bankers play

BANKERS PLAY


The nice folks at the publisher sent me a free copy of “American Apocalypse: Wastelands” for review. Evidently they didn’t Google my blog for a similar review that I did on August 10th, 2010 ( titled “ultra simple prepping” ). If you want to check it out, fine, but in effect I said Even Better Than The First Which Itself Was Kick-Ass. Of course, back then it was known as AA II, not AA Wastelands ( one and the same ). Also, the old #2 was $15 and the new one is only $10. Plus, it looks a lot better, more professional instead of self-published. Don’t duplicate buy Wastelands if you already have #2, but if you don’t and liked #1, by all means rush out and buy this one. I give it one of my highest recommendations. Which might seem weird as this isn’t survivalist fiction, and even if militia porn it has a strong fantasy element to it. Normally that would turn me off, but Nova knows how to write a story with the best of them.

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What if the bankers are just playing us, yet again, and there is no danger of the collapse of western civilization? It is entirely possible. Remember that they pushed us into WWI to save their loans to the allies ( 100,000 Americans died to secure the bankers loans ). We got into WWII to save the bankers from the Depression they themselves caused. I think that was a third of a million US servicemen killed ( neither of these figures accounts for the much higher number that were wounded and suffered a lifetime of being crippled, after they were forcibly drafted into the cannon fodder gangs ). If you look into the details of the 1970’s economically, it looks similar to today as far as bailing out the bankers. So, okay, we really owe it to ourselves to honestly evaluate the odds that this is just another collapse panic/scare. If this is orchestrated, again, and we recover, what should you be doing now? Anything differently that assuming the end is nigh? No.

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If all will be well again, why is it in your interest to still be engaged in business as usual? Even in the best of times, with plentiful jobs and easy credit, being in debt is still stupid. Living in a large urban area is retarded. Not having stores of food is still short sighted. Money in the bank can still be lost. Even if this is just another scare ( I don’t think it is, but we can all agree that I do tend to panic most of the time ), it should still be a wake up call that one of these days, your luxuries turn into dangerous liabilities. Sure, if you go all out Yuppie Survival style, you could wreck your entire life if nothing bad happens. But if nothing good happens, your cheap preps will keep you alive. Your cheap land can always be a vacation spot if you keep working. Your solar panels can be enough for a few 12v bulbs, either after the grid crashes for good or just if a Washington DC earthquake flattens the entire east coast ( I’m writing this on Tuesday ) grid for a few days. If you are contemplating buying a quarter million dollar retreat, then obviously being wrong about the collapse matters. One fully stocked for three grand is an acceptable risk if you are wrong. Even if gold and silver plummet in price ( again, I doubt it, but anything is possible ), as long as you didn’t charge the credit card, or take a payment away from eliminating that credit card ( being out of debt should be #4 on the To Do list, the first three being food, water and guns ), you are still ahead just by having real money.

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If things still get bad and the economy just gets worse and worse, as per the bankers plan, as long as we are sheltered and eating, this country can still go a long time before collapse. Jobs don’t matter as much if you are getting the basics, because the job just supported the wealthy through your unneeded consumption. So, let’s say that the oil supply just keeps contracting. It might not be the end of the world ( yet, as per my paranoia, it could very well suddenly feed unto itself and collapse ) if we keep scaling back our economy, stripping away the BS. So, even if it is a bankers plan gone right, that still means you need to protect yourself against not having a job. If oil is contracting and the economy shrinks, and consumption is most of the economy, almost everyone’s job is unnecessary. In the end, the only difference between my paranoia of collapse and a Pollyanna version of slow decline is there are no firefights daily. You still lose your job and house if mortgaged and still must scale back to the basics. It can’t go back to growth, not when the oil imports have declined 20% and half our corn goes to ethanol. The only thing a banker controlled crash-so-far means is that the rate of descent is slowed. It doesn’t mean complete recovery. All other recoveries had energy growth to fuel them, but this time the global supply is contracting.

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Collapse is what should happen. Crash is what you can hope for. But in either case, plan towards collapse and you are insured either way. Either way, your paper assets will be gone. Cash out and get out of debt. Or go bankrupt if needed. If you force them to fire you and you move to your $1k junk lot, you can file for bankruptcy ( of course, since the laws have changed, check it out for yourself- seriously, I don’t want to give you bum advice, and I’m just going on rumors, not extensive research ). Have the lot under someone’s else’s name if that is needed. Don’t charge up supplies on the card right before declaring. Make it look natural, in other words. The only thing a good credit score is good for is getting into debt, which is NOT needed if you live frugal. Debt is how the bankers screw you. Good times or bad. No debt is one of your best prep tools.

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My e-mail is jimd303@netzero.com
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