# what signs do you see pointing to bad times



## mickbear (Apr 9, 2009)

What signs do you see pointing to bad times ahead? 
My wife and i have allways been the types that were very self supporting.we have a large garden,chickens,honey bees,Ect.. that we've had for years.we have allways had good paying jobs,we tend to stay to our selfs out here in rural central GA,but we've been noticing how things seem to be changing for the worse.
i know times are hard right now for a lot of people but is it just me or are things realy changing and what do ya'll see as signs that things may get worse before they get better

thanks
mick


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## HozayBuck (Jan 27, 2010)

*Hi Mick*

And welcome... my advice is to start reading every post in this forum and that will give you a jump start on most folks..but to me it sounds like you folks are doing everything right already... just stockpile what you can't grow, and read, read , read.. there is more bad information on the net then good I think, but there is good info in here.. some may go of the deep end ( :wave but you can't help but be better off for spending time here..


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## mickbear (Apr 9, 2009)

HozayBuck said:


> And welcome... my advice is to start reading every post in this forum and that will give you a jump start on most folks..but to me it sounds like you folks are doing everything right already... just stockpile what you can't grow, and read, read , read.. there is more bad information on the net then good I think, but there is good info in here.. some may go of the deep end ( :wave but you can't help but be better off for spending time here..


i'm glad i found this site and have realy enjoyed reading all the different information.a lot of good information i might add.


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## HozayBuck (Jan 27, 2010)

mickbear said:


> i'm glad i found this site and have realy enjoyed reading all the different information.a lot of good information i might add.


Well there ya go!! keep reading and ask all the questions you want..somebody will have the answer...or at least "AN" answer..lol..

Again, welcome and enjoy!


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## gypsysue (Mar 27, 2010)

mickbear said:


> What signs do you see pointing to bad times ahead?
> My wife and i have allways been the types that were very self supporting.we have a large garden,chickens,honey bees,Ect.. that we've had for years.we have allways had good paying jobs,we tend to stay to our selfs out here in rural central GA,but we've been noticing how things seem to be changing for the worse.
> i know times are hard right now for a lot of people but is it just me or are things realy changing and what do ya'll see as signs that things may get worse before they get better
> 
> ...


Hi, welcome to the forum! Glad to have you with us. Sounds like you have a lot going for you, with your jobs, garden and all. 

What sort of things do you notice changing for the worse?

Those are the kind of things to keep in mind when you make decisions about prepping.


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## tortminder (Oct 15, 2008)

Hi Mick and welcome.
To address your original question, I believe it comes down to a few things.
1. Unlike you and yours, many, if not most have lost the skills to do for themselves. This makes them more and more dependent on the "Goobermint".
2. Uncle Sugar is bankrupt and the money and "Link card", (used to be food stamps), will sooner or later stop flowing. When that does happen, (not if, but when), there WILL be civil unrest.
3. The weather world-wide has caused a reduction in harvests... not only in the northern/western hemisphere but world-wide, (rice harvest in the far east is down drastically). That is, for the most part, one of the main driving forces behind the radical increase in food prices.
4. The fiat money system is collapsing world-wide and nation-states, (China, U.S. and others), are becoming protectionist regarding their currencies. People are starting to wake up to the fact that their "money" is back by, and therefore worth nothing. Loss of confidence in the fiat currency is historically what has been one of the last stages in societal collapse.
5. Even the "sheeple" are starting to wake up some. Costco and Walmart now are selling "long-term food storage" packages. The drive-by media is starting to run stories preparing the populace for when "evil things this way come".

Being on this site, (and other like-minded venues) and having a "prepper" mindset puts you ahead of 99% of the rest of the population. Looks like you have a great start. Just remember that preparedness is a lot like eating an elephant; if you try to swallow it whole, you will choke. The only way to eat an elephant is one small bit at a time... over time.

Again, welcome to the community, (or as the signature of a friend of mine says on another forum; "Come over to the dark side... we have cookies!). :2thumb::2thumb::welcome:


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## mickbear (Apr 9, 2009)

tortminder said:


> Hi Mick and welcome.
> To address your original question, I believe it comes down to a few things.
> 1. Unlike you and yours, many, if not most have lost the skills to do for themselves. This makes them more and more dependent on the "Goobermint".
> 2. Uncle Sugar is bankrupt and the money and "Link card", (used to be food stamps), will sooner or later stop flowing. When that does happen, (not if, but when), there WILL be civil unrest.
> ...


great post--thats the type of things we have noticed.after reading a lot of post here ya'll sure have a ton of information that you share with other like minded people,i find that fantastic.


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## HarleyRider (Mar 1, 2010)

What signs do I see pointing to bad times? Tune in to your local newscast and pick one at random.


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## NaeKid (Oct 17, 2008)

HozayBuck said:


> Well there ya go!! keep reading and ask all the questions you want..somebody will have the answer...or at least "AN" answer..lol..
> 
> Again, welcome and enjoy!


... or maybe just an opinion as well ... :scratch


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## GroovyMike (Feb 25, 2010)

what signs?

All of them.


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## tortminder (Oct 15, 2008)

GroovyMike said:


> what signs?
> 
> All of them.


Ya mean like "No Left Turn" or "Your Tax Dollars At Work" or "Dead End"?:gaah:


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## sailaway (Mar 12, 2009)

Lots of forclosed homes in my town, most people getting food stamps and metro/section8 housing. There are no living wage jobs around either.


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## Clarice (Aug 19, 2010)

They say there are no bread lines yet........the food stamp program is maxed out......hence your new bread lines. There are no jobs, housing is down the toilet, prices on everything are going up, our government doesn't have a clue. These are the signs I see. What bothers me more than anything is the lack of concern the adverage person shows, they don't want to even hear their world could change over night. Just keep prepping and don't tell anyone or you could end up a target. Shhh!


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## *Andi (Nov 8, 2009)

The new bread line ... has started ...

I heard on the radio the other day of a few places that are giving out food boxes. Looks like (around here) some can not make it with only food stamps. The boxes had basic foods ... dry beans, taters, apples (seconds from local farmers)

So you know if folks are standing in line for dry beans ... things are bad.


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## kyfarmer (Feb 22, 2009)

Crap like that school shooting today, what the crap is that. A coward pure scum. Some nut or something else, we will see. It's crap like this that tell me that people are close to the breaking point. No kids hurt bad, if not for the plain joe's, who knows what would have happened.


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## Murph (Aug 20, 2010)

When the government revises the jobs lost in the economy for 19 out of 20 months for the worse and the unemployment rate goes down because the government no longer counts the people who are no longer looking for jobs because there are none, you know the :shtf:

oh wait...


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## gypsysue (Mar 27, 2010)

Murph said:


> When the government revises the jobs lost in the economy for 19 out of 20 months for the worse and the unemployment rate goes down because the government no longer counts the people who are no longer looking for jobs because there are none, you know the :shtf:
> 
> oh wait...


yeah....

The only people the government has fooled is themselves.


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## *Andi (Nov 8, 2009)

Mine son finished his schooling back a few months ago (home school) . He has been looking for a "real job" for more than a year... no luck ...

Unemployment in our area ... over twenty percent. He has been told that when things turn around they will give him a call ... till then he has only the odd job here or there ... So if you add the number of people looking for their first job ... What would the numbers be????


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## UncleJoe (Jan 11, 2009)

Clarice said:


> They say there are no bread lines yet........the food stamp program is maxed out......hence your new bread lines. There are no jobs, housing is down the toilet, prices on everything are going up, our government doesn't have a clue. These are the signs I see. *What bothers me more than anything is the lack of concern the average person shows, they don't want to even hear their world could change over night.* Just keep prepping and don't tell anyone or you could end up a target. Shhh!


This says it very well and the sentence in bold, troubles me more than all the rest of the problems that are unfolding. The folks that are oblivious, and I know plenty, are going to be an even worse nightmare than the economic problems themselves.

BTW :welcome:


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## lotsoflead (Jul 25, 2010)

Living in a nanny state with taxpayer funded pensions,life time med benifits ect. and most of the people around here work for the state in some capacity,teacher,bus driver, prison guard,cop,DOT, everyday just looks like everyone hit the lotto,gas guzzeling SUVs all over the place, everyone has a boat that they use once a yr and 2 ATVs,restaurants all full every night, all the retired state workers set in the coffee shop every morning drinking their coffee and buying scratch offs with our money.
I remind them from time to time that we're the next California, enjoy it while you can.


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## ajsmith (Feb 1, 2010)

There are so many signs that one can't possible know where to start. How about being invaded at our border to the south, being attacked from with in our own borders by Muslim radicals, our government encouraging our younger generation to think they are entitled to everything instead of working for it (yes I know there are still some good people and good kids out there), The government wants total control and in one way or another 100% taxes. Lets put congress in the same health care plans that we have available, give them the same retirement options we have and see how there tune changes. This only scratches the surface of the "signs" out there and I better shut up before my blood pressure get to high again!!!


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## lexsurivor (Jul 5, 2010)

First of all welcome. And one sign I see is America being a push over(currently) when it comes to what other countries want. Just look at our pathetic reaction to Iran and North Korea.


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## SurviveNthrive (May 20, 2010)

Nancy Pelosi just said something about lots of people being on Food Stamps is a good thing, and it'll bolster our economy. 

1. That she's so desperate or stupid enough to try to put a spin on that and she's one of the people running things should scare the poop out of us.

2. That it's possible that the current regime's supporters are so stupid that they'll accept that is as scary.

That's a HUGE indicator on how screwed we are.

Then there's the spun lower unemployment numbers. They tried to reduce them and it's still 9.5 to 10.5%, with the actual unemployment way above that and the underemployed rate high.

But the really, really big indicator that there's trouble ahead is when you take a world view. Europe, doesn't exactly have Democrats and Republicans, neither does Asia or Central and South America, but they're facing huge economic problems as well. It's bigger than parties so the cold hard reality is, even a positive turn in the elections ain't going to quickly fix this stuff.


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## nevster (Sep 30, 2010)

We have to get rid of the real people behind the scenes who are pulling the strings of our elected officials. The banksters who ride around in dark limos and never go out into public without their massive body guards and only move from their limos to their mansions. Think about this: If they have the power to kill you or your family and make it look like a suicide do you think that elected officials will be persuaded to do their bidding? Just take a look at how many people died who knew the Clintons. It's not Dems & Rep, which I agree they pit us against each other to keep the focus off them. They're the real problem with this country IMO.


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## Victor23 (Sep 15, 2010)

Seeing government taking from producing people and giving it away as entitlements. I watch people buying food with food stamps and I cant eat what they eat because I cant afford it. Watching the rules and laws being passed under a name that would imply something good only to see the implications for loss of freedom. Watching jobs go over seas because of stupid lawsuits and over taxation. But most of all, I see people abusing our system to the point that we are past overwhelmed. When you try to give a person a good paying job and they turn it down because they still have several months of "unemployment" left.
I see the insiders taking huge sums of money and buying Gold and other PM's because they seem to know that the dollar is going to be worth less or worthless. Where I live, I see huge warehouses sitting empty because the companies have gone out of business. 
I have watched the youth of today and realize that our future maybe lost because they have no concerns for anyone else. They have no moral compass. They know no compassion.


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## SurviveNthrive (May 20, 2010)

food stamps?

They're using their EBT cards to buy steak to feed their pure bred Rotts and Pitbulls in Tacoma Washington.

That's not a facetious joke. EBT can't be used for dog food. How it is people receiving assistance can afford to buy and maintain expensive purebred dogs.


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## Tirediron (Jul 12, 2010)

Several years ago my wife's employer at the time "adopted" a christmas family,because she drove a truck to work sometimes ,she got "volenteered" to haul the delivery to the "needy" family , she was a little angry when she got home. the needys lived in a nicer house and had nicer furniture than we did and we made decent money and didn't waste much. that was the end of her wanting to help the "needy". it is probably worse now :gaah:


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## gypsysue (Mar 27, 2010)

Hah! We used to volunteer at the county food bank...what an eye-opener! Sometime people came in expensive cars, women came with expensive hair-do's. Even the people who really did seem poor compained we didn't have this or that they wanted, or asked if they could have more, or refused certain things because it was too much trouble to cook them. 

In the fall local gardeners and farmers donated fresh fruits and vegetables, which more often than not, people turned their noses up. We ended up giving away large amounts to those who WOULD take them and can or freeze them, and sometimes us volunteers took stuff that was starting to rot or mold, just so they wouldn't be thrown out.

And I know people who are feeding dogs, cats, chickens, etc., with meat, grains, and other human-food, using food stamps. They always have some way to "justify" it. Their day is coming when the SHTF.

Added later:

I would like to add that some of the people I know had their pets before they fell on hard times. How do you get rid of a 15-year old cat you've had since it was a kitten, or an 11-year old dog that's like family? So while on the surface it looks really bad, I just looked at my own cat, who eats cheap Wal-mart cat food, and thought about how hard it would be to part with him if we couldn't buy cat food (though he also has a job keeping mice out of the barn and sheds). I'd probably do with less food myself to help feed him.


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## Sourdough (May 22, 2010)

Oct 7 2010 11:09AM

Inflation? 

One thing that puzzles many people is the fact that all the conditions for inflation seem to be there. They are printing a lot of dollars, but inflation doesn’t seem to be taking off, though gold and silver are acting as though it is. But gold and silver are right, inflation is taking off.

First, let me define inflation. To the economist, inflation is not rising prices any more than wet sidewalks are rainstorms. Inflation is an increase in the supply of money. It should really be called dilution because it dilutes the value of existing dollars.

In fact, a more proper term would be “monetary inflation.” Monetary inflation is currently raging as the Federal Reserve is printing more and more money, and gold and silver are responding.

Price inflation is another matter indeed. Price inflation is the end result and trails monetary inflation. Monetary inflation is now rampant. Gold and silver, being smarter than you and me, are reflecting that by the increase in price and the big rallies we are seeing now. So inflation is here.

But what about price inflation? Price inflation has also already started. Look at the increase in commodity prices. How much longer do you think it will be before these higher wholesale costs filter down to the retail level?

For example, Agricultural Raw Materials are up 24%, The Mineral Index is up 25%, The Metals Price Index is up 26%, Coffee is up 45%, Barley is up 32%, Oranges are up 35%, Beef is up 23%, Pork is up 68%, Salmon is up 30%, Sugar is up 24%, Wool is up 30%, Cotton is up 40%, Palm oil is up 26%, Hides is up 25%, Rubber is up 62%, Iron Ore up 103%. Those are prices at the wholesale level.

As the price increases continue up the chain of production, is there any chance they will not cause price inflation? Do you think there is any chance at all that producers and retailers will not pass these costs onto consumers?

Let’s face facts. These cost increases will filter all the way through the system. Soon your paycheck will not stretch nearly as far. Monetary inflation is here. Price inflation is coming. Commodity price inflation is also here.

These are the reasons that gold and silver are soaring at the moment, as the price of gold keeps setting new highs. Silver has experienced extraordinary gains recently. The U.S. mint has raised their absolute pricing above spot on American silver eagles from $1.50 to $2.00.

Will Rogers, my favorite economist, said it best and I’ll say it again, “Invest in inflation, it’s the only thing that’s going up!” 

By Howard Ruff
The Ruff Times

*****


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## Salekdarling (Aug 15, 2010)

ajsmith said:


> Our government encouraging our younger generation to think they are entitled to everything instead of working for it (yes I know there are still some good people and good kids out there)


:ranton:

I, being one of your youth at the ripe age of 23, do believe in hard work. I work two jobs and I am currently in the police academy. I barely survive now with my two minimum wage jobs living in a house with evil hippies who don't believe in hard work... Or giving me money to pay the bills ( that is changing very very soon. I prayed to God they would run off into the woods and hug trees but that won't happen so legal action is taking place.)... But I have amazingly survived. I know people who sell their food stamps and use that cash for drugs. I know people who can easily get a job and yet they get cash assistance and food stamps because they have a "mental disorder" or twenty children. I could use the help of welfare and yet I am too proud to use it. I want to achieve my goals with HARD WORK!

I'd actually love to tell my generation to man up, drop the remote control, computer mouse or playstation controllers and get outside and work but that's pushing it. I'll get blanks stares from all of them. :scratch lol. I think what my generation needs is a good two-three years of military service. Granted I think that's what people would call socialism (right? wrong? I'm not sure) but hell, I think it would help them realize that the best way to earn something is to get it through hardwork!

:rantoff:

Now back to the original question, the signs I see through out my area is, of course, the high unemployment. I'm afraid to try and get a better job in my area in fear of lacking job security. I've been at my job for the last three years. I work in a mall and half of the mall is closed down. There is room for at least 20 stores to open. The owner of the mall declared bankruptcy, dropped all but one mall janitorial staff to part time, fired all but three security guards and jacked the rent up for every store in the mall. The change is in plain view in the mall.

Outside the mall, DRS laid off over 100 people, there are no jobs available in downtown Johnstown, steel mills have been shut down for a long time. After the 1977 flood, this area will never see growth ever again. Not that I would be staying around here long enough to try to persue a career in law enforcement. Municipal Law enforcement officers work 3 to 4 part time jobs to survive making less then $9 an hour to do their job. Most of my academy teachers work more than one job as police officers.  Yeah, most definitely not staying around here...although I LOVE the woods I live in.  If I can convince my fiance that we need to buy land out in the middle of no where, but close enough to a larger town or city where I can have only one or two jobs as a police officer and be able to survive...that will be such sweet bliss.

My family may live in Western Pennsylvania but my father works in Maryland, Delaware and Easter PA for a company in Eastern PA. He's gone all week and comes home on weekends. He would never be able to get a job out in this area with the type of work he does. He has to stay close to Philadelphia. Boo. I'm glad we moved to the country side though. I absolutely loathe cities.


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## Murph (Aug 20, 2010)

*Good Post Sourdough, thanks*

I read an interesting article along those lines the other day. It riddled me this...

What if the value of gold and silver has not changed but the value of our dollar has (for the worse)?

It then went on to say that in 1968 a US Silver Quarter could buy one gallon of gasoline, and in 2010 the same amount of silver that was in a US Silver Quarter, sold for cash, buys exactly one gallon of gasoline. Coincidence? I think not.


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## greaseman (Jun 13, 2009)

All of the above mentioned signs cover things pretty well. as mentioned before, just keeping up with this site, and others like it will put you way ahead of the pack, on understanding what's really going on.
I haven't watched the national news in a long time. i get too mad listening to lie after lie, as they try to convince people that things are going to be ok.
In the things to watch out for section, I try to keep track with what the elites are up to. There is a current battle going on with some of the Asian, and middle eastern elites, and the rest of the elite world.
The Asian and mid eastern elites are demanding physical gold from the London markets, instead of being happy with paper gold. Their accounts are "allocated" accounts, which means the London boys have to cough up the gold when the asians and mid east boys demand it. The trouble is, the London markets don't have that much physical gold on hand. This proves that they have been selling much more gold on paper than they have physical gold to back it up. You can see the implications of this. It throws a giant monkey wrench in the Feds ability to control gold, and the value of the dollar, and everything else financial. And if there's one thing the elites controling the Fed hate, is the lack of their ability to control the price of gold. Control being the key word.
This activity by the 'other" elites, is one of the main reasons for the gold price explosion. Plus, even a common "red neck" like me, can see this circus isn't going to last much longer.
All the controls that the Fed has to keep the train on the tracks are used up. We are pretty much in a free fall, looking for a bottom.
My main point is, watch what the elites do, because that determines what happens to everything, and everybody else. I do believe that John Q. Public is the wild card in this picture. Everyone is very pissed with their government, and has an "off with their heads" mentality. The right push, such as an underhanded move by congress to seize everyone's 401K, might be all it takes to start a masive movement to rid ourselves of these leachs.
The coming weeks will be critical one way or the other. Everyone can see that the pot is about to boil over. I don't think we have long to wait. Good luck.


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## SurviveNthrive (May 20, 2010)

Uh, use of the term 'elite' is acknowledging those folks are better.


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## greaseman (Jun 13, 2009)

SurviveNthrive said:


> Uh, use of the term 'elite' is acknowledging those folks are better.


 It's just a name, not an acknowledgement of their intelligence or status. sometimes, i use the term PTB, or the *p*owers *t*hat *b*e. I don't really care what someone calls them, as long as people know who I'm refering to.
Whether we like it or not, these people have considerable power and influence in our daily lives. There is no getting around that. Unless you live in the wilderness, and live totally self contained, never using any government services, never using money to buy anything in any way, these people have varying control over our lives. I do believe their control is slipping away because of their greed. The ship is sinking so to speak, and they can't stop it, they can only bail water for so long, and now the bailing bucket has a hole in it---you get the picture.
We will soon see these folks are not better than anyone else. In time, they are regulated by the same natural laws of ecomomics that we are regulated by. When you control everything, it takes a lot longer for your greed to catch up with your actions. Their time is almost up.


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## Clarice (Aug 19, 2010)

To be informed is to be prepared. I don't think the term "elite" is saying they are better than us, it just states how the "elite" think of themselves. They refer to us as the unwashed masses.


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## Tirediron (Jul 12, 2010)

A much more accurate name IMO is "parrisite class"


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## 101airborne (Jan 29, 2010)

Multiple signs of change. Economic down turn, any companies small and large going under or leaving the country. Causing more and more unemployment. Crime rates rising. Enviromental changes causing problems with crop production resulting in higher prices adding to already stressful situations. Enviromental issues/disasters such as "sludge" in turkey and gulf oil spill. further adding to economic and food production problems. Increased "terror activity" adding to distrust around the world. IMHO all of these issues point to instability world wide and further point to the ever increasing need to be as self sufficent and prepared as we possibly can.


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## Kathryn (Jun 10, 2010)

Something that no one else has brought up that is a real concern for our family is natural disaster. I am a bit of a science freak, so I watch what is going on and being said in the scientific areana. Scientists all over the world are trying to warn the governments around the world that the sun is waking up from a deeper than usual slumber of activity, and will thus be projecting at us even greater CMEs (coronal mass ejection) than we have seen in over 200 years. The last great CME was in 1858, which took out telegraph lines, and caught telegraph offices on fire. The issue for us now is that the electrical grid is not capable of handling the electrical charge of a large CME, look at what happened in 1989 to Quebec, Canada because of a CME. The US House and Senate passed a bill, almost unanimously, agreeing that the power grid needed to be protected from the upcoming CME activity, but then a couple of months later refused to pass the bill providing the funds to actually do the work needed. 

While we are being hit hard with the economic issues, hubby's work has dropped over 75%, and I am still unemployed (over a year now due to no jobs), we both believe that the the economic issues are a smoke screen to keep the public from realizing that there is an even greater threat on its way. If you really think about how this economic issue started, and yes I believe it was started by the "elititist", it still started way too quick and world wide to be a natural economic occurance. Back to my original CME theory, yes I said theory, because it can't be proven until it happens, if even a part of the US power grid failed, economic crisis or not, there would be major civil unrest and upheaval. Just one of the large transformers here in Phoenix, Arizona area went out and it took them three months to replace it. The power companies do not keep spare transformers to replace ones that breakdown, because they are expensive and suppossed to last for hundreds of years. A CME would not affect our powerlines coming to our homes, but would greatly affect those large transformers. Now think about what would happen if there was suddenly no electricity, or very limited electricity. No water from your taps, no fuel for your cars, no refridgeration for cold food stocks, no new food brought to stores, no power to hospitals for those on life support, the list keeps going. Now back to those "elititist", do you really think that they are unaware of this potential catastropic event?! They want real gold in their hands because they think that "he who has the gold, has the power", and that their gold will buy them safety. In some ways it will, as they are able to use that to build themselves a safe place to hold up until the majority of us who are worried about the economy parish. You do the math, we are left in the dark to keep us calm, we are given something to worry about that keeps our attention (our economic health, which keeps our limited attention much longer), all the while they, "the elititist", prepare and think we are all stupid and ignorant unclean masses. Well, not this family!! And even if nothing happens, we will still be out from under the thumb of the "elititists".


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## Tirediron (Jul 12, 2010)

CME.....(a big one) probably the most devistating natural disaster that could happen as far as modern society is concerned AND the most ignored ,kind of a "it won't happen to me thing" :scratch


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