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Page added on April 9, 2014
16 Signs That Most Americans Are NOT PREPARED For The Coming Economic Colapse
Sometimes I think that I sound like a broken record. I am constantly using phrases such as “get prepared while you still can” and “time is running out”. In fact, I use them so often that people are starting to criticize me for it.
Image: Food Bank (Wiki Commons).But the truth is that only a small percentage of people out there are actively taking steps to get ready for what is coming. Most of the country is not prepared at all. In many ways, it is just like 2007 all over again. There were many people that could see what was about to happen and were doing all they could to warn people, but most did not listen. And then the great financial crisis of 2008 struck and millions of people lost their jobs and their homes. Unfortunately, the next great wave of the economic collapse is going to be even more painful than the last one. It is imperative that people get prepared for what is on the horizon, but for the most part it is just not happening.
A lot of it has to do with the fact that we have such short memories and such short attention spans in America today. Thanks to years of television and endless hours on the Internet, I find myself having a really hard time focusing on anything for more than just a few moments. And we are accustomed to living in an “instant society” where we don’t have to wait for anything. In such a society, we are used to “news cycles” that only last for 24 hours and very few people take a “long-term view” of anything.
And another one of the big problems that we are facing is something called “normalcy bias”. The following is how Wikipedia defines it…
The normalcy bias, or normality bias, refers to a mental state people enter when facing a disaster. It causes people to underestimate both the possibility of a disaster occurring and its possible effects. This often results in situations where people fail to adequately prepare for a disaster, and on a larger scale, the failure of governments to include the populace in its disaster preparations. The assumption that is made in the case of the normalcy bias is that since a disaster never has occurred then it never will occur. It also results in the inability of people to cope with a disaster once it occurs. People with a normalcy bias have difficulties reacting to something they have not experienced before. People also tend to interpret warnings in the most optimistic way possible, seizing on any ambiguities to infer a less serious situation.
Over the past several years, the U.S. economy has been relatively stable. And that is a good thing. But it has also lulled millions upon millions of people into a false sense of security and complacency. At this point, most Americans consider 2008 to be a temporary bump in the road, and most assume that the U.S. economy will always be strong.
Unfortunately, that is not the truth. As I have written about previously, the long-term trends that are destroying our economy have continued to get worse since 2008, and none of the problems that caused the last financial crisis have been fixed.
We are steamrolling toward the edge of an economic cliff, and most people in our entertainment-addicted society are totally oblivious to what is going on. So they are not doing anything to get ready for the immense economic pain that is coming. The following are 16 signs that most Americans are completely unprepared for the coming economic collapse…
#1 Could you come up with $2000 right now? According to a shocking study that was just released, most Americans could not…
Forty percent of individuals in the U.S. said they could not or probably could not come up with $2,000 if an unexpected need arose, according to research by Atif Mian of Princeton University and Amir Sufi of the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.
#2 In that same study, Americans were asked the following question…
“Do you have 3 months emergency funds to cover expenses in case of sickness, job loss, economic downturn?”
An astounding 60 percent of people that responded said that they do not.
#3 Another study found that less than one out of every four Americans has enough money stored away to cover six months of expenses.
#4 Some people are actually trying really hard to get ahead, but admittedly that is really tough to do when we are all being taxed into oblivion. In fact, it was reported this week that Americans now spend more on taxes than they spend on food, clothing and housing combined.
#5 Right now, more Americans are dependent on the government than ever before. In fact, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, 49 percent of all Americans live in a home that currently gets direct monetary benefits from the federal government.
#6 It is estimated that less than 10 percent of the entire U.S. population owns any gold or silver for investment purposes. That is a stunning number.
#7 It has been estimated that there are approximately 3 million“preppers” in the United States. But that means that almost everyone else is not prepping.
#8-16 The following are nine more statistics that come from a survey conducted by the Adelphi Center for Health Innovation. As you can see, a significant portion of the population is not even prepared for a basic emergency that would last for just a few days…
- 44 percent don’t have first-aid kits
- 48 percent lack emergency supplies
- 53 percent do not have a minimum three-day supply of nonperishable food and water at home
- 55 percent believe local authorities will come to their rescue if disaster strikes
- 52 percent have not designated a family meeting place if they are separated during an emergency
- 42 percent do not know the phone numbers of all of their immediate family members
- 21 percent don’t know if their workplace has an emergency preparedness plan
- 37 percent do not have a list of the drugs they are taking
- 52 percent do not have copies of health insurance documents
What do you think is going to happen to these people once the economy collapses and there is chaos in the streets?
How are they going to survive?
After all of these years of writing about the coming economic collapse, nothing has changed as far as the long-term outlook is concerned.
We are still heading toward a complete and total economic meltdown.
But most Americans continue to have faith in the system, and the mainstream media keeps assuring them that everything is going to be just fine.
And in this “dumbed-down” society of ours, most people are perfectly content to let others do their thinking for them. In America today, only one out of every six Americans can even find Ukraine on a map of the world. That is how far we have fallen.
In this day and age, it is imperative that we all learn how to think for ourselves. The foundations of our society are crumbling, our economic system is failing and the blind are leading the blind. If we do not learn to make our own decisions, we are just going to follow the rest of the herd into oblivion.
In addition, we all need to start taking a long-term view of things. Just because the economic collapse is not going to happen this month does not mean that it is not going to happen. When you step back and take a broader view of what is happening, it becomes exceedingly clear where we are heading.
Sadly, most Americans will never do that.
18 Comments on "16 Signs That Most Americans Are NOT PREPARED For The Coming Economic Colapse"
peakyeast on Wed, 9th Apr 2014 8:14 pm
I can already tell what will happen:
The poor will take it by force.
The government will take it by force.
It is already happening: Those people that invested in solar power in Spain, Denmark and other countries are being hit by new taxation that were promised not to happen. Promised subsidies were withdrawn.
I predict as the envy get worse and the economy get worse those that has valuables that cant be removed or hidden will pay dearly to all those who dont give a fuck about tomorrow, but spent it all partying and traveling.
Meld on Wed, 9th Apr 2014 9:13 pm
The coming economic collapse!
The coming economic collapse!
The coming economic collapse!
The coming economic collapse!
The coming economic collapse!
No, the “collapse” started early 21st century and is going to take 200 to 300 years to bottom out, sorry about that but there will not be a DOOM day, just each day ever so slightly doomier than the last for the next 3 centuries.
J-Gav on Wed, 9th Apr 2014 9:21 pm
I think the number should be more 116!
Pops on Wed, 9th Apr 2014 9:50 pm
10 years ago last week (and more than 13,000 posts ago) I opined,
“I don’t believe there will be an oil “crash” soon, but there certainly could be an economic crash as the cost of oil and virtually everything else begins its inevitable rise. That is the wild card; how long do we have to prepare before the cost of preparing is out of reach or the necessities unavailable? ”
Back then there was no FEMA Ready.gov website and no “Doomsday Preppers” and Zombies wern’t a Thing.
People believed real estate never declined, their kids would always be better off, a buck a gallon was a lot and the gov would come to your rescue in the event of a disaster – natural or economic.
Things change.
Jimmy on Wed, 9th Apr 2014 11:11 pm
#1 they’re fat
#2 they’re lazy
#3 they’re self entitled
#4 they’re cowards (you’d all rather carry a 9 than learn how to take a punch and you give medals of honour to drone ‘pilots’)
#5 they’re broke
……..
Jimmy on Wed, 9th Apr 2014 11:12 pm
etc, etc ….
Davy, Hermann, MO on Wed, 9th Apr 2014 11:44 pm
I bet your God’s example of Manhood yourself Jimmy. Tell me what country you are from so I can rip it apart. Cowards take cheap shots Jimmy
Makati1 on Thu, 10th Apr 2014 12:02 am
Sorry Davy, but I agree with Jimmy on this one. Is that a surprise? I guess you haven’t been to Walmart lately and looked at the typical shopper. Or taken a good look at your local police department specimens. Few of them could run two blocks to catch a thief with out a heart attack so they just shoot anyone they suspect.
As for drone pilots, they ARE wimps playing a deadly computer game where they cannot possibly be hurt in their air conditioned playroom somewhere in the Us. Easy to kill when you are 100% safe. We have no real leaders today. They all hide behind the lines in safe holes, like the vermin they are. No generals will ever be seen where they can actually get killed. Where are the Pattons and Bradleys of today? Sitting in the Pentagon getting fat and lazy while they suck up taxpayer’s money in their war games.
The US is a failed state in more ways than one. It is becoming obvious to those outside the MSM curtain. I doubt those inside will see it until it is too late. Less than 1% are prepared for what is coming soon.
BTW: I served 11 years as an officer in the military, back when wars were still fought up close and personal.
Davy, Hermann, MO on Thu, 10th Apr 2014 12:13 am
Oh Maki give it a rest. Your act like the rest of the world people are supper human. You guys have inferiority complexes. People that take cheap shots have their own insecurities they try to make up for by belittling others. I am sure you are a wonderful example of manhood and wow what a country you live in Maki. Talk about a 3rd world dump,and over populated hell hole!
Makati1 on Thu, 10th Apr 2014 2:33 am
LMAO! Put away the false patriotism and get a grip. Pretending that the Us is still a world class country is delusional BS. Look at all of the countries ganging up against you and see reality. They are all waiting for the collapse of the USD and the resulting crash of the Empire. How long can a bully retain power when they are dependent on the very people they persecute, for their necessities?
My comments on American health and abilities are more correct than you are willing to admit. How many of your family would die in 6 months without the meds they get? How many can live without any government support? How many could live 6 months without any income? Few, if they are typical Americans.
The crash will be a death sentence for a much higher percentage of Americans than for Filipinos. After all, Filipinos use 1/20th the energy of Americans and 1/6th that of the Eu. They also only import $60 worth of food per capita annually vs the US import of $400 per capita annually.
I’ll take my chances here in the East over anywhere in the West, thank you.
GregT on Thu, 10th Apr 2014 5:04 am
Davy,
No people of any country in the world are superhuman, but there is one country that seems to think that they are, more than any other. I’m not trying to bash anyone here, but the rest of the world is getting beyond fed up. To think otherwise is to be naive. Oh, and for the record, Canada is now also getting a bad international reputation, and I will be the first to admit it, as a Canadian. There is a very good reason for that, we can’t keep our noses out of other people’s business anymore. Not like we used to.
simonr on Thu, 10th Apr 2014 7:42 am
Makati
How can you say the US is not a world class country, then refer to it as an ’empire’.
The very fact that many countries are ganging up is an indication that it would take a lot of countries to bring it down …. surely the definition of world class ?
Simon
Davy, Hermann, MO on Thu, 10th Apr 2014 11:40 am
Greg, Maki, stakes cheap shots at the US from every direction. He is a coward and has a limited world view of all issues funneled through his juvenile political ideology of anti-Americanism. He represents the type of people that will prevent adaptation to the coming global decent. He is a blamer and complainer. He needs to ask himself how he contributed to all the problems and adjust his life in a change. He needs to ask how can I change things through myself and not eternally blame others through resentment and hatred.
The rest of the world is fed up you say well they best look in their own nest for their own problems because I know not any nation without poop in their nest. I am critical of the US leadership in US politics, corporate governance, and financial affairs. Yet, when I constantly have a chum Maki) sending cheap shots at the country as a whole I am going to stand up to it. To not make mention of these ideologues here is to enable distortions and lies. Unfortunately my country has become disliked throughout the world. The rest of the world should look at themselves for what they are. They should also ask what the world would be like without some kind of power to balance the craziness out. Europe is a case in point. They have been bent on destroying themselves and other throughout history. Look at Red China and Communist Russia Maki’s poster girls of success. Look at how they destroyed a golden opportunity for the world to demilitarize post WWII. Instead they were bent of a communist takeover of the world. This lead to a militarization of the US that consumed my country into a military industrial complex. The world is far more complex than “the world is beyond fed up” and Makati’s constant complaints of all the world’s problems being made in America. Let’s stick to the topic and get the propaganda out of the equation
dsula on Thu, 10th Apr 2014 1:32 pm
Makati (BillT) is the bitter guy who’s American retirement check only allows him to rent a flat in the slums of manila. It makes him angry. Forgive him. Ignore him.
Davey on Thu, 10th Apr 2014 2:37 pm
Dsu, thanks for the intel, lol
bobinget on Thu, 10th Apr 2014 5:31 pm
‘Meld’ puts it best. Except, I might disagree that economic degradation only began in 2000.
Impacts of Climate Change are never brought up.
If a guy is trying to frighten, he needs a better story then crap Mr Economic Collapse is laying down.
I guess Meld and myself aren’t selling Doomer books and dried food.
J-Gav on Thu, 10th Apr 2014 10:14 pm
Geez, I don’t even want to come in on this one – too much acrimony! Aimed at nothing in particular. Soon, everybody’s going to have to get their act together, end of story.
Kenz300 on Fri, 11th Apr 2014 2:37 pm
Climate Change will impact each and every one of us…….. We are not prepared……….
Years of Living Dangerously Premiere Full Episode – YouTube
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