Make way for the 'engineers of commerce' ..... a look into my crystal ball

[Stinky The Clown]

From every disaster sprouts the seed of the 'fast buck' tree.

What fruit will be borne of this noxious weed, nurtured by the flood waters in the Gulf Coast region?

Cars: lots of flood damaged cars will make their way to the auction block. They'll look all spiffy and clean. New carpets and seats will replace those soaked by the flood. But their internal parts will have the start of corrosion. These car's have no real value .... but rest assured they'll find their way to used car lots in the poor neighborhoods of America ...... "A dollar down and a dollar week, my friend, and this bad ride can be yours."

Space heaters: Watch for truckloads of these, made cheaply in China, of course, to descend on the area when the flood waters have finally receded or been pumped out. "Great for drying out that carpet, my friend. But they're in short supply, so today they're $149.00." (Of course, any other day, they're $19.95.)

Dry Wall: Again, it will come in by the truckload. Do-it-yourselfers will buy this normally five-bux-a-sheet commodity for the bargain price of ..... whatever the market will bear.

Construction workers: I use the term loosely ... very loosely. You'll know this crew by their missing teeth, inarticulateness ..... and the needle tracks. Most will be largely unfamiliar with the use of a hammer.

Tarpaulins: Lots of cheap, again made in China, blue plastic tarps. You know the ones. Available from Harbor Freight Salvage for $10 a dozen. "Today only ..... $12.99 each."

Plywood: Don't even ask. It will be more precious than gold. Look for sheets of chip board - a VERY poor substitute in high humidity areas - to be available for what plywood might normally sell for.

Look also for lots of pick-ups with out of state plates. They will be dispensing all sorts of overpriced, and largely unneeded crap, for hugely inflated prices.

The Descent of the Charlatans and Thieves. Coming to a Disaster Area Near You. (No extra charge for the "W" ovals on the bumpers.)

On edit: What else might we see in the coming months? Add your thoughts to this post.

[undergroundpanther]

1. Salvage

Haul your stuff away,Moving vans,replacement appliances,replacement furniture,repairs for anything and everything..

Don't you know human misery and disaster is good for the economy!

When one person profits from another's loss ,obedience,misfortune, misery or ignorance or vulnerability it's called a 'fair' profit. When this taking advantage happens between a bully and a victim we call it a tragedy an injustice ,if it happens between a corporation(which is an owned by a person thing) and a victim we call it business.. .Capitalism has the seeds of ruin in it already because of profuit..because profit is it's goal(taking advantage of others weaknesses) is a form of predatory GREED and a company is basically a sociopath and because profits are seen as morally ok it is not SEEN as the sociopath,inhuman,hierarchical and sick organization it IS..

[Stinky The Clown]

2. And all that stuff they charge victims to haul away .......

will be cleaned up and resold as simply 'used' .... not flood damaged.

[Sub Atomic]

3. Stereotype much?

Construction workers: I use the term loosely ... very loosely. You'll know this crew by their missing teeth, inarticulateness ..... and the needle tracks. Most will be largely unfamiliar with the use of a hammer.