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Monday, October 21, 2013
Letter The Inflationary Handwriting on the Wall
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To SurvivalBlog Readers:
I have gone back and read or skimmed the
archives of every entry in SurvivalBlog
since it's inception in 2005. I'm sure that
anyone who has read even a small portion of
this excellent resource has come to realize
that a means of self-protection is critical
in a SHTF situation and that firearms are
the primary tool to that end. To those that
may not yet be aware, many popular types of
ammunition have been scarce and have become
more expensive and attempts by the government
to regulate sales and possession of ammunition
are becoming more frequent. A particular brand
and type of .22 ammunition that I bought in
bulk in August of last year at 3.1 cents per
round is now almost impossible to find at below
20 cents per round. Increased manufacturing and
materials costs cannot account for this increase.
This has had an effect on the entire firearms
industry.
Popular opinion as to why this happened is all
pver the place and includes reasons such as
hoarding, manufacturers/distributors/dealers
profiteering, scalpers, government intrusion
into the market, etc. The shortage of ammunition
and the run on the purchase of firearms appears
to have started shortly after the last Presidential
election. Again, opinion varies but many people
feel that the President's apparent anti-firearms
position along with an increase in urban violence
and increased pressure on Government officials to
"do something" about the "gun problem" has caused
a run on the market. This run now appears to be
subsiding slightly but is far from over after
nearly a year.
This letter, however, is not about firearms or
ammunition, gun control or politics. It is to
draw attention to how thin the thread is that ties
us to the things that we need for our daily survival.
I may be "preaching to the choir" here but just
imagine if some event were to occur that pushed
the cost of your favorite kind of canned beans from
$1.89 to just under $14.00! Yeah, you could change
brands or stop eating beans but what if the event
or events effected the entire food industry? What
if the event or events effected the petroleum
distribution industry? Trucking? Electricity
production? Again, I know I'm preaching to the choir
but the above example of ammunition is real and could
have just as easily happened to something more
critical to our daily existence than ammunition.
We now have _proof_ that hoarding, manufacturers/
distributors/dealers profiteering, scalpers, government
intrusion into the market, etc can occur in a very
short period of time. We also now have proof that
the event or events may not too obvious in the
daily scheme of things and might even go unnoticed
until it was too late to react. Notice how little
it took to trigger the shortage and price increases
noted above? What would happen in the event of massive
crop failures, widespread climatic disasters, disease,
wars, economic collapse, inflation, martial law,
rioting, etc either singly or in combination?
There are statistics that show that there is one
firearm for every three people in the United
States. Out of every three people in the United
States, how many of them eat? Drink water?
Depend on electricity? Would that not make
shortages and price increases occur even more
quickly and severely when a greater number of
people were effected and the involved items
more critical to survival? JWR has said
repeatedly that you should buy tangibles. In
my view, tangible does not mean gold coins that
you can hold in your hand as opposed to a paper
certificate saying that you own gold. Last year
at this time, gold sold for $1,754 per ounce,
today it is worth $1,271! I have already shown
you what some ammunition prices have done within
that same time frame. If I had taken my own
advice, I would have bought more ammunition
instead of silver coins which have gone the
same way as gold.
I'm not trying to suggest what you should or
should not buy. I'm just suggesting that the
things we _really_ need on a daily basis may be
not be there when we need them or at a price we
can afford and that a seemingly insignificant
series of events could trigger the shortages and
the hoarding, scalping, etc. etc. I know I am
going to continue eating my favorite beans for
some time and not at $14 a can! We now have
proof. The handwriting is on the wall. Read it.
Be safe and prep as if your life depended on it,
- G.L.D.
Economics and Investing:
http://www.survivalblog.com/2013/10/economics-and-investing-1682.html
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Here it comes! The IMF Proposes A 10% Supertax On All Eurozone Household
Savings
http://theautomaticearth.com/Finance...e-household-sa
vings.html.
Americans should be forewarned. We too need to minimize our bank
deposits and shift into tangibles investing. (Thanks to "Beekeeper" for
the link.)
C.D.V. sent this: Fitch puts US AAA rating on rating watch negative
http://www.cnbc.com/id/101093033
*Items from The Economatrix:*
22 Reasons To Be Concerned About The U.S. Economy As We Head Into The
Holiday Season
http://theeconomiccollapseblog.com/a...-s-economy-as-
we-head-into-the-holiday-season
The US cannot avoid a soft default even if a hard default is avoided:
Debt ceiling already breached and US Treasury operating in emergency
mode while US is paying $415 billion in annual interest expenses.
http://www.mybudget360.com/us-soft-default-debt-ceiling-and-us-debt-default/
Nothing left to financially lose: Biggest drop in confidence since
Lehman Brothers and why some are unmoved by government shutdown.
http://www.mybudget360.com/nothing-l...story-us-gover
nment-shutdown/
Hi James,
I just came across the news story about some EBT cards to have
apparently unlimited balances leading to the almost cleaning out of a
Wal-Mart before the computer glitch was corrected.
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-201_162-...t-shopping-spr
ees-in-louisiana/
I bring this up because it is a near perfect parallel to the situation
Nathan Hale Jefferson put in "The Wayward Journey" which I reviewed
several months back
http://www.survivalblog.com/2013/07/...an-hale-jeffer
son.html.
He deserves a pat on the back for anticipating this. - Harry
Economics and Investing:
http://www.survivalblog.com/2013/10/economics-and-investing-1681.html
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*Life imitates art:* IMF chief: U.S. dance with the debt limit is €˜very,
very concerning
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/...-very-concerni
ng/
[*JWR's Comment:* Thankfully, she stopped short of saying: "default
appears imminent." Perhaps next week someone from the Deutsche
Bundesbank will make some off the record remarks...]
G.G. flagged this: U.S. Adds Two Times More Debt than Economic Output in
Last Two Years
http://nation.foxnews.com/2013/10/09/us-adds-two-times-more-debt-economic-output-last-2-years
/Shenandoah /blog: Stasicare
http://johngaltfla.com/wordpress/2013/10/11/stasicare/. (Thanks to
B.B. for the link.)
P.W. sent this from /Zero Hedge/: Theyre Coming for Your Savings
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2013-10-13/guest-post-they're-coming-your-savings
Also from P.W.:U.S. banks no longer too big to fail says Tucker
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/n...no-longer-too-
big-to-fail-says-Tucker.html
*From The Economatrix:*
If We Are In An Economic Recovery, Why Are Major Corporations Firing
Thousands?
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2013-1...-corporations-
firing-thousands
What China Really Thinks of the Shutdown
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2013-10-14/guest-post-what-china-really-thinks-shutdown
More D-Word: Tough choices if US Defaults: Debt ceiling crisis could
leave millions in lurch
http://money.cnn.com/2013/10/14/news/economy/debt-ceiling-crisis/index.html?iid=Lead