Economic Collapse is imminent. Finalize your preps now.

a reply to: MOMof3

Which one?

They are at different time scales as well. One is the DJIA, the other is brent crude.

The point is that this was utterly predictable, both drop and stabilization.

a reply to: MOMof3

The bottom one, the oil. But, the top one is starting to erode. Neither good signs I suspect for the economy and retirements?

a reply to: pl3bscheese

Sorry, meant that last post in response to you.

You have to back way out to gain a sense of things. The DOW was never 16K prior to the 2010s, is that a good or bad thing? Any one metric must be measured in relation to all the other variables within the economy as a whole. A higher Dow can mean a number of things, as can a lower Dow.

The "erosion" you mention, I think you are referring to eroding standards of living, or inflation in general. There was worries of a deflationary spiral some years ago, actually, and it depends on which products you're focusing on as to which way a value is traveling. The rate at which we're overall inflating is not fully aligned with the rate of GDP growth, ie ever so slight loss of standards of living.

It's debatable, but the quality of many Americans lives are much better now than they were in previous generations.

a reply to: pl3bscheese

"It's debatable, but the quality of many Americans lives are much better now than they were in previous generations."

I don't think what is debatable is the stress level keeping up with the necessities. My ww2 parents were not rich, but they could leave the farm and find jobs plentiful. Then if they fell on a bad time, the farm was there to go back to. That way of life started to end as boomers grew up. But there were not that many bad times for boomers til the 80's.

a reply to: MOMof3

It ebbs and flows. Imagine life in the 30s and 40s before WW2 ended. We have so much more opportunities. I think the stress is more psychological. People perceive loss from an imagined baseline needed to fit their own beliefs of what's neccessay.

a reply to: pl3bscheese

Sir, I think you out of touch of what is happening in america, to the unwashed masses who do not gamble in the markets. Base line is what is for dinner tomorrow.

a reply to: MOMof3

No way. I'm living it. Things are so much better in so many ways.

Here, let me give you a rundown on where I'm coming from. If I average out my work-week hours of my day job on a seasonal basis, I'm putting in about 50-55hrs a week. Some weeks I'll put in 4 out of 7, some weeks see more like a 10-11 day stretch. I sometimes work all day, shower up and drive out of town to push through the nite 200-300 miles away for a quick project, then drive back early AM, take a power nap, and push through the next day. It's fun!

Outside of this I better myself. Come home and learn, absorb, and take on gigs. I've been able to take on more jobs because of the investment in my education over the last couple of years. I look to cars, and know that a freaking 25k lower end car is of the same degree of engineering precision as an 80k high end luxury a couple decades ago. Kids are driving these as-if porches, and they're managing their debt greater than the kids of a decade ago.

If I settled for a 40 hour work week job leading me to nowhere whatsover, my outlook would be different, but I've actively worked to position myself for more opportunity over the years. A lot of this has to do with how you handle perceived losses, and how resilient you are in the face of uncertainty, and no-win situations in the short term. I've reinforced my position, and extended efforts into providing more options that only grow over time.

When I see new online coursework, bootcamps, online collaboration projects, extend your resume on the free... it's just so unbelievably better for those who are of at least average intellect and willing to adapt. Vehicles get better gas mileage, the credit rating of the nation as a whole is improving by a wide margin... tech that would have been oh so expensive a decade prior now out of your home, into your hands, affordable to many.

Kids are more happy, and more sociable. Heck, society as a whole has improved it's oh so obvious in my day to day interactions. I don't know what's gone wrong with your life, or why you can't take part in the huge opportunities out there, but for someone with my kind of psyche, the world is like a playground of wonder and joy, where by all you have to do is be who you are and put in efforts, and doors open up all around you.

a reply to: Gazrok

One thing for sure is economic collapse is always imminent on ATS. That being said always think it a good idea to be as sufficient as you can be and learn new skills in survival.

Have spent a long time now trying to do this and its not an easy thing. I try and grow some of my own food and make preserves and ferment food stuff like that.

It takes a lot of learning and practise. These are skills you need and its best to use them to get good at them.

a reply to: pl3bscheese

I am retired, take care of a disabled husband and help feed the food stressed working families in my community. We went through hard times, but could always find a decent paying wage. That is gone except maybe in the big cities. The wages do not keep up with the cost of rent. We even have beggars on our streets, never saw it before 2008 crash. There are two different americas.

a reply to: MOMof3

There has been a shift in demographics in the US. There are now more in urban areas than rural. This is for a reason. There is too much opportunity in highly dense areas, and not enough opportunity for many elsewhere. People need to adapt, ie... move where there is opportunity.

a reply to: pl3bscheese

It was not that way when the railroads went from town to town. All that land that was taken, just sitting there now. Then the wheels stopped in the late 70's and the towns. How do people move with no money? It always took us hundreds of dollars to move our family to a different location. And how would that solve the problem with most of population competing in just a few cities for jobs and housing?

originally posted by: MOMof3
a reply to: pl3bscheese

How do people move with no money?

They have two feet.

It always took us hundreds of dollars to move our family to a different location. And how would that solve the problem with most of population competing in just a few cities for jobs and housing?

I'm sorry, but what? This isn't logic, it's a defeatist attitude. I'm not here to try and solve unemployment, it's not my country to run. People are free to compete and get whatever jobs they can manage.

I walked 8 miles from the job site last week because it was best for the companies scheduling. The easiest moves are when you have so few possessions. I've managed to move from one side of the state to the other on very little more than once. Get rid of the junk, open a garage sell, and take a bus or whatever else you can. You're talking about people who already are panhandling and struggling. That's a slow death atmosphere. The only real solution is to consolidate their assets into liquid funds, and get out of town.

My parents did just this from a small town in Louisiana to Texas 30 years ago.

a reply to: pl3bscheese

We moved every 18 months for 20 years with union construction job and three kids. You live in an world that is going to come crashing on you because you are not aware. Bye, best of luck.

originally posted by: MOMof3
a reply to: pl3bscheese

You live in an world that is going to come crashing on you because you are not aware.

The world you perceive is not in fact what exists, it's what you choose to focus on. You have chosen unwisely. Not my deal.

a reply to: MOMof3

Yeah, things are tough but I have to agree in part with Pl3bscheese you have to let go in order to be free. Cliché I know. I've also moved probably 30 times in my life, one cost me about 10 grand, trying to keep all my worldly possessions. I've also moved with a garbage bag of clothes on my back. Both worked out, but less is more I have come to realize and I would have saved myself a lot of headache if I had stuck to that mantra.

Depending on where you move to, there is a lot of opportunity in rural areas. In fact, many rural areas have a hard time finding employees because the pool of employees to choose from is so small. The town I live in always has employment opportunities. Not necessarily high wages or benefits for all positions but as in anything, some do, some don't but people here live well and are happy. They're not moving to the cities because that isn't a lifestyle they want. A small town with cheap rent, a thrift store and the many auctions in spring, summer and fall, can easily and cheaply assist in a start over. The 'easy' relaxed life in small towns is worth a fortune in my opinion and I wouldn't trade it for the ANYTHING.

The only thing holding you back is fear. It also doesn't sound like you really want to leave your area, that's a major stake in staying put regardless of anything else for so many. Feel free to msg me.

a reply to: [post=20464673]StoutBroux[/pos

I am retired. I help people now. Tell me your town and I will send about 6 families to you. I need money for travel, food, housing and utility deposits. I guess they can go naked so don't they pack too much.

a reply to: MOMof3

Please check your ATS mail.

I'm just hoping I've got about 4 years or so until this hits. That, I could live with, should have most of the main items on my to do list handled then, and be pretty situated to weather it.

So far, the band-aid fixes seem to be holding. Again, I really want to be wrong.

The overfinancialization of the dutch stock market and faulty economic system based on financial services and depraved banking may roll-over and definitively collapse before the end of May. That will drag the already bankrupt German financial and banking system like a brick down the marianna trenches! With it the EU will collapse into complete chaos and civil war, leaving full way and space to the emerging economic and military powers of asia.