Category Archives: Current Events

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Just so you know, I am a big fan of Mike Rowe.  Of course his extended apprenticeships on Dirty Jobs are now a part of pop culture history, along with his narration on Deadliest Catch and others series.  He’s even done commercials for Lee Jeans and Ford Trucks over the past few years.  What I like about him though is he is actually doing something about the skills gap that currently exists in the workforce.  All good things, but then he does a commercial for Wal-Mart and the Leftists throw a fit.

Mike Rowe

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Everything is not OK.

An Actual Trainwreck

Despite what you see on Main Stream Media (MSM) outlets, most of us know the truth about the economy.  The fact is, the US and most other countries are struggling due to the combined effects of slow growth and high debt.  For the past five years this has resulted in economic stagnation as higher taxes and greater regulation take their tool.  As this post over at Zero Hedge states:

The percentage of Americans that have a job has stayed remarkably flat since the end of 2009, median household income has fallen for five years in a row, and the rate of home ownership in the United States has fallen for eight years in a row.  Anyone that claims that the U.S. economy is experiencing a “recovery” is simply not telling the truth.

All this has an impact on preparation activities.  A comprehensive preparation plan will include economic and personal disasters along with the others that we discuss.  Job loss, reduction in hours, unexpected expenses, and other disruptive events are an ongoing reality for millions of people.  The first step in preparing for them is to understand that such events can happen to you with little to no warning.

Here are a few steps you can take to help insulate yourself during these difficult times:

  • Cut expenses – reduce money spent on cable TV, phone, and other recurring bills
  • Reduce commitments – use extra time for creating more revenue and making preparations
  • Protect against loss – get the right kind of insurance to safeguard your assets
  • Re-use and re-purpose items – look at ways of getting more life out of products you already have
  • Eliminate vices – smoking, drinking, gambling, porn, and other sins cost a lot of money
  • Live simply – cut back on dining out and entertainment to focus on necessities
  • Become more independent – make and/or grow more of what you need
  • Add revenue streams – turn skills and hobbies into extra income
  • Acquire marketable skills – become more valuable for challenging times
  • Sell or donate unnecessary items – make money and create space
  • Increase your network – engage other who have skills and contacts that can help you

The good news is that bad times don’t last forever, eventually things will change.  However, we are still in an economic storm that will continue to wreak havoc for years to come.

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I’m sure more than a few people said “oh snap” at Wal-Mart the other day.

When the EBT card system went 404 the other day, chaos ensued.

Now imagine if there was an EBT outage for a day or a week or even a month.  Bob Owens notes that agitators will use outages like this one to stir up trouble through disinformation and paranoia.  This made the problem worse and caused unnecessary waste as products were damaged or spoiled during the outage.  As Monty writes over at Ace of Spades, the nightmare scenario is when the cards stop working permanently because there is no more money to give out.  Think about what that would entail…

There is a larger issue though, that being the definition of “compassion” and the role of government in people’s lives.  As we saw with the EBT outage, there is a multifaceted dysfunction in government-run programs that is corrosive to independence.  Jon Gabriel over at FreedomWorks stated it best when he wrote:

It is immoral that so many poor Americans feel like they must rely on an incompetent government to provide their daily bread. There is nothing compassionate about turning able-bodied adults into helpless wards of the state or grocery store looters…A truly compassionate system would allow businesses to grow and hire, providing our fellow citizens with paychecks instead of handouts. A compassionate system would allow Americans to devote more of their money to effective charities instead of having so much seized by an incompetent government.

So what should a prepared person do to mitigate situations like this?  Here are a few actions you can take that will make you more resilient during an interruption:

  • Stockpile food, water, and other necessities now.  Have a supply (3-days worth, minimum) of essential items on-hand so that you don’t have to go to the store.
  • Have extra cash at home, preferably in a safe.  Electronic payments are great…when everything works correctly.  When they don’t, have some money in various denominations so you can get through the interruption.
  • If you find yourself in a food riot or other civil disturbance, be ready to leave the area as soon as possible.  Crowds can get violent when they are hungry and scared, you want to get away from them immediately.
  • Be ready to protect your home and family if there is a civil disturbance.  Take steps now to protect your domicile by purchasing high-quality locks, installing stronger doors, motion-activated lights, and reinforcing your door jambs.

There is more you can do, which I will cover in other posts.  The key takeaway is to know that civil unrest can take place anywhere when there is an interruption and to make plans now to deal with it.  You can ride the storm out by becoming better prepared and taking the initiative to plan for unplanned outages of all sorts.

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Yeah, you know me!

It may not be exactly like OCP from RoboCop but private policing is becoming more prevalent.  As cities struggle to provide basic services, some communities are looking to corporations to supplement their law enforcement departments.  In the case of Oakland, California private security firms are being crowdsourced to fund extra security in high-crime neighborhoods.  Expect this to continue as the economy continues to experience little to no growth, resulting in lower revenues for municipalities.

I’ve written about this before but it bears repeating, when governments can’t provide essential services private citizens and companies will step in.  While the circumstances that compel this response may be discouraging, the rise of private policing and greater community involvement shows an encouraging trend.  This trend is that corporations and citizens are taking on greater responsibilities while increasing community involvement.  Down the road this points to greater civic involvement and engagement, which are good outcomes.

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Over the last month or so, I’ve spend time reading various books, blogs, and other information sources regarding preparation.  One common theme in several of them is the importance of staying employed.

You would think this would be a relatively straightforward proposition, but times are tough and keeping a job can be a challenge.

However, not having a job can severely hamper your preparation efforts.  Not only does employment provide money to purchase the things you need, it also offers social contacts and learning opportunities.  All are important when turbulence hits.

I’ll have more to write on this subject later but one thought to keep in mind is that “job” doesn’t necessarily mean working for somebody else…

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How fast does it take for societal collapse to take place?

Credit: Getty Images

If the recent history of Libya is any guide, the answer is very fast.

Think about it, less than three years ago Libya was relatively stable and a major oil exporter.  Its former leader had given up supporting terrorism and foreign investment was starting the flow back in.  Libya was in decent shape for an African country, all things considered.  However, the combination of an Arab Spring, simmering tribal disputes, and deep social divides produced a civil war that exploded with almost no warning.  The results are a collapsed society, destroyed infrastructure, and lingering violence that has no clear end in sight.

With this in mind, how prepared are you for a descent into chaos?