Could your family weather a depression?

[patandchickens]

"The gangster culture of the '30's" was really "of the '20's" and arose as a result of Prohibition, not the Depression, although of course what was started then did not just magically vanish with the 1933 repeal of Prohibition.

To be honest, this whole thing has exactly the same feel to me as all sorts of other mass-media-driven hysterics over the years - let's all stockpile anthrax antibiotics, Oh No It's Y2K, etcetera. Those things, too, seemed eerily real to us because like now there was some kernal of truth in it. Clearly the economy is going to suck for a goodly while and it may take a long time if ever to return to its 1980s/90s level -- but that's not exactly a big surprise. EVERYthing in history is unprecedented to some degree since things never really repeat themselves and the rules are slightly different each time. People have survived all the 'unprecedented' big bumps in the road in the past, and will again, and chances are extremely low (IMO) that this will be anything like as bad as it is currently fashionable to pretend.

My goodness, can you imagine what people would have been saying in the summer of 1929 had there been the media coverage there is today, and the whole internet forum/bb/blog aspect?

The mind boggles

If ya just work on living each day the best you can, and being more of an 'ant' than a 'grasshopper', and try not to follow whatever galloping herds happen to rumble past (no matter where they are headed), that is the best generalized preparation for ANY change of circumstances that a person can make.

JMHO and I realize not a popular one,

Pat

 

[PeeperKeeper]

"Uncle Joe" in about 2 blogs back wrote about an urgency to grow and put away food.
Same here and my daughter said the same to me just this past Saturday as I was helping her to can tomatoes. This is her first year to can and she's doing it like a field on fire!
She said she even has this urge to go pick all her neighbors dried beans left in the field and shell them to save for growing seeds next year.
My husband has pulled canning jars out of storage that haven't been used in years...I've seen people meeting the warehouse trucks delivering supplies to a local hardware store and buying canning jars right off the truck!

 

[Msbear]

Patandchickens, I feel ya. It seems every couple years there's a new drama to unfold which could potentially change the world as we know it. There is a lot of unknown when it comes to the big questions. Why are we here? What's our purpose? When will it end? That lack of knowledge naturally breeds fear. I, for one, feel we as a human race have a lot more to learn and this world will be here for millions of years after us as it has been before us.

As for the depression of the 30's. They did not have message boards and blogs but they did have community -a whole lot more than we have now. They also had newspapers which most everyone subscribed to. They talked amongst eachother and bred hysteria. The paper announced "Black Friday" as if it were doomsday itself. People and banks (run by people) panicked.

The only difference from that time and now is that the government has learned a whole lot. The biggest lesson, only tell us what we need to hear. We have NO IDEA how bad this truely is. For me, Im seeing huge institutions which make hundreds of billions of dollars fall. Im seeing insurance companies pushed to its limits following hurricanes and storm damages. Will they be able to pay? Im also seeing HUGE corruption within our government we've all had so much confidence in. These banks are getting bailed out to rescue our economy which we'll wind up paying for through taxation and inflation. Yet will the CEO's who've been making ten of millions of dollars in bonuses and salaries take a pay cut. Something has got to give. I think it's a great idea for the gov't to take back more control of the lending institutions. I just don't know how much control they should have. But some of they crooks need to be held accountable.

Hopefully our great nation will pull out of this but I feel no one should have absolute faith in anything but they're own families and neighbors. I'll be canning and putting in some fruit trees on the family farm this fall! It's always better to be prepared. At the very least, I'll save some money at the grocery store and at the pump, harvesting in my backyard.

 

[the1much]

when the dude that emailed me was talking bout the 30's,,, he was meaning the "frame of mind" of the "gangsters" back then,,,,, not that the depression is the same,,, just the mentality.

 

[Stumpy]

I believe we are going to have a very bad depression. I have tried to have a garden this summer, and it was not terribly fruitful, but another way to look at it is that it was a learning experience. I have been reading up about canning and farming. For someone to grow and put up all of their own food is frankly beyond the capability of most people, including myself.

I have to confess that one of the first things I tought of was how would we feed our pets.

 

[werblessd1s]

I don't understand why the government is worrying with bailing out those crooked companies, they should be concerned with the food shortage.

 

[Queen Scoot]

government concered with the food shortage??!! LOL now thats funny...they dont give a flying poop about us and the food shortages!

 

[Mahonri]

Well folks can say what they want... they can call this all hype like Y2K and they can bury their head in the sand but the fact is folks we are in a severe recession and start of a depression.

Hotels in Phoenix are empty.

Business conventions are starting to cancel in droves because airfare costs too much.

Restaurants are almost empty.

Folks have quit buying cars, stopped buying services. Folks are letting their hair grow longer and hair shops are empty. Folks are gettting layed of.

Those are the facts around here.

Illegal aliens are headed back to Mexico in droves because they can't make a living here!

 

[HenSpa]

Okay. This may sound strange. But I have NEVER felt such a push as in the last year to prepare. I felt it about three years ago, but didn't want to live in fear (being a Christian). But God has answered me on that one. That sometimes he lets His people know when to prepare (i.e. Joseph and the coming famine). I had this incredible urge to can fruits/vegetables, learn more about gardening, put some grains/garden seeds up, and start...chickens. I have shared this with some and have been amazed that they have had similar experiences about preparation. Know lots of people starting self-sustainable mini-farms because they're heeding the same "push."

 

[Queen Scoot]

its going to be a rough horrible time......those that arent prepared will be out doing whatever they can to get what food they can....crime is gonna be unreal!