Ultra Wealthy Ignore Drought: “No, We’re Not All Equal When It Comes To Water”

by | Jun 15, 2015 | Headline News | 106 comments

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    elite-waterAs water resources in California near a worst-case scenario where all surface water sources have run out, the ultra wealthy have yet to pull back on their usage. In response, counties all over the state have implemented water restrictions with hefty fines for those who go over their daily allotments. But those fines, often amounting to a small drop in the bucket for the more well off, have done little to curb use in high dollar communities.

    Moreover, though California’s sanctions purportedly aim to save water, large mega corporations like Nestle and Walmart are still pulling water out of the ground at fractions of pennies on the dollar and reselling bottled products for hundred-fold or more profits. It’s been reported, for example, that Nestle puts a mark up of 53 Million percent on a single bottle.

    So while California lawmakers argue that the new restrictions make water usage equal for all, the fact is that, as George Orwell so succinctly put it in his classic novella Animal Farm, “all animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.”

    Nowhere is this more apparent than in the hustling and bustling neighborhoods of the ultra wealthy, where sustainable living advocates like Barbara Streisand and other elite stars continued to use thousands of gallons of water to keep their lawns green. After photos of their opulent lifestyles hit social media in recent months some have pulled back, but others, like Steve Yuhas, argue that if they have the money to pay for the water, including fines, they should be able to use it as they see fit.

    If you can pay for it, he argues, you should get your water.

    People “should not be forced to live on property with brown lawns, golf on brown courses or apologize for wanting their gardens to be beautiful,” Yuhas fumed recently on social media. “We pay significant property taxes based on where we live,” he added in an interview. “And, no, we’re not all equal when it comes to water.”

    Yuhas lives in the ultra-wealthy enclave of Rancho Santa Fe, a bucolic Southern California hamlet of ranches, gated communities and country clubs that guzzles five times more water per capita than the statewide average.

    It’s a debate as old as America, and one that is hard to argue with. Yuhas isn’t alone in his views. Water is distributed equally when it leaves a particular plant, but once it passes through someone’s water meter, it is then owned by the person paying for it. If they have the money to pay, then what’s the problem?

    “California used to be the land of opportunity and freedom,” Barbre said. “It’s slowly becoming the land of one group telling everybody else how they think everybody should live their lives.”

    Jurgen Gramckow, a sod farmer north of Los Angeles in Ventura County, agrees. He likens the freedom to buy water to the freedom to buy gasoline.

    “Some people have a Prius; others have a Suburban,” Gramckow said. “Once the water goes through the meter, it’s yours.”

    Determining who’s right in this argument remains an open question.

    But what water scarcity in California highlights is that those with money will always have first dibs on resources.

    Today it’s water, but according to experts, should California’s drought continue the state will be dry within a year. That may not sound like a big deal to Americans in the other 49 states, but NASA has warned that the entire U.S. food supply could be threatened:

    NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory has sounded a stark warning over California’s sustained drought, publishing its latest findings where satellite surveys show a rapidly depleting groundwater supply.

    And with California as the United States’ most valuable agricultural state, and thus key to America’s food supply (and much of the world’s as well) that could mean drastic consequences for food commodity prices and potential shortages.

    But for the ultra-wealthy and those with means, potential shortages for the general population are meaningless.

    As demonstrated with the water battles taking place now, those who don’t have enough money to cover rising expenses, be they in the form of higher prices or financial penalties, will have to make due with their government-mandated allotments.

    If you don’t make enough money to acquire those resources we so desperately need to survive and maintain our standard of living, then that’s tough. You’ll just have to deal with it.

    In a worst-case scenario, the bigger fish will undoubtedly take from the smaller fish. Consider a situation where a national emergency is declared. Whatever the reason, imagine that access to fresh water, food, gasoline, electricity or other critical resources becomes limited.

    Analyst Greg Mannarino warns that such a scenario, where resources become scarce, could lead to the deaths of millions.

    Millions upon millions of people are going to die on a world-wide scale when the debt bubble bursts. And I’m saying when not if…

    When resources become more and more scarce we’re going to see countries at war with each other. People will be scrambling… in a worst case scenario… doing everything that they can to survive… to provide for their family and for themselves.

    The wealthy will certainly have the ability to pay, even if that means acquiring those resources through black-market deals. Government officials, however, will have another method for taking what they need (or desire).

    In 2012 President Obama authorized what many have dubbed the Doomsday Executive Order, which essentially gives federal officials authority to seized everything from food producing farms and water wells, to entire industries and the labor forces which make them possible.

    While millions of people have been preparing for the possibility of a catastrophic event by relocating to rural homesteads or farms, as well as stockpiling food, water, personal defense armaments and other essential supplies with the intention of utilizing these preparations if the worst happens, the latest executive order signed by President Obama on March 16, 2012 makes clear that in the event of a nationally deemed emergency all of these resources will fall under the authority of the United States government. 

    The signing of the National Defense Resources Preparedness executive order grants the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Agriculture, the Department of Labor, the Department of Defense and other agencies complete control of all US resources, including the ability to seize, confiscate or re-delegate resources, materials, services, and facilities as deemed necessary or appropriate to promote the national defense as delegated by the following agencies

    So, in the end, whether you agree with Steve Yuhas or not, his assessment is accurate.

    When it comes to resource control and acquisition, politicians and the wealthy, will always be just a little more equal than the rest of us.

    That’s simply the nature of the beast, so preparing for those resource shortages today may be the only saving grace for the majority of the population who will be left to fend for themselves during a real crisis. Most will ignore the warnings, but as Ayn Rand so eloquently put it, “we can ignore reality, but we cannot ignore the consequences of ignoring reality.”

    Related Reading:

    Water Wars: What It Will Be Like When Your Tap Runs Dry

    FedGov Moves To Seize Water Rights From 100,000 Montanans: “All Surface Water And Wells”

    Video: The Coming Global Water Crisis

    Analyst: “Millions Upon Millions of People Are Going to Die on a World-Wide Scale When the Debt Bubble Bursts”

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      106 Comments

      1. Nothing new here. Another perks for the money exchangers and wealthy riches. Solution is clear and soon we’ll witness it in a global level.

        • well, these wealthy turds will be worse off in the long run because instead of stealing water for their stupid lawns, they should be thinking about the future and LEAVE– as, move away.

          but they won’t.. they just steal and use as long as they can, but eventually they will be stuck– because THE WATER PROBLEM IS NOT GOING AWAY!!! and when they finally DO wake up, it will be too late and no one will buy their worthless property!!!

          • Yu are right Anon.

            Jerry Brown, the Governor of California just last week said we have to many people here in California. Two weeks before that he gave Obama Care to all of the illegal aliens living in California. Out of the 30 million people in California it is estimated that up to 8 million are illegal aliens. An illegal alien in California could not be deported if he/she committed rape and went to jail for 30 years.

            Now the fun part begins, the Liberals are turning on themselves. The Greenies who would not let anyone build dams, reservoirs, canals and the list goes on have had their funding dry up. Jerry Brown was a Sierra Club member and fought his father, Edmund Brown, when he was younger to stop putting money into the infrastructure.

            When Brown has to suspend all building in California for a lack of infrastructure all of the counties and cities funds will dry up overnight because they rely on the building fees and permits as major source of revenue. That will of course cause a stoppage of paying into pension funds.

            The spiral to default has started. About time. Coming to a state near you. 🙂

            BigB

            • It won’t matter all that much what happens with the water reserves, by this time next year.

              The Pacific will be lapping up against the San Bernardinos Mtns.

              Any aliens, illegal or not, had better pack up those old Toyotas, and head east.

              A’ndele, andele, “Ándale arriba”.

              • Kind of brings back a mental picture of a true event that I witnessed on Interstate 8, while heading east to I-10, from San Diego, back in 2007.

                A Mexican family was heading east also. An old Toyota pickup, with three children packed in the extra cab area, mom and dad in front, and possibly a small baby.

                In tow was another old Toyota pickup, all were packed to the gills with evidently, what was everything those poor people owned. On top of all that stuff, was a mangy looking dog, packed in, with his head poking out. I laughed when i saw his perplexed look.

                As they went past my Big Rig, I got a full picture, and just shook my head and thought, that could be me. I thanked the Lord for my cold A/C, and big shiney truck, and all my blessings.

                Later, as I sailed onto I-10, to begin the 2000 mile trip east, I was halted by tail lights glaring back into the late evening, scorching summer sun.

                Another traffic back up, and another delay. After what seemed like an hour or two, i came upon the scene of a smouldering mass on the shoulder, and just ahead. Of course the emergency vehicles had the right lane blocked, and off the pavement, under a scrub bush, in the shade, was the unmistakable face of a scared pooch tied to that bushy tree.

                As i went by, OMG!, it was the two Toyotas and all the remains of the stuff, burnt to a crisp. I saw a young Mexican guy with personnel, just off to the side, and unmistakably shaken.

                I was sick. I hurt for those folks and their children. Now, I can truthfully say that I have witnessed some terrible things in my life that have stayed with me.

                But, this was one of the saddest events that has been an inspiration to keep me humble, and more thankful for my blessings, than almost anything I have visually witnessed.
                Not as horrific, but more surreal than most events.

                Thank You Jesus!

                pwtw

                • Wally World has plastic seed sprouting trays in the garden section, or you could use ice cube trays which are sturdier and stackable. Get some and fill the warehouse you bought, or a storage shed.

                  Just saying. 🙂

                • Try to imagine how little I care.

                  Submit that story for a Darwin Award.

                  In this case it looks like a multiple, and might just get a “Year’s Best” to boot.

            • The premise that millions upon millions
              of people are going to die seems to imply
              that they are going to die without any
              consequence.

              The wealthy and privileged damn well better
              have more than gated communities for their
              protection because if they don’t have the
              equivalent of Fort Apache, 300 million people
              with nothing left to lose will overrun them
              and tear them from hell to breakfast.

              It becomes a matter of mathematics, the fat 1%
              being overwhelmed by the desperate starving 99%.

            • Bi B…mot to nitpick, but in 2014 there was officially Over 38 million people in Ca, not counting the Illegals which is estimated to be another 8-10 million, The drain on the grid gives you a idea on how much the population is.

        • “The signing of the National Defense Resources Preparedness executive order grants the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Agriculture, the Department of Labor, the Department of Defense and other agencies complete control of all US resources, including the ability to seize, confiscate or re-delegate resources, materials, services, and facilities as deemed necessary or appropriate to promote the national defense as delegated by the following agencies

          Wait a minute. Is this statement a true representation of this Executive Order or is it an overblown exaggeration?

          Either way, it’s very helpful to know.

          • True representation brother , no BS.

            ht tps://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2012/03/16/executive-order-national-defense-resources-preparedness

            Everything is up for grabs.

            • “…the ability to seize, confiscate or re-delegate resources, …”

              Pak N Stak. Use the government policy to your advantage: you know the one: “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” 🙂

            • Thanks Hammerhead. Makes me think of a a quote about security versus liberty.

              In sum, you’re right. Obola could declare a national emergency and it’s game on for civil war and martial.

              • You guys should check out your local county ordnance in my county it says they can do this as well.

        • Just a comment about the 53 million percent markup on Nestle bottled water : Which is it, hundred-fold profits or 53 million percent?

          Do the math : 1/100 of a cent cost of water to fill a small bottle, wholesale it out for $1.00 a small bottle. The store can charge whatever they want, Nestle gets the wholesale price.

          1/100 of a cent to one dollar is one million percent. The cost of the bottle and the plant/labor to fill it is going to drive that number way down.

          I doubt the reported number, sounds like birdseed.

          • Then there is the cost of transportation….. still profit margins for bottled water are enormous. Consider that those rotisserie chickens that you buy for $6-7 cost the grocery store $1.50 before they stick em on the spit.

            Profit is the American way.

            Filter and bottle your own tap water before drinking it and its still a bargain in most states. Do it now, or buy distilled at 88 cents a gallon from Wally World. 🙂

      2. There were ‘water wars’ in the 1880’s between large cattle ranchers that lasted many years. Ain’t nothing new to hear it coming around again out west. You’ll either adapt and change or pull your freight out of there.

        • except this time there’s a lot more people living in CA and I doubt anyone in the 1880’s had huge swimming pools that needed filled. lol

      3. “the latest executive order signed by President Obama on March 16, 2012 makes clear that in the event of a nationally deemed emergency all of these resources will fall under the authority of the United States government.”

        Yeah…they can come after my ammo supply as well…they’ll receive one round at a time…at 2300 fps!

      4. The uber rich think they can just keep taking with no consequences. When the water is gone for good maybe then they will a lesson in thier lives.

        • There is a company willing to ship all the water CA wants from Alaska for 2 cents per gallon. I’m sure there will be a 100% markup from the local utility, but no one needs to die of thirst.

      5. Break out the pad and pencil and take note. When the real SHTF, make sure you pay them a little visit, en masse.

        • What, you’re going to shoot your neighbor because his lawn is green?

          There’s another guy on here who’s going to shoot mailmen and forest rangers when SHTF, since we all know public employees are the problem and revenge is sweet.

      6. Can not argue the point. Indeed if a person buys the water, pays whatever fine is dished out for “over use”, what is there to argue about? Myself, I would not water a lawn at extra cost, but can not condem someone who can afford to, and decides to do so. I find it amusing how the same people who demands freedoms, then argues that thier neighbor should be forced into X, Y, or Z. If you argue that the State should not control your actions, give your neighbor the same benefit.

        • You are exactly right. These “rich people” aren’t taking anything, they are buying it. I notice too, how many are after the government in Montana and other places for confiscating water rights but are seemingly OK with it since it’s California doing it in a drought. Not the first water war, may or may not be the last, but these folks are paying the going rate and not stealing anything. A-holes? Perhaps. Criminals who deserve to be attacked “en masse”…no, and shame on those who suggest it. To me, this is just one more reason NOT to live in Commiefornia.

          • Jameson, it remains to be seen how that situation in MT will turn out. I believe they’ll have a lot of trouble trying to enforce it.

        • Yeah, there do seem to be a lot of hypocrites around don’t there?

        • Jim,

          If a wealthy neighbor rapes a child and can effort the best attorney that money can buy to go free then you are OK as far as your definition of freedom?

          • No. Your correlation is a red herring. The child was not for sale at any price. You can’t equate buying water with violating a child. That’s just stupid.

      7. So let me get this straight. If you have more money you get more water because you pay a higher property tax? By that logic my guns should get me more respect. My d*** should get me more p****, and my truck should have it’s own lane by now! After all, I work and pay more taxes than about 70% of this nation’s people. Where’s my share? Oh, that’s right! I’m not a narcissistic, greedy little turd. Sometimes, not often, I wish I lived out there just to drain their pools, piss on their lawns, and slash their tires. When the crap hits the fan let it be known; I will not harbor the wealthy.

        • So, you got preps? Food, clothing, shelter, arms, medicine, tools and what not. You bought them with money you earned. I ain’t got none. I want yours. Just because you paid for yours don’t cut no ice. You is a rich bitch and I’m comin’ for a bit of my own.

          Hypocrite.

          • Orn, I worked for my preps. Bought and paid for out of my own pocket. I and my own are my priority. Anyone who comes to take mine attempts to do so at their own peril. If they didn’t prep, tough shit. I’m not responsible for any other people except my own.

            • Me too.
              That’s what I’m sayin’ braveone. The rich jokers pay for their water too. So what makes some think they have a right to it? I got mine, bought and paid for. Just like you braveheart, you want mine you buy it the hard way.

              Ahh, NSA, just sayin’. Harharharharhar

      8. The way I understand it, agriculture in Cali uses 80% of the water but is only 20% of the economy. Maybe if they stop trying to farm a desert the prices of veggies would come up enough to make it profitable for the rest of the country to farm them.

        • Where do you get your statistics?

          This is what I find: “Statewide, average water use is roughly 50% environmental, 40% agricultural, and 10% urban.” Source: ht tp://www.ppic.org/main/publication_show.asp?i=1108

          Several other government and private sources report the same thing within a percent of each other.

      9. Come to Texas, May was the wettest month in a while and more rain coming. Sorry, I don’t have that much concern for CA, we are plenty busy with work and staying dry here (rainout this afternoon)

        I do take issue with your statement:

        “the latest executive order signed by President Obama on March 16, 2012 makes clear that in the event of a nationally deemed emergency all of these resources will fall under the authority of the United States government.”

        That sh*t only works on an unarmed population, we’re NOT.

        • 🙂

      10. Egore,Cali. is going to cut back on ag water use,that said,as just out there working saw many farmers leaving state due to water and the rest of govt. nonsense to greener pastures(pun intended).As for the govt. trying to steal peoples food/water in a emergency,hit the trigger witch/pull the trigger on firearm/resist/fight in all ways possible,then,tis open warfare with our own govt.Sad times it seems we are headed for.

        On a side note,have made it me personal mission to note/report any disparaging comments about other posters here,(why,am bored and it’s raining),so,remember,lets all be civil dammit!

        • “disparage”, Hey WAR , i like that word.
          Could i use it to describe what all this damn rain is doin to my garden ? (seeds rotting in soil)
          Or all the hay i cant get outta the damn soakin wet fields ?

          Its just a matter of time before these fools decide to drain the Great Lakes , just because “they can afford to pay for it” .
          OH , the writing is on the wall.
          I hope Canada raises hell….

          • I too, am getting tired of the rain.

            • I gotta a couple steers i named kaitlyn and bruce.
              They spend way too much time together.
              LOL

              • Sorry, I know that sounds of topic , but they are pissin in a stream that heads south towards the nestle bottling plant .
                I have also heard the two queer steers often talk about modifying firearms and reloading , so i think they may be Tea Party members working undercover.
                I spend alotta time with the cows……….

                Please stop the rain , i need to get back to work.

          • Weve been getting tons of rain too, quite unusual.

            • We NEED that rain.

        • Warchild, uh, one of those federal idiot judges cut off Cali farmers from water a few years because of some alleged ‘endangered species’. At least half and maybe more of Cali’s farmland are just dust fields now. Food shortages coming before too long, I’m afraid.

          • Braveheart, that “fish” was called the delta smelt. It was NOT native to that area. It serves NO use as food or any other function of the food chain.

            It’s loss would literally go unnoticed.

            Yet it was planted there and laws were enacted around it, just as has been the case in many other places around here.

            Land of the free? Wrong.

            Home of the brave? Wrong again.

            The only “brave” you’ll see is what the worthless eaters are going to become when they get their free shit shut off.

            • Billy Hill, thanks for refreshing my memory. The free shit army will lose it when their shit gets cut off.

              • Any who paid attention to geological surveys/site evaluations for the last FOUR decades realise the food belt/valley in Cali. was basically pure luck weasther/water wise for the settlers.That region usually very arid for thousands of years has been the norm.You took away all the water users would still be turning back to a much drier/arid environment.

      11. Time is past to learn how to garden.

      12. That’s nice to know, preppers are just prepping for the common good. smh

        • Like hell we are.

      13. SHTF is going to be a great equalizer.

        So….all of these wealthy people…..what are they going to do when their paper wealth evaporates? How will they pay for their water then? They’ll be on the same level as everyone else. A lot of them will be begging for stuff to keep them alive I suspect. They’ll have big houses that they won’t be able to defend, or even support. No electricity….no water….no gas….no practical skills….and nothing with which to defend what they do have.

        It’s going to be interesting.

      14. Rolling blackouts (in the past at least) and now this drought?

        These things are intentional IMHO.

        I used to wonder why the counties in that state would keep constantly issuing building permits, etc. while complaining about lacking resources.

      15. Those super rich ass holes in California can take comfort in the thought that Rush Limbaugh and Shaun Hannity would wholeheartedly agree with them. Does wealth breed greed or does greed breed wealth? I ask this because it is very rare to hear of a wealthy people that’s not greedy and conniving.

        • I know all kinds of wealthy people, none of whom I would consider either greedy or conniving.

          Of course, I tend to avoid the political class on all economic levels so I wouldn’t know about the wealthy among them.

          FWIW, all the people I’ve known in my life that I’ve thought of as greedy, conniving, or both have been in the lower economic ranks.

          • Maybe you need to get out more.

            • Or maybe you need to know a wider variety of people.

        • No…I’ve worked with (not for, but alongside) wealthy people for over two decades. I also visited indigenous tribes in the depths of the Amazon Jungles of South America. Some of the greediest, entitled bastards I ever saw were there.

          Greed and a sense of entitlement always coexist – if one has a sense of entitlement they will also be greedy… and vice-versa. The two just go hand-in-hand.

          There is no correlation with one’s wealth and greed/sense of entitlement. Most greedy, entitled people I know are actually poor or middle-class. Yes, some wealthy people are very greedy and shallow and entitled and all that but not all of them. There’s just no correlation with wealth and greed. It has to do with one’s internal character.

          I know about the 1% and yes they are greedy. But “All wealthy people are greedy AND all middle-class or poor people are not all greedy” is a false statement.

          On another note, the greedy, entitled ones will surely disrupt the peaceful ones in a SHTF… regardless of their socioeconomic status and income bracket – they WILL destroy. That’s who you have to watch out for.

          Anyone with greedy bastard entitlement types (regardless of their class/status) in their SHTF camp/team are doomed, even if they are very well prepped. If they have these personality traits they will feel entitled to more than their share and will take more than give.

          They are takers, not contributors — we are one OR the other, not both… regardless of our income & socio-economic status.

          • I think we CAN be both takers and contributors, if you only take what you need, when you really need it, then contribute what you can, when you can afford to.

            It’s a “WHAT GOES AROUND, COMES AROUND” thing.

          • Before they were corrupted by capitalism and the Church, indigenous tribes actually existed with a form of benevolent Socialism. Once a year there would be a celebration where the more fortunate shared their wealth with poorer members. Everything got evened out and everybody survived. Then the Church condemned the practice as paganism, the sharing stopped, and you ended up with a few wealthy people and lots of poor people. Claiming that the poor are greedier and more entitled than the rich isn’t based in reality and doesn’t take into account the many reasons why people behave the way they do.

      16. No matter who it is in this world; CLEAN FRESH WATER IS THE LIFE BLOOD OF EVERTHING!! We run out we DIE plain and simple.

        • ^^^^^^^^^^^THIS^^^^^^^^^^^

      17. IF we had gone to war in WW2 with THIS current generation; we would have not only lost; we would have lost BADLY. What selfish bastards.

      18. Eh
        Let it dry up

        • What about raisins?

          Oh yeah, I just remembered…

          Raisins a small loss and besides, there are too many fruits there anyhow.

      19. These “rich” people have a ton of resources. All you armchair commandos who want us to believe that if SHTF you are just going to stroll on over and commandeer their water/food/golf clubs are in for a surprise. They will be on their yacht headed to their island that’s set up to sustain 100 people for 20 years, leaving heavy security behind.

        They did not get rich by being dumb (generally).

        I’d say the biggest part of prepping (at least for us) was getting rich. By “rich” I mean, if I want it or need it, I simply go get it. Think about that, then go start a business. Then maybe you’ll be able to afford water too, in the near future.

        • Is there really any difference between those here talking about going after the property of “the rich” (stealing from them) when/if things go sour and, say, the rioters in Baltimore or Ferguson and such who went after the property of “the rich” there during a short lived breakdown of law and order?

          I don’t see it if there is, two peas in a pod the way it looks to me. Same attitude towards anyone doing better than themselves, same blaming all of their own problems on them, and same desire to just take it from them instead of working to improve their positions through hard work and honest effort.

          FWIW, to those unable to accept responsibility for their own position “the rich” is anyone doing better than they are and YOU are “the rich” to someone doing worse than you. Keep that in mind.

          • Absolutely right.

        • Monolabegirl, you make some valid points, but you won’t find any armchair commandos here.

        • So some preppers get to refuse to help their neighbors with food and water when SHTF, that’s OK, but the neighbor can’t buy the water he puts on his lawn. Great big double standard there by some folks.

          Haven’t seen anyone talk about the water useage of an illegal alien. If they weren’t here, maybe the resource wouldn’t be quite so stretched.

      20. Hey it’s raining in the rich yard go collect some water there just don’t get caught.

      21. The reality is this. There is a limited supply of water in California. There are a few people who can afford to waste water and are rubbing it in other people’s faces. If rich people were 100% cut off from getting any water, it wouldn’t make the supply last more than a few days or weeks longer.

        Taking from one and giving to another is Communism. We wouldn’t want any of our stuff taken away and given to the “gimmedats,” would we?

        If I were one of the people “making water happen” in California right now, I’d be tempted to leave and go Galt. I can see everybody right now, jumping up and down, and pouting, saying “Do something. You know how to do things.” Just like in “Atlas Shrugged.” I just got through reading it again this weekend. Everyone in this country should read it. You can skip the atheistic and mushy stuff if you want, but the rest of the book is great.

        I say don’t worry about California. I don’t eat oranges anyway. Just about everything else they grow there is grown just as well in NC. (My fig bushes are hanging full of little figs now.) They’ll soon figure out that California is mostly natural desert and that there are way too many people there for rainfall to support.

        • Arch,believe all producers in this country should “Go Galt” to best of ability,I know am trying as much as poss. in important ways to get off of the grid/matrix,do not believe am alone by a long shot!

          • I started working for myself over 10 years ago.

            I bought “Atlas Shrugged” when I was only 16. It was only $1.75 back then, a pretty good bargain.

        • Archivist, damn good points. I’ve got something the ‘gimmedats’ don’t want, if you get my drift.

          • I may just have some of the same thing. They used to come in boxes of 550.

      22. I live on the Central Coast of California and work at a nursery where we sell vegetables, native plants and drought tolerant plants. The majority of the customers over the last year, wealthy or not, have stopped watering their lawns and let them die. A few, very few, have the attitude expressed by the rich douchebags interviewed. They are the minority.

        I live in a very agriculturally intensive area, a breadbasket of produce. Here locally we have water in our aquifer, we live off the wells, but just over the mountains 50 miles south their reservoir is at 26% capacity. More dams on the rivers in California would not have helped prevent what is going on right now. The lack of snowpack in the Sierra Nevada mountain range is what is causing the reservoirs to run dry. No snowpack and the reservoirs do not fill in the early summer time. Same conditions are happening in Oregon and Washington, the snow pack is not there to recharge the reservoirs.

        I garden and teach others how to garden, barter for eggs, trade produce, save seeds year after year, and am generous with my neighbors who watch out for my place and I keep an eye out for them. We are all educated, but live at working class or less wages. When the SHTF my life will not be much different than it is already! The rich with their affluent lifestyles will suffer greatly when they realize that their money can no longer buy them all the water they want, cause it’s not there.

        Live frugally now, so when you must live frugally later it is all just daily life.

        • Good advice. I wish you much success and awareness in the coming months.

        • Gardener,was just working Monterey and hanging in the valley/artichoke capital and all.While out there and hearing about water issues read about a guy who stopped watering his lawn thinking he was helping to save water,was threatened by the town with fines if he kept it up!You people live in nice country but even your local govt. seems insane these days!

          • Hey Warchild, every municipality is different. many HOA’s (Home Owners Associations) have rules about keeping up with lawns in their bylaws. Some are stupid and keeping with their rules despite the current environmental reality of the drought. Many municipalities on the other hand are paying people to take out water intensive plants and replace with drought tolerant. Where I live if you water your lawn and it overflows into the street you will be fined. It is different everywhere.

      23. Gee, where are all those “blame the Jews” arrogant Nazis who monopolize this site every day? Surely they can blame the drought on the Jews too, right? Let’save some time and summarize their next posts below:

        Rabbi Herman Globotnik wrote in 1250 to kill all the non-Jews. And take out their cats and dogs, too. Every Jew has a hidden copy of this book they secretly read by candlelight at 3 am, while patting their stomach, rubbing their head, and jumping up and down on one foot. After all, these anti-Jew Hitler lovers tell us so! And they tell us so every day, every 5 minutes (no one is against their free speech; rather, we are just sick of them monopolizing this site with their incessant diatribes and absurd comments).

        – Things Jews are responsible for according to these Einsteins (ooops! he was Jew! Sorry!!!):

        1.) Gentile halitosis. Rabbi Elmer Maimonides wrote in his classic “Kill, kill, kill” – written 1135 AD right after he composed the original screen play (they had already planned television in 1135 AD to take over the world of course) called West Schtict Story

        2.) The collapse of the 1968 Cubs, as well as the fact that Cubs haven’t won a World Series in a century. Clearly yet another plot from Rabbi Maimonides, which he has plotted for hundreds of years (BTW, according to our Nazi lover friends, he’s still alive, living in disguise as a housewife in Poughkeepsie, NY, having discovered a magic elixir composed of eye of newt, wing of bat and fermented cheese whiz.

        3.) Binding underwear. Just another way to plot the demise of gentiles. You know what heat does to male reproductive function!

        5.) Ronco and Popeil commercials. Nothing has shortened the lives of more gentiles than those annoying advertisements (other than their own Nazis annoying, daily nutty rants).

        6.) Hemhorrhoids. Clearly another Jewish plot, centuries in the making, but now coming into the fore

        7.) Ingrown toenails. Another way to slowly sap the work ethic of gentiles. Foot odor was also invented by Jews to plague Gentile.

        8.) The invention of disco. Barry Manilow and Neil Diamond are Jewish, so need I say more?

        9.) Platform shoes and bell bottoms in the 1970s. Think of how many gentiles have died falling off platform shoes, or being blown away in a wind by bell bottoms!! This again can be read about in Rabbi Horseschnitt’s Protocols of the Really Old Dudes of Zion, dated to the year 1055 by that venerable,world renowned historian, Bitter Old Granny.

        10>) Justin Bieber. While not Jewish, he’s so annoying, he might as well be.

        So – no need to read the every 5 minute anti-Jewish diatribes here. I think I have captured at least most what they were going to say today. So, maybe the will spare us their “squashing their free speech” whine and get a clue that people are not trying to stop free speech – we are just SICK of you partially informed nitwits usurping a wonderful site for your own ignorant ends.

        • I really liked my double-knit polyester bell bottoms, and my bright colored shirts with the long collars, and my five-inch wide ties, and my cowboy boots, and my sideburns. Boy I looked good in the seventies.

          Actually, I liked a lot of the disco records. I have a signed hot pink 12-inch disco record of “Hot Shot” by Karen Young. That’s got to be worth a fortune now.

          And I have all of Barry Manilow’s albums. But I am puzzled by the fact that Neil Diamond actually recorded Christmas albums.

        • Anon. OK I’ll say it. Pretty fucking good humor!

        • The reason that the oldtimers (Pre WW2) planted corn so far apart was that they had to suppress weeds by mechanical cultivation. Close planting made that impossible. While it surely did have some effect on the water usage, that wasn’t the reason they did it.

          True that corn is an extremely water-hungry crop. Still amazes me to see it being grown on industrial farms in places like the lower Wood River Valley in Idaho where water is scarce. Also nitrogen-hungry, so it needs large amounts of ammonium nitrate every year. I decided to forget corn this year. Beans, squash and cabbage, aside from boutique veggies like spinach.

        • What I really regret is wasting two minutes of my life reading that stupid BS.

        • Bravo……did you steal that off of the Southern Poverty Law Center website.

        • More kvetching about da Yids? Oy Vey!

        • “Gee, where are all those “blame the Jews” arrogant Nazis who monopolize this site every day? Surely they can blame the drought on the Jews too, right? ”

          Chemtrails and HAARP are causing the drought.

          Chemtrails and HAARP are under the control of the U.S. Government.

          The U.S. Government is under the control of Israel.

          Yes, Zionists are at fault for the drought.

          Stop being a fucking moron.

      24. i dont water my lawn but i will when i put new grass down. people have $ invested in their property and if they can afford the water bill i say let them. i got a letter from the electric company saying i use more energy than my neighbors whats it to them i pay every time on time. i will use 10 times as much if i feel like it. same thing goes for water. its not a rich vs poor thing its a free market thing. im all for that. if you like box limits on ammo your a socialist imho and believe in obamas plan of redistribution making us all equal whether we produce anything or not. if you have the $ to buy all the 22lr when you arive there you should be able to. it is fair and businesses that sell things are trying to make$. some people have more $ than others its just the facts of life. im getting sick of people beating up on rich people sure some are just scumbags but this cannoty be said of all wealthy folks. just remember some rich guy put up the $investment to buy vehicles and tools and the facility you are working in. why should he be on equal footing as the employees. there would be no incentive for him to make the investment.you should be mad at the state for systematically destroying businesses thus killing jobs.

      25. jeez is water that hard to get in cali. in mass they flood the cranberry bogs aint no water shortage here but i think the water supply boards are selling to bottlers like nestle. the water here is the best tasting straight out of the tap you will find.

        • Asshat, the well water and creek water at the BOL is some of the best I’ve ever had in my life, better than where I’m at now. No water issues east of Ol’ Man River.

      26. Agreed, live frugally because there isn’t much I can do to affect the actions or agendas of corporate America, the 1%, the government (small g intended), therefore we choose not to waste our time or energy on them (other than keeping an eye on them). Instead, and rather than bitch and moan, our position is: what can we realistically do to resolve or mitigate problems?

        On water, well the figure is one inch of rain on one acre = in excess of 26,000 gallons of free and pure water. So, why not harvest it. We are in an arid area that has been under drought for several years, this year the exception. So far over three inches. Have harvested enough from roofs alone to fill every water tank and ponds. Every rain and water barrel, even a slew of hastily purchased garbage cans are full. The catchment barrels and ponds now overflow cause there is no where to store it-and yes, the facilities to purify it against bird droppings and contaminants from storage are in place.

        When/if we get our ducks in a row may be we’ll join the good fight, that is if there is a serious movement, but first priority is and will be providing for our needs.

      27. I was thinking what about switching to less water intesive crops. Drought resistant corn and such. If we make changes now, we may have a chance in the long run. i don;t agree with the puke in interview, I do agree with helping those willing, able and wanting to help themselves. In the end, trade will replace our crap banking system and that’s good. In the end, people will come together and live more frugal than before because they have to. If we plan it, we can have our bellies full,local farming that is sustainable, local trade tat is amicable local LAW that is run by us..not multi national !@#$ers. Growing decorative plants (native plants that aid such as Alvera…) and a culture of mutual respect. Those that want are/ will get it and I will not be afraid nor unprepared to fight to defend..I would just rather not have to to. Isn’t that a form of prepping also? A “preemptive attitude towards securing a future outcome favorable to most (won’t say all because for certain there will be the POS that want to take it all by force..hope they have back up…Uhhh!!!! no i don’t…just a thought

        • Many years ago, my father pointed out a problem with the way farmers plant corn nowadays. They plant the corn too close together assuming that they will get enough rain to have a bumper crop every year. If they planted it farther apart, as in the old days, it wouldn’t be quite as vulnerable to less rainfall. And each stalk could have more than one or two ears because of the increased spacing.

      28. A new Del Webb Sun City project phase is going up near Apple Valley, CA. 400+ more homes in the High Desert to be marketed at about $200,000 to $250,000 per unit. HOA fees apply too. Nice, isn’t it? It’s ok if a person doesn’t mind close neighbors, low-flow toilets and 5-min showers. Planting trees and grass might be kind of “optional.”

      29. “’California used to be the land of opportunity and freedom,” Barbre said. “It’s slowly becoming the land of one group telling everybody else how they think everybody should live their lives.’” Well, that’s America in general, nowadays. That’s the core of the problem with “obeying” police–or else being killed by them for disobedience. It’s that it’s not about oneself leaving others alone–for which everyone has the self-inherent right and duty to defend oneself from those who won’t leave one alone. It is about not being left alone by those who insist on controlling others and, therefore, having to defend oneself from such regulators of others.

      30. The water usage by the residents of California only accounts for 8% of the state’s total water consumption. The rich account for about 1% of the population. So if the rich were able to completely cut their water consumption, it would only account for less than one tenth of a percent in water saved.
        The problem is that the enviros in California prevented the construction of all new reservoirs proposed since 1979 despite the fact that the state’s population has nearly doubled in that time.
        It might be politically fashionable to bash the rich, but that will solve absolutely nothing.

        • The rich funded much of that anti-infrastructure activism. Let ’em bake in the sun. Maybe stake ’em out on an anthill like the Comanches used to do.

      31. The wealthly have always viewed themselves as more deserving than others. Could prove to be a fatal mistake.

      32. Everyone gets the same amount of ice.
        The rich get it in the summer and the poor get it in the winter.

        • hahaha! 🙂

      33. Everyone gets the same amount of ice.
        The rich get it in the summer and the poor get it in the winter.

      34. I enjoy using lots of water. If I can afford to pay for it, I should be able to use as much as I want. I don’t live in California, but if I did, I’d just pay the fine and do what I want. If the “poor” can’t afford to pay for water, they should relocate to where the water is.

      35. It has always been thus. The rich have always bought more than an equal share of everything and they always will. What changes is the medium of exchange. What has value? Money,votes, bullets? If you have the most valuable stuff, you get the most stuff.

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