Aug 9, 2010

Probable Events

Probable events
People often ask me, “What are you preparing for”? Well, I’m not like most Survivalist/Preppers. I’m not looking for the apocalypse, ready to run out into the woods with a gun and a knife ready to play Rambo. Fun fantasy, but in reality 99% of everyone who runs out to do just that is going to end up dead. I look at day to day survival as challenge enough most days. I worry about finding a job, raising my kids, having a roof over our heads, etc. This is where I become a “prepper”. I need to know that everyone is safe, secure and healthy, so I look for ways to ensure that. Being out of debt, stocking up of food, being energy independent, all of these things are what I do to prepare. Day-to-day I try to have plans and equipment in place in case of emergency, much like everyone has auto insurance(If you have a car) I have “survival insurance”. Below I have some possible events that could happen that should be prepared for.

Job loss
Speaks for its self. I lost plenty of jobs in my lifetime, but in this economy and with children depending on me, the pressure is incredible. Having some stockpiles of food is helpful. Also having cash available would have been nice to get through a couple of months until a new job came along, but that has been used up and still no work. If you’re currently employed, I would advise you to save as much as you can, while paying off any debts.

Riot
Were you in or near Oakland? LA? Ever been down town when a major sports team wins a big contest? And I can only imagine what’s going to happen this November.


Earthquake

IF you live in California, you know earthquakes. I’m new to the Central Valley, and people have told me that there aren’t any fault lines here, but there are still small quakes from time to time. You must still be prepared. 1 you may be traveling to the Bay Area or LA. 2 A major quake may occur else ware causing your friends or family to become refugees that you may need to help support.

Economic collapse
Finances are not my forte, but watching the news has my skin crawling. Nothing the president and congress is doing, is doing us any good. In fact much of it is hinting at a Weimar Republic like move toward hyper inflation.

Wikipedia
In economics, hyperinflation is inflation that is very high or "out of control", a condition in which prices increase rapidly as a currency loses its value.[1] Definitions used by the media vary from a cumulative inflation rate over three years approaching 100% to "inflation exceeding 50% a month." [2] In informal usage the term is often applied to much lower rates. As a rule of thumb, normal inflation is reported per year, but hyperinflation is often reported for much shorter intervals, often per month.

The definition used by most economists is "an inflationary cycle without any tendency toward equilibrium." A vicious circle is created in which more and more inflation is created with each iteration of the cycle. Although there is a great deal of debate about the root causes of hyperinflation, it becomes visible when there is an unchecked increase in the money supply (or drastic debasement of coinage) usually accompanied by a widespread unwillingness to hold the money for more than the time needed to trade it for something tangible to avoid further loss. Hyperinflation is often associated with wars (or their aftermath), economic depressions, and political or social upheavals.

By late 1923, the Weimar Republic of Germany was issuing two-trillion Mark banknotes and postage stamps with a face value of fifty billion Mark. The highest value banknote issued by the Weimar government's Reichsbank had a face value of 100 trillion Mark (100,000,000,000,000; 100 billion on the long scale). At the height of the inflation one U.S. dollar was worth 4 trillion German marks.

And just before you say it can’t happen here;

During the Revolutionary War, the Continental Congress authorized the printing of paper currency called continental currency. The easily counterfeited notes depreciated rapidly, giving rise to the expression "not worth a continental."

Between January 1861 and April 1865, the Lerner Commodity Price Index of leading cities in the eastern Confederacy states increased from 100 to over 9000.[24] As the U.S. Civil War dragged on the Confederate States of America dollar had less and less value, until it was almost worthless by the last few months of the war.

No comments:

Post a Comment