Poll: Majority Of Americans Believe Economy Could Collapse – The latest Fox News poll finds that 79 percent of voters think it’s possible the economy could collapse, including large majorities of Democrats (72 percent), Republicans (84 percent) and independents (80 percent). Moreover, 78 percent of voters believe the federal government is “larger and more costly” than it has ever been before, and by nearly three-to-one more voters think the national debt (65 percent) is a greater potential threat to the country’s future than terrorism (23 percent).
Global Economy Spins Out of Control? – China: the coming costs of a superbubble … China may seem to have defied the recession and the laws of economics. It hasn’t. When China’s bubble bursts, the global impact will be severe, spiking US interest rates. … The world looks at China with envy. China’s economy grew 8.7 percent last year, while the world economy contracted by 2.2 percent. It seems that Chinese “Confucian capitalism” – a market economy powered by 1.3 billion people and guided by an authoritarian regime that can pull levers at will – is superior to our touchy-feely democracy and capitalism. But the grass on China’s side of the fence is not as green as it appears. … In fact, China’s defiance of the global recession is not a miracle – it’s a superbubble. When it deflates, it will spell big trouble for all of us. – Christian Science Monitor
Retired Couple Will Need $250,000 for Health Care – A couple retiring this year will need a quarter of a million dollars, on average, to cover medical expenses in retirement, according to a study to be released Thursday by Fidelity Investments.
Health Care Law Signals US Empire Decline? – The passage of the health care law shows that the US empire is declining because it illustrates the fact that people expect the state to take care of them, David Murrin, the co-founder of Emergent Asset Management hedge fund manager, told CNBC.
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I have been subscribed via Reader for a long time and really enjoy your survivalism posts. I learn alot. I am not in support of this drift the blog has taken to economic negativity and doomsaying. I get my economic news from much more reputable sources.
One of the good things about this blog historically was that we could just call whatever crisis was going to happen a “zombie invasion” and stick to the actual survival techniques.
I encourage you to get back to foods and weapons and shelter and energy creation and curtail this reblogging of economic news. This is content that is prevalent on the net. Your smart survival advice is where this blog’s value is.
Simon,
I believe you are referring to the Christian Science Monitor & I agree that is an unreliable, agenda ridden rag and no expert with economic news. Additionally, I am in agreement that the doomsday/negativity mentality is a poor way to motivate. Let’s stick to the fun man stuff – guns and living like the 1800′s.
I have always lived life looking at the glass 1/2 full and all of this current doom and gloom crap really puts me off, as if to say that this great nation could really collapse under the weight of the “dips” in the marketplace – things have always rebounded in this country. Come on, it’s just a cycle we are experiencing, get over it.
However, when I looked at the recent 50 years of US history, some very disturbing trends have emerged:
1. We now outsource most all of our major manufacturing – cars, steel, petroleum, furniture building, clothing etc. etc.
2. We have become a consumer based & service based economy, which cannot sustain itself. We export nothing but jobs & import everything.
3. The introduction of credit cards. Defaulted credit card debt is in the billions today and has killed millions of retirement accounts. BTW, The Great Depression did not have any credit card debt.
4. Wall Street sold us down the river with the sleight of hand mortgage backed securities.
5. Banks are in serious, serious trouble – never before in the history of banking have banks EVER offered to reduce interest rates (loan mod rates below 2% fixed) and reduce the note amount – you owe 200K @ 6% and modify to 1.9% and owe 160K just so you won’t default – true fact, I know. And now the government is mandating nearly no more foreclosures and move toward short selling properties? This is all either incredibly stupid or the building weight of the water behind the dam is busting down the steel & concrete.
6. Unemployment is 10% – based upon those who are collecting benefits. What about the self employed & those who benefits ran out? The number is closer to 22%.
7. Commercial real estate is in the tank and the default rate is going to rival the housing crush… and why is it crashing? See point #2. It is a fact.
8. Individual, non-staple spending has dropped significantly which means more layoffs, more commercial vacancies.
9. Gun sales across America are at all-time record highs. Why, perceived scarcity? No, personal protection is THE motivating factor.
The list goes on & on. Independently any one of these is a cause to be concerned but all together in a perfect storm scenario?
Further, I have an older client & friend who is a graduate of Harvard with an MBA who is worth about 500-600M and is an absolute expert with world economy and the US stock market. Six years ago (2004) he was telling me that he has no idea how this economy sustains. He said the US economic fundamentals are non-existent and things will fall apart here, it has no choice.
I thought he had been drinking too much unfiltered water because the market was humming so well & the future looked bright. He showed me his portfolio and all of his long term investments were into survival commodities – water, natural gas, precious metals etc -stating these are the only things of future value. Remember, this is 2004. Also, this guy lives very low profile – drives a Honda Accord.
So what does any of this have to do with the survivalist/preparation mentality? EVERYTHING. Maybe this blog has taken another (parallel) path but I believe today’s survivalist is about being proactive and watching the signs of the times and adjusting accordingly & rapidly as things unfold. It is imperative to include these facts because it is the future.
Nobody wants to hear that our wonderful way of life is going to be attacked, altered, challenged or God forbid, end but it’s better to ahead of the curve then behind it – especially in this case.
Simon,
The links to economic news make up only a small percentage of the blog as a whole. Some readers have thanked me for bring it all together in one place. I’ll try to put together a poll tomorrow to let readers decide. Be sure to vote.
Why put it to a vote? I haven’t noticed a legitimate outcry or intelligent reason to eliminate the economic news – especially coming from the mainstream sources which transcends any personal agenda.
I believe you are right and on the right path by including this news because it is what it is.
Some of us with busy lives use the information in this blog to catch up on economic news. Maybe it’s not the meat and potatoes prepping some are looking for, it’s an over all view of the situation. There has been many requests for this blog to tell the people when the SHTF is going to happen. There’s a good chance the economy will be the cause of the collapse so we need to know what’s going on. I think it’s going to be alot sooner then all the experts are saying. Lock and load,we better be ready.
Just thinking out loud. What item of value does the government have to backup its massive unsecured debts with rising interest owed to China and, Lord knows, who else? Land ? Maybe all the foreclosed properties purchased with government money will be used for another bailout.
Also wondering about the .gov’s securing its hold on the lands that have been freely leased in the Western states. Can you say mineral rights, water rights, or something more clandestine?
I like the economic posts. I believe (as do 78% of Americans recently polled) that Economic Collapse is the major threat to us now and in the very near future.
If we all prep correctly, we must list our potential threats according to seasons, for example tornado season, winter power outages, summer blackouts, etc. The financial collapse scenario is an “all-season” threat. Just read the economic blogs posted on this and others such as JW Rawles’s website.
We must all share our opinions and ideas openly and freely NOW, while there is still time, and never discount, discourage or stymie anyone wishing to discuss the possibility or probabilty of ANY SHTF scenario.
Well put.
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