • I’m not sure about how to clean your water filters, Justincase, but the clay you are looking for is “Bentonite Clay”.

          You can get 2 pounds of it from Amazon for about $12.

          There is also a website called aboutclay dot com. There is a page on the website with several sources for purchasing the clay, as well as specific instructions on how to use it.

          Best wishes.

          D

          • Justincase and daisy- kitty litter contains bentonite clay ( fire clay also) get the clumping type.

        • Hi jic, you may want to do some research on distilling water for removing radiation, it will remove everything else. I’ve also heard that filtering water through fifteen(15) feet of sand/clay will remove contaminates, but I can’t say for sure. We have mountain spring water but it can become dingy after a heavy downpour,so, as a precaution, we have been distilling via a countertop one gallon distiller for the past 15 years. Just bought a new one for $165.00 and it is great (all stainless inside). All our drinking,canning, and cooking is from distilled. My coffee and tea tastes like it should. No chlorine/flourine for our bodies.

          • Can you recommend a distiller? My last one was from Sears and very good, but I no longer find them there.

            • Oh yea! I almost forgot. I have a very,very,very, important tip on the one gallon counter top distiller from Megahome. The first thing to do before running the unit is this: go to Walmarket or local hardware and purchase a simple “plug into receptacle” type, adjustable timer switch. I think I paid about six bucks for one that you can set by 15 minute intervals. This little item will save you a lot of time and money. Set it for five and one half (5 & 1/2) hours run time. To run a full gallon takes about six hours and the unit has to run dry to activate the auto shutoff. When this happens, it causes the left-over residue to “bake” into the stainless each time and causes you to use the “acid” cleaner to keep the “scale” from building up. With the timer, you get very little build up and can go as many as 30 runs with just a little wipe with a paper towel after each run. Don’t forget to wash and rinse thoroughly before using the first time and make a run,clean; make another run,clean; after the third time of cleaning all the inside steel, you should not be able to see any residue from the ss proscessing, on a white paper towel, and for the next 25 to 30 runs, all you have to do is dump left over water and clean the bottom with a paper towel. When cleaning using the acid cleaner, after the soaking period use a green scouring pad “lightly” and rinse,rinse,rinse. Good to go. “Don’t forget” to unplug from receptacle. I forgot once, and moved the catch jug. During the next night while asleep; the darn thing came on by the timer and flooded our stack of cookbooks near it on the counter and left a nice little mess in the floor to clean up also.

      41. Gold and Silver, Silver and Gold !

        and Lead!

      42. November – March Baltic Dry Index. Well that is the slowest season for shipping goods, so don’t put too much stock on that as an indicator. Let’s talk about Baltic Dry last year August – December. Those were HIGH rates, and the BAF (bunker adjustment factor) remains high due to fuel cost. Baltic Dry Baltic Schmai. Everything else mentioned is an interesting look at the economy though. I don’t mean to discount the credibility of the entire story.

      43. My strategy for the year I have been prepping has been a diversified one. After making the large initial purchase of a few firearms and some silver, I shifted my purchases to food and food production. I have a rototiller for gardening and a variety of gardening tools. I have a clothesline for drying clothes so I don’t have to run a drier. I have a fuel efficient car (and a matching parts car) that is both paid for and can exceed 50 mpg. I am also planning a rainwater collection system as my next big expense, although I have a small, in ground pool with a few thousand gallons that would tide me over in an emergency. I also want a solar oven so that I can cook without fuel in the event of a economic catastrophe.

        By this summer, I should be able to replace most of my store bought food needs with that which I can grow in my back yard. This serves me well not only in the event of a major collapse. It also helps me in the event that my tips driven income dries up over the summer. I fear that when gas is nearing $5 a gallon, people will both stop ordering from where I work and stop tipping as well when they do.

        Do I have a hyperinflationary strategy in place? Yes I do, but I spend money on more than just gold and silver since I really don’t make enough to buy much of it. After all, if the dollar will lose a dramatic amount of value soon, am I not better off spending what I have today on things I will need when it happens than I would be just hording precious metals? At a time of high or hyper inflation, the things needed to live off of the grid will be far harder to come by than they are now. Even now, things like used rototillers and fuel efficient old cars have become hot commodities and are much harder to find than they were a year or two ago. So, buy the tools you will need now, before everyone else needs them as well. It’s only going to get harder from here.

        • Where are you located? I have a good piece of land and can grow food like crazy, and I know how to do it, but the weather has been so TERRIBLE the last three years in a row, everyone I know without a greenhouse did not produce much of anything. At this point I would love to have a nice large greenhouse built on my property. There is a new local high school with a fantastic green house, a dream I hope to someday duplicate. Canadians are very good at green houses, as far as I know. Lots of “hot house” vegetables in local market coming down from Canada.

          • Ranch, the cost to heat a true hothouse through winter is a lot. A friend of ours used to sell seedlings each Spring that she raised in a wood-heated greenhouse. She slept in 4-hr increments all during January and February, to keep the fire going. Considering the price point of an individual small seedling, her costs were exorbitant, even though she tried to make up for it with volume. Plus, she had to drive 100 miles to a decent market. Later on, she raised her prices and heated with propane, but that also became really expensive.

            Have you experimented first with a small (6’x8′) plastic grow house? These come with ports for an electric cord, if it is necessary early on, during cold nights. Even a radiant heater drawing 300 watts (no fan)would likely be enough overnight as long as the days are above freezing.
            Haven’t tried to run the radiant heater off inverter/battery power, yet.

            This way, you can start seeds inside in early March, set them out in 3 weeks or so, keep the grow house closed up overnight until you are past frost (we have had 3 hard frosts since I set my plants out and just closing the greenhouse at 4-5pm keeps it warm overnight, if the day was even partly sunny….about 60-65 degrees) and invest in a shade cloth (violet) that cuts the heat 45% for the summer, letting in light and tinging that light red, for bloom and fruit. We’ll see if it will need a fan in the summer. If so, there are 70 watt box fans that should work.

            My grow house was $100. The shade cloth was about $80, but that was for enough for the grow house with some left over to use on the bimini. You do have to hem and grommet the shade cloth, attach one end to the ground w/garden staples and rig a rope to raise and lower as needed during the hot months. However, it is knitted plastic and will outlast me. They do come hemmed/grommetted, but it nearly doubles the cost.

            This is my first year with the grow house. My tomato seedlings are ready for potting. Greens are doing well. Dwarf peas are flowering already. Peppers are just up. I will place the peppers away from the shade cloth when they are potted and I may just have them out on our deck, which gets to 120 in June/July/August/September.

            After a mild winter, we are overrun w/deer, who are already eating the asparagus, and I also just can’t weed in the summer heat, any longer. A couple of 5-foot folding tables and an ever-growing collection of LARGE plant containers (I am trying some beefsteak size indeterminate tomatoes) completes the investment. I will take it down for November-February. In cold years, where the ground is frozen through March, I can accommodate the seedlings under lights in the house until thaw.

            Anyway, I would suggest experimenting with a cheaper, more portable setup, first, before investing in a real greenhouse.

            Oh, as an aside: many of the cherry tomatoes greenhouse grown in Canada will breed true from the saved seed, especially Campari and Sugar Baby.

            • Blue…How many asparagus plants do you need to get a surplus for canning or freezing? My second year plants are producing, but not in the quantity I would like for surplus.

          • For reasons of opsec, I would prefer not to reveal where I live.

        • My latest investment includes 10 doz. Ball canning jars and another 10 dozen Ball lids. That gets me to about 300 jars and I’ve got over 1000 lids saved so far. If we can 300 quarts annually thats still just 3 years of lids. To me, this is one of the most important preps to have. I have gotten many used quart jars for free on craigslist and plan to have at least 3000 lids before I’m fully stocked.
          I bought a outdoor cooking stove from http://deadwoodstove.com/ This is one of my favorite investments.

          Also don’t forget to get your seed packs ready for next year.

      44. I don’t agree with this article when he says that China is “flooding the US with fake gold coins”. I have not seen any evidence of this. I have not seen any evidence or heard any credible stories of fake Canadian maple leaf, Aussie nuggets, or US gold eagles. Those are the bullion coins available in gold shops, along with Swiss bars. Where is there any bit of evidence to support what this author says?

        • I hadn’t heard about counterfeit gold coins from China, either, but just did a search and it does appear to be happening, especially fake pandas. I read a couple years ago in Numismatic News that there is a real problem with Chinese fakes of US classic silver coins getting into the US market. The main one at that time was Morgan dollars. The Chinese were even manufacturing fake PCGS slabs. I shy away from online auction sites, and you know who I mean, when it comes to anything other than 20th century 90% silver. I can usually get a better deal from my local metals guys, anyway, on that stuff.

          Even though it is more expensive, I’ve tended to buy gold directly from the US mint, and silver eagle rolls from a reputable dealer like APMEX.

      45. The Russians have announced thier intention to play no roullette no more with their economy by closing their stock exchange.

        The Czech government coalition has collapsed & a vote of no confidence is due on Friday. (it fell apart in 2009).

        Hungary is imposing new Austerity measures, but has been in a row with the EU over it’s refusal to abandon the fat tax and contro of the Central Bank. (Hungarians suffered worse than Germany during hyperinflation).

        The Dutch government has just collapsed – losing the EU/NWO nut jobs an important ally.

        Greece, Spain, Italy, Ireland and Portugal are all unstable politically.

        Sarkozy is likely to be replaced on May 6 for a less EU obedient puppy Hollande.

        Unemployment rates in the Western Balkans are scary – as high as 75% in some regions. Kosovo, once a breadbasket, now imports the most basic of foodstuffs and corruption is rife. Bosnia, Croatia & Serbia are just in a mess with no clear way out. For the young, the only route out of despair is to leave the region.

        Could it be that the ptb are losing control of their own train? Or is this the organised chaos they need to attain an iron grip on control in the long term?

        • Do you just search engine whatever is been discused and then post it or what

          That is just another list of stuff what are you a news reader or something

          • This shit is global, – I’m just trying to join the dots together and then apply it to my own personal situation to ensure the best outcome long term for my kid.

            The ptb are working against us on an international level, rolling out sections of the plan piece by piece in different nations. Eventually they’ll sew it altogther like the pieces of a patchwork quilt.

            Ever heard of the butterfly effect? – it applies like never before.

            If others can’t or don’t want to see how interconnected the Global finance cabal has become that’s their issue not mine. Part of prepping is trying to suss out what trick these bastards are gonna try next, so you can stay one step ahead of the game.

      46. Gold has been money for 5000 years guys…through 2 world wars and many depressions, Black Plague……it may be worthless for a short time after shit hits…but trust me, it will always be valuable!!!

        • People often point to the story of Joseph in the Bible as an example of preparedness, but forget that he did not give it away for free. His brothers took silver with them to Egypt to pay for it.

          IMHO, most people who dis precious metals cannot afford both them and higher priority provisions so they rationalize that they will become worthless.

          Gold is the money of kings; silver is the money of gentlemen; barter is the money of peasants; but debt is the money of slaves.

      47. Hold on to your A$$es, forbes is reporting china is going to start paying for Iranian oil on june 28th. Can you people say invasion by the 28th of june?

        • I’ll bet you buck that it does not happen as our Marxist/Muslin Pres. won’t piss off his Russian friends.

        • Ooops- forgot to say what they are going to pay with-GOLD

          bye bye dollar, bye bye dollar, bye bye dollar, bye bye dollar

      48. http://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2012/04/23/Teen-arrested-for-openly-carrying-rifle/UPI-13151335228838/?spt=hs&or=tn He was also charged with brandishing a weapon,resisting and obstructing police, and disturbing the peace.

        “WITH LIBERTY AND JUSTICE FOR ALL” What a peace of facist trash we have become.

        FASCISM- ( sometimes initial capital letter ) a governmental system led by a dictator having complete power, forcibly suppressing opposition and criticism, REGIMENTING all industry, commerce, etc., and emphasizing an aggressive nationalism and often racism

        regimenting-to form into an organized group, usually for the purpose of rigid or complete control.

        ALL you dis-info people screaming communism better ask yourselves—-WHY DO THEY NEVER SAY THE WORD FASCISM???

        • For those who say- We don’t have a dictator we elect our leaders, read these 2 quotes. Woodrow Wilson- “I am a most unhappy man. I have unwittingly ruined my country. A great industrial nation is controlled by its system of credit. Our system of credit is concentrated. The growth of the nation, therefore, and all our activities are in the hands of a few men. We have come to be one of the worst ruled, one of the most completely controlled and dominated Governments in the civilized world no longer a Government by free opinion, no longer a Government by conviction and the vote of the majority, but a Government by the opinion and duress of a small group of dominant men”. -Woodrow Wilson

          nancy polosi- “we have to pass the bill to see whats in it”

          • Is this the same Woodrow Wilson who adored the idea of a technocracy, as portrayed in “Phillip Dru, Administrator”?

            Wilson was a Fabian Socialist and proud of being a Progressive. Could you post a link to your quote? I am fascinated by the irony.

            • Just type in presidents quotes on the federal reserve, or national bank into a search engine. Woodrow(may he burn in hell) did NOT say it, he WROTE it.

              History sure is blured, is it not.
              Who writes history??? THE VICTORS.

        • Same-same. (Read “Liberal Fascism” which is a history of the left from Mussolini to Obama)

          A Nazi boot on your throat is as bad as a Communist boot, as a Black Panther boot, as a Muslim Brotherhood boot.
          Either way, their goal is often similar, replace Freedom with State Control, and replace God with “The Dictator of The Day”

          • That word “communism” has been thrown around so much, it is meaningless to the sheople now.

            Black panthers- FEDS
            muslim brotherhood-MI6/CIA

            The CORPORATIONS run america THATS the difference
            DIFFERENCE= FASCISM

            Voting news service COUNTS THE VOTES!!! Who are they??? PRIVATE CORPORATIONS

            The media tells us mittens is the “front runner” for 6 months before the start of the primaries, who are they??? PRIVATE CORPORATIONS

            The federal reserve issues our “money”(notes of credit)and “regulates” “our” economy Who are they??? PRIVATE CORPORATIONS

            WHO writes legislation that our leaders don’t read until AFTER they vote- PRIVATE CORPORATIONS(they call them lobyists)

            When the federal reserve chairman says “we are above the law” That is a PRIVATE COMPANY saying that that they ARE THE LAW!!

            Go through the federal reserves lists of people in positions of power.

            FASCISM!!!!!!!!!

            Did you not read that quote from Wilson??? He was admitting FASCISTS took over. Sure commie and fascism share some simularities, but since our power is in the hands of corporations, we are FASCIST! It is NOT same-same it depends HOW and WHERE the power is dictated from.

            One last note, if they were the same-same, why are there 2 words for commie and fascists and not just 1??

            • O.K. so you agree with me. A Car is also an Auto, or a Ride, whatever you call it, it’s the same thing.

              Yes I read your Wilson quote, now did you read Liberal Fascism?

              Post WWII, the Reds in Moscow sold the idea that National Socialism is not the same as Marxism so the stink of Hitler did not settle on them. So either you don’t know the truth, or YOU ARE HIDING THE TRUTH.

              Do you support OWS and are you a Leftist Kevin?

            • I went and wread an overview of it.

              Truth is perception.

              I see the private federal reserve controling our country, our elections and our very lives.

              A leftist?????? Hahahahahahahaha!! You have not been reading ANY of my posts on shtfplan, if you have to ASK me that.

              THE TRUTH IS-(my truth)- The (private)federal reserve is our dictator, and the institutions and corporations that grew around it are the fascist stick(brute force enforcers)the commie/marxist thing is just name calling and dividing us from the REAL enemy.

              Like I asked before- WHY do they(media/gubmint) never SAY the fascist??? Cause the REAL power is finacial/corporate!!

            • That makes more sense to me, but do you suport OWS?

            • @aunt commie- Yes I do support occupy wall street.

              Why would that make me a leftist??

              I say any market that operates with naked shorting (selling stuff one does not own) and the dumping of 650,000,000 of “paper silver”(in half an hour) that is not owned(or what ever, beef, corn who cares) onto the “free” market to fight inflation because of the out of control money creation, is corupted, and their needs to be protests!!! SOMETHING!!!!

              When ows started it was pure. Who knows who is running the thing now, but since homeland in-security busted their heads a while back(all at once across the nation) I would say MOST of the commie/marxist talk from beck, limbaugh, and the rest of their ilk is bullshit. I am not there though so I do ot know. Have YOU been there???

              It looks the the american people are not yet to the pitchforks and guillotine stage yet, but it is comming.

            • I have to agree with you kevin. OWS is many things…some may find the more liberal ones that want free education,etc. are a tad too socialist. However, I have seen many “End the Fed” signs and “Repeal Citizens United”signs.I think it is great that these people are becoming more educated and finding out what REALLY happened to our republic.As for Beck and Limbaugh, I used to listen to their drivel many years ago until I woke up

            • @jrs- Yeah, me to, I see ALOT of “end the fed” sighns, whats that old saying “believe half of what you see and none of what you hear”(or something simular). I support ending the fed, so I support ows.

              I agree, once you see the world for what it is,

      49. Support of this article: Gossner Foods can no longer sell their Ultra High Temp. pasteurized and packaged milk at Dollar Tree.
        Operating costs prohibit that.
        Explains why I can’t find the milk any longer.

      50. Wow, some great discussions going on here today. As usual, I have nothing relevant to add. So, how about a look at the
        Other News Stories Of Importance

        The meanest thug is pro basketball, Ron Artest is at it again. He was ejected from a game after a hard elbow to the head of an opposing player resulting in a concussion. That’s par for the course for this street basketbrawler. Last year Artest legally changed his name to Metta World Peace. Really. That seems ironic for the dirtiest player in the game to call himself ‘Peace’. Maybe he should change the spelling to ‘piece’….as in ‘piece of…’ Just one more violent incident and he can change his namen to Metta Mother Teresa. Of course, in my neighborhood, we’d call him something else. probably Metta Target Practice.

        Wal-Mart is in hot water for supposedly giving bribes to Mexican gov officials in order to build stores there. The US Justice department is investigating. Wal-Mart says they just did it because that’s how business gets done there. The DOJ says they should have known better. You never pay a $50 million Mexican bribe in cash. The official exchange rate is one rifle per $1000 of bribe.

        A clairvoyant in California says she has made contact with Dick Clark in the afterlife. The spiritualist, Madame Sprinkles, says Clark is doing fine. He’s catching up with old friends and meeting many of the movers and shakers of yesterday. He did mention, though, that heaven has fewer cable channels than he expected, the food is a bit bland, and Elvis is nowhere to be found. After a moment of confusion, Madame Sprinkles realized she hadn’t contacted Clark after all. She was talking with Rod Blagojovich at that prison in Colorado. oops…

        Barack Obama is slipping in the polls. Despite the Republicans lukewarm acceptance of Mitt Romney, he still leads the president by 8 points and the Obama campaign is getting worried. In a drastic move to shore up his support, the president will legally change his name next week to Metta Hope And Change.

      51. On Drudge Report…

        Mob beats man unconscious on his front porch
        ‘Now that’s justice for Trayvon’

        We live in scary times. I am so thankful I live in the country and not in a city.

        • This guy was beat unconscious because he has been programed by mass media and the gubmint NOT to defend himself and property. They also program criminals that they won’t be held accountable.

          Search the name George Grier. This is what they do when you try defend your home against a mob/gang. They demonize you and put you in jail.

          • One other thing, If you just so happen to be in the first group of houses being stormed(on day 3 or so of shtf) and until the so called leo’s call it quits and go home to protect their familes, they WILL arrest you and throw you into jail(for the same thing that THEY will eventually do.

            Side note, a friend of mine ended up in jail down in new orleans area after the hurricane(3-4 weeks after) and since the hurricane was the white mans fault, he was almost killed in there. If it wasn’t for 4 guys who put him in a corner and protected him, the 20 guys in there would have killed him(he got beat pretty badly). The guards were all black so they didn’t give a $hit.

            I know, I’m rascist.

            • A buddy of mine lives in Florida and says that the most certain way to get pulled over by a black cop in “08” was to have a McCain/Palin sticker on your bumper.

              I’m a racist, you’re a racist, she’s a racist, he’s a racist……blah, blah, blah.

            • No, you’re not. That’s reality. The blacks, for the most part, are an “angry” and violent race. They blame every one but their selves for their problems.

              What do you think is going to happen in FL. if the jury were to acquit Zimmerman? Yep, you got it…. RIOTS!!

              So does the jury find him guilty to prevent any riots? Even if it they might think him to be innocent?

              Talk about the SHTF when the time comes….

            • One other thing since we’re on this subject…

              There is no perfect race. It doesn’t matter if you’re White,Mexican, Asian, etc… no one is perfect.

              That being said, what is the ONE race that ALL people of all races talk about the most about being disrespectful and violent?

              (drum roll)… BLACKS

              What was the most frequent comments after the tragic Japan accident?
              How honorable they were, helping one another and look, NO looting, robbing, gang bangers. Nada, zilch, zip…

              It’s not just the Whites that have a problem with most blacks, it’s all races, even other countries.

              Just saying, no one wants to be a biggot but sometimes certain ones force you to be. In my experience, the blacks promote and indulge in hate. That’s the only way they know to survive I think. Pitiful really….

      52. Love the break in reality there SmokinOak. I try to find something to laugh at on a daily basis. The little woman thanks you, since today’s laugh comes early and not at her expense. She is a good sport about it though. If I stop posting, that means she has suddenly snapped and I was wrong about her “good sport behavior” or I haven’t survived the intense dental procedure I have to go thru. Either way, it’s part of the prepping process for a SHTF scenario.

        • don’t-tread, thanks! And tell the little woman for me, if I haven’t insulted her race, religion, gender, politics, hair color or kind of car she drives…please be patient. I’ll get to it as soon as possible! I try to be an equal opportunity offender.
          Seriously, though, glad she’s a good sport about it. It’s all in fun!

          • I told her,SO,and she laughed. She says the equal opportunity offender part will fit right in with “our” crowd. It is so true. We try to keep things lively.

      53. Last night the Frostbite Falls Minnesota Tea Party met at the Moose and Squirel Lodge and passed the following:

        As the Government of The United States of America has been taken over by enemy agents, (Code named Boris and Natasha)

        That these enemy agents are suspected of numerous crimes against The Constitution of the United States and It’s people,including:
        #1 Giving support to radical groups which have openly sworn to destroy this country.
        #2 Selling guns to Mexico in an attempt to destroy The 2nd Amendment to the Costitution.
        #3 Debasing of our currency thru printing worthless paper money, which is a direct attack upon the wealth of the American people.

        Therefore, should said enemy agents ever enter Frost Bite Falls, that they should be arrested at once and turned over to Police Chief Dowright for trial on charges of treason.

        (If this were only a cartoon)

      54. Major economic collapse or dislocation in US, Europe, and China is pretty much certain at this point. The only question is will it be a 1930’s style collapse or a 1970’s. Half the indicators lean toward 1930’s, while the others lean toward 1970’s.

      55. The bottomline is if you wanna remain competitive you need to earn less and be poorer. There is no other way out!

      56. I had to include this because of Tom Chatham’s first sentence in this article.

        “Let’s just take a quick review of the situation as we know it.”

        Here’s an opinion piece by Chuck Green who writes “Greener Pastures” for the Denver Post Aurora Sentinel…one of the more liberal papers in the country. Additionally, Mr. Green is a lifelong Democrat…so this is rather a stunning piece…

        Obama is victim of Bush’s failed promises!

        Barack Obama is setting a record-setting number of records during his first term in office:

        Largest budget ever. Largest deficit ever. Largest number of broken promises ever.

        Most self-serving speeches ever. Largest number of agenda-setting failures ever. Fastest dive in popularity ever!

        Wow! Talk about change.

        Just over two years ago, fresh from his inauguration celebrations, President Obama was flying high. After one of the nation’s most inspiring political campaigns, the election of America’s first black president had captured the hopes and dreams of millions. To his devout followers, it was inconceivable that a year later his administration would be gripped in self-imposed crisis.

        Of course, they don’t see it as self-imposed. It’s all George Bush’s fault!

        George Bush, who doesn’t have a vote in congress and who no longer occupies

        The White House is to blame for it all.

        He broke Obama’s promise, to put all bills on the White House web site for five days before signing them.

        He broke Obama’s promise, to have the congressional health care negotiations broadcast live on C-SPAN.

        He broke Obama’s promise, to end earmarks.

        He broke Obama’s promise, to keep unemployment from rising above 8 percent.

        He broke Obama’s promise, to close the detention center at Guantanamo in the first year.

        He broke Obama’s promise, to make peace with direct; no precondition talks with America’s most hate-filled enemies during his first year in office, ushering in a new era of global cooperation.

        He broke Obama’s promise, to end the hiring of former lobbyists into high White House jobs.

        He broke Obama’s promise, to end no-compete contracts with the government.

        He broke Obama’s promise, to disclose the names of all attendees at closed

        White House meetings.

        He broke Obama’s promise, for a new era of bipartisan cooperation in all matters.

        He broke Obama’s promise, to have chosen a home church to attend Sunday services with his family by Easter.

        Yes, it’s all George Bush’s fault! President Obama is nothing more than a puppet in the never-ending failed Bush administration.

        If only George Bush wasn’t still in charge, all of President Obama’s problems would be solved. His promises would have been kept, the economy would be back on track, Iran would have stopped its work on developing a nuclear bomb and would be negotiating a peace treaty with Israel. North Korea would have ended its tyrannical regime, and integrity would have been restored to the federal government. Gasoline prices would not have doubled since President can into office. The housing crisis would be behind us.

        Oh, and did I mention what it would be like, if the Democrats, under the leadership of Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid, didn’t have the heavy yoke of George Bush around their necks? There would be no ear marks, no closed-door drafting of bills, no increase in deficit spending, no special-interest influence (unions), no vote buying ( Nebraska, Louisiana ).

        If only George Bush wasn’t still in charge, we’d have real change by now.

        All the broken promises, all the failed legislation and delay (health care reform, immigration reform) is not President Obama’s fault or the fault of the Democrat-controlled Congress. It’s all George Bush’s fault!

        Take for example the attempt of Eric Holder, the president’s attorney general, to hold terrorists’ trials in New York City. Or his decision to try the Christmas Day underpants bomber as a civilian.

        Two disastrous decisions.

        Certainly those were bad judgments based on poor advice from George Bush!

        Need more proof?

        You might recall when Scott Brown won the election to the U.S. Senate from Massachusetts, capturing “The Ted Kennedy Seat”, President Obama said, Brown’s victory was the result of the same voter anger that propelled Obama into office in 2008. People were still angry about George Bush and the policies of the past 10 years. And they wanted change.

        Yes, according to the president, the voter rebellion in Massachusetts, was George Bush’s fault.

        Therefore, in retaliation, they elected a Republican to the Ted Kennedy seat, ending a half-century of domination by Democrats. It is all George Bush’s fault!

        Will the failed administration of George Bush ever end, and the time for hope and change ever arrive???

        Will President Obama ever accept responsibility for something / anything?

        (Chuck Green is a veteran Colorado journalist and former editor-in-chief of The Denver Post.)

        Y’all Beware! Problem is this only covers what we know and it needs to be updated!

        • Thumbs up!

      57. http://www.theburningplatform.com/?p=32878

        the TRUE unemployment rate is more like 22%

        if it comes from the government or from a corporation
        you HAVE to regard it as a LIE until proven otherwise

        “This data is so twisted that there is absolutely no doubt the Federal Government is purposely manipulating the numbers to make the economic situation appear better than the reality. During the Great Depression propaganda and spin had not been perfected. There weren’t multiple definitions of unemployment designed to confuse and mislead the public. The peak level of unemployment in the 1930s was 25%. The current reported level is 8.3%. On a comparable basis to the 1930s, including short-term discouraged workers, those forced to work part-time, and the long-term discouraged workers which were defined out of existence in 1994 by the BLS, the real unemployment rate is 22% today. It feels like a depression for millions of Americans because it is a depression.”

        and the REAL inflation rate?

        http://www.shadowstats.com/

        a friend of mine who is a school teacher hasn’t had a raise in
        5 years,meanwhile costs of health insurance ,pension plan etc
        are raised every year
        I’ll bet she’s taking what amounts to a defacto pay cut of about
        10% a year
        you ain’t gonna stay middle class much longer with #’s like those are you??

      58. please meet

        MONTANA NWO UN AGENDA 21 AIPAC ZIONIST TRAITOR

        Senator Max Baucus
        of Montana

        Senator John Tester
        of Montana

        THEY JUST TOOK AWAY YOUR 2ND AMENDMENT GUN OWNER RIGHTS!
        CAUSE THEIR SCARED MONTANANS WILL WAKE UP TO THEIR ILLEGAL UN-CONSTITUTIONAL TRAITOROUS ACTIONS LITERALLY SELLING OUT , ROBBING AMERICA AND DEBT ENSLAVING HER ONCE FREE CITIZENS!

        What these dumb phucks don’t realize yet obviously… is their already too late!

        ARM UP STOCK UP PREPARE!

        FOR REVOLUTIONARY CIVIL WAR AGAINST THE NWO TRAITORS IN THE US SENATE AND US CONGRESS!!!

        IT’S TIME TO TAKE BACK AMERICA!!!

        ~NinaO

        • 2nd Amendment Sneak Attack
          It looks like the power of the IRS to revoke passports is merely a drop in the tyrannical bucket.
          The Senate has voted to approve Bill 1813, which is now on its way to the House. The insidious bill has so many attacks on freedom that the most serious one has been largely overlooked.
          There are two attacks on gun ownership in this bill. The text of the bill, all 1676 pages of it, can be found HERE.
          The first attack on the right to bear arms is found on page 1323.

          http://daisyluther.blogspot.ca/

          • nina

            they are covering all the bases til there is no act that is legal..

            they are circling the wagons at turbo speed to cover any action we take as an illegal action..
            it’s all over

            the usa is doa..

            possee

      59. I don’t expect hyper-inflation, but consistent 5-10% annual inflation is “government policy” by almost every western nation. Beggar-thy-neighbor is in full swing. At the same time entire economic sectors in the US, and entire countries in Europe are facing deflationary spirals worse than the Great Depression.

        Europe probably breaks up, with every nation except Germany and Norway (maybe Finland), dropping to Russian or Eastern European status as 2nd or 3rd tier economies. If that happens there may be some score-settling in the Balkans by the Serbs.

        In the US, home prices will fall to 40% of their 2007 levels, impoverishing most of the middle-class, and finishing the destruction of the black middle-class, and locking the country into a 1970’s style stagflation. Government incompetence will wreck health coverage for 170 million Americans who currently have decent health care; Democrats won’t get elected for 50 years because of it, but the GOP won’t do much better.

        Arab Spring Islamism and failing economies drive Egypt, Syria, Turkey and Iran to war with Israel in 2-3 years.

        • Don’t underestimate the Egyptians! They’re hardworking, frugal, inventive, and accustomed to organizing things themselves without the help of government.

          Of course they’re electing Muslim parties now they actually get a chance to vote. Egypt’s a 90% Muslim country, and people there are just sick and tired of the so-called “secular” governments that have sold out their country while insulting the traditions and values of the majority.

          From what I know of Egyptians, they have little interest in an armed conflict with Israel, but they are nevertheless worried about the million or more fellow Arabs being cooped up in the Gaza concentration camp, which after all is right on their doorstep.

      60. Please meet

        MONTANA NWO UN AGENDA 21 AIPAC ZIONIST TRAITOR

        Senator Max Baucus
        of Montana

        Senator John Tester
        of Montana

        THEY JUST TOOK AWAY YOUR 2ND AMENDMENT GUN OWNER RIGHTS!
        CAUSE THEIR SCARED MONTANANS WILL WAKE UP TO THEIR ILLEGAL UN-CONSTITUTIONAL TRAITOROUS ACTIONS LITERALLY SELLING OUT , ROBBING AMERICA AND DEBT ENSLAVING HER ONCE FREE CITIZENS!

        What these dumb phucks don’t realize yet obviously… is they’re already too late!

        We AMERICAN FREEMAN VETERAN PATRIOTS of FREE MONTANA! HAVE OUR OWN LISTS! GUESS WHO’S AT THE TOP OF OUR LIST OF AMERIKAN TRAITORS???

        1.) MAX BAUCUS NWO UN TRAITOR
        2.) JOHN TESTER NWO UN TRAITOR

        ARM UP STOCK UP PREPARE FREE AMERICAN PATRIOTS!

        FOR REVOLUTIONARY CIVIL WAR AGAINST THE NWO TRAITORS IN THE US SENATE AND US CONGRESS!!!

        IT’S TIME TO TAKE BACK AMERICA!!!

        ~NinaO

        • I wondered where you have been during all these comments!
          Hi NinaO!

        • im confused on those 2 democrats I was looking to see if they support or not, are they trying to outlaw all guns?

      61. @ CITIZEN BLY

        Yes, the Administration of FDR did attempt to confiscate the citizens gold, but guess what, the citizens did an extra-ordinary thing, they didn’t comply, as such, it is estimated that the government’s confiscation only raked in about 22% of all the gold held in private hands during that period.

        As such, the government’s confiscation scheme was met with resistance and non-compliance, this time around I dare say that it will not be as fortunate as it was the last time, there will be much more resistance if it happens again. Not only that, but there will be, unlike the 1930s, an instant recognition by the people of the importance of gold and its value as real money verses anything the government can print or produce.

        Another confiscation will be an admission by government that it is completely illegitimate and those in charge would probably think twice before taking such an obvious move. Such a move would give gold a standing that it hasn’t had in this country for decades since the government’s attempt at demonetization. It would prove that the government was a complete failure, all confidence would be instantly lost and what degree of control the government did have would be sacrificed through such a confiscation.

        • Republicae

          I am unaware of any facts to support your claim. FDR closed the banks and with it access to Safety Deposit Boxes. Safe from everyone but government.

          At a minimum FDR chased gold out of being used as a medium of exchange for goods and services. Having gold in hand would be like having cocaine. When only a few are bright enough and thrifty enough to save and the remainder have chosen to use their money playing golf instead of buying gold expect your neighbor with the nine iron to rat you out asap. That is without a reward, just jealously a a motivation. You can expect rewards to be given which will increase enforcement dramatically.

          Misery loves company and there will be plenty of misery to go around.

          Don’t let anyone your in contact with know what you have, what your doing or for that matter what your thinking. “A wise man walks with his head bowed low”.

      62. It will be as always for most of us….

        death by a thousand cuts..

        ever increasing food costs
        ever increasing energy costs
        ever decreasing dollar purchasing power
        ever decreasing wages
        ever increasing health care costs
        ever decreasing job opportunities
        ever decreasing housing values
        ever increasing unemployment numbers
        ever increasing government deficit
        ever increasing govt corruption

        and always increasing media spin of a recovery..

        they are bleeding us dry drop by drop til we are DOA!

        Take the weekly jobless numbers for example..
        last week was 380.000 new claims
        multiply by 4 weeks average new job losses
        =1.42 million jobs lost in 1 month!!!

        add 150,000 jobs created…

        we are negative 1.27 million jobs lost still!!

        is it me..or is this a parallel universe?

        possee

        • Yes possee, and those numbers don’t reflect the people that fell off unemployment when the bennies ran out last week.

        • possee

          “add 150,000 jobs created”

          Which for the last several years have been of a lower quality (wages, benefits) then the jobs lost.

          As the low hanging fruit has already fallen from the tree the $25 / hr job is so few in number that were now reaching a point where five $13 / hr jobs are lost and one $9 / hr job is created.

          • but of course..Kevin2..agreed wholeheartedly!

            but those details are left out for those of us who have cognitive thought and analyze the skewed numbers..

            you are correct..

            possee

          • and just wait til the new “jobs” numbers come out tomorrow at 830 am e.s.t.

            what a friggin joke..’

            and then a few days later they will “adjust” those numbers

            and they are always thousands more..

            possee

      63. ok well that does not really take many brains to figure out buy everything today save money but it usually only works with food you can store an most of that is junky crap filled with chemical goodness its much harder to store healthy food but that should be important

      64. “When you see that in order to produce, you need to obtain permission from men who produce nothing; when you see that money is flowing to those who deal not in goods, but in favors; when you see that men get rich more easily by graft than by work, and your laws no longer protect you against them, but protect them against you… you may know that your society is doomed.”

        —Ayn Rand

        Y’all Beware! We are there, hopefully only till the end of this year!

      65. THE IMF NWO.CFR ANTI-CHRIST Hey john tester is a sellout, he went to washington and wanted to get appointed a lifetime job on some judicial dc court but said lets ban guns and all his votes in his state are for 2nd admendment. watch out for these sellouts everywhere young people, I cant believe all the 2 faced snake that do it for money and not the constitution and the people, He is a democrat and a total piece of shit. montana is not my state but I could not believe that he voted to outlaw guns when he went to washington only for his ass and a job. these politicians are the enenmy and FBI you can track all these messages but the people know their rights and will not fold to some people that sellout for money and greed to benefit themselves, yourselfs should be looking at this with disbelief FBI. we are not the bad guys its the democrats mainly and some GOP. dont target us you should be arresting people like obama that are trying to break laws and rewrite the constitution how they see fit. we will follow it but not a corrupt sellout politician. come and get all millions of us Janet, dirty harry,sheila jackson, maxine watters, dodd,frank and the POS and the biggest wreckingball Obama. he is not even legal to be here, you should be taking his black ass out of office. do your jobs!!!!!!!!!!!!

      66. THE IMF NWO.CFR ANTI-CHRIST,

        It is time. I sent an email to your patriot address and I hope you can reply!

        Y’all Beware!

        • ;0) was up ya’ll beware…

          ummmmm that email address got fragged by the feds LONG AGO. literally! ;0P seems the feds don’t like my posts to much!

          i’m solo now … playin mean terrible bad PATRIOT injun Geronimo joe … lone wolfin it … gonna hunt down the traitorous feds 1 by 1 … catch em’ at home in bed at 2am … ;0) tee hee … collect me some zionist fed congress senate aipac traitors scalps … HAND EM FROM MY TRUCKS REAR MIRROR ;0) tee hee … tried to get folks organized … bunch of puss’s chickened out! said they were scared of the feds! didn’t want to go to DHS fema summer KIDDI camp! buncha puss’s! so i’m solo fed aipac bribed traitor scalp huntin for now on…

          so at ya’ll beware … good luck good huntin!

          look to montana … a buncha traitorous hairless BALD RECENTLY SCALPED congress SCUM and senator SWINE are gonna be resigning real soon from FEDERAL office – PROMISE!

          ;0) TEE HEE “WOO WOO WOO WOO , SCALP EM’!” “BUNCHA AIPAC BRIBING TRAITOROUS INSIDER-TRADING ROBBING THIEVING CONGRESS AND SENATE un agenda 21 globalist BASTARDS!”

      67. next time you pass a whore house with s.s. agents bonning and snorting remember not to prtest or they will stip search you and cart you off to lala land forever. their big plan has been in effect for years, make new generations of americans dumb, give them everything they want so they dont have to go out and work hard for it, make education easy by not teaching them anything, keep this up for a few generations and no one will know what it is like to live in an America not involved in war,understand the Contsitution, now what it meant for our ancesters to die for their freedom, take a flight without going through the exray, getting stripped searched will be O.K. because it will be done all the time, or even hold real money in their game playing hands, we are screwed.We have to teach our kids what they dont want them to know.

        • Clark: No one in their right mind would go to Venezuela.

          Panama is the best bet. Colombia, and Ecuador are good possibilities too. Look for me in Medellin. Colombian women are knockouts and I like the temperature and elevation!

          Costa Rica, Belize, and Urugaruy are also viable options depending upon where you want your offshore corporation and bank accounts.

          • Just heard on the radio that Venezuela has signed a treaty to allow Iran to have missle bases.

            • Israel will turn Iran into toast before too long, and if Iran plants one missile in Venezuela I predict the US military will turn both countries into crispy critters.

              The Monroe Doctrine still applies.

      68. BTW: Panama allows concealed carry, shotguns, and semi-automatic rifles. Just saying…

        Tourism should pick up after this post. 🙂

      69. It’s nothing our UK friends don’t already know, but this was just crossposted on Drudge:

        http://www.cnbc.com/id/47169446

      70. “The Baltic dry index, the measure of shipping rates worldwide, dropped over 65% between Nov 2011 and Mar 2012. This means a lot of cargo ships are sitting around with nothing to do.”

        This reminds me of Revelations 18. This makes me think of America and NYC.

        The “great city which reigns over the kings of the earth.” (Rev. 17:18) (NYC – a financial center and the UN there)

        “For all the nations have drunk of the vine of the wrath of her fornication.” (We are the #1 producer and exporter of pornography.)

        It also talks about the ships sitting idle. The merchants of the earth who have become rich by selling to this great city are full of despair as no one is buying their stuff.

        “The light of a lamp shall not shine in you anymore.” (Our spiritual/moral light?)

        • YES….I agree. “and I say unto you all these things will come to pass”.

        • The city that reigns over the kings (read: governments) of the world is Rome. Nothing is said about a financial center. Its about government. Now that you are reading REVELATIONS, keep reading.

          Rome is clearly identified.

          Rome has become the whore that sits on many waters by a satanic catholic priesthood of pedophile and perverted priests, who have offered incense to Satan within St Peters Bascilica.

      71. “If I wanted America to fail”

        (www.youtube.com/watch?v=CZ-4gnNz0vc)

      72. MAC must be on vacation or out sick….No new posts in two days. I’m having WITHDRAWL.

        • I was just going to say that it’s time for another fear mongering story, this one has been milked for 2 days’

      73. Compliments of gracethrufaith.com

        Today many of us don’t realize the extent to which we’ve become enslaved. It isn’t until you opt out of the system that you begin to realize the hold it’s had on you. His American audiences used to roar in laughter when Charles “Tremendous” Jones, one of my favorite humorists accused them of “spending money we don’t have, to buy things we don’t need, to impress people we don’t like.” The accusation was all too true, but it seems like all we can do about it is laugh at ourselves.

        The secret to success was once identified as the ability to find a need and fill it. Now the advertising industry promises, “You create the product, and we’ll create the need for it.” Promotional costs can add 30-50% to the price of the things we buy, and yet we willingly pay the premium, because everybody else is. And then we add in the cost of financing our purchases because we don’t really have the income to support the lifestyle we’ve been manipulated into. So we borrow from the future to pay for the present. Americans currently spend 125% of their annual incomes, accumulating trillions of dollars in consumer debt just to appear more successful than reality would admit because the advertising industry makes it sound like the right thing to do.

        In 2006 every dollar that Americans earn from January 1 to June 3 will be required to pay the various taxes levied against us by our government. The hidden costs of promotion and credit will more than consume the rest. We’re all just two major medical events from bankruptcy, and most of us could not survive 60 days without incomes. And we think we’re free.

        Similar statistics can be cited for much of the so-called developed world, though they’re often obscured by the ridiculous promise of their governments to take care of them. (Don’t they realize that governments don’t produce wealth, but consume it?) For the rest, wages counted in pennies keeps people in a state of poverty you can actually feel, while those who pay them often enjoy lives of obscene luxury.

        So whether he thinks he’s rich or knows he’s poor, the average human being is economically enslaved for life. As much as God hates false religion, He hates the economic enslavement of His people no less. And so when it comes time to visit His vengeance on those responsible, there’s no holding back. Cries of excessive force and improper lack of restraint will fall on deaf ears this time. Commercial Babylon and its worldwide system of enslavement will oppress mankind no more, and those who’ve been enriched by it will lament its loss.

      74. I guess what I am trying to tell everyone here is DON’T JUST PREP YOUR PANTRY….PREP YOUR HEART

      75. Word Up! I’m Down With That…
        It’s all about the terminology. Nobody ever says, ‘I’m gonna go out and monger some fear’ and yet, they get accused of fear mongering.
        Nobody says ‘I’ll go out and see if I can bait a race’ yet there they are, race baiting.
        And what about these:
        People don’t tiptoe gently into love, they always fall.
        Nobody drinks til they’re only TWO sheets to the wind. Why not? Is that extra sheet really all that important? Plus, I never saw a guy in a bar who only wanted to get pee-faced drunk.
        Our politicians never get caught telling a quarter-truth, or an eighth-truth. It’s always half. Or none at all. In Europe, they measure their partial truths in milimeters. Or is it kilograms?
        If you cut a pair of trousers in half, would you then have a trouser? A jean? A pant?
        Words can be so confusing. Some people want to get stoned, then go to a rock concert. Do they not even care about the lowly dirt clods?
        I remember the elections of 2000. Hillary, running for the Senate, and AlGore, running for Omnipotent Green Czar Of The World, both said repeatedly that they would ‘Work my heart out for the voters.’ They never said anything about their livers or intestinal tracts. What I’d like to see is a politician who promises to ‘Work my spleen out for you.’ There’s a guy I could support.
        The English language is in a mess! Sometimes I can’t understand it at all. WhoDat? Sup? Homies? Crackers? Congressional ‘Oversight’ Committee? What the heck does any of that mean?
        Are people even trying to communicate today, or are they just yankin’ my chain?

        • Whobedat?

      76. SmokinO – You need to have you’re own segment on 60 Minutes since Andy died.

        • I’ll second that!

      77. Shizzzle my nizzzzle…. u b da man!

      78. The Mystery fig is yellow-gold in color like the pictures we viewed on their use?
        Travel inland through the breathtaking rural landscape
        of Hawkes Bay and Napier well-known for its attractive vineyards and wineries.

        The unbelievable part was that it was staffed with disgruntled employees to top it
        off.

      Commenting Policy:

      Some comments on this web site are automatically moderated through our Spam protection systems. Please be patient if your comment isn’t immediately available. We’re not trying to censor you, the system just wants to make sure you’re not a robot posting random spam.

      This website thrives because of its community. While we support lively debates and understand that people get excited, frustrated or angry at times, we ask that the conversation remain civil. Racism, to include any religious affiliation, will not be tolerated on this site, including the disparagement of people in the comments section.