Are you ready? I think this is gonna be a rough couple years.

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Aerindel

Awesome Friend
Neighbor
Joined
Oct 20, 2020
Messages
2,302
Location
On some scarred slope of battered hill
I think a month from now, we will be talking about this week as the first week of a SHTF as bad as covid.

Personally, I'm not as well off as I was going into Covid....probably like most....the last five years have been difficult to make gains in.

Haven't exactly fallen apart....but not where I wanted to be going into a trade war with the potential to disrupt things so severely.

Sure, its a game of chicken, and one side may swerve.

But what makes chicken such an interesting game, is that its not guaranteed that anyone does.

Globalization was bad for a lot of people, de-globalization may be as bad.

I will not be shocked to see empty shelves, covid style, a month from now.

I'm not scared, not yet....but I'm depressed about what might be a couple years of two steps forward, three steps back work.
 
I don't eat stuff made in other countries, and Becks is brewed here now. Nobody buys our overpriced and over-engineered stuff anyway, so there is more for us. We do more for them than they ever did us, and besides, we're going to war with Mexico the second a cartel drops a BPA.
Happy Helter Skelter.
 
What's happening is what I call beggar thy neighbor.There was a lot wrong but what we"re going to get now is worse.
The rich love the little children they need fodder for their factories.
 
Point. without a reason to be on welfare, they'll have to work. I used to get so mad seeing all the help-wanted signs and wishing there was something I could do.
No one needs a low paying deadbeat job. Better to starve than work to die.
 
Some people are underestimating the potential for economic hardship based upon just what the US is doing (and in this first round).

There will be retaliation from those being tariffed.

.....then there will be retaliation from the US......

Then more from the other side........

.....and all the time....cascading failures.....unintended consequences......face saving reactions......a battle of egos.

The differential between labor costs in the US and China is about 350%......so how much industry will come home in response to a 10% tariff?

China is in a better position to fight this economic war than the US......they have been in trade surplus for decades......and over that same time, the US has been running trade deficits......and running up debt.

Tariffs against those nations that might join BRICS, may push them that way.

In our daily lives, what happens to people who turn on and start hammering all their friends?
 
Some people are underestimating the potential for economic hardship based upon just what the US is doing (and in this first round).

There will be retaliation from those being tariffed.

.....then there will be retaliation from the US......

Then more from the other side........

.....and all the time....cascading failures.....unintended consequences......face saving reactions......a battle of egos.

The differential between labor costs in the US and China is about 350%......so how much industry will come home in response to a 10% tariff?

China is in a better position to fight this economic war than the US......they have been in trade surplus for decades......and over that same time, the US has been running trade deficits......and running up debt.

Tariffs against those nations that might join BRICS, may push them that way.

In our daily lives, what happens to people who turn on and start hammering all their friends?
Perhaps a pivot towards national self reliance rather than rule by neighbor then?
 
Perhaps a pivot towards national self reliance rather than rule by neighbor then?
That is not really the problem.

No one has forced the US to consume so much of everything. It is not like neighbors of the US force too much food down the throats of Americans.

How about an increase in national production and a moderation of national consumption.

How about putting everyone back to work.

Start by firing all the child care workers and putting them in factories to make stuff......then send all those kids to grandma and grandpa for them to look after them during the day.

The US has to live within it's means......and stop running up debt.

Urbanization and obscene consumption are the problem.

Too many people go their whole lives consuming and never producing anything in return.
 
Prepared or not prepared , here it comes . For untold years preppers have been trying to get those that seemingly don't have the instinct , to get ready . Bull--it don't count when it's finally time to put food in the stew pot .
 
That is not really the problem.

No one has forced the US to consume so much of everything. It is not like neighbors of the US force too much food down the throats of Americans.

How about an increase in national production and a moderation of national consumption.

How about putting everyone back to work.

Start by firing all the child care workers and putting them in factories to make stuff......then send all those kids to grandma and grandpa for them to look after them during the day.

The US has to live within it's means......and stop running up debt.

Urbanization and obscene consumption are the problem.

Too many people go their whole lives consuming and never producing anything in return.
I agree with all of that- but I see all of those things as problems with our inherent self reliance. We rely on trade with the rest of the world and it's come to effect every financial facet of our lives. All of what you said and more.

Whether it's medicine, power transformers, computer chips or just everyday cheap goods that allow people to survive on government checks and continually waste money on useless non-equity building purchases that keep them on uncle Sam's teat perpetually.

Our housing economy is ******, our Healthcare is ******, our diets are ******, our state of welfare is ******, our border is ******... etc. Etc. Etc... it's a long list and it's built in on purpose to protect those that lobbied from meaningful competition.

All of this made possible because corporations can keep on outsourcing costs and charging US consumers endlessly as long as we keep racking up debt at every level. At some point there has to be some "medicine" where the avg. American gets cut off and is forced by natural limitations to be productive.

We depend on debt, and we depend on foreign economies to keep producing for us so we can keep spending what we don't have. This creates a population that cannot produce enough for itself to maintain its own affluent lifestyle and is in effect not self reliant- the workforce ain't there and the cost of living is now seriously passing the level where buisness owners can maintain enough profit to make local manufacturing worthwhile, while affording to pay their workers a decent wage. Both the worker and the owner are not incnetivised.

It's not about being forced to consume so much- it's about policy that enables the whole Shitshow.
 
That is not really the problem.

No one has forced the US to consume so much of everything. It is not like neighbors of the US force too much food down the throats of Americans.

How about an increase in national production and a moderation of national consumption.

How about putting everyone back to work.

Start by firing all the child care workers and putting them in factories to make stuff......then send all those kids to grandma and grandpa for them to look after them during the day.

The US has to live within it's means......and stop running up debt.

Urbanization and obscene consumption are the problem.

Too many people go their whole lives consuming and never producing anything in return.
My kids' grandparents still have to work full time, as do most that I know. There is no one who can afford to stay home to watch the kids, if parents have to work then paid childcare is a must.
 
My kids' grandparents still have to work full time, as do most that I know. There is no one who can afford to stay home to watch the kids, if parents have to work then paid childcare is a must.
Or, what we did, worked opposing shifts so that one parent was home. Did it for years and at times it was certainly difficult but we did what we needed to. Worked a few jobs that didn’t always pay the most but were flexible enough if we had one get sick during school hours. It might get rough for a bit but the alternative would be the end of America as the previous administration was hellbent on making us a third world country.
 
Or, what we did, worked opposing shifts so that one parent was home. Did it for years and at times it was certainly difficult but we did what we needed to. Worked a few jobs that didn’t always pay the most but were flexible enough if we had one get sick during school hours. It might get rough for a bit but the alternative would be the end of America as the previous administration was hellbent on making us a third world country.
The new guy seems willing to make sure we live like a third world nation and we should like it.
 
.....and the war between Japan and the US started when the US applied a trade embargo (specifically on oil) on Japan.

Through history, trade wars have often led to shooting wars.

Trade wars are serious ****.
i mentioned this in past...oil thing...and got shot down fast...oh well...i cant hold peoples hands.....to busy holding my own now....lol
 
I think a month from now, we will be talking about this week as the first week of a SHTF as bad as covid.

Personally, I'm not as well off as I was going into Covid....probably like most....the last five years have been difficult to make gains in.

Haven't exactly fallen apart....but not where I wanted to be going into a trade war with the potential to disrupt things so severely.

Sure, its a game of chicken, and one side may swerve.

But what makes chicken such an interesting game, is that its not guaranteed that anyone does.

Globalization was bad for a lot of people, de-globalization may be as bad.

I will not be shocked to see empty shelves, covid style, a month from now.

I'm not scared, not yet....but I'm depressed about what might be a couple years of two steps forward, three steps back work.
cannons cost to operate.....lol


stack cash and supplies when times are good.....you cant stack to much cash....!!
 
Or, what we did, worked opposing shifts so that one parent was home. Did it for years and at times it was certainly difficult but we did what we needed to. Worked a few jobs that didn’t always pay the most but were flexible enough if we had one get sick during school hours. It might get rough for a bit but the alternative would be the end of America as the previous administration was hellbent on making us a third world country.
-I want to add that I'm not trying to be argumentive, in my own experience there has always been issues-

How were you able to commute without having a gap in between parents being home?

There's only 2 locations have 3 shifts within an hour of us, so one parent would have to leave a minimum of 35 minutes before the other got home in order to get to work on time. With small children, a sitter would *still* be needed. We have tried this solution in the past but it ended up going very badly when my overnight shift would give us mandatory overtime with no notice ( or no one would show up for relief and I wasn't able to leave- healthcare) and my husband couldn't leave for work because there was no one to watch the baby. He nearly lost his job, which is the higher paying and the one we relied on the most. This is really only feasible if you have backup help.

For us at least, this would also require purchasing another vehicle. One that doesn't constantly have issues is several thousand $ up front, a huge expense that is going to take at least a year of work to be worth the purchase.

I work Saturdays when he's home and pick up contract work during the week that my kids can come along to, only possible because he gets a company vehicle for his commute. Many are not so fortunate.
 
I agree with all of that- but I see all of those things as problems with our inherent self reliance. We rely on trade with the rest of the world and it's come to effect every financial facet of our lives. All of what you said and more.

Whether it's medicine, power transformers, computer chips or just everyday cheap goods that allow people to survive on government checks and continually waste money on useless non-equity building purchases that keep them on uncle Sam's teat perpetually.

Our housing economy is ******, our Healthcare is ******, our diets are ******, our state of welfare is ******, our border is ******... etc. Etc. Etc... it's a long list and it's built in on purpose to protect those that lobbied from meaningful competition.

All of this made possible because corporations can keep on outsourcing costs and charging US consumers endlessly as long as we keep racking up debt at every level. At some point there has to be some "medicine" where the avg. American gets cut off and is forced by natural limitations to be productive.

We depend on debt, and we depend on foreign economies to keep producing for us so we can keep spending what we don't have. This creates a population that cannot produce enough for itself to maintain its own affluent lifestyle and is in effect not self reliant- the workforce ain't there and the cost of living is now seriously passing the level where buisness owners can maintain enough profit to make local manufacturing worthwhile, while affording to pay their workers a decent wage. Both the worker and the owner are not incnetivised.

It's not about being forced to consume so much- it's about policy that enables the whole Shitshow.
recall the 08-10 thing.....here we are 15 years later and all that mess wasnt really fixed nothing....yall just lived through the roaring 20's and bill is due now....why you say that elk...credit card debt is 3x NOW what it was then...drowning in debt on personal debt,corporate,county,city,state and fed levels...we been living fake prosperity....in fact its been going on last 40 years.

theres pain when you have to actually pay the bill...its just the start of bill paying time...hold on...!
 
Trade wars are the next thing to physical war, that is true.

I was flunking high school Algebra until I understood a major shift on the left side of an equation would always cause a major shift on the right side.

That is what is happening. The US is freeing itself and the rest of the world from thousands of years of enslavement.

In the end, the US will be joined by Canada, Mexico and Australia. The US is now flexing its power and leaving the horror of our domination of countries on the other side of the world. We are coming to world peace.

The way to re-balance the world is to close borders and negotiate through Tariffs and Embargos - peacefully. Tariffs are/can be a temporary thing.

Welcome to the emerging new world of peace.

Using Tariffs is like haggling over the price of a beautiful hand-made quilt at a flea market.
It goes back and forth until both sides walk away believing they took advantage of the other.
We are watching a free market in action.
 
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Or, what we did, worked opposing shifts so that one parent was home. Did it for years and at times it was certainly difficult but we did what we needed to. Worked a few jobs that didn’t always pay the most but were flexible enough if we had one get sick during school hours. It might get rough for a bit but the alternative would be the end of America as the previous administration was hellbent on making us a third world country.
Too many people want it handed to them, they are not willing to do what they need to do!! I see where some people WON'T make it because they are living in a situation they created (we bought a house, we had kids, etc ), and then expect the rest of the world to conform to their needs!! There are two choices, make it work or sit back and whine!!
 
Too many people want it handed to them, they are not willing to do what they need to do!! I see where some people WON'T make it because they are living in a situation they created (we bought a house, we had kids, etc ), and then expect the rest of the world to conform to their needs!! There are two choices, make it work or sit back and whine!!
we gotta focus all efforts and funds inside our borders and on our borders...if not our house will fall down around our ears...and its been doing that awhile now....we gotta start fixing our stuff back up...tearing out old dams no longer functioning and no reason to replace,bridges replaced,road repair,waterline and sewer lines in towns and cities and list goes on and on and on....just look at wasted money and effort now poured outside our borders and for what...nothing really....all effort here.
 

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