Day: March 15, 2008

Note from JWR:

The current SurvivalBlog Benefit Auction ends at midnight tonight (Saturday, March 15th), eastern time. The high bid is now at $220. The auction is for a combined lot of five items: a 120 VAC/12 VDC BedFan Personal Cooling System (a $99 retail value), kindly donated by the manufacturer, a Thieves Oil Start Living Kit (a $161 retail value), the book “Healing Oils of the Bible“ by David Stewart, Phd. (a $19 retail value) the book “When Technology Fails“, by Matthew Stein (a $29 retail value)–all donated by Ready Made Resources, and a copy of the latest edition of “The Encyclopedia …


Credit Collapse: The Depression Countdown Begins

SurvivalBlog includes plenty of gloom and doom, but I do my best to not be a ranting and raving alarmist. The recent torrential flood of bad economic news, however, has led me to now urge greater preparedness. Don’t quit your job and head for the hills yet, but by all means redouble your efforts to get ready. In my estimation, we are now on a short countdown to economic depression. Back in early 2006, I first warned about derivatives trading. Since June of 2007, I have been warning about the larger implications of CDOs. In January of 2008, I pointed …


Letter Re: Battle Rifle Recommendations for a Californian

Mr. Rawles, I am a resident of the People’s Republic of Kalifornia (PRK). I’m looking to buy a main battle rifle (MBR). My rifle collection currently consists of a few .22 rimfires and a [Federally exempt antique Model] 1893 Mauser, which I purchased on your recommendation from The Pre-1899 Specialist. It seems as though most of the [firearms design] features one would look for are restricted (if not outright banned) here [in California]. My question for you is, what would you suggest for a California resident’s MBR?. Thanks, – C3 in CA. JWR Replies: California does have some almost unbearable …


“Official” Statistics on Population, Employment, Income Levels, Money Supply, and Inflation?

James: In a recent Odds ‘n Sods item, you cited a article published by The New York Times: You stated: “A key data point mentioned in the article: ‘The median household [in the US] earned $48,201 in 2006, down from $49,244 in 1999, according to the Census Bureau.’ “ That’s from changing population dynamics and more careful surveys of low-income families. For comparable populations, income has risen as you ought to expect. Consider the results for “Worked Full Time, Year Round, Both Sexes, White”… For 1999 income: Persons in this group: 81.7 million Mean income of all persons in this …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Eric spotted this summary article at Bloomberg: Subprime Losses Reach $195 Billion; German Banks Get Hit    o o o DB found us this: Dollar losing clout around the world. Here is a quote: “Hit by a free fall with no end in sight, the once-mighty U.S. dollar is no longer just crashing on currency markets and making life more expensive for American tourists and business people abroad: Its clout is evaporating worldwide as foreign businesses and individuals turn to other currencies. Experts say the bleak U.S. economic forecast means it will take years for the greenback to recover its …


Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“I do not have a new message here; we have known for a long time that advance preparation and a strong balance sheet are the keys to riding out a financial storm. As I have emphasized before, the Federal Reserve can deal with liquidity pressures but cannot deal with solvency issues.” – William Poole, President of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, February 29, 2008 (as recently quoted by Dr. Gary North in his Reality Check e-newsletter.)