I dunno about you, but so far, in this slow-moving apocalypse, I have yet to need to shoot anything or anyone in a directly-related-to-the-pandemic situation. In fact, amongst all the myriad items I (and probably you) put back against that uncertain future, virtually none have gotten taken out of their storage containers. Its starting to look like that for 90% of most disasters you can sum up your preps into two different items – a shoebox full of cash, and some food.
Gasoline? Not only is it still available it is at a markedly lower price than when this whole thing started. How many disasters do you see that make the price of a staple commodity go down?
Food? It’s been about a month since this thing really blew up and most of the shelves at my local grocery are back to normal..including TP and rice. It looks like there’s about a four-week lag for the supply and distribution change to catch up.
Guns and ammo? Yeah, they’ve been hit hard over at the gun shops. But, broadly speaking, I haven’t heard of anyone getting into a shootout with starving cannibal armies yet. In more rural environs, with overstretched departments, there might be some tweakers who are waiting for an opportunity to do some home invasions at remote properties but so far…nothing I’ve heard.
Water? I’ve not heard of anyone having problems with their water supplies.
I’m almost tempted to say that your basic Kung Flu survival needs can be met with a well-stocked freezer and a big-ass box of cash. (And, really, that box of cash is often the secret sauce for most disasters.)
Honestly, I could not have imagined such a global-scale disaster or event that still has all the utilities running as normal and seems so…orderly? Neat? Calm?
To be fair, I’m only going off my own experience here in a Montana city (or town, I suppose, if a population of less than 100,000 counts as a city).
But, thus far, it looks like the best preps have been to have money in the bank (or gun safe).
Key words there, though: thus far. Yeah, no shootouts with opportunistic looters…so far. No around-the-block lines for ground beef…so far. No fistfights at the pumps as cars line up for gas in a blocks-long queue… so far.
And its because of ‘so far’ that we keep the freeze drieds, stabilized fuel, Glocks and ammo, etc, etc.
But, I suspect one of the biggest takeaways from this episode, other than the obvious ‘wash your hands, dammit’ is that having money in the bank or on hand alleviates a large part of the headaches involved in a disaster.
The other prep will be “was I ready to be unemployed”. The money and food will help. Not sure people were mentally prepared for “it can happen to me.”
I think the worst is yet to come with the acceleration of food plant closings, plowing under of vegetable and fruit crops and dumping of milk and eggs. Wait until the impact of this hits in weeks to months. Price inflation and long lines perhaps to get what reduced quantity is available.
Here in FL, our store shelves are not back to normal. Local food chain, Publix, is still limiting quantities you can buy. Our big box club store, BJ’s (headquartered out of MA) still looks pretty low in both frozen goods and canned goods.
The milk dumping/plowing under food is a sign that those farmers are unfit for the job as a small logistics glitch has them completely stumped. How can you not be able to sell milk/eggs/vegetables? It may not be in the “perfect” container but if a 5gallon milk box was $1.50 I’d buy,can’t sell onions? the price has been high for over a year,the same with eggs,get them to the store and lower the price to move them. This echos the scenes from 1930 when farmers crashed and lost their farms,at this rate your local farmer may have slant eyes and no speek engliss too good(lots of them and they want to work)
The ENTIRE restaurant/entertainment/hospitality industry… and all its food orders… almost COMPLETELY halted… just a “small logistics glitch…” Maybe in YOUR world…
“How many disasters do you see that make the price of a staple commodity go down?”
A valid point, but if we’re in the early stages of a deflationary collapse, that’s the kind of thing we would expect to see. ‘Yes’ gas is cheap, but if you also lost your job, it might as well be unobtainium. For now, most of us have no place we need to go. Eventually, 50 million people out of work are going to get restless, hungry, angry, and vengeful.
When does that happen? Who knows? But this situation is not going to go on forever.
Seasonally, it might be a really good time to start looking for deals on multi-purpose wood stoves. Also re-visit bicycles & everything needed to maintain them.
All’s quiet in my part of the world.
Cheap gas is the result of a sudden economic slowdown/shutdown and the world oil producers continuing to produce at pre-slowdown/shutdown rate.
Money is the key here, as long as the cash is flowing there will be a sense of normalcy. If we don’t re-open the economy and the free money starts to tapper off, then that’s when the real Sh!t shown will start. These are the discussion we’re having in LE and it’s a major concern for us. If we don’t open back up soon the damage could take generations or a war to fix.
I also think there are elements within the U.S. pushing for a continued shutdown to damage Trump in November. They’re willing to sacrifice the economy to defeat Trump.
Some may not like Trump, but he has kept those wanting more draconian measures at bay. Hillary or Obama would have already started confiscating firearms in exchange for government assistance.
We have to have money flowing, and we have to have goods flowing. It’s easy to print money to keep the money flowing. Printing goods to keep the goods flowing? That’ll be a nifty trick, if they can pull it off.
True, but the U.S. also has an advantage of being a net exporter of food. We also produce sufficient oil, hydro, nuke and natural gas that we could keep vehicles moving, homes warm and lit. All paid for locally by printing federal reserve notes unfortunately.
While we would not have the big screens and new iPhone we could keep our people fed and mostly warm.
When we stop feeding the people and no money, than anything is possible as far as where this takes us. We no longer have the moral compass that our grandparents and great-grandparents had in the 1930s.
Interesting times for sure and I am glad to be alive!!!!
Here in deep southeast La. things are going pretty normal, no long lines anywhere, parking lots have plenty of cars in them, people are friendly and calm overall though some are wearing masks.
So far so good 👍.
This pandemic is a Grid Up Disaster. If it were a Grid Down Disaster, the situation would be entirely different. A substantial percentage of people are noticing no difference in their income because, with the grid functioning, they can do their jobs and continue their income flow.
Beyond that, workers deemed to be in necessary industries and occupations can continue to provide basic services so that the lights stay on, the internet works, cable TV entertains, the supermarket shelves are full (with certain notable exceptions) and water is produced with a turn of the tap. The average person’s lifestyle has been inconvenienced a bit, but not dramatically so.
Were the grid taken down by an EMP attack, solar flare, or a massive cyberattack, all of that would change in a heartbeat. Not only would all of the services mentioned above be eliminated, the inner cities would be in turmoil within a few weeks, or less, after EBT cards became useless. Not long thereafter, strife would spread to the suburbs and even rural areas after the supermarket shelves were stripped for the final time, and after the public realized that no one was coming to help them.
What the majority is experiencing now might almost be called a “Life is good” disaster. It would be foolish to adjust one’s survival strategy and to count on this “comfortable disaster” occurring with the next crisis.
Spot on SW99.
Electrons are the “grease” that keeps everything flowing. Stop them and it all changes in a heartbeat. No pun intended. Mad Max from 0 to 60 in 60 seconds. You know what I mean.
Y’All shouldn’t be so smug. It ain’t over yet…….
All good here in the Willamette Valley. Lots of precautions at the stores that are open. Gas now < 2.50/gal. I’m now treating 3/4 tank as empty for my refuel point.
Went grocery shopping for incidentals yesterday. Manager special in dairy. Milk was $0.79 per half gallon! TP and paper towels still low and rationed.
Sneeze shields everywhere! (Stock in companies that make plexi-glass anyone?)
Body count for my county is still at 6, and found out they were all from the same nursing home. Still at 33 known cases.
” Also re-visit bicycles & everything needed to maintain them.”
–for some reason, I started picking up bike parts when I saw them back in Oct. and throughout the rest of the year. Picked up inner tubes, tires, pumps, patch kit, etc
also picked up vehicle tire repair stuff, plug kits, slime, etc
Haven’t had a chance to do the bike maintenance yet as I’m still putting away and organizing the stacks of stuff, while getting the garden underway and improving security.
It has been a very weird and slow moving disaster so far.
n
There’s a meme going around that says. ” I’m sorry this pandemic isn’t living up to your expectations of what the apocalypse should be. “. Lots of people are out of work, some businesses may not reopen because of this. I doubt the one I work for will. Thankfully I have been expecting it and won’t effect me too much. However I know a couple people who are just freaking out because they didn’t prepare for anything except where their next vacation was going to be.
I ordered a t shirt the other day. It’s got Bigfoot carrying a roll of TP with the caption “social distance champion”
Things are mellow in Wisconsin. Crime here is down. I saw a piece about drunk driving in Minneapolis, in a normal weekend they make around 300 arrests, I think the article said the current rate was around 75 per weekend.
I did some shopping today and while there were some holes in the supplies it wasn’t enough to be concerned about. I bought some apples on sale for cheap.
Pretty much the same view from here, however, I would I would make one suggestion, stock up on fresh meat while you can even at elevated prices. Seeing what’s going on here from where the rubber meets the road cattle raising side, it looks as though prices for at least some areas are really going to skyrocket for a while. It’s not so much a function of supply, there’s plenty.
The processors though are having difficulty with manpower. Many folks have either been laid off and don’t want to come back because they’re soaking up that extra 600 a week while they can, or they’re closeted with family members and can’t come to work, and many illegals ( who are a huge chunk of that labor force) have simply upped and left. It’ll take a while to stabilize but in the mean time, you might want to stock up on those steaks while you can even if the prices are a little high.
Regards
Eastern PA here. The governor was on tv tonight promising a wind-down of the clamp down. I noted a lot of “progressive agenda” subtopics were included. Just anecdotal observations, but traffic is creeping up and people seem to be tired of the mask thing…I sure am. No paper products in my local supermarket (still!) but Walmart and another big box had plenty. I find no complete outages in the big box where I shop…you can get eggs, but instead of five different brands, there are one or two. They do a good job of spreading the stock out so no cases are empty, but you can clearly see they are not full like they used to be. Scored 6 flats of seedlings from a greenhouse at .50 cents per plant. At the local big hardware store they are 3.50 per plant. Every tree on my property bears fruit and I got a pressure canner to do a better job on jams this year. I have about 20 pints from last year in the fridge. Still eating frozen green beans from last year’s garden, too. I like the description of slow, grid up disaster. A different kind of planning is required. Agree 100% about the big supply of cash and Jeff’s post about always being prepared to be unemployed…good advice! Waiting, somewhat comfortably, to see what happens next.
Commander, Reporting for duty. Actually Centeral Florida is in relatively good shape. Paper products were in short supply but now appear to be getting back to normal. Meat products a little short but other than that, good. I must tell you. At the beginning the run on guns and ammo made me feel rather guilty. My local shop, where I have been doing business for years, was totally out of common pistol and rifle ammo. I felt like I could give them a helping hand. I had so much and they had none. I delivered a sizeable amount. 38, 357, 9, 40, 45, 5.56 and 22LR. Enough to supply them for days. I am still not short and I gave my wife a good sized check. I feel I did some people a good turn. Commander, Thank You for your words during this sad situation. It Helped Us All.
Food shortages doesn’t make sense. They said less food was needed because restaurants and schools were closed but people still need to eat. I understand that food processors absence would slow down the chain. Why aren’t farmers allowed to sell the raw produce to people who would transport to cities for sale ? If that isn’t possible, shouldn’t people from cities be allowed to travel to nearby farms to buy for themselves ? Fuel is inexpensive.
I can only speak for my area so……..
No real shortages here in stores but nothing stopping me from buying at what we call truck farmers, sometimes literally a truck under an overpass loaded with fresh fruit and vegetables from his or neighbor’s garden. Seafood is also sold here that way, during the season, by the pound usually..
When I was a kid my dad would get together with friends, some grew crops some raised cattle. We would help plant and pick vegetables for a share and by picking a calf and helping in the cost of raising then butchering it we had a freezer full of fresh grass fed beef for the year.
We lived a basic no excessive frills life and we worked for what we got but we never missed a meal. I see no reason why we couldn’t find a way back to that if willing to do the work.
“Why aren’t farmers allowed to sell the raw produce to people who would transport to cities for sale ? If that isn’t possible, shouldn’t people from cities be allowed to travel to nearby farms to buy for themselves ? ”
–control and money Specifically regulation and taxes.
If people were really starving, TPTB could relax or remove the regs and taxes which are the artificial barriers between the potential sellers and buyers.
Specifically, bulk foodstuffs aren’t labeled for individual or retail sale (no nutrition panels on the packaging), and wholesalers may not be set up to collect retail sales taxes from the general population. Waive either or both requirements and you wouldn’t be dumping food into the trash.
When in doubt, follow the money.
n
Interesting take on just about everything.
Over the pond (UK) we still have major supply problems simply because the supermarkets pick their goods from only 5 (FIVE) main distributors in England.
Logistically, when the panic buyers went truly loco, the delivery system collapsed but mainly because of limits on driver cab time (thanks to our wonderful laws). Shortages were because big business was too busy making money to worry about “what if” happened. The worse bit about it being the complacency of the UK Gov to just let them ‘do their thing’.
Then came the supermarkets themselves.
Suddenly the demand was for basics (staples) only and the Rib Eye stayed on the shelves. As a result they refocused onto that and a loads of top quality suppliers are still left with product they simply can’t shift. Funny enough that included fresh milk and eggs. So loads of it was and is being dumped.Where that will lead to is unknown as some farmers are in big time financial trouble.
Imports are still erratic (trucker laws again) and the main sources in Europe have been stripped of staples. As for getting stuff shipped in from the usual aka China, Asia, and anything in between? That’s not happening as freely as it was mainly because internal borders / travel routes are closed.
As for business (big or otherwise), financing and loans are hard to get today.
The UKGov have promised a lot, and delivered very little. How unusual (not).
The pressure is on to lift lock downs BUT the spike in illnesses will collapse the health services which are borderline collapsing NOW.
They know it, have been caught out so many times by the media, unions, the mounting death toll they aren’t reporting, for their performance so far, and just about everything else. UK politics is all about face saving (and self preservation) first, profit second, and as for the people? ROTFL.
As for prices. Fuel is cheap!!
With price gouging the norm on everything else, ‘petty’ crime is up.
Only the numbers of LEO have reduced by a third (self isolation or worse).
Thus criminals are becoming embolden.
Policing and law enforcement by consent is also in trouble, and in cities there is considerable ‘bite back’ against lock downs and generally anything official.
Things need to sorted out quickly only nobody in charge knows how.
When will this all end? When they find a vaccine that works I guess.
My wife is not exactly a prepper but not against it either, this little blip opened up her eyes a little. We were watching long lines of cars waiting to buy some not so cheap chicken some of the wholesale suppliers were selling out of the back of refrigerated trucks and she says to me, what if the power won’t on? What if a hurricane were to strike while something like this is going on?
I think I may have to build more storage.