If there is a collapse, civil unrest, or anything that stops commerce, how will you fare?

[BillBoard]

What can one do to protect one self in this environment?

I have some treasuries but not enough to pay all my bills with their cash flow. If I lose my job and the unemployment benefits runs out, what would be my best bet to survive in that type of situation?

For some reason I have been feeling a terrible sense of dread that I can't shake off.

[Jeff]

Re: If there is a collapse, civil unrest, or anything that stops commerce, how will you fare?

Friends, family, barter. You don't so much need money as what it buys. What would it take to be clothed, sheltered and fed? Do you have skills others could use in return for the basics? I think things will actually be interesting and possibly an improvement if we remember why civilizations form, and why we bother living in groups. Money is a means to an end. There are much more important things.

[jpetr48]

Re: If there is a collapse, civil unrest, or anything that stops commerce, how will you fare?

Planning in a proactive manner while emotionally taking one day at a time is all we can do. After my position was eliminated, I followed my advice by starting an MBA program, learned investing, took on a long term consulting assignment and finally am finding time to dig heels in and interview for a senior leadership position. Yes, I am taking prudent step wise actions to protect my family in event of civil unrest which will/is happening.
If fear ruled my life, then no EMBA, no investing plan and nice return, and most important wasted time.
I cant control the future but I can make the most of the moments in front of me by working my plan one day at a time.

[BillBoard]

Re: If there is a collapse, civil unrest, or anything that stops commerce, how will you fare?

I am not a very social man, can't really stand to talk to people. But if I have to, I can bring myself to interact with others in order to trade I guess. Sure it will not be easy for me though. On the other hand, I have faith in Bernanke to keep the money system afloat until the day that I die, then you all can keep worrying and I can be happily toasty in Hell.

[BillBoard]

Re: If there is a collapse, civil unrest, or anything that stops commerce, how will you fare?

That makes perfect logical sense. The bottom line is that we are not Greeks, I don't really see the American people taking to the streets, we are much too sophisticated for civil unrest. On second though, there is the issue of minority discontent and their violent tendencies as it was demonstrated in the Newark riots or more recently the L.A. riots.

It would be nice to find a safe and homogeneous geographic area to pass any economic distress.

[leegs]

Re: If there is a collapse, civil unrest, or anything that stops commerce, how will you fare?

Too sophisticated? How about too lazy, too distracted, too isolated . . .

As for minority discontent - if/when the majority is just as discontent, which is not hard to imagine at the rate we're going, we'll see about their violent tendencies.

[DToM67]

Re: If there is a collapse, civil unrest, or anything that stops commerce, how will you fare?

Too sophisticated? How about too lazy, too distracted, too isolated . . .

As for minority discontent - if/when the majority is just as discontent, which is not hard to imagine at the rate we're going, we'll see about their violent tendencies.

Almost 2 years old, but... Dmitry Orlov: Social Collapse Best Practices

[DToM67]

Re: If there is a collapse, civil unrest, or anything that stops commerce, how will you fare?

What can one do to protect one self in this environment?

I have some treasuries but not enough to pay all my bills with their cash flow. If I lose my job and the unemployment benefits runs out, what would be my best bet to survive in that type of situation?

For some reason I have been feeling a terrible sense of dread that I can't shake off.

Almost 2 years old, but... Dmitry Orlov: Social Collapse Best Practices

[BillBoard]

Re: If there is a collapse, civil unrest, or anything that stops commerce, how will you fare?

Too sophisticated? How about too lazy, too distracted, too isolated . . .

As for minority discontent - if/when the majority is just as discontent, which is not hard to imagine at the rate we're going, we'll see about their violent tendencies.

OK, all joking aside, really, how bad can it get? The Government runs farming, and all other industries pretty much, would they really let things get out of hand? Katrina response eventually turned out Ok.

[touchring]

Re: If there is a collapse, civil unrest, or anything that stops commerce, how will you fare?

What can one do to protect one self in this environment?

I have some treasuries but not enough to pay all my bills with their cash flow. If I lose my job and the unemployment benefits runs out, what would be my best bet to survive in that type of situation?

For some reason I have been feeling a terrible sense of dread that I can't shake off.

This isn't going to happen in the near future. Probably decades away.

But one thing I'm quite sure will precede this is Israel will change name to Palestine. Without American power, Israel cannot survive.

[ThePythonicCow]

Re: If there is a collapse, civil unrest, or anything that stops commerce, how will you fare?

I don't really see the American people taking to the streets,

My guess is that they will take to the streets when they get hungry enough.

When and if the "austerity" program comes to America, stealing our bank accounts and savings, throwing us out of work and removing the government funded social safety nets, then it won't take long to get Americans into the streets.

[LargoWinch]

Re: If there is a collapse, civil unrest, or anything that stops commerce, how will you fare?

For some reason I have been feeling a terrible sense of dread that I can't shake off.

BillBoard, it appears to me that you are moving closer to "1" on the Doomer scale: ()

[jpatter666]

Re: If there is a collapse, civil unrest, or anything that stops commerce, how will you fare?

My guess is that they will take to the streets when they get hungry enough.

When and if the "austerity" program comes to America, stealing our bank accounts and savings, throwing us out of work and removing the government funded social safety nets, then it won't take long to get Americans into the streets.

Look back to the 70s and extrapolate from there. Gas lines, high food prices, price controls. Possible energy rationing.

EJ/FRED addressed this somewhat I recall a long-time back. We don't need to worry about direct invasion, the US is able to feed itself and has enough infrastructure (or could build it rather quickly) to manage things. The big issues are IMO:

1 ) Currency collapse (combined with a bank holiday -- all ATMs shutdown). Do you have enough cash outside the system to survive for a limited time
2 ) Energy (how dependent are you on peak cheap oil -- if gas/energy prices tripled [or more] how would you fare)

Katrina was mentioned, and while yes eventually things came back, that was a horrific month. If you were similarly completely on your own for a month -- would you make it?

I have found the chrismartenson.com site the absolute best for transitional thinking (with lots of great articles and examples) on transitioning to what will be the new economy.

[rabot10]

Re: If there is a collapse, civil unrest, or anything that stops commerce, how will you fare?

I lived in So California in the early 90s, and had a front row seat for the Rodney King riots. Based on that experience I would say it wouldn’t take that much to get large groups of people into the streets. Maybe not in our neighborhoods.

I was in our local grocery store talking to the clerk the other day, we had had a big thunder storm that shut the power off for a few min, the clerk told me that there connection to the government agency that handles food stamps went off line, so they had to make a phone call for each food stamp purchase. He then went on to tell me that they were making two to three hundred calls an hour. I WAS IN SHOCK; this store is in an upper middle class neighborhood.

What happens when the benefits go away?

[Kadriana]

Re: If there is a collapse, civil unrest, or anything that stops commerce, how will you fare?

Hubby and I have been trying to reduce and eliminate as many bills as we can. We've installed solar panels so we don't have to worry about electric prices, been growing a garden and practicing canning techniques so we can supplement our food supply and living way below our means so we can pay off our house early and put more into various savings. If we're as self-sufficient as possible, then it means little too us if we have deflation, inflation, stagflation, etc.