SDS Breifing for the weekeend of January 14, 2012

Krugman speaks.  Yawn.

New York Times columnist and Nobel Prize winning economist Paul Krugman takes the position that having an experienced businessman like Mitt Romney as president would harm the country.  Now, I am no fan of Mitt Romney, but given the track record of the professional politicians we've had for presidents the last fifty years, he can't be any worse. 

Taste Test - Ready Reserve Foods

Ready Reserve Foods recently ran a special - for about $10, they would send you a sample pack of their favorite items.  Today, using my solar oven I made lunch using their ABC soup, diced carrots, potato cubes, and beef stock.  I don't have a sophisticated pallet, but I will say this was fairly tasty.  I sprinkled a little of the cheese powder they sent in their sample pack, along with my trusty Tabasco sauce.  Even my wife had a bite and thought it tasted good. 

I'm preparing to make some major storeable food purchases in 2012.  Sampling the various brands is helping me make my decisions.

SDS Briefing for Friday, January 13, 2012

Veronique de Rugy Is Awesome.

If I could name any five people, living or dead, with whom I could have lunch, Veronique de Rugy would be on that list.  An economist and researcher at George Mason University, de Rugy often writes for the Libertarian publication Reason magazine. 

I ran across this piece she wrote in July regarding the debt ceiling issue, which is timely today given the fact we are fast approaching the recently raised debt ceiling - again.  In short, she uses studies from Harvard to demonstrate the best way to reduce debt and the size of government is not by raising taxes, but rather by cutting both government spending and taxes.  While a bit technical in its jargon, it demonstrates clearly what is needed to pull us back from failure.

And lest you think I am fear mongering (I get accused of that regularly....although my "mongering" is pulled straight from the headlines of mainstream news sources.  I am just connecting the dots.), de Rugy drops this gem in the middle of her article: "According to the Congressional Budget Office, [our national debt] will reach 200 percent in 2037- if the economy doesn't collapse first (which it likely will)."  (emphasis added). 

Did you catch that?  A respected economist who isn't buying or selling a book or a subscription to a financial newsletter just said our economy will "likely collapse" in the next 25 years due to our political leaders' collective inability to manage our finances.  And sadly, that 200 percent figure does not include unfunded and unaccounted liabilities (discussed in the article) for things like Medicare and Social Security.

Again, I rhetorically ask the Suburban Dad Nation: if you disagree with my conclusions, what are yours?  And how did you arrive at them?

Please Bookmark This Site.

I know most of you find this site via Facebook.  I am divesting time from Facebook in the coming weeks; in the coming days, I will stop posting notices on my wall indicating my blog is updated.  If you like what you are reading here, please bookmark it for future reference.

SDS Briefing for the Thursday, January 12, 2012

Take A Really Good Look At This.

This file photo appeared in today's edition of the UK's Mail Online.  The headline of the story carrying the picture says it all: "Children 'dumped in streets by Greek parents who can't afford to look after them any more'."  The child, who can't be more than five or six years old, is playing a drum, hoping for passerbys to give him change.

Some points from the article:

Youngsters abandoned as parents struggle 

4-year-old found clutching note: 'I can't afford her' 

Country also running out of medicine 

Aspirin stocks low as austerity measures bite

Friends, this isn't from some third world country plagued with poverty for decades.  This is from Greece.  A member of the EU.  A developed country with a republican form of government.  One of the incubators of Western civilization.

We Americans sometimes think we are immune from such hardship.  Yet the Great Depression ravaged our country less than one hundred years ago.  While I am not predicting we will face such hardship, it is a clear reminder we need to get our nation's financial house back in order.  A national debt that now exceeds our GDP, unfunded liabilities to the tune of 60 trillion dollars, a dysfunctional tax code, and a country where a large number of citizens feel they are entitled to things will not lead us into prosperity.  I fear it will lead us closer to where Greece is now.

Prepare yourselves.  Minimize your debt.  Stock up on necessaries.  Watch less mindless TV and instead start paying attention to quality news outlets.  Get involved in local politics, whether as a candidate or as an engaged citizen. 

SDS Briefing for the Tuesday, January 10, 2012

Suggested Readings

• How long can the global economy sustain a major disaster?  About a week, according to experts. This short article provides a lot of information. 
• Greeks feel the very real effects of economic crisis - and are begging for aspirin.  Literally.  While we'd like to think something like this couldn't happen here, we've had runs on drug supplies before during pandemic fears.  This is what the slow slide looks like.  I hope you are taking notes.
• Is 2012 the year in which we live dangerously?  A guest at ZeroHedge seems to think so.  (Thanks to Big Jerid for the link). 
  
  
  

SDS Briefing for Thursday, January 5, 2012

I Know I Said I Would Blog Less...

...and I really need to stick to that.  With prepping for my next CHL class, writing my first article for Survivalist magazine, and all the other things I want to get done, this should be way down on my priority list.  However, there's simply too much critical information coming out right now that I think you need to be aware of.  So this will be quick on my end, but it will require some reading on yours.

• What is the general population fearing these days, and how do they plan to respond to it?  Here's your answer.  Pay particular attention to slides 4 and 14.
• As I mentioned in my 2012 Outlook (and if you need your free copy, email me at suburbandadsurvivalist@gmail.com), food prices will remain a concern for global markets. 
• "True revolution" is coming to our financial markets, according to former Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan.  You need to read this short article.
  

SDS Daily Briefing for Monday, January 2, 2012

The SDS 2012 Outlook Report Is Available

Email me at suburbandadsurvivalist@gmail.com if you'd like your free copy.  I've received several emails with very positive feedback; it's my hope it helps you think about and prepare for the next twelve months.

"All we can do is the best we can to take care of business and those dear to us."

My friend and former co-worker, Seven Eight State Johnny (nicknamed so because he is now licensed to practice law in a mind boggling eight states, making my bar memberships in three states look rather paltry) wrote me after reading my 2012 Outlook to share his thoughts.  We emailed back and forth a bit on various things.  In the last line of his last email, he typed the line I'm quoting above. 

I'd like for us all to reflect on that for a moment.  We cannot guarantee our own safety and well being; nor can we do that for our family.  Being prepared is not a guarantee.  Rather, think of it as creating an opportunity - an opportunity to put you and your family in the best position to endure hardship and thrive afterwards.  Taking care of business - being a good employee, being a good steward of our finances, our health, our physical possessions - is a central part of preparedness.  Too many people in our movement believe they can simply sit on the couch, watch hours of Military Channel, buy an AR-15 or two with some MREs and a few hundred rounds of ammo, and think they are "prepared." 

Nonsense.  Those people won't make it long; in fact, they could turn out to be rather dangerous to themselves or others.  Focus on doing the basics very, very well.  Have some savings.  Have the right insurance for your health, your life and your property.  Maintain your vehicles and homes.  Invest in your relationships with those you love and care about.  These things are more critical than the number of MREs you have or the new scope you put on your assault rifle. 

In 2012, I will work harder to heed Eight State's advice.


Lest You Think I Am The Only One Concerned About How 2012 Will Turn Out....

While I was pounding away at my 2012 Outlook, three news articles came out over the last 48 hours which warrant your attention. 

First, Reuters ran an article entitled "You Thought 2011 Was Tough?"  From the article: "With a spiraling debt crisis in Europe, political upheaval around the world, and crumbling creditworthiness in major industrial nations, 2011 was a tough year to know where to invest. 2012 is unlikely to offer much respite."

Not to be outdone, the UK's Daily Mail ran this piece ominously titled "The spectre of 1932: How a loss of faith in politicians and democracy could make 2012 the most frightening year in living memory."  (And you people think I am a downer.)  The intro is too good not to share:

Here in Britain, many economists believe that by the end of 2012 we could well have slipped into a second devastating recession. The Coalition remains delicately poised; it would take only one or two resignations to provoke a wider schism and a general election.

But the real dangers lie overseas. In the Middle East, the excitement of the Arab Spring has long since curdled into sectarian tension and fears of Islamic fundamentalism. And with so many of the world’s oil supplies concentrated in the Persian Gulf, British families will be keeping an anxious eye on events in the Arab world.

Meanwhile, as the eurozone slides towards disaster, the prospects for Europe have rarely been bleaker. Already the European elite have installed compliant technocratic governments in Greece and Italy, and with the markets now putting pressure on France, few observers can be optimistic that the Continent can avoid a total meltdown.

As commentators often remark, the world picture has not been grimmer since the dark days of the mid-Seventies, when the OPEC oil shock, the rise of stagflation and the surge of nationalist terrorism cast a heavy shadow over the Western world.

Next on the hit parade, Breitbart ran this piece labeled "France's future hangs in balance in 2012: Sarkozy."  The French President remarked that ""This [financial] crisis... probably the most serious since World War II, this crisis is not over." 

And let me be clear - these articles do not come from Glenn Beck, Alex Jones, or Rush Limbaugh.  These are mainstream sources, save Breitbart (although he's just quoting what Sarkozy said, apparently doing so without controversy).  When major media outlets run stories with headlines like that, we should pay attention.

Which reminds me - when you talk to your friends and others who think you're wrong to worry about economic stability, civil liberties, and the risk of unrest here, ask them this:  "You've read all the dire predictions from pundits in the mainstream media, correct?  If you have, and if you think my preparedness efforts in the wake of those reports is irrational, what should my response be?"  I've asked that question many a time to someone who snickered at the thought of me working on preparedness for the various crises which could affect us.  Not once has anyone given me a plausible alternative theory supporting an outlook that this will all be over soon and everything will get back to normal. 

And Apparently, More People Are Getting The Message

People are beginning to tune in and pay attention.  Exhibit A:  Gun sales for Black Friday and for the days leading up to Christmas were through the roof.  Sales records smashed in November 2011 were short lived, as December 2011 proved to be an even bigger month for sales.  According to the article, "It was the highest number ever in a single month, surpassing the previous record set in November. On Dec[ember] 23 alone, there were 102,222 background checks, making it the second busiest single day for buying guns in history."

Why all the fuss?  "Explanations for America's surge in gun buying include that it is a response to the stalled economy with people fearing crime waves. Another theory is that buyers are rushing to gun shops because they believe tighter firearms laws will be introduced in the future."

And what demographic is helping fuel this surge in sales?  Women.  According to a December 27 piece from CBS news, 

Female participation in target shooting in the U.S. has nearly doubled in the last decade, growing to nearly five million women since 2001.  Pistol-shooting mommas and rifle-wielding yoga instructors may not be the type of woman who comes to mind when you hear about female shooters, but they're dominating the sport.  They say they shoot not only for self-protection, but because it relieves stress, helps them find peace and concentration and - feel feminine.

Take heart.  More and more people are preparing.  Our ranks are growing quickly.  And for that, I am very thankful.

SDS 2012 Outlook Report Now Available

My 2012 outlook is available - send me a note at suburbandadsurvivalist@gmail.com if you'd like to receive a pdf copy of it.

Happy New Year!