Do we have what we need to self sustain?

If tomorrow every corporation and bank were kicked out or left of their own accord. If the United States were left with nothing but small businesses and we the people. If we had to take charge of our own destiny, restructure everything so that we were dependent upon no other country, could we do it?

Does the United States have the resources to self-sustain? If we needed to could we rebuild our economy without the banksters and big business corruption? Could we cut ties with the countries that use slave labor and sweatshops, and instead fire up the factories at home and produce what we need here?

Is this possible or do we rely need big business and banksters to rule over us?

a reply to: Puppylove

Have a look around: We have the resources, industrial plant, know how and ingenuity. They have the ability to play a rigged Monopoly game to generate fake money out of virtually nothing. Do I think we can survive the exodus of the Monopoly class? Absolutely. Moreover -- I am more certain than ever that the best and brightest of them will join us, regardless. Elon Musk, anyone?

a reply to: Puppylove

I do think it's very doable, but it would require an organized transition into the different lifestyle - and different rules of society in order to operate in this different system.

It would require local communities to combine efforts to grow/forage food

Along with it would come increased bartering activities and different fuel/energy sources as well (no electric company or gas company = different sources of light/heat would be needed).

Interesting concept - if you look at those "Earthship" communities, people are already doing just this, but on a massive scale it would be a whole 'nother story

sorry for all the posts, I don't know how that happened

a reply to: Puppylove

Yes, yes we do.

However, the very vast majority of folks would rather go with status quo.

Walmart/McDonald's/etc. Don't make billions a year in profits for no reason. The folks that whine about big business are the same folks that spend their money there.

a reply to: Puppylove

I think the answer would have to be a resounding ... YES! and quite easily.
I am not saying it would necessarily be at the current levels, but just take a moment and ask yourself:

Who is directly responsible for the current level the world's economic standards.

I am, of course, discounting the current turn down because of the greed and management of Wall Street bankers.

Do you really think any other country could have, or would have, ever made the same impact on the progress of the people of the entire world?

I don't think we do really, we might have most of the natural resources (not all) but I don't think we have the production facilities to handle it. I took clothing for an example, and did a search on indeed. com looking for open industrial sewers jobs... there's jobs there, but I only found one that was related to clothing. The others were all in niche markets which goes along with what my boss told me about the business I worked in for 7 years. it's the only segment of a business that did produce clothing decades ago, but well, the only reason that it has survived this long is because it found a niche market and has a trademarked process to do something no other company had found a way to do... they don't make clothing by the way. also, this company, for the most part, all their sewers do is sew straight lines all day. many of them are beyond retirement age, and the company has a hard time finding replacements for their sewers. many of these sewers probably know how to do more complicated tasks like make clothing, but they aren't being untilized in that way...
but well, here are some examples that I found in the first four pages of my search... this is what we utilize our sewers for.


a company that makes workgloves,

a non-profit adult habitation agency

a company that sew wheelchair covers, seat covers, matress covers, scrubs, ect.

awnings
a packaging company, it's new and I have no idea what they'd need industrial sewers but they are looking for one who is capable of training others, and are willing to pay $45,000/yr.

sewing headbands, but hey, once trained you could very well be able to do this job at home at least part of the time, paid by piecework...
seats for buses and trucks...

a company that it looks like it makes canvas covers for trucks, can't find much information about it but I don't believe they make clothing from canvas.

mattresses

roof covers, fire protection strips, sealing covers, skirts and roof shrouds

hey there's actually one that is sewing designer dresses, it's part time, and a small company, but there is one!!

athletic products, like tumbling mats, gym dividers, along with a few educational development products, like nap mats.

vinyl tonneau covers

we also have a weaving company in the area, but from what I've seen they seem to make silk for another company that makes parachutes.
could some of these companies switch over and produce clothing, ya, probably, but they are small niche companies I think and it would take time and investment to bring them up to the size to be able to mass produce the clothing for the nation, and I don't think that all of their employees would be able to handle the more complicated work. not to mention that many of these companies are probably having trouble finding experienced sewers who are able to mass produce.

at least at first, I think we would be going back to cottage industries that if we were lucky would be able to produce what their own little community needed. it wouldn't be all that bad, since some people would be able to fill the needs and probably end up earning more than they do now, but it would be hard. and then you have to look at all those other things that we used to produce here, that we use everyday, that we now depend on cheap labor from other countries to do for us.

Your OP shows that you have given the idea little thought or research.

You say, "if tomorrow" ....

If that occurred 'tomorrow', 80 % of the citizens of the U.S. would likely be dead in a year. Period.

Without a cash exchange system, that is agreed upon and trusted, the food supply, alone would cause riots inside a week.
There is sufficient food in the major cites for three days. THREE DAYS. That assumes even distribution. Trouble is those armed will take the majority and those unarmed will be left without.

Easy to cite a MacDonald's chain or some service corporation as easily discarded. It's the manufactures and distribution that you fail to address. Big corporations, all. Rail, trucking, cold storage, etc. the massive mechanism that is our infrastructure, utilities etc., all fall under your big corporation scenario.

Seeing you offer no solution other than small mom and pop companies and did this tomorrow? The house of cards that is our economy....and survival is kaput.

One poster called it status quo. I call it survival.

a reply to: dawnstar

Is it really that hard for us to start making clothing here again? I'm sure I could make something passable with no training at all if I needed to. Just because there's not much here now, doesn't mean we can't... reinvent the wheel. # look it up on the internet.

a reply to: Puppylove

Where's the wool or cotton going to come from? Go ahead and make your own clothes except when are you going to grow your own food? Cut the wood for you cooking and heat?
If your down to making your own clothes, your down to every basic need as well. Not to mention self-defense....

a reply to: Puppylove

Your internet service is delivered by those big corporations along with your electricity and most of that does not get produced locally.

a reply to: nwtrucker

We came together as a community and built our nation once before. Am I to believe we've all collectively become to stupid to do it again?

a reply to: Puppylove

like I said, cottage industries, and well, NY state has spent a ton of money, just in my hometown trying to bring industry back into the area. i just spent quit a bit of time going through the genesis of some of the larger manufacturers in the area. ya know, like the apple orchard that produce apples for the juice company that was bribed by the gov't to buy the juice concentrate sold a good part of their land to millers, who built a brewery and then decided it didn't want to be there so sonoco bought it and turned it into a ethonol plant, then NY gave sonoco a nice $700,000 grant/bribe to use a small portion of the plant to produce beer again... or the birdeye plant that produced frozen vegatables is now processes chickens and is owned by a pakistan based company. some tried to use the nestle's plant and produce chocolate again, but went under and that by what I read will be torn down. sealright is now something else and owned by japanese. and most of these transfers involved nice gifts from the gov't to convince them to move in.

could we do it, ya, but it's a shame that so much has been destroyed in what really was a short amount of time! at least if we were forced into depending on ourselves those small cottage industries wouldn't have to compete with the slave labor that is being used now by some of those big companies that moved off and have a chance again.

originally posted by: Puppylove
a reply to: nwtrucker

We came together as a community and built our nation once before. Am I to believe we've all collectively become to stupid to do it again?

Simply put? Yes.

In those days, we started small and built up. Now? We are large, that will result in 'small' again before we build 'up'. That means a lot of souls depart early.

The OP stated 'tomorrow'. That would be a disaster, IMO. To work, it would have to be a slow process, gradual. The whole mess is complicated. One part broken and the whole machine crashes.

I doubt it can even be done, no matter what. I hope I'm wrong, but I honestly don't think so....

You could ask yourself some easy questions.

Does the US have enough of all of the different natural resources to maintain our current standard of living? (Think electronics.)

For the sake of continuing, let's assume we do. Are small businesses going to be able to handle mining/processing these resources in great enough quantities to supply the entire country? Are you OK with the environmental impact that would have?

a reply to: Puppylove

Do we have what we need to self sustain?

If tomorrow every corporation and bank were kicked out or left of their own accord. If the United States were left with nothing but small businesses and we the people. If we had to take charge of our own destiny, restructure everything so that we were dependent upon no other country, could we do it?

Initially? No.
If such should occur, the United States would immediately fall into maniacal panic. People would die daily seeking food and other supply.
At one time, the US had a vast stash of supplies... just in case there was a conflict with the former Soviet Union. But, from the mid 1980s through the early 1990s, these supplies were handed out and the warehouses depleted without restock.

Today, if the nation plunged into a situation where food supplies could not be distributed... there would be mass starvation.

The smart person stocks.

...

I see by the few replies that I read that the OP is being interpreted a number of ways. If the question is....Is it possible for us to be able to sustain ourselves without the current economic infrastructure ? Or more correctly...with a different type of infrastructure not based in consumption/profit ..then the answer imo is....absolutely..

On the other hand...if the question is. Could we sustain ourselves in the event of the sudden collapse of the current infrastructure...then the answer is still yes...but with a huge initial loss of life....particularly for those in urban areas.

Now ....having said that. Let me say this....as I see it....even in the event of a financial collapse...as long as everyone just kept doing their job ( inspite of being told you would get no money ). Then I see no reason why we could not keep goods and services available to everyone...until we could restructure our system to a more suitable one . Yes I understand that the system that allots numbers representing "money" would cease to exist/function...but if we were willing to "pretend" that our plastic cards still worked. We could all just keep getting what we needed. Because yhe FACT of the matter is...the money is not doing ANY real or tangible work.

In other words...just because they say ..there is no more money. Does that mean tractors won't run and fields cant be plowed or planted ? Or drill rigs and refineries won't work anymore to make fuel for the tractors or does it mean that mixers and ovens will no longer work..so now we cannot bake bread ? We would just have to be willing to work for the sake of providing for our needs. Until we could put a better non currency system into place.

But dont you think it would be foolish of us to say...uh oh ! Theres no more money..we better all stay home and kill each other for the things we need...rather then everybody just keep the wheels turning until we put the new system in place...hell since no ones getting paid..we could invite all of our unemployed neighbors to come to work and help us get stuff done...so we could all go home early.

The problem we have is skills. I am 55, can do basic electric, plumbing, carpentry, growing food, sewing, leather work, just by being raised by an old farm boy. I can repair electronics based on my military experience, and do most of the work on my car based on interest. I made my living building engines for 15 years, so also can work metal. Unfortunately our kids and grandkids do not have this experience, and it would take a bit of time for those skills to be taught.