SDS Daily Briefing for Monday, September 26, 2011

A Fair Question
My little blog, barely a week old, continues to chug along like The Little Train That Could.  After perusing it, someone asked me what the focus of the blog is.  It's an excellent question, and so I'd like to flesh that out.

In short, there are literally hundreds of preparedness blogs out there.  Each one of them brings a unique perspective to preparedness.  Some focus on the "how to" while others focus on the "what." 

I chose the name "Suburban Dad Survivalist" because I sensed there exists a large demographic who needs some nudging to start making preparations.  While I welcome everyone here, this demographic I've identified in most need of encouragement is:

• male
• ages 29-59
• college or trade educated
• a father, living in the suburbs, with kids and a spouse
• an investor, either actively managing their own investments or investing into a 401K managed by their employer
• not defined by racial or religious beliefs
• consumes moderate to large quantities of news and information daily
• understands on a fundamental level the need to prepare but doesn't want to be consumed by it.

And so the content here is aimed that that demographic.  That's not to say we can't learn from women or college kids or retirees.  We most certainly can.  But rather than be all things to all people, I've chosen to focus on a demographic I understand well, because I'm in it.

And So Why Do I Spend So Much Time Talking About The Economy And The Stock Market?

Another great question!  Simply put, I believe our global economic issues present us with the largest, most imminent threat to our well being than any other threat out there.  These issues clearly drive decisions being made in European geopolitics, gave rise to the Arab Spring, dictate to what degree the Chinese government will be willing to finance the U.S. government in the future.  If we are going to be a prepared people, we must understand what is happening in the financial markets right now. 

Put another way, fretting about Al Qaeda when U6 unemployment figures are north of 16% would be a misallocation of mental energy. 

Please understand I am writing this blog from the heart of Central Texas, where our drought-stricken state continues to spontaneously combusts on a regular basis, causing horrific damage.  Despite these tragic losses, our inability to stabilize our economy is a far bigger threat to our way of life than the drought my neighbors and I are currently experiencing. 

In the coming months, I plan to talk about how someone in the 'burbs can mitigate their risks of things like wild fires, hurricanes, earthquakes, and even terrorism.  But I'd be lying to you if I thought these are the risks people need to be most focused on right now.

Speaking Of Impacting The Economy

Today, the Texas Department of Agriculture issued a report entitled "Texas Border Security: A Strategic Military Assessment."  Before we proceed, read the previous sentence again.  Does it strike you as odd that the Department of Agriculture of a state would be issuing military assessments on border security? 

It should.  Yet ranches and farms make up much of the border on the U.S. side of the river, and so when there are problems with border security, those in the agricultural community are the first to feel the effects of it. 

As discussed here, border violence continues to have a major impact on the economies in the border region:


 


Trader Leaves BBC Commentator Speechless

Staying with tonight's theme of "the economy is really, really bad," hear what this trader told BBC today: