When Government Makes Hard Times Worse

The financial sector is depressed, and banks are not lending money as easily. Many employers are choosing bankruptcy protection to re-organise, and are laying off workers. Companies are cutting back on the number of retail stores and outlets, and even the largest corporations and regional governors are traveling to Washington DC with hat in hand, looking for a bailout. Is it another great depression?

Not yet. But the new government of "hope and change" has not yet taken total control, so a watchful waiting period is in order. Never underestimate the ability of government to make any bad situation worse, particularly after Al Franken joins the Senate, and the narcissist-elect fires up his scarcity engine. Much worse.

When we think of "survival", we usually are thinking about wilderness survival. Basic outdoor survival is important, and you should understand the basic tools:

1. Knife: Sharp sturdy blade, multi-tool a plus
   
2. Fire Starter and Tinder: Butane lighter, Firesteel, etc.
   
3. Metal Cup or Can: Drinking and heating/cooking container
   
4. First Aid Kit: Simple bandages, antiseptic, ointment, tape, latex gloves
   
5. Plastic Trash Bag: Can work as poncho, simple shelter
   
6. Water Purification: Iodine, Aqua Pure, Bleach, light-weight filters etc.
   
7. Backpackers Hammock: Hanging bivy
   
8. Whistle: Combination whistle, compass, magnifier, etc.
   
9. Flashlight: With means to recharge, manual, solar, cig. lighter, etc
   
10. Protein Bars: High Calorie Type, avoid type that melts easily
    

But most of us live in cities, so what do you need to be concerned about in an urban environment? Below is an example of different commercially available kits for urban survival.

* Personal survival kits -typically, these kits provide for one person for 1-3 days. If you are only interested in a small, inexpensive kit, this is the type of kit you should look at. These kits also include student kits that are designed for kids to leave at school.
* Auto emergency kit - used in cars, busses and trucks. These kits usually are packed in a hard plastic case that protects that contents from impact
* Home survival kit - these kits can sustain from 1-4 persons for 72 hours. These kits can be packed in backpacks or hard plastic containers. These are the most popular kits for families.
* Office emergency kits - these kits are designed for small offices from 5-100 people for 3 days. Most of these kits are packed in hart plastic containers.
* School survival kits - these are specialized kits for schools and other organizations. These kits contain survival supplies for lock down and other special situations. _UrbanSurvival

Basic services in many cities are apt to break down under strain. Detroit is an example of a continually broken down city (and not just their football team). Soon many other cities will be joining Detroit in that category. Corruption in city halls and state capitals diverts needed resources away from vital services, and into the hands of elected officials and their family/friends/cronies. Illinois and Chicago are excellent examples of such corruption. Your police and fire departments, water and sewer services, gas and electric supply, and garbage pickup, may soon become intermittent as in many nations overseas. Be prepared.

Soon, the narcissist-elect will become the narcissist-in-chief, and Washington DC -- already corrupt -- will become even worse. Currently, the US military is the only branch of government that attempts to hold itself to high standards of efficiency. Under the new reich of hope and change, watch the military degrade as it did under Carter and Clinton. Without the US military, foreign disasters will go unrelieved. Even worse, national disasters such as hurricane Katrina will go much longer without robust relief services. Be prepared.

Entire generations of Americans have let their personal competencies and preparations for hard times suffer, convinced that should worse come to worse, the government will always take care of them. Far too many Americans are relying on government retirement services, health care services, and other government supports. They appear unaware that a new type of government is taking over, a government of complete and utter incompetents.

What do you do when the power goes off? Wait for it to come back on? What if it doesn't come back on? What happens in your hometown then? How short is the fuse on the powderkeg where you live? Factor in gas and water outages. Trash piling up, sewage backing up, fuel for vehicles running out. Supermarkets running out of food, even WalMart running out of supplies. What do you do?