Neo-Survivalist

The news is full of “unrest” it seems like.  We have the mosque going in at ground zero.  We have a pastor in Gainesville, FL that is looking to do a public burning of Korans.  The Gainesville pastor has gained international attention at every level – truly amazing.

Furthermore, pastors from other churches now are possibly looking to mimic the Gainesville event.  All of this adds up to further unrest.  I’m not going to comment on the acts themselves because I think they’re a little over played now anyways, but the point is that unrest is everywhere these days.

I recently talked about the Gainesville guy with one of my friends who said he shouldn’t do it because it will prevent people from peacefully living together.  I thought to myself since when have people lived peacefully together?  The world has and will continue to be chaotic.  The world is full of various people groups and controlled by various interests – tension is the constant reality in the world.

As a young man with a young family, I can’t help but notice what is going on in the world.  Couple these things with the growing economic uncertainty and it makes me take action.  It makes me want to do things that people consider weird and extreme in the name of protecting my family.  Buying a gun, buying some extra food, etc. these things are viewed by many as extreme and even more as unnecessary.  Maybe it is, maybe it isn’t, but I don’t think I’m willing to risk it.

After all, the insurance that comes from “prepping” doesn’t cost much yet might be incredibly valuable in the right circumstances.

Side note: the Gainesville pastor is making a political statement.  Whether you agree with it or not, I don’t exactly think that it should be the focus of a pastor to be making political statements.  Not exactly preaching the gospel if you know what I mean.

America, Christianity, General Preparedness

Here’s a shot of the recent Atlanta riots over the folks waiting for their government handout.  This is definitely a scene we will see more of in the future.

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America, Financial Preparation

It pains me to say, but America is facing some massive, massive challenges in the days ahead and I have zero confidence in our leadership to navigate these waters and do the right thing.

Consider the current challenges and responses:

• The Iraq/Afghan wars that continue on way longer than they should – Obama is focused on chastizing General McChrystal for his remarks in an interview – word is that he is going to resign.
• The illegal immigration situation in Arizona is worsening by the day.  Reports are that Mexican gangs have setup lookout points in the Arizona hills.  What is Obama and his administration focused on?  Suing the state of Arizona of course for the legislation to combat illegal immigration.
• The economy is worsening by the day and nothing has been fixed since the 2008 crisis.  Housing is showing that it’s heading much lower despite massive stimulus.  Obama is focused on empowering unions as evidenced by his constant meetings with SEIU chief.
• The Gulf oil spill is a disaster.  Not sure what Obama’s response here is besides promoting the building of wind mills in the next 10 years.  The consensus is that his response is not enough.  There is no plan to stop this thing.

The uncertainties in America unfortunately are increasing.  This is why I prep.  This is why I am taking defensive measures to prepare my family and I for whatever might happen down the road.

Yes, I focused on President Obama here in this article.  I think he’s doing a terrible job and is implementing all the wrong policies.  Don’t get me wrong, I’d love to see him voted out.  Sadly, I don’t have much confidence in his replacement either even if it is the other party.  We’re passed the point of being able to turn this thing around without a great deal of pain.  Obama isn’t the main problem, he’s a symptom of the problem.  The main problem is that a long time ago Americans decided that they didn’t want to take care of themselves.

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It’s astonishing that almost two months into the Gulf oil spill crisis, nobody has stood in front of a TV camera and explained the solution to this problem.  Could it be that there is no solution?  This is pretty scary, but the prospects of this oil spill lasting much, much longer look to be increasing.

The gulf economy could be devastated for years.  With countless businesses suffering and some going under, more Americans are likely to be added to the unemployment numbers over the coming months.  Furthermore, the moratorium on drilling might further hamper businesses and the job situation in the Gulf areas.

On the other hand, President Obama is set to take his message to the airwaves tonight in a national message from the Oval Office.  Unfortunately, rather than explain a plan on how we will plug this oil leak, it looks like he’s going to take the time to outline his policies to strengthen government as a result of this spill.

For more reading, consider the following:

• Oil hurricanes may cause toxic rain (SHTF Plan)
• Oil price shock coming? (20smoney)
• Update on how bad things can get in the Gulf (Uncommon Wisdom)

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The American economy continues to crumble, despite now over a year of supposed “green shoots” and hints of recovery.  For a good example of the continued weakness, consider that the latest GDP revision was just revised lower to growth of 3.0% (a very anemic number considering the unprecedented stimulus that was injected into the economy).

The problem here is that there is no solution to our problems, we passed the luxury of having a viable option long ago.  We essentially have two options – print money to inflate our way out or choose austerity and fiscal responsibility.  Let’s look at each option.

Re-Inflate

This has been the official course of action for some time.  Whenever a slowdown occurs, we lower rates and we enact policies to stimulate the economy.  We also have resorted to quantitative easing which is basically printing money to buy financial assets.  These measures are very inflationary.  The problem is that over time, each additional “dose” of stimulus is less and less effective.  The diminishing return on more and more debt and more and more stimulus must be very troubling for our central planners.

The central bankers are essentially trying to outrun the credit destruction and massive debt losses in the economy.  More and more printing of money will be needed to continue to do this.  Eventually, it will turn to a currency crisis which will result in a complete loss of confidence in the dollar.

To guard against this, you should have assets in precious metals and other inflation-hedged instruments.

American Austerity

There are signs of this trend moving forward as well (i.e. the victory of Rand Paul in the Kentucky primary a few weeks ago).  While this would normally be a great sign as Americans move toward deficit reduction and fiscal responsibility, as I said before, we passed up this opportunity long ago.  We can no longer choose this option without massive, massive consequences.  The consequences would be nothing short of devastating.

To enact strict fiscal restraint and essentially cut off all (or most) government stimulus and support of the economy would essentially result in an overnight crash.  Our economy is currently running on this government money.

As the crash would be very painful and even more visible than inflation (people on the streets versus higher priced products), I doubt this movement will gain widespread political adoption.  Politicians always choose the politically advantageous inflationary measures, so I think we will continue to print money in a futile attempt to save the economy.

You Have Time

The good news is that you have time while the government buys us time with their inflation while the deflation counter-acts the results.  You should spend this time wisely.  Make financial preparations.   Make other preperations.  Because eventually, the party will end.  You will want to be ready.

America, Economy, Financial Preparation

The divisions within American between various groups continue to intensify.  A few weeks ago we saw the continuing tensions between Arizona and Los Angeles over the illegal immigration legislation.  I think this will continue to be a source of tension, specifically for the southwest region of America.

Today, we saw the tension over the proposed Mosque that will be an enormous structure built on the site of the World Trade Center.  There are several major sources of tension that we should continue to see increase in America:

1. Tensions between ethnic groups (illegal immigration, Muslims)
2. Increased crime and other results from a lasting economic recession/depression
3. Political tension will increase and divisions will increase as well move into 2010 elections and especially the 2012 election season

The country is a long way away from the brief unity that was felt immediately following the 9/11 attacks.  Instead of focusing on self-reliance, responsibility, and hard work to re-build this country, Americans seem to rather point fingers, blame politicians, and borrow money to sustain their lives.

Be sure to keep a low profile and be able to protect yourselves.  If you saw the recent video of the SEIU members storming the lawn of the Bank of America exec, I think it’s something that will continue especially as the main street economy crumbles.  You don’t want to have the appearance of having money as more and more people get broker and broker.

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Amazing days indeed here in the land of the free.  Years ago, if someone were to tell you that the state of Arizona is threatening the city of Los Angeles to cut off its power if L.A. boycotts Arizona’s economy due to Arizona desiring to protect its southern border, all the while the President of Mexico delivers two speeches in two days (one from the White House lawn and one to the entire Congress) bashing Arizona’s intent to enforce its laws to the approval of the United States President and to the applause of hundreds of Democrats, what would you have said?  No way?  Well, today is that day.

The President who promised to bring us together has done anything but.  In fact, most Americans would be hard pressed to find a time when Americans were more bitterly divided.  Let’s add to the mix record foreclosures, decades-high unemployment, a potential currency crisis, and the likelihood of another stock market crash rising each day.  Oh yes, let’s throw in an historic environmental catastrophe in the Gulf of Mexico that might impact economies from Louisiana to Florida.  These major issues facing this country will only cause more bitterness, finger pointing and ultimately maybe civil unrest.

What happens if and when other states (such as Texas?) decide to also pass similar legislation to Arizona’s much-talked about illegal immigration legislation?  Will Los Angeles boycott Texas too?  It seems like the United States are moving in a direction of being anything but united.

If the civil order that Americans are used to were to be broken down, it’s easy to see some of the regional groups that would form.  People are very different here in America, and it seems like the more diverse the area of the country, the more issues there are (this is not a stab at diversity, just seeing reality).

As I watch these events unfold, I can’t help but think how important it is to prepare for some level of instability.  You don’t need to be an extremist to be concerned about current events here in America.  My recommendation, be able to defend yourselves.  If you haven’t checked it out, check out the beginner’s guide to firearms on this site.  It’s a great resource.  Secondly, make sure you have some basic supplies stored in the event of some kind of supply chain disruption or general unrest.  This includes food, water, toiletries, medicine, etc.  This is a risk-free pursuit.  If you stockpile some things, there is no loss (unless something goes bad).  If nothing happens, and life continues as is, then you can just consume the goods you’ve stockpiled.  Again, no risk.

The time to act is now, while you’re still able to do so easily.  Don’t procrastinate.

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For an excellent look at the current issues the American economy as well as the global economy face, check out this excellent video. It’s close to an hour long, but you won’t be disappointed.  Enjoy.

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