How effective will any government be when LAWKI ends? A government is made up of individual people. Each one of these people will act in their own best interest before they ever think about correcting the effects of some disastrous event. Would you go to work when the heat and water go out in your home filled with your spouse and children? How many of the New Orleans cops went AWOL before, during and after Katrina? What is the probability that any government will do the right thing? I happen to think whatever they do will only make it worse. Preppers are prepping for Back Swan events, i.e. things people never thought could occur. Preppers are preparing for one purpose, to be self-reliant because they know the shocks will be so disruptive and long lasting it will inevitably lead to chaos and mayhem. They know everyone will be in trouble including themselves. They just want to be less in trouble than most others. There are many instances in history when civilization has broken down: the Weimar Republic after WWI; Argentina several times; Rhodesia/Zimbabwe. The next event might happen in Greece, Spain, Portugal OR someplace totally off the wall (Black Swan). I'm less afraid of a quick death than I am of surviving only to face a long, drawn out one because I didn't take a few easy precautions. Eventually the survivors will band together in tribes (gangs) for self interest purposes and maybe the Black Swan will emerge as a Phoenix. Between the event and the rebirth, I want to live as comfortably as possible.
I understand that lower-level government will be completely gone. Family first. What I was saying is that the federal government has prepared for a SHTF situation for a long time. They are prepared to sustain the pinnacle of the government, and that’s something I don’t see any preppers really considering. Everyone seems to assume that every member of the armed forces, every legislator, and everyone in the executive branch is going shake hands and say “gentlemen, it’s been an honor,” before they all go home and tuck their handguns in their waistbands and light a cigar.
No one considers the possibility that the government will be around after the dust settles. It would probably speed recovery, too, depending on the political tide at the moment the SHTF. Liberals would try to grab guns and probably start a civil war, while conservatives might use armed citizens to help rebuild.
Prepping for the SHTF often seems to be a way of preparing to live as we live now instead of learning how people managed to live 200 years ago. It seems that instead of buying 30,000 boxes of Oreos, it might be wise to learn animal husbandry instead. Hippies and their organic farms are useful to learn from here, too. Maybe knowledge is the most important prep.
My wife and I took a twelve-weekend course to become members of a neighborhood emergency team. One of the first things we were told is to take care of our own families first — then go check our neighbors. I’m sure most police and fire departments get similar instructions.