I ran across this on TFMetalsReport.com today...
1950's - one wage earner for a four-person family. Mortgage paid off in 25/30years. Comfortable retirement.I'm not sure if the poster has actual stats to back it up, but it sure sounds about right to me.
1960's - one wage earner (plus overtime) for a four-person family. Mortgage paid off in 25/30years. Comfortable retirement.
1970's - two wage earners (plus overtime) for a four-person family. Mortgage paid off in 25/30years. Modest retirement in own home.
1980's - two wage earners (plus overtime) for a four-person family. Mortgage not paid off - has to be rolled. Sell home on retirement for a modest retirement experience in a retirement home.
1990's - two wage earners (plus overtime) for a four-person family. Mortgage interst-only basis. Sell home on retirement for a modest retirement experience.
2000's - two wage earners (plus overtime) for a four-person family. Mortgage interest-only basis plus necessity to make repeated "equity" drawdowns from housing value in order to enjoy life and send the kids to college. Sell home on "retirement" from main job. Continue working in deadbeat store/Mc-job until drop dead in harness.
This was my response...
I was born in 1955. My grandparents raised me and two older siblings. My grandfather had worked for DuPont since the 1930s. In 1963 he sold the house they'd had since before I was born because it was too small. He bought a 5 bedroom house with a finished basement on a double lot for $20,000! He retired a couple of years later and died of a heart attack not long after. My grandmother collected his pension until she died in 2002 at 97 years old. She was able to keep that house and put my older brother and sister through college. (I didn't go that route, but joined the Air Force). After we were all on our own she was able to buy a four-plex. When she got to old to run it she sold it and moved in with my sister. She pretty much kept my sister and brother in-law out of poverty. When she was too infirm to live at home she moved into a nice assisted care/hospice and finally departed this world in peace after living on her late husband's pension for almost 40 years! My grandfather was not an executive or anything like that. He helped maintain his plant's power systems. That was a very typical blue collar job back in the day.
I probably earn at least 5 times what my grandfather made and I'm lucky to be able to afford the rent on the second floor of a private home. I have about two or three months buffer in my bank account, not counting my stack, and unless my metal makes me a bazillion dollars in the great collapse, my retirement plans are work until I can't, then hope I can still play the guitar well enough to do some busking at DC Metro stops. (If my dreams of subsistence farming don't pan out).
America is dead.
More news from Katie Rose on the alfalfa front.
more on alfalfa and grass hay
by Katie RoseAfter putting the goats out to pasture I drove down the hill to the local hay dealer. I just have a gut feeling I am going to want one more ton. Folks had told me he still had hay.What he does is grow about 2000 acres of alfalfa and then buys copious amounts from other farmers - some here, some in Montana, and some around Yakima/ Ellensburg. I usually avoid him as I'm not certain that his bale weights are accurate.I drove in and it was eerily empty. He had no alfalfa at all. None. Then I asked him about grass hay, and he told me he had "just a little bit." He went on to tell me that he had just called his regular suppliers in Montana, asking for a few semi truckloads. He was told that the ranchers had sold all their hay "for quite a bit more" than he was used to paying. He could locate no hay, and the 2000 acres he grew has been sold to local folks like me.Then he looked at me with this shocked, befuddled look and said, "Folks who haven't gotten their hay aren't going to get any. Come Spring..." he just shook his head, whistled and walked away.I ran out of hay last spring, and came running to him. I wonder how many of his regular customers are planning on him having hay for them when they run out?I have been fretting and fretting about stacking alfalfa instead of PM's this Fall. Now I am extremely grateful I chose alfalfa.The hay really is all gone.
1. Generators (Good ones cost dearly. Gas storage, risky. Noisy...target of
thieves; maintenance etc.)
2. Water Filters/Purifiers
3. Portable Toilets
4. Seasoned Firewood. Wood takes about 6 - 12 months to become dried, for
home
uses.
5. Lamp Oil, Wicks, Lamps (First Choice: Buy CLEAR oil. If scarce, stockpile
ANY!)
6. Coleman Fuel. Impossible to stockpile too much.
7. Guns, Ammunition, Pepper Spray, Knives, Clubs, Bats & Slingshots.
8. Hand-can openers, & hand egg beaters, whisks.
9. Honey/Syrups/white, brown sugar
10. Rice - Beans - Wheat
11. Vegetable Oil (for cooking) Without it food burns/must be boiled etc.,)
12. Charcoal, Lighter Fluid (Will become scarce suddenly)
13. Water Containers (Urgent Item to obtain.) Any size. Small: HARD CLEAR
PLASTIC ONLY - note - food grade if for drinking.
14. Mini Heater head (Propane) (Without this item, propane won't heat a
room.)
15. Grain Grinder (Non-electric)
16. Propane Cylinders (Urgent: Definite shortages will occur.
17. Survival Guide Book.
18. Mantles: Aladdin, Coleman, etc. (Without this item, longer-term lighting
is
difficult.)
19. Baby Supplies: Diapers/formula. ointments/aspirin, etc.
20. Washboards, Mop Bucket w/wringer (for Laundry)
21. Cookstoves (Propane, Coleman & Kerosene)
22. Vitamins
23. Propane Cylinder Handle-Holder (Urgent: Small canister use is dangerous
without this item)
24. Feminine Hygiene/Haircare/Skin products.
25. Thermal underwear (Tops & Bottoms)
26. Bow saws, axes and hatchets, Wedges (also, honing oil)
27. Aluminum Foil Reg. & Heavy Duty (Great Cooking and Barter Item)
28. Gasoline Containers (Plastic & Metal)
29. Garbage Bags (Impossible To Have Too Many).
30. Toilet Paper, Kleenex, Paper Towels
31. Milk - Powdered & Condensed (Shake Liquid every 3 to 4 months)
32. Garden Seeds (Non-Hybrid) (A MUST)
33. Clothes pins/line/hangers (A MUST)
34. Coleman's Pump Repair Kit
35. Tuna Fish (in oil)
36. Fire Extinguishers (or..large box of Baking Soda in every room)
37. First aid kits
38. Batteries (all sizes...buy furthest-out for Expiration Dates)
39. Garlic, spices & vinegar, baking supplies
40. Big Dogs (and plenty of dog food)
41. Flour, yeast & salt
42. Matches. {"Strike Anywhere" preferred.) Boxed, wooden matches will go
first
43. Writing paper/pads/pencils, solar calculators
44. Insulated ice chests (good for keeping items from freezing in
Wintertime.)
45. Workboots, belts, Levis & durable shirts
46. Flashlights/LIGHTSTICKS & torches, "No. 76 Dietz" Lanterns
47. Journals, Diaries & Scrapbooks (jot down ideas, feelings, experience;
Historic Times)
48. Garbage cans Plastic (great for storage, water, transporting - if with
wheels)
49. Men's Hygiene: Shampoo, Toothbrush/paste, Mouthwash/floss, nail
clippers,
etc
50. Cast iron cookware (sturdy, efficient)
51. Fishing supplies/tools
52. Mosquito coils/repellent, sprays/creams
53. Duct Tape
54. Tarps/stakes/twine/nails/rope/spikes
55. Candles
56. Laundry Detergent (liquid)
57. Backpacks, Duffel Bags
58. Garden tools & supplies
59. Scissors, fabrics & sewing supplies
60. Canned Fruits, Veggies, Soups, stews, etc.
61. Bleach (plain, NOT scented: 4 to 6% sodium hypochlorite)
62. Canning supplies, (Jars/lids/wax)
63. Knives & Sharpening tools: files, stones, steel
64. Bicycles...Tires/tubes/pumps/chains, etc
65. Sleeping Bags & blankets/pillows/mats
66. Carbon Monoxide Alarm (battery powered)
67. Board Games, Cards, Dice
68. d-con Rat poison, MOUSE PRUFE II, Roach Killer
69. Mousetraps, Ant traps & cockroach magnets
70. Paper plates/cups/utensils (stock up, folks)
71. Baby wipes, oils, waterless & Antibacterial soap (saves a lot of water)
72. Rain gear, rubberized boots, etc.
73. Shaving supplies (razors & creams, talc, after shave)
74. Hand pumps & siphons (for water and for fuels)
75. Soysauce, vinegar, bullions/gravy/soupbase
76. Reading glasses
77. Chocolate/Cocoa/Tang/Punch (water enhancers)
78. "Survival-in-a-Can"
79. Woolen clothing, scarves/ear-muffs/mittens
80. Boy Scout Handbook, / also Leaders Catalog
81. Roll-on Window Insulation Kit (MANCO)
82. Graham crackers, saltines, pretzels, Trail mix/Jerky
83. Popcorn, Peanut Butter, Nuts
84. Socks, Underwear, T-shirts, etc. (extras)
85. Lumber (all types)
86. Wagons & carts (for transport to and from)
87. Cots & Inflatable mattress's
88. Gloves: Work/warming/gardening, etc.
89. Lantern Hangers
90. Screen Patches, glue, nails, screws,, nuts & bolts
91. Teas
92. Coffee
93. Cigarettes
94. Wine/Liquors (for bribes, medicinal, etc,)
95. Paraffin wax
96. Glue, nails, nuts, bolts, screws, etc.
97. Chewing gum/candies
98. Atomizers (for cooling/bathing)
99. Hats & cotton neckerchiefs
100. Goats/chickens
From a Sarajevo War Survivor:
Experiencing horrible things that can happen in a war - death of parents and
friends, hunger and malnutrition, endless freezing cold, fear, sniper
attacks.
1. Stockpiling helps. but you never no how long trouble will last, so locate
near renewable food sources.
2. Living near a well with a manual pump is like being in Eden.
3. After awhile, even gold can lose its luster. But there is no luxury in
war
quite like toilet paper. Its surplus value is greater than gold's.
4. If you had to go without one utility, lose electricity - it's the easiest
to
do without (unless you're in a very nice climate with no need for heat.)
5. Canned foods are awesome, especially if their contents are tasty without
heating. One of the best things to stockpile is canned gravy - it makes a
lot of
the dry unappetizing things you find to eat in war somewhat edible. Only
needs
enough heat to "warm", not to cook. It's cheap too, especially if you buy it
in
bulk.
6. Bring some books - escapist ones like romance or mysteries become more
valuable as the war continues. Sure, it's great to have a lot of survival
guides, but you'll figure most of that out on your own anyway - trust me,
you'll
have a lot of time on your hands.
7. The feeling that you're human can fade pretty fast. I can't tell you how
many
people I knew who would have traded a much needed meal for just a little bit
of
toothpaste, rouge, soap or cologne. Not much point in fighting if you have
to
lose your humanity. These things are morale-builders like nothing else.
8. Slow burning candles and matches, matches, matches
Katie Rose is not the only wise person posting in "Turdville." I'd like to offer the following from a fellow who goes by the name of California Lawyer.
Yeah, It's Like That
By California Lawyer
As seen on tfmetalsreport.com
September 17, 2012One of my favorite movies, Training Day, has that line. The scene is where Jake and Alonzo have their fight and confrontation at the end of the movie. In a split second, the power shifts. Alonzo asks the neighborhood leader, Bone: "It's like that, Bone?" Bone says "yeah, it's like that."
It is mesmerizing, and fantastically powerful, watching the power ebb from the once untouchable Alonzo, to the rookie cop and the neighborhood leader who announces to Jake "go on and bounce up out of here homie, we got your back." The now powerless Alonzo, realizes he just lost EVERYTHING, gets petulant, while the neighborhood citizens, realizing what just happened, walk away understanding that everything just changed.
We in turdville, are at that moment. Bernanke is Alonzo, doing the bidding of TPTB. Us turdites are like the neighborhood citizens, watching, realizing what just happened, with QE to infinity, MOPE, rumors of war, uprisings in the middle east, sabre rattling over Iran, drones, Hillary the warmonger, all of it. Who is Jake? Turd? Anyhow, that is how I see it. Now for the analysis.
Let's all operate from the same macro understanding.
(1) There is a system of global governance, banking, military, what not.
(2) That system is controlled, as opposed to being random.
(3) Those in charge of the system desire to keep the system in place, that is, to perpetuate the system, rather than see it collapse. This desire to perpetuate the system includes recognition of the ending of the current paradigm, to be replaced by another permutation of the system, allowing those in charge to remain in charge.
(4) As a result, those in charge, understand that there are but three methods to maintain system stability, that is, to keep the system from uncontrolled collapse, which collapse WILL occur from the accumulation of DEBT which cannot ever be repaid:
a-dilution of the existing fiat currency to prop up the system, that is, repaying debt by devaluing the currency and stealing from savers by inflation;
b-default on sovereign debt to prop up the system, that is, forgiveness of debt by creditors, or insolvency; or
c-war.
Choose one.
We are there now, clearly.
Fiat devaluation has been ongoing for years, and has grown exponential, including since 2008. There is a race to the bottom, says Jim Rickards, proven correct time and time again.
Default or forgiveness is not an option, since the entire system in intertwined by massive derivatives. That is, each unit of debt translates to trillions of derivatives, each of which to be viable requires that the underlying debt NOT default, or else the derivative explodes into worthlessness.
That leaves WAR.
Look backwards in time.
The great depression, societal collapse, and a changing paradigm, from agrarian to production in factories, cities. Collapse was ongoing, and FDR radically altered the landscape. When FDR's fixes proved unable to solve the problems, including confiscation and devaluing the currency, the only solution left was WAR. Debts were thus defaulted/forgiven/repaid in blood and treasure. The world changed.
Economic prosperity ensued, because the US was the world's economic engine. That paradigm lasted for a while, then it changed, of course.
Currently, we have a basic world structure:
(1) Producers of size with regard to goods, China, BRICs, rest of the third world;
(2) Consumers of size with regard to goods and energy, USA, Europe, Japan, China;
(3) Producers of size with regard to resources, Africa, China, Russia;
(4) Producers of size with regard to energy, OPEC, Russia, etc.
EACH needs the other in this global world. NONE individually can go it alone any more.
The producers of goods need resources, energy and consumers. If there is a fall off in ONE of the three, chaos ensues, and those in charge face revolution and death.
The consumers need cheap goods, cheap energy, and the means to consume; hence, fiat devaluation and credit, since labor prices have fallen off the cliff, the unproductive outnumber the productive, and those in charge use bread and circuses to control the masses by propaganda and distraction and MOPE. Without consumers, the producers collapse. The producers holding the fiat, face ruin, revolution, and societal upheaval, including death to those in charge.
Producers of energy need producers of goods and consumers, or else the energy produced falls in price due to collapsing demand. Revolution likely ensues, see Venezuela. Shifting alliances of political and tribal factions are on balance, insignificant, but are useful as distractions.
Putting it all together reveals:
(1) The USA is the consumer part of the puzzle. Those in charge will keep it this way, for now.
(2) China produces goods, and will keep it this way for now, with India the other third world countries with their cheap labor continuing to produce at rates the USA cannot match.
(3) Energy and resources continue to be the shifting targets, with each pillar of the system dependent upon cheap energy.
(4) In balance, all players mutually benefit the others. Out of balance, there is chaos.
(5) The US military is the enforcer. So long as the US military engages and keeps the order, the other countries will accept and hold our worthless fiat. If the USA reneges, then the fiat system collapses. If the holders of fiat try to dump them, the USA will not support those in charge, and revolutions and coups will result.
See, simple?
What then, when there is too much fiat sloshing all around? Food prices get too high, citizenry goes hungry, risk of revolution and death of leaders. Cannot have that, no sir.
So, the world needs a distraction, and a reset.
WAR IS COMING, as certain as I sit here and type this.
Please, please prepare...
Are you listening?
We are headed for war.
This time it will be different. We have lost our factories and steel mills. We have lost our shoe manufacturers. We have no manufacturing base anymore.
Things are so different than they were during WWI and WWII.
Our borders are nonexistent. There have been many reports of ME men entering our land via the southern border disguised as Mexican and South Americans.
The men in WWI and II were primarily raised on farms. They were used to hardship. They were used to discipline and hardwork.
This time I believe it will be fought here on our turf. We have brought it to others. They will bring it to us.
Listen to what my 86 year old Mother says. She lived through the Great Depression and WWI. She cries nearly every day as she watches the news. She knows what is coming.
She has asked me to ask all you parents to please buy underwear, socks and shoes in incrementally larger sizes for your growing children. She says people forget that children grow, and there are no shoes, no new underwear, no new socks available during war. If your child wears size 6 shoe, get a size 7, 8, 9, 10, etc for them now. If you are a grandparent and you know your children won't listen to you about this, buy the clothing for your grandchildren yourself. And buy it now.
My Mother also said that there was no or very little sugar available. Sugar is necessary for canning fruit. Yesterday we canned 4 dozen pints of crabapple jelly. We used 25 lbs of sugar. (Crabapples are sour) I will be replacing that sugar ASAP.
There also was no oil for cooking. She has us buying lard from Wally World. She insists that it will outlast cooking oil and not grow rancid.
There are other things we need to be stacking besides silver and gold right now.
The handwriting is on the wall.
Prepare Accordingly.
Are you listening?
Being a bit of a nutter, I spend a lot of time on Turd Ferguson's precious metals blog. One of the regulars goes by the name of Katie Rose. She recently posted this and I think people would do well to read it and see she is talking about much more than alfalfa.
Alfalfa ~ Lessons I am learning
By Katie Rose
Since this is a website where we continue to stack gold and silver to protect our families from the inevitable monetary collapse, I thought I'd share with you about another group of folks who are also stacking.
Unlike paper gold and silver that can stretch a commodity, farmers are stacking something more precious to them than both gold and silver. Because of the drought, farmers are stacking alfalfa. And believe me, it has become as scarce and as costly as physical PM's.
We have a farm hand who is in jail due to an old drunk driving charge. When he turned himself in three years ago, the court sent him packing, saying he was "a non-violent offender" and the "jail was full." It's harvest time, so of course, an officer showed up and hauled him away, just when I need him the most. I can't stack ten tons of alfalfa, he can. :)
So I have been distracted and not on top of securing the 10 tons of alfalfa I need for the winter. Before this was not a concern, lots of ranchers growing tons and tons of alfalfa. And I had lots of farmers who told me to call them the last week of August for second cutting. They wouldn't take any orders, I was to call them. They wouldn't let me prepay either.
I have called and called and called. So far, all I have is 2 tons in the barn, and 3 more tons promised. One farmer with 700 acres of alfalfa has been selling his harvest to local folks for two days and only has 1 ton left! This is unbelievable!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I am seeing a low level panic among hobby farmers like myself. Farmers we usually purchase alfalfa from have none, have sold it to hay dealers in other parts of the country, or are holding on to it to see what it will bring this winter.
And I have a gut wrenching feeling that the panic I am experiencing among my friends is a foretaste of what we will be experiencing around food and PM's in the future.
- No one will tell me where they are getting their alfalfa until they have all they need safely stacked in their barns first.
- The farmers are reluctant to sell until they know how much they can get from out of area buyers.
- There are no buyers for farm animals right now, as no one knows how they will be able to feed the animals this winter. And we are being told it will be a hard winter.
I was just a few days too late, and the alfalfa is gone. This is only Wed. of the last week of August, and the alfalfa is leaving by the semi load heading east.
So, being resourceful, I am going to begin a grand experiment. I am going to purchase a few tons of organic barley from a local farmer. It is ordered and not yet harvested. Then I am going to do a "Redneck sprouting system" in our laundry room. Hopefully, I can create enough "fodder" to fill in the gaps from the missing alfalfa.
There are so many lessons to be learned from this.
I hope you have a supply of food to see you through difficult times. There is a feeling of panic around here concerning alfalfa. Most of us need second cutting alfalfa, and it came and went in the twinkling of an eye. I suspect we may be just weeks away from the same quiet panic when it comes to long term storage food. This has not been a good year for farmers.
There will be a time (maybe not this year, but soon) when our grocery store shelves will look like those stripped clean prior to a hurricane or a major snow storm. I am seeing it here with alfalfa. It gives me no pleasure at all to know the same is on the horizon for food.
When I asked is she minded me posting this here and, if not, did she have anything she'd like me to say by way of attribution, her response was
The truth is, I am just a woman who has too many goats and not enough alfalfa.........
We could a lot more like her.
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