WOW, this thread has tinfoil hat dripping from its very core.
Sheesh
Well, when you think about it, for 99.999% of the time man has lived on this planet, people lived in caves!
If you went to any of those people and described life today, they would lock you up quicker than you can say boo!
It is our lifestyle today that is unusual.
Look at some of the basically neolithic tribes that still exist in South America and Borneo.
I doubt we would ever go back to being that primitive, but it gives you something to think about.
/johnny
Big cans of coffee for less than 5 bucks a can - at least enough for a year. I keep a 1 year supply on hand, buying replacements when there are specials. Current price is $7.00 when not on sale. Same for peanut butter 1 buck for 16 oz jar, now costs $2.25. Just 2 examples. I made a list of all our usual and most favorite and stocked up.
Having lived through double digit inflation, that was kicked off by a rise in gas prices, I knew that food was going to get pretty expensive, so I bought it before prices started going up.
We have also planted a small orchard and nut trees, along with berry bushes to add to our existing native walnut and persimmon tress and blackberry bushes.
This way we have food that has not been sprayed with pesticides, and will help us keep our food budget affordable as the value of the dollar deteriorates going forward.
We live on the New Madrid fault line, and tornado alley. We have had days and days of no electricity. So we long ago purchased generators to keep our Refrigerators and Freezer running. We also have fireplaces for back up heat. We used to camp and hike, so we have always had a coleman stove and lantern as well as sterno stoves and fuel.
I do expect difficult financial times ahead, especially for older folks like me who are living on their pensions. Old folks were especially vulnerable during the Carter recession and double digit inflation days. I don't intend to eat dogfood, like some people did back then.
I still remember empty supermarket shelves during the Nixon years, where lots of stuff was not available. Our local store looked like the old pictures we saw of the Soviet Union grocery stores when I was in grade school.
We are on our own well, and usually have enough water stored to last for our typical emergency. We had water storage for our garden of about 350 gallons in rain barrels that is usually enough to get through our typical dry season. That was inadequate this year due to prolonged drought and higher than normal temperatures.
So we bought an above ground pool on sale at the end of summer to use next spring, just in case we need more water for the garden than usual next year.
There is plenty of real life emergencies to get ready for as just a part of normal everyday life. We are living in perilous times, that could very well be as bad or worse than the great depression, especially if Obama gets re-elected.
Go ahead and make fun with your tinfoil hat jokes, grasshopper. History is littered with great civilizations that no longer exist.
You think nothing bad can happen to the USA? We have determined enemies who are growing more powerful, and our Government is doing stupid stuff that does not make us stronger.
Just remember the fable about the ant and the grasshopper. Maybe someone will feel sorry for your ignorance, and take pity on you and help you when things get bad. If they don't, just remember this post. Someone cared enough to try and help you understand.