Surviving the Economic Collapse

[ggirod]

Re: Surviving the Economic Collapse

To think that gangsters like Al Capone wore suits with shirts and ties to their gang meetings! If only an Al Capone, a Lucky Luciano, or a Micheal Corleone could have met the garbage in the street gangs of America to-day!

Their children learned the benefits of de-skilling and standards -- why pay for those fine outfits for knee busters when all you need is muscle, a billy club, and a documented procedure.

[shiny!]

Re: Surviving the Economic Collapse

Yes, America is a third world country already.

Glad you Americans are starting to see yourselves in the mirror...as the rest of world has seen you for 20 years.

Is there an ignore feature on these boards for Trolls?

[Wild Style]

Re: Surviving the Economic Collapse

I think it has to do purely with your socioeconomic situation. If you have money and live in Recoleta, it's a different world from what Ferfal describes. If you live on the Upper East Side in Manhattan, it's one world as opposed to some of the dodgier parts of Brooklyn.





That's interesting. But there has been a huge buildup of militarization amongst the police powered by the FIRE-economy financing and the "war on terror" and so I'm not sure we'd see that today at all. In fact I think we wouldn't.

Neighborhoods will be locked down with a "papers please" siege mentality and a great deal of regimentation. You see it now all the time. And people will be all for it. With rationing, public food banks "odd and even" days to buy essentials, etc.

I have two cousins that are NYPD and one friend here in florida that is FPD (Fort Lauderdale Police Department). All have said the same-thing, they are undermanned. Last year the FPD friend told me and I quote "the government has to do something soon, if not these people are going to eat each other." And I have heard the same sentiment from the relatives who are NYPD. So I am not so sure your assumptions will hold true if crap truly did hit the fan. But we shall see.

[lakedaemonian]

Re: Surviving the Economic Collapse

I just saw a re-run of the old movie, Escape from Alcatraz. That famous escape took place in 1962.

What really impressed me was how downright civilized and gentlemenly the inhabitants of Alcatraz were in 1962. If those were the "bad apples" of America in 1962, the country has truly gone to hell in the last forty-seven years.

To think that gangsters like Al Capone wore suits with shirts and ties to their gang meetings! If only an Al Capone, a Lucky Luciano, or a Micheal Corleone could have met the garbage in the street gangs of America to-day!

No offense, but I don't think comparing a movie made in 1962 with actual crime/criminals from the period can be correlated.

Movies/TV from the 60's had to pass some pretty substantial hurdles to be viewed as socially acceptable.

Does that mean prison rape didn't occur because it wasn't portrayed in the movies?

I seriously doubt the darkest aspects of crime/prison didn't just appear in parallel with that HBO show OZ.

[lakedaemonian]

Re: Surviving the Economic Collapse

I have two cousins that are NYPD and one friend here in florida that is FPD (Fort Lauderdale Police Department). All have said the same-thing, they are undermanned. Last year the FPD friend told me and I quote "the government has to do something soon, if not these people are going to eat each other." And I have heard the same sentiment from the relatives who are NYPD. So I am not so sure your assumptions will hold true if crap truly did hit the fan. But we shall see.

I suspect local/state law enforcement is going to be seriously stressed going forward due to their dramatic drops in local/state revenue, their inability to print their way out of trouble, and their toxic pension liabilities.

I doubt we will see any apocalyptic mad max type of stuff other than the odd and embarrassing localized incidents like what happened in Philadelphia in the 80's when the Philly PD "Air Force" dropped a bomb on MOVE and incinerated a city block while expending a couple thousands rounds in the process.

I'm thinking more along the lines of the seedier 70's in some major metro areas like NYC where corruption was very widespread.

We have a lot of high level and sophisticated corruption in the US.....and have been fortunate, due to the recent decades of a fake vaneer of temporary affluence.....but it's ending quickly...and I think the way we think of ourselves as somehow better than other countries with endemic low level and overt corruption is going to change.

Those public servants who didn't make it on the lucrative pension crazy train will be under increasing pressure as we go forward to supplement their inflation battered wages.

Argentina or South Africa like crime is not necessarily going to happen, or happen everywhere.......I think we will see slowly increasing crime rates matched with increasing levels of low level corruption across law enforcement and many other public sector segments out of necessity.

I'm thinking less Mad Max, more Serpico.

A recent trip to South Africa visiting a bunch of ex-military friends from SA and Zim leads me to believe that the US could see some entrepreneurial opportunities for monitored QRF armed response, security consulting/services, and private crime investigation moving forward.

In October, while in SA, I stayed with a friend whose home is like a bunker....including heavy lockable gates between INTERNAL rooms to match the gated external doors/windows, razor wire, high walls, electric fence, security system, dogs, firearms & experience using them.

Unfortunately, the night before I arrived the next door neighbour's somewhat less secure home was penetrated leaving one dead, one wounded.

With some real world experience in high threat environments I'd look at this thread and how to prepare for likely outcomes like I would with insurance.

Having good life insurance, auto insurance, health insurance usuallyu makes sense and has real tangible value.........meteor or godzilla insurance much less so beyond it's "sleep beter at night" intangible value.

I'd prefer expending energy on the likely or somewhat likely scenarios rather than wasting time on unlikely or highly unlikely scenarios.

[Mn_Mark]

Re: Surviving the Economic Collapse

Yes, America is a third world country already.

Glad you Americans are starting to see yourselves in the mirror...as the rest of world has seen you for 20 years.

Why are you glad? Why do you care? I certainly don't care what "the rest of the world" thinks about my country and I never have. It's of no concern to me whether we live in a way that some Scandinavian or some muslim or some South American approves of. I couldn't care less!

What you are, is jealous. Jealous of our power and success and the spread of our culture which has basically become the world international culture. The language of international relations and business is English. Everyone all over the world learns English in school. With few exceptions, leaders all over the world wear western-style power suits when they meet. Even purely symbolic cultural icons like the Emperor of Japan wear western-style clothing when conducting international diplomacy.

My friends have a German exchange student staying with them. He showed me pictures of his hometown in Germany. I asked why the t-shirts he and his friends were wearing all had English language phrases on them. "Oh, all the t-shirts are in English." His favorite show is "Desperate Housewives," which he's been watching avidly for several years in Germany and was all excited about because while he's here he can see the episodes a year before they arrive in Germany.

Hearing this, I understood for the first time why so many people in the rest of the world have this bug up their rears about how Americans are supposedly so arrogant and self-involved. It's because they're watching our television programs and our movies and listening to our music stars. And obviously, we are going to talk about ourselves in our own television shows and movies....and to them, this seems egotistical. I suppose if I watched a lot of, say, Norwegian television programs which would naturally talk about how great Norway is, I might think the Norwegians were arrogant, but it would just be the natural and healthy enthusiasm that any people should have for their own culture, history, and way of life.

In my opinion, we Americans aren't doing anything any more arrogant than anyone in their own countries around the world...it's just that so much more of the world is watching us than is watching any other country on earth. It's the same envy the poor people of any town have for the rich people in town. It's not the rich people's fault. There's no sin in being rich and successful, and nothing to apologize for.

Now we have a cloudier future because we're replacing the racial stock that built the country with people from cultures with an unbroken history of failure (Somalia anyone?) from around the world, and we've been financially foolish, Keynes-style, for decades. And the envious are licking their lips, hoping we will fall. Because if we're brought down lower, they won't feel as bad about themselves. Very human, and very pathetic.

[Jay]

Re: Surviving the Economic Collapse

I recommend this free and fascinating website that contains all the info you ever wanted to know on the criminal mind and how to defeat it: http://www.nononsenseselfdefense.com/propertycrime.html

Holy crap, great site. Scary.

[Master Shake]

Re: Surviving the Economic Collapse

Why are you glad? Why do you care? I certainly don't care what "the rest of the world" thinks about my country and I never have. It's of no concern to me whether we live in a way that some Scandinavian or some muslim or some South American approves of. I couldn't care less!

What you are, is jealous. Jealous of our power and success and the spread of our culture which has basically become the world international culture. The language of international relations and business is English. Everyone all over the world learns English in school. With few exceptions, leaders all over the world wear western-style power suits when they meet. Even purely symbolic cultural icons like the Emperor of Japan wear western-style clothing when conducting international diplomacy.

My friends have a German exchange student staying with them. He showed me pictures of his hometown in Germany. I asked why the t-shirts he and his friends were wearing all had English language phrases on them. "Oh, all the t-shirts are in English." His favorite show is "Desperate Housewives," which he's been watching avidly for several years in Germany and was all excited about because while he's here he can see the episodes a year before they arrive in Germany.

Hearing this, I understood for the first time why so many people in the rest of the world have this bug up their rears about how Americans are supposedly so arrogant and self-involved. It's because they're watching our television programs and our movies and listening to our music stars. And obviously, we are going to talk about ourselves in our own television shows and movies....and to them, this seems egotistical. I suppose if I watched a lot of, say, Norwegian television programs which would naturally talk about how great Norway is, I might think the Norwegians were arrogant, but it would just be the natural and healthy enthusiasm that any people should have for their own culture, history, and way of life.

In my opinion, we Americans aren't doing anything any more arrogant than anyone in their own countries around the world...it's just that so much more of the world is watching us than is watching any other country on earth. It's the same envy the poor people of any town have for the rich people in town. It's not the rich people's fault. There's no sin in being rich and successful, and nothing to apologize for.

Now we have a cloudier future because we're replacing the racial stock that built the country with people from cultures with an unbroken history of failure (Somalia anyone?) from around the world, and we've been financially foolish, Keynes-style, for decades. And the envious are licking their lips, hoping we will fall. Because if we're brought down lower, they won't feel as bad about themselves. Very human, and very pathetic.

Well said, Mark.

[jneal3]

Re: Surviving the Economic Collapse

Now we have a cloudier future because we're replacing the racial stock that built the country with people from cultures with an unbroken history of failure (Somalia anyone?) from around the world,

Agreed with much of your post, but just wondering if you really think that a first order factor in our future's cloudiness is racial impurity? It's the $700B TARP money and Lehman/Merrill/AIG/Madoff that comes to mind as not being perp'd by the darkies...the WASPS in charge (okay, not Madoff) seem to have wrecked the system, not the immigrants.

[Anon21456]

Re: Surviving the Economic Collapse

Well said, Mark.

+1 It was a fantastic post even though I don't agree with everything he said.

[LazyBoy]

Re: Surviving the Economic Collapse

If you have money, why would you hang around for things to get that bad? makes no sense to me.

There are a whole lot of countries that one can escape to.

Where? Especially if you only speak English and have no connections in the destination country.

And how much money are we talking about?

[Master Shake]

Re: Surviving the Economic Collapse

Agreed with much of your post, but just wondering if you really think that a first order factor in our future's cloudiness is racial impurity? It's the $700B TARP money and Lehman/Merrill/AIG/Madoff that comes to mind as not being perp'd by the darkies...the WASPS in charge (okay, not Madoff) seem to have wrecked the system, not the immigrants.

WASPS run The Vampire Squid? Greenspan, Bernanke, and Geithner are WASPS?

[jk]

Re: Surviving the Economic Collapse

Greenspan, Bernanke, and Geithner are WASPS?

they're hired help, technicians. do tptb use turbotax?:rolleyes:

[Master Shake]

Re: Surviving the Economic Collapse

Agreed with much of your post, but just wondering if you really think that a first order factor in our future's cloudiness is racial impurity? It's the $700B TARP money and Lehman/Merrill/AIG/Madoff that comes to mind as not being perp'd by the darkies...the WASPS in charge (okay, not Madoff) seem to have wrecked the system, not the immigrants.

Moreover, it's not about "racial impurity" but culture and acculturation. Immigrants, no matter where they come from, are no longer expected to assimilate to the dominant (Anglo-Saxon) culture. That culture is the foundation of the United States, as well as many of the most successful and desireable nations on the planet. That culture also seems to be the most conducive to the promotion of individual liberty.

[jneal3]

Re: Surviving the Economic Collapse

Moreover, it's not about "racial impurity" but culture and acculturation. Immigrants, no matter where they come from, are no longer expected to assimilate to the dominant (Anglo-Saxon) culture. That culture is the foundation of the United States, as well as many of the most successful and desireable nations on the planet. That culture also seems to be the most conducive to the promotion of individual liberty.

All I can say in response is that the Mexicans who painted my house showed 10x more American work ethic (show up early, work late, no wasting time shooting the s**t with each other) than the white 'skilled tradesman' who did the finish carpentry but showed up at 9:30, left at 3, and apparently billed an eight hour day while listening to WRIF and bullshitting all day. Work, sacrifice, and risk is the foundation of the United States, and I see more of that from the immigrants than the natives, and I'm sure that's been the case throughout the history of this country.