Great Depression of 2016

[oldrooster]

Quote:
But have you not heard, or constitution is a "living" document that can change due to the whims of our elected officals?

 

[Bluebonnet]

Bluebonnet when I was a small child, we still had rationing. I think it worked quite well as things turned out. It was what you might call slim pickings, but people became very inventive with their cooking and mostly we got by. Certainly people in the big cities didn't have gardens but you need very little space to grow at least some of your vegetables and every container was pressed into service and squeezed into any odd corner outside. I remember my mum saying that people were healthier after the war, because the rationing did enable everyone to have a balanced, if frugal, diet.

Today, alleged adults kill each other for the latest Nike sneakers and camp out for days in order to get the latest iPhone, yet fail to make it to family gatherings.

People today do not have that spirit of making due. Some do, but it tends to be the older generation that remembers what America used to be like.

I worry about how the good folks are going to be able to make due.

 

[newfoundland]

People are a lot more resilient than we suppose. As the economy has shrunk and life has become tougher, many young families are having to go back to the old ways in order to survive. Our newspapers are full of frugal yet nutritious menus and there is no shortage of good advice on how to survive a downturn. It seems that everyone is putting on a extra layer and turning the heating down, or walking rather than taking the car for shorter journeys. Shopping around for the best value has become a way of life, with people vying with each other to be the person who spent least on their weekly shop. No one in my neck of the woods ever killed anyone for a pair of Nike trainers. Come to think of it, no one ever killed anyone at all! Out of interest here is a typical adults ration for a week in 1943:

3 pints of milk
3/4 - 1 pound of meat
3 ounces of cheese
4 ounces of bacon/ham
2 ounces of tea
8 ounces of sugar
2 ounces of butter
2 ounces of cooking fat.
Bread was not rationed and neither were basic vegetables although often in short supply. Additionally, you were allowed 16 points a week which could be used to buy canned food. Unfortunately you needed as many as 24 points for a can of peaches. Interestingly for us on BYC, your were allowed 1 egg a month!!!

Could we do it all again? If we had to, of course we could!

 

[Bluebonnet]

People are a lot more resilient than we suppose. As the economy has shrunk and life has become tougher, many young families are having to go back to the old ways in order to survive. Our newspapers are full of frugal yet nutritious menus and there is no shortage of good advice on how to survive a downturn. It seems that everyone is putting on a extra layer and turning the heating down, or walking rather than taking the car for shorter journeys. Shopping around for the best value has become a way of life, with people vying with each other to be the person who spent least on their weekly shop. No one in my neck of the woods ever killed anyone for a pair of Nike trainers. Come to think of it, no one ever killed anyone at all! Out of interest here is a typical adults ration for a week in 1943:

3 pints of milk
3/4 - 1 pound of meat
3 ounces of cheese
4 ounces of bacon/ham
2 ounces of tea
8 ounces of sugar
2 ounces of butter
2 ounces of cooking fat.
Bread was not rationed and neither were basic vegetables although often in short supply. Additionally, you were allowed 16 points a week which could be used to buy canned food. Unfortunately you needed as many as 24 points for a can of peaches. Interestingly for us on BYC, your were allowed 1 egg a month!!!

Could we do it all again? If we had to, of course we could!

If we have to we could, but will we? I'm not talking folks like us, I mean your average American in a big city. How are folks like that going to survive?

Before we made out because folks knew each other and worked together. They also had gardens. The attitude of the current generation is just so out of tune with what is a natural way of life.

Back then, folks knew how to survive if they had to. Outside of looting, which will only work in the short term, I honestly do not believe that the majority of my generation would have a clue on what to do. Imagine if the internet went down and no one had access to the information we have at our fingertips now. Imagine if our food supplies were cut for one reason or another or if there was some other long term disaster. I fear that a lot of Americans would die in such a situation.

 

[rebelcowboysnb]

There are parts of the US where people no only think they are entitled to a nice living but also think they should be able to take what thy want.. Just hang out on twitter next time things are bad. You can find tweet after tweet of people hoping for a riot to break out. Talking about geting the latest X-box or TV for free.

 

[newfoundland]

Just as hardship can bring out the worst in people it can also bring out the best. If we didn't have the internet we would have to use traditional ways of finding out information. We would turn back to using libraries and sharing information and ideas with each other. During the war, our government published leaflets and booklets on everything from growing your own to keeping a pig. Radio broadcasts gave people the latest news. Various organisations such as the Women's Institute gave talks and demonstrations on preparing meals from rations, and the Red Cross gave classes in First Aid. This is only two examples of the way information and skills were disseminated amongst the population. Many millions of them lived in cities and had never grown a vegetable in their lives, but they got on with it anyhow and parks and open spaces were dug up for vegetable gardens. It is amazing how staring defeat in the face concentrates the mind. When really up against it people turn and fight back. As for looting surely that is a matter for the police. I imagine that whatever happens to the economy there will still be a police force to enforce the law?

 

[rufus]

I am afraid we are talking apples and oranges here. The people of Britain are a different type of people. They cooperate and share. London was ruined by the blitz; Detroit was ruined by its inhabitants. The day those people don't get their EBT or SNAP card accounts filled, we will be in big trouble. They will not be denied.

Look at Detroit. It is a burned out hulk. The biggest industry in town is the dope business. Then look just about 150 miles to the northeast, and there is Toronto, a vibrant city of working people. They may have a doper mayor, but basically, the city is neat and orderly. They haven't rioted and burned the town yet.

What is the difference? Is it the international border? Or is it the type of people living there?

 

[Dwkuska]

Rufus,,correct me if I'm wrong but under the Patriot Act if you have more than 3 weeks of food stockpiled I think it's illegal. I know some organization can enforce that rule,or law,,

Can you site the place in teh Patriot act where it states that? Only reference I can find to what you claim are on shock value blogs and columns.

 

[rufus]

Well, there is this:

I don't know what he is quoting from. I remember seeing this video, and thinking that some religious groups encourage their members to stock food and supplies just in case. So, now the looters just need to go down the membership list of those churches.

 

[newfoundland]

Personally I think people are much the same the world over. There is good things and bad about us all collectively and individually. I am a great believer in a welfare state and I think society does have an inherent duty to support those who through illness, old age or disability face hardship. Having said that I do agree that there are those who play the system and are intent on living off the state. I still believe however, that benefits should exist for those who through circumstances beyond their control have fallen on hard times. It is only fair however, that these payments are tightly regulated and not wasted on the workshy.

Recently, here the government has put every person who receives disability benefit under the spotlight. Many have had their benefits reduced or removed as they are deemed to be capable of work. Also, benefits are a lot smaller here, allowing recipients to live a very careful and fairly frugal life with little left over for anything but essentials. The idea is that no one should be better off on benefits than if they were working. It all sounds fair doesn't it? The real irony is that jobs are scarce and many are forced to take low paid part time jobs. Until the government solves that problem there is little prospect of improvement for many. No one rioted when they had their benefits stopped but there was a great deal of grumbling and writing to the newspapers.