Bruce’s Poor Man Survival Bulletin
A Digest of Urban Survival Resources
For Independent Minded People!
ISSN 2161-5543
In This Issue:
1. Will the American Dream Continue?
2. Can you Survive in a Black Market Economy?
3. DIY Bicycle Generator Plans
4. Garden Refrigerator Pickles
Men, it
has been well said, think in herds;
it will be seen that they go mad in herds,
while they only recover their senses slowly, and one by one."
-- Charles Mackay
it will be seen that they go mad in herds,
while they only recover their senses slowly, and one by one."
-- Charles Mackay
Will the
American Dream Continue?
The global financial crisis is tremendously scary -- but various
government leaders, corporate titans and even cable-TV commentators have been
trying to assure us that if we don’t panic and we exercise patience, it will
pass without much lasting harm. They say our deposits are safe, the stock
market will eventually rebound and the American way of life will essentially
remain the same
Beware of this smoke screen of denial and ideology. The truth is
that our leaders don’t have a handle on how much damage will result, so they
frame the future the way they want it to be.
Think for yourself. Wall Street and Washington, DC, have been cooking
the books for years and twisting facts to hide the rot eating away at our
nation’s financial superstructure. Each time a distressed economic sector
fails, it is patched up with bailouts, buyouts and other cosmetic fixes.
We must consider the possibility that our lives and our futures will be
very different.
TREND: DECLINE OF THE DOLLAR
America’s going broke, and the whole world knows it. We are burdened
with $10 trillion in debt, and that’s a credit risk global financiers are less
and less willing to take. Since early 2000, the sickly dollar has lost about
25% of its value against the euro despite recent gains. Government economists
explain that the dollar collapse is “beneficial” because it attracts tourists
to the US and makes our exports more attractive overseas, but the weaker the
dollar gets, the more it costs you and me to live. When incomes do not rise as
much as the dollar drops, our standard of living goes down
The government’s massive bailout packages and rescue plans will not
work. It’s a fundamental rule of both reason and economics -- the more dollars
that are created, the less they are worth. One result: Foreign countries
with sounder economies will accelerate purchases of big chunks of US businesses
and premier properties for dimes on the dollar.
TIP: Regardless of
what happens, people will still shop and they’ll seek out goods which can be
reused, lower income folks will still buy food.
With medical costs sky high (it’s doubtful Obamacare will do much good
at containing costs and many will still be without care)…people will
increasingly seek alternative medical resources such as chiropractic treatment,
naturopathic treatments and medicines, mass therapy, etc.
Source: Gerald Celente
Gardening
is a workout. Pull weeds for 60 minutes
and burn 200 calories. Shoveling dirt
and moving rocks can burn 600 calories an hour.
PM’s
Compendium of Useful Resources
Free DIY BYO BIY plans for Pedal Power Bicycle Generator Car Alternator
Grab Gift Cards for Playing Video Games
Put your teens to ‘work’ playing video games and get rewarded with
points redeemable for gift cards and other prizes. These sites show a few ads
during the game and share the revenue with you.
Check out:
GamersGold.com
Points2Shop.com
QuickRewards.net
Garden
Refrigerator Pickles
Don’t like to can? Try this recipe, no canning needed.
In a Dutch Oven…
Combine 6 cups of sugar, 6 cups
white vinegar, ¼ cup each mustard seed and celery seed and 2 Tsb canning salt;
bring to boil. Pour over cut vegetables:
10 halved and quartered carrots, 3 sliced cucumbers, 3 cut-up sweet red
peppers, 2 sliced onions and 8 cut-up green onions. Cover and refrigerate 6-8 hours prior to
serving. Stores for 30 days.
The SBA offers a nice package of
preparedness reports for small businesses - all free to download and quite
useful.
Get more
from old clothes that you cannot donate by harvesting buttons, zippers and
laces from shoes.
The Nanny State Updates…
The police state is well under way in New York City, where NYPD has
just unveiled a $40 million supercomputer spy system to watch everything and
everybody:
http://www.naturalnews.com/036770_surveillance_supercomputer_police_state.html
http://www.naturalnews.com/036770_surveillance_supercomputer_police_state.html
Privacy
invasion - Police and firefighter drones raise huge concerns
(NaturalNews) Lawmakers and privacy advocates are becoming increasingly concerned about the rising number of drones used by federal, state and local governmental entities, an effort that is being coordinated through the Department of Homeland Security...
(NaturalNews) Lawmakers and privacy advocates are becoming increasingly concerned about the rising number of drones used by federal, state and local governmental entities, an effort that is being coordinated through the Department of Homeland Security...
"This is a Constitutional battle, and we're going to defend our
rights," says Aaron Sandusky, the owner of a medical marijuana dispensary
in Upland, California who now faces federal drug trafficking charges even
though he was operating within California state law.
Get cleaner
windows for less by dissolving 1 tablespoon of corn starch into 1 quart of
water. Soak and wring out a cleaning
cloth in the mixture and use to wipe the glass.
The Parting Thought- Life
in a Black Market Economy
Could you survive in a Black Market Economy?
Black market human fat, breast milk, body parts and more…
My former mother-in-law grew up in Manheim, Germany during the war and
post-war years. Life wasn’t easy and she
often told me about the black market…their only source of yeast, cigarettes,
nylons, liquor and meat.
“To compensate for
our worthless Reichsmark, merchants raised prices to the point where nobody
could afford to use real money. Inflation hit very hard. Barter became the
method of the day. As hard as it is for you to imagine, salaries were
eventually paid in food and clothing.”
She admitted prostitution was widespread among the German women, who
sold or exchanged their services to GI’s and other occupying forces in order to
survive.
The Weimar Republic. Serbia. Zimbabwe.
Bolivia. Argentina. Over the decades there are many examples of how
hyperinflation has decimated economies and destroyed people's savings and
ruined their lives. In every case the common denominator is a loss of confidence
in the country-government.
What would it be like here in America if we had to survive in a black
market economy?
A transaction can be illegal is if it is an otherwise legal good or
service that is bought or sold in such a way as to avoid proper licensing or
taxes. This is the case with unregistered firearms and cigarettes, which usually
include a hefty local, state, or federal tax. I have plenty of friends who obtained tobacco
products from Switzerland, Indian Reservation stores and low tax states and
resold them locally.
Due to man’s inherently entrepreneurial nature, coupled with
government’s pesky tendency to regulate, black markets can and do exist
everywhere. They do, however, tend to develop more readily in states or
countries with especially heavy regulation, such as the United States. Even
though a good or service becomes outlawed or heavily regulated, the market may
continue to demand it. As a result, the black market springs up to meet the
market’s demand. This is the case when governments place price controls,
rationing or complete prohibition on a good or service.
During wartime, black markets tend to thrive due to rationing or short
supply. During World War II, many countries had a hard time importing basic
goods to meet demand, thereby driving up prices on the black market. Eastern
Europe and the former Soviet Union had and most likely still have a healthy
black market despite the introduction of capitalism.
Consumers are often willing to overlook the illegality of a black
market transaction if they feel that the good or service is “harmless.” This is
often the case with illegal prostitution and also applied to alcohol sales
during prohibition. Although some people think that most black market
transactions are relatively harmless, the money generated on the black market is
often used for nefarious purposes. The mafia in the U.S.
thrived during prohibition, resulting in bloody battles over turf and profits.
Governments combating black markets waste vast taxpayer fortunes fighting
organized crime and racketeering, and lose
millions in tax revenues from the prohibited goods.
The variety of
goods traded in this market is enormous and the most
commonly traded black market items are:
weapons
currency
electronics and watches
fashion goods (perfumes, jewelry and bags)
clothes and accessories
pirated media (CDs and DVDs for music, films and software)
drugs
Alcohol, certain food items
tobacco
Factors that Support Black Markets
The stricter the government regulations are in a country, the great the
impetus is for a parallel economy. Corruption, shortages and monopolies also
act as catalysts for the black market.
Parallel economies are further encouraged by periods of war or any
other crisis. During harsh political conditions or natural disasters, scarce
goods are rationed by the government. People have the tendency to violate
restrictions or rationing laws to secure the products they desire.
Human Fat on the Black Market-The oddest thing I’ve heard of…
CBS
News - quoting the AP -- reports that Lima police officials arrested a
Peruvian gang of black market profiteers that allegedly killed about five
humans and then drained their fat. The human fat was collected - sometimes in
soda bottles - and supposedly sold for as much as $60,000 per gallon to
cosmetics firms located in Europe.
It’s been reported the Chinese sell body parts, taken from executed
prisoners, on the black market.
Black Market Breast Milk
Earlier this year, Daily Telegraph writer Xanthe
King exposed the Australian New South Wales black market for breast milk.
Desperate women unable to produce their own breast milk -- but unable to
receive any supplies from mothers' milk banks - opted for buying unscreened
breast milk from private parties. Of course, the United States also sees its
own private sale of breast milk, frequently to the tune of about $1.90 per 20ml.
What Sells in an Underground Economy?
Havocscope - a data
gathering organization that compiles information on illegal black market
activity - reveals that America leads the pack with a black market economy
valued at $310.6 billion. It is interesting to note that Italy comes in second,
with Japan, China and Canada filling up the top five spots. The United States',
Japan's, China's and Canada's underground economies thrive on counterfeited and
pirated consumer goods. Italy's black market is dominated by illegal drugs.
Worldwide, Marijuana ranks
first in the underground economy. It is closely followed by counterfeit
technology products and also pharmaceutical as well as prescription drugs.
Fifth on the list is cocaine. Organ
trafficking brings in roughly $50 million worldwide, with kidney donors making
about $5,000 per organ. Human body parts rank lower but still bring in a tidy
profit.
Alarmist Reporting?
...Or a Prudent Wake-Up Call
...Or a Prudent Wake-Up Call
What would happen if America chose to default on its massive
debt; although the implications are too terrible to really contemplate.
As America is already the largest debtor nation on the planet the problems
would begin immediately. Within hours of announcing debt default, the worth of
the US dollar would plummet. Within days, no one would trade with America and
no one would lend the US a dime. Around the world there would be a virtual
stampede to dump US dollars.
Learn more at:
“Until the next revolution”, the Poor Man
From the Poor Man Survival Lecture Series…Creating your own community
in a digital age..Four Step Plan for Weathering the Coming Financial Storm
One of the survival topics that is frequently discussed on a variety of
internet forums is how to create a community of like-minded individuals, and
how to organize and train that community so it has the highest possible chance
of surviving almost any type of hard times tragedy event. Part of our plan
incorporates this goal - before the storm hits.
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