The American Dream: A Short Course on Why Things Changed

Bruce’s Poor Man Survival Bulletin

A Digest of Urban Survival Resources

http://www.PoorManSurvival.com

For Independent Minded People!

ISSN 2161-5543

 

 Don't let the fear of the time it will take to accomplish something stand in the way of your doing it. The time will pass anyway; we might just as well put that passing time to the best possible use.
- Earl Nightingale

 

 

Six Good Things Occupy Wall Street Made Possible (That You Probably Already Take for Granted…while the poverty record under Obama breaks a 50-year record).

Two years after the original occupation of Zuccotti Park on September 17, many things remain unchanged. Wall Street hedge funds and banks continue to siphon money out of our economy, the 1% has seized still more of our society's wealth, and our public places have not become permanent festivals of direct democracy.

You almost certainly came away with new friends and acquaintances. And they weren't just any friends.

But transforming the foundations of our society doesn’t happen overnight, so you might have to look a little harder to see the practical, everyday ways that Occupy changed things for the better. Here are six social transformations that Occupy helped make possible:

1. You can refer to the "1%" and have everybody know what you are talking about.

Just a few years ago, merely talking about income inequality in the United States was almost forbidden, like a form of "class warfare." It didn't really matter if you were a plumber, a politician, or a pundit: if you said there was too much money concentrated at the top and that policy was to blame, you were not to be listened to.

All too common in this country where politicians have created anti-middle class policies for years while helping their Wall Street controllers.  We've lost 10% or more of middle class since 2008 and even more since the mid-1990s when I began to write about this.  A Wall Street Journal articles I wrote boasted the headline "Burger Flippers can't afford $40K cars."  That was in 1987 when GE led the charge in off shoring US jobs.  Everyone laughed then...not so much now.

 

http://www.yesmagazine.org/people-power/six-good-things-occupy-wall-street-made-possible?utm_source=YTW&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=20131227

 

 

This is one reason why so many are leaving the US to live a more comfortable retirement…

I’ve looked into living in Costa Rica as 50,000 US retired military families live today…a lot cheaper and often a better quality of life.

 

For retirees, the average monthly Social Security check is about $1,228, according to the Social Security Administration. That might pay the rent for one room in a shared house in San Francisco or half the monthly rent for an apartment in New York City.

Or, it could foot the entire bill for your retirement somewhere by the beach in a Latin American country like Panama, Belize or Uruguay (possibly leaving you as much as $200/month to spare). That’s according to Kathleen Peddicord, founder and publisher of the Live and Invest Overseas publishing group.

And the numbers indicate a growing swath of American retirees is indeed choosing to live this way. The number of Americans receiving social security checks in South America has increased 48% from 2005 to 2012, according to the SSA. The number has risen 25% during that time in Central America and the Caribbean.

 

 

 

Ten Survival Items for the Outdoors

I have studied under survival experts, hiked with Scouts, worked with former para-rescue people and learned through dumb luck along with a few bits of wisdom gathered through living life. This qualifies me by far as no expert but does give me the opinion that most outdoors enthusiasts are not prepared for the outdoors.

This list of ten items will provide the ability for you to prepare for an outdoor experience that turns into a survival situation. It is ultimately up to you to use the first item in the list to construct the survival equipment that best suits your environment and yourself. If there is one item I do hope you get from this it is the first item.

The reality is, the items could fluctuate based on the terrain you’re in. Your brain is the one item that remains as number one.

http://www.instructables.com/id/Ten-Survival-Items-for-the-Outdoors/

 

 

Living Off the Grid in the City
For those who love the tenets of living off the grid and running self-sufficient households, there are a wide variety of strategies that can be employed in a crowded urban environment to start your home on this path.

 

Homemade Ranch Recipe

You can make this recipe many ways – with fresh and dried garlic and onion, fresh and dried parsley, more and less milk, cream cheese instead of sour cream, and just about any other variation you can think of. I’m sharing the way I think it tastes best, but definitely adjust measurements and ingredients to suit your tastebuds.

We like our ranch a little thinner so it pours easily onto salads. If you like yours thick for use as a dip, just add a little more sour cream…use organic ingredients where feasible. Find the recipe here:   http://www.poormansurvival.com/Pages/Homemade.aspx

 

The American Dream is a 30 minute animated film that shows you how you've been scammed by the most basic elements of the government system.

http://topdocumentaryfilms.com/american-dream/

 

 

A short course on how and why things have changed for the worse in America…

This past year will be remembered for many things, but let 2013 be hailed mainly for this: It was the year that the genius of George Orwell’s “Animal Farm” became clear in America. Efforts to centralize control in the name of “fairness” have led to a society that is ever more at the mercy of a federal power—one that decides who does and does not succeed. The winners are favored special interests, political cronies and wealthy lobbyists. The losers are everyone else.

 http://www.poormansurvival.com/Pages/FreedomFiles.aspx

 

 

Numrich’s Gun Parts Catalog #22  Excellent source for detailed information - hundreds and hundreds diagrams, blowups, parts numbers, more:

www.OurGreatBargains.com

 

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“Until the next revolution”, the Poor Man

 

 

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