Share This Chart With Anyone That Believes The U.S. Economy Is Not Going To Crash

by | Jul 22, 2013 | Headline News | 161 comments

Do you LOVE America?

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    This article has been generously contributed by Michael Snyder. You can follow his regular writings, research and analysis at The Economic Collapse Blog and The American Dream. Read his recent book The Beginning of the End to get an idea of what America may look like in the very near future.

    Anyone that thinks that the U.S. economy can keep going along like this is absolutely crazy.  We are in the terminal phase of an unprecedented debt spiral which has allowed us to live far, far beyond our means for the last several decades.  Unfortunately, all debt spirals eventually end, and they usually do so in a very disorderly manner.  The chart that you are about to see is one of my favorite economic charts.  It compares the growth of U.S. GDP to the growth of total debt in the United States.  Yes, U.S. GDP has certainly grown at a decent pace over the years, but our total debt has absolutely exploded.  40 years ago, the total amount of debt in our system (government debt + corporate debt + consumer debt, etc.) was about 2 trillion dollars.  Today it has grown to more than 56 trillion dollars.  Our debt has grown at a much, much faster rate than our economy has, and there is no way in the world that we will be able to continue to do that for long.

    Posted below is the chart that I was talking about.  The blue line is our total debt, and the red line is our GDP.  As you can see, this chart kind of speaks for itself…

    Total-Debt-Growth-vs.-GDP-Growth-425x255

    So how did we get here?

    Well, of course the federal government has been the biggest offender.  It would be a tremendous understatement to say that the politicians in Washington D.C. have been reckless.  Since the year 2000, the size of the U.S. national debt has grown by more than 11 trillion dollars.

    Posted below is a chart that demonstrates the dramatic growth of the national debt as a percentage of GDP.  In particular, our debt has absolutely exploded as a percentage of GDP since the financial crisis of 2008…

    National Debt As A Percentage Of GDP

    Does that look sustainable to you?

    Of course it isn’t.

    Right now, the mainstream media is very excited that the federal budget deficit for this year might be less than a trillion dollars, but they are really missing the point.  The debt of the U.S. government is still growing much, much faster than the economy is, and the United States already has more government debt per capita than Greece, Portugal, Italy, Ireland or Spain.

    What we are doing to future generations is absolutely criminal.  We are piling up mountains of debt that will haunt them for the rest of their lives just so that we can make the present a little bit more pleasant for ourselves.

    As I noted in another article, during Obama’s first term the federal government accumulated more debt than it did under the first 42 U.S presidents combined.  And now we are entering a time period when demographic forces are going to put a tremendous amount of pressure on the finances of the federal government.

    The Baby Boomers have started to retire, and they are going to want to start collecting on all of the financial promises that we have made to them.

    As I have written about previously, the number of Americans on Medicare is projected to grow from a little bit more than 50 million today to 73.2 million in 2025.

    The number of Americans collecting Social Security benefits is projected to grow from about 56 million today to 91 million in 2035.

    Where are we going to get the money to pay for all of that?

    Boston University economist Laurence Kotlikoff has calculated that the U.S. government is facing unfunded liabilities of 222 trillion dollars in the years ahead.

    There is no simply no way that the U.S. government is going to be able to meet those obligations without wildly printing up money.

    And of course the federal government is not the only one with massive debt problems.  We just saw the city of Detroit go bankrupt, and there are lots of other communities all over the nation that could soon follow.

    Posted below is a chart that shows the growth of state and local government debt over the years.  In particular, please take note that the total amount of state and local government debt has grown from about 1.2 trillion dollars in the year 2000 to about 3 trillion dollars today…

    State And Local Government Debt

    But the chart posted above does not even take into account the massive unfunded pension obligations that state and local governments are facing.  According to the Detroit Free Press, state governments are facing unfunded pension obligations of nearly a trillion and a half dollars…

    From Baltimore to Los Angeles, and many points in between, municipalities are increasingly confronted with how to pay for these massive promises. The Pew Center for the States, in Washington, estimated states’ public pension plans across the U.S. were underfunded by a whopping $1.4 trillion in 2010.

    And many large cities are dealing with similar situations.  Detroit was the first to go down, but could Chicago or Los Angeles eventually be forced to declare bankruptcy too?…

    Chicago recently saw its credit rating downgraded because of a $19-billion unfunded pension liability that the ratings service Moody’s puts closer to $36 billion. And Los Angeles could be facing a liability of more than $30 billion, by some estimates.

    According to a report that was released earlier this year, the largest U.S. cities are facing hundreds of billions of dollars in unfunded pension liabilities at this point…

    Early this year, the Pew Center released a survey showing that 61 of the nation’s largest cities — limiting the survey to the largest city in each state and all other cities with more than 500,000 people — had a gap of more than $217 billion in unfunded pension and health care liabilities. While cities had long promised health care, life insurance and other benefits to retirees, “few … started saving to cover the long-term costs,” the report said.

    So where will all of that money come from?

    That is a good question, and nobody has an easy answer at this point.

    Meanwhile, U.S. consumers have been racking up staggering amounts of debt over the past several decades.  Just consider the following numbers…

    -Total home mortgage debt in the United States is now about 5 times larger than it was just 20 years ago.

    -Car loans just keep getting longer and longer, and approximately 70 percent of all car purchases in the United States now involve an auto loan.

    -The total amount of student loan debt in America recently surpassedthe one trillion dollar mark.

    -One study discovered that approximately 41 percent of all working age Americans either have medical bill problems or are currently paying off medical debt, and according to a report published in The American Journal of Medicine medical bills are a major factor in more than 60 percent of the personal bankruptcies in the United States.

    -Consumer debt in the United States has risen by a whopping 1700%since 1971, and 46% of all Americans carry a credit card balance from month to month.

    Sadly, most people don’t realize how damaging credit card debt can be.  If you just carry an “average balance” on your credit cards each month, and those credit cards have just an “average” interest rate, you could end up paying millions of dollars to the credit card companies by the end of your life…

    Let’s say you are an average American household, and you carry an average balance of $15,956 in credit card debt.

    Also, as an average American household, let’s assume you pay an average current rate of 12.83%.

    Finally, let’s assume you carry this average balance for 40 years, between ages 25 and 65.  How much did your credit card company make off of you and your extreme averageness?

    Answer: $2,629,618.64

    Incredibly, a large percentage of the population does not seem to understand these things.  An astounding 43 percent of all American families spend more than they earn each year.

    Are you starting to understand why approximately half of all Americans die broke?

    We are a nation that is completely and addicted to debt.

    If you do not believe that it will ever catch up with us you are being delusional.

    We have piled up the biggest mountain of debt in the history of the planet, and a day of reckoning is fast approaching.

    Michael T. Snyder is a graduate of the University of Florida law school and he worked as an attorney in the heart of Washington D.C. for a number of years. Today, Michael is best known for his work as the publisher of The Economic Collapse Blog and The American Dream. If you want to know what things in America are going to look like in a few years read his new book The Beginning of the End.

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      161 Comments

      1. What are cities who did take the steps to fund these obligations?

        • In the event of a financial catastrophe I’m not available please send my bills elsewhere.

          • Old silly joke:
            “What is the last thing to go through a bugs mind
            when he hits the windshield?—- His ass!

            Reminds me of the sheeple hitting the debt wall.

            • Common sense and most people’s decency and fairness have totally crashed, why shouldn’t the economy follow this line right into the abyss?

              By the way, another precursor quake north of Ascension Islands, towards the equator. Whenever this area has a 5+ quake BIG earthquakes follow. This area is swarming, two 5.2, and a 5.1 so far in the past hour or so. Back on March 26, 2010 they had 5.0, then on April 4, nine days later on the border of California and northern Mexico there was a 7.2. This precursor zone really targets Central and South America, New Guinea, Fiji and the Kermandec Islands, mostly western Indonesia, and Japan once.

              All indications with the high activity on these plate boundaries show a 7.1 or above earthquake is likely coming within 2 weeks. This time it looks much stronger than the past 3 or so major quakes. I would say there is about a 1 in 3 chance of a 7.8 or larger. I would really be on alert in that arc from the South Sandwich Islands that includes the Pacific Northwest and inland from there. With this swarm just a hour ago I would say that you could throw California into the mix also. Stay safe everybody.

              • Could be the nudge to push the first domino over…

              • Ow Cow!
                The family and I are moving from San Diego to a farm we just bought in Washington state. We are leaving at the end of the week. Now all I can think of is John Cusack jumping his RV over a crack in the earth lol. Well I hope it waits untill we are out of this dump.
                Ramadiron out!

                • @ Ramadiron. I sure hope you make it out of hellhole also. I don’t know if Washington is anymore safe though at this point. I think if you are inland enough you should be okay. If you want to see just why I am saying boom to what is coming, go to the USGS map site and go to the options. Then click on for the past 30 days all worldwide earthquakes of 4.5 or higher. Then look at all the white, yellow, orange boxes (red one if one recently just occurred) it is quite a strong indication that the plates are in a major way ready to unleash themselves in one or more spots. Just look at the Nazca plate west of South America, there is a massive number of quakes on the south and west corner of it.

                  I have keyed in all of this quakes to see what has happened when those spots were hit before, all the quakes on all plate boundaries other than those that have extreme seismicity like the northern Australian plate, and something is coming big. Almost 95% of the time these quakes have lead to a major earthquake. That is too high to ignore. Then today that one in the Middle of the Mid Atlantic Ridge lead to a major earthquake 100% of the time, and the last time this spot today got hit, within a mere tiny 2 miles, California had that 7.2. Today’s earthquake had the EXACT same logitude and was 1/30 of 1 degree off of the earthquake 3 years ago that 9 days later had that 7.2 on the California border. That is like changing the spot on a cue ball in pool about 1/128 of an inch, very little difference between the break between the two.

                  The earthquake 3 years ago was at 32.3 degrees north by 115.3 west. This was directly south of the San Andreas fault in the Salton Sea by only 65 miles, and may even be a buried portion of the San Andreas. This is an area to definitely watch on top of the Pacific Northwest to Utah, Montana, Idaho, and Wyoming. Until at least August 1, maybe a little longer depending on if the major earthquake strikes on another section of that arc.

                  • Thx for the heads up. We are moving to Usk its very close to the Idaho border and north. But I will keep my kit ready.

                • @Ramaderon… You are going to like Usk alot. You can drive down to newport/oldtown and go fishing on the river or go up to Priest Lake.

                • can i come with you? I’m a good cook and a good shot…

              • The US economy will not melt down. And “collapse” would be have to be deliberate. If the world economy does collapse,and I don’t believe it will, it will start in Europe. And if it does go global, the herd will be culled.

                Preppers don’t follow the herd.

                Just a blip in the US Bond rate sends the emerging market economies into a tailspin; and they are fighting for their economic lives in South America and India now.

                While conditions are precarious, they are also manageable, and there are wars to fight and Crony Capitalism to spread using the US Dollar.

                Changes are coming. Invest in Gold, (even smaller denominations of gold), speculate with silver and hoard your lead.

                We’ll make it. It’s in OUR DNA. 🙂

                • Watch Detroit. Debt will be mitigated by bankruptcy. Public employees will take it in the shorts all across the country over the next five to ten years.

                  Detroit is the living laboratory for the NWO GB’s. They will use it as a model to strip the Upper Middle class white collar managers in government of their pensions (wealth).

                  This has been planned since 1988.

                  The pensions have been under funded DELIBERATELY. Get it? DELIBERATELY. The Dual Citizens will use this financial tragedy to sell Americans on a government managed pension program that will “fix” SS while “guaranteeing” the private pensions of Americans.

                  Another ruse to allow Wall Street to control trillions of dollars in pension funds; and suck them dry twenty years from now.

                  Engage your employees or be impoverished by them; one Rule, Regulation, or “transformation” at a time. 🙂

                  • DK, As the only other economic realist on this board, I agree to a point. I think what will happen is that The One and his gang will take some action to Federalize the pension obligations, and then raid the 401k/IRA honeypot to pay for it. Thus it won’t be just middle managers who get screwed, it’ll be millions of workers who have had to accept 401k accounts in lieu of defined-benefit pensions. One thins that keeps them from open revolt IMHO is this managed run-up in equities. They THINK their accounts are OK, even as the economy tanks beneath their feet.

                  • My point exactly Coach.

                • durango kidd says:

                  “The US economy will not melt down.”

                  “Anyone that thinks that the U.S. economy can keep going along like this is absolutely crazy.” ~ Michael Snyder

                  • Your Mama: I have great respect for Michael Snyder and I really appreciate his efforts to awaken the American people so they will engage the PTB. And he is right, “the U.S. economy cannot keep going on like this”.

                    But guess what. It is not continuing on the trajectory that it was on. Check the chart. The curve is flattening and Debt to GDP is leveling off.

                    That is an event rather than a trend, but the “sequester” while ignored by the White House for the travel, perks, and salary increase for POTUS; has had an effect upon other government spending and the debt debate is developing again in Congress.

                    Whether a new austerity trend is developing or not is open to debate but Debt to GDP has been as high as 125% after WWII. It is currently about 105% while the nation undergoes deleveraging at home and wars of Crony Capitalism abroad.

                    Reason for concern and a call to action, but for anyone to suggest that the sky is falling is irrational. WE had the collapse in 2008. Financial events that are occurring now are the aftermath of that crash.

                    WE have had many economic crashes, or collapses as a nation. This one is different because the circumstances are different; but the impact upon the poor is always the same: no money.

                    Engage your employees or be impoverished by them. 🙂

                  • durango kidd says:

                    “That is an event rather than a trend.”

                    That event is a trend.

                    And the trend is up. “Check the chart.”

                    “WE have had many economic crashes, or collapses as a nation. This one is different because the circumstances are different; but the impact upon the poor is always the same: no money.”

                    I thought the 1913 Federal Reserve Act was supposed to ensure economic stability via a central bank.

                    LOL… Funny how that works. Huh!

                    Y’all Been Punked!

                  • Your Mama: Thanks for reposting my statements but you didn’t provide an argument against them. Try again. 🙂

                    As for the Federal Reserve, I did not suggest, nor have I ever suggested, that the FED was designed to “ensure financial stability”. That is the propaganda used to justify the Act.

                    The Federal Reserve was designed to control the money in America and allocate it to the benefit of the Gangster Banksters; much like it operated in the UK at that time.

                    It was a initiative by the Globalists and Dual Citizens to move the USA toward One World Government under the control of the Uber Rich.

                    They have been very successful in their goal because they are organized, committed, donate to their cause, and are not afraid to engage their enemies.

                    They are constantly on the offensive, but are patient, taking what gains they can, when they can. They are relentless from generation to generation because they count their success over thousands of years; not decades or even centuries.

                    And that is why the Dual Citizens are winning the game and running OUR country. Engage! 🙂

        • “What are cities who did take the steps to fund these obligations?”

          Believe it or not? Cleveland, Houston, New York City (yeah, stunned me too), and quite a few in the Western US (the parts that aren’t in California).

          ‘course, very, very few of these cities are run by statist wealth-redistributionist types.

          Personally, I fully believe the whole calliope will crash to the ground* , the only real questions is, well – when?

          Depends on how long the facade can be kept up, really.

          * Spot the song reference 😉

          • Who is Manfred Mann and the Earth Band for one half cent! Good song too. One of my earliest favorites. Take care! Standing ready, with it in my head,, in Daytona

            • “Blinded By The Light”, and the “Mighty Quinn”. If memory serves me right.

          • Yeah, but what does it really mean to fund these pension funds. In order for that to work these pension funds have to making some amount above real GDP, and they all rely on never-ending continuous growth. Well, the GDP is a sham, the whole economy in general is fake, and basing anything on never-ending growth is a huge mistake. This makes all pensions nothing but ponzi schemes, doesn’t matter if they are “funded” or not. They might look like they’re working for a while, but as the number of recipients grows while the size of the workforce shrinks…..

            • So….. what you are saying is that SS is going to fail? 🙂

          • Try Springsteen and the E Street Band, Blinded by the light.

        • It’s all part of a plan that will backfire like nothing anyone ever expected. The beast is loose. If you want to get a better grasp, you really need to listen to this entire speech.

          http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Nfjme1PbPc

          The problem is, the monster has gotten out of control and will most likely result in a change in the course of history these control freaks never expected; the end of their scam. Oh yeah, Communism is only a means to an end and financed by the same scumbags, don’t be fooled. The oligarchical panopticon will be crushed under it’s own weight.

        • The credit card payments are wrong as stated. The interest is less than $80k for 40 years. Still a sum that should cause you to pay of the balance and not be trapped again.

      2. Oh and please send one large pepperoni pizza. Thank you

      3. It is very obvious that hyperinflation is nearing closer and closer. It is a numbers game and eventually, sometime, likely sooner than later at this point, the government and the fed, will be forced to print and directly feed the money into the system, not to the banks as they are now. Other than total defaults, there is no other answer.

        • How, exactly, do they ‘feed directly into the system’?
          Universal Food stamps, free rent,energy and mortgage payments, what?

        • I’m not hyperinflating! My damn calculator just keeps running up these numbers….

          • How can we have hyperinflation when my checkbook keeps deflating?

            • @Ugly

              It’s not that your checkbook is “deflating”, it’s that your money is losing value. If you have a debased currency… a devalued currency, the price of everything goes up.

              This ends with the collapse of the dollar, and a huge spike in interest rates. Our whole economy, which is built on a foundation of cheap money, is going to topple when the rug is pulled out from under it.

              The Feds know that the U.S. economy is not recovering. It simply is being kept from collapse by artificially low interest rates and quantitative easing (money printing). As that support goes, the economy will implode.

              It’s not a question of “if” it implodes, but “when” it implodes.

              • The other thing keeping us from recognizing that the collapse is already underway is the ever expanding entitlement programs, which the govt is having to borrow more and more money to pay for. Without these entitlements we’d all be able to see firsthand just how many people are out of work, out of money, out of food, and with no real hope of that ever changing in our lifetimes under this current corrupt, criminal system. If more people could see firsthand what has happened I think we could change things, but as long as the “needy” can keep getting their free swag they’re not going to do anything except vote for even more free swag.

                • @Reynaldo

                  It should now be apparent to everyone why the DHS is engaged in the purchases of 1.6 billion rounds of ammunition.

                  Purchasing 1.6 billion rounds of ammo would give DHS the means to fight the equivalent of a 24-year Iraq War.

                  Gotta keep the “terrorist” (domestic) threat in check… right?

      4. Instead of fighting this futile tug-of-war battle under the false ‘hope’ of bringing the country “back” into sanity, why don’t we just “let the damn rope go” and all of us productive members of society just go on Welfare.

        The concerted effort would overwhelm and collapse the system and then we could overthrow the government and start fresh under the original Constitutional rules.

        We need to take the fight to THEM.

        • BO wants to collapse the system. You think our team will win, he thinks his will win and rebuild America in the likeness of Kenya. I agree, let it go now and fight the socialist with a merit based system. Those that do well, do well. Others are to perish. I believe allowing BO to “manage” the destruction of America thru law changes and attitude shifts is worse than getting it on right now while the Constitution still has some legs and some citizens still remember a former USA that was awesome. BTW-Sen McCain is an asshole.

          • More like South Africa or Rhodesia than Kenya. Both had a large white populations which had built an industrial economy. Once the blacks took over, they began a policy of pillaging the white-owned industries, to the point of simply murdering white farmers and moving in on their land. A policy model which is EXACTLY what Coleman Young did in Detroit. The reason why Detroit has collapsed faster than South Africa is that Detroiters had the opportunity to move their wealth from Detroit city out to Oakland County (i.e Southfield), which is now one of the wealthiest counties in America. (And, I might add, heavily armed against the day when Obama’s Cold War on Wealth turns hot. Used to live there, so I know this first-hand.)

            • Coleman Young as I recall was the guy who drove the whites out of deadriot…as I recall hearing he was an admirer of black power type leaders and movements here and around the world…hated whites and hated the suburbs where the whites had gone…called them the KKK at the gates or some such tripe…anyhow its easy to see why Detroit fell apart…its sad this happened here.

        • It seems I’m hearing more and more ads for Tax Relief courtesy of companies that “work with the IRS” to reduce outstanding amounts of taxes owed if you owe over $10,000.
          The ads give examples of people who owed say $50,000 and settled for $2,000.
          These companies may be frauds and the advertising false, but if they are real, what kind of example does this set for those who do pay their taxes?
          Why in the world should I pay my taxes if people can negotiate far smaller tax bills by not paying?
          If this is really going on, then the whole tax system is a farce.

          • Trust me friend…its a farce regardless!

        • If we look at the other option, holding out and trying to slow them down, we’ll only exhaust our wherewithall and lose anyway (with so much momentum against us). Having resources would make the chances of a rebuild in the original model more feasible.

          • The longer we can delay the issue, the more time to stock up and prepare to ride out the aftermath.

      5. Such issues are norm and not critical. All is good and no risks to financial well being of the Americans. Let’s just focus on the Royal Baby as the media wants us to do so.

      6. I’ve stopped trying to tell people of what is going on and what I feel is going to happen. This includes family and acquaintances. Noah tried, and Lot scoured the town for one righteous person. Them peckerheads are on their own.

        • I’m outa steam too. If they haven’t gotten a clue by now.

          Good luck on the sinking ship America.

        • Ya..I was over at Natural News and Mike wrote an article about the Zimmerman thing…well thought out as far as I could see and non-confrontational…my god,youda thought he murdered the black guy himself….unbelievable!…there were so many mental migits condemning him for even commenting because he is a white guy and has no idea how bad America is towards blacks and on and on…a lot of them claiming to be white themselves and saying the most retarded things you can think of…personally Im done with it but I related it here as an example of how stupid some people are…minds like concrete…firmly mixed up and set in their ways…there are people out there that when TSHTF will not have a chance…actually that may be a good thing for the rest of us!

      7. Nothing to see here folks, move along.
        Oh look Catherine and Prince William had a boy. How wonderful. There’s the real news

        • A boy!? Wonderful! A happy, healthy, bouncing, future-world-dominating, elitist, baby boy. Congratulations!
          Let’s send the proud parents a gift. How about a mobile for the play pen. Some dangling illuminati symbols to stimulate his young mind. The all seeing eye, the masonic square, a pyramid, fingers in the horns gesture…. All in soft, plush, natural fibers, of course. And don’t forget- blue!

          Now, what are they gonna name him? Sir Winston Witherspoon Reginald Richmond Kensington Phillip John Charles Edmond Sax-Coburg Windsor?
          Hard to get all that monogrammed on a bib. I’m gonna call him Chuckie…

          • He’s already got a seat at the Bilderburg table, though its only just a high chair. I kinda feel sorry for the little tacker……….OK I’m over that now. Time to move on!

          • …is she related to him in any way??…if not this kid will be the first to not be an imbred blue blood in a spell…imagine that…a non-incestuous british royal…miracles do happen… 😉

        • I read on a couple of sites that Princess Diana managed to figure out what that bunch of royal creeps were all about and she managed to get someone else to sire her two sons. Good on her if she did!

          • It doesn’t matter, really, they had her murdered and took her children away to the palace anyway. That’s all the women who marry into the royal family are anyway, faceless baby factories for the crown.

      8. The sheep don’t care.
        Continue to prepare.

      9. Uh.. is my calculator broke? Article says an average person carrying credit card balance of $15,956 for 40 years would pay $2,629,618.64. The way it’s worded it appears to say the credit card companies made the 2 point 6 mil as interest. Is that right?
        Not trying to disrespect the author, and certainly not disputing that the nation is a credit junkie headed for withdrawal, but does he expect us to believe an ‘average’ person pays 65 THOUSAND dollars a year, for 40 years, in interest only? That’s a bit over 5 grand A MONTH in interest only. Maybe it’s me, but one of us certainly needs new batteries in the calculator…

        • Okie you gotta get a new “Bernanke” calculator…comes with all kinds of great features like the ability to get you debt free whilst spending more than you make…I hear theres a model with a built in fish finder and a Smokey Bear detector….handy device to have on the water and on the road…I even hear tell theyre working on one with a turkey call in it too that calculates where the game warden is hiding too…nifty stuff 😉

          • I gotta get me one of them! fish finder…HA!

            Back to the article, Snyder may very well be right in his numbers. It’s just that Five Gees a month in interest (for a lifetime) seems like a lot of money to a poor guy. Guess I’m glad to be below average…

            • A local add has one for $25.00.

            • Is it possible that he was including an inflation rate in addition to the interest rate?

          • Ah,oh…got a red thumb Okie…musta been a bear or maybe a turkey or a turkey game warden…aint close by though my calculator depthfinder isn’t detectin anything alive anyhow…ah whats that smell?…

      10. Been at zero debt since I paid the house off in 2010.

        Stockpile, stockpile, stockpile. Get some gold, silver and lead. Get some #10 cans in variety, and lots of ’em.

        • ScoutMotto, we’ve been debt free for a few years also. Best feeling in the world is when the 1st of the month rolls around and there’s no mortgage or rent. Others here are headed in that direction. God bless them!
          Everyone, keep stacking those cans!!

          • Excellent Okie! God indeed blesses abundantly!

      11. Are the dominoes all set up yet? When cities begin falling, it’ll look like a big domino trick. The Fed will probably be the last to go…and make the biggest thud. Maybe Detroit is the starting place. If not, some place ..maybe a town near you will be … soon.

      12. OT: Anyone attending the Oathkeepers event in Idaho this weekend? I’ll take a green arrow as a “yes.”

        • The TD is just a “no”. Hope it’s fun like most get togethers in this country tend to be. One thing that I think can pull everyone together after the crash is our common love of a good time. Consider that when you prep 😉

      13. Agreed – just so over trying to warn people. If they cannot see what is headed straight for them.. . . I think I saw a clip of Bill O’Reilly saying America’s economic problems are like a tsunami headed to the beach, you tell people to run, but they just stand there. I know I am not as prepared as some here at this site, but at my house we are doing what we can – with what we have. Do we have the perfect location with all the prep amenities? No, but our motto has become “prepare for this location, prepare for now, prepare the best we can”. Top priority right now? Paying cash for my 21 year old son to finish 4-yr Nursing Degree before the SHTF. If time permits – a Nurse Practish. While he is doing that (He Knows what is coming.) – we have a garden, barrels for water,purchase extra food, guns and ammo. For his birthday, we purchased guns/ammo for him and go to the range on weekends. I just have no hope that things will get better and it gives me no joy to say that. I have given up trying to change/improve the country and friends and am just concentrating on what is coming and praying we just have a few more years.

        • I always say…do what you can with what you have where you are…sounds like youre doing just fine! 🙂

          • Never forget to prep your mind- it takes no money and can be done even when you’re tired!

        • “Paying cash for my 21 year old son to finish 4-yr Nursing Degree before the SHTF.”

          Unless your son is about to enter his 4th and final year (at age 21?), … that’s a bad idea. I’m very sorry to say that; but I calls ’em as I sees ’em.

          • I respectfully disagree Yuri. Having someone in the group with real medical knowledge and experience is a plus, no matter what the circumstances.

      14. The deficit and debt, the unfunded liabilities, are indeed problematic. The numbers do not add up to a sustainable economy. I am at a loss to explain our elected leadership’s plan for the future of our great country. Thoughts?

        • I don’t hear any plan by either party that lays out a sustainable path. Even the last election showcased that the Dems say we will be at 28 trillion by 2026 while the Reps say we will “only” get us to 27 trillion in debt. Big fucking deal. No difference. After this 10 year period, all crickets. No side talks about “what next”. Where the hell do the fuckers in charge tink all this going? Someone knows something we don’t.

          • We are pretty much a democrat controled state in Hawaii,
            2.2billion dollar un funded government retirement debt
            1.3 million population
            Do the math………. About 1.5 mil per man woman an child
            Over 150,000 state gov employees
            Over 400,000 people receiving public assistence of one form or another
            The state and local governments have basicly sent support of agriculture to the back room
            Tourism accounts for most of our economy
            Wonder how its all going to work out? Not well i would suspect.
            We grow less than 18% of all food that is consumed within the state. What is funny is that the state dep of ag used sugar production numbers and mac nuts and pineapple as part of that number, almost ALL of those crops get exported, cant actually live on that crap anyway.
            Paradise? For se of us, the rest? Hope they got lots of canned goods stashed away!

        • Peter Parker,

          Good question? I assume their ‘plan’ is just to continue on the same path … until the economy crashes.

          Take care! Keep praying and prepping!
          KY Mom

        • Fix your link.

      15. I think this thing can be wrapped up in one word

        ” Detroit”

      16. I’m getting burnt out on looking at charts and graphs like these and wondering what life is going to be like for my 12, 11 (girls) and 6 yr. old (boy) and my DAMM retirement years!!!!

        What we are seeing today folks is just the beginning my friends of a long and painful road… I believe, and this is only my belief, a collapse of the complete US financial system will not be as easy as some here believe or think. That still 2015-2016ish.

        I even believe it might be longer due to our MIGHTY MILITARY and the slime bag Bernakwinnie!!!!

        Let me explain.

        Over the past twenty or so years, We’ve had the balls and the ability to fly right into other countries and seize control. All this while the other suppose super power nations sit and don’t, “DO SHIT BUT WATCH!!!!”

        After thousands of unreported death occurs and other countries try to stand up, This is where the USSA changes its face. What do we do? We give them billions of benny money to fill their reserves. After awhile, these nations depend on the dollar thus, allowing the dollar to hold world currency status. Don’t forget Preppers, in this Ponzi world we live in, we are the main customers to many many countries. In short, we go down, the world go downs!!!

        I often ask then, “What can I do to prepare for the coming financial crash?

        Gold or silver? — I cant be sure that buckwheat and his hired DHS agent and UN soldiers wont be coming in crashes through my door demanding search for precious metals and base the search on past law (confiscation crap).

        or

        Buckwheat can (Executive Order) pass a law restricting all sales and purchases of gold and silver from coin and jewelry shops and online sites in this country. Then as a compromise to the people, the gov. will impose a VAT TAX, thus pushing the middle class and poor away evening most to become dependent of the GOV.

        For all you, “Rambo’s out there” , the call is easy, fight and fire until the end. But myself and I assume most fathers and mothers with children just cant take on that title as easy as that. Unless of course your children safety is at stake.

        So I sit here twisting one after a long 12 hour workday getting paid shitty wages, I have come to the conclusion to just prepare mentally for the things to come.

        Thanks Mac for allowing people like myself to vent and receive comfort that others feel the same way.

        PUFF PUFF PASS

        • Johnny Blaze,
          Do I know you from Belmont ?

        • @ johnny blaze… there is one thing you can do. Buy food store half in your house and stash/bury the other half in plastic barrels. Forget the PM’s.

          • I have thought about the, “bury my stash ideal” but being that I live in the desert state of AZ, after one to or feet of digging, the ground becomes damm concrete.

            I understand the pros and cons of PM’s, that’s still a tough one.

            How I see it, your ideal would require me to have two stash points;

            1. Stash hidden on your property.

            2. Stash near a BOL spot. ( You never know, you might be the lucky one able to defend and boogie.

            Now back to the PM’s. I have Netflix and was watching “Merlin”, Its a series from the King Arthur days and on many occasions, Gold and Silver were used to save, protect, feed and heal.

            Don’t discount the metals, it’s existence dates back too long… I just wish I had more fiat too buy more.

            PUFF PUFF PASS

        • *PUFF*

          I’m no “Rambo”; but I fear that “fight and fire till the end” may end up being the only alternative to abject slavery, whether you’ve got kids or not.

          *PUFF*

          We’re so screwed.

          *PUFF* PASS

          • Thanks for the laugh. You be amaze at the amount of stress laughing can remove.

            Puff Puff Pass.

        • Right on about the “giving” of monies to these other countries that literally hate us as well as our supposed allies. I too believe that the only reason for doing this is that it keeps he US Dollar in a relevant status. In essence buying ourselves a continued reserve currency status. Nothing else makes sense to me as I have pondered this many, many times. Throwing dollars out around the globe will not end well.

          • yea, make me pissed when I hear the figures… I’m trying to work, not making that good of cash and Buckwheat and his 400 to 500 dipshits in office approve this transfer of money…

            PPP

        • Johnny, if you read Luke 21-7-36, it may comfort you.
          It may even depress you, but I see God telling us, hey, sit tight, it’ll be a rough ride, but endure till the end and you’re home free. I have a place for you and yours.

          • amen JayJay

          • I believe in a higher power. With that said, I would like to LIVE a little longer and prepare. If my ticket is pull, its pull…

            BUT, in the mean time, I must be mentally ready to defend my family first then this country.

            Don’t forget my friend, God’s a loving God, but he is also a JUST God.!

            PPP

            Just = He’s allowed death to happen if needed to be a few times over.

            P.S. unless you believe in Science of course.

        • Hey Johnnyblaze1971. I grow my own too brother.

        • What you didn’t mention is for the past few years china has been working at their plan to become the next holder of the world reserve currency. The moment they come out with a gold backed currency we will be living in a 3rd world county.. thats if you believe that the gov wont crash it before that on purpose.

      17. The few people who paid cash, or paid off their debts quickly, or saved money for a car or education rather than go into debt are the persecuted. Personal property taxes go sky high because a few people actually own something so they have to pay more taxes to carry the welfare mob. Those who pay their mortgages are punished by the government, who allows people who abandon their responsibilities off the hook. When the SHTF and we go off grid into our BOLs, the government will hunt us down to pay taxes.

        • patientmomma-
          If it gets to the point we are grid-down and bugged out, we will be hunting them every bit as much as they are hunting us. In which case, taxes and paper ownership of things will be irrelevant.
          Don’t get me wrong, I wouldn’t want to get to that point. And I’m no Rambo, keyboard or real life.
          I just believe it’s more likely we will slide into oblivion over a longer time frame. A quick fall into collapse and chaos are definite possibilities, just not as probable as the continued decline. Besides, the PTB would prefer to milk the cow much longer before turning it into beef….

        • momma,

          Success will not be popular among the hungry masses. Once it all collapses, the successful and prepared will want to lay low if possible.

          Folks, keep attending the gun shows folks. Keep getting those #10 cans.

      18. As long as we keep printing money, I don’t see what the problem is.

        • So Bix predicts collapse the next 2 months? That lines up with others predicting a major even in that time frame. If survival isn’t now, it is soon.

        • I’m sure you all know who Lindsey Williams is.
          On one of his broadcast years ago on Alex Jones show, I took notes.
          I do remember one item that stuck with my memory.
          The US will renege on all its debts–Saudi, for oil, all debts to all countries–even China.
          As someone said here–what can they do??
          They are as dependent on us for monetary support as the welfare queens are on the govt for food stamps.
          What I had trouble wrapping my mind around is why do we give these countries so much financial aid while also owing them so much money?? 🙁

      19. force core ants evan yeersug oh, arf orf ahthers…

        Language can be tricky. It’s so easy to be misunderstood. For instance, I was in the truck and a guy said to me
        “We need to get this country out of debt.”
        I said ‘It’s too late for that. Unless we devalue our currency and force debt holders to take a huge loss, we’re past the point of ever returning to solvency.’
        He said, “I don’t know about them solvents. I always use naptha, or paint thinner to clean the truck bumper. But I mean, we need to pay off the national debt.”
        I said, ‘Fine. How do you propose to do that? The unfunded mandates alone are going to kill us. Not to mention the more pressing year-to-year budgetary deficiencies.”
        He evidently thought I was trying to change the subject, so he said, “I don’t CARE about them defici- deficin- uh… what you’re missing. Just take vitamin C like I do. You’ll never get another cold. Now, what I mean is, we need to PAY OFF OUR DEBT!”
        ‘I agree,’ I said, trying to calm him down. ‘What I’m asking is HOW to do that? There’s just no way, given current revenue levels, or even the most optimistic projections, that any fiscal alignment with reality is possible.’
        He looked puzzled, and keenly interested, “Are you saying an Aline-ment is coming? Where’d you hear this? I been reading about the Nibiru thing on line. Is it connected with that song from the 60’s about Jupiter and Mars and the seventh house of something?”
        I was about to give up on him, but I smiled, ‘Right! It’s all coming together. It’s the age of Aquarius!’
        “Oh, now wait a minute! Are you saying we’ll all be GAY!?”
        I began to walk away, ‘No. We’ll be happy as a lark. But we won’t be gay.’
        “Whew! You had me scared there for a minute.”

      20. I was never in the Peace Corp.

        • And no Republican politician was ever in the military.

          What’s your point, Ted?

      21. APB alert for Rich 99. You need to squash this ridiculous assessment before some “lurker” actually starts to believe “Hey, maybe we really are screwed…and REAL SOON!” ;)!

        It appears WE all need the “it will never happen, at least not within the next 10 years” point-of-view.

      22. Rich99 was last seen at the Bee Gees fan Convention in Vegas trying to sell a vintage copy of Stayin Alive in 45 rpm. Asking $200. No takers.
        (I offered $75 and she was insulted)

        • :)!

        • OMG! Rich99 is a SHE????????

          Jeez, did I have that all wrong!

          • Not letting on about gender only adds to the conversation. For some reason, a lot of people don’t think females can stand up and argue with the best of them. We are often seen as “soft” on some things that some consider “manly”. I may not have a penis, but I was raised just as hard as my brothers, if not more so. I’ve NEVER held a “traditional” woman’s job. While other women around me worked as maids, clerks and nursing assistants, I accrued carpentry and machinist skills, learned to fish and hunt. About the only “women’s thing” I can do is sew and cook.

            …I don’t do floors or windows either…

            • And here I thought that sixpack was in your fridge.

              On the flip side of the coin, I can change the clutch on my truck and then come in and cook a roast and mashed taters for dinner. I think the notion of what is “manly” and what is “ladylike” has only come about since the advent of the oil age when cheap hydrocarbons made everyday life much easier for most. That, too, will be winding down eventually.

              • I got the nickname “sixpack”, not because I had one in my fridge, but because my chosen profession gave me some pretty good abs.

                • personel trainer?

                  • …no, heavy construction carpenter for 25+ years.

                  • I was a iron worker. Got 18+ inch biceps @ 21o lbs body weight. Nick name was popeye, which I really didnt like but it was better than “red”. Construction Carpenter is a rough, physical trade too. respect.

      23. OK, BUT WHEN WILL IT ALL FALL APART?????

        • It is like the response I still tell “the boss” when the question of “how much longer will it take” comes up. My response is ALWAYS, “ALL I LACK IS FINISHING!”

          Not highly “predictive”, but always 100% accurate!

      24. @ braveheart. I don’t know whether it is the obvious geological event that is coming or something else, but I got that bad feeling again. It seems like something is ready to break in the news that is going to be one of those 24/7 events. It could just be all the crap that is going on, but don’t you feel it? Maybe a Friday banking holiday? Anyone else out there getting that feeling like something is ready to break in the country or the world this week or maybe next week?

        • Be informed— glad you asked my friend

          I’ve had the dry-heaves for a week now.

          • Tense guts and other anxiety symptoms, but that could simply be due to life circumstances or watching our government try to fan the dying embers of rage over the Zimmerman verdict into something they can use (it doesn’t look like it’s going to happen at this point).

        • Be Informed, there was a story a few weeks back on the alerts page at stevequayle.com about a possible bank holiday, starting on a Friday afternoon, late July or even August. Within 72 hours of the event, the cities will supposedly be locked down and martial law declared. Link to follow. I feel something is coming soon, whether that or the riots that have been promised over the Zimmerman verdict. I mentioned in the previous article that the Trayvon Martin protest movement has been co-opted by the Occupy Wall St. crowd. you can bet your last dollar the “Black Bloc” will be their to initiate them. I’m expecting that to be THE trigger for martial law, but there are other things that can trigger it as well. could be both things at the same time along with some other things. I’m taking my money out of the bank tomorrow just in case. I feel the tension slowly rising in the air. braveheart

          • Do these instigators not get it?/
            It’s over. The attention span of most sheeple is about 7 seconds.
            Protests? Where?? And about what?? Trayvon who??

          • I have the same feeling something very unexpected and ominous is in the wind.
            Most like a swift suprising “Black Swan” event.

            Sort of like” I feel a great disturbance in the force” trust your gut feelings , in combat if something do not feel right , it probably isn’t . It is a built in defense installed by our creator trust your instincts.

            I still believe if nothing occurs by October we will be very fortunate.

            Use time efficently , be effective prepare like there is no tomorrow to the best of your ability.
            As I post this the morning news is saying many other cities are contemplating following. Detroit’s example.
            We are all in for one h-e double hockey stick of a ride.

            Semper Fi 8541

        • BI – I try to follow all your EQ predictions – you’re spot on!

          I’ve had a perpetual bad feeling for about 4 months. But I’m really trying not to stress anymore. I ended up having a heart attack the morning of 7/4. Really screwed up my holiday! Wrong kind of fireworks!!!

          Which is to say…don’t let that bad feeling hang on too long!! It can truly do nasty things to the body!

          • @ TXGranny. Daisy knows more than I do on this, but Natural Apple Cider Vinegar, like from Braggs is excellent for helping to avoid heart problems, cheap grocery store brands won’t work too well. Cayenne pepper is also good. I have heard the most natural food to eat that helps keep everything cleaned out is artichokes. I knew this Jewish person that absolutely swore by eating artichokes each day and never had many health problems. There are lots of supplements out there, but I say if you can get it in food, the body much easier assimilates. Food is also much safer, usually, than what comes in a pill form. One item that many people should avoid eating with any heart problems are the gravies, high sodium or fat sauces, and other items like mayonaisse. I hope you never have another heart attack again.

            • @ TXGranny. One other item I forgot about that is essential to eat for anyone with any heart ailments is oatmeal every single day. The oats act like tiny sponges that absorp lots of the harmful cholesterol and other material that builds up to clog the heart valves. In fact oatmeal is excellent for being high nutrients and something that every prepper should consider storing as it stays fresh longer than most packaged cereals.

              • Thanks! I refused to use the big-pharma cures the doctor wanted. I’m using natural remedies from the local health food store. BP and pulse are all back in normal range. Don’t know about the cholesterol. And just bought the oat meal ( steel cut) and will be starting that tomorrow. I REALLY don’t want a repeat of the heart attack! Anyone else out there that is at risk, take my word for it – you don’t want to go there! Especially if the SHTF any time soon!!! Stock up on baby aspirin, the cider BI mentioned, and lots of oat meal. Take care of yourself as we get closer to what will be the most stressful time any of us can imagine!!!

            • Other people are the cause of most health probblems, and the way you fart after a good feed of artichokes pretty much means you will have very few people anywhere close. It might just work!

              Down here in Tassie, welfare groups are running learn to cook classes for their food bank clients, and also gardening classes. Attendance is going gangbusters.

              The farmers markets are booming, I will pick up a few new fruit trees, all heirloom varieties well suited to out locale next week.

              As for the nervous wait, if you are well prepped just go about your business, the sheeple will take a while to get up to speed. Doing otherwise will spook them.

            • For those that had their first heart problem at age 26, these are not options.
              Gene is 65 going on 90.
              It’s genetic-his mom died in his brother’s arms going to the hospital at age 62.
              Needless to say, when I reached 62, I had a worrier for a few weeks.
              Sweet, in a way; it sucked in others.

          • I’ve had a heart attack also. The root cause of most heart disease is inflammation. You can have the highest cholesterol in the world and still be fine if you have low inflammation. Inflammation is caused by stress, not enough sleep, poor diet, no exercise, GMOs, vaccines, pharmaceutical drugs, pesticides, herbicides, etc.

            There are many excellent natural anti-inflammatories. Turmeric, Resveratrol, Boswellia, and quality fish oil are are the best.

            The PTB and corporations, using our govt as it’s proxy, want us all sickly and dependent on the system.Do not comply!

            • Chronic, systemic inflammation is not caused by stress. It’s genetic.

        • @BI: Me to on the feeling that something big real big is coming soon very soon. My gut tells me, this upcoming dark of the moon or the next will be very interesting to watch. Within 24 to 36 hrs. after Israel takes out Iran’s nuke’s our world is going to change and never go back to the way it was.

          Not only Humanity, but this world is ready to explode come HELL OR HIGH WATER! I’ve always thought the 2014 mid-term elections is when things will go to HELL here in the U. S., but I’m so sure now, it looks and feels like it going to be sooner. That’s what I’m truly feeling now. PREPARE it’s on the Horizon.

          Keep the FAITH
          Watchman

          • @ Watchman, braveheart, OutWest, and others. I just got that weird feeling that something is ready to go. As Sigi says it could just be all what these creeps are going with the Treyvon crap and the whole system, especially the finance world. Wish I knew, it is just a knot for some reason that started getting much more intense yesterday. I guess time will either bring it about or it just will go on a little longer. I am checking the news on the hour much more so doing the night the past week, with anticipation.

      25. Today I recycled a few hundred pounds of stainless steel, something I do every couple of months and something I’ve done for a few years. It’s scrap metal from a punch press job that I run. Anyway, the price for scrap stainless steel had dropped from around a 1.60 a pound down to .33 a pound. A couple of months ago it was .60 a pound. There’s no demand for stainless because there’s not enough manufacturing taking place here or around the world. No manufacturing means a no value added economy, which means it’s a scam economy that’s floating on a sea of schemes to make the insiders easy money for creating nothing out of thin air.

        • Bingo– why do you think they had to revise the way GDP is calculated to include “fluff service activities”? Mining and manufacturing activities, historic GDP indicators, are low..

        • Ya but when I want to BUY a piece of stainless for the farm all the sudden its like gold…strange eh? 🙂

          • REB my prices for buying the raw stock hasn’t fallen, it hasn’t risen in the past couple of years either. Delivery prices have fluctuated because of fuel surcharges.

            The scammers have found easy money in energy. Former ENRON executives must be working at investment/banking entities now.

      26. I have to quote something that I read on here or some other site. ” if Obama had a city,it would look like Detroit”.

        • No, Chicago/California will be next.

      27. I’m sure Barry Soetoro will come up with a fix on his next vacation.

        • Isn’t he in Martha’s Vinyard as we speak? Or is that this next weekend?

          • Don’t know, I can’t keep up with them all.

      28. This may be off topic, but I’m sure some of you will enjoy what Mayor Nutter of philly has to say about young black men. This is just 2 min.worth http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=49kFqJd1QAw

      29. Glad I’m not a retired Detroit city employee on pension that didn’t pay into S.S. and driving a Dodge/Cry-sler and living in Detroit.

        I don’t even see any opportunities over there for a Future Enterpriser like me.

      30. What else would you expect from a guy who writes for the “Economic Collapse Blog”?

        What I do know is that we are piling up mountains of debt. That the Market has been told that the FED will continue to print money to infinity and beyond.
        Thus the lack of interest in gold/silver by Wall Street. It’s the only way to explain high oil and low gold prices.
        Lastly Obamacare is going to hit this economy like a freight train hitting a Honda Civic. SMASH-CRASH WATCH OUT FOR FLYING GLASS!!

        Buy it cheap, stack it high, stack it deep. Bullets, Beans, Bandages, and Bibles.

      31. I think most readers here agree financial collapse is eminent at some point. Where most of us have trouble is trying to determine when we will collapse. Lew is apparently going to increase the debt limit to 51 trillion and congress isn’t going to say a word even though congress is the only body authorized to do so under the Constitution.

        I’m of the opinion that all the recent action of the regime is to kick the can down the road to 2017. I know it sounds nutty but I think the politicians of the world are trying to unite. Most of the civilian world it disarmed already and all they need is the US to be disarmed to unite. So unless some big dominos fall they will continue to print money.

        This creates some problems for preppers though, not with the rotations of our larders, but the changes in technology, tracking and indoctrination of most young adults. Basically they will know who we are, where we are, what we have. They will have the indoctrinated zombies to come after us too!!

        My guess is if they lose in 2014, collapse happers quickly. If they win though, I really dont see how they could keep it going past 2017. What’s your timeline to collapse??

      32. America is not collapsing financially. As proof, we just wont have any money.

        WAR IS PEACE (1984) right?

        I talked to a Democrat today. Then seconds later, I quit talking. Within seconds, I realized it is all Reagans and Bushs fault.

        What is wrong with debt? Spending keeps the economy rolling? War is good for business. To keep the dollar, we must destroy others.

        When does Monday Night Football start?

      33. Kate is bigger than ever.

      34. Three gays down & locked. Check.

      35. The City of the 25 workers by Ugly.

        In 2017, there was a city of 300 folks where they had 25 workers. These workers owned something and were very responsible, thus they had to work. Without them, the city would fail. They needed the taxation of the 25 workers for financial existence.

        Each and every morning, the City got up and cheered on the 25 workers as they marched to work. When the workers marched on, the City went back to bed as it was around 7:45 AM.

        On Monday, the City got up knowing that the workers were marching to work. They knew that these 25 workers needed to work so that taxes were paid. From the taxes came their housing allowance. Thus, the City loved the workers as long as they worked. Then they went back to bed because it was 7:45 AM.

        On Tuesday, the City got up and cheered on the workers. They knew that their lighting and heating payments came from these folks. So they cheered them on. Then they went back to bed because it was 7:45 AM.

        On Wednesday, the City got up and cheered on the workers because they knew that their medical bills and payments thereof came from the backs of these folks. They cheered them on and then they went back to bed because it was only 7:45 AM.

        On Thursday, the City got up and cheered on the 25 workers. They knew that without them there is no free education. So they cheered them on and then went back to bed because it was only 7:45 AM.

        On Friday, the City got up and cheered on the workers. They knew that the workers and the taxes from thereof paid for their weekend hobbies. So they cheered them on and then went back to bed as it was only 7:45 AM.

        On Saturday, the City got up and became perplexed. There were only 23 workers marching down the road to work. Where are the other 2 one asked. One city folk calculated a maybe 8% loss if the other 2 don’t work (2/25 is about 8%, give or take).

        Two of the workers were sick that morning, but no help for them. The City had anguish, then a mob formed around their homes. The Mob panicked and now two workers were gone.

        On Sunday, there were 23 workers marching to work. The City got up. Nothing was left for the 2 families. Their homes were sold to the City.

      36. We’re already in collapse, simply a slow spiral down. Not so sure we will have one shocking event that will trigger bank holidays, martial law or any kind of a national lockdown. Rather, the value of FRNs will simply fade to virtually nothing, and as more and more businesses close, it will seem more like the final chapters in Atlas Shrugged. This is the end result of the statist theoreticians who naively believe that while their predecessors got it wrong, a few little tweaks by them will forge a new social order, that with proper planning and adjustments, all can be made well for us little people. I don’t think they are counting on much pushback, although they are not taking chances, arming DHS and local law enforcement as they are.

        Call me naive, but there are still a hell of a lot of us in flyover country that will rally and our numbers are not insignificant. You take most law enforcement people out in our area, as opposed to those in big cities, and most are with us. Same for members of the National Guard. The Feds simply do not have the numbers to be going door to door and rounding us all up for FEMA camps, try as they might.

        Those of us who see it coming and who prep are still a small minority, but I do a lot of business travel and have spoken with a surprising number of business people who are quietly prepping. This is not too hard to understand. As a self- employed businessman, the very fact that I have kept a close eye on conditions, and have studied these issues for years, is the reason I also have been prepping for many years now. I call it insurance. Most savvy businessmen are looking at the same things I am looking at. By the way, the Wall Street guys are not businessmen, but rather gamblers and con men who produce absolutely nothing, and instead only speculate with the money of the suckers they draw in.

        Hard to imagine how people can be so willfully blind to all of this. Maybe denial is the easiest salve for now. No question that the normality bias is pretty powerful in the USA, likely because we’ve had it so good for so long. If you are a serious prepper, count yourself very blessed indeed. God bless you all, for you good folks who love liberty will be the ones who give all of us half a chance for getting it back someday.

      37. I see the Obummer sheeple of today like the followers of Jim Jones. They worshiped every word he said and then they were led, some forced, to their demise. By the time some of them woke up, it was too late…

      38. In U.S. people have tons of economic problems, the crisis is nowhere near over. Jobs are nowhere to be found and public debt continues to become a serious problem. Politicians should have the good sense to turn to people who are capable of facing the problems related to the economic crisis, that is to say specialists in the economic crisis like the Orlando Bisegna Index from New York, who have created real anticrisis solutions made to measure over small areas of the territory, solving problems of bumpy public finances, unemployment and low income, and lightening the economic load of lots of families.

      39. Those who still need the charts won’t understand them.

        • Some people don’t know how to read charts.

      40. 1) Prepare a safe spot, filled with rations and protection (from looters, marauders) for you and your loved ones that you will be assisting during any WROL or SHTF scenario, for however long in your estimation it will last.

        2) Drop the illusion that anything you say or do will have the slightest effect on the course of things to come outside your immediate circle of control. Quit wasting your time conspiring, debating and squabbling, trying to get a “one up” or “out-smart” the TPTB. You (and I) are hopelessly, hilariously and utterly out-matched, out-gunned, out-maneuvered and without hope of “winning.”

        3) Live the rest of your life accordingly.

        Please include evidence, historical precedence or the like in any knee-jerk and/or emotional refutes.

        -Heel out

        • Survive its death

        • “`Quit wasting your time conspiring, debating and squabbling, trying to get a “one up” or “out-smart” the TPTB“`

          You hit the nail on the head, carpenter!!

        • My Motto is. “Be aware globally. Prepare locally.”

          I pay some attention on the conspiracies. Cannot do anything about them. Only thing I can do is stock up on food and ammo. Work on self sufficiency. And if the collapse happens, my place will be so booby trapped it will be X-rated.

          Gangs, either thugs or former LE or military will have to make it though every nasty thing I can think of. Combustibles, poisons, fecal matter, etc.

          IMHO, they will deserve everything I can dish out for becoming enforcer/thieves.

      41. Detroit is only the beginning. Much worse is to come. New York, Atlanta, Chicago, Cleveland, Los Angeles, Dallas, Sioux City, Phoenix, Tampa, Seattle, St. Louis, Baltimore…

        Has the country gone past the point of no return? I don’t know. But it’s dangerously close. Don’t expect help from your elected officials. They’ll just tell you, “Look! An abyss! If we fall over the edge, we can see how deep it is! Why not, we’re all about exploring new territory aren’t we?” Umm… yeah, I guess so. We’re about to find out how deep the abyss is. If you thought it was a long way to the top…

        There will be an end, but you’re not going to like it. When it’s all over, some people will finally, finally wake up. Many others won’t. They won’t be able to. They’ll be dead.

      42. I posted this on The Economic Collapse Blog a few months ago – finally had the desire to dig through my archives and find it again. Enjoy… if you dare. Heh! (It’s best to know the original song, to get the full effect.)
        ——————————————-

        – from the 1949 musical “On the Town”
        Starring Frank Sinatra, Gene Kelly, et. al.

        Chorus:
        New York, New York, it’s a wonderful town
        Where the prices are up, and the stock market’s down
        The rats all crawl through the holes underground
        New York, New York…. it’s a wonderful town!

        VERSE #1:

        You can sulk and moan, complain and groan, and pray, in just one day!
        Enjoy the sights and the city lights, and the bay, in just one day!
        I was shot, stabbed, raped, beaten, jumped by thugs and got mugged, in just one day!

        Chorus:
        New York, New York, it’s a wonderful town
        Where the prices are up, and the stock market’s down
        The rats all crawl through the holes in the ground
        New York, New York…. it’s a wonderful town!

        • Good one, Mondobeyondo.

      43. I want to get some gauge as to the number of Fox News loving Republican lunatics that blog here. Rate this comment- President Obama is probably the most sincere, well-meaning,and accomplished man we could have hoped for considering the disaster he inherited from George Bush.

      44. I want to get some gauge as to the number of Fox News loving Republican lunatics that blog here. Rate this comment- President Obama is probably the most sincere, well-meaning,and accomplished man we could have hoped for considering the disaster he inherited from George Bush.

      45. Bo.. nobody here loves, or even likes fox news, Bush or Obama. You had better read for a few months before you make a opinion. But as a knee jerk lib, I am sure you have a opinion already given to you by the MSM.

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