free trade – Survival Forum

Tag: free trade

Cutting Out Middle Man For Prepping Supplies

One nice thing about Ebay and international shipping, it lets you cut out the middle man. Rather than going to a store, or even ordering from Amazon, get on Ebay and go straight to the source.

Believe it or not, there was once a time when the internet did not exist. If you wanted something, you either went to a store and bought it, or you ordered it our of a magazine.

In the stores there are these displays where paper magazines are sold. Yes, I know it is difficult to believe, but people use to read stuff printed on paper.

Third Economic Downturn Will Be Our Undoing

Comments

One of the common questions posted on the forum is when will SHTF. When is something big going to happen?

Rather than a turd hitting a fan, what if I told you it was more like diarrhea hitting the fan? In the past 40 years we have faced 2 economic downturns that have had profound long term effects. The effects have been so slow that they ave gone unnoticed. Unnoticed that is until you look at the big picture.

Economic Downturn #1. Nixon took us off the gold standard, which caused rapid inflation.

For the most part people have no idea what the true value of their paper money is, as we have no tangible item to compare the value of paper money to.

Taking the U.S. off the gold standard has also allowed the Federal Reserve to print money out of thin air, which has also contributed to inflation.

Economic Downturn #2. Losing our shipyards in the 1980s, and the free trade acts of the 1990s. For the sake of discussion job loss will be combined into one category.

Gold Standard

Time To Batten Down The Hatches

3 Comments

As I said in a previous post, 2013 – 2020 is going to be an interesting phase in American history.

China is set to surpass the United States as the worlds largest manufacturer.

North Korea is starting up a nuclear reactor that in one year can produce enough weapons plutonium for a nuclear weapon. This puts the world on a one year timeline. Either something has to be done about North Korea within the next year, or the world sits back and allows this rogue nation to develop more nuclear weapons.

Sanctions are not working against Iran.

Social Security disability is going broke, with around 14 million people already drawing benefits and 250,000 new applicants every month.

Eurozone facing historic unemployment rates.

Russia set to increase trade with Europe to $500 billion.

In other words, the United States and Europe are going broke, while Russia and China are poised to become world financial leaders.

State Of The Nation February 2013

Comments

While shopping at the local wal-mart here in Jasper Texas, I noticed a couple of things that made me stop and think. One issue was the availability of ammunition, or rather the lack of ammunition. The other issue I am deeply concerned about was the price of a whole fryer chicken.

Ammunition – Everyone and their brother and sister is panic buying all the ammunition they can get their hands on. If civilians can strip the market of all available ammunition, where would this leave the United States if we entered a real war? Iraq and Afghanistan are not “real” wars, they are minor conflicts. The Iraq military is not bombing New York, L.A., Houston or Dallas, tens of thousands of US citizens are not dying every week, its not like in World War II when food and fuel were being rationed,,,.

The United States has some minor conflicts going on, but for some reason the store shelves have been empty of ammunition for close to a month and a half?

How would this translate if/when we have a major war with China? The conflict does not have to be with China. Lets replace China with any major world power.

Effects of Globalization on Global Conflicts

Comments

With tensions with china and the U.S. on the rise, what would happen if we went to war with china?

When you buy a product, do you read to label to see where it was made? How many “made in china” products do you see? I am willing to bet the majority of products you buy are made in china.

What do you think would happen if everything made in communist china was suddenly cut off from the U.S market?

Clothes, computer parts, shoes, toys,,,,, just about everything we consume is made in Asia.

What would stores like Best Buy and Walmart do without shipments of made in communist china products? How would the public react if they could not buy the latest and greatest tech toys? How would the auto industry react if they could not get parts?

How are we supposed to fight a war if we can not even make engines, transmissions, brake pads, computer chips, circuit boards and wheel bearings? How are we supposed to build ships without steel mills?

In the movie Patton starring George C. Scott, Patton made a comment that he knew the Germans were finished. The Germans had been defeated because they were using horses and wagons instead of armored vehicles.

Think about that for a minute, Patton knew the Germans were defeated when the Germans could no longer manufacture or maintain their vehicles.

Since communist china makes a lot of parts for the U.S.auto industry, where does that leave us? Will china only have to fight half a war? 1 – stop shipments of parts to the U.S. 2- destroy the limited manufacturing capability we have left.

National security has been sacrificed on the alter of free trade

What would war with Iran mean

Comments

I feel that Iran has positioned itself to be made a victim. Iran is supposed to be developing nuclear power plants for peaceful purposes.

Why would Iran make itself out to be a victim? To rally support, and have other nations come to its aid. Playing the victim is one of the first steps of jihad.

What I fear, if any nation strikes iran, china will jump in to protect its supply of oil.

Manufacturing base and national security

Comments

About the author: Kevin Felts graduated high school in 1986. After high school, Kevin went to work in a welding shop that built ASME certified pressure vessels. In 1987 Kevin went to work for a company that built AMSE certified heat exchangers. After working 4 years building heat exchangers, Kevin moved from shop to shop, until he went to community college and went into computers. In all, Kevin has around 14 – 15 years experience in the welding field.

Think working in a factory is only for stupid people that can not make it in college? Think free trade is good? Think cheap products from china (or anywhere else) is a good thing?

Think again.

Besides economic stability, a strong manufacturing base can be retooled during times of war.

One of the problems with the USA, Canada,,, and the rest of the world, we have forgotten what its like to be in a “real” war. This war in Iraq is not a war where our cities are being bombed. We do not even have to buy war bonds like people did during WW2.

If the US went to war with someone like Russia or china, we have no steel mills, we have only a couple of ship yards spread out through the country to build ships with, most of our steel is made overseas, most of our welding tools are made overseas. The shipyards from the 1940s and 1950s have been demolished. All that remains in some locations is an open field. There “might” be left-overs from the old ships yards, but they are far and few in between.

Prepping For SHTF

Tag: free trade

Gold Standard

Tags