SUV city

SUV CITY
Every once in awhile there is mention of a tent city somewhere or another. When I was still in Carson City the Reno tent city was big news. For a second there reason almost prevailed, and the city allowed the tents to remain on the public lot. They set up a few porti-potties and a dumpster and had a patrol car run through on occasion. This was a sensible and cheap way to handle the homeless problem. Well, some special interest group stood to lose money, so I'm sure they got a lawyer involved and some excuse was found to force the people out. Instead of a few bucks every month in sanitation expenses and a few gallons of gas for a cruiser, the city kicked out the 75 homeless and opened up a brand new ten million dollar building that housed twenty people. Insane. But it shows you how special interest groups that have their BMW and college education paid for by forcing a monopoly through government regulation won't stop sucking at the public tit even if fiscal contraction dictate it is the best action. Throughout history, those benefiting from the old system will not alter their behavior even as collapse occurs. Look around you and you can see this everywhere. Whenever anyone suggests some way that will save us if we change, remember that change costs the rich money and those in command power. In other words, ain't going to happen.
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I know I've covered that before. Today, it ties into your strategy for living through the coming collapse. I know you won't buy any junk land. You still think somehow someone will save us before the end. You think you will scrape up your mortgage payment as unemployment hits thirty percent or higher. Or maybe the same guy that sold you Enron stock promises that your gold certificate actually represents an actual physical amount of gold safely hidden away and you'll pay off your debts when gold hits a hundred billion dollars an ounce once Obammy starts up the printing presses to pay for universal health care and pay the new five million Federal employees that will round up your semi-automatic pellet guns. So, you won't have a place to live. The natural inclination is to throw the camping tent on your backpack frame and plan on bugging out.
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My point today is this. Tent cities stand out. They attract the wrong kind of attention. I hate the infernal combustion engine on frugal grounds. I hate the countries dependence on them. But, if this is going to be a long term collapse, that implies a growing police state. The police will harass you on principle. Laws against vagrants might have been judged un-Constitutional, but look how well that worked for the laws against torture or wiretapping. When The Man wants to harass you ( My God Mabel! Look at that riff-raff cluttering up the streets, begging for jobs. I tell you, something must be done. It simply looks bad ), he will find a way. There is less chance of being harassed if you blend in with the Driving Class. Living in a tent will paint a huge target on your head. Look, poor bitches! This country has always prided itself on the lack of a class system, but that is merely a myth. Lack of money is the ultimate sin, and there are going to be a heck of a lot more sinners real quick. Through no fault of their own, people will be permanently unemployed and in real terms benefits will be cut to pay for the increased numbers, hyper-inflation or not. And they will be blamed, not the politicians and bankers and corporate CEO's. This is an emotional hot button and not subject to reason or rational thinking. The poor will, as always, be blamed for their condition.
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I am not saying living out of a vehicle is a satisfactory choice. It leaves a lot to be desired. You break down once too often, you run out of gas, you are stuck in a bad location and harassed. This is why I didn't flee down south when winter hit Elko in October. I can't take the chance of being in an area where I don't have a legal squat to avoid Law Dog. Life is full of crappy choices, and whereas before if you stayed off welfare and worked and didn't use drugs you had a great chance of avoiding most unpleasantness, tomorrow will not be such a happy existence. The bad choices will simply multiply regardless of what you do. If you find yourself unemployed and homeless, better to stay with the car if at all possible. If you can hike up into a wilderness area, fine. You can set up a tent and remain unmolested except by bears and such. But if you remain in a populated area, a car will offer better camouflage than a tent will. What the government gives, they can take away. Including the right to set up a tent and live out of it.
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I think right now a piece of junk land is a much better idea. Used cars are going up in price as nobody has the credit or the down payment for new autos. It should be cheaper in the long run to buy land. But, everyone has different circumstances. So a car squat might be all you can do. Try to keep your car running and in good repair. And unencumbered by debt if possible. It might be your home real soon.
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Attention anonymous commenter- I made this one extra long and didn't come to the point for awhile just for you. So suck it. The rest of you, big hugs and little kisses and buy my crap at www.bisonpress.com