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"Christmas Is Dead" Hyperinflated Venezuelans Face Holiday Without Lights, Food, & Hope

Tyler Durden's picture




 

In 2013, Maduro’s first year in office, the government released a Christmas carol praising the Socialist utopia's dictator. Last year, Maduro debuted a “socialist Barbie” that almost bankrupted stores forced to sell it after the government forced the price down to a tenth of its value. And this year, as AFP reports, "Christmas is dead, there is not enough money," according to one resident, noting there is no Christmas decor anywhere and people do not have enough money to buy presents. Some cannot even afford the basic goods needed to put together a traditional feast of roast pork and assorted sides.

 The government’s take on Christmas celebrations has been significantly more muted this year than in 2014. As Breitbart reports,

Last year, Maduro debuted a “socialist Barbie” that almost bankrupted stores forced to sell it after the government forced the price down to a tenth of its value.

 

Barbie was the latest in a series of goods – eggs, milk, flour, vegetable oil – to suffer a similar fate. Fixed price controls forced the government to issue ration cards for basic goods in 2014. That year, Maduro also used his time on television to condemn the anti-socialist opposition for being “grinches” trying to “steal Christmas from the people by condemning said price controls and demanding an end to the violent oppression of dissidents.

 

In 2013, Maduro’s first year in office, the government released a Christmas carol praising Maduro titled “Knock Knock– Who Is It? People Of Peace, Lower Those Prices, Nicolás Is Here.

Maduro has been significantly less prominent in holiday celebrations this year following the overwhelming defeat of the Venezuelan United Socialist Party (PSUV) in the December 6 legislative elections.

“This year, Christmas is dead, there is not enough money,” Elise Belisario, a resident of the Caracas suburb Petare, tells Agence France-Presse (AFP). She notes there is no Christmas decor anywhere and people do not have enough money to buy presents. Some cannot even afford the basic goods needed to put together a traditional feast of roast pork and assorted sides.

 

The website El Colombiano estimates that a full Christmas dinner costs between 2,000 and 3,000 bolívares, which is the equivalent of about one third of a monthly minimum wage. Individual basic food items can rack that price up significantly if especially scarce in any particularly neighborhood. For example, a woman selling eggs on the black market in Caracas tells AFP a box of 30 eggs costs 1,300 bolívars alone.

 

It is difficult to estimate how much these prices would translate to in dollars because the government insists on setting the value of its currency at a fixed rate most believe is intended to mask the nation’s hyperinflation problem, and is significantly higher than the real value of the bolívar on the black market. The Venezuelan website Dolar Today, which tracks the price of the bolívar on the black market, claims one American dollar is worth 841 bolívars today. This would make Venezuela’s minimum wage about $11 a month.

 

In addition to food items, non-necessary goods have seen a massive spike in prices. El Colombiano estimates the price of a Christmas tree to be up to 33,000 bolívars. A toy doll costs around 15,000 bolívars. “You either eat or you dress your children,” Lucía González, a vendor in Caracas, tells the publication.

*  *  *

Socialist utopia... where everyone is equally pissed off...

 

 

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Sat, 12/26/2015 - 14:49 | 6965447 ZeroPoint
ZeroPoint's picture

Happy Hunger Games! May the odds be ever in your favor........

Sat, 12/26/2015 - 14:52 | 6965456 johngaltfla
johngaltfla's picture

But, but, but, Communism is awesome.

Goldman Sachs told me so.

Sat, 12/26/2015 - 14:54 | 6965459 ZeroPoint
ZeroPoint's picture

The only form of government in the world is feudalism. Doesn't matter what the outer layer of the surface looks like.

Sat, 12/26/2015 - 15:04 | 6965478 Looney
Looney's picture

Who needs “lights, food, and hope” when they’ve got tons of toilet paper?

Oh, wait… they don’t?  ;-)

Looney

Sat, 12/26/2015 - 15:08 | 6965483 Cognitive Dissonance
Cognitive Dissonance's picture

Plantation living at it's finest. There is the American plantation, the European plantation, the Russian plantation, the Australian plantation, the Chinese plantation, the Brazilian plantation, the........well, you get the idea.

Sat, 12/26/2015 - 15:33 | 6965535 bigkahuna
bigkahuna's picture

Remember that gold we brought back???  ...oh yeah, ....its gone

Sat, 12/26/2015 - 15:49 | 6965558 Handful of Dust
Handful of Dust's picture

Socialism has a tendency to Schlong nations and their people eventually. Venezuelans are no exception.

Sat, 12/26/2015 - 16:09 | 6965611 sun tzu
sun tzu's picture

woman hater

Sat, 12/26/2015 - 18:10 | 6965792 God
God's picture

I'll tell you what. Do you want some top shelf chicas? Head to Venezuela. Be prepared to do battle. You know how to make a hand held single shooter, right? Silence it with a used oil or fuel filter. Your first or second chica will provide you with a few rounds. Then the town is yours on the cheap.

--GOD

Sat, 12/26/2015 - 21:22 | 6965909 Richard Chesler
Richard Chesler's picture

BLONDE SOCIALIST BARBIE? REALLY???

Mutherfucking apes can no longer keep their story straight!

 

SING TO THE TUNE OF CLASSIC VENEZUELAN AGUINALDO...

Knock, knock

Who's there?

Another free-shit monkey,

Open up the door now,

we can rape your girls.

 

Sat, 12/26/2015 - 18:30 | 6965839 duo
duo's picture

$11/month wages.  Isn't that good for business?

Sat, 12/26/2015 - 16:09 | 6965608 Benjamin123
Benjamin123's picture

Irrelevant in the grand scheme of things, billions vs trillions.

Sat, 12/26/2015 - 22:55 | 6966357 Jeffersonian Liberal
Jeffersonian Liberal's picture

Brought to you by socialists just like Bernie Sanders.

Sat, 12/26/2015 - 16:56 | 6965681 SILVERGEDDON
SILVERGEDDON's picture

Christmas is not dead - it is just resting after a long squalk.

Sat, 12/26/2015 - 17:43 | 6965756 wisebastard
wisebastard's picture

it is awesome.........for them

Sat, 12/26/2015 - 15:20 | 6965503 MrNosey
MrNosey's picture

The agenda is clear and will be rolled out across the globe in the new year......

http://beforeitsnews.com/conspiracy-theories/2015/12/as-events-spiral-ou...

Sat, 12/26/2015 - 15:33 | 6965534 phatfawzi
phatfawzi's picture

Socialist utopia... where everyone is equally pissed off ... poor

Sat, 12/26/2015 - 15:58 | 6965574 Midas
Midas's picture

Bernie Sanders for Presidente!

Sat, 12/26/2015 - 18:46 | 6965879 nmewn
nmewn's picture

Feel the quemaduro!

Sat, 12/26/2015 - 21:12 | 6966184 Midas
Midas's picture

¡En Fuego!

Sat, 12/26/2015 - 19:02 | 6965904 1033eruth
1033eruth's picture

We're on a beeline path to socialism and complete tyranny.  Why is it that I'm the only one that uses Venezuela as an indicator of our future.  The trend couldn't be more obvious.  What will happen when our national debt is a 100 trillion plus mega future liabilities.  

That is the whole point of Uncle Fraud attempting to discreetly cause dissension in the US in a variety of different ways.  To impose gun control so that they can steal from us more overtly to postpone the Ponzi collapse.  With absolute control we'll end up just like Venezuela pretending that the next election will make a difference.  Of course we're doing that now, Venezuela is just much further along the timeline. 

Sat, 12/26/2015 - 14:50 | 6965448 junction
junction's picture

Coming soon to a neighborhood near you, courtesy of Obummer and Company.

Sat, 12/26/2015 - 15:04 | 6965479 I am Jobe
Sat, 12/26/2015 - 15:10 | 6965489 XitSam
Sat, 12/26/2015 - 15:18 | 6965497 Demdere
Demdere's picture

That is the Israeli-Neocons win, you understand?

Think MSM as a permanent Israeli-Neocon deep-state COINTELPRO psyop, and discount current understandings accordingly.

Sat, 12/26/2015 - 15:54 | 6965562 Handful of Dust
Handful of Dust's picture

"Change you can believe in!"

Sat, 12/26/2015 - 21:31 | 6966226 nmewn
nmewn's picture

I did notice he didn't do the whole "If I had a son he would look like Zaevion Dobson" routine.

I wonder why that is ;-)

Sat, 12/26/2015 - 15:03 | 6965474 buttmint
buttmint's picture

...good idea to copy and paste this article to pull out in future years.

A Time Capsule.

USA and the rest of the world is not far behind Venezula's predicament.

Anyone out there have a boorish friend that works in Sunnyvale at Google? Googlers are a weird class onto themselves. This ladyfriend, a bit tipsy, revealed to me yesterday "....I'm clearing $235k at Google and cannot make ends meet."

 

 

 

 

Sat, 12/26/2015 - 16:10 | 6965614 sun tzu
sun tzu's picture

because the vast majority of people are stupid

Sat, 12/26/2015 - 15:04 | 6965480 Chuck DeBongo
Chuck DeBongo's picture

This raises a question I've been meaning to ask fellow ZHers.

I think we all accept that paper money will be hyperinflated away, hence our gold and silver stacking. However, while all that is for longer term planning, what is the best policy for cash in the short to medium term? Should I take it out of the bank and stuff it under the mattress? Or should i leave it in the bank, and earn the meagre interest which is offered to me? Or invest it in something which provides a decent dividend?

Although, long term, gold and silver is where it's at, I still want to earn more money by investment and build towards something decent (in my case, earn enough to buy a house in Australia or the United States).

Any help would be appreciated.

As for the article's topic. I feel sorry for the citizens of Venezuela. To live in a place where there is little food and resources and that which is available is out of your price range must be frustrating at best and terrifying at worst. It'd be very easy to say "That's going to happen to us! You just wait!", but I think that will be such a long way off we will be missing out of life at the moment (which, to me is a more terrifying prospect. We've only one shot at life). I don't know how they will get out this hole. But if I was the President of Venezeula? I'd be "doing a Zimbabwe" and talking to China about making the Renminbi the official currency of Venezeula (to bring price stability) and then, selling oil to them at a good price. As the film "Saw II" said:

"...once you're in Hell. only the Devil can help you out."

 

Sat, 12/26/2015 - 15:15 | 6965495 earnulf
earnulf's picture

Frankly, loaning your money out is probably the only way to earn any type of return.   Of course, that means you vet the folks you choose to loan to really well or have Guido on standby, just in case.

Or invest in some good farmland and a stable water source.    Food and water never go out of style.

Sat, 12/26/2015 - 15:20 | 6965506 Chuck DeBongo
Chuck DeBongo's picture

Thanks. Any advice is appreciated.

Sat, 12/26/2015 - 15:24 | 6965513 Demdere
Demdere's picture

The only rational goal for ends of eras is not losing your wealth.

This is a time when money is being lost, not made, except for people who profit on the trading per se.

Converting your wealth to gold in the ground in a quiet and friendly place until the world returns to civilization is the rational goal.

Sat, 12/26/2015 - 15:30 | 6965528 Chuck DeBongo
Chuck DeBongo's picture

If that is the case, then I am already rational. I am stacking and where I live is a very friendly part of the UK.

But I am trying to find a way of making money. Otherwise my free capital is just sitting there, deteriorating.

But thanks for replying. :O)

Sat, 12/26/2015 - 16:00 | 6965579 Handful of Dust
Handful of Dust's picture

Be careful if you choose the Landlord route. My brother tried that and got hit bad by a bad tenant who did quite a bit of damage. Plus, property taxes are rising and home insurance is also rising almost too fast to pass it along to a tenant. Many tenants are losing their jobs now so it's rough on them which translates into rough on the Landlord.

 

Alot depends on your location but my brtoher is in the Houston area and a serious recession is setting in their both for residential and commercial RE there.

 

 

Sat, 12/26/2015 - 16:01 | 6965586 Chuck DeBongo
Chuck DeBongo's picture

Thank you for your help. :O)

Sat, 12/26/2015 - 17:37 | 6965745 KnightTakesKing
KnightTakesKing's picture

At this point in history your objective should be capital appreciation, not making money on existing assets.

Sat, 12/26/2015 - 17:38 | 6965748 Chuck DeBongo
Chuck DeBongo's picture

Could you elaborate further, please?

Sat, 12/26/2015 - 15:27 | 6965522 tarabel
tarabel's picture

 

 

Here is my take on it...

The initial stage of any major crisis witnesses the seizing up of the principal organs of commerce. Banks are closed. ATMs are dry. Internet lines are down so businesses can't take plastic.

At that point, cash is not just king but god and emperor combined.

What happens afterward will determine whether things go back to some appearance of normality or degenerate further to the point where tangible store of value considerations take over-- gold, silver, barter.

But so long as it continues to be accepted as a medium of exchange, cash has no rival. You want cash in the mattress where it can do you some good rather than worrying over whether you get ten bucks in (taxable) interest from a hundred grand in the bank. 

While the necessities of life may be very expensive in cash terms at that time, they are not obtainable any other way. Plus, as a bonus, others will need physical cash rather than locked-up financial assets. This leads them to exchange non-essential luxury goods for the cash they need to survive and then plan on getting it back later when thigns go back to normal.

So hold cash, including lots of small bills to use for change and minor pruchases and also a nice stack of new Franklins to spread out on the hood of a car and tempt people. 

Sat, 12/26/2015 - 15:32 | 6965533 Chuck DeBongo
Chuck DeBongo's picture

Some good food for thought there. Thanks. :O)

Sat, 12/26/2015 - 16:12 | 6965616 sun tzu
sun tzu's picture

the people forced to live under hard core socialism would love to have some food for their thoughts

Sat, 12/26/2015 - 22:25 | 6966321 tarabel
tarabel's picture

 

 

This is kinda long but I only have the copy I saved rather than a web link. My apologies in advance for putting up something this lengthy but I believe it will be of interest to everyone interested in this topic.

 

“Yes, indeedy,” the first guy said with a big smile. “It sure looks like Louisiana is a-gonna get spanked. And spanked good! This looks like it might just be the best hurricane ever!”

The other guy agreed with great enthusiasm. “Yes, indeed! A once in a century event. Maybe even a once in a lifetime event and it looks like we’re going to get to see it all right here!”

Apparently, neither of them had gone for weeks without electricity in the Subtropics in late summer, where the heat index can go as high as a hundred and twenty degrees. They had probably never gone to a grocery store to find the shelves stripped bare or waited in line for hours for ice that may or may not be there when the front of the line is finally reached.

I don’t remember which station those idiots were on, but it was probably one of the big stations up north. I don’t remember seeing either one of them on TV ever again either.

We had been through many hurricanes and tropical storms over the years (Camille and Andrew immediately come to mind), but there was something particularly ominous looking about this one. It was huge, the eye was extremely tight, and it looked like we were going to be on the western side of the hurricane when it made landfall.

I went out that Saturday to fill the car up with gas and to pick up a few odds and ends that might come in handy over the coming days, though I wasn’t planning on going anywhere. I was doing this simply because the gas stations had run out of gas after previous storms.

Charcoal had been quite useful after previous storms when the electricity had gone out, so I picked up an extra twenty-pound sack. A few briquettes can heat a cast iron skillet very quickly. I’d been meaning to get one of those propane camp stoves, but whenever I could find the money and actually made the effort to go out to pick one up (usually at the start of hurricane season), the local sporting goods places were always out of them.

Ah, well. Somebody once said that you don’t go to war with the army you want. You go to war with the army you have.

Two cinder blocks and an old refrigerator shelf on a concrete patio table had done service as a stove on other occasions. I also have an old coffee can that has been converted to a hobo stove. (This is done on the outside patio, of course, because of the carbon monoxide, you know.) Two briquettes generally do the trick for the morning coffee, which I’ve brewed on numerous occasions in my very handy German mess kit. It’s aluminum and has a bail handle and a lid that doubles as a small skillet. I’ve actually cooked rice (not the minute stuff but enriched long-grain white rice) with it, and two briquettes can boil a quart of water almost instantly when the lid is on. The mess kit was a daily special from one of the big military surplus mail-order places. They practically gave it to me after I ordered a pair of boots over the phone. Maybe I’ll get one of those propane camp stoves this year.

Batteries were still plentiful at the dollar stores. Also, there were pallets of bottled water and charcoal stacked up in front of nearly every convenience store and service station, and nobody appeared to be buying any of it. There was no sense of urgency among my fellow shoppers that morning or the even next day, when I went out to pick up a couple of extra fifths of eighty-proof nerve tonic. Very few people appeared to be taking the weather warnings seriously. There had been too many misses over the last few years. (However, over the next year or so afterward, if it so much as drizzled, the store shelves would be completely stripped of bread, soft drinks, bottled water, and batteries within an hour.)

I secured the things in the yard that could potentially blow away and went about making the other usual pre-storm preparations. I cleaned out the ice chests and filled them with soft drinks and ice and filled two five-gallon jerry cans with tap water from the bathtub. We had gravity feed from a water tower, so as long as the thing didn’t blow down we would have water for awhile; the toilets would flush, and we would be able to take baths. If things started to get thin there, I had a big stainless steel cauldron we could use to boil water from a nearby creek, and of course we had bleach.

I also arranged the two cases of bottled water in the deep freeze. They would prove to be very useful, as both ice and as drinking water after the ice in the ice chests melted, if the power was out for an extended period.

Over the years we had pretty much converted all of our flashlights and portable radios to AA battery, and we had tons of batteries and candles. Last but not least, I found a couple of pairs of my olive drab, Vietnam-era 100% cotton tropical shorts. I saved them for such occasions.

I also had four seventy-two count cases of MRE entrees and a case of a hundred assorted MRE pound cakes stacked up in a dark corner of the utility room. I picked them up at a very, very good price, shortly after the Y2K thing blew over. They would come in handy in the event of things getting really thin.

I found it interesting that my neighbor in the National Guard Engineer Detachment in town hadn’t been put on alert. He was getting ready to take his family on vacation the day before the storm was scheduled to make landfall, and no silly old hurricane was about to stop him. There was still a chance that the storm would miss us, and the governor was gambling that it would because an alert would cost the state a small fortune.

The mayor of New Orleans called for a mandatory evacuation of the city on the 28th of August, and the Contraflow Plan was activated. All the lanes of I-10 and the other major highways intersecting the city would be directed out, and all the lanes of I-55 were directed north. We were approximately seventy five miles from New Orleans, and our exit was the first place where the Contraflow evacuees would be allowed to get off of the highway.

Our electricity went off shortly after dark the night before the hurricane made landfall. The little Grundig Traveler AM/FM shortwave would be our only source for news from the outside world until the lights came back on.

It was different from the other hurricanes we’d been through. There was almost no rain, and it was still a Category 3 after it made it a hundred or so miles inland. We would find out later that the winds were so strong that the rain became mist before it could hit the ground. The young pine trees in the front yard were bent completely over to where their tops touched the ground. The big oak trees took a pretty good pounding, and there was lots of potential firewood scattered around the yard.

A couple of shingles blew off the roof, but otherwise we were left relatively unscathed. The people who had ridden out the storm in the city started to pick up the broken limbs and other scattered debris.

Then the levees broke.

Several months later, I ran into an old acquaintance who had lived in the city near the 17th Street Canal. He said that after the storm passed, he went inside and started getting the stuff together to do a little outdoor grilling. While he was in his kitchen, he noticed a trickle of water coming from under the door that led to his patio. Next thing he knew, his face was pressed against the ceiling and he was treading water. He and his wife somehow managed to make it into their attic and they dug a hole in the roof with a pocketknife after the water hadn’t gone down for a couple of days. They were eventually picked up by a helicopter.

He’s still got that pocketknife and never goes anywhere without it.

The local news reports were nonexistent, as all of the local radio towers were down. Cell phones were useless, as most of their towers were down as well and the underground landlines were very shaky at best. About all we could really tell from the initial radio broadcasts coming out of Baton Rouge was that several levees had broken and a massive evacuation operation was starting to take place in the New Orleans Metro Area. They didn’t say where they were bringing the evacuees.

There were lots and lots of large military aircraft flying over at the time, mostly C-17s, C-130s, CH-53s, Blackhawks, and Chinooks. More than once, we were shaken out of bed by low-flying CH-53s and Chinooks.

It appeared that the main sources for most of the early radio broadcasts coming out of Baton Rouge were just people calling in to the stations.

Somebody said that a hundred thousand body bags had been staged outside New Orleans. Somebody else said that people were shooting at the rescue helicopters as they passed over. Some people were setting buildings on fire so they could shoot and rob any firemen who might still be around and interested. Giant rats had formed a caravan and were using the I-10 to relocate from New Orleans to Baton Rouge. Crabs from the lake were getting fat from the dead bodies floating around the city. Sharks had escaped from the aquarium and had eaten several people. (There are still a hundred and thirty-five people listed as missing.) Rock and roll legend Antoine “Fats” Domino was missing. (He was eventually found; he had been rescued by a Coast Guard helicopter.) Roadblocks had been set up on bridges to keep evacuees from New Orleans out of Gretna and other areas that were connected directly to the city.

Dangerous prisoners who were being evacuated from New Orleans had escaped. (Two of them were apprehended in an abandoned trailer near my mom’s house.) Citizens were having their firearms seized by law enforcement. Intensive care patients and the nursing home residents were being euthanized by their medical staffs and caretakers. A United States Congressman had commandeered two rescue helicopters to save the furniture from his house, while many of his constituents were trying to survive on rooftops. (The U.S. Congressman who commandeered the rescue helicopters to save his personal belongings is currently in prison, but they didn’t get him for that. He was convicted for racketeering and a bunch of other stuff.) Street gangs had taken over the city.

Nearly four hundred New Orleans Police Officers were missing and presumed lost in the flood. These police officers were eventually accounted for. A large number of them had selflessly saved their patrol vehicles for future use by driving them to Houston or Lafayette before the chaos and looting really got out of hand. Some of the officers did stay and performed as admirably as they could have under the circumstances, and there were others who have since gone to prison for various atrocities. A few of them were convicted and sent to prison in 2011 for the Henry Glover murder and the subsequent cover-up. Five others were sent to prison after the Danziger Bridge shootings. Both incidents involved law enforcement opening fire on unarmed civilians.

A brigade from the 82nd Airborne was supposed to be arriving soon to help restore order in the city. The various local and national leaders did a very good job of making sure the words “martial” and “law” were never strung together in a sentence. “Declared State of Emergency” did have a nicer ring to it.

I finally ventured out about a week after the massive evacuation operation began to see if I could find out anything in town, since the news reports we were getting from the radio were just short of useless. The four-lane highway had pretty much become an eight-lane parking lot for miles in either direction. There were hundreds, if not thousands, of dirty, ragged, and sunburned people just wandering around between the cars and looking up at the sky. A few were sitting under trees or whatever shade they could find; they all had the same glazed-over look. I had seen it before– usually in people who were way too tired and had been through way too much. It was like something out of a zombie movie, except they weren’t zombies and this wasn’t a movie.

The first thing I found out was that over the previous week, the population of our sleepy little town had grown significantly. Later, there would be estimates that our population had gone from around 4,500 to approximately 35,000.

It took nearly two hours for me to drive the four miles into town. Uniformed troops of an unknown origin were attempting to direct traffic, and I somehow wound up getting directed into a MRE distribution line that had been set up in the parking lot of a shopping center.

“How many?” a young-looking E-6 asked. He had an accent that wasn’t local.

“How many what?” I asked.

“How many you got to feed?” He sounded like he might have been from the Northeastern United States.

“Uh, six.” One of my older kids had a friend staying over during the storm.

“Got it.”

Four troops near the back of the truck threw four cases of MREs, four cases of bottled water, and two twenty-pound sacks of ice over the tailgate and tapped it twice.

“Where you guys from?” I asked as I started to drive away. I could tell from the patches they weren’t Regulars and they weren’t local Guard or Reserve.

“Pennsylvania. We’re Pennsylvania National Guard.”

They were from Pennsylvania?

Police from all over the United States were everywhere. I saw a K9 Cadaver Recovery Unit from Idaho.

Idaho?

Somebody must have thought we were in pretty deep poop. I don’t remember seeing any local, parish, or state law enforcement at all. It had been a week since the landfall, and they had probably been pretty busy. They were probably taking a break.

“Any news from the outside world?” I asked one of the National Guardsman who was helping direct the traffic out of the MRE distribution point.

“I don’t know. They sent us here to hand out MREs and water. How and the hell do you people live down here with these mosquitoes?”

I asked another who was halting the traffic on the highway, so the traffic going through the MRE distribution point could exit.

“I don’t know. How in the hell do you people live down here in this heat?”

That was about all I could get out of the Pennsylvania National Guard on that first trip to town. It’s not that they were unfriendly or anything. I don’t think they knew what was going on, either. Plus, they had been busy.

Most of the Louisiana National Guard was still scattered and gone. They were all at home or somewhere else when the chaos started. It would take weeks to get them mobilized at this point.

I decided to attempt to take seldom used back roads in an attempt to get home, since the Red Cross had set up a relief center in a large vacant lot across the highway from the MRE distribution point and I really didn’t want to get directed into a two-hour long line for clean clothes and toiletries that we didn’t need. I was surprised to find the old, gravel roads clogged with utility bucket trucks and military vehicles, but I still managed to make it home in under an hour.

I quickly discovered that given the traffic considerations, the shortest route into town was actually through the MRE line. I was still fairly fluent in the language of the Regular Army and the troops did eventually start to let tidbits of information slip when they got it, which was a bit sooner than the general public did, since they were also there to provide security details. I found out that the Post Office would be opening in a week and that the people who got rural delivery would be able to pick up their mail. The big Postal Processing Center in New Orleans had been flooded out, and the big Postal Processing Center in Baton Rouge was trying to pick up the slack. I also found out that they would soon announce that I was eligible for $750 worth of emergency food stamps and that the Red Cross was going to give all the families in the disaster area $1275 apiece for just having been in the disaster area when the storm hit.

I also found out that this particular Pennsylvania National Guard Battalion had just received a bunch of brand-new 5.56 NATO M249 Squad Automatic Weapons and that, even though none of the troops were ever seen carrying weapons out in the open, there were several fully armed, locked and loaded special reaction teams dispersed out of plain sight at various strategic locations around town. They were behind the Post Office, behind some buildings near the MRE line, and behind the food stamp office, just in case things started to get out of hand for whatever reason.

I figured I’d better go check on my other neighbors. I had known them since I was a little kid, and Mrs. D was a serious busybody. If there was any real news to be had, she would have it. If not, she would at least have some interesting gossip. She and her husband were retired professionals, who lived in a very nice house with an extremely well-manicured lawn. They had been without electricity for about a week. As I approached their yard, I cinched up my belt a few notches and slipped the big Colt Government Model into my back pocket, because I didn’t want to cause Mrs. D. any undue concern. I had been bringing it everywhere lately, and my shirt tail covered it when it was in my back pocket. I hid the old black flap holster and heavy web pistol belt under hedge bush near the front door. All of the doors and windows of the house appeared to be open wide.

“Hello?”

“Back here!” came the answer.

I walked around to the back of the house to see Mrs. D. draping an enormous pair of freshly wrung boxer shorts over her chain-length fence. She had been doing her laundry with a hosepipe, a five-gallon bucket, and an old washboard that had been a decoration on her patio the week before.

“I really miss my washer and dryer, and I’m afraid this heat is killing poor Mr. D. All he does is lie on that mattress we drug out in front of the big window after the air conditioner stopped working. He never did take care of himself the way he should have.”

“He should be acclimated before too long,” I said.

A few weeks before the storm, I thought I had seen a Sasquatch or a bear or something in Mrs. D.’s yard. It turned out it was only Mr. D. He wasn’t wearing a shirt at the time.

“Oh. Did you hear? Uncle Paul’s going to open the store for a little while tomorrow. The bread man, the potato chip man, and the beer man are all supposed to make deliveries in the morning, if they can get through.”

“Whoa. What time?”

“There’re opening at ten in the morning. It looks like we’re going to have to shop by candlelight.”

After that, I made it a point to check in with Mrs. D. every couple of days or so.

Mrs. D’s uncle ran a small grocery store a few hundred yards away from where my driveway intersected with the highway. They were closed on Sundays and had been closed since before the storm made landfall that Monday morning. They would probably still be pretty well stocked. Unfortunately, I was a little short on folding money at the time.

Whoops.

I knew I was forgetting something during those pre-storm preparations. The banks were all closed until further notice, and ATMs did not work without electricity. Mrs. D.’s uncle was a mean old man. I knew people who wound up driving as far away as Arkansas to find ATMs during those first weeks. I did have a big jar of change I kept for emergencies. It was mostly nickels and pennies, but it was still legal tender. There were probably a few dimes in there, too.

There was already a long line outside the store when we got there, shortly before ten. Word of such events gets around fast in a disaster area.

One of Mrs. D.’s cousins was allowing people to enter in twos and threes, while two more of her cousins escorted them around the store. After we finally made it inside, we saw Uncle Paul sitting on a stool behind the liquor counter and manning an old mechanical cash register that had been little more than a decoration the week before. There were six or seven racks of fresh white bread stacked next to the counter and several more empty ones leaning against the wall behind it. Two large ice chests were lined up on the floor in front of the counter. One was labeled “DAIRY” and the other was labeled “MEAT.” Uncle Paul was wearing what looked to be an old Smith and Wesson Service Model .38 on his right hip, and he was dripping with sweat.

Lit candles were arranged between the isles at six-foot intervals, which didn’t help the sauna-like conditions inside the store at all. Shopping carts were not allowed, because of the danger of someone running over a candle. Uncle Paul grunted and nodded toward a sign that said “CASH ONLY” and then toward a stack of shopping baskets. The wife picked one up.

He didn’t appear to notice the big jar of change I was holding, and the improvised back-pocket method for carrying the big Colt piston was still working out pretty okay for the time being.

We picked up a twelve-pack of red Coca-Cola (limit of one per customer), two cans of deviled ham, a big bag of potato chips (another item limited to one per customer), a pound of butter (the only thing left in either of the ice chests, except for the ice), two loaves of bread, and what were possibly the last two packs of red Marlboros to be found in the Gulf South Region.

“Limit one loaf per customer,” Uncle Paul grunted. I put one of the loaves back.

He looked over everything, punched a few buttons on the old cash register, hit the big total button, and said, “Seventeen dollars.”

I set the big jar of change on the counter.

“What is that for?” he asked as his hand moved toward the butt of the revolver.

“It’s money. Give me a minute to count it.”

“You’re crazy if you think I’m going to fool with all that.” Uncle Paul grunted as he rested his hand on the butt of the revolver.

The wife stepped in. “It’s seventeen dollars even, right? Can I just write a check?” Uncle Paul glanced over his shoulder at the long line of people still waiting outside. He grumbled and nodded.

I don’t really think the mean old man would have shot me for attempting to pay for $17 worth of groceries with nickels and pennies. However, at the time, I wasn’t so sure.

The traffic and chaos began to slack up a little after a few weeks. Our electricity did come back on at some point during that time. Ours were among the first lights to come back on, as living down the road from a light company executive does have some advantages. There were people on the other side of town who went several more weeks without electricity. I did eventually find a working ATM at a local bank shortly after the lights came back on in town and it still had some money in it when I finally made it to the front of the long line, but there was a $40 limit on withdrawals.

Rows and rows of small, white, rectangular FEMA trailers had begun to appear in vacant lots and open fields all over the place, and every bit of useable indoor space was occupied by somebody or something. The house in front of ours that had been vacant shortly before the storm, had three families of evacuees from New Orleans sharing it afterward. Somebody even camped out one night in an abandoned barn in a nearby field. I saw their headlights and went to check it out the next morning, but all I found were tire tracks and a few empty beer cans. The brigade from the 82nd Airborne set up shop at a nearby university.

The shortages continued and things in red packaging were particularly hard to find. It was impossible to find red cans of regular Coca-Cola or red Marlboros. (There was plenty of Diet Coke though.) While no fresh meat, fresh produce, or dairy ever seemed to make it to the grocery store shelves, somehow the beer trucks always found a way to make it through, and the Pennsylvania National Guard made sure we had plenty of ice. They were very sharp and professional.

Mrs. D told me that she heard the electricity was back on in the city where the brigade from the 82nd Airborne was and that they were going to open the big Walmart. We probably should have waited a few weeks before making that trip, especially since there wasn’t anything we really needed, but we went anyway. Cabin fever and curiosity got the best of us. The traffic was still pretty rough, and it took nearly an hour to make what had been a twenty-minute trip.

Several hundred people (if not more) were milling around the parking lot. There were people looking for lost relatives. (Message boards had sprung up all over the place since the mass evacuation operation had started and there was still no cell phone service.) Families were looking to pick up a few supplies they should have picked up before the storm, and others were looking to restock their pantries after the unexpected arrival of evacuee friends and relatives from New Orleans. One family I knew had over thirty people move in with them after the storm. People were sleeping in their utility room and tool shed.

Only one of the big store’s entrances was open. I saw people waiting in a long line to pass through a metal detector as we looked for a place to park. I hated to do it, but I was going to have to leave my pocketknife and the big Colt pistol in the car. Two security guards in black BDUs and body armor wanded us after we passed through the metal detector, while two more stood off to the side. They were both holding HK submachine guns, and all of them were armed with big Glock pistols. They were all wearing tactical headsets and Terminator-style sunglasses.

“Where are you guys from?” I asked, as I passed through the metal detector.

I got no answer. He silently waved us into the store. There were no distinctive markings or name tags on their uniforms or body armor. They all had shaved heads, and they were all tall, lean, and muscular. The ripple-soled boots they were wearing probably added a couple of inches to each of them.

I remember being surprised that there were not very many people in the big store, but there wasn’t a whole lot to shop for. The shelves were mostly bare; it was “CASH ONLY”; the ATMs all had “out of service” signs on them; there were no batteries of any kind (which was okay since we still had plenty); and there wasn’t as much as a crumb of charcoal to be found (but that was okay too, since our electricity had come back on). There was no fresh meat or produce, but they did have gallons of whole milk (limit one per customer), and their bakery had been working overtime to keep the bread and doughnuts flowing. Another pair of security guards stood at each end of the bakery counter.

“Where you guys from?” I asked.

Again, there was no answer.

I glanced down to see the selector switch on his HK submachine gun was set on burst.

These were no regular security guards. They were too well equipped, too well armed, too lean and muscular, and too well disciplined. I couldn’t get a word out of them, so I had no chance of picking up an accent.

Mercenaries? Foreigners? Foreign mercenaries guarding a Walmart?

Maybe my imagination was slipping into overdrive, but things were strange all over.

As was typical, we had spent way more time waiting in line to get into the store than we actually spent in the store itself. Probably an hour in the line for the metal detector and twenty minutes to pick up a loaf of bread, a gallon of milk, and a dozen fresh doughnuts.

It may have seemed like a lot to go through for a loaf of fresh bread, a gallon of milk, and a dozen glazed doughnuts, but at the time, they were the best doughnuts in the entire world.

Many of the evacuees were having a hard time adjusting to the current situation. Our small town was in no way prepared for the traffic nightmares that came about after a sudden infusion of 30,000 new residents. Fender-benders and road-rage incidents became common occurrences. A couple of months after the storm, a little fellow in a great big pickup truck parked way too close to me in the grocery store parking lot. Instead of backing out and attempting to park again, he started slamming his door into the passenger side of my much smaller truck. He then shimmied through the partially open door and started screaming and cursing. He clenched his fists and took on a somewhat more threating posture after he stomped around to where I was still sitting in the driver’s seat. His shirtless passenger was right behind him. He was waving his arms around in the air for some reason.

I had already slipped the big Colt pistol out of the old black flap holster, but I didn’t actually cock it until he put his hands on the edge of the open window.

“Can I help you with something?” I asked.

His eyes grew large and his mouth dropped open. He made a kind of squeaky sound as he slowly removed his hands and backed away. He grabbed his passenger by the arm and led him back to the great big pickup truck. He hopped in the passenger side and slid across into the driver’s seat. His passenger got in behind him, and they quietly drove away.

I remember being worried about shooting through my rolled-down window.

It wouldn’t be the last time I cocked the big pistol during what was now being called, “The New Normal”.

Several weeks later, a large SUV came creeping down my long, ill-repaired driveway with its lights off. It was a little after 4:00 a.m. and still very dark, when three little fellows got out of the vehicle and approached my front door.

I have six treacherous little dachshunds that are capable of making quite a terrible racket when they’re disturbed, and they are very easily disturbed. They’re also extremely vicious and have very large teeth, for being such small dogs. We can no longer have visitors, as they tend to bite people– even people they know. Last time my son visited, he wound up trying to get out of the door with one clamped tightly on his rear end. One of them bit my older daughter (also in the same area) the last time she visited, and they raised them as puppies. I have no doubt they wouldn’t leave a scrap of meat on the bones of a stranger.

Anyway, the dachsies made such a terrible racket that I had no trouble at all slipping out the back door unnoticed with the big Colt pistol. I was standing no more than ten feet away and noticed that one of the little fellows appeared to be holding a pry-bar or something. They appeared puzzled as they looked through the window of the front door while the dachsies continued to bark, shriek, and howl. They were making such a racket that I couldn’t hear a thing those little fellows were saying, nor could they hear me cocking the pistol.

Fortunately, they got back in their vehicle and left without further incident. It probably wouldn’t have looked too good if I’d shot them in the back while they were attempting to break in my front door. Of course, they may have just been looking for directions or something.

We had Thanksgiving without a turkey that year. My sister did find a turkey in Baton Rouge for Christmas, but she has connections. We also had a hard time finding Easter candy that spring.

Most of the evacuees eventually started going home to start rebuilding. A few stayed in the area, and some went somewhere else to start over. We actually ran into a few while passing through Northern Georgia the next summer.

For a very long time afterward, the name “Katrina” wasn’t spoken out loud by the locals. It was a weird, almost tribal, kinda thing. It was as if we said the boogeyman’s name, he would come back and get us. When we relate incidents, we say “before the hurricane” or “after the hurricane”.

 

It’s been nearly ten years, and there are still reminders everywhere. Just the other day I saw a herd of dairy cows around in a pasture between long rows of utility hookups that once serviced a couple of hundred FEMA trailers. We still have the ridiculously over-sized traffic signs that came into vogue after many, many traffic accidents occurred at a couple of intersections that were either beyond the patience or the comprehension of the evacuees. Also, my pine trees are still crooked.

Sun, 12/27/2015 - 08:01 | 6966742 Arnold
Arnold's picture

Tar,

is the attribute in the hyperlinks?

Or was this your experience?

Sun, 12/27/2015 - 14:23 | 6967306 tarabel
tarabel's picture

 

 

This was from someone else. Links are theirs.

Sat, 12/26/2015 - 15:58 | 6965573 My Days Are Get...
My Days Are Getting Fewer's picture

I have lived my life by your credo for a long time.  There are other ways to protect yourself, besides collecting cash and paying your credit cards to zero.  Go to your landlord and offer to pre-pay 5 months of rent in cash with a receipt for a 5% discount.  If you own real estate - prepay 6 or 12 months worth of taxes.  Prepayment of electric and gas bills makes sense unless you are moving out very soon.  Prepayment on a mortgage usually results in a credit againt the principal balance, unless you send instructions to have the money credited against future installment payments.  If there is anything you can do without, then do without and stuff the savings in cash into a cookie jar.

Sat, 12/26/2015 - 16:01 | 6965587 bbq on whitehou...
bbq on whitehouse lawn's picture

Cash helps if something breaks: power outage, bomb scare, protests, etc.
Cash doesnt help with long winters, where the demad on money continues to out grow rents, income and economies.
Its the governments demand or everything that will outstrip the ability to supply it with everything. The vertual need vs the organic abilities of supply an demand.
You cant win vs the mob and their printing press, what you are forced to earn they can print at no cost, your earning power will just melt away. Its not your money its the governments.

Sat, 12/26/2015 - 16:07 | 6965602 Lucky Leprachaun
Lucky Leprachaun's picture

Largely agree and it's what I'm doing. But the big enemy of cash is high inflation and the temptatation of governments in crisi is to try and print their way out.

And by the way do you really think that the initial stage "of any major crisis witnesses the seizing up of the principal organs of commerce. Banks are closed and ATMs are dry?"

Seems to me the crisis is well underway at that stage.

Sat, 12/26/2015 - 22:16 | 6966302 tarabel
tarabel's picture

 

 

Well, let's put it this way...

As soon as the banks and ATMs aren't working and the credit cards readers are inoperable, everybody (no matter how foolish) will instantly realize that there is a problem. That is the moment when the scenario becomes real to them personally.

With a little luck, many more-attuned people will have already recognized the situation and either gotten out of town or down to Walmart and maxed out their cards prior to everyone else catching on.

Not everybody loses in a crisis, as I'm sure you know.

Sat, 12/26/2015 - 17:16 | 6965715 hairball48
hairball48's picture

@Tarabel I agree.

Cash will be king when things go to hell. And while gold and silver can be traded for goods and services "directly"....PMs bigger value and utility is that there will always be "traders" who will trade whatever paper currency is circulating for PMs. The question will be at what price?

Sat, 12/26/2015 - 16:03 | 6965591 bigkahuna
bigkahuna's picture

Chuck,

The monetary system here (in the US) will last until the guys on top have drained all they can and converted all USD assets to political power and other resources (land, real estate, PMs, perhaps other currencies). Then they will sweep the table by crashing the USD and then taking whatever they want for a pittance. These guys have been at it for a very long time, but now instead of a productive cash cow, the base here has started to consume itself and they are still stealing with both hands from a base that is orders of magnatude weaker than it has been in the last 100 years or so - and that is why you are witnessing the neverending wars - well at least they won't end untill the whole thing collapses. You are rolling the dice no matter what you do with hard currency. No matter if it is in the bank or in your hand - someone else owns it, even though you, me and everyone else have earned what we have. I have read that if the SHTF and you have currency, you should be good with that for a couple weeks or so, but after that it can be iffy wether the old currency is accepted or maintains any value.

Can you tell me what advantages you see in moving to the US? I have heard lots of people give opinions regarding advantages to the US but not many opinions coming from real potential immigrants.

Sat, 12/26/2015 - 16:18 | 6965628 Chuck DeBongo
Chuck DeBongo's picture

Hello, Bigkahuna,

 

Firstly thank you for your advice. In fact thank you, everyone for any help you've offered. It is much appreciated. :O)

Secondly, why the United States? Well, part of it is a romantacised idea in my head. Since I was a young Chuckie, the US has always fascinated me. The cars were nicer, the job opportunities seemed more abundant and I felt I had more in common with Americans that British peopl (despite being British myself!). But over the years, I've seen (according to the media) that tempers are fraying and that everyone is at each others' throat in the US. I still have that romantacised idea of the US in my head, but if you can disabuse me of that, please do. Now, don't get me wrong, I like living in the UK and I still think it's a great country to live and work in. But I'm bored of it here and want to try elsewhere. However, US immigration laws are particularly harsh to UK citizens like me. So much for the "special relationship"! So, I'm thinking, maybe a financial collapse will allow me to buy my way in? It's a long shot, I grant you. 

As for advantages, I can't answer that because, on paper, I think life in the UK is better. Free healthcare, a reasonable welfare system, lovely scenery and football! But my reasons for wanting to come to the US is more of a idea that was planted in my head at a young age.

Sat, 12/26/2015 - 17:24 | 6965732 Jacksons Ghost
Jacksons Ghost's picture

Like hidden corners of the UK, parts of the US are still very nice. Urban areas in USA are generally helll holes.

I live in Northern New England and it is still very nice, scenic, safe etc...

Sat, 12/26/2015 - 18:36 | 6965858 bigkahuna
bigkahuna's picture

I am afraid I will not be able to disagree or dispute the perception that you have regarding the trouble we are having between our people. It has become envogue for our politicians and main stream media to air stories particularly along the theme of white on black type crime while ignoring the crime which is either race neutral (random in nature) or black on white - all this does is stir up trouble among those unaware of the dangerous manipulation that the msm is engaging in. There are also attempts by our socialists and their friends to demonize firearm owners and their friends primarily through the msm. That causes anger from the socialists and anger/deep suspicion from the firearm owners. These two artificial conflicts alone seem to be self sustaining until the msm either finds something else to divide people up with. What I have been surprised by is the number of people who have been taken in by the msm and that talking them out of their msm inspired beliefs seems to be close to impossible.

I have always thought of England as the place where many of my ancestors came from. A place where I could go and not have to worry about someone thinking I had what is called "white privilage". I wonder if it is like that over there - or do people over there give you a difficult time about your race sometimes? I have seen the pictures of the English countrysides and they are very nice. 

I would also agree with the other commentor that there are places in the US where you can still enjoy the countryside and where there are nice people. I would also stay away from the big cities though if possible. There are more jobs and schools there - but you run into many of the unsavory types who would steal or behave in an unstable manner there. If you found yourself up in a big city, there are nice folks there too - but it is good to be vigilant.

Immigration does seem to be an issue here. It is another one of the wedge issues in the US. (humor) If you made your way through Mexico and attempted to claim refugee status from one of the current hot zones like Iraq or Syria they might let you in, give you housing and food, then register you to vote. It would save you the bull that all of the legal immigrants have to go through:)

Perhaps you could get a temporary work or school visa to come check it out. You may find that the UK is the place to be. Its along those lines of we don't know what we've got until its gone.

Sat, 12/26/2015 - 19:40 | 6965985 Chuck DeBongo
Chuck DeBongo's picture

Thanks for your reply. :O)

The problem of racism in the UK isn't really endemic here. I'm not saying it doesn't exist, but it's not really something I hear about a lot (and I'm talking about GENUINE cases. Not someone lashing out because they can't accept their failings). In terms of crime, you might find a few yobs and loudmouths on the street which might make one feel uncomfortable, but that's about it. I've always said the UK is a "7 out of 10 country". It won't blow your socks off, but you'll find everything reasonable. A place to go when you don';t want surprises (good or bad).

As for a US visa. You're not joking! I tried to get a visa as a scientist and was told no. Yet, if I was a religious worker, I would have had the red carpet rolled out to me! I keep hearing about how the US want people who will make a positive conitribution to the economy, yet they seem to be doing everything they can to keep those people out! Under current visa laws (and I've checked this out) a scientist from the UK cannot get a visa to the US unless a job is offered to them (and that's still no guarantee you'll get the visa) or they can demonstrate "extraordinary abilities" (whatever that means). But a priest can get a visa with no problems as can a a refugee with no discernable skills.

Still, maybe in the future, eh?

 

 

Sun, 12/27/2015 - 00:31 | 6966490 bigkahuna
bigkahuna's picture

Best of luck to you in getting to the next place. I am also surprised that a scientist cannot get a visa here. The priest thing sounds really strange. I have yet to enter a church where there is no clergy. Hopefully we can get some reality based immigration at work here. Agreed, perhaps in the future.

Thanks for the insights and I hope you had a Merry Christmas and have a Happy New Year!

Sun, 12/27/2015 - 06:37 | 6966702 Chuck DeBongo
Chuck DeBongo's picture

I hope you had a good one, too. Peace to you and your family.

Sat, 12/26/2015 - 19:09 | 6965922 1033eruth
1033eruth's picture

Take ALL of your money out of the bank.  Sweden is leading the US on the path to a total digital purchasing system, eliminating cash entirely.  The article was in Drudge today.

It will be eliminated here as well with a long grace period for using up cash.  Retailers, etc will turn in money at the banks when they receive it.  No more money will be printed or coined and Uncle Fraud will have absolute control and tracking ability of digital currency.  This agenda will happen very quickly after gun control is secured in this country.  Once gun control is cinched in the US, things are going to happen very, VERY quickly.   

Sat, 12/26/2015 - 21:25 | 6966216 Cornfedbloodstool
Cornfedbloodstool's picture

Asking questions are you a fag or something /sarc.

Sat, 12/26/2015 - 23:10 | 6966372 Reginald Blome
Reginald Blome's picture

(Note: I'm not affiliated with any of the companies mentioned or getting paid in any way, just offering my 2 pence, we all depend on the help of others to make our way in life - save the downvotes for the porn link and work at home spammers!)

Chuck -

For earning a return on your cash, there's a bullion storage company in Singapore called Silver Bullion (I went there a couple months back to visit my metal, I'm paranoid like that) that allows customers to lend to other customers against their bullion. The yields aren't super high (around 3-5% in usd) but if the loan isn't paid, the bullion gets sold to cover it. Customers can only borrow about half the value of their metal so from that perspective it's pretty safe.

I met with the management team and they're solid people, so in my opinion the risk of getting Corzined is low. Plus it's Singapore,  famous for caning you for gum on the sidewalk, so it's probably one of the least terrible governments to have to rely on.

This next suggestion I don't have any personal experience with, but I'd put a small amount out to a variety of borrowers on the various p2p lending sites like prosper, lending club, etc. Spread it out among currencies and countries if you can. I'd keep the terms short and view this as high risk, high reward activity.

Speaking from almost 20 years experience now on this next topic, the single best thing you can do with your time and money is to invest in your own skills, knowledge, and wisdom. On a macro level, study the history of commerce and money, so that you can prepare for a variety of circumstances that may lay ahead courtesy of our masters, TPTB. On a micro level, there are few things that work out better than finding your niche in business and controlling your own destiny to the extent possible that way. I have a buddy who is in the used copier trading business. It's one of those countless little random niche markets that nobody thinks about. He started with nothing and just built his business the old fashioned way, with no financing, special privileges, etc. Just hard work every day and making sure that his costs are less than his revenues.

In this way, you have an edge over all other potential investments when choosing how to deploy your risk capital: knowledge. My buddy doesn't mind buying a gazillion used copiers if the price is right because he's an expert in his market. 

I have my own little obscure niche that I play in to provide current income, and I like physical precious metals for my long term savings. As others have sagely noted on this thread, I too feel that this environment lends itself to simply trying to not lose your capital, rather than trying to high returns since almost everything save pm's is overpriced, and I suspect that TPTB will find a way to fleece us once gold and silver become in vogue again (plus who knows how long that might be?)

Best of luck to you and I suggest looking further afield than US or Australia to build your dream. I'm a US citizen but the country I was born in almost 40 years ago doesn't exist anymore and the pace of change toward totalitarianism is accelerating. 

 

Sat, 12/26/2015 - 15:10 | 6965485 pankowboy
pankowboy's picture

where is that marxist dick krugboy to tell us the folly of "austerity"?

Sat, 12/26/2015 - 15:10 | 6965488 BarkingCat
BarkingCat's picture

Venezuela is one of the countries that could be self sufficient. Good climate with good land and other natural resources.

There is no reason beyond their government why they are in such a critical situation.

Seems to me that soon enough we will be hearing about 50 cent Venezuelan prostitutes.

Sat, 12/26/2015 - 15:45 | 6965554 bamawatson
bamawatson's picture

do you mean they are going to increase their price?

Sat, 12/26/2015 - 16:01 | 6965588 Midas
Midas's picture

Not only do they have oil money shooting out of the ground, but they also have hydropower falling from the sky, yet they still can't make a go of it.  Socialism for the Loss!

Sat, 12/26/2015 - 16:17 | 6965625 White Mountains
White Mountains's picture

50 cent Venezuelan prostitutes?  I'm up for that.

Sat, 12/26/2015 - 16:17 | 6965627 coast
coast's picture

Same goes for mexico

Sat, 12/26/2015 - 15:15 | 6965496 ZIRPY
ZIRPY's picture

Correction: Consumer Christmas is dead. Real Christmas is a religious holiday and is celebrated in your heart and in the hearts of fellow believers as a community.

 

Gov'ts come and go as mankind's efforts at control invariably become more and more centralized and then collapse under the weight of increasing corruption and bureaucracy. Historically the people of European descent have then fallen back on Judeo-Christian values and organized at the local level for survival.

After a century or so of Marxism and Socialism the de-concentration of power from the core to the community will probably be a more difficult adjustment, but it's an adjustment that will have to be made when DC and Brussels collapse from their indebtedness and corruption.

Sat, 12/26/2015 - 15:31 | 6965532 o r c k
o r c k's picture

Humans will never progress until they admit the true source of their deadly self-destruction: Millions of years of a genetic propensity to "worship" the big, powerful leader of the extended family group. It was an evolutionary necessity that made us who we are today but it was worse than useless when we became the ultra self-aware organisms of the past hundred thousand years or so. If we don't face up to this and breed it out of our psyches we are eventually doomed as a species.

Sat, 12/26/2015 - 16:08 | 6965605 bbq on whitehou...
bbq on whitehouse lawn's picture

Nature is not the problem, man wanting to improve on nature is the problem. A billion years of trial and error learns what works and what doesnt. People havent accepted that, nor will they.

Sat, 12/26/2015 - 15:44 | 6965552 Sudden Debt
Sudden Debt's picture

Venezuela is our future.

People don't protest or even dare to think about it.

Same will happen here.

Sat, 12/26/2015 - 16:04 | 6965589 flysofree
flysofree's picture

I don't think anything has changed in Venezuela in last 50-years. What happened is that some people are poorer now than they were before and they're get media exposure; but nobody cared about the millions who were destitute living in squalor in shanty towns with no water and no electricity. Those people never had a voice and no one wrote stories about them being out of toilet paper?

Are those people better off, you betcha!

Sat, 12/26/2015 - 16:04 | 6965594 TheDanimal
TheDanimal's picture

This sort of thing would result in absolute chaos and a breakdown of our society in America.  Actually it probably would've happened before this point.

Sat, 12/26/2015 - 19:04 | 6965597 White Mountains
White Mountains's picture

It's those damn merchants always raising prices and ripping us off!!!  We need MORE price controls, that will fix it!

I have a GREAT IDEA - I'm surprised nobody has thought of it!  Make the merchants sell everything for just 1-cent!!!!!  They will sell loads and loads of stuff and we the people can afford ANYTHING we want!  Also rent control too - just one-cent per month!!!

It's WIN / WIN!  I'm a genius!!!  Because if price controls work then let's WHOLE HOG and become the greatest economic engine in the world!

Sat, 12/26/2015 - 16:05 | 6965599 Magooo
Magooo's picture

Fuck Christmas anyway

Sat, 12/26/2015 - 16:11 | 6965615 Spectre
Spectre's picture

If your comfortable with your stacking and cash holdings, it's high time to amass a few hundred pounds of Chocolate, Booze, Tobacco, batteries, candles etc. 

Sat, 12/26/2015 - 16:38 | 6965661 db51
db51's picture

Chocolate?  Exactly what kind.  Hershy Bars, Dark Chocolate...What?   Some chocolate doesn't age well.   Booze?   I'm guessing the hard stuff like rum and Vodka would be the best.   I'm thinking feminine hygiene products might be a better investment...and razor blades.    

Sat, 12/26/2015 - 16:21 | 6965633 HopefulCynic
HopefulCynic's picture

It seems, that the Askhenazi neo-cons have finally destroyed the opposition in LATAM. 

Sat, 12/26/2015 - 16:30 | 6965646 Oldrepublic
Oldrepublic's picture

Washington is trying very hard to destabilize the economy of Venezuela. Indeed it may very well be planning another coup like it tried in ’02 against  Chavez which lasted 47 hours but failed after one million Venezuelans took to the streets in protest.

Let me make it very clear, I do not like Maduro and his economic incompetence, but I support Venezuelans attempts to stay independent from Washington

Sat, 12/26/2015 - 18:33 | 6965851 ZIRPY
ZIRPY's picture

The Socialists do not need any help destabilizing VZ. They're doing fine on their own.

When you nationalize indistries and confiscate property don;t expect foreing money and property and wealth to keep flowing into your country

Sat, 12/26/2015 - 16:31 | 6965648 bugs_
bugs_'s picture

Considering how blaming the CIA and the Americans is on the first page of the communist playbook you have got to know how bad it is when Maduro-ites forget to blame the CIA for ruining Christmas!

Sat, 12/26/2015 - 16:48 | 6965676 conspicio
conspicio's picture

No Christmas decor anywhere and socialist utopia...at first I thought they were talking about one of the entrenched US liberal enclaves. "You either eat or dress your children" said the south side Chicago minority welfare mother...nope, wait...that was from the foreign country again...

It's like we are just looking into the FUTURE! AMAZING!

Sat, 12/26/2015 - 18:35 | 6965856 pupdog1
pupdog1's picture

“You either eat or you dress your children,”

 

You either eat, or you dress your children. 

 

In a socialist utopia, sloppy puncuation can kill.

Sat, 12/26/2015 - 19:42 | 6965989 gallistic
gallistic's picture

It is always fascinating to see how Tyler always gets the sheep with the simple "Socialist Utopia" phrase, among others.

The indoctrination runs deep, and almost without fail, triggers the desired knee-jerk reaction where all critical thinking comes to a screeching halt, truth and facts be damned.

Sat, 12/26/2015 - 20:12 | 6966042 Monetas
Monetas's picture

You know what's amusing about socialists .... they think and talk about Capitalism .... all the time ?

Sat, 12/26/2015 - 20:26 | 6966070 pupdog1
pupdog1's picture

Twelve pounds of over-analysis in a three pound sack.

Paint chips. Must be the paint chips.

Sat, 12/26/2015 - 18:53 | 6965894 rejected
rejected's picture

Send Obama and his Hope and Change party over there. He should be able to fix their economy as well as he has ours.

Sat, 12/26/2015 - 20:06 | 6966032 Monetas
Monetas's picture

Maduro .... a nigger spending his lottery .... it gets ugly slowly .... then all of a sudden ?

Sat, 12/26/2015 - 22:18 | 6966306 Paracelsus
Paracelsus's picture

  Several murder suicides of four person families here in So.Cali. over the last month.Not good at all.

The MSM shitting themselves trying hard to cover it up without it appearing obvious.....

Sat, 12/26/2015 - 22:39 | 6966343 roddy6667
roddy6667's picture

It is easy to blame socialism for Venezuela's mess, but the real reason is oil. The entire economy is dwarfed by the money brought in by oil. It's the 800 pound gorilla in the room. The country foolishly spent money like water when the price was $130 a barrel. Now it's closer to $30. Most of it was spent trying to lessen the huge gap between the rich and the poor, the number one reason for revolutions.

There is nothing else that can bring in enough money to fix things.Whether they had a democratic republic, a constitutional monarchy, or a military dictatorship, they would be in a similar mess.

Sun, 12/27/2015 - 05:27 | 6966674 Colonel
Colonel's picture

Wrong. It's leftism/socialism that destroyed their economy in spite of having oil wealth. It just doesn't work and your 666 spin won't work either.

Sun, 12/27/2015 - 07:19 | 6966720 roddy6667
roddy6667's picture

They HAD oil wealth. A lot of countries with most of their revenues from one source have gone the same route as Venezuela. They had all sorts of different governments. You seem to have an irrational fear of socialism. But then, you picked "666" out of my moniker. Do you belong to some primitive religious cult?

6667 was the IRC port I was on about 18 years ago when I picked the name.

I bet you see satan under the bed.

Sun, 12/27/2015 - 11:37 | 6966972 InnVestuhrr
InnVestuhrr's picture

The only creature more disgusting and intolerable than a socialist coercive-collectivist parasite is the morons like you who defend them, either out of ideology or genetic-level stupidity.

You all should be purged.

Do NOT follow this link or you will be banned from the site!