Free Republic

pretty common phenom. In B-School they call it the latecomer advantage. Europe/Japan got to rebuild using current tech of post WWII era. They didn’t have to go back to the 19th cent. and start over. Today the third world builds with current tech in the post-national economic system.

Meanwhile we in the USA are using infrastructure/concepts that can be a century old in some cases and wondering why we are having a hard time competing. Consider our rail network vs. Euro/Japan, for example. Or broadband access in US vs. some Asian nations, another example. Or the space program of China.

It’s easier for third worlders to plant a few cell phone towers than to build up a telegraph system, then a land line POTS network and then add cell towers.

We in the west design, invent and create, but it’s difficult and expensive to re-infrastructure an industrial civilization. If you have nothing, you can actually be at an advantage if you choose your investments wisely.

I still think a remote controlled vehicle for swift evac of wounded troops would be a great idea. And if it can shoot back, all the better.

No problem, hang in there. And just remember, one day when you are 60 you will look back on this era as “the good old days”. LOL

If that story doesn’t motivate someone to exercise their 2nd Amendment right, perhaps this one will:

http://www.wichita-massacre.com/

One of the most horrific crimes in America, largely unreported, for the, ahem, obvious reasons. If one of those young men or women had a firearm in the home, those young men and women would not have been raped, sodomized, humiliated, beaten, robbed and murdered in a snowy field. The fact that one girl lived to tell the tale was pure luck. Otherwise these monsters would still be wandering the streets. My case #1 when people question me about my firearms.

Luircin I really hope you hang in there. While most of us on this board are decades older, we have all been through it. Probably not to the extent that your generation is facing, but I do have some experience with this. It is crucial that you stay positive. I can’t stress that enough. If you get down too far you can easily lose a decade of your life. So first admit you are in the sh!t, and you’ll probably be there for a few more years. That’s ok. Keep a healthy perspective. You’re broke and living with family, you’re not being held in the Hanoi Hilton for years. What I’m saying is a lot of good men have been through much worse and came out of it. So focus on positive thoughts and don’t let your self esteem get down.

So much of male identity is tied to work it can be really degrading to be unemployed. Don’t fall into the misery trap. If you are unemployed, it really can be the perfect time to reassess and redirect your life. Make a plan. Find any legitimate way to increase your income. Even if only in small increments each week. Take any part time job you can. So what if you are just a part time cook at a little restaurant? You are getting out of the house, making some cash, and learning something. It is crucial for your self esteem that you do something. Or try to make your own little jobs. Back in the day we didn’t have the internet to supplement our income, you do. Use it!

While trying to bring in more money the other key is reduce spending. Now is a great time to eliminate costly bad habits, silly spending. Student loans can be deferred during this crisis. They usually will work with you. And don’t beat yourself up too much about it. You are not mooching, you are trying to get your financial house in order. Start keeping a financial record. Of everything. Trust me, it’s pretty easy when your broke, and it’ll help you not be broke in the future.

During periods of joblessness some guys let appearances go, don’t fall into this trap. Get up early, get in shape, set yourself a six month goal for something you can really do: lose weight, quit smoking, run a marathon, something tangible you can accomplish with this um, down time.

Stay away from negative people. It’s better to have one true friend than a dozen fools. While living at home sucks, make it positive. Do projects around the house, cook, clean, make sure you feel like you contribute.

Take this time in your life to pick up new and useful skills. They might end up as a job, or as something useful down the road.

Be a part of a church, civic group, something that gets you out of the house doing something other than worrying.

I’m not saying it will all get better overnight, in fact I think we are in for a long miserable decade. If we are lucky. But I also think that you’re only 26 and having a rough time. So use this time to make yourself into the man you want to be at 36. It is a long, difficult haul, but it also life.

There is also http://ferfal.blogspot.com/
He documents events during the economic meltdown in Argentina, coming soon to a nation near you!

Wrote a book on how it went down and how people are trying to survive now, but his blog is free with some interesting observations. You don’t have to agree with everything, but it is interesting. Pretty horrific economic collapse tale. Could it happen here? I am beginning to think that the econ collapse scenarios is by far the most likely SHTF event we will face in the next five years.

But I ain’t ruling out mutant zombies.

Oh, one other thing, if you are going to spend 4 grand on “survival”, set aside a few hundred for books/library fines. Why? Knowledge beats gadgets/stuff in the long term.
Get the old reader’s digest Back to Basics, Country Living, etc., browse survival blogs for other good books. Books on gardening, canning, a few simple trades/repair books. Then PRACTICE!

Most people in America today couldn’t sprout a seed to save their lives. Even if they got lucky and somehow grew a garden after SHTF, could they preserve their harvest?

The fact that you are even thinking about the future puts you ahead of most, so best of luck and hope to see ya on the other side!

And Chew! Here in my part of the Redneck Redoubt a gift of chewing tobacco can earn you a friend for life, if he is out! It stores fairly well and it’s 1/3 the costs of pre-rolled cigs. While not a dipper myself, I can see chewing tobacco as something pretty useful in a crunch type situation for trade or to help those unfortunate souls who are suffering nicotine fits. Now a serious prepper would order some tobacco seeds, but I’m not that serious ;)

Good luck and God Speed!

Before you go blow a bunch of money, read through some online lists/advice like http://www.survivalblog.com/

You’re not the first, so borrow other people’s knowledge.

For my own 2 cents, I’d avoid buying “survival foods” and having them shipped to me. Those companies are good outfits and decent people, but you can do much better economically stocking up in local big stores/discount stores. Just think about it, why would you pay a premium and shipping charges to have a #10 can of rice mailed to you? For MRE’s and the like online it’s fine, but for survival basics just go to the dang store and load up on staples that last. Your study of survival blogs will tell you what to get and how to store it. And as always, integrate basics into your diet before the crunch, so you don’t go directly from McDonald’s to beans and rice with the not too fun digestive consequences. And start gardening!

As for metals, again just my 2 cents, instead of buying some online outfits silver bars or micro mint pieces, just start a silver coin collection if you have that hankering. Pre 1964, let’s say. It’s recognized and likely to be honored everywhere. If the SHTF scenario doesn’t come, you have a nice little investment. If it does, US coins with recognized silver content will be easier to trade than some dubious hunks of metal from Joe’s Website.

JMHO, best of luck to ya!

I’m surprised the left hasn’t latched on to the secession idea as a way of “curing” the national debt, avoiding student loans, sticking it to those evil credit card companies, sticking it to the evil USA Banks, etc. In theory The People’s Republic of California, for example, could just walk away from all of it and not honor any contracts/debt. Of course, I’m pretty sure international finance boys would frown on such behavior, but it might be Gov. Moonbeam’s only hope! Sure it’d be a rough couple of years as a financial pariah, but what Democrat doesn’t want a get out of jail free card? Secession wouldn’t be much different than a national Chapter 7. Party it up with spending and entitlements until 2020 and then let the suckers in Texas, Oklahoma, etc pay for the party.

My best friend from HS now lives in Sao Paulo! The most conservative guy ever and yet he chose to live there. He was reading Ayn Rand in Jr. High, if that tells you anything. So I couldn’t see him selling everything off and moving to socialist Club Med, but he did. I guess when you have enough money to retire at 40, anywhere is probably a nice place. He abandoned the US in 2009 post Obama and has no regrets. Chatting online on election night all he could do was tell me “Told ya so”. He now has several hobby businesses, employs locals and runs a cash based/underground mini-empire, but mainly lives off his previous investments and sale of business here in the states. Pays zero taxes, but claims makes up for them in friendly bribes to friendly officials. The the Brazil way. He enjoys the freedom, the lifestyle, and yes, the women.

So, based on my very limited knowledge, Brazil would be great if you already have oodles of money.

http://www.survivalblog.com/retreatareas.html

Rawles has already done a lot of work on this, and I’d agree with him 90%. It’s a good place to start for info.

Basically, be on the west side of the Mississippi to avoid the population, be a full tank of gas away from the major urban areas to avoid the Golden Horde, and make sure you have water for your garden.

Maybe, but I’d respectfully disagree. Based on what I’ve read, Obama sold out his own liberals. In the next decade health care will be a big government-big insurance alliance. The libs didn’t get their socialist utopia of universal health care by the government. Instead they got democrat insurance companies working hand in hand with democrat politicians. Imagine, it’s now illegal for people NOT to buy your product! Even Hillary! wished she would have thought of that.

All those idealist young leftist will be shocked when they realize they will be mandated to purchase private insurance from those “evil insurance companies” when they thought they would just get more free shit from the government. Of course, eventually this will open the door so they will get it “free” from the government, so I do see your point;)

“If we had any balls has small business owners we would drop everyone from our current health plans. Pay the fine, and dump them all onto the government’s lap.”

Funny thing is, that’s one thing the single-payer (aka Canadian style) liberals complained about Obamacare. And they were right! If it ends up being cheaper to pay the fine than it is to insure workers, what company will pay for insurance?

Worst, muddle-headed piece of legislation since the 1960s.

“2) Go Galt. Get layed off/fired without cause. Collect unemployment for almost 2 years. Why pay taxes?”

While I can understand the sentiment, in the last three years I have lost my career and my home. I wouldn’t recommend this experience to anyone. The humiliation and shame many men feel when they are unable to provide for their family is not something I would recommend anyone volunteer for. Many here would rather dig ditches than go on the dole. So while I see the idea of smashing the system, I just don’t think real guys will sign up for serfdom, even in a noble cause of destroying the beast.

When Dr. King said it he was applauded.

When a Conservative uses the exact same phrase they are called nuts and worse.

I
Love
This
Woman
!

this will be seen by the clintons as a deliberate slap in the face. i can’t wait to see Hillary!! on a rampage. wtf was the obama folks thinking?

First, I wouldn’t presume to tell you what to do with your life, I’m merely suggesting that attitudes like yours, which view “engineering, science and medicine” as the only “real” degrees available at a university are at the root of the problem of the liberal domination of the university, especially the social sciences.

If conservatives constantly tell their children that the only “real” degrees are in engineering, science and medicine, then how can we be surprised when the liberals take over every other department on campus?

A hypothetical for discussion: a bright young man is struggling.
His head tells him to go into engineering, makes some money. His heart is pulling him into the ministry, serve the community and spread the message of Jesus Christ.
Torn between getting a “real” degree in a “real” subject like Engineering or getting a degree in Religious Studies, this young fellow has some serious choices to make.
If the young man follows his heart he will study religion and work in the ministry, earning next to nothing. He will be poor and in your analysis “a loser”.
If he follows his head he will get a degree in Electrical Engineering, become a real bigshot and make more money than anyone posting on Freerepublic.

In a purely financial calculation the Engineering degree is an obvious choice. But as you have discovered by now, there is more to life than money. Money is important, but it is not the sole determiner of happiness and fulfillment. People are motivated by many things other than money, and that is why the streets are not teeming with prostitutes. Many folks do a given job because they love it and they would continue to do that job even if they could afford to retire at 40. They don’t view their work as a misery to be endured until they can cash in stock options and tell people “f*** you”.

So should conservatives tell young men and women in university that they are idiots if they study “nonsense” like religion, history, literature, etc?

If we do that as conservatives, we surrender the university to the left.
And then your children will have to sit through another four years of mindless left-wing propaganda in two thirds of their courses while they pursue a “real” degree.

And the beat goes on.

I am a history professor and one of the major issues in our field is that conservatives have largely abandoned the field of ideas. It is an ideological surrender by the right, not a victory by the left.

It is true that there are still a few of us who try to teach American history as if we were the good guys, but in the history departments of this nation conservatives are vastly outnumbered.

Why is this?

I think many of the posts here will surely illustrate the problem. A sizable portion of people who claim to be “conservative” actually denigrate traditional fields like history and instead urge their children to enter more lucrative fields. For them college is nothing more than a job training program or a very expensive vocational school. They don’t view college as a discussion of great ideas, or a rumination on what Russell Kirk once called “the permanent things”. For the short sighted among us a college course in American History, Philosophy, Literature etc. is a “total waste of time”. If it doesn’t make enough money to buy the big McMansion and new car then it is meaningless.

This leaves entire swaths of the university staffed by foaming at the mouth liberals. So do keep this anti-intellectual current in mind when we complain about how so many the social science professors are raving liberals. We only have ourselves and our so-called conservative allies to blame.