By Branson Smith
The issue of economic collapse is now readily apparent to most people this past month as all the instabilities of the Everything Bubble I have been warning about for the past few years are rising quickly to the surface under cover of the coronavirus pandemic. While the evidence clearly shows that the pandemic itself is a minor threat, a far bigger danger is the economic collapse that is taking place in tandem. COVID-19 did not cause the collapse; it was always there simmering. But the pandemic does offer a perfect scapegoat for the globalists to pin the crash on, along with conservatives and nationalists in general.
In other words, we have two separate but immediate threats in front of us: Future pandemic controls as well as an economic implosion.
I mainly want to address the economic situation because it is my top concern for the preparedness community. I don’t think there are many Americans around today who have lived through a full-blown financial collapse. Most people barely remember the near-miss of the 2008 credit crash; everything could have gone down right then and there, yet the central banks decided to drag out the bubble for another 10 years. Why? Probably because they wanted to create the largest bubble possible, and thus the biggest collapse in history. The greater the chaos the more apt the masses will be to accept their “new world order” solutions once the ashes settle.
This is likely where we are right now… at the very precipice of full-blown chaos. It is important for people to understand that these things take time; even when moving quickly they do not happen overnight. We still have perhaps another year of structure and stability (rule of law) before a breakdown begins, if the current trend continues as it has been. Unless there is a sudden and dramatic reversal in the trend, it is time for preppers to start considering the worst-case scenario.
The following is a list of the top 10 threats you will face in the first six months of an economic breakdown, some of them tangible and some of them psychological…
1) Supply chain collapse
This is the most obvious danger and I think many conservatives and preparedness people understand the basic premise. However, I see a lot of assumptions out there about how long this might last. The general public is mostly oblivious to supply chain stresses, and many of them assume that if something does go wrong, it will be nothing more than a 2-to-3-week annoyance. This delusion is going to cripple a lot of Americans and really hurt them in the long run.
Here is how it will probably play out…
The government will continue emergency welfare packages which will first feed tax dollars into the corporate sector as well as supply individual stimulus checks. The problem is, these checks will be limited, probably lasting about a month at most and new stimulus checks will not be approved often. At the same time, if new lockdowns are initiated by the federal government under Biden the supply chain will be greatly diminished and the stores that do remain open will be limited in the goods they carry.
The government will probably also issue some form of rationing or EBT-style aid to the public. You may receive a debit card after application, and this will allow you to collect rations at a centralized big box store such as a Walmart or a Costco. These rations will start out as ample and then swiftly shrink over time. Within a couple of months, they will be highly limited and not enough to keep people from starvation.
Even if you are receiving financial subsidies from the government there may not be many stores open to purchase goods anyway. What is left of small businesses will be decimated unless they refuse en masse to comply with restrictions, and they are protected by their communities.
If the supply chain goes down, financial aid might be useless.
2) Travel lockdowns and checkpoints
This is more of a pandemic-related danger than an economic danger, but it is important to keep in mind as a threat level marker. If you see checkpoints going up around your community to randomly compel testing for COVID, then the situation has become dire. Avoid them at all costs. If these checkpoints become a threat to your safety or the safety of your family, they may need to be forcefully removed from your area.
Once travel restrictions are in place, moving longer distances will be almost impossible unless you want to try to remove every checkpoint along the way. If you need to be somewhere post-collapse, then you should be going there right now.
3) FEMA response measures
You will eventually see some kind of FEMA response in your region unless you live in a highly remote location. They will set up shop in a centralized area, at first to distribute government rations and some medical care. In order to get these supplies, you will undoubtedly have to submit to medical passports, contact tracing, background checks for political affiliations, etc. They will claim this is necessary because of the pandemic and “terrorist threats.” They will also say that agreeing to the process ensures you will receive your rations “much faster.”
If you have children they will want as much data as possible on them, and they will also require myriad vaccinations before you are allowed to sign them up for government aid. Whatever you do, do not sign yourself or your family into this system if you can help it. And do not allow anyone to inject you with anything during a crisis event. There is a greater chance of you contracting an illness from one of these aid centers than you being protected from illness.
Eventually, FEMA and the CDC will go from philanthropists to enforcers. In order to get any rations whatsoever, they will require more and more personal info as well as require you to jump through more hoops. They will test for any signs of illness every time you pick up rations and may demand you intern in a medical camp. If left unchecked, these agencies will start going door to door in urban and suburban areas, just as similar agencies did in China last year.
Whatever happens, do not allow yourself to become a refugee or dependent on the government. You are only setting yourself up to be victimized.
4) Finding out who your real friends are
You might have people you think you can rely on in times like these, and perhaps you have been discussing preparedness plans with some of them for years. Most of them will be reliable, but do not be surprised when at least one or two of your friends or allies disappoints you greatly. Crisis events bring out the true character in people, and some of them deep down are just plain lazy, greedy, arrogant, narcissistic, self-obsessed or even sociopathic and violent, and there’s not much you can do to help them or change them.
The most valuable commodities during a crisis event are loyalty and dependability. Even if a person has some traits that annoy you, if they are loyal and dependable then those other issues need to fall by the wayside. Anyone who is not loyal and dependable, cut ties with them and let them be on their way. They will find themselves in a world of hurt due to their inability to see the bigger picture.
Also, watch out for tinpot dictators; people who assume they are going to be the big kahuna once the crisis hits. Most decisions within a group are going to be arrived at through reason and discussion, not handed down by decree. The only situation I can see in which orders must be given in top-down fashion would be in combat situations, in which case people with proven experience should be in charge at that moment and in that capacity alone.
Just because someone was in the military does not mean they have any combat experience or training, and there are a lot of blowhards out there that exaggerate their experience. Make sure you identify and remove any stolen valor fakes from your group as quickly as possible. There is no room in a crisis like this for frauds and narcissists.
5) Crime rate explosion
Expect crime to continue to rise exponentially, even if the government is providing some kind of welfare or rationing. There will inevitably be people who will try to take from others because they refused to prepare ahead of time. There are even people who will claim they are entitled to what you have because you prepared and they did not. You will be called a “hoarder” and people will try to rationalize taking from you.
If you don’t have a group or community kind to rely on for security then you have limited options if people come for your supplies. I have met many preppers that still think they are going to go “gray man” and hide in the mountains throughout the collapse. This is not going to work. Someone will stumble on you, and your family will be ill-equipped to handle the threat if they come after you. All the preps in the world will not save you if you don’t have your security situation planned out.
Understand that confrontation is built into economic collapse; you will not be able to avoid it. One day a group of people will try to take your preps. Count on it. Make sure you have family, friends and neighbors who are prepared, trained and ready for defense when things go awry.
6) You won’t be able to help all people, but be ready to help some people
If you have a conscience and aren’t a sociopath, then like most of us you will encounter dilemmas and psychological struggles when people are in need. There are some people that you can and should help, but there are many people you will not be equipped to help. Knowing which is which will be the hard part. Knowing your limitations will be key.
I don’t personally believe that being unprepared should necessarily be a death sentence for a person. Not everyone has foresight or exposure to the same information we do. They may also have a highly useful skillset that could be traded for goods. It all depends on the details of the scenario. Children are especially innocent in all of this, and I could not condemn a child for being unprepared because their parents were ignorant or arrogant and refused to take the threat seriously.
That said, I recognize that there will be times when I will want to help someone, but I won’t have the means to do so. Hopefully, if I can’t, there will be someone else who can. The world cannot function without some charity, just be sure that you make your charity count. Don’t let disaster harden your heart. Remain vigilant, remain secure, but also try to remain human.
7) Local officials
It depends on what kind of community you live in; if you live in a predominantly leftist state or county, then do not be surprised when local political officials and law enforcement officers try to assert authority even when rule of law has gone out the window and they are no longer relevant.
Some of these officials will be good people and some of them will try to take advantage of their positions to institute dominance over the community. Localization and community preparedness are going to be keys to survival, but only if voluntary. And the people who are in charge now may be completely unequipped to deal with the reality of the crisis later.
The people who will end up “leading” are the people who prepared ahead of time; the people with cool heads and the ability to reason through a disaster. Just because someone was in charge before the crisis does not mean they will be in charge after the crisis. It might be necessary for your community to vote in new leadership post-collapse.
8) Utilities go down
Rolling blackouts will be the norm, if not a total electrical failure. With economic chaos, high crime and government interference, there is a good chance that utility workers will not be on the job to repair lines when they go down.
Water is the most important utility, and if you do not have a way to get water should the grid go down, you had better find one immediately. Water storage is a good stopgap, but water collection is needed for the long term. A simple rain collection system using your gutters and plastic barrels would do the trick, or a large tarp draining into a barrel. Make sure you boil or filter any water you gather.
If you have a well and pump, make sure you have a generator with 5,000 watts or more along with as much gasoline as you can store. Running the pump for 30 minutes a day would allow you to get more than enough water and take care of any bathing, cleaning and chores.
A small solar system with deep cycle batteries or a backpack system with a large lithium battery pack can be used to charge essentials like batteries for flashlights, radios, etc. When utilities do go down, don’t expect them to go back up for quite some time.
9) Organized looters
Basic crime is one thing, but organized looting is another. What I mean by “organized” is people who are trained and motivated. There are people out there with combat skills that will group up to take from others. Count on it. If you live in a rural area with difficult terrain then you might be safer, but also keep in mind that the looters that move into these areas deliberately will probably have the experience needed to survive in them. That is to say, rural preppers will run into less looting, but when they do encounter looters, they will be far more skilled and dangerous.
Dealing with these people will require community security, including ham radio networks and observation posts operating 24/7. You have to be able to see them coming before they can get close. Dogs and alarm systems can help, but manpower is what is really needed.
Expect these types of looters to observe for extended periods of time. They will watch for patterns in your security and in your daily routines. Make sure you randomize your patterns and security as much as possible to keep the bad guys guessing.
10) The first winter
The first winter after the crash will be very difficult for many unless there is some kind of government subsidies and aid, and as noted, that will come with many strings attached. In spring, summer and fall there is always food available if you know how to look for it. Wild edibles even in suburban areas are available and people without supplies can still survive to a point. Home gardens can be established and even if they are new, they can still grow enough food to supplement existing supplies. When the first winter arrives, all of this will change.
Hunters in rural regions will have an advantage here because animals are still available even in the worst weather conditions. However, there will be competition, and straying far from home might not be an option because of security concerns. Unless you live in a very warm climate, protein from hunting will be the only food that can be gathered at this time. After a while, finding animals will become more and more difficult as the surge of hunters drives them to harder-to-reach locations.
Grow as much food as you can in the warmer months. Foods like potatoes, carrots, onions and other root vegetables will store for long periods of time. Also, grow sprouts indoors to get vitamins in the winter.
The cold will also bring with it heating issues. If you rely completely on electric heat, you are in trouble if utilities go down (as we witnessed in Texas recently). At the very least, get a large propane tank (300 pounds or more) right now and use it for heating in the winter. People who live in southern parts of the U.S. will have less trouble with this, but arctic blasts do travel far south, and they have been doing it more often recently. Don’t take chances, have a contingency plan.
Get propane or perhaps coal in non-wooded regions. Get wood and a wood stove if you live near the forest. Have saws or a chainsaw ready to cut and collect fuel for the next winter. Always plan ahead and get your heat, water and food supplies established well before the first frost arrives. Once the first winter is behind you, you will know where things stand, with your survival situation as well as with the country in general. If you follow the guidelines I have listed above, your chances of survival will be greatly increased.
