Breaking Point: People Are Shellshocked, Extraordinarly Nervous

Economists and analysts have said that fear is building as the possibility of another recession looms. We certainly wouldn’t disagree with the fear factor, but we maintain our position that the recession, which began in 2008, never really ended. Mainstream economists will argue, fruitlessly, that positive GDP growth over the last two years proves the recession ended, but as was pointed out in Global GDP Growth Numbers are Fictitious, the official statistics fail to account for the real rate of inflation. When you count the rise in prices across the board, we’re in recession – and we’ve been there since at least 2008.

But, for the sake of argument, we’ll humor the mainstream, and give them the “official” position, which says that fields of green shoots spread across the country in the summer of 2009, and continued to bloom throughout 2010 as the stock market came roaring back. (We won’t mention falling real estate prices, record foreclosures, rising unemployment, an expanding food stamp participation rate, destruction of personal credit and overwhelming national debt – no, we won’t mention those – just focus on stock markets and GDP, please, because we need to think like the experts.)

As experts, we would then be looking at the one and only factor that really means anything – and that’s consumption. And, according to the Washington Post, it’s this particular aspect of our economy that is now putting us on the brink of the oft feared double dip:

More than two years after the recession’s official end, people are driving their cars a year longer, holding back on jewelry and furniture, and swapping brand names for cheaper store brands at the supermarket.

More ominously, the once sturdy optimism of Americans appears to have crumbled, according to one key measure. Breaking from precedent, Americans no longer believe they will make more money next year than this year, according to the University of Michigan’s Surveys of Consumers. These expectations used to rebound after recessions; this time they didn’t.

This crisis of confidence, a departure from long-standing expectations of rising American prosperity, is spurring millions of small consumer decisions that collectively determine whether businesses should expand, and in turn whether the recovery will continue to falter.

Confidence. The whole system is built on it. And, based on recent consumer sentiment surveys, the confidence is dissipating. People are scared, they’re uncertain, and they’re responding by holding on to what little money they have left, as opposed to spending it on $10 million dollars worth of vacations like our first lady has done. This, says Moody’s chief economist Mark Zandi, is a self-fulfilling prophecy. The likely result is lower sales for businesses, more layoffs, and even less spending – a vicious economic cycle that no amount of stimulus and propaganda can reverse:

“It could be the only recession that we actually will ourselves into,” said Mark Zandi, chief economist for Moody’s Analytics.

“The trouble is people are so shellshocked and haven’t really gotten over the recession,” he said. “They’re extraordinarily nervous, and when anything goes off script even a little bit they freeze, and that’s where we are right now and why we are so close to recession.”

If recent indicators are a guide, the green shoots have now withered, and recession is already here. Economists, just as they failed to do in early 2008, simply don’t see the writing on the wall. Even Mr. Zandi doesn’t seem to get it. This has nothing to do with willing our way into recession, and everything to do with the fact that working Americans simply don’t have the means to do it. The money is gone, and many are now down to the paychecks of last resort – unemployment, social security benefits, welfare, and anything else they can scrounge up – just to survive.

The experts completely dropped the ball (again) and have yet to identify what is really going on here, and will not do so until they write about it in hindsight ten or twenty years from now.

Invest in lead, brass, and cold steel, long term food, water treatment equipment, good sturdy boots clothes, tools, seed, learn to garden, sew, cook from scratch (a person that can make donuts and other sweets will be able to trade for a lot of stuff), trade goods like liquor, tobacco, sugar, coffee,.22 ammo.

What is coming isn’t going to be pretty.

I think that we are in for at least something like the collapse of Argentina ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7yerKMQc7-w&feature=grec_index )but from the look of things it may even be on a global scale. Additionally I think we will see a much more violent version. As recent events show (Flash Mobs, UK riots, etc)we have a larger entitlement minded population and a the US has a much more violent and armed population than Argentina. I see many many small business wiped out by flash mob looting, and see rape, robbery and murder for murder sake. Many of these ‘yutes’ will think no more about killing you than most people think about stepping on a roach. That will be the test of many. Most preppers I know are Christian people and they will hesitate to do what they might have to do to stop the ‘yutes’. On the other hand the ‘yutes’ won’t think twice nor lose a minute of sleep, in fact they will smile and laugh about it.

Think of this quote which is one of my favorites:

“Star Trek: Deep Space Nine: The Siege of AR-558 (#7.8)” (1998)
Quark: Let me tell you something about Hew-mons, Nephew. They’re a wonderful, friendly people, as long as their bellies are full and their holosuites are working. But take away their creature comforts, deprive them of food, sleep, sonic showers, put their lives in jeopardy over an extended period of time and those same friendly, intelligent, wonderful people... will become as nasty and as violent as the most bloodthirsty Klingon. You don’t believe me? Look at those faces. Look in their eyes.

Now go look at some of the videos of the riots in the UK and of some of the flash mobs here in the US and look into there eyes.

For those who are just starting or are old hands at prepping you may find my Preparedness Manual helpfull. You can download it at:

http://www.tomeaker.com/kart/preparedness1i.pdf

For those of you who haven’t started already it’s time to prepare almost past time maybe. You needed to be stocking up on food guns, ammo, basic household supplies like soap, papergoods, cleaning supplies, good sturdy clothes including extra socks, underwear and extra shoes and boots, a extra couple changes of oil and filters for your car, tools, things you buy everyday start buying two and put one up.

As the LDS say “When the emergency is upon us the time for preparedness has past.”

Or as the bible says: A prudent man sees danger and takes refuge, but the simple keep going and suffer for it.
NIV Proverbs 22:3

Lastly this for the doubters and the scoffers.

“There is no greater disaster than to underestimate danger.

Underestimation can be fatal.”

Hey Kart, I’m with you on the Argentina thing.

Another source to look up is one of baraq’s bud’s van jones’ organization STORM. They believe that violent revolution is the way to bring about fundamental change.
baraq is still buds with this human vermin. He was the green jobs czar, but now is with moveon.org. baraq is in agreement with this philosophy. Burn down the system and take back what is rightfully theirs.

Problem is that these anarchists believed that baraq would deliver on his promises. Believe it or not, they think that baraq has renegged on the promises. They are PISSED.
It won’t be long before baraq loses control of these feral humans. When they reach the point that baraq is insignificant to them, the poop will hit the prop at supersonic speed.

Then the riots will begin. They are in this for themselves. baraq won’t be able to stop them or control them. It will be Detriot 1967 all over the country.

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