Economic COLLAPSE!!!! How Prepared Are You?

[DriftingSand]

Word comes that the economy has totally imploded. The banks close to avoid a rush. Fuel runs dry and the trucking industry comes to a major slow down or total stop. No trucks means no food being delivered to your local grocery store. A panic sends everyone to the local stores to buy up everything they can. Within a single day there's nothing left on the shelves and all the bottled water has been claimed.

Panic sets in. All those folks on food stamps and welfare get all wired up and decide to take what they need. Nobody is going to stand in their way. They're going to take what YOU have in order to survive and feed their own children. You are an obstacle while your possessions are the prize. They've been trained to believe that what's yours should be theirs.

Is this scenario even possible? Could it actually happen in the USA? Do you trust the government to "protect you" during a riotous situation? Is it possible that most cops would head home to protect their own families and possessions?

How prepared are you? How long could you feed and protect yourselves and families during such a crisis? One hour? One day? One week? A month? A year?

You think to yourself: "I will just hop in the car and drive to safety. The problem with that is that EVERYONE is thinking the same thing and there's nothing but total gridlock on the roads. The government has set up military road blocks as a means to control the situation. Now what?

Egypt, 2012-2013:

Greece, 2013:

Albuquerque, New Mexico, (this year):

Riots in England, 2013:

Riots in France, 2013:

Los Angeles, (mid 1990s):

Yes ... it CAN happen here and on a much larger scale. I suggest that you start preparing a plan for survival. Got a gun? Ammo? Food? Water? Medicinal items? Toilet tissue? Hope for the best but prepare for the worst.

 

[DriftingSand]

I see someone voted "6 months." That's fantastic! Way better than most. I would be willing to bet that most people have about 2 days to 1 week worth of food but probably not enough water. Lots have a 9mm pea shooter with a box of ammo but hardly enough to fend off a well armed gang.

 

[HenryBHough]

The biggest single problem even for the generally well prepared? If anyone in the family has a medical condition that requires ongoing medication. Many things - particularly insulin - have a finite shelf-life, shorter without refrigeration. You can be sure supplies of that sort of thing will vanish and won't be replaced.

 

[DriftingSand]

The biggest single problem even for the generally well prepared? If anyone in the family has a medical condition that requires ongoing medication. Many things - particularly insulin - have a finite shelf-life, shorter without refrigeration. You can be sure supplies of that sort of thing will vanish and won't be replaced.

You're right. I hope to God something like I described NEVER happens. If it does I hope to God that the sick, elderly, folks with young children, people with physical disabilities, single mothers, etc. find a place of protection. I will be praying for all of them and helping whomever I can.

A few years ago, we had an ice storm in the town I lived in. I was an apartment manager at the time. I ran a 16 unit complex. The electricity went out for a solid 36 hours. I was the ONLY person who was prepared. I had enough food, water, propane for heat, and a generator for electricity. The lady who lived next door was very old and riddled with cancer. Her morbidly overweight daughter was taking care of her but neither were prepared for the bitter cold and long night. I started my generator and hooked my refrigerator and freezer to it as well as a couple of lights. I ran another cord to my neighbor's apartment and loaned them an electric heater and a lamp.

Everyone else in the complex was up a creek without a paddle. Some drove to motels in neighboring towns or went to stay with family. A few others just bundled up in the dark and waited.

 

[HenryBHough]

Confronted with a disaster of sufficient magnitude some Northern folks put a good deal of effort into building a solid emergency shelter of snow. Taking special care to bring enough blocks of snow inside with them to wall up the door from within.

 

[DriftingSand]

Confronted with a disaster of sufficient magnitude some Northern folks put a good deal of effort into building a solid emergency shelter of snow. Taking special care to bring enough blocks of snow inside with them to wall up the door from within.

Snow makes a great insulator.

 

[JFK_USA]

Can chaos occur? Yes. But stockpiling guns, ammo, and food doesn't necessarily guarantee survival. Numbers can outlast ammo. And people who are desperate will not stop until they get the necessities.

And why the heck are you using pictures from civilized nations where protests are occurring? That doesn't mean economic collapse.

 

[DGS49]

This would give me a chance to empty out my pantry. There's stuff in there with a "sell by" date in the last century. I understand it is possible to live on kidney beans, given sufficient ventilation.

 

[DriftingSand]

Can chaos occur? Yes. But stockpiling guns, ammo, and food doesn't necessarily guarantee survival. Numbers can outlast ammo. And people who are desperate will not stop until they get the necessities.

And why the heck are you using pictures from civilized nations where protests are occurring? That doesn't mean economic collapse.

True. Stockpiling doesn't guarantee anything but it does change the odds. I have personal experience in this area. I didn't have to experience an economic collapse but I did have to experience more than one natural "disaster" (they weren't actually that disastrous but I was glad I had the necessary supplies to get through them).

The pictures indicate what could happen on a larger scale. If there was a major economic collapse those pictured indicate what could happen on a larger scale and in your neighborhood. Of course, folks living in rural communities would fare the storm much better than folks in the inner city or nearby suburbs.

 

[Moonglow]

There's plenty o' food when the shit hits the fan, just pick out a relatively healthy human....

 

[DriftingSand]

This would give me a chance to empty out my pantry. There's stuff in there with a "sell by" date in the last century. I understand it is possible to live on kidney beans, given sufficient ventilation.

Sell by dates are required by law. Most canned foods last much longer than the indicated date. I stock freeze-dried foods with a 20 or 30 year shelf life. Just add water. They're not the most appetizing foods but they contain the nutrition necessary for life.