Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“Look at the means which a man employs; consider his motives; observe his pleasures. A man simply cannot conceal himself.” – Confucius [Ware’s translation, The Sayings of Confucius, p .26]

Note from JWR:

Today we present another entry for Round 26 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest.

First Prize: A.) A course certificate from onPoint Tactical. This certificate will be for the prize winner’s choice of three-day civilian courses. (Excluding those restricted for military or government teams.) Three day onPoint courses normally cost between $500 and $600, and B.) Two cases of Mountain House freeze dried assorted entrees, in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources. (A $392 value.) C.) A HAZARiD Decontamination Kit from Safecastle.com. (A $350 value.), and D.) A 500 round case of Fiocchi 9mm Luger, 124gr. Hornady XTP/HP ammo, courtesy of Sunflower Ammo. This is a $249 value.

Second Prize: A “grab bag” of preparedness gear and books from Jim’s Amazing Secret Bunker of Redundant Redundancy (JASBORR) with a retail value of at least $350.

Third Prize: A copy of my “Rawles Gets You Ready” preparedness course, from Arbogast Publishing.

Round 26 ends on January 31st, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that articles that relate practical “how to” skills for survival have an advantage in the judging.

Survival Banking and Economics, by the Survivalist Banker

Survival is more than just having supplies, it is possessing knowledge, and specifically knowledge about free market (Austrian) economics and banking. One of the fundamental reasons for past productive success in the United States is because there were less intrusive government regulations, a smaller court system, and the division of labor was less cumbersome. Individuals were able to gravitate to where there was a demand that wasn’t currently being met, and were able to meet it without Big Brother wanting to not just regulate the behavior, but also steal a piece of the action if it was successful. If TSHTF, then we will need to return to our roots and be able to analyze where we can be productive and learn to maximize our trading capabilities.

While it is important to be able to sustain yourself as referenced by the many survivalist tactics in this blog, it is also important to consider what would happen if there was a form of Anarchy, meaning “no rule.” Have you thought about what would happen if the roads were privatized (Read Walter Block’s The Privatization of Roads and Highways)? Privatized courts, police, military, and even bodies of water? How does someone take advantage of this? Each person attempting to become self sufficient needs to study the nuances of these ideas because they could shape the community both during and especially after society attempts to put itself back together. Most people think of the intact government handling these aforementioned parts of society, but what if there was no government for a while, what if the oceans were even privatized? What is someone claimed the air?

If society as we know of today ceased to exist, the individuals who thrive will be those who didn’t just prepare to survive, but those that also have a business product in high demand and is lowly supplied. Survivalists need to look into their skill set and figure out their specialty. Is it creating low lactose dairy via goats? Growing herbs and being an apothecary? Eventually all our supplies will run out unless we have something that we can produce and trade. My recommendation is that someone specialize in a product more so than a skill. People will have a lot of time to learn new trades, but they won’t necessarily have the ability to learn both a new skill and have the resources to produce the said product.

An example would be to create a bank. May sound extreme but how many people really understand how a bank works? How many have studied Murray Rothbard and the ills of fractional reserve banking? Most people today know more about their iPod than the soundness of their bank’s balance sheet because they think the magical FDIC is guaranteeing their deposit. This has led to people only caring about the interest paid on their savings or money market accounts and not on the actual bank. Well the FDIC doesn’t really have any money, it just has our money that is taken via taxation. I think when banking returns post collapse, people will not put a deposit in banks with the idea of getting an interest payment on their money. Instead, they may note that the FDIC has been abolished due to lack of taxation, and that the only reason for a bank to exist is to safeguard the money, and they will be willing to pay a fee to do so. I am sure that there will not be many survivalists who not only understand banking, but will have a structural set up to protect the deposits. The entrepreneur who creates a vault like residence, has an ethical reputation in the community, has ample gold, silver, and yes even copper pennies, will most likely be the choice for a bank.

Now this banker would understand that he can have two types of accounts, he can have 100% of his reserves backed by a commodity such as gold, or can accept long term deposits with the idea of lending them out to other business’s or for real estate ventures. I don’t think anyone after TSHTF will want their money lent out at first, but eventually as society re-organizes itself, some individuals may want to take risk and allow their deposits to be lent out. If you have the time, go to YouTube and type in “How an Economy Grows and Why it Doesn’t” by Irwin Schiff. (This is Peter Schiff’s father). Although it is in the form of a cartoon, it explains how a primitive economy on an island grows and is fantastic for not only educating children, but also adults who aren’t economically inclined.

The combination of gold and guns for a banker is important, but it should also be noted that the new money may in fact not be gold or silver. Although it most likely will, at least in my opinion, be silver, there is the possibility it will be something else. The idea put forth by Frederick Hayek of competing currencies will probably be the scenario, and survivalists need to understand that currency is always spontaneously created. It is created out of need. It is possible that different parts of the U.S. will adapt different types of currency. A banker needs to be prepared to accommodate these types of transactions to help an economy grow from a primitive one to facilitate more advanced monetary transactions. Therefore understanding currency exchange is rather significant, as well as how to understand business’ and real estate on a risk adjusted basis, should the need for bank lending become demanded by the bank’s customers. Additionally, a banker may need to partner with another entrepreneurial survivalist with Radio/Communication expertise to stay in contact with other “start-up” banks, and be readily in touch with their customers.

The nuances of lending out deposits are great, and I’ll mention many Libertarians and Constitutionalists find it revolting, but it is still something that needs to be understood for a banker to be able to explain all available services to his potential customers. Understanding of all services is important, as it is the consumer via the free market that will dictate what is desired “post collapse,” not a government entity. The basis for banking, I believe, is the basis for modern society. Although my entry is devoted to economics and banking, there are many other novel business ideas that a survivalist could educate themselves on, my thoughts on this are “to each his/her own.”

In terms of education and where someone could go to get started, the booklist on this web site is fantastic, but for the topic of this entry I will make a few specific suggestions. First YouTube videos should be downloaded and stored on your hard drives. This will be very valuable because if the internet goes down then there will be no way to access YouTube, and I’m just using this site as an example since there are other comparable ways on the internet to find videos. Perusing the various Austrian economist sites (like the Mises Institute for starters), intelligent investors like Jim Rogers, Doug Casey, and Marc Faber, and specifically lectures on banking will be very valuable.

Besides just economics, investing, and banking, if there are any other areas of question such as the constitution or law, stocking up on some Andrew Napolitano video’s could be both useful and entertaining post collapse. If you really want a good laugh then just download things like Ben Bernanke was wrong, but I suspect that post-TSHTF no one will believe in Keynesian economics anymore anyway. Books will be important for trading, but as a banker, if you are able to hand out duplicated DVDs of topics to your customers you will help distribute the ideas of a free market post collapse in a novel way, and hopefully create not only better, but a more educated customer relationship than other competing bankers; although I’ll again mention that I think there really won’t be much competition in this area. Obviously food, protection, et cetera are needed to simply survive, but there is no way that free trade, and innovation via division of labor can truly help us after TSHTF unless we have sound banking, and an educated banking populace.

Letter Re: Photovoltaic Pathway Lights for Emergency Lighting

Dear Jim:
First, thank you for your informative site. I know you`ve helped me, and many others fill in the gaps in knowledge for preparation for times to come. I live just three miles from the San Andreas Fault , so even if the Schumer doesn`t hit the fan, “the big one” could come at any time. Thus I`ve been prepping for many years, but it was a wind storm that helped me think of this trick.

The local utility power recently went down and the girls broke out some candles,while I grabbed a couple of battery powered lanterns. Candles are great, and would not be with out them, but have inherent fire danger, I had just purchased a dozen solar yard [pathway] lights, on close-out sale for about $30 [for all 12]. With all the lights down in the neighborhood they seemed very bright all of a sudden, so I twisted off the fat Frisbee-shape tops ,and brought them inside. I started placing them throughout the house, and was able to bring a little light to each area, they are not bright, but you could walk around the entire house,with out bumping it to anything ,without any other supplemental lighting.

I started playing with improving the lighting produced by them when I realized what a great safe reusable alternative they could be. One easy way is to set them on top of a glass,and set a piece curved foil behind them, or place them in front of a mirror, I even made a little chandelier with four of them that was bright enough to play games under. I became so enamored with them that we use them every night now instead of leaving any lights at all on to make your way to the bathroom, et cetera. Another use they have is you can recharge your size AA batteries for flashlight or radio with them, they also are not going to attract a lot of attention, people may think you have a couple candles going, and [that you] are [just] as unprepared as they are. Meanwhile, you’ll save on propane and white gas.

I hope this is of help to others. If you give it a try then I’ll bet you`ll put a few in the house at night. Thanks for everything you do Jim, and may the Lord bless you , your family, and your readers, – Steve K.

Letter Re: A $20,000 Matching Donation to the Linda Rawles Memorial Fund

Jim,
I am offering a challenge for your readers. I will match dollar for dollar all donations made by your readers to Anchor of Hope up to a total of $20,000. If they will respond, we can raise $40,000 for Anchor of Hope Charities. So that you know that I am serious about this, I am sending my donation of $20,000 to them today. – An Anonymous Donor

JWR Replies: Thank you, Sir, very much for your tremendous generosity! The Anchor of Hope orphanage and school is a very worthy charity with hardly any overhead. I am hopeful that more SurvivalBlog readers will also make contributions! To get the ball rolling on your challenge offer, I just made another substantial donation.

Economics and Investing:

Even More MOAB Money: Bankers Get $4 Trillion Gift From Barney Frank

The Economist: A turbulent year in the currency markets is coming. (A hat tip to frequent content contributor G.G.)

Bill R. sent us this from The Wall Street Journal: Banks Risk Storms in Safe Havens

From Reader F.G.: California gears up to charge “Use Tax” on items purchased out of state

Items from The Economatrix:

Stocks Edge Higher as Jobless Claims Fall

Fannie, Freddie Proving Too Big to Shrink

North Korea Bans Foreign Currencies in Market Clampdown

$36 Charge for Not Using Your Credit Card

Goldman Sachs Denies Betting Against Clients on CDOs
US Studies Banks’ Handling of Toxic Assets

Pension Fund Sues Morgan Stanley Claiming Bank Knew Investments Were Bad

Odds ‘n Sods:

The mainstreaming of survivalism continues: Newsweek now seems to be saying that individual preparedness is a good idea. (Thanks to Mike F. and several other readers for sending the link.)

   o o o

Wendell in Tx. wrote mention a source for fish traps, Heinsohn.com. They run a country store in Texas.

   o o o

Ohio Jim mentioned that starting Friday, January 1st, you can’t drive an APV on your own property in Ohio unless it’s registered and licensed.

Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“The clocks stopped at one seventeen one morning. There was a long shear of bright light, then a series of low concussions. Within a year there were fires on the ridges and deranged chanting. By day the dead impaled on spikes along the road. I think it’s October but I can’t be sure. I haven’t kept a calendar for five years. Each day is more gray than the one before. Each night is darker – beyond darkness. The world gets colder week by week as the world slowly dies. No animals have survived. All the crops are long gone. Someday all the trees in the world will have fallen. The roads are peopled by refugees towing carts and road gangs looking for fuel and food. There has been cannibalism. Cannibalism is the great fear. Mostly I worry about food. Always food. Food and our shoes. Sometimes I tell the boy old stories of courage and justice – difficult as they are to remember. All I know is the child is my warrant and if he is not the word of God, then God never spoke.” – Viggo Mortensen as The Man, in The Road, (2009), screenplay by Cormac McCarthy and Joe Penhall. (Based on the novel by Cormac McCarthy.)

Notes from JWR:

The unabridged audiobook of “Patriots” is scheduled to be released today (December 31st). Thanks for your patience!

—

Today is the last day for Californian’s to be able to order British Berkefeld water filters, before an absurd new law goes into effect. for details, see the Directive 21 web site.

Letter Re: A Holiday Trash OPSEC Warning

James Wesley,
I just wanted to mention something that has been on my mind for some time but recently re-emphasized as I drove to work the other morning.

Along my route (20 blocks or so before I hit a main thoroughfare) the other day the concept of trash OPSEC really hit me. It was trash day for that part of town and I saw signs everywhere that said “come burglarize this house”. I saw flat screen television boxes, video game boxes, stereo boxes, DVD player boxes, computer boxes, small appliance boxes, toy boxes, you-name-it boxes in all sorts of shapes and sizes all prominently displaying beautiful full color graphics of the contents that they once held that were now readily available inside the home. They just looked like big billboard shopping signs for any would-be thief telling them exactly where these lovely and expensive items were.

Of course the frequency of boxes of this sort were increased due to Christmas but we should be reminded to cut and break down boxes such as this before putting them out to be recycled or disposed of. If you can burn them discretely that’s great too. [JWR Adds: Most companies are paid for their recycled cardboard or have it hauled away at no cost, so they are usually willing to allow local citizens to throw their flattened boxes into their cardboard recycling dumpster. If you get permission to do so in advance, you can do so after hours, for the greatest privacy.]

Also, don’t ever put those blow-molded gun cases that new guns come in out at the curb. Cut those up with a saw into tiny bits and filter them into your trash. Same goes for ammo boxes, etc. Just use your head and hide your waste.

Happy New Year to Jim, his family and to all the wonderful contributors and readers here at SurvivalBlog! – Tanker

Letter Re: Roll-up Hurricane Shutters

Mr. Rawles,
I just wanted to mention the possible use of [European-style roll-up steel] hurricane shutters when constructing your retreat. Here is eastern North Carolina hurricane shutters are very popular and are built right into the existing house. Roll down shutters provide many conveniences as they are built in and have very little visual impact. They can also be controlled from inside the home and provide excellent security. In addition some designs will completely seal out light from inside or outside the house. Thanks, – Jared C.

Letter Re: New British Camouflage Pattern Uniforms

James,
It appears the Brits are upgrading to a new camouflage uniform to replace the venerable Disruptive Pattern, Marine (DPM) and in some instances, the #5 Desert Combat. Dubbed the Multi-Terrain Pattern (MTP), it was developed by Crye Precision and bears a striking resemblance to their “MultiCam” camo.

It looks like their will be a flood of the old DPMs on the surplus market in the near future. [JWR Adds: This release of surplus uniforms will undoubtedly be a boon to preppers. Be prepared to stock up when the prices drop at vendors like CheaperThanDirt.com.]

Take care and God bless, – Paul

Letter Re: How Hygiene and Sanitation Have Increased Human Life Spans

Sir;
While obtaining law doctorate, one of my classes was Health Law, which is two parts navigating your way through the morass of Federal intrusion. One part was actual policy. But, I digress. Only one thing of significance stuck in my mind from that whole class: “Of the forty years increased life expectancy enjoyed in the past one-hundred years, 35 of those years are the result of improvements in
hygiene and sanitation. Five years are due to clinical medicine.” I translate that to: “you owe more for your health to the trash man and plumber than you do your doctor.”

I hope yours was a Merry Christmas. – Ben W.

JWR Replies: As prepared individuals, we need to recognize the public health risks posed by any major disruption of utility water, sewers, and garbage collection. Again: It the power grids go down for more than four or five days, it will mean The End of the World as We Know it. (TEOTWAWKI)