State of the Union 2010

Prepardness can be overwhelming, so much to consider, so much could go wrong! Terrorism, viral mutations, EMP, CME, Tyranny, Economic collapse……Behind the thin veil of efficiency and sophistication lies the truth; that we as a society, are one tragedy away from chaos. Those who have dared to lift the curtain have made the choice to do something about it. Survivalism has changed in the last 5 years, most notably in the last two. It used to be that Survivalism was the realm of “odd people” who had detached themselves from the workings of society, holed up in a remote mountain retreat rarely if ever interacting with “normal people” except to come into town for supplies. That was the public perception anyway.

In the last year, survival related businesses have seen a boom. Long term food suppliers, bunker manufacturers, and gun dealers have all experienced a spike in sales that betray the limping economy. In effect it is not that those of us who have been survivalists for years have suddenly stepped up our pace of preparations so much as it is the infusion of new people into our ranks. Why? Could it be a form of “Collective Consciousness” that has eluded explanation by the scientific community? Perhaps it is the state of our Union and the state of the World that is causing alarm bells to ring in any household that is paying the slightest bit of attention or possesses the smallest shred of intellectual honesty.
There seems to have been an awakening that is taking place, that as things are now, they can no longer be maintained. It is almost as if a tipping point has been reached and the “battle lines” clearly defined for the first time in 40 years. There will always be those who cannot read the writing on the wall because the language in which it is written is foreign to them and those who can read it but are unable to bring themselves to accept its message. Americans are not unique in that, it happened in Russia, Poland, Ukraine, Germany and Italy.

“It will not get any worse” was a phrase recounted many times by many people in Eastern Europe during the wars and most famously exposed by a German of Jewish decent. His father would always utter the phrase when a new round of restrictions were imposed upon them. He last heard it as his family was loaded into the cattle cars. He never saw his father again.

Some of us must be hopeful that the tide can still be turned, that all that is good in the human spirit will come forth and find a way forward. They will carry the torch in the dark days ahead and provide much needed goodwill. This is not to say they possess naiveté to the seriousness of the situation, but a steadfast belief that God’s man will not falter in defense of what is good and righteous in our world.

So where are we today? In response to austerity measures riots have broken out in Greece, England, France, Russia and Spain. Agitators of a communist persuasion have stirred the pot. In the year to come they are likely to stir more vigorously. Terrorism initiated by radicalized Muslims continues around the globe sucking more and more upon the freedoms of law abiding citizens. North Korea seems hell bent on conflict to solidify the power of its rulers. Germany, tired of bailing out every country in the European Union (in part with money provided by the US/IMF) is contemplating letting the dominos fall. Inflation (8%-11%) has reared its ugly head in the BRIC countries which will drive the prices for food higher, sparking civil unrest as people can no longer afford to feed their families. China and Russia have agreed to trade in their own currencies rather than the World Currency (USD). Afghanistan is still ripe with government corruption (due to its cultural tribal system) despite the efforts of 10 years to establish stability.

Canada has just slashed their corporate tax rate to 16% to our 35%, meanwhile, back home, our President is still talking of raising that even more through Carbon Emissions taxes. Our government continues to initiate through regulation what it cannot accomplish through legislation. The MSM continues to turn a blind eye to logic, common sense and reason opting instead to put forth the premise that “all is well”, spewing little more than propaganda each night to a public who has little time (because they are trying to keep a job) to explore beyond the headlines. The one form of media free from constant government oversight (internet) is in the crosshairs of the FCC, which despite having been told by the Supreme Court it has no authority to regulate, is pushing full steam ahead, with little more than a dull sigh from the public. The prices of things that consumers routinely buy like food, gasoline and heating oil have gone up significantly (6-35%) and continue to rise. Ben Bernanke continues to proclaim that there just isn’t enough inflation so we need to monetize the debt to create more. Cities and towns are nearing insolvency, public union pensions are breaking the banks, State governments are refusing to allow re-negotiations (Michigan). States already faced with un-payable debts are seeking to borrow still more (Illinois for example). On average, public sector employees receive pay and benefits almost double that of the private worker, while active duty military personal received little or no increase in their already meager wages. Social Security is in the red for the first time this year, at the very start of the much lauded retirement of the “Baby Boom” generation, yet congress passes a 2% respite in the S.S. tax for current workers. Despite the obvious increases at the grocery stores and fuel pumps, seniors received no cost of living increases this year. Bond markets are indicating a rise in the interest rates which will significantly increase the amount of interest we must pay on our nearly 15 trillion dollar debt, pushing the yearly amount paid closer to the $1 trillion mark. Tax revenues are continuing to decline.

If this does not paint a picture of a government looking to self destruct, I don’t know what is. We are in a situation where statistics and numbers are so manipulated and managed that they are no longer believable, I suspect that many of the numbers I provided above are far more rosy than reality, politically motivated government statistics are never engineered to a truthful worst case scenario.
Extend and pretend is about to come to a screeching halt, not just for us but for the world. Unless some new technology akin to the microchip is discovered, our journey into creative financing is about to hit a wall of misery. Because of the tangled web we have woven it is impossible to predict which domino will fall first, only that without a miracle it will fall hard.

In the year ahead my plan is to continue to do what I have been doing: Continue trying to get those around me to lift the curtain and take a peek, make a list of things that I want to accomplish each month towards self sufficiency, read everything I can get my hands on, pick up at least 6 new “hobbies” each year and watch things very carefully. That is a New Year’s resolution I know I will keep.

Good Read. I like both of your posts.