Are You Ready For The Depression??

[shintao]

It is coming folks. Are you prepared? Tell others what you have done to prepare yourself.

I suggest getting some beans of various types, and rice, and canned goods. I suggest you find out what social services are available to you in your area. You might want to get a camp stove that runs on gas. Do you need a few extra blankets to stay warm?

It would seem logical that renters will be allowed to stay in dwellings in hard times, but then when have we been compassionate people and logical?

[islandmkl]

1. learn to meditate...there may be some long lines in the near future...

[leftstreet]

2. Fuck That. Let's all meet in DC

:thumbsup:

[Tangerine LaBamba]

3. Coming?

Look outside.

It's already here, and things are going to get a lot worse in the next year. We, alas, ain't seen nothing yet.

[Waiting For Everyman]

28. Yeah, I'm already in it. Have been, for several years already.

My neighbors all around me in this "nice" SF neighborhood will be surprised when it catches up with them this year, but I won't be surprised by it at all. It's a tsunami, comin' for everybody - and as in a tsunami it's too late to run from it or be somewhere else. We could've averted it but we didn't.

Nobody wanted to lay any "moral hazard" on the table for the foreclosures, if it didn't benefit them. So here we go...

All we can hope for is that Obama gets us through it quickly.

[shintao]

4. Any Suggestions here for Survival??

Hmm, my idea of the thread is to discuss ways you can prepare for the future depression. Any of you yahoos have a clue?

You might want to buy a mechanical can opener. A P49 is a Military can opener you could get one at a surplus store, About an inch long, durable & carry in your pocket. Hopefully we will have electric power - IF you can afford it.

A bottle of rubbing alcohol would come in handy.

Buy yourself some seeds to grow a back yard garden. Get some fertilizer. Set up a community garden with neighbors.

A six pack of motor oil might be handy. A small scooter of some kind.

Small solar unit to charge battery operated stuff. Some solar yard lights. Charge them outside in the day and bring them inside at night.

YOUR TURN!!

[Le Taz Hot]

15. Yes, darling,

this "yahoo" has plenty of ideas on how to survive hard times. Being homeless at a young age does that for you. Just FYI, there have been numerous threads on this already. They were actually very helpful and had absolutely no condescension whatsoever. You might want to take notes. :eyes:

On edit: Looks like a hit-and-run.

[silverojo]

5. Our little house and our car have paid off

At least we don't have to worry about being thrown out into the streets....

[Deja Q]

11. What if you can't afford property tax payments?

[uppityperson]

6. This is odd, try to read this topic and keep getting a bug.

Let's see if this works.

No, I am not ready. I have prepared as best I can, but no, am not ready.

[uppityperson]

7. Nope, it shows in my Du page, but can't get anything to load on this topic.

Odd.

[DailyGrind51]

8. Get rid of unnecessary monthly bills: cable, cell phone, etc.

Stop using credit cards and pay down debt before any additional expenses.

[dysfunctional press]

9. "It would seem logical that renters will be allowed to stay in dwellings in hard times..."

as long as the rent is paid, of course they can stay.

[Baby Snooks]

10. "Things will improve..."

That is what we are being told. In June. By June. After June. In six months. The last half of 2009.

The reality is by June our financial system most likely will have collapsed and except for the "major banks" the government will have taken over the banking system. As it prepares to "sell" the banking system to the "major banks" whose CEOs are like vultures at the moment. Just waiting. And having the taxpayers as an appetizer. The main course is the smaller banks. And the banking system itself.

People talk about nationalization. It will be total and complete privatization. The government will merely be a shareholder in the banks it sells. And the banks it buys. The banks in essence will literally own the government.

Things can only look up after everything has collapsed. If you have anything left after everything has collapsed.

The vast majority of Americans will not.

[lonestarnot]

12. So what is your suggestion for the fight?

[Baby Snooks]

30. My suggestion?

My suggestion is for people to demand Congress make the people the priority but it has been proven over and over and over that Congress no longer serves the people and the people are not a priority. So next time at the polls, let's start getting rid of Congress and putting in a "People's Congress." Instead of sending the same old, same old back again to once again break their promises to the people.

[Deja Q]

13. Who truly is ready?

And renters will have to keep up rent payments. Especially given the housing market. I like your naivety but that's not the real world.

And hey, if it's over, it's over. That's what our fellow countryman has done to us over the last 8 years. Whatever. Enjoy what's left.

And how the fuck do you know "it is coming"? What's your magic crystal ball?

Anything can happen. Bad OR good.

Your pessimism sucks.

And not in a good way.

[Liberal_in_LA]

41. Yep. The landlord most likely will be in a dire situation him/herself and will need the rent payment

[graywarrior]

14. I've been down so long, this looks like up to me.

Seriously...I KNOW how to survive with nothing.

[marshall]

16. I think anyone who wants to stock up like that has already done so

That's a further step in the evolution of preparation. I agree with other posters that the first step if getting yourself out of debt.

[surrealAmerican]

17. I don't understand the stockpiling suggestion.

You don't prepare for a depression the way you prepare for a hurricane. A depression lasts years, and is not usually marked by food shortages. It would be more of a matter of keeping your finances as safe as you can.

[RagAss]

19. Thanks for your common sense. I was about to post this myself. Many folks..

tend to confuse the depression years with the Natural Disaster of the Dust Bowl evacuation and blend the two events together. I knew hundreds of folks who lived through the financial depression of the 30's and you are correct, food was not an issue...protecting whatever finances and property they had was.

[northernlights]

21. written like a true "have"

or maybe the depression of the past 8 years passed you by.

My finances already have been ruined, courtesy of bushco.

After having been robbed by neighbors, contractors, employers and, at the last minute, the state university, I'm down to my last few thousand dollars and my home. I can pay my property taxes this spring. With luck, I'll even get heating oil assistance, which will help set me up for another round of property taxes. Other than that, unless I'm able to sell this place this spring, I'm heading straight downhill. By next winter, it will be heat or eat? And last week it was 15 below here, so extra blankets won't make a damn bit of difference.

As to food shortages, as others have mentioned, have you never seen pix of the soup kitchens?

Not to mention, this is NOT your grandparent's depression. The global economy means when the global financial system collapses, so will food transportation.

My guess is that the military that is being deployed here, that some people keep thinking will be quelling riots, may actually end up distributing food, medicine and necessities when the shit hits the fan. At least, that's how I'm hoping Obama will employ them.

[DeschutesRiver]

32. The only people I know that thought food wasn't an issue during the GD

were people who grew their own crops or raised their own livestock or poultry. Probably counted for quite a few citizens back before JIT groceries and 3 supermarkets on every corner. Prior to the Dust Bowl, the .gov had already set the scene for escalating hunger once it hit, something I was not fully aware of prior to doing some research on how .gov policies can help or hurt during tough times.

During the initial stages of the GD, government policy under the agricultural adjustment act didn't help - ie, trying to prop farm product prices by paying them not to plant, by buying crops already planted and destroying them, and destroying herds of cattle and hundreds of thousands of piglets, to name a few things. And from what I've read, it did squat to stablize the prices for consumers, and just made food even more scarce.

The AA Administration enacted the AA Act in 1933; and I believe the Dust Bowl wasn't until 1935. It was a government policy that didn't work out as slick as planned, at least not for the end consumer. They were getting hungry from this well intentioned fiasco when the Dust Bowl blew away even more from the food chain.

Couple of fast links, there is better out there, though:


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agricultural_Adjustment_Act
http://www.nationmaster.com/encyclopedia/Agricultural-Adjustment-Act

[DeschutesRiver]

36. What I've done to hopefully come out on the other side of a depression?

Got ourselves out of debt completely (started that awhile back, of course). Don't use revolving credit ever now. So house is paid, land is paid; run some cattle, we eat some, sell some. Have a garden area that was a challenge - short season, cold nights, rodents, the damned hailstorm that took out 1/2 in 5 short minutes (putting some plants now in wheeled containers on a covered porch just in case). The beef and vegetables were put into the freezer. Cut cords of our wood for the woodstoves; cut more long logs to be cut/split for next year's winter season firewood. Bought seeds so I can start some plants indoors, and then continue on out to this coming spring's garden. Bought extra hay last year for the livestock, in case it is hard to find this year or the prices escalate to scary levels (would buy us time to search out some less expensive options).

Going to expand the garden; plant fruit trees and some rows of berries - spent part of last year clearing a bigger area for this. Plan to build a greenhouse from freecycled windows we've been collecting. Have one spring, plan to locate and develop at least one more. Want to locate a local source for poultry, have one for eggs. If it wasn't for all the wild critters who would feast on them first, we'd have the chickens ourselves.

Bought staples that we use and have stored months worth. Rice, canned milk, beans, wheat (grind it and make everything bakeable), and canned veggies. Use all daily, rotate, replace as used. Have a small stash of cash in case of a bank holiday of short duration. Have guns and ammo - have used for venison, and to dispatch a cow for slaughter.

That's all - a place to stay that we only have to find enough $$ to insure and pay the taxes on each year, a woodstove to keep us warm, water to drink, and a few different options for keeping our bellies full (in case of a failure of one, we can eat something else instead).

[DailyGrind51]

37. My parents lived through the depression and, believe me, food WAS an issue,

then, and during the subsequent WWII years, when food was rationed. The "hundreds of folks" you knew were much more prosperous than the ones I knew.

[wartrace]

20. The problem won't be food shortages, paying for food will be.

I seem to recall that food WAS a problem for a lot of people in the last depression. Remember the soup kitchens?

[galileoreloaded]

27. I would normally agree, but the collapse in international trade, and..

the resultant demand destruction of the places that make our "stuff" almost assures shortages of everything from wastepaper baskets to prescription medications. Very soon.

Shortages and long lines inbound.

Coupled with massive liquidity injections via the Fed, and the populous paying ANY price for little Johnny's antibiotics or toilet paper or what ever, and things could get quite interesting.

Pick your poison, inflation run amok, or raging deflation. Zimbabwe, or Mexico.

[area51]

18. Have you been asleep, shintao?

The Depression's been here since 2001. And if you really want to have a discussion as you claim, try not to call other people "yahoos" (downthread).

[wartrace]

22. I am prepared to survive.

I have paid off my home on 15 acres of rural land, I have no debts & have been saving as much as possible. I have a full years supply of freeze dried food stockpiled. I use heirloom seeds for gardening and can expand the garden as my needs increase. I have several fruit trees & grape vines. The chicken coop is going in this spring along with a rabbit hutch.

My property taxes are only 350 dollars a year, I have a wood cook stove for heat & cooking. Five acres of my property is woodlot so I have a renewable source for heat. My well is solar powered so I could survive without electricity although it will be uncomfortable in the summertime it won't be life threatening.

I've done all I can with the amount of money at my disposal.

[agent46]

23. Introduce yourself

Introduce yourself to your neighbors. Start building community. Make yourself available to others. Put together a good first aid kit with enough supplies for friends in need. Stock up on rice, beans, cornmeal, flour, canned goods, dried medicinal herbs, and lots of different kinds of seeds (people might need them). Start a small garden. If you're in an urban area, a plant pot/rooftop garden is good. Buy what you may need now while supply lines are somewhat working and before a hyper-inflation cycle kicks in. Experiment with frugality and re-use of old items we would normally toss out. Save newspaper. It makes great fuel logs, insulation, toilet paper and many other things. Be inventive. Learn a skill that will be useful to your immediate community - baking bread, canning and preserving, sewing, knitting. Learn how to purify water. Learn some art-form to share and teach. Document history as it unfolds. Start conversations. Ask others how they're getting along. Let them know you're available to help out. Community is key. Everything will flow from that. Most of all keep your sense of humor. If you don't have one yet, better get one.

[conscious evolution]

24. The Best advice in this thread here.

[agent46]

25. #24

Went on ignore some time ago.

[Phillycat]

29. They just said you gave good advice in your post. :)

Maybe it's time for an ignore-list amnesty. :) I just cleaned mine out a few weeks ago and I'm waiting to see who earns a spot back on.

[Phillycat]

26. Plant a garden and get some chickens.

You don't need much space.

[Swamp Rat]

31. Just don't plant the chickens, Boudreaux

:D

[stuntcat]

33. ReCheck out this thread:

(in case no one posted it up there already!)

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x4591570#4594572

[asdjrocky]

34. Aren't you the same guy that told me to stock up on batteries for Y2k?

[blues90]

35. What I have is little .

An old VW squareback with hopefully enough room for me and my wife and our 4 cats. And few clothes worth packing and a few other things worth putting in a handbuild box on the roof rack.

Then what , I suppose we head off to southern FL where my wifes youngest family memeber has a house with a small mortgage payment and tuff it out there.

Not really our preference but better than living on the street and my SS to keep going.

We rent I doubt that if we could not pay it we would be allowed to stay here.

It makes no sense for us to stock pile can goods if we would not have a place to store them.

But I do see thing falling apart when you look at the number of businessess closing daily and closing their doors forever. No jobs and no one buying anything even at 80% off is not a good sign at all.

We are both in our 60's and ruffing it is much more difficult now but sitting and waiting is less and less an option.

Obama has already said it will get worse and take years if his ideas work so that tells me all I need to know.

There are so many more people now in the US than during the great depression that's it's not the same and I can't even imagine what this will now look like. Every inch of land is owned so you can't build a lean to and expect to live off the land. But then the massess of people might be able to use the shelter of the buildings left abandoned that used to be stores and there won't be enough police to push all out.

Pretty scary SHIT.

[Warren DeMontague]

38. WUR DOOOOOOOMED!!!

DOOOOOOMED!

[backscatter712]

39. No, I'm fucked.

I had (yes, past tense) my six months of savings, which I tapped into, along with unemployment, so I can continue to subsist. That's pretty much gone. I have an extension to unemployment, but that's not enough. I'll probably have to tap into my 401ks, and eat all the losses, just so I can continue to subsist, because this shitty-assed job market shows no signs of improvement.

Garden? Nope, I don't have one. Canned foods? I could probably pick up some, but that only delays the inevitable. My roommate's moving out - he decided he wants a place by himself, and I can't really afford to play roommate roulette - I always seem to get stuck with some irresponsible douche who doesn't pay his share of the bills. I really would rather be able to keep this place by myself if I can find some way to manage it.

[Liberal_in_LA]

40. Why do you think renters will be allowed to stay? Look at all the empty forclosures.