Global Debt is Over-The-Top, WTSHTF

There’s $8 Trillion in global sovereign debt that needs to be rolled over in 2012. This does not include state, local, corporate or personal debt. There’s simply not enough cash in the world to buy all this debt.
What is worse – who would? Who in their right mind would loan cash today for ten years for a guaranteed return of 1.85%. We know inflation is at least running at 10% in the real world, and you’re taxed on the gains you make before inflation, making bonds a very bad choice for anybody.

But, this debt must be funded or our entire way of life ends. What most people do not know is that our money is debt. Every dollar that comes into existence has a dollar of debt and interest attached to it. The only way to pay back this debt and interest in this debt-based monetary system is that we need to create more debt every year in excess of the debt and interest accrued the year before, or we suffer the mother of all margin calls.

WTSHTF - A Few Thoughts

Modern Society is Increasingly Complex, Interdependent, and Fragile. With each passing year, technology progresses and chains of interdependency lengthen. In the past 30 years, chains of retail supply have grown longer and longer. The food on your supermarket shelf does not come from local farmers. It often comes from hundreds or even thousands of miles away. This has created an alarming vulnerability to disruption. Simultaneously, global population is still increasing in a near geometrical progression. At some point that must end, most likely with a sudden and sharp drop in population. The lynchpin is the grid. Without functioning power grids, modern industrial societies will collapse within weeks.

15 Items To Have For Barter, WTSHTF

My trusty Remington 879 Nitro Mag

 

Cigarettes/cigars  . I hate smoking, and can’t stand being around anyone that smokes. Having said that, I recognize that in a SHTF situation many others will be cut off from their access to cigarettes, so there is plenty of barter potential.
Soap. Bars of soap, and even those little cleaning napkins/wipes that you get at the BBQ restaurants could be very valuable in a SHTF scenario. Ever see “The Book of Eli?”
Bullets. Obviously, it’s a good idea to have a decent store of ammo representing all calibers of the weapons you own. However, it is also a good idea to store extra ammo in common calibers (9mm, .22, .38, 12-guage shells, etc.) as a potential barter. After all, a gun without ammo is just an inacurate throwing object.
Alcohol. Alcohol could serve a variety of purposes in a SHTF situation. It is valuable as a potential bartering commodity, and it also has medicinal uses. Did you know Vodka is a great home remedy to counteract the reaction to poison ivy?
MREs. More portable and easier to barter than larger 5-gallon buckets, or even #10 cans of dried foods, MREs are great to have on hand for bartering. Keep a variety of flavors and different kinds of foods because you could be holding something that could complete a meal for a hungry person.
Silver Coins. Keep in mind this doesn’t necessarily mean only silver dollars with a full ounce of silver, but even older, less expensive coins with a high silver component (the 1964 Kennedy half-dollar, for example).
Water bottles. To someone in bad need of water, a water bottle could be worth its weight in gold. Remember the rule of threes: you can live three minutes without air, three days without water, and three weeks without food. Store accordingly.
Matches and lighters. A box of matches is relatively inexpensive, but for someone needing to build a fire a pack of matches or a lighter could be very valuable. Be sure these are stored safely, and if they are not waterproof make them so by storing in a watertight container.
Honey/Sugar. My grandfather used to tell stories of things that were in limited supply in the Great Depression. Sugar was something he often mentioned. Imagine how easily you could win over a sweet-tooth with the promise of a bag of sugar in exchange for something you are short on. Honey has a shelf life of, like, 2000 years.
Toilet paper. This one is rather self-explanatory, isn’t it? Sure, there are substitutes for Charmin, but who wants to keep using leaves when paper feels so much better.
Water Filters/Purifiers. Water purification drops and filters could mean the difference in offering family members treated water or potentially harmful, bacteria-infested water. Who’d be willing to trade for that?
Bleach. May be used to disinfect water, or keep living quarters and soiled clothing sanitized.
Batteries. Can be used to power up flashlights, radios, and other electronic devices.
Candles. Emergency candles would be a great barter item for those in need of providing some light to their living quarters without electricity.

5 Reasons We will see stuff WTSHTF

Economy in the sewer - or is it WTSHTF time?

The national news is reporting that everything is fine, but there are still dummies out there wasting money on the 2012 scare, an asteroid strike, EMP, or some other crazy end-of-the-world scenario.
Meanwhile, to the best of my knowledge no one has figured out what to do with the crushing debt we owe.  The Fed is still pouring money into the economy and Greece has defaulted, but that’s being downplayed now.  Everybody knew it was going to happen and when it did it’s more of an anticlimax than anything.  Of course there are countries lined up waiting for the Greek domino to hit them, but that’s not being discussed much either.
Fuel prices continue to climb, China’s economy seems to be slowing it’s red hot growth spurt, and the price of groceries seems to rise every week, but the future is looking brighter?
Is it just me or is there a big disconnect here?

Earthquake Japan, WTSHTF?

A strong earthquake shook northern Japan on Wednesday evening, causing a small tsunami but no damage or injury was reported. 

The Japan Meterological Agency said the tremor was 6.8 magnitude and forecast a tsunami of up to half-meter (12 inches) could hit Hokkaido island's central and eastern Pacific coast, and Aomori and Iwate prefectures in the north of Japan's main island.

Iwate prefecture, or state, was heavily damaged by last year's earthquake and tsunami. Thousands of aftershocks have shaken the region since then, nearly all of them of minor or moderate strength.

The magnitude 9.0 earthquake and tsunami on March 11, 2011, ravaged many Japanese northern coastal towns, leaving some 19,000 people dead or missing.

Firewood for WTSHTF

Many self reliant people use wood to heat their homes. Some rely on firewood for all heating and some simply supplement or offset their oil, gas, or electric heat with woodheat. Here are some wood heat tips on how to stack split firewood:

• Stack it between trees
• Keep it raised off the ground
• Cords are four feet high, four feet deep, eight feet long
• Use the wedge of split wood to help hold stack
• Stage it for use by time of seasoning