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

[poltiregist]

Though I did indeed prepare to live independently from society and could survive indefinitely regardless as to what happens with the trade wars , did make a few last ditch arrangements today . 1- bought enough chicken feed to last until the bugs are plentiful for the chickens come next spring . 2- Stockpiling even more on coffee . Enough for a year or two without having to skimp . 3 - Buying more canned tomatoes , so I will not have to plant so many this coming year or have to use propane or wood to can them up in jars . They will be good in gumbo , wild game meat stews or tomatoes gravy sopped up with a biscuit . -- Foreseeing S.H.T.F. , I payed my property taxes early and months ago , so I will not have to worry about that for a while . -- When the wife returns from the coffee and canned tomatoes run , it will be interesting to see how advanced the shopping frenzy has reached and perhaps there is no shopping frenzy at all " yet " .

 

[elkhound]

I never thought I would read a thread from you that isn't word salad and I actually agree with...LOL
But yeah, that sums it up really well.

China produces cheap crap, we buy it cheap and use credit to pay for it. At least half the jobs in this country are unecessary and produce nothing . We pay China with fiat currency that we create at will and they except it
The whole house of cards is going to fall apart
And the ones that benefitted most from this system are the rich CEOs of large companies that paid off the politicians to make all of it possible

China is in trouble too. They have invested a lot in their real estate, that sits empty and nobody lives in. If the US goes down economically, so will China, but there, they at least have a society that works together since they are pretty much all Chinese and there is no minorities, or diversity crap, or illegals, or terrorists

one thing china has been doing with our worthless paper.....investing it...they have sold/cashed in over 1/3rd of out bonds,treasuries back us since 2018...see this is actually where our debt is coming from...we didnt set aside money for time maturity came and now folks and countries etc. are cashing in...russia cash holdings in right at start of 2014 with first sanctions...now back to china...what they been doing..buying silver and gold to back their own currency...they even bought the worlds largest gold mine and it all goes to their coffers for future...russia has largest gold amount still in the ground and all other natural resources worth 75 trillion dollars or some such wild amount.

anyhow china has bought business and done things to better their country and not been on a drunken spree like us here.

 

[Magpie]

If the US goes down economically the whole world will go with it.
Just like 1929.

I'm not sure about that; I think the world has changed enough to realise they couldn't let it happen again. They thought Iceland would go under when it refused to bail out the banks in the 2010 crisis.
Iceland jailed their bankers, the taxpayers here and in EU rescued theirs. Iceland is fine, whereas the rest of us had years of debt.

 

[Mountain trapper]

Who ever said that the easy life is guaranteed? Trump has only been in office for about 2 weeks now and already the sad sacks and the doom and gloomers are whining about not seeing immediate changes in their little part of the world! If these people would turn of the communist news shows and actually look with an open mind at what Trump is getting accomplished they would see that he truly is putting America and Americans first.
It took a long time for our country to be in the mess it's in now, and it'll take some time to turn it around. So far I support everything that Trump is doing.

 

[havasu]

Just my :two cents: is the fact that President Trump has been in office foe exactly 2 weeks, but many of his strongest supporters are already bailing on his ideas? Geez, give him some time to work out the wrinkles.

 

[elkhound]

If the US goes down economically the whole world will go with it.
Just like 1929.

not anymore....things are vastly different now...brics is helping out on that and the countries that are tired of our interference...according to world bank russia was largest european country economy last few years...this despite sanctions and more..so much for that b.s. biden saying they are a gas station masked as a country....i got news fir that dummy and anyone thinking that way...oil,gas etc. is what drives economies and we gotta have it....just keep watching europe...germany jobs are destroyed...volkswagon is closing plants and laying off people there already. in talks with china guy looking at buying it.

i know sanctions directly hurting working poor in my region before any trump stuff...if sanction hit china harder i know several are going to hurt big time as their back up plans and ways of getting by will be and are affected...it sucks i tell ya.

 

[Mountain trapper]

I see some great times ahead. And if the stock markets drop, that just creates terrific buying opportunities. I for one would love to see real estate values drop. I guess I'm the type that can see the positive things in life no matter what happens.

 

[elkhound]

Just my :two cents: is the fact that President Trump has been in office foe exactly 2 weeks, but many of his strongest supporters are already bailing on his ideas? Geez, give him some time to work out the wrinkles.

the one thing he needs to do is keep his big mouth shut...but his ego wont let him...its one thing i dislike about him...shut the bigmouth b.s. talk up...its to much pot stirring....as example greenland...not going to happen...resident just asked about it...only 6% said they like to join the u.s.

we cant fix whats here....we cant afford things we doing outside this country...bring all assets home...everything...keep best and biggest bases and call it good...let rest of world hash it out or burn...they will be fine....if we dont...we wont...

we gave tractors to farmers all over globe..what about helping young start up farmers here first with a tractor...or a no interest loan...russia gives families having children home loans interest free...just as example.

help ourselves first !

 

[elkhound]

I see some great times ahead. And if the stock markets drop, that just creates terrific buying opportunities. I for one would love to see real estate values drop. I guess I'm the type that can see the positive things in life no matter what happens.

interest rates should go up...biden dropped rates before trump took office..it hurt because rates were bring prices back down....it help anyone with cash in hand do deals like you talk about...i look at land all the time..i passed on a place i coulda had for $10k...2 acres,new well and new septic system...took a year for it to sale.

 

[elkhound]

Though I did indeed prepare to live independently from society and could survive indefinitely regardless as to what happens with the trade wars , did make a few last ditch arrangements today . 1- bought enough chicken feed to last until the bugs are plentiful for the chickens come next spring . 2- Stockpiling even more on coffee . Enough for a year or two without having to skimp . 3 - Buying more canned tomatoes , so I will not have to plant so many this coming year or have to use propane or wood to can them up in jars . They will be good in gumbo , wild game meat stews or tomatoes gravy sopped up with a biscuit . -- Foreseeing S.H.T.F. , I payed my property taxes early and months ago , so I will not have to worry about that for a while . -- When the wife returns from the coffee and canned tomatoes run , it will be interesting to see how advanced the shopping frenzy has reached and perhaps there is no shopping frenzy at all " yet " .

its first of month so many get checks at this time...shelves get bare until checks get spent down in my area.

 

[Canon29]

I never thought I would read a thread from you that isn't word salad and I actually agree with...LOL
But yeah, that sums it up really well.

hey now

China produces cheap crap, we buy it cheap and use credit to pay for it. At least half the jobs in this country are unecessary and produce nothing . We pay China with fiat currency that we create at will and they except it
The whole house of cards is going to fall apart
And the ones that benefitted most from this system are the rich CEOs of large companies that paid off the politicians to make all of it possible

China is in trouble too. They have invested a lot in their real estate, that sits empty and nobody lives in. If the US goes down economically, so will China, but there, they at least have a society that works together since they are pretty much all Chinese and there is no minorities, or diversity crap, or illegals, or terrorists

The thing that worries me is china's shenanigans effecting the US. If China goes down I worry about if/how quickly the US can recover.

The way some of these chinese companies like evergrande conduct buisness on a massive scale should scare the bejeesus out of Americans who want to continue being dependent on China.

You can only leverage debt so much till it all comes crashing down...

 

[sonya123]

And the other choice would have done what? Really think about what taxing unrealized gains would have looked like under the Harris regime. This would have affected anyone who prepped for the future. Do you own your home? Do you have an IRA? Do you own vehicles or equipment? Do you have stocks? Did any of it gain value the past year? Yeah....Harris wanted to tax you for that!

now THAT would have been our own personal nightmare!! I would rather Avocados cost $10 a piece....

 

[SLADE]

Dude, $20 an hour is NOT "high paying," anymore. You are stuck in the '90s. It is $40,000 a year, BEFORE taxes, maybe $30,000 after. Even a young single person can barely manage on $2,700 a month. A quarter million is the new minimum wage for a competent, college educated professional.

Carpenters make about 100k plumbers and electricians make more
In my part of the country.
No undocumented workers being exploited here.

 

[Magus]

Dude, $20 an hour is NOT "high paying," anymore. You are stuck in the '90s. It is $40,000 a year, BEFORE taxes, maybe $30,000 after. Even a young single person can barely manage on $2,700 a month. A quarter million is the new minimum wage for a competent, college educated professional.

My bad, I haven't had a job in twenty-five years.

 

[sonya123]

hey now


The thing that worries me is china's shenanigans effecting the US. If China goes down I worry about if/how quickly the US can recover.

The way some of these chinese companies like evergrande conduct buisness on a massive scale should scare the bejeesus out of Americans who want to continue being dependent on China.

You can only leverage debt so much till it all comes crashing down...

the problem in the US are 2 big things: the unions and the EPA, those 2 things are what drives up labor cost.
Virginia is a right to work State ( meaning not controlled by unions), we have a Volvo plant not too far from here. This works because the unions can't force companies to pay unreasonable amounts of money to people and to them.
Hopefully Trump will do something about the ridiculous amounts of regulation the EPA has. I am for protecting the environment, but some of their laws are just stupid. I dealt with them all the time while working as a civil engineer.
The rust belt up there in the north is a result of unions mostly.

 

[Canon29]

the problem in the US are 2 big things: the unions and the EPA, those 2 things are what drives up labor cost.
Virginia is a right to work State ( meaning not controlled by unions), we have a Volvo plant not too far from here. This works because the unions can't force companies to pay unreasonable amounts of money to people and to them.
Hopefully Trump will do something about the ridiculous amounts of regulation the EPA has. I am for protecting the environment, but some of their laws are just stupid. I dealt with them all the time while working as a civil engineer.
The rust belt up there in the north is a result of unions mostly.

I would like to see Healthcare fixed and welfare removed first and foremost. The cost of medical care is insane.

Unions or no, private employers should be able to pay whatever they like to workers and workers have the right to contract with those employers as they please. Competition between employers for skilled and unskilled labor is key- not a federal minimum wage. My mom used to be an HR representative at a paper mill, I grew up listening to all the stories about her dealing with united steel workers union- some good some bad it seemed like the employers were often held hostage by unproductive employees. My own experience in working construction was that non-union employees like myself vastly outworked unions guys- course I was a teen and had tons of energy but overall the crew I worked with ran circles around the union guys.

 

[Magus]

I would like to see Healthcare fixed and welfare removed first and foremost. The cost of medical care is insane.

Some of us need that to live! How about just the illegals and healthy leeches?

 

[sonya123]

I would like to see Healthcare fixed and welfare removed first and foremost. The cost of medical care is insane.

I think we would disagree on healthcare. I do think there should be a national health insurance. Every other civilized country has that, even China and Russia. The way it is in the US sucks if you ask me. Why bother working hard and accumulating wealth if a simple accident can bancrupt you? It makes sense as a country to provide medical care to at least basic medical needs to everyone.
What you have now is a very crappy and unfair system. Everyone gets treated, but not everyone pays. And only those that have something can lose everything. It makes no difference to the ghetto trash if they have health insurance or not, they will just take their 15 illegit kids to the hospital for a simple ear infection and cost the rest of the population that has something a lot of money. The system is by far the worst I can imagine.
Welfare yeah, get rid of it, or at least attach a work requirement to it. Make them go pick fruit in California, if they want welfare

 

[Canon29]

Some of us need that to live! How about just the illegals and healthy leeches?

Oops

Idk man, I have no ill will towards people who actually need it but I don't think the country should be obligated to sustain anyone. I think we should move towards socially instituted means of taking care of folks who can't take care of themselves- family, charities and perhaps incentives for hiring disabled folks.

It's one of those things where you have to choose the lesser of two evils. Do some legitimate cases get burned by the change? Yeah- and that sucks, But life isn't fair. The people with legitimate cases get weaponized by the vast majority of folks who are leeches.

You strike me as someone who's intelligent enough to carve out a living, I think if the country got its head on straight you would find meaningful opportunity to provide for yourself. But I don't know your situation.

Recently my mom moved into a elderly community... it's helped keep me busy helping out- i can only dream about a world where there were a bunch more people that took the time to do that. The problem is the avg. Person my age is overworked, over-taxed, and bled to death by endless interest. They don't have time to actually help people in their community and be charitable... thus the government forces it through welfare and keeps defending and deepening the problem. I think we need need work in the other direction, and I actually think better solutions to problems like yours would surface quickly.

All a pipe dream though... so no worries you're not in any danger

 

[poltiregist]

I find it interesting reading various post from members on this , new life style it appears we are entering . Personally I embrace the possibility of stepping back to perhaps the 1900's lifestyle and if very lucky perhaps much further back than that . -- I am getting the impression from the posts , some are terrified of perhaps reverting back to a real homestead existence . Then again I realize no matter how many times it was repeated on prepper / survival forums some preferred buying those happy meals over buying a property that could provide independence from society . Well likely the window for acquiring a homestead and having it debt free window has already closed .

 

[Canon29]

I think we would disagree on healthcare. I do think there should be a national health insurance. Every other civilized country has that, even China and Russia. The way it is in the US sucks if you ask me. Why bother working hard and accumulating wealth if a simple accident can bancrupt you? It makes sense as a country to provide medical care to at least basic medical needs to everyone.
What you have now is a very crappy and unfair system. Everyone gets treated, but not everyone pays. And only those that have something can lose everything. It makes no difference to the ghetto trash if they have health insurance or not, they will just take their 15 illegit kids to the hospital for a simple ear infection and cost the rest of the population that has something a lot of money. The system is by far the worst I can imagine.
Welfare yeah, get rid of it, or at least attach a work requirement to it. Make them go pick fruit in California, if they want welfare

My .02 is that government controlled Healthcare increases the tax burden and removes the competition in free-market capitalism that drives the quality of care up and the price of care down.

Socialized health care kinda works in some countries but you almost always see other big issues (like overtaxation) take its place. In other places like Canada they're just beginning to euthanize people.

overall, I'm basically against socialized programs. If it were up to me there wouldn't even be insurance of any kind. Just affordable highly competitive services. You take the competition out of the market and you end up with over regulated, unaffordable, low quality everything. It kills innovation and we see it all the time- it's more profitable to treat sicknesses than cure it. Pharmaceutical companies protect their interest and market share- they buy patents and black shelf them and the control is completely taken away from the individual. Instead, you are at the mercy of the insurance companies... it really sucks. Just since Obama care you see a giant hike in insurance premiums and the deductibles are laughably high. Let's not forget that there's next to to accountability on what hospitals charge insurance companies either... Even crazier now seeing as the avg. American doesn't have $500 to their name. In that regard it takes far less than a medical emergency to bankrupt someone with the degree of socialism already present in this country.

 

[rice paddy daddy]

National health care?
Ask any vet that uses the VA.
The people in the clinics are ok, but the bureaucracy literally kills patients waiting to get help.

And study up on the British system. It’s really bad.

 

[Mountain trapper]

interest rates should go up...biden dropped rates before trump took office..it hurt because rates were bring prices back down....it help anyone with cash in hand do deals like you talk about...i look at land all the time..i passed on a place i coulda had for $10k...2 acres,new well and new septic system...took a year for it to sale.

Americans have become spoiled with "cheap" money. I consider anything less than 10% cheap. Years ago when interest rates were 18% - 20% I was buying CD's that paid 12%. I also took out a second mortgage at 18% when I was on a long layoff so that I could buy a gold mining claim. It paid off very well btw.
I hear so many people, mostly on here, whining about how hard times are right now. And how the price of lettuce didn't drop immediately after Trump took office. It takes time to turn a huge ship around.

 

[Tirediron]

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.

the only problem with the "we will all join the US'' is the FACT that the US military has been the enforcers for the big banks and elohim worship cult,

 

[SLADE]

Some of us need that to live! How about just the illegals and healthy leeches?

can't have it both ways.

 

[Richbo69]

The Don has a plan, he always has a plan.

Exactly. Read “The Art of the Deal”. He knows what he’s doing.

 

[sonya123]

National health care?
Ask any vet that uses the VA.
The people in the clinics are ok, but the bureaucracy literally kills patients waiting to get help.

And study up on the British system. It’s really bad.

ask anyone in the EU if they like their health care system ( they do, I lived there) . YOu just keep believing what big pharma and big hospital admin wants you to believe so they can get richer.
Health care should be non profit.

Here, they want people to stay unhealthy so they can make more profits. I see these over 1 minute commercials on Netflix ( I have the cheap version with adds) for some weight loss drug. These people make huge profits from unhealthy people! It's disgusting if you ask me. What they should do instead of giving people drugs is teaching them how to eat right and taxing the hell out of all soda and junkfood like they do cigarettes. That would most likely work, it worked with cigarettes. But no instead of getting the population to lose weight and stop eating junk, they encourage it, and defend it, and make sure airplane seats get made bigger, so they can sell more drugs and the politicians can get more bribes to keep it all going

oh and right after the commercial for the weight loss drug ( ozmetic or something can't remember) you see a fast food commercial with super size fat and carbs everything

 

[Aerindel]

Remember, it hasn't happened yet- no point in bein' depressed about what might be until it is.

Objectively,

yes.

Subjectively....that isn't how depression works. The older I get, the more trouble I have with living in the present.

Bottom line.... AMERICA COULD NOT CONTINUE IN THE DIRECTION IT WAS HEADING!! Trump WILL make America great again, hang on for ride!!

Well, the first half is true for sure.

People often say 'Hang on for the ride', but sometimes they forget that maybe the ride might be too wild to keep your grip and a lot of people might get bucked off. And that is just assuming the ride isn't straight over a cliff in the first place.

A lot of things I wanted to get done during covid, didn't get done, because instead of working on place, I was hanging on. I'd really like to get back to making progress, but I fear It's just going to be another period of hanging on with both hands....with none left over to swing a hammer.

 

[sonya123]

I find it interesting reading various post from members on this , new life style it appears we are entering . Personally I embrace the possibility of stepping back to perhaps the 1900's lifestyle and if very lucky perhaps much further back than that . -- I am getting the impression from the posts , some are terrified of perhaps reverting back to a real homestead existence . Then again I realize no matter how many times it was repeated on prepper / survival forums some preferred buying those happy meals over buying a property that could provide independence from society . Well likely the window for acquiring a homestead and having it debt free window has already closed .

even if you have a homestead and are debt free ( we are) you are not going to be independent of society. Are you going to pull your own teeth? Do you have all the land and equipment to produce enough hay to feed enough livestock to survive? Do you make your own vehicle parts? Or do you have a small army of teenagers that can do lots of manual labor ? (only the Amish here have that)
what will you do when you run out of fuel, or the government taxes your homestead out of existance?

How much land do you own? And if you don't mind me asking, how old are you? the older you get the harder it gets doing a lot of physical labor

 

[Mountain trapper]

Carpenters make about 100k plumbers and electricians make more
In my part of the country.
No undocumented workers being exploited here.

Over 10 years ago many of my mechanics were making $150,000 per year. I was paying my pipeline welders $85/hour with guaranteed 44 hours per week overtime. Good paying jobs are around for those who are willing to learn the skills necessary and work hard.