Economics & Investing For Preppers

Here are the latest news items and commentary on current economics news, market trends, stocks, investing opportunities, and the precious metals markets. In this column, JWR also covers hedges, derivatives, and various obscura. This column emphasizes JWR’s “tangibles heavy” investing strategy and contrarian perspective. Today, we look at the prices of gold, silver, and platinum. (See the Precious Metals section.)

Precious Metals:

Gold and silver prices have been surprisingly strong. Typically in the summer months each year, the precious metal prices have slack sails, drifting around in the doldrums. But because we are seeing prices this strong in early August, I suspect that there will be bullish markets in the fall. Gold could possibly be going north of $2,075 per Troy ounce, by late October. If it does, then silver will rise, correspondingly.

Oh, and if there is “recession” in the headlines, then don’t expect much of a return from your platinum, since it is more of an industrial metal than monetary metal. – JWR

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A rise in U.S. money supply will drive gold, silver prices to new highs – Wells Fargo’s John LaForge.

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At Gold-Eagle.com: Fears Of Recession Support Gold Price?

Economy & Finance:

Fitch Downgrades US Credit Rating to AA+.

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Biden Blames USA Downgrade On Trump.

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The reservoir of ‘helicopter money’ is drying up.

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Forbes: Deutsche Bank’s top minds put U.S. recession chance near 100%—and say avoiding a hard landing would be ‘historically unprecedented’.

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Over at Zero Hedge: Yields Surge After Treasury Boosts Auction Sizes More Than Expected, Sees Debt Issuance Tsunami On Deck.

Continue reading“Economics & Investing For Preppers”

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“‘Moderate Republican’ is simply how the blabocracy flatters Republicans who vote with the Democrats. If it weren’t so conspicuous, the ‘New York Times‘ would start referring to ‘nice Republicans’ and ‘mean Republicans’.” –  Ann Coulter

Preparedness Notes for Sunday — August 6, 2023

On August 6th, 1945 at 8:16 a.m. (Japanese time), an American B-29 bomber – the Enola Gay – dropped the world’s first war-time atom bomb over the city of Hiroshima. Approximately 80,000 people were killed as a result of the blast, with another 35,000 injured. At least another 60,000 would be dead by the end of the year from the effects of the fallout. History is always written by the victors, so the reasoning and justification for this will be argued for years to come. But one thing is for sure: this action officially ushered in the nuclear age in war and has generated mass fear ever since, even though the firebombing of Japanese cities caused far more damage and loss of life.

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On 6 August 2011, a U.S. CH-47D Chinook military helicopter operating with the call sign Extortion 17 (spoken “one-seven”) was shot down while transporting an Immediate Reaction Force attempting to reinforce a Joint Special Operations Command unit of the 75th Ranger Regiment in the Tangi Valley in Maidan Wardak province, southwest of Kabul, Afghanistan. The resulting crash killed all 38 people on board – 25 US Navy Seals, one pilot and two crewmen of the United States Army Reserve, one pilot and one crewman of the United States Army National Guard, seven members of the Afghan National Security Forces, and one Afghan interpreter, as well as a U.S. military working dog.

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Today’s feature article is a guest piece by Brandon Smith, the editor of Alt-Market.us.  We highly recommend both his website and his newsletter The Wild Bunch Dispatch.

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We are now accepting entries for Round 108 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. More than $840,000 worth of prizes have been awarded since we started running this contest. We recently polled blog readers, asking for suggested article topics. Refer to that poll if you haven’t yet chosen an article topic. Round 108 ends on September 30th, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that there is a 1,500-word minimum, and that articles on practical “how-to” skills for survival have an advantage in the judging.

“Bidenomics” Is A Fraud Based On Deliberately Misrepresented Stats, by Brandon Smith

Economic issues are some of the most politically abused issues often because the data politicians exploit is easy to present out of context. The vast majority of the public doesn’t spend their time immersed in the intricacies of monetary policy, unemployment stats and the processes of inflation vs deflation. They hear a soundbite on the news or social media once in a while, assume it must be true and then go on with their day.

This is how economic crisis events always seem to take the population by surprise – The establishment tells people all is well and no one questions the narrative in the face of numerous warning signs. Sometimes, the populace continues to believe that everything is fine despite the financial framework burning down around them, all because the “experts” continue to convince them that recovery is “right around the corner.”

There are numerous incentives for government officials and mainstream economists to mislead the citizenry with tales of imminent prosperity in the midst of instability. Primarily, the goal is to keep the middle-class population as docile as possible so that they don’t revolt until it’s too late (the middle class being predominantly conservative, and the greatest threat to any corrupt regime). Understand that economics is the root of power, and economic perception is the key to influencing the masses.Continue reading““Bidenomics” Is A Fraud Based On Deliberately Misrepresented Stats, by Brandon Smith”

JWR’s Meme Of The Week:

The latest meme created by JWR:

Meme Text:

Senator John Fetterman Has Stepped Up From Wearing Short Pants and Hoodies. He Was Just Seen Wearing a Suit and Tie.

It Seems That He’s Putting On The Ritz

Links:

Notes From JWR: Do you have a meme idea? Just e-mail me the concept, and I’ll try to assemble it. And if it is posted then I’ll give you credit. Thanks!

Permission to repost memes that I’ve created is granted, provide that credit to SurvivalBlog.com is included.

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“He came unto his own, and his own received him not.

But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:

Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.

John bare witness of him, and cried, saying, This was he of whom I spake, He that cometh after me is preferred before me: for he was before me.

And of his fulness have all we received, and grace for grace.

For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.

No man hath seen God at any time, the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.

And this is the record of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, Who art thou?

And he confessed, and denied not; but confessed, I am not the Christ.

And they asked him, What then? Art thou Elias? And he saith, I am not. Art thou that prophet? And he answered, No.

Then said they unto him, Who art thou? that we may give an answer to them that sent us. What sayest thou of thyself?

He said, I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord, as said the prophet Esaias.” – John 1:11-23 (KJV)

Preparedness Notes for Saturday — August 5, 2023

August 5th is the sad anniversary of the Mann Gulch Fire in Montana that took the lives of 13 firefighters (including 12 smokejumpers and one former smokejumper), in 1949. The intense, fast-moving forest fire took place in what later became the Gates of the Mountains Wilderness. The events of that fire were chronicled in the book Young Men and Fire by Norman Maclean and immortalized in the haunting lyrics of the ballad Cold Missouri Waters by James Keelaghan.

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On 5 August, 1923, Hinderikus (“Henk”) Lucas Visser was born in Groningen, Holland. A veteran of the Dutch resistance during World War II, he was later involved in the CETME rifle project, the HK G3 rifle program, and several of Eugene Stoner’s projects, most notably the Stoner 63A1. He also did weapons design and tooling development for Mauser and Oerlikon. He was an ardent gun collector, whose collection formed the core of what became the Rijksmuseum gun collection in The Netherlands.

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I’m pleased to report that we’ve added Craft Holsters to our list of affiliate advertisers.  You probably recall their name from several of Pat Cascio’s handgun review articles. Pat is a big fan of Craft Holsters. These are top-quality holsters, handmade in Europe.

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SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 108 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include:

First Prize:

  1. The photovoltaic power specialists at Quantum Harvest LLC  are providing a store-wide 10% off coupon. Depending on the model chosen, this could be worth more than $2000.
  2. A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate. This can be used for any of their one, two, or three-day course (a $1,095 value),
  3. Two cases of Mountain House freeze-dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources (a $350 value),
  4. A $250 gift certificate good for any product from Sunflower Ammo,
  5. American Gunsmithing Institute (AGI) is providing a $300 certificate good towards any of their DVD training courses.
  6. Two sets of The Civil Defense Manual, (in two volumes) — a $193 value — kindly donated by the author, Jack Lawson.

Second Prize:

  1. A SIRT STIC AR-15/M4 Laser Training Package, courtesy of Next Level Training, that has a combined retail value of $679
  2. Two 1,000-foot spools of full mil-spec U.S.-made 750 paracord (in-stock colors only) from www.TOUGHGRID.com (a $240 value).
  3. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security, LLC.
  4. Montana Survival Seed is providing a $225 gift code for any items on its website, including organic non-GMO seeds, fossils, 1812-1964 US silver, jewelry, botany books, and Montana beeswax.
  5. A transferable $150 FRN purchase credit from Elk Creek Company, toward the purchase of any pre-1899 antique gun. There is no paperwork required for delivery of pre-1899 guns into most states, making them the last bastion of firearms purchasing privacy!

Third Prize:

  1. A $300 gift certificate from Good2Goco.com, good for any of their products: Home freeze dryers, pressure canners, Country Living grain mills, Emergency Essentials foods, and much more.
  2. Three sets each of made-in-USA regular and wide-mouth reusable canning lids. (This is a total of 300 lids and 600 gaskets.) This prize is courtesy of Harvest Guard (a $270 value)
  3. A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21 (a $275 value),
  4. A transferable $150 FRN purchase credit from Elk Creek Company, toward the purchase of any pre-1899 antique gun.

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More than $840,000 worth of prizes have been awarded since we started running this contest. We recently polled blog readers, asking for suggested article topics. Refer to that poll if you haven’t yet chosen an article topic. Round 108 ends on September 30th, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that there is a 1,500-word minimum, and that articles on practical “how-to” skills for survival have an advantage in the judging.

 

Defensive Spray Selection, by SwampFox

Important introductory Disclaimers, Provisos, and Warnings: The author has no affiliation with the companies selling the products mentioned in this article. No financial or other benefits have been derived, and no sponsorship is involved. The product testing mentioned in this article was not conducted scientifically, and was conducted only for the sake of curiosity. Testing chemical agents on yourself is not recommended, and is potentially hazardous to life and health. You should not attempt to replicate the test described in this article, and you should not use chemical agents on yourself, other people, or animals, except in self-defense and in accordance with federal, state, and local laws. Be advised that state and local laws vary widely, so be sure to check on them before you carry any sort of self-defense tool. Follow all manufacturer instructions related to any products you purchase or use. The author and publisher of this article assume no liability for your actions.

The first choice in less-lethal or nonlethal defense is typically OC – oleoresin capsicum, or pepper. It is especially marketed to women, who are often encouraged to keep a small canister in a pocket or a purse. Are they effective? Are some types better than others? How do you know? What is the difference between OC products and products labeled as “CS” or “CN” or products that contain a combination?

As a brief description, Pepper or OC products are naturally-derived from plants. They come in different forms – fog, liquid, foam, and gel. Most of these products are sold in a pressurized miniature aerosol can. Fog disperses the product more widely, but carries a high risk of wind blowing it back into the user’s face. Think of spray paint…you usually get some of that one you, right? Liquid sprays are similar to water from a squirt gun. Foam and gel also have that nature, except they are designed to be sticky or soapy in order to cling to the recipient’s face. Most liquid products have the greatest range, typically around 15 feet. Very large liquid canisters (not individually portable) can reach up to 30 to 40 feet, depending on weather conditions. Foam and gel are perhaps effective at 10 feet.Continue reading“Defensive Spray Selection, by SwampFox”

Editors’ Prepping Progress

To be prepared for a crisis, every Prepper must establish goals and make both long-term and short-term plans. In this column, the SurvivalBlog editors review their week’s prep activities and planned prep activities for the coming week. These range from healthcare and gear purchases to gardening, ranch improvements, bug-out bag fine-tuning, and food storage. This is something akin to our Retreat Owner Profiles, but written incrementally and in detail, throughout the year.  We always welcome you to share your own successes and wisdom in your e-mailed letters. We post many of those –or excerpts thereof — in the Odds ‘n Sods Column or in the Snippets column. Let’s keep busy and be ready!

Jim Reports:

We had a very productive week, here at the Rawles Ranch.  I got a lot of firewood cut and split, and with the help of our daughter, it is now safely stacked under cover.

I took a trip into town for a small engine repair, and to buy a replacement tube gate. I also continued my quest for stocking up on ammunition, while supplies are relatively plentiful.  I did manage to find some .410 shotshells, which continue to be scarce. The price of those shells was alarming, but we are living in the age of Bidenflation. It is better to buy things now than see our Dollars melt in the withering heat of inflation.  As I like to say: “Tangibles, tangibles, tangibles!”

I also recently discovered that we were low on paper towels. I had stocked so many rolls before the Plandemic that I had assumed that I still had large supply.  But a check down in Jim’s Amazing Secret Bunker of Redundant Redundancy (JASBORR) showed that I had just four bundles of rolls left. Yikes!  So I came home from my trip to the city with the back end of our SUV crammed full of paper towel roll bundles.

Now, on to Lily’s part of the report…Continue reading“Editors’ Prepping Progress”

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon Daniel had a dream and visions of his head upon his bed: then he wrote the dream, and told the sum of the matters.

Daniel spake and said, I saw in my vision by night, and, behold, the four winds of the heaven strove upon the great sea.

And four great beasts came up from the sea, diverse one from another.

The first was like a lion, and had eagle’s wings: I beheld till the wings thereof were plucked, and it was lifted up from the earth, and made stand upon the feet as a man, and a man’s heart was given to it.

And behold another beast, a second, like to a bear, and it raised up itself on one side, and it had three ribs in the mouth of it between the teeth of it: and they said thus unto it, Arise, devour much flesh.

After this I beheld, and lo another, like a leopard, which had upon the back of it four wings of a fowl; the beast had also four heads; and dominion was given to it.

After this I saw in the night visions, and behold a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly; and it had great iron teeth: it devoured and brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with the feet of it: and it was diverse from all the beasts that were before it; and it had ten horns.

I considered the horns, and, behold, there came up among them another little horn, before whom there were three of the first horns plucked up by the roots: and, behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of man, and a mouth speaking great things.

I beheld till the thrones were cast down, and the Ancient of days did sit, whose garment was white as snow, and the hair of his head like the pure wool: his throne was like the fiery flame, and his wheels as burning fire.

A fiery stream issued and came forth from before him: thousand thousands ministered unto him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him: the judgment was set, and the books were opened.

I beheld then because of the voice of the great words which the horn spake: I beheld even till the beast was slain, and his body destroyed, and given to the burning flame.

As concerning the rest of the beasts, they had their dominion taken away: yet their lives were prolonged for a season and time.

I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him.

And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed.” – Daniel 7:1-14 (KJV)

Preparedness Notes for Friday — August 4, 2023

On August 4, 1704, during the War of the Spanish Succession, Britain took control of Gibraltar on this day in 1704 after Spain surrendered, and “the Rock” subsequently became a British colony and a symbol of British naval strength.

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SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 108 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include:

First Prize:

  1. The photovoltaic power specialists at Quantum Harvest LLC  are providing a store-wide 10% off coupon. Depending on the model chosen, this could be worth more than $2000.
  2. A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate. This can be used for any of their one, two, or three-day course (a $1,095 value),
  3. Two cases of Mountain House freeze-dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources (a $350 value),
  4. A $250 gift certificate good for any product from Sunflower Ammo,
  5. American Gunsmithing Institute (AGI) is providing a $300 certificate good towards any of their DVD training courses.
  6. Two sets of The Civil Defense Manual, (in two volumes) — a $193 value — kindly donated by the author, Jack Lawson.

Second Prize:

  1. A SIRT STIC AR-15/M4 Laser Training Package, courtesy of Next Level Training, that has a combined retail value of $679
  2. Two 1,000-foot spools of full mil-spec U.S.-made 750 paracord (in-stock colors only) from www.TOUGHGRID.com (a $240 value).
  3. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security, LLC.
  4. Montana Survival Seed is providing a $225 gift code for any items on its website, including organic non-GMO seeds, fossils, 1812-1964 US silver, jewelry, botany books, and Montana beeswax.
  5. A transferable $150 FRN purchase credit from Elk Creek Company, toward the purchase of any pre-1899 antique gun. There is no paperwork required for delivery of pre-1899 guns into most states, making them the last bastion of firearms purchasing privacy!

Third Prize:

  1. A $300 gift certificate from Good2Goco.com, good for any of their products: Home freeze dryers, pressure canners, Country Living grain mills, Emergency Essentials foods, and much more.
  2. Three sets each of made-in-USA regular and wide-mouth reusable canning lids. (This is a total of 300 lids and 600 gaskets.) This prize is courtesy of Harvest Guard (a $270 value)
  3. A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21 (a $275 value),
  4. A transferable $150 FRN purchase credit from Elk Creek Company, toward the purchase of any pre-1899 antique gun.

—

More than $840,000 worth of prizes have been awarded since we started running this contest. We recently polled blog readers, asking for suggested article topics. Refer to that poll if you haven’t yet chosen an article topic. Round 108 ends on September 30th, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that there is a 1,500-word minimum, and that articles on practical “how-to” skills for survival have an advantage in the judging.

 

The Time It Takes, by SwampFox

I work as a truck driver. That means I spend a lot of long, boring hours driving from state to state. I have a regular route, covering the same roads each day. On good days, not much happens that is new or exciting, and to pay attention to my job I need a bit of entertainment in the background. So I listen to a lot of audiobooks. A handful of these have been survivalist fiction or preparedness-oriented. I have discovered that many authors and readers may possess some unrealistic ideas about what a prepared life looks like, or what life might be like in a world without rule-of-law or without basic services.

In many of these fictional writings, the protagonists are described as everyday suburban people: City job, decent house, a couple of kids, and the American Dream. When the crisis comes, they go home and figure things out. Maybe they have some food on hand and a couple of firearms, and with a few trips to the local hardware store they manage to scrape by. The neighborhood comes together and plants subsistence gardens and develops a mutual defense plan. But real life is just not like that!  It takes logistics, planning, budgeting, organizing…Continue reading“The Time It Takes, by SwampFox”

Economics & Investing For Preppers

Here are the latest news items and commentary on current economics news, market trends, stocks, investing opportunities, and the precious metals markets. In this column, JWR also covers hedges, derivatives, and various obscura. This column emphasizes JWR’s “tangibles heavy” investing strategy and contrarian perspective. Today, we look at the continuing automotive microchip shortage. (See the Commodities section.)

Precious Metals:

Silver continues to be the biggest beneficiary as US focus on green energy transition – Bank of America.

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Mike Gleason, at Gold-Eagle.com: Fed Expects No Recession as Inflation Negates Actual Economic Growth.

Economy & Finance:

New York, California lost more tax income than every other state as people fled liberal enclaves.

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Bank failure: Kansas Heartland Tri-State Bank closed by FDIC. JWR’s Comment: The takeover of this bank, with $139 million in total assets hardly registered a blip on the news radar for the mainstream media outlets.

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A FoxBusiness piece linked over at the Whatfinger.com news aggregation site: Ford set to lose $4.5 billion on electric vehicles this year, despite increased revenue.

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Some projections from Visual Capitalist: The Fastest Growing and Declining Industries in the U.S. (2021-2031P). JWR’s Comment:  If there is a regional war or a World War that disrupts trade, these projections would of course be “overcome by events” (OBE).

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Mega Millions Jackpot Hits $1 Billion—Here’s How Much The Winner Would Take Home After Taxes.

Continue reading“Economics & Investing For Preppers”