Was straightening up the bunker the other day, which is always interesting.
Things that have been stored away for years get reviewed and in some cases replaced. Theres a lot of ‘Well, it seemed like a good idea at the time’. Examples? Canteens. When I originally started stockpiling things I was using the USGI quart canteens. Decent products, relatively cheap, familiar, etc. As the years go by a few other canteens worked their way into the bin. As a result, I pulled out the bin marked ‘canteens’ and found no less than five different types. Not really a bad thing, but standardization would make things a lot simpler (and neater to store). Because I’ve been impressed with the quality and price, I’m phasing out the USGI ones and going with the Swedish surplus ones (with cup) that I got from SG (Sportsmans Guide). I won’t go on about them since that’s covered elsewhere. Suffice to say that for the price of 4 USGI canteens with covers I got two dozen of the Swede canteens with cups and I believe them to be a superior product.
Much like how old US military gear trickles down from the ‘regular’ army to the National Guard, the USGI canteens will get demoted to ‘secondary standard’ which is a fancy word for ‘extras that I wont be terribly concerned over losing or damaging’.
The advent of the CamelBack-type systems has made the canteen-on-your-belt system a bit ‘old school’ but there is still a place for it… although 99 out of 100 times I’ll have the canteen in my bag rather than on my belt. For on-the-go drinking I stuff a hydration system into my bag. Still, a rugged, puncture- and crush-proof water container that can be thrown around and battered with impunity will always be a necessary piece of gear.
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Although the world today is a remarkably unsettled place (or perhaps its as unsettled as it has always been and its simply more noticed these days) I still believe that for the average person the coming crises will be financial, not [nuclear/biological/etc]. Certainly the possibility is there for a ‘dirty bomb’ or the like, but I think that the thing that’s going to put people staring hard into their pantries, cringing at the news and staying close to home will be economic.
Admittedly, I have only a basic grasp of economics and familiarity with the current economic policies in play. But I do read a bit and the various news outlets all predict gloom and doom of some fashion. The housing/real estate markets are predicted to collapse dragging the economy down with them, the Chinese threaten to use their stockpile of US debt to damage the US economy if things are not done their way, jobs move overseas to keep costs down, prices of food and fuel increase at alarming rates, etc, etc, etc. Not very reassuring stuff. I’m sure the more economically savvy would say that this isn’t anything to be concerned with and these sorts of things are always going on…but to a layman like myself its hard not to feel like wanting to fill the cabinetsto the bursting point with food and cash.
I am utterly amazed when I read about ‘average families’ who have mortgages that they cant afford, $30,000 in credit card debts, and have two (or more) cars. How do these people sleep at night? I’d be unable to sleep for worrying about ‘what if I lose my job’, ‘what if Im hurt and cant work’, etc, etc.
I think that when you are involved in preparedness you wind up viewing money as a resource like ammo, fuel, bandages or food. As a result you tend to be more careful in how it is used, stored and preserved. I think it would be safe to say that the debt-ridden, debt-driven people mentioned in the previous paragraph probably are not Like Minded. Or if they are, they are recent converts.
If the economy does tank, or more likey go into some sort of long, drawn out slide these people are going to be the ones selling everything they own, trying to file bankruptcy, and clamor the loudest for .gov to ‘do something’. Needless to say, these people will likely not be ‘our kind of people’. We call ‘em sheeple these days but the annoying fact is that they compromise a rather large percentage of the population. Large enough that when their recklessness catches up with them its gonna drag a bunch of us into the swirling economic whirlpool as they get sucked under.
that credit card thing is precisely why i busted my butt & as of right now, i owe them only $50, which i will pay off this friday
No credit card debt here, and I own the car outright, but I’ll plead guilty on the mortgage. There’s a reason we’re moving.
Large enough that when their recklessness catches up with them its gonna drag a bunch of us into the swirling economic whirlpool as they get sucked under.
Yesterday I overheard my coworker take a call from a telemarketer who was pushing sub-prime mortgages in some way. My coworker called the telemarketer EVIL and told him(?) he was contributing to economic collapse. I was grinning.
I’d be unable to sleep for worrying about ‘what if I lose my job’, ‘what if Im hurt and cant work’, etc, etc.
Health, disability and unemployment insurance go a long way toward resolving such concerns. Is it “wasted” money? Probably in some sense, just as I fervently hope that all of my other precautions (food, firearms, ammo, &c.) are “wasted” money.
Quite frankly, all signs indicate if you cover the food, guns and ammo without covering the health and disability angles, you are very, very bad at risk assessment.
This is not accusatory, BTW – not having bills is as legitimate a way of at least partially covering those bills as insuring against them is, but some of us don’t really have much choice on some of the things you are amazed at. For example, my wife and I need separate cars because of our work obligations. It really is not optional. On days when we can, we carpool to work; but that isn’t always an option.
On re-read I think you meant people who have ALL of those things, not one of them. But perhaps the fact that I am less than thrilled to only qualify on one of them is an indicator of my mindset…
Hard times
Part of the disparity you feel comes from the fact that you are someone who not only thinks about canteens, but actually owns spares. Most people in today’s America utterly freak when the cable goes out. “What are we supposed to do?! Talk to each other?!! Read!!??
We have Tropical Storm Erin off our starboard bow here and TS Dean winding it’s way into the GOM. Tonight if I were to head to the grocery store I would find the stock of bottled water slightly lower, and maybe a few packs of batteries missing from the display. Most people don’t take any of this seriously until it’s too late, with the winds high and the sky green and they stand in line at Home Depot behind hundreds waiting to buy plywood that has been marked up 300% due to scarcity.
I checked our gear this past weekend, and discovered that I need to get one more bottle of propane bringing the tally to four, and some more sunscreen lotion. So unless we have storm surge and have to unass the area (and the boxes are prepacked for less than an hour’s departure prep time) we will stay at home, watch the rain and use the battery operated fans when the lights go out.
This post and the above reply was provocative.
I ridded myself of my unsecure debt one month before my first child was born. I was pleased with the timing there…I almost felt there was some spiritual intervention.
Kudos to Bill Clinton for granting China Most Favored Nation trading status & turning a blind eye to their widely known humanitarian violations back when. Not only as you say:
the Chinese threaten to use their stockpile of US debt to damage the US economy if things are not done their way, jobs move overseas to keep costs down
but they are knowingly manufacturing children’s toys with toxic defects. Stop the insanity, stat.
For quite a while now I’ve thought that the next big problem in the world wasnt going to be Russia, Iran or even North Korea. Rather, I firmly believe it will be China trying to re-establish themselves as supreme arbiter of Asian interests and their desire to become the number one economic superpower. Couple that with the fact that this nation has given up its manufacturing prowess to cheap made-in-China goods and we can wind up being at a rather large disadvantage.
As an aside, I try to avoid buying Made In China products if I can. I go into WalMart and I rarely see anything that WASNT made there.
Re: Hard times
Perused your LJ, like your stuff.
Also, WoW is indeed a major time suck. I’ve spent too much time killing things when I should been in the bunker doing stuff…I like your solution with the bike, though.
whats happening to the dollar is horrifying. and the long term impacts i think can be even more disasterous than a nuke.
if we got nuked america would rally and we would build a major war machine and everybody would be on board.
when the dollar declines everybody is going to get depressed and look to the government for solutions and help and we’ll just circle the drain for years and years.
“How do these people sleep at night?”
>> There’s a reason why there are all those ads for Ambein=/
“but they are knowingly manufacturing children’s toys with toxic defects.”
>> This really shouldn’t be a surprise. They treat their fellow Chinese like dirt, why in God’s name would we (whom they nuclear weapons pointed at) expect to be treated any different.
I was just talking about “financial preparadness” in this thread over at Zombie Squad.
http://zombiehunters.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=20318
Yes, but the head of the manufacturing plant that is responsible for this committed suicide before the news broke they were in the know about the toxic paint, etc. That speaks volumes, I think.
Indeed…China has vast natural & human resources like no other.
Down with non regulated, toxic China goods! The tide needs to turn. The toy manufacturing incident that is making the news currently—mistake or way of doing business? Hmmm. One must wonder.
Hi, CJ!
I just saw your comment when I was replying.
I tried to convey the same message re: subprime loans to my idiot neighbor. Since he wasn’t a nameless, faceless telemarketer, I had to be nice.
He has his house for sale with a sign right next to it from a local bank, “ZERO DOWN MORTGAGE” I said, Randy…I know the market is tough right now but are you pitching sub prime loans to sell your house? He minimized it by saying…well, the banker came to us…the applicant must qualify for the loan, etc. etc. to justify. I agree with your coworker…if you read any bit of the Sunday newspaper, you know that it is not too far from immomral to participate in sub prime loans in any way, shape or form.