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Duck, Obamabuse is coming
“It was always going to be difficult to implement Obamacare,” explains columnist David Brooks, “but even fervent supporters of the law admit that things are going worse than expected.” Now how could that be?
Things got off to a bad start “because the Obama administration didn’t want to release unpopular rules before the election.” Now everybody is anxious and insurance companies “don’t know what federal parameters they have to meet.” Businesses are likewise befuddled and even Obamacare booster Sen. Max Baucus sees a “huge train wreck coming.” Brooks, who seldom raises his voice, cites other supporters of the law “who think the whole situation is a complete disaster” and predict “Obamacare will collapse and do serious damage to the underlying health system.” At best “we’re probably in for a few years of shambolic messiness, during which time everybody will scramble and adjust, and eventually we will settle down to a new normal.”
But maybe we won’t because “A law that was very confusing has become mind-boggling,” with a “technical cascade,” a “cost cascade” and an “adverse selection cascade.” The direction of a cascade is usually down. Regulatory regimes, Brooks explains, “can be simple and dumb or complex and sprawling.” He doesn’t get into specific Obamacare complexities such as a book of medical codes 10 times bigger than the one Medicare currently uses. As John Stossel recently noted medical code W6161XA means a patient “has been bitten by a duck” but code W6162XA means a patient has been “struck by a duck.” So it’s all very fine tuned, with our benefit in mind.
Obamacare has been a convenient make-work project for federal regulators but for the populace, as David Brooks confirms, it shapes up as Obamabuse, something to be endured and overcome. That’s why books are appearing with titles such as Beating Obamacare: Your Handbook for Surviving the New Health Care Law. But according to David Brooks, you’ll need some good luck with that. “Train wrecks” and “shambolic messiness” will doubtless be the “new normal” in health care.
View full post on MyGovCost | Government Cost Calculator
Coming Soon!
We’re very close to releasing an updated version of the MyGovCost calculator, with all the latest projections for government spending. Stay tuned!…
View full post on MyGovCost | Government Cost Calculator
Twinkies coming back, but this time union free.
If I bought Hostess I would want absolutely nothing to do with the myriad of unions which took the original company down. The AFL-CIO has threatened any new owners of Hostess with a boycott if the new company goes union free.
Let them do it. My bet is that when Twinkies find their way back onto supermarket shelves people will buy them by the case.
View full post on AgainstCronyCapitalism.org
Max Baucus, ObamaCare’s Lead Author, Sees ‘Huge Train Wreck Coming Down’
Michael F. Cannon
I should probably just turn this one over to Sam Baker at The Hill:
Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.) said Wednesday he fears a “train wreck” as the Obama administration implements its signature healthcare law.
Baucus, the chairman of the powerful Finance Committee and a key architect of the healthcare law, said he’s afraid people do not understand how the law will work.
“I just see a huge train wreck coming down,” Baucus told Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius at a Wednesday hearing. “You and I have discussed this many times, and I don’t see any results yet.”
Baucus pressed Sebelius for details about how HHS will explain the law and raise awareness of its key provisions, which are supposed to take effect in just a matter of months.
“I’m very concerned that not enough is being done so far — very concerned,” Baucus said.
He pressed Sebelius to explain how her department will overcome entrenched misunderstandings about what the healthcare law does.
“Small businesses have no idea what to do, what to expect,” Baucus said.
Citing anecdotal evidence from small businesses in his home state, Baucus asked Sebelius for specifics about how it is measuring public understanding of the law.
“You need data. Do you have any data? You’ve never given me data. You only give me concepts, frankly,” Baucus told Sebelius.
Sebelius said the administration is not independently monitoring public awareness of specific provisions, but will be embarking on a substantial education campaign beginning this summer.
Baucus is facing a competitive reelection fight next year, and Republicans are sure to attack him over his role as the primary author of the healthcare law.
A messy rollout of the law’s major provisions, just months before Baucus faces voters, could feed into the GOP’s criticism.
Wednesday’s hearing wasn’t the first time Democrats — including Baucus — have raised concerns about the implementation effort. But while other lawmakers have toned down their public comments as they’ve gotten answers from Sebelius, Baucus said Sebelius has not addressed his fears.
“I’m going to keep on this until I feel a lot better about it,” Baucus told Sebelius…
Enrollment in the healthcare law’s insurance exchanges is slated to begin in October, for coverage that begins in January. Baucus, though, said he’s worried exchanges won’t be ready in time.
“For the marketplaces to work, people need to know about them,” Baucus said. “People need to know their options and how to enroll.”
Who knew that running the health care sector would be hard.
View full post on Cato @ Liberty
Deficit Reduction and the Coming Inflation?
Would a higher rate of inflation be a worthwhile tool for lowering the federal deficit?
Some in Washington, DC, think so.
In a blog post written last month, Doug Elmendorf, director of the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), makes the case that greater inflation would raise revenue more than it would raise spending. Here’s an excerpt:
Inflation as measured by the consumer price index averaged 5.1 percent annually during the 1980s and is projected by CBO to average 2.2 percent over the coming decade. If CBO assumed that inflation over the next decade matched the average seen during the 1980s, to parallel the assumption about interest rates, projected tax revenues would be much higher than in CBO’s baseline projections, and federal spending would be moderately higher. On balance, those two effects would reduce deficits.
Next question: Would the Federal Reserve get on board with the plan?
Again, CBO thinks so. In its February publication Budget and Economic Outlook, Fiscal Years 2013–2033, the agency is forecasting that Ben Bernanke and company will increase the Fed’s holdings of government bonds and mortgage-backed securities in 2014 and 2015.
The more securities bought by the Fed, the logic goes, the lower the government’s cost of borrowing. (The illogic of ignoring what happens to interest rates once the public realizes that prices are rising faster and faster can be addressed at some later date, after policymakers finish dealing with the current mess.)
Many years ago, when price inflation was the crisis at hand, I heard some oblivious pundit (on The MacNeil-Lehrer New Hour, as we called it then) hail the Federal Reserve as “the country’s best inflation fighter.” Now it seems that some in Washington are trying to soften up the public for a counterpunch: the Federal Reserve as “the country’s best deficit fighter.”
Tuck your chin, and keep your hands on your wallet.
HT: Rick Ferri
View full post on MyGovCost | Government Cost Calculator
Canadian • The coming deleveraging for Canada
The coming deleveraging for Canada – Unit labor costs in manufacturing above US labor costs and household debt-to-income at 160 percent.
Our neighbors to the north in Canada are going to face a serious deleveraging shortly. This isn’t hyperbole or some off the wall call but based on evidence of what happens when economies get into too much back breaking debt. If the largest trading blocs, the US and Europe had to have their day of reckoning how is it that Canada will be immune from the same economic forces of debt? Bubbles do not pop in perfect harmony. They pop in a disorderly and loud fashion and momentum picks up once the unraveling begins. Canada has one of the biggest ongoing housing bubbles and contrary to the rhetoric we see, they have households deeply in debt. In other words, they are leveraging to the hilt just to keep this charade going. Yet this can only go on for so far. Obviously bubbles can last for a very long-time (i.e., US housing from 1997 to 2007) and can surprise many people. Let us take a look at a couple of reasons why Canada is going to face a heavy deleveraging.
Canadian household debt
Canadian households are deeply in debt:
At the peak of the US housing and debt bubble, US households had something close to 120 percent debt-to-income ratios. Canada today is above 160 percent. So they are fully into uncharted territory. Household debt is incredibly high largely because of the massive Canadian housing bubble. Housing is the biggest expense in both the US and Canada. Contrary to what we hear, it is not different this time. In fact, given the massive debt we see, it is likely that the deleveraging event in Canada will be even more painful.
Canada’s labor costs are much more expensive than US labor costs:
This is problematic in a world driven by low wage labor. Households in Canada are maintaining their current spending via debt. This was a common experience that was had in the US as households were trying to maintain a middle class lifestyle while wages were stagnant or even falling. Canada has massive household debt relative to income and labor costs are also very high. The global markets are punishing. Look at places like Spain with high labor costs and big housing bubbles. It will take years if not decades to get to a more balanced out economy.
Canada is also losing an edge when it comes to maintaining a lion share of exports to the US:
You can see that over the last 20 years, Mexican imports have narrowed the gap. This is largely driven by the low wage nature of our current global economy and the aforementioned high wages in Canada. Something will give and is giving. But like any bubble, things get wilder at the very end:
“Bloomberg: – Canadian housing starts unexpectedly increased for a second month in March and building permits rose in February, evidence that low borrowing costs are supporting construction.
Starts were 184,028 at a seasonally adjusted annual pace during the month, up from a revised 183,207 in February, the Ottawa-based Canada Mortgage & Housing Corp. said on its website today. In a separate report, Statistics Canada said building permits rose for a second month in February on a rebound in non- residential projects.
Construction has been supported by some of the lowest mortgage rates in decades, along with historically cheap borrowing for businesses, even as the government tries to tighten the mortgage market amid concern prices in some cities have become inflated.”
Low rates and cheap borrowing. Of course it will be different this time around. Right?
http://www.mybudget360.com/canada-debt- … #more-4769
Statistics: Posted by yoda — Wed Apr 17, 2013 10:35 am
View full post on opinions.caduceusx.com
Other • 25 Things That You Should Do To Get Prepared For The Coming
25 Things That You Should Do To Get Prepared For The Coming Economic Collapse
By Michael, on April 8th, 2013
Do you think that you know how to prepare for the collapse of the economy? If so, are you putting that knowledge into action? In America today, people are more concerned about the possibility of an economic collapse than ever before. It has been estimated that there are now three million preppers in the United States. But the truth that nobody really knows the actual number, because a lot of preppers keep their "prepping" to themselves. So what are all of those people preparing for exactly? Well, survey after survey has shown that "economic collapse" is the number one potential disaster that preppers are most concerned about. Of course that shouldn’t be surprising because we truly are facing economic problems that are absolutely unprecedented. We are living in the greatest debt bubble in the history of the world, the global banking system has been transformed into a high-risk pyramid scheme of debt, risk and leverage that could collapse at any time, and wealthy countries such as the United States have been living way above their means for decades. Meanwhile, the United States is being deindustrialized at a blinding pace and poverty in this country is absolutely exploding. Anyone that is not concerned about the economy should have their head examined. Fortunately, I have found that an increasing number of Americans are becoming convinced that we are heading for a horrific economic crisis. Once they come to that realization, they want to know what they should do.
And the reality is that "getting prepared" is going to look different for each family based on their own unique circumstances. Some people have a lot of resources, while others have very little. Some people are very independent of the system and can move wherever they want, while others are totally dependent on their jobs and must stay near the cities at least for now.
In addition, it is important to distinguish between the "short-term" and the "long-term" when talking about economic collapse. As I have written about previously, our economic collapse is not going to happen all at once. It is going to unfold over time. In the "short-term", many are moving money around and are building up "emergency funds" to prepare for the next recession. For the "long-term", many are storing up food and huge stockpiles of survival supplies in order to be prepared for the total collapse of society. Both approaches are wise, but it is important to keep in mind that different approaches will be needed at different times.
The strategies posted below are a mix of both short-term and long-term strategies. Some will be important for our immediate future, while others may not be needed for a number of years. But in the end, you will be very thankful for the time and the effort that you spent getting prepared while you still could.
The following are 25 things that you should do to get prepared for the coming economic collapse…
#1 An Emergency Fund
Do you remember what happened when the financial system almost collapsed back in 2008? Millions of Americans suddenly lost their jobs, and because many of them were living paycheck to paycheck, many of them also got behind on their mortgages and lost their homes. You don’t want to lose everything that you have worked for during this next major economic downturn. It is imperative that you have an emergency fund. It should be enough to cover all of your expenses for at least six months, but I would encourage you to have an emergency fund that is even larger than that.
#2 Don’t Put All Of Your Eggs Into One Basket
If the wealth confiscation in Cyprus has taught us anything, it is that we should not put all of our eggs in one basket. If all of your money is in one single bank account, it would be easy to wipe out. But if you have your money scattered around a number of different places it will give you a little bit more security.
#3 Keep Some Cash At Home
This goes along with the previous point. While it is not wise to keep all of your money at home, you do want to keep some cash on hand. If there is an extended bank holiday or if a giant burst from the sun causes the ATM machines to go down, you want to be able to have enough cash to buy the things that your family needs. Just ask the people of Cyprus how crippling a bank holiday can be. One way to keep your cash secure at home is by storing it in a concealed safe.
#4 Get Out Of Debt
A lot of people seem to assume that an economic collapse would wipe out all debts, but that will probably not be the case. In fact, if you are in a tremendous amount of debt you will be very vulnerable if the economy collapses and you are not able to find a job. Just ask the people who were overextended and lost their jobs during the last recession. So please get out of debt. Many debt collectors are becoming increasingly ruthless. In many areas of the country they are now routinely putting debtors into prison. You do not want to be a slave to debt when the next wave of the economic collapse strikes.
#5 Gold And Silver
In the long-term, the U.S. dollar is going to lose a tremendous amount of value and inflation is going to absolutely skyrocket. That is one reason why so many people are investing very heavily in gold, silver and other precious metals. All over the globe, the central banks of the world are recklessly printing money. Everyone knows that this is going to end very badly. In fact, there is already a push in more than a dozen U.S. states to allow gold and silver coins to be used as legal tender. Someday you will be glad that you invested in gold and silver now while their prices were still low.
#6 Reduce Your Expenses
A lot of people claim that they can’t put any money toward prepping, but the truth is that we all have room to reduce our expenses. We all spend money on things that we do not really need. Those that are "lean and mean" will tend to do much better during the times that are coming.
#7 Start A Side Business
If you do not have much money, a great way to increase your income is by starting a side business. And it does not take a lot of money – there are many side businesses that you can start for next to nothing. And starting a side business will allow you to become less dependent on your job. In this economic environment, a job could disappear at literally any time.
#8 Move Away From The Big Cities If Possible
For many people, this is simply not possible. Many Americans are still completely and totally dependent on their jobs. But if you are able, now is a good time to move away from the big cities. When the next major economic downturn strikes, there will be rioting and a dramatic rise in crime in the major cities. If you are able to move to a more rural area you will probably be in much better shape.
#9 Store Food
Global food reserves have reached their lowest level in nearly 40 years. As the economy gets even worse and global weather patterns become even more unstable, the price of food will go much higher and global food supplies will become much tighter. In the long run, you will be glad for the money that you put into long-term food storage now.
#10 Learn To Grow Your Own Food
This is a skill that most Americans possessed in the past, but that most Americans today have forgotten. Growing your own food is a way to become more independent of the system, and it is a way to get prepared for what is ahead.
#11 Nobody Can Survive Without Water
Without water, you would not even make it a few days in an emergency situation. It is imperative that you have a plan to provide clean drinking water for your family when disaster strikes.
#12 Have A Plan For When The Grid Goes Down
What would you do if the grid went down and you suddenly did not have power for an extended period of time? Anyone that has spent more than a few hours without power knows how frustrating this can be. You need to have a plan for how you are going to provide power to your home that is independent of the power company.
#13 Have Blankets And Warm Clothing On Hand
This is more for emergency situations or for a complete meltdown of society. During any major crisis, blankets and warm clothing are in great demand. They also could potentially make great barter items.
#14 Store Personal Hygiene Supplies
A lot of preppers store up huge amounts of food, but they forget all about personal hygiene supplies. During a long crisis, these are items that you would greatly miss if you do not have them stored up. These types of supplies would also be great for barter.
#15 Store Medicine And Medical Supplies
You will also want to store up medical supplies and any medicine that you may need. In an emergency situation, you definitely would not want to be without bandages and a first-aid kit. Over the course of a long crisis, you do not want to run out of any medicines that are critical for your health.
#16 Stock Up On Vitamins
A lot of preppers do not think about this either, but it is very important. These days, it is becoming increasingly difficult to get adequate nutrition from the foods that we eat. That is why it is very important to have an adequate store of vitamins and other supplements.
#17 Make A List Of Other Supplies That You Will Need
During any crisis, there will be a lot of other things that you will need in addition to food and water. The following are just a few basic things that it would be wise to have on hand…
- an axe
- a can opener
- flashlights
- battery-powered radio
- extra batteries
- lighters or matches
- fire extinguisher
- sewing kit
- tools
This list could be much, much longer, but hopefully this will get you started.
#18 Don’t Forget The Special Needs Of Your Babies And Your Pets
Young children and pets have special needs. As you store supplies, don’t forget about the things that they will need as well.
#19 Entertainment
This may sound trivial, but the truth is that our entertainment-addicted society would become very bored and very frustrated if the grid suddenly went down for an extended period of time. Card games and other basic forms of entertainment can make enduring a crisis much easier.
#20 Self-Defense
In the years ahead, being able to defend your home and your family is going to become increasingly important. When the economy crashes, people are going to start to become very desperate. And desperate people do desperate things.
#21 Get Your Ammunition While You Still Can
Your firearms will not do you much good if you do not have ammunition for them. Already there are widespread reports of huge ammunition shortages. The following is from a recent CNS News article…
"The run on ammunition has manufacturers scrambling to accommodate demand and reassure customers, as many new and seasoned gun owners stock up over fears of new firearms regulations at both the state and federal levels."
Don’t just assume that you will always be able to purchase large amounts of ammunition whenever you want. Get it now while you still can.
#22 If You Have To Go…
Have a plan for what you and your family will do if you are forced to leave your home. If you do have to go, the following are some items that you will want to have on hand…
- a map of the area
- a compass
- backpacks for every member of the family
- sleeping bags
- warm clothing
- comfortable shoes or hiking boots
#23 Community
One of the most important assets in any crisis situation is community. If you have friends or neighbors that you can depend upon, that is invaluable. The time spent building those bonds now will pay off greatly during a major crisis.
#24 Have A Back-Up Plan And Be Flexible
Mike Tyson once said the following…
"Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth."
No plan ever unfolds perfectly. When your plan is disrupted, what will you do?
It will be imperative for all of us to have a back-up plan and to be flexible during the years ahead.
#25 Keep Your Prepping To Yourself
Do not go around and tell everyone in the area where you live about your prepping. If you do, then you may find yourself overwhelmed with "visitors" when everything falls apart.
And please do not go on television and brag about your prepping to a national audience.
Prepping is something that you want to keep to yourself, unless you want hordes of desperate people banging on your door in the future.
For much more on prepping, please check out some of my previous articles…
- "Should You Move To Another Country To Escape The Collapse Of America? 10 Questions To Ask Yourself First"
- "14 Questions People Ask About How To Prepare For The Collapse Of The Economy"
- "Rise Of The Preppers: 50 Of The Best Prepper Websites And Blogs On The Internet"
- "120 Powerful Pieces Of Advice For Preppers"
Sadly, most Americans still have blind faith that our "leaders" actually know what they are doing and will be able to fix things.
Most Americans still are convinced that everything is going to be just fine.
And of course the mainstream media does all they can to reinforce faith in the system. Day after day, we see mindless news headlines such as this: "Californians Champing at the Bit Over Powerball Debut".
But if you are reading this article that means that you are probably much more awake than the average American is.
Please get prepared while you still can.
A great storm is coming, and time is quickly running out.
http://theeconomiccollapseblog.com/arch … c-collapse
Statistics: Posted by yoda — Tue Apr 09, 2013 12:17 am
View full post on opinions.caduceusx.com
25 Things That You Should Do To Get Prepared For The Coming Economic Collapse
Do you think that you know how to prepare for the collapse of the economy? If so, are you putting that knowledge into action? In America today, people are more concerned about the possibility of an economic collapse than ever before. It has been estimated that there are now three million preppers in the United States. But the truth that nobody really knows the actual number, because a lot of preppers keep their “prepping” to themselves. So what are all of those people preparing for exactly? Well, survey after survey has shown that “economic collapse” is the number one potential disaster that preppers are most concerned about. Of course that shouldn’t be surprising because we truly are facing economic problems that are absolutely unprecedented. We are living in the greatest debt bubble in the history of the world, the global banking system has been transformed into a high-risk pyramid scheme of debt, risk and leverage that could collapse at any time, and wealthy countries such as the United States have been living way above their means for decades. Meanwhile, the United States is being deindustrialized at a blinding pace and poverty in this country is absolutely exploding. Anyone that is not concerned about the economy should have their head examined. Fortunately, I have found that an increasing number of Americans are becoming convinced that we are heading for a horrific economic crisis. Once they come to that realization, they want to know what they should do.
And the reality is that “getting prepared” is going to look different for each family based on their own unique circumstances. Some people have a lot of resources, while others have very little. Some people are very independent of the system and can move wherever they want, while others are totally dependent on their jobs and must stay near the cities at least for now.
In addition, it is important to distinguish between the “short-term” and the “long-term” when talking about economic collapse. As I have written about previously, our economic collapse is not going to happen all at once. It is going to unfold over time. In the “short-term”, many are moving money around and are building up “emergency funds” to prepare for the next recession. For the “long-term”, many are storing up food and huge stockpiles of survival supplies in order to be prepared for the total collapse of society. Both approaches are wise, but it is important to keep in mind that different approaches will be needed at different times.
The strategies posted below are a mix of both short-term and long-term strategies. Some will be important for our immediate future, while others may not be needed for a number of years. But in the end, you will be very thankful for the time and the effort that you spent getting prepared while you still could.
The following are 25 things that you should do to get prepared for the coming economic collapse…
#1 An Emergency Fund
Do you remember what happened when the financial system almost collapsed back in 2008? Millions of Americans suddenly lost their jobs, and because many of them were living paycheck to paycheck, many of them also got behind on their mortgages and lost their homes. You don’t want to lose everything that you have worked for during this next major economic downturn. It is imperative that you have an emergency fund. It should be enough to cover all of your expenses for at least six months, but I would encourage you to have an emergency fund that is even larger than that.
#2 Don’t Put All Of Your Eggs Into One Basket
If the wealth confiscation in Cyprus has taught us anything, it is that we should not put all of our eggs in one basket. If all of your money is in one single bank account, it would be easy to wipe out. But if you have your money scattered around a number of different places it will give you a little bit more security.
#3 Keep Some Cash At Home
This goes along with the previous point. While it is not wise to keep all of your money at home, you do want to keep some cash on hand. If there is an extended bank holiday or if a giant burst from the sun causes the ATM machines to go down, you want to be able to have enough cash to buy the things that your family needs. Just ask the people of Cyprus how crippling a bank holiday can be. One way to keep your cash secure at home is by storing it in a concealed safe.
#4 Get Out Of Debt
A lot of people seem to assume that an economic collapse would wipe out all debts, but that will probably not be the case. In fact, if you are in a tremendous amount of debt you will be very vulnerable if the economy collapses and you are not able to find a job. Just ask the people who were overextended and lost their jobs during the last recession. So please get out of debt. Many debt collectors are becoming increasingly ruthless. In many areas of the country they are now routinely putting debtors into prison. You do not want to be a slave to debt when the next wave of the economic collapse strikes.
#5 Gold And Silver
In the long-term, the U.S. dollar is going to lose a tremendous amount of value and inflation is going to absolutely skyrocket. That is one reason why so many people are investing very heavily in gold, silver and other precious metals. All over the globe, the central banks of the world are recklessly printing money. Everyone knows that this is going to end very badly. In fact, there is already a push in more than a dozen U.S. states to allow gold and silver coins to be used as legal tender. Someday you will be glad that you invested in gold and silver now while their prices were still low.
#6 Reduce Your Expenses
A lot of people claim that they can’t put any money toward prepping, but the truth is that we all have room to reduce our expenses. We all spend money on things that we do not really need. Those that are “lean and mean” will tend to do much better during the times that are coming.
#7 Start A Side Business
If you do not have much money, a great way to increase your income is by starting a side business. And it does not take a lot of money – there are many side businesses that you can start for next to nothing. And starting a side business will allow you to become less dependent on your job. In this economic environment, a job could disappear at literally any time.
#8 Move Away From The Big Cities If Possible
For many people, this is simply not possible. Many Americans are still completely and totally dependent on their jobs. But if you are able, now is a good time to move away from the big cities. When the next major economic downturn strikes, there will be rioting and a dramatic rise in crime in the major cities. If you are able to move to a more rural area you will probably be in much better shape.
#9 Store Food
Global food reserves have reached their lowest level in nearly 40 years. As the economy gets even worse and global weather patterns become even more unstable, the price of food will go much higher and global food supplies will become much tighter. In the long run, you will be glad for the money that you put into long-term food storage now.
#10 Learn To Grow Your Own Food
This is a skill that most Americans possessed in the past, but that most Americans today have forgotten. Growing your own food is a way to become more independent of the system, and it is a way to get prepared for what is ahead.
#11 Nobody Can Survive Without Water
Without water, you would not even make it a few days in an emergency situation. It is imperative that you have a plan to provide clean drinking water for your family when disaster strikes.
#12 Have A Plan For When The Grid Goes Down
What would you do if the grid went down and you suddenly did not have power for an extended period of time? Anyone that has spent more than a few hours without power knows how frustrating this can be. You need to have a plan for how you are going to provide power to your home that is independent of the power company.
#13 Have Blankets And Warm Clothing On Hand
This is more for emergency situations or for a complete meltdown of society. During any major crisis, blankets and warm clothing are in great demand. They also could potentially make great barter items.
#14 Store Personal Hygiene Supplies
A lot of preppers store up huge amounts of food, but they forget all about personal hygiene supplies. During a long crisis, these are items that you would greatly miss if you do not have them stored up. These types of supplies would also be great for barter.
#15 Store Medicine And Medical Supplies
You will also want to store up medical supplies and any medicine that you may need. In an emergency situation, you definitely would not want to be without bandages and a first-aid kit. Over the course of a long crisis, you do not want to run out of any medicines that are critical for your health.
#16 Stock Up On Vitamins
A lot of preppers do not think about this either, but it is very important. These days, it is becoming increasingly difficult to get adequate nutrition from the foods that we eat. That is why it is very important to have an adequate store of vitamins and other supplements.
#17 Make A List Of Other Supplies That You Will Need
During any crisis, there will be a lot of other things that you will need in addition to food and water. The following are just a few basic things that it would be wise to have on hand…
- an axe
- a can opener
- flashlights
- battery-powered radio
- extra batteries
- lighters or matches
- fire extinguisher
- sewing kit
- tools
This list could be much, much longer, but hopefully this will get you started.
#18 Don’t Forget The Special Needs Of Your Babies And Your Pets
Young children and pets have special needs. As you store supplies, don’t forget about the things that they will need as well.
#19 Entertainment
This may sound trivial, but the truth is that our entertainment-addicted society would become very bored and very frustrated if the grid suddenly went down for an extended period of time. Card games and other basic forms of entertainment can make enduring a crisis much easier.
#20 Self-Defense
In the years ahead, being able to defend your home and your family is going to become increasingly important. When the economy crashes, people are going to start to become very desperate. And desperate people do desperate things.
#21 Get Your Ammunition While You Still Can
Your firearms will not do you much good if you do not have ammunition for them. Already there are widespread reports of huge ammunition shortages. The following is from a recent CNS News article…
“The run on ammunition has manufacturers scrambling to accommodate demand and reassure customers, as many new and seasoned gun owners stock up over fears of new firearms regulations at both the state and federal levels.”
Don’t just assume that you will always be able to purchase large amounts of ammunition whenever you want. Get it now while you still can.
#22 If You Have To Go…
Have a plan for what you and your family will do if you are forced to leave your home. If you do have to go, the following are some items that you will want to have on hand…
- a map of the area
- a compass
- backpacks for every member of the family
- sleeping bags
- warm clothing
- comfortable shoes or hiking boots
#23 Community
One of the most important assets in any crisis situation is community. If you have friends or neighbors that you can depend upon, that is invaluable. The time spent building those bonds now will pay off greatly during a major crisis.
#24 Have A Back-Up Plan And Be Flexible
Mike Tyson once said the following…
“Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth.”
No plan ever unfolds perfectly. When your plan is disrupted, what will you do?
It will be imperative for all of us to have a back-up plan and to be flexible during the years ahead.
#25 Keep Your Prepping To Yourself
Do not go around and tell everyone in the area where you live about your prepping. If you do, then you may find yourself overwhelmed with “visitors” when everything falls apart.
And please do not go on television and brag about your prepping to a national audience.
Prepping is something that you want to keep to yourself, unless you want hordes of desperate people banging on your door in the future.
For much more on prepping, please check out some of my previous articles…
- “14 Questions People Ask About How To Prepare For The Collapse Of The Economy“
- “Rise Of The Preppers: 50 Of The Best Prepper Websites And Blogs On The Internet“
- “120 Powerful Pieces Of Advice For Preppers“
Sadly, most Americans still have blind faith that our “leaders” actually know what they are doing and will be able to fix things.
Most Americans still are convinced that everything is going to be just fine.
And of course the mainstream media does all they can to reinforce faith in the system. Day after day, we see mindless news headlines such as this: “Californians Champing at the Bit Over Powerball Debut“.
But if you are reading this article that means that you are probably much more awake than the average American is.
Please get prepared while you still can.
A great storm is coming, and time is quickly running out.
So do you have any points that you would add to the list above? Please feel free to post a comment with your thoughts below…
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Other • The knockout blow people won’t see coming
The knockout blow people won’t see coming
by SIMON BLACK on APRIL 5, 2013
Have you ever done something really stupid, just because you were in love? Something you look back on and cringe, thinking “why on earth did I do that?”
Of course. Who hasn’t?
Fear. Love. Panic. Exuberance. Jealousy. Desire. These emotions have tremendous influence over human behavior. And when they kick in, they skew our judgment and cause us to do things that can only be characterized as highly irrational.
In the world of economics and finance, they call this ‘sentiment’. Consumer confidence, business confidence, investor confidence… these are basically emotional readings. Screw the numbers. To hell with the truth. It’s all about how people feel.
It seems crazy, but it’s true. Right now, for example, ‘sentiment’ is telling us that the euro crisis is over. It’s telling us that the debt ceiling is pretty much resolved. And, after taking five years to reach pre-crash levels, it’s telling us that the stock market is once again safe for the average investor.
Yet the numbers tell a completely different story.
In the US, politicians are celebrating their accomplishments that the US unemployment rate has declined to 7.6%.
Of course, the real figures show that the labor force participation rate (effectively the percentage of society that they consider to be in the work force) has just hit a 30-year low. And the economy is failing to create new jobs.
Perhaps most of all, the US debt level this year will hit the danger zone that Greece was in just a few years ago when the European debt crisis kicked off in earnest.
In Europe, the situation is so bad that even the government figures are dismal. Italy is officially in a deep recession. Spain is posting a public deficit over 10% of GDP. The Greek economy shrank (officially) nearly 6% last year. Etc.
Bottom line, the numbers don’t match up with sentiment at all. And this makes for precarious investment conditions.
Over the first quarter of this year, US stock mutual funds reported $52 billion in retail investment inflows, according to market data firm TrimTabs. This is the highest inflow in a decade.
In January of this year, retail investors poured a record $77.4 billion into the stock market. To put this in perspective, the prior record, set in February 2000, was $23.7 billion.
You can probably guess how that turned out. This whoosh of money into stocks happened mere months before the crash.
It certainly seems strange when you stack it all together: on one hand, record high deficits, record high debts, record low labor force participation. On the other hand, record high stock market, record high mutual fund inflows.
Something just doesn’t add up.
Investors are throwing caution to the wind right now… ignoring the basic fundamentals and focusing exclusively on euphoric sentiment. (Or central bank policy).
Some of you may know that I was a competitive fighter for a number of years. I can personally attest, and any boxer will tell you, that it’s the punch that you don’t see coming which knocks you out.
http://www.sovereignman.com/finance/the … ing-11593/
Statistics: Posted by yoda — Fri Apr 05, 2013 9:33 am
View full post on opinions.caduceusx.com
Business • COMING TO A BANK NEAR YOU
COMING TO A BANK NEAR YOU
Posted on 16th March 2013 by Administrator in Economy |Politics |Social Issues
bankers, Cyprus, FDR, Gold, oligarchs, Politicians, silver, stealing
Make no mistake about it, this will happen in the United States at some point in the not too distant future. This is theft pure and simple. If you think the money you have in banks is yours, read this story and realize they will abscond with it whenever they choose to change the rules. Do you think your 401k is safe from the grubby hands of the government? You are naive. The ruling class don’t care about rules, laws or good faith. They have already pillaged most of the wealth in this country and they will not hesitate to steal the money out of your bank account. Bankers and politicians in Europe will do whatever it takes to protect the interests of the rich and powerful oligarchs. The bankers and politicians in this country are no different.
It will happen on a weekend. They will shutdown the ATMs. They will shut down the ability to electronically transfer money. Banks will close their doors. They will not announce their intentions in advance. They will proclaim that their actions are being done for the good of the country. In reality, they will be stealing your money in order to maintain their control, power and wealth. This blatant act of criminality being committed against the citizens of Cyprus by the Eurocrats is a warning shot to all citizens of the debt saturated, banker controlled developed world.
If you are one of those who believe it can’t happen here, then you haven’t studied history. It was exactly 80 years ago this month when FDR announced a banking holiday and declared that possession of gold was immediately illegal. The government set the price at which American citizens would receive when they handed over their gold to the government. Federal agents broke into safe deposit boxes and took the gold. It is much easier to steal our wealth today. In an instant they can electronically vaporize your wealth.
As the oligarchs grow more desperate they will grow more extreme in their efforts to retain power. This is why they are trying to take our guns. They do not want an armed populace resisting when they try to abscond with our money. The only way to avoid this fate is to have cash in your possession, along with gold and silver. Be armed and be prepared to fight them. They are evil men and we will need to defeat them.
Cyprus Bank Deposits to Be Taxed in $13 Billion Bailout
By Rebecca Christie & Corina Ruhe – Mar 16, 2013 12:34 PM ET
Euro-area finance ministers agreed to an unprecedented tax on Cypriot bank deposits as officials unveiled a 10 billion-euro ($13 billion) rescue plan for the country, the fifth since Europe’s debt crisis broke out in 2009.
Cyprus will impose a levy of 6.75 percent on deposits of less than 100,000 euros — the ceiling for European Union account insurance — and 9.9 percent above that. The measures will raise 5.8 billion euros, in addition to the emergency loans, Dutch Finance Minister Jeroen Dijsselbloem, who leads the group of euro-area ministers, told reporters early today after 10 hours of talks in Brussels. The International Monetary Fund may contribute to the package and junior bondholders may also be tapped in a so-called bail-in, the ministers’ statement said.
Officials have struggled to find an agreement that would rescue Cyprus, which accounts for just half of a percent of the euro region’s economy, without unsettling investors in larger countries and sparking a new round of market contagion. Finance Minister Michael Sarris said the plan was the “least onerous”of the options Cyprus faced to stay afloat.
“This decision should not be compared to the ideal, but to the very real possibility that much more money could have been lost in a bankruptcy of the banking system or indeed of the country,” Sarris said in Brussels.
Late Meeting
Policy makers began meeting at 5 p.m. yesterday in a hastily convened gathering, seeking to overcome differences on bondholder losses while financial markets were closed.
“Further measures concern the increase of the withholding tax on capital income, a restructuring and recapitalisation of banks, an increase of the statutory corporate income tax rate and a bail-in of junior bondholders,” according to a statement released by ministers after the talks. It didn’t specify whether bank or sovereign bond holders could be affected.
The European Central Bank will use its existing facilities to make funds available to Cypriot banks as needed to counter potential bank runs. Depositors will receive bank equity as compensation.
President Nicos Anastasiades called leaders of the political parties to a meeting at 8:30 p.m. local time today. The Cypriot parliament will convene tomorrow to vote on legislation needed for the bailout.
‘Uncharted Territory’
While the tax on deposits carries some risks of setting a precedent for other countries in the euro area, the ECB has shown it’s prepared to do what it takes to preserve the currency union, said Holger Schmieding, chief economist at Berenberg Bank in London.
“We are optimistic that it will not spark massive contagion,” Schmieding said in a note. “Still, with the unprecedented haircut on Cypriot bank deposits we are in uncharted territory again.”
The tax on deposits, as well as hurting wealthy Russians with money in Cypriot banks, will also sting ordinary citizens. Some ATMs in the country ran out of cash, Erotokritos Chlorakiotis, general manager of the Cooperative Central Bank, told state-run CYBC.
Funds to pay the levy were frozen in accounts immediately, ECB Executive Board Member Joerg Asmussen said. The levy will be assessed before Cypriot banks reopen on March 19 after a March 18 national holiday. Sarris said electronic transfers will also be limited until then.
‘Unique Measures’
“As it is a contribution to the financial stability of Cyprus, it seems just to ask a contribution of all deposit holders,” Dijsselbloem said, noting the country’s financial industry was five times the size of its economy. The plan includes “unique measures” that address the “exceptional nature” of Cyprus and show “inflexible commitment to financial stability and the integrity of the euro area.”
The IMF will consider contributing money to the rescue, said IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde, who travelled to Brussels for the talks. “We believe that the proposal as outlined by Jeroen is actually sustainable,” she said.
Euro ministers expect the region’s bailout fund, the European Stability Mechanism, will approve a bailout proposal“by the second half of April 2013 and subject to completion of national procedures.”
Skeptics
Cyprus pledged to step up asset sales and enact budget cuts amounting to 4.5 percent of gross domestic product. The aid program, which should be completed by the second half of April, calls for its debt to be 100 percent of GDP by 2020. The EU forecasts it at 93 percent this year. The deal calls for the banking sector to shrink substantially by 2018.
Skeptics including Luxembourg’s Jean-Claude Juncker had said that imposing investor losses in Cyprus risked reigniting the financial crisis that has so far pushed five of the euro zone’s 17 members to seek aid. Last year, the euro area took what officials called a unique step to ask Greek bondholders to absorb losses.
Asmussen said tapping deposit holders was needed to expand Cyprus’s tax base. European Union Economic and Monetary Affairs Commissioner Olli Rehn called the assessment a strictly fiscal measure. Rehn had warned against so-called haircuts on depositors to avoid setting a destabilizing precedent.
When asked if a deposit assessment could be ruled out for future rescues, Rehn said in an interview: “It can and there is no concrete case where it should be considered.”
ECB Role
“This kind of stability fee is clearly a much better choice from the point of view of financial stability and Cypriot citizens than a full-scale bail-in, which would have led to very chaotic consequences in the Cypriot economy,” he said.
Cypriot banks are on track to regain access to ECB emergency lending facilities once they have been successfully recapitalized, Asmussen said. Cyprus is “systemically relevant” and needs assistance to ensure stability of the euro, Asmussen told reporters.
The ECB also will be available to euro-area banks that may need extra liquidity, Asmussen said. Authorities plan to ringfence Cypriot bank branches in Greece, through transactions with Greek banks that won’t require money from Greece’s rescue funds, he said.
Corporate tax rates in Cyprus will rise to 12.5 percent to 10 percent as part of the deal, Dijsselbloem said. Rehn told reporters that Russia, whose banks have loaned as much as $40 billion to Cypriot companies of Russian origin, would ease terms on its existing loans to Cyprus as the rescue unfolds. Cyprus’s finance minister is scheduled to fly to Moscow on March 20.
At the talks, the ministers also agreed to give extra time to Ireland and Portugal to repay loans to the European Financial Stability Facility. The euro group, IMF and ECB will approve the details of the extensions and the Cyprus deal once technical details have been ironed out and national parliaments have acted as needed, the finance ministers said in a statement.
http://www.theburningplatform.com/?p=51114
Statistics: Posted by yoda — Sun Mar 17, 2013 2:27 am
View full post on opinions.caduceusx.com