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 California’s $20 minimum wage law. (See the Economy & Finance section.)

Precious Metals:

Despite some profit-taking, the precious metals bull market is looking more solid with every passing week. At last glance, on Thursday evening, 11 April:

  • Gold: $2,400.40, up 1.76% for the day. Another all-time high.
  • Silver $28.95, up 2.01% for the day
  • Platinum $1,006.00, up 1.89% for the day

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See this April 3rd article, from Bloomberg: Gold Tops $2,300 After Powell Reiterates Rate-Cut Path This Year. JWR’s Comments:  In my estimation, the current bull market in metals stems from fears of a Third World War and a weaker Dollar more than from any measly Federal Reserve shifts in interest rates. Take heed:  The Fed’s Open Market Committee (FOMC) is now stuck: They cannot substantially raise rates, or they will make it impossible for the US Treasury to service the enormous (and rapidly growing) national debt. And they cannot substantially lower rates, for fear of re-igniting inflation.  While they dither, the precious metals bull will begin to pick up speed.

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Bank Of America Sees Gold At $3,000, Warns Of A Copper Supply Crisis: Metals ‘Dance To Their Own Tune’.

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At Zero Hedge: Gold’s Defiance Of Real Yields Can’t Last Unless Trouble Brewing.

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The Costco Shoppers Putting $2,000 Gold Bars in Their Carts.

And, from CNBC: Costco selling as much as $200 million in gold bars monthly, Wells Fargo estimates.

Economy & Finance:

At the Whatfinger.com news aggregation site: California’s $20 minimum wage law forces small businesses to close and FIRE workers. “Thoughts it was an April fools joke” People with common sense understood this would likely happen…

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A Fox News Interview: Mike Rowe details ‘unintended consequences’ from CA’s $20 minimum wage: ‘Bad look for the governor, Panera’.

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In the last year, 651,000 native-born Americans have lost jobs, while 1.3 million foreign-born workers have gained jobs.

Continue reading“Economics & Investing For Preppers”

Preparedness Notes for Thursday — April 11, 2024

On April 11, 1848, Emperor Ferdinand I of Austria confirmed the March Laws, which formed the foundation of the modern state of Hungary. Pictured is Buda Castle, in Hungary. (Creative Commons photo by Costel Slincu.)

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Lieutenant Colonel George Vincent Fosbery VC (11 April 1832 – 8 May 1907) was an English recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces. He was also a designer and inventor of firearms including the famous Webley-Fosbery revolver and the Paradox Gun.

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Even after adding 30 spares which we had set aside, we are now down to less than 80 SurvivalBlog 2005-2023 Archive USB sticks. I’ve reduced the price from $30.95 to $28.95 on those last few. Order yours, now!  There will be no more produced in 2024.

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Today’s feature article is a guest piece that was too short to qualify as an entry for Round 112 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest.

More than $875,000 worth of prizes have been awarded since we started running this contest. In 2023, we polled blog readers, asking for suggested article topics. Refer to that poll if you haven’t yet chosen an article topic. Round 112 ends on May 31st, 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.

Comparison of Sunflair and All-American Sun Ovens, by M.J.

I’ve had a Sunflair Deluxe solar oven for a few years now. I recently purchased an All-American Sun Oven. I cooked with both of them recently.

The Sunflair Deluxe is made of fabric and flexible plastic (to let the sun in), whereas the Sun Oven is a large box that does not fold, but the panels that reflect the sun into the oven that do fold. I don’t recommend cooking on a windy day with the Sun Oven. The sun-reflecting panels are too fragile. That’s not a problem with the Sunflair Deluxe, but one time the wind came up and blew it off the table where I had it set up, spilling my rice everywhere. After that, I placed a metal wood-splitting wedge in my Sunflair Deluxe to prevent it from being blown over. As a bonus, the metal wedge helps to absorb and radiate heat into the oven.Continue reading“Comparison of Sunflair and All-American Sun Ovens, by M.J.”

The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods

SurvivalBlog presents another edition of The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods. This column is a collection of news bits and pieces that are relevant to the modern survivalist and prepper from JWR. Our goal is to educate our readers, to help them to recognize emerging threats, and to be better prepared for both disasters and negative societal trends. You can’t mitigate a risk if you haven’t first identified a risk. In today’s column, and examination of the advent of government surveillance cameras on private property.

Government Cameras Hidden on Private Property

Reader Robert W. mentioned this piece at AgWeb: Government Cameras Hidden on Private Property? Welcome to Open Fields. Robert’s Comments:

“This would logically extend to mining operations, farms, feed lots, dairies, stream banks and bodies of water, airstrips, anywhere there is a “regulated” activity. It kind of boggles the mind how many agencies this gives license to trespass.”

Map Shows U.S. Population Shifts

Reader D.S.V. sent us this link, illustrating The Great  Migration: Three Year Population Shift, By County JWR’s Comment:  Note the flow of American families toward the American Redoubt.

Bay Area Airports: New Facial Recognition for Travelers

R.D. sent this: Bay Area Airports Adopt Facial Recognition to Process Travelers.

Continue reading“The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods”

Preparedness Notes for Wednesday — April 10, 2024

On April 10, 1849, the safety pin was patented by Walter Hunt in the United States; he later sold his rights to the fastener for just $400.

On April 10, 1972, the development, production, and stockpiling of biological weapons were outlawed by the Biological Weapons Convention, signed by more than 150 countries.

April 10, 1827 was the birthday of General Lew Wallace. He wrote books (author of Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ), sculpted, practiced law, painted, played the violin — and made them as well. In the “Battle of Monocacy” he fought alongside 8,000 Union troops against 15,000 Confederates. He was second in command of the Lincoln conspiracy trial as well as principal in the trial of the Commander of Andersonville prison where prisoners had been starved to death. He was U.S. Ambassador to Turkey. And he served as the Territorial Governor of New Mexico.

April 10th, 1796 The birthday of James “Jim” Bowie (died March 6th, 1836 at the Battle of the Alamo.)

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SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 112 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 $2,000.
  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. A Peak Refuel “Wasatch Pack” variety of 60 servings of premium freeze-dried breakfasts and dinners in individual meal pouches — a whopping 21,970 calories, all made and packaged in the USA — courtesy of Ready Made Resources (a $359 value),
  4. American Gunsmithing Institute (AGI) is providing a $300 certificate good towards any of their DVD training courses.
  5. 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. 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 Berkey Light water filter, courtesy of USA Berkey Filters (a $305 value),
  2. 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.
  3. 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)
  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 $875,000 worth of prizes have been awarded since we started running this contest. In 2023, we polled blog readers, asking for suggested article topics. Refer to that poll if you haven’t yet chosen an article topic. Round 112 ends on May 31st, 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.

By Default: Habits, Good and Bad – Part 2, by N.C.

(Continued from Part 1. This concludes the article.)

Altering Your Default Behaviors

If you are not executing your own positive plan you’re a resource to other agents at best and their servant or slave at worst. As Seneca put it to his protégé discussing how people decry things but do not change themselves “they are lingering of their own free will in a situation which they declare they find it hard and wretched to endure. It is so, my dear Lucilius; there are a few men whom slavery holds fast, but there are many more who hold fast to slavery.” Or, as Andrew Ryan put it in the bioshock video game: “a man chooses, a slave obeys”.

Yesterday I wrote about the principles that have shaped your default and will continue to determine what your default is as you attempt to make it better. If we design a default state that prioritizes our goals we will be better prepared. If we know how to adapt that design, then regardless of what happens, what type of emergency, what type of new normal, we will be better off.Continue reading“By Default: Habits, Good and Bad – Part 2, by N.C.”

SurvivalBlog Readers’ & Editors’ Snippets

This weekly Snippets column is a collection of short items: responses to posted articles, practical self-sufficiency items, how-tos, lessons learned, tips and tricks, and news items — both from readers and from SurvivalBlog’s editors. Note that we may select some long e-mails for posting as separate letters.

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UPI reports: At least 9 dead, nearly 1,000 injured in Taiwan earthquake. JWR’s Comment: This was one of the worst earthquakes on the island since the well-publicized earthquake in 2018. (Pictured.)  We will soon see if mainland China attempts to exploit this as a “moment of weakness.”

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Another useful video from the always humorous NotaRubicon: High Power SHTF Walkie-Talkie – HYS 25 Watt UHF HT – The Ultimate Survival Radio – UHF, GMRS, HAM.

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Reader A.K. suggested this practical video: Solo Pulling a Calf.

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Federal Judge Rules Millions Of NRA Members Exempt From ATF Pistol Brace Rule.

Continue reading“SurvivalBlog Readers’ & Editors’ Snippets”

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“I was asked by a journalist if I am a secessionist. My answer was a resounding ‘No!’.  I explained that I’m rather a partitionist.  I believe that rural parts of states that have been disenfranchised by their more populous urban hubs have every right to form new States within the Union. The rural and conservative portions control the larger land areas of many states. There is nothing magical or penultimate about the number 50. It is merely a temporary stopping point that has only stood since 1959. The citizens of regions like Eastern Oregon, Eastern Washington, Northern Colorado, Southern Illinois, and Western New York have every right to choose their own destiny — that is, to choose partition.”  – James Wesley, Rawles

Preparedness Notes for Tuesday — April 9, 2024

On April 9, 1388, the Battle of Näfels culminated in a major victory for the Swiss Confederation in the first century of its struggle for self-determination against Habsburg overlordship.

April 9, 1682, René-Robert Cavelier, sieur (lord) de La Salle, claimed the Mississippi River basin for France, naming it Louisiana.

April 9, 1869, the Hudson Bay Company ceded its territory to the Commonwealth of Canada.

Amd on April 9, 1768, John Hancock refused to allow two British customs agents to go below deck of his ship. This was considered by some to be the first act of physical resistance to British authority in the American colonies.

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This new 12.5-acre property listing at SurvivalRealty caught my eye:  Fully Off-Grid Farm and Luxury Home in North Idaho.

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SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 112 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 $2,000.
  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. A Peak Refuel “Wasatch Pack” variety of 60 servings of premium freeze-dried breakfasts and dinners in individual meal pouches — a whopping 21,970 calories, all made and packaged in the USA — courtesy of Ready Made Resources (a $359 value),
  4. American Gunsmithing Institute (AGI) is providing a $300 certificate good towards any of their DVD training courses.
  5. 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. 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 Berkey Light water filter, courtesy of USA Berkey Filters (a $305 value),
  2. 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.
  3. 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)
  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 $875,000 worth of prizes have been awarded since we started running this contest. In 2023, we polled blog readers, asking for suggested article topics. Refer to that poll if you haven’t yet chosen an article topic. Round 112 ends on May 31st, 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.

By Default: Habits, Good and Bad – Part 1, by N.C.

Part 1: Design Your Default, or Lose

We’ve all had the experience of realizing that you were zoned out while you were driving. Your brain was fried from a long day at work, you got in your car and realized that (without a conscious thought) you were somewhere. Maybe at a drive-through restaurant. Maybe your house. Maybe a bar. Wherever it was, it was not where you told yourself you would go this morning. Your conscious intent was to run an errand, hit the gym, go to Wednesday night service, or go to the park for a walk. But it didn’t happen. Why? Because you have a default setting — an unconscious habit — and you didn’t overcome its momentum.

You have defaults. So do I. In fact, you have default settings to about a million different things and we are only half aware of them. What we wear on a summer day, what we eat on a work day, how fast we drive given a speed limit, when we lock doors, when (and how long) we watch television, when we check our phones, what we stock in the fridge, what you drink when thirsty, where you sit down, what radio station comes on when you turn on your vehicle, what you do with an extra moment of downtime. Rarely are these things conscious decisions. Sometimes they are but more often it’s just the echo of the actions we’ve performed in the past.
We are all always going to have a default. We are all always going to have exceptions where we don’t perform our default behavior but we’re still going to have a default.Continue reading“By Default: Habits, Good and Bad – Part 1, by N.C.”

SurvivalBlog’s News From The American Redoubt 

This weekly column features news stories and event announcements from around the American Redoubt region. (Idaho, Montana, eastern Oregon, eastern Washington, and Wyoming.) Much of the region is also more commonly known as The Inland Northwest. We also mention companies of interest to preppers and survivalists that are located in the American Redoubt region. Today, the emphasis is on illustrating the low population density of the American Redoubt Region.

Region-Wide

Mapped: North America Population Patterns by Density.

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An interesting video about the Idaho-Oregon-Nevada (ION) region: The Least Populated Part of the US. JWR’s Comments:  I am related to both the Shirk and Crow families — settlers in the Catlow Valley. The Shirks had a well-publicized range war with Pete French.  Oh, and my great uncle Joseph Rawles killed a man in a gunfight in Silver City, Idaho, in 1867.

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Spokane–Coeur d’Alene combined statistical area.

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Wallowa County Commissioners ask Idaho and Oregon Governors, Legislatures, to take up Greater Idaho discussion:

“On Monday, April 1st, Wallowa County Commissioners issued letters to the Governors of Idaho and Oregon, as well as the legislatures of both states, asking for their respective bodies to take up the issue of Greater Idaho.  The letters read, “On behalf of the citizens of Wallowa County, we are asking that you move this item forward to your respective bodies as soon as feasible for discussion.

In May of 2023, Wallowa County became the 12th county in eastern Oregon to pass a Greater Idaho measure, and they are the 5th of those counties to formally request legislators to begin border talks.”

Idaho

Here Is The Most Remote, Isolated Spot In Idaho And It’s Positively Breathtaking.

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Idaho’s Governor has signed a bill blocking the expenditure of public funds for Gender Transition surgery.

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Our Changing Population: Idaho.

Continue reading“SurvivalBlog’s News From The American Redoubt “

Preparedness Notes for Monday — April 8, 2024

It looks like there will be some big traffic jams and perhaps gasoline shortages for a few days in the solar eclipse path of totality, particularly in areas like Burlington, Vermont, where they are expecting clear skies.

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The recent destruction of the Francis Scott Key Bridge inspired the selection of today’s Quote of the Day.  Sadly, the last two verses of our national anthem are only rarely quoted or publicly sung.

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April 8th is the birthday of the late Ian Smith, Prime Minister of Rhodesia. (Born, 1919, died November 20, 2007.)

April 8th is also the anniversary of the death of English experimental gunsmith and author Phillip Luty, in 2011. He was hounded by British authorities for many years. He died of cancer before a scheduled criminal trial.

On April 8, 1913, the Seventeenth Amendment, which called for the direct election of U.S. senators by voters of the states, was ratified.

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We are now down to less than 100 SurvivalBlog 2005-2023 Archive USB sticks. I’ve reduced the price from $30.95 to $28.95 on those last few. Order yours, now!  There will be no more produced in 2024.

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Today’s feature article was written by SurvivalBlog  Field Gear Editor Tom Christianson.