This Is The Real Threat To Us All: “Don’t Be Fooled By The Magic Show”

by | Sep 20, 2017 | Headline News | 52 comments

Do you LOVE America?

    Share

    The following article was originally published by Brandon Smith of Alt-Market.com

    alert

    Federal Reserve Will Continue Cutting Economic Life Support

    by Brandon Smith

    I remember back in mid-2013 when the Federal Reserve fielded the notion of a “taper” of quantitative easing measures. More specifically, I remember the response of mainstream economic analysts as well as the alternative economic community. I argued fervently in multiple articles that the Fed would indeed follow through with the taper, and that it made perfect sense for them to do so given that the mission of the central bank is not to protect the U.S. financial system, but to sabotage it carefully and deliberately. The general consensus was that a taper of QE was impossible and that the Fed would “never dare.” Not long after, the Fed launched its taper program.

    Two years later, in 2015, I argued once again that the Fed would begin raising interest rates even though multiple mainstream and alternative sources believed that this was also impossible. Without low interest rates, stock buybacks would slowly but surely die out, and the last pillar holding together equities and the general economy (besides blind faith) would be removed. The idea that the Fed would knowingly take such an action seemed to be against their “best self interest;” and yet, not long after, they initiated the beginning of the end for artificially low interest rates.

    The process that the Federal Reserve has undertaken has been a long and arduous one cloaked in disinformation. It is a process of dismantlement. Through unprecedented stimulus measures, the central bank has conjured perhaps the largest stock and bond bubbles in history, not to mention a bubble to end all bubbles in the U.S. dollar.

    Stocks in particular are irrelevant in the grand scheme of our economy, but this does not stop the populace from using them as a reference point for the health of our system. This creates an environment rife with delusion, just as the open flood of cheap credit created considerable delusion before the crash of 2008.

    Today, we find our economic fundamentals in complete disarray, but the overwhelming fantasy within stocks still remains. Why? Because yet again, for some reason, no one is ready to accept the reality that the Fed is pulling the plug on America’s fiscal life support. Nary a handful of economists in the world think that the Fed will raise interest rates one more time this year if ever again, and the threat of a balance sheet reduction is the furthest thing from everyone’s mind. Daytrading investors are utterly convinced they have the Fed by the short hairs. I say, the situation is actually in reverse.

    The minutes from the Fed’s July Open Market Committee Meeting indicate that while the central bank has been the savior of stock investors for several years, the party is about to end. Comments on the risks a bull market might pose to “financial stability” have been more frequent the past couple of months

    Only a few weeks ago, former Fed chairman Alan Greenspan commented that bond markets could collapse and bring stocks down with them do to overvaluations and increasing interest rates.

    Recent spikes in markets despite a steady stream of natural disasters, threats of war with North Korea, as well is “increased inflation” (according to Fed models) due to the damage wrought by Hurricane Harvey suggest that the Fed will indeed continue hiking rates into our ongoing financial collapse.

    The next FOMC meeting will conclude on the 20th of this month, and the question is, will the Fed surprise with a rate hike and/or balance sheet reduction program? I believe the odds are much higher than many people seem to think.

    First, let’s be clear, historically the Fed’s predictable behavior has been to skip major policy actions in September and then startle markets with renewed and aggressive actions in December. People placing bets on a Fed rate hike in September would look at this pattern and say “no way.” However, the narrative I see building in Fed rhetoric and in the mainstream media is that stock markets have become “unruly children” and that the Fed must become a “stern parent,” reigning them in before they are crushed under the weight of their own naive enthusiasm.

    In my view, the Fed will continue to do what it says it is going to do — raise interest rates and reduce and remove stimulus, and that the mainstream narrative will soon be adjusted to suggest that this is “necessary;” that stock markets need a bit of tough love.

    If the Fed means to follow through with its stated plans for “financial stability” in markets, then the only measure that would be effective in shell-shocking stocks back to reality would be a surprise hike, a surprise announcement of balance sheet reduction or both at the same time.

    If the Fed intends to continue cutting off life support to equities and bonds in preparation for a controlled demolition of the U.S. economy, then there is a high probability at the very least of a balance sheet reduction announcement this week with strong language indicating another rate hike in December. I also would not completely rule out a surprise rate hike even though September is usually a no-action month for central banks.

    This would fit the trend of central banks around the globe strategically distancing themselves from artificial support for the financial structure. Last week, the Bank of England surprised investors with an open indication that they may begin raising interest rates “in the coming months.” The Bank Of Canada surprised some economists with yet another rate hike this month and mentions of “more to come.” The European Central Bank has paved the way for a tapering of stimulus measures according to comments made during its latest meeting early this month. And, the Bank of Japan initiated taper measures in July.

    Even Forbes is admitting that there appears to be a “coordinated tightening of monetary policy” coming far sooner than the mainstream expects. If you understand how the Bank for International Settlements controls policy initiatives of national central bank members, then you should not be surprised that central banks all over the world are pursuing the same actions and the same rhetoric. The only difference between any of them is the pace they have chosen in taking the punch away from the party.

    The point is, when it comes to the fiat peddlers, there are indeed a few sure things, but continued stimulus is not one of them. One thing that is certain is that they will act in concert as they are clearly doing now in terms of policy tightening. Another thing that is certain is that if they plant a notion in the mainstream media — such as the notion that they are “worried about overvaluations in stocks” and that interest rates must rise, then they will follow through as they always have. Perhaps not at the pace the mainstream expects, or the pace I expect, but certainly somewhere in-between.

    Finally, it behooves me to mention again that the Fed has done all of this before. In the lead up to the stock market crash of 1929, the central bank bloated stocks with easy credit measures and low interest rates, only to hike rates in the name of “quelling inflation.” This hacked the legs out from under markets with a machete, and the rest is history. The hidden purpose behind this tactic is extraordinary centralization on a global scale. The Fed is not interested in the health of the U.S. economy, it is interested in total globalization of all economies under one totalitarian umbrella. To make an omelet, you have to break a few eggs.

    Of course, the Fed will not engineer a market crash in a vacuum. It is my suspicion that the next Fed meeting will be followed by a geopolitical distraction — the most likely candidate being increasing conflict with North Korea. Do not be fooled by the magic show. The real threat to us all is the central banking and international banking apparatus, including the BIS and the IMF. From now until the end of this year, remain vigilant.

    If you would like to support the publishing of articles like the one you have just read, visit our donations page here. We greatly appreciate your patronage.

    You can contact Brandon Smith at: [email protected]

    Unsuspecting Americans to be Hit Hard by this U.S. Scheme to Confiscate Your Savings:Alan Greenspan, 20-year head of the US Fed, reveals Washington’s nasty trick to confiscate the savings of unsuspecting Americans. Here’s How Some Americans Are Preparing

    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.

      52 Comments

      1. No, this is the real threat: “The desert protects itself”– which, of course, none of you will understand.

        Let me put it this way… Japan just had a 6.1 earthquake near Fukushima nuclear facility… a few hours after the Mexican 7.1 quake, which has killed hundreds the last few hours…(Mexico is in darkness now)… just after the 8.1 quake which just killed hundreds in Mexico just 10 days ago… just after Texas was inundated and just before hurricane Irma, with never before seen strength of 200 mph winds just leveled the Barbados island in the Caribbeans, making the whole island uninhabitable… and that was before Hurricane Irma raced through Florida, destroying everything in its path, sending millions racing into safety to other states…and they also are in darkness now. And the volcano in Italy is about to blow… and California just had small earthquake a couple days ago and the western part of the United States has been on fire for weeks…

        And scientists just reported couple days ago that Antarctica ice shelves are disintegrating…

        • “Stocks in particular are irrelevant in the grand scheme of our economy, but this does not stop the populace from using them as a reference point for the health of our system.”

          This statement is the most asinine thing that Brandon has said since he claimed that SDR’S would be the next world currency. Obviously Brandon does not own stock; nor has he grasped the most fundamental element of capitalism.

          Stocks are the bedrock of capitalism. They are a direct reflection of the economy for well or ill. IE, Amazon stock and Sears stock.

          Stocks allow investors to pool their funds in a regulated way to participate in corporations, and risk their money, while providing a liquid way to access, distribute, buy or sell, and/or re-invest their capital through public markets.

          Brandon again demonstrates that he knows NOTHING about economic, finance, and business, because he does not have the education, experience, or special expertise to recognize the most single most fundamental element of capitalism.

          The morons here who believe his spittle can genuflect now because he has posted another article on finance and economics. 🙂

          • DK

            While stocks are fundamentally everything you stated their value is not reflective of economic gain nor loss as government / central banking intervention (QE funds back-fed into corporate balance sheets) falsely inflating , fabricated financial reports with zero accountability aid the facade. While it is a measure it certainly has become an unreliable one. Coupled with the international nature of business stocks are for the most part divorced from the well being of the US middle class as employment has run in inversely with the bull market.

            • K2 Unreliable ??? Inconsequential. Stocks REFLECT the perception of value that investors have of any particular stock. Whether they are right or wrong in their perception of a stock’s value, the stock price itself REFLECTS the perception of millions of investors small and large.

              While US Middle Class employment has run inversely to the general global bull market (generally speaking), you are comparing apples and oranges when you link US unemployment/low participation rates with stock prices.

              Generally speaking stock prices at any particular point in time are expressed in Earnings Per Share based upon anticipated forward earnings.

              The companies that have shed US employees over the past thirty years have increased their earnings and their profit margins by moving their factories offshore and exploiting cheap labor and cheap currencies. That is the major reason why the stock price of these companies continue to advance.

              So, while American workers and families in general have less income because fewer are employed, the stock of these companies continue to climb because anticipated forward earnings are expected to increase, there are fewer stocks available due to stock buybacks, and because investors are fleeing more risky markets for the safety of American markets as they typically due toward the end of the market cycle.

              Low interest rates magnify the return from these companies because they are able to borrow at cheap rates leveraging the return from product margins. That said, recent data I have seen says that American Households have more income (and debt) than ever before.

              Bottom line, stocks are the medium that entrepreneurs and multi nationals use to raise capital for both new and existing businesses. For Brandon to say that stocks are irrelevant to the economy is to reveal his complete ignorance once again.

              Brandon is a HOBBYIST, not a professional. 🙂

        • This serves as proof the real enemy isn’t the federal reserve, nay, they are agents of the true enemy of mankind, Satan and the Devil.

          The proof occurred in the lead up to Y2K, and again, now, which is the force of nature. Man has no control over this force, but can work in concert with it. Who has the control over nature? Satan of course, who is the god of this world (Corinthians 4:4)

          Think about it.

          Peace.

      2. AOL NEWS:

        A 6.1-magnitude earthquake has struck Japan 175 miles from the Fukushima nuclear plant

        • Exactly as forecast by Dutchsinse.
          9/17/17 10pm earthquake update dutchsinse
          h ttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eOeMmiwXk1E&spfreload=10
          40:55 – 42:45
          Stay current with daily earthquake updates on his YouTube channel.

      3. Brandon Smith’s hypothesis on the coming central bank “tightening” their accommodative monetary policy sure does coincide with President Thomas Jefferson’s quote, “If the American people ever allow private banks to control the issue of their currency, first by inflation, then by deflation, the banks and the corporations which grow up around them will deprive the people of all property until their children wake up homeless on the continent their fathers conquered.”

        Same in Thomas Jefferson’s day, same now. The central banks thru “easy” monetary policy, blow a giant bubble and position their cronies to sell out at the top, then they engineer thru “tightening” monetary policy a giant crash, once the crash hits bottom, they and their cronies create more money out of thin air and buy all the assets of “the people” at rock bottom prices. They win on the way up and they win on the way down. That’s how you get 1/100th of 1% of the population owning 50% of the world’s wealth. The people get screwed on the way up, and the people get screwed on the way down. Pitchforks, tar & feathers, short rope and tall lampposts.

        • americans are to damn DUMB to pick up their pitchforks……i sure as hell got MINE at the ready…..all it would take is a few million to walk up to CONgress……fill in yer own blanks………..

          • Yup, ready as ever

          • A few predator drones equipped with Hellfires will break up that little rebellion QUICK.
            You can’t defeat them with the 2nd Amendment alone. You need much, much more. An armed march on the capitol will be treated BY THEM, as an act of war. There’s going to be
            a lot of squirrel guns and AR-15’s laying in the street when that is over. And THAT would be
            over with so quick your head would be spinning.

      4. Lets see…..rope,check. Tall trees..check. guilty bodies…multiple checks! Lot of work to do folks!

        • Folks keep saying that… in fact have been saying it since the 2008 crash, but even after all the knowledge that has come out on display showing the American people how they have been targeted by the IRS, how bankers stole their money in derivative swaps, how they have to live by a separate set of laws from those “representatives” that rule over us as they exclude themselves from Obamacare, give themselves raises and huge pensions…how the MSM and Antifa outright call for violence on American people… but nope, I dont see any rope…and I have yet to see trees surveyed for that purpose whether in allegorical context or literal… so unless there are better ideas as to how to go about a system correction I think this particular phrase is about as useless and played out as the folks using it.

        • I hear what you are saying there, Judge Roy Bean. Starting with who?
          Who is going to launch this movement? Deeds, not words.

      5. As Tainter concluded in Why Complex Societies Collapse 30 years ago “all complex societies eventually collapse and for the same reason.” We can limit our exposure by limiting our reliance on the current currency. The US has had currency collapse before (Continental) and we will again.

      6. You can blame it on this bank or that bank or whoever you like.

        It doesn’t matter if you use gold, paper or sea shells. When you add compound usury to the currency it all ends up in the same fuckin’ place.

        To paraphrase Albert Bartlett (RIP)…The biggest failing of the human race is the inability to understand the exponential function.

      7. Well the scrooges have to get all the money before they kick the depopulation agenda into a higher gear.

      8. Good ol’ Davey Hodges says to pull y’alls money out of the banking system before Oct. 15th. Has to do with some WSJ leak. As if the WSJ always gets it right. I say pull it out of
        there yesterday. House of cards what we are standing on. Have to admit, the algorithms
        and my Spidey senses are on hyper alert. I suppose if there were some sort of bail in or reset, most of us would not have much to lose any damn ways. Can’t squeeze blood out of
        a turnip.

      9. It appears that Russia has been selling fuel to North Korea.
        Vladimir is sticking his middle finger out at Tillerson, Trump and Haley.
        Yep. So much for sanctions.

      10. Good – no threat to me. Let the Fed do whatsoever it likes. Crash the market, the economy, the financial system. Fine. Let it fall. It’s a rotten apple. Ain’t worth biting or trying to salvage. Hey folks. We’re supposedly ‘ready’ – prepped for most anything, right? What? Worried about your pension, social security? Got a hope in hell that those fairy tales will come true? Let it happen. We’ll be better off in the end. At least, those of us who make it through the chaos will.

        • only problem is…..90% will DIE…..no matter how “ready” you THINK you are…….

          • bcod – no illusions my friend. No illusions here. But…. like many, I’ve no intention to give up til my own end. Best any man or woman can do – not stop trying. But it was the word “threat” that got to me. My instinctive reaction is always, “how dare you threaten me!?”. In the ‘fight or flight’ reflex I suppose I just choose ‘fight’. Sure, I may very well lose. But hell’s bells!!! I’m guaranteed to lose if I don’t even suit up and show up for the battle.

      11. If Russia is selling fuel to NK, it’s because they want to avoid the collapse that an embargo on oil – requested by Trump and removed from the recent UN sanctions by Russia and China in the UNSC – would cause NK.

        Which would likely start the war.

        An embargo on oil is an act of war.

        Trump is pushing for war, threatening war, and trying to push NK into starting the war.

        Over the next three months, it is likely that NK will test one to three more missiles and perhaps another nuclear test. Trump is running out of bluster and running out of sanctions.

        Which means Trump has 2 options: 1) blink and negotiate, or 2) start the war. Either one is likely to end his Presidency eventually.

      12. Its bigger than Russia selling oil to North korea. they are now marketing their oil for currency other than the USA petro Dollar. That flies in the face of Kissengers OPEC deal that every oil producing nation must trade only in the US dollar. Now Venezuelia has made plans to sell its oil for the YUAN also. This is a really hard pill for the Jxx’s to swallow their stranglehold monopoly is under direct attack. So to AppeaSe the Jxx’s Trump has to start some War’s. Don’t be fooled the Real enemy of the Republic are the Elete Jxx’s. Not racist just fact. Look at what Jxx Soros is doing? The must keep the digital fiat created out of then air Petro Dollar the dominate currency or they lose billions & trillions. Its about the money. Follow the money and you reveal the truth. Same with the stock market its about the money.

        • But but durango kiddie still claims nobody is trading Oil for the Gold backed Yuan.

          I told dkiddy a year ago the Chicom Yuan is being Backed by Gold. The deny-ers always show up late to the party.

          • Certainly we in the USA can possibly take our cash and go somewhere and buy physical gold. But those places are a haphazard thing. In China they actually have two government controlled Gold Exchanges. Places where you take paper Yuan and trade them for gold coins. Like before commie Roosevelt made it illegal. You could take a paper 20 dollar bill to any bank and trade for a twenty dollar gold coin. The backing of the Yuan with physical gold is a death blow to the Digital created out of thin air Petro dollars. I think that its a good thing.

            • The death of the petro dollar will be the misery of millions of Americans, including yourself.
              Careful what you wish for. It’s coming. Millions of everyday people have no idea how much this will affect them. Millions will die because of this. Millions more will never recover.
              The implosion is coming. Whatever comes as a “reset” will not give relief to anyone. The
              destruction of the dollar is the destruction of this nation. The end game is almost here and the takedown will occur fast. THEY are trying hard to keep this petro dollar going because it is the system. It is the lifeblood. Its the Ponzi scheme that keeps going. Why do you think
              THEY wanted Syria, Libya, Iraq. They want badly to interfere in Venezuela so THEY can
              install a petro-dollar-friendly puppet. THEY have to keep it going or THEY lose power.

      13. Stock market is way overpriced,
        It will correct.
        Bond market is way underpriced,
        it will correct.

        Per the Old guy
        “Venezuelia has made plans to sell its oil for the YUAN”
        The only refineries that can handle that kind of oil are under
        several feet of water right now.

        You want to be idiot and pay in gold at $42 per gram,
        Go ahead!

        I’m investing in tools, land, and people.

        • I worked in Texas for a while. Those folks had holdings on both sides of the border. I forded the rio with a semi on a daily basis. and the Mexican diesel fuel was pretty crappy. So the trucks had been rigged up to circulate the fuel through the exhaust to heat it up and make it thin enough to use. Im certain those Chinese know how to make that Venezualien oil into whatever they want it to be. Crude oil contains lots of chemicals that are extracted to make lots of things. Fuel is the least valuable thing that is made from crude oil. In south Arkansas If they drill and hit oil they are kinda disappointed. If they hit brine that’s where the real money is.

          • OG
            That fuel heater you talk about is pretty common
            in the northern states, Canada, and Alaska.
            The term for making stuff out of oil is “Cracking”.
            My high school Chemistry teacher was a retired
            Shell Oil Petrochemical engineer.
            I don’t know that “Fuel is the least
            valuable thing that is made from
            crude oil”, But I do know Venezuelan oil
            is a real pain to refine and Crack.
            So refineries have to be specially modified
            to do that. Those refineries are mostly located
            in Texas and Louisiana.
            I don’t know much about Mexican refineries,
            but from what you say they aren’t very good.

        • Ive already got tools and land. I don’t invest in people. I believe in DTA. don’t trust anyone. We own several parcels of land. Some have structures on them. Many folks tend to think places like them are (abandoned). I will tell you this after SHTF if I catch anyone trespassing or squatting on my property. I will have my grandchildren blow a hole in them.

      14. Gee, life used to be so simple. Indians used beads and pooka shells for money. Pioneers used furs and food for trade, gold, coins, woven goods, and pottery, to name a few. Money is not the only thing valuable.
        We may be returning to pioneer days once again. Communists will die by bullets or starvation unable to steal from the neighbors. (That is why they want gun control.)
        Children will be too busy working the farm / market to become juvenile delinquents. They will become apprentices at the age of 9-12, again, and work 5-10 hours a day if lucky. They will remember the ‘good ole days’ when they played games and texted friends all day. They will have to work 7 days a week just to survive. Technology won’t exist because too many people will have lost everyting to hackers… electricity, cars, money, stocks, banks, businesses, etc.,
        Computer industry will go bust from loss of trust. They will become the enemy.
        Hundreds of millions will die deliberately from laboratory born diseases owned by __________(you fill in the blank.)
        Sorry for the negativity, but we all need to prepare for the worst and hope for the best. Things are changing fast.

        Foreigners will take our homes farms and businesses to pay govmnt debt.

        • if you aint got GOLD, you don’t know HISTORY….but you better have some of THIS first.
          i haven’t posted the “big list” in a while, so here it is AGAIN. here’s just a small part of what i call my “aint coming back” list(even though i plan on staying PUT, UNLESS!….). there are some redundencies here, so i apologize for that…i aint got time to clean it up. i have spent seven years or so adding to this list.there’s some things on here a lot of people miss when making their list……it’s a list to remind what you may be missing. in the interest of saving space, i aint puttin’ up ALL of it.

          GET CASH.but spend it quickly if you don’t have most of this STUFF you should have been working on this list for a looooong time now……….your ATM card might ALREADY be not working if you are looking at this list and the time is near……….. GAS, fill all avail. cans! FIRST AID MANUAL.. water….sugar….flour….powdered milk(will be PRICELESS, maybe even MORE expensive),top ramen.pancake mix.candy, rock.wasp spray.coffee filters(prefilter drinking water from mudpuddles).vitamins.DOG FOOD, with DOG.VEG OIL.duct tape.antibiotics.rice.beans.macaroni.bleach.benadryl(allergic reactions).wipies.garbage bags.plastic cups,forks,spoon,knives ammo.IV for rehydration
          photo albums, identification (birth certificates, social security cards, financial documents, wills/deeds, and medical insurance information), proof of address WARM
          clothes for all in family.fill the freezer
          brillo pad makes a good fire starter
          extreme cooler(hauling water or food preservation)
          giant channel-lock pliers and crescent wrench
          vitamin c…scurvy
          #1) Storable Food
          #2) Clean Water
          #3) Shelter
          #4) Warm Clothing
          #5) An Axe
          #6) Lighters Or Matches
          #7) Hiking Boots Or Comfortable Shoes
          #8) A Flashlight And/Or Lantern with batteries
          #9) A Radio
          #10) Communication Equipment
          #11) A Swiss Army Knife
          #12) Personal Hygiene Items
          #13) A First Aid Kit And Other Medical Supplies
          #15) A Sewing Kit
          #16) Self-Defense Equipment
          #17) A Compass and maps
          #18) Hiking Backpacks
          #19) A Community
          #20) A Backup Plan
          A K-Bar Fighting Knife
          Salt
          Extra Batteries
          Medicine…prescribed and painkillers too
          A Camp Stove
          Propane
          Pet Food
          Heirloom Seeds
          Tools
          An LED Headlamp
          Candles
          Clorox
          Calcium Hypochlorite
          Ziplock Bags
          Binoculars
          Sleeping Bags
          Rifle For Hunting
          Extra Socks
          Gloves
          Gold And Silver Coins For Bartering
          citizens band radio
          spare box of nuts, bolts. wood screws. drywall screws assorted lengths
          eyeglasses
          computer
          battery chargers and phone chargers
          kool aid..things to make water taste better
          bike and extra tubes
          4×8’s for crossing obstacles while travelling off-road(PRICELESS!)
          vaseline
          water
          hatchet
          dutch oven
          coffee/water filters
          Gun Cleaning Kit & Supplies
          Fire Extinguisher
          hacksaw………GOOD pair of wire cutters….butt connector pliers and wire connectors ….11-1 screwdrivers-not some cheap-o
          6 foot Pry bars-lift heavy items, pop open doors, break locks, move hot objects. harbor freight
          sandpaper/crocus cloth…………….. file for sharpening tools……….. hammer
          MAGNIFYING GLASS FIRESTARTEr
          bailing wire
          hose clamps
          pocket saw
          3/32” E-6010 welding rods. These can be used with three 12 volt car batteries and some jumper cables to make an emergency field repair.
          peanut butter and crackers makes a great shtf meal
          vise grips
          fix a flat/compressor
          Tarp (2) and 500 para-cord (shelter) You want two tarps, one for shelter above the head and one for the ground under your head.
          0-20 degree sleeping bag. Sleeping bags will usually fit securely on the outside of your pack.
          Ponchos to protect from rain
          A folding saw and shovel.
          A handheld chainsaw (they are about the size of a mans wallet)
          Army survival manual
          2 pairs of socks. One pair of our socks is a thermal type that will keep your feet warm in up to zero degree weather. It all depends on where you live and where you will be traveling. Cotton socks tend to hold moisture so you might not want cotton.
          A good pair of warm gloves/work gloves. Mine are a combination of both.
          A pair of long pants.
          One pair thermal underwear/pants and shirt.
          cash!
          deck of cards
          paper plates
          ziplock bags
          aluminum foil
          eye drops
          chap stick
          lotion
          rope
          plastic wrap
          sanitizer
          toothpaste/toothbrush
          Bug Out Bag Contents
          1. The Pack – I have a LC-1 “Alice” pack but any quality pack with enough capacity will do. Stick with camouflage, dark green or other natural colors that blend with the terrain.
          3. Fire – Waterproof matches, a magnesium fire starter and tinder.
          4. Food – Pack enough to last 5-7 days. Rice, oat meal, beef jerky, energy bars etc. Another option is MRE’s and the freeze-dried foods. Choose foods that are light weight and a suitable shelf life.
          5. Stove – A small stove is essential it you want to stay hidden. Smoke and noise from the cutting and burning of wood would be undesirable if you are in hostile territory or being pursued. I have a Peak-One backpackers stove, there are others but this is what I have and can recommend
          8. Cooking – I have a Stainless Steel 5-Piece Mess Kit, that I ordered from amazon.com but any lightweight kit will do.
          Don’t forget to add personal medications.
          12. Clothing – At least one extra pair of socks and underwear add other items if you feel the need and have the space.
          13. Fishing – Line, hooks and sinkers and a few small lures. I also have a small gill net for catching fish.

          14. Snare wire – I make my own from copper wire. Don’t forget to include at least 50 ft of parachute cord.

          14. Plastic bags – Two or three large lawn bags and several zip-lock sandwich bags, can be used for a number of tasks and to keep things dry.
          15. Small Binoculars – See game and enemy before they see you.
          17. electrical tape, sharpening stone etc.
          Coffee, sugar, and chocolate.
          And salt. Buy these items in bulk. Store in baggies for trade.
          coffee filts for straining water and bleach
          pitchfork
          digging bar
          tow straps/shackles/chain with pipe for towing
          Antacids
          Anti-diarrheal
          BULLETPROOF VESTS
          holsters/pistols
          Children’s pain reliever
          Prescription medications (keep copies for records)
          Cold/flu medicines
          Blood clotting
          Sterile gauze
          Dressing bandages
          Dressing rolls
          Medical tape
          Bandages of all sizes
          Alcohol wipes
          Hydrogen peroxide
          Eye flushing solution
          Anesthetic solution
          Hypodermic needles (for the antiseptic solution)
          Electrolyte tablets
          Scissors
          Tweezers
          Cold Packs
          Warm Blankets
          Antibiotic ointment
          Thermometers
          Skin irritation creams
          Mask
          Suture needles/string
          List of medical contact phone numbers
          Medical history file (if needed
          ladder
          a joggin’ stroller to haul a hundred pounds or so

          • Study presidential executive orders. In a “national emergency” ( defined by THEM ),
            They can confiscate virtually everything you have. All your shit. EVERYTHING.
            Think you are really free? Think the constitution will save you? Uh……okay……..

          • You forgot a solar charging system, including panel and controller. One must have energy (heat, light, and power) and a battery system of some kind to store that energy even if it is only the minimum.

            Those batteries that you listed twice should be rechargeable and you should have a charger to fit them. 🙂

        • Well Kay you seem to be a realist and know that it will nor be a Reset. And everything will very quickly get better and it will all be Hunky Dory. It may eventually return to pioneer days once again? I hope your correct. I simply believe it will be stone age. We don’t have the animal power harness and implements for a 1800,s lifestyle. Much of what pioneers had was manufactured in England and brought here. There where blacksmits who could create cast iron from the raw ore. But almost all steel was imported. A 1800,s lifestyle would be almost impossible. It would take years. At first oxen because the harness (a wooden yoke) could be made from a chunk of wood. It would take a generation to build up from a stone age to a 1800,s lifestyle . So I recommend you prep and Learn the Know How to be comfortable in a stone age situation. And If it never happens you will still be much better off. And we are only 110 volts from that new stone age. In the latter half of the 1800,s most of the plains natives where still living a stone age existence.

      15. as usual, the doomsayers financial articles appear over nothing.

        the fed will reduce by 10 billion monthly for the rest of the year, this is true; but what this guy is not telling you is that the ECB is covering that with its own liquidity and that is why even with this announcement today, the market still went up.

        you can verify this yourself. zerohedge put an article on the schedules for the fed, ecb and boj thru 2019 out Monday or Tuesday.

        sorry, there’s nothing to see here until summer of 2018 when the fed will be subtracting 50 billion AND the ecb will also be subtracting. if they hold those schedules; then you should start being defensive; now is not the time.

        • you discredited yourself when you said “ECB is covering that with its own liquidity”….they are in worse trouble than U.S…if you can believe THAT. the european union is about to go KABLOOEY.

            • some don’t realize that we HAVE to have a WWIII….BECAUSE of the debts that CAN’T be paid back. it’s as good an excuse as any to default on our debt. we are swimming in an OCEAN of debt, with ROCKS in our straight-jackets. i have known this for over 10 years, because i READ….many hours a day, about how markets work. the check is one the table, with the waiter nervously tapping his FOOT.

            • Not necessarily. October seems to be the month, historically speaking, for the markets to implode and/or correct. Wasn’t it two years ago when I called for a correction in the DOW between October 10th and 17th ??? Or was that last year ???

              Either way its in the archives and the DOW corrected by 10 percent during that time frame. 🙂

      16. you can have every item buttcrack mentions. And if you are not self reliant and have Know How its worthless. If you can adapt to a stone age lifestyle with a bare minium of stuff you just might if your lucky be in the 10% who survive. Living off hoarded stuff is not survival its simply enduring and waiting. It will not be a 1800’s lifestyle. We are only 110 volts away from Stone Age. Better learn to tan hides and flint knapping. Learn Know How to make salt from natural mineral licks.

        • U.S. old guys got STUFF, and we know how to USE it…..the YUNKSTERS, on the other hand, DON’T know how to do SHIT….i got a feelin’ a LOT of old survive, and MOST of the young WON’T……oh, and i could care LESS how to tan hides, let the record show.

          • Way back when he had very little the founder of the Morrell meat packing company. He bought a his first cow for $6.00 and killed it. He then sold the meat bones and entrals for six dollars. And His father when learning about the even steven deal laughed and stated and where is the profit in that. Young Morrell replied I sold the hide for 50 cents. and at that time 50 cents was his fathers wages for a weeks work.

      17. Crack of dooms list is formidable but in a TEOTWAWKI situation I doubt very seriously if he can keep it all. Lot of stuff to protect from groups that will be determined to take it from you, better have a large group of trained people to guard it, just seems untenable to me. Skills, seem to be the ticket to me, hunting ,camping,tanning, how to smoke meat and skin game, how to grow food. You had better be in pretty good shape and know how to shoot and fight, know evasion and combat tactics, a working knowledge of asymmetrical warfare. I am reading up on leather working and blacksmithing techniques, never know if they might be useful. As for the economy, it will not crash by design anytime soon, still huge amounts of private wealth they haven’t stolen yet. I will say that the financial system is so fragile that something unplanned and unexpected could easily crash it, but who can predict when or if that will happen

        • the IF isn’t debatable any more. predicting is fairly easy, except for the part about the future.

        • I agree with most of bug blues post. Except that a large group of trained people to guard it. Its those you think you could trust that will be your worst danger. Adults do not get along in the best of times. In times of hardship and strain they will become unruly and vicious. Its my grandchildren who I prep for. They are all very good shots. I let them waste all the ammo they want. And come a SHTF-WROL. If I told any one of them to shoot and kill somebody. They wouldn’t hesitate or argue or try and second guess grandpaw. All I would need to do is point and say blow a hole in them. Up close with a shotgun I am a good shot. Those grand kids are marksmen at great distances. Their parents work so they live with us 5 days a week.

      18. Better to be old because you have lived most of your life. Hundreds of billions poured down the war rathole every year to protect the obscenely wealthy while the common people needs are unmet. Still buying America is the land of the free and the home of the brave. Hogwash, you have the right to remain silent period while in our names we must kill others without thought. The height of masterful brainwashing.

        • aljamo

          The potentially to put sand in the gears of the war MIC system is with its canon fodder. IF people did not join up in the infantry ranks and the like it would require a draft. That puts everyones skin in the game. Instant replay of the 1960s. Watch the snowflakes abandon the social justice cause for the save my ass cause.

      19. Kevin2… maybe that will wake up the corpse that was the antiwar movement.

      20. The folly of men.

      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.