Consequences of Economic Collapse

 

The following article has been contributed by Reginald Kaigler, an outspoken Libertarian who has been warning about the dangers of our current economic, fiscal, and monetary policies for several years. You can watch Reginald’s regular video updates at the DEMCAD Youtube channel, or visit his web site for news, commentary and preparedness tips.

SHTFplan Editor’s Note: Many of our readers are preparing for what can only be described as the unknown – a whole host of things can go wrong. We know that the economic outlook in America and the world is bleak. The only answer from politicians and economic masterminds who sit behind the curtain is to borrow and spend more of the taxpayers’ money. The US dollar will inevitably weaken, and likely crash, over the course of the next half decade. Manufacturing in America will continue to decline for some time. Millions more jobs will be lost. The consequences are already apparent to anyone who is paying attention: a fed up citizenry, rising property crime, organized mobs of looters and thieves, record level food stamp participants, and a government that is clamping down on everything from small business to personal liberties, to name a few.

We have postulated numerous theories of how a collapse of our fragile system could occur including scenarios man made and natural – from large scale solar storms and earth shattering earthquakes, to rapid currency meltdown and a third world war. All of these scenarios are possible, with some more or less likely than others. In the article below, Reginald outlines some of the key elements we will witness in a depressionary-style economic collapse that happens over several years as opposed to an overnight collapse. Civilizations past have all experienced their own form of collapse, most of them falling off the planet over many years and decades. We view this type of breakdown as one of the most likely – a system that falls apart slowly, with progressing violence and volatility. We will see it get worse, day after day, month after month, year after year, until we no longer recognize the America of our youth. Like the other scenarios mentioned, the best way to prepare is to stock up now – that includes preserving as much wealth as possible now, storing food for when prices reach unmanageable levels, and learning trade skills that can be used in an economy where barter becomes a leading mechanism of exchange.

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Consequences of Economic Collapse
by Reginald Kaigler

For the last three years, I’ve been warning my viewers on Youtube about the inevitable collapse of the U.S. Empire. I’ve discussed how the U.S. government is so far into debt that it can’t even pay off the interest on it’s debts. Like all dying empires, the U.S. has over-expanded in Asia with unnecessary wars of greed, spent more than it can ever pay back, degraded into extreme corruption and devolved into a systemic ponzi model.

The state governments have massive amounts of pensions that are underfunded, many cities can’t even provide basic services (such as education, fire protection and law enforcement) and the national economy has lost its manufacturing prowess. Essentially, America has transported into a ponzi economy where everyone uses credit cards to buy cheap junk that is made in third world countries. So you see why I believe that this is fundamentally unsustainable. This economic model of largess spending will collapse, which begs the question:

So what the social consequences of an economic collapse?

I live in the most dangerous city in America: Flint, Michigan. It is a former automotive powerhouse that has been economically devastated by the exodus of General Motors and the overall trend of de-industrialization. Flint is one of the poorest cities in America. I consider it to be a less black, but smaller version of the second most dangerous city in America: Detroit, Michigan. Both cities have experienced a major decline in its auto-industry, the massive white flight, epic crime waves, a collapse of its tax base, drastic population decline and a breakdown of basic services. Recently, Detroit, announced that it was closing half of its schools and cramming 60 students in a high school class.

When the money and resources disappear, human behavior changes. The dynamic shifts. Most people go into survival mode and every decision centers around oneself. Many people stop thinking about community and start viewing neighbors as competitors. A general sense of anger and apathy seeps through the community and transform the way residents interact with each other and the system that they perceive as their enemy.

I can’t tell what will definitely happen, but I can use my experience to give you an educated guess.

1. Shock
Most Americans were shocked when they heard about the sinking of the Titanic. The normalcy bias makes it almost impossible to imagine the system collapse. People assume that just because the lights are on today that they will be on tomorrow. When the baby boomers see that their life savings are gone, many will choose to end their lives. Other will walk around in a daze. Many uppity 40-somethings who have been conditioned to believe that their life is only worth what they make, will kill themselves and their families.

2. Backlash Against the Government.
If the dollar collapses, the food stamps benefits will not be able to keep up with rising food cost. The underclass (poor) and working class will feel abandoned. After watching Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, JP Morgan Chase and other Wall Street entities collect their tax dollars through a series of bailouts, the poorer Americans will violently attack a system that they perceive as screwing them over for the “big guys.” That “Too Big To Fail” mantra won’t go over so well when people are struggling to feed their kids, pay rent with a social security check that is losing its value. I expect riots and turn overs of federal and state government buildings.

3. Violence in Communities
Gerald Celente said it best, “When people lose everything and have nothing to lose, they lose it.” Do you really think that people are going to be content when the power company cuts off their lights. The poor will demand extreme tax increases of the rich and upper middle class, while the criminal class will exploit a weakening police presence. I expect to see a dramatic increase in murder, forcible rape, burglaries, assaults and robbery.

4. Class Warfare
The working class and poor will not only blame the government and Wall Street, but the rich. The shrinking middle class will become a target of class warfare. The upper class will try to play the middle class against the working class and poor.

5. Police Crack Down
Did you hear about that Iraqi War vet who was shot 60 times by a SWAT team in Tuscon, Arizona in an apparent drug raid? The only problem is that they didn’t find any drugs. SWAT first claimed that he shot at them, but his gun was on SAFE. So they are now saying that he pointed his gun at them. Afterward, the SWAT team refused to let the paramedics into the house for over an hour. I assume he was already dead, but why did they behave in this matter. Jose Guerena, 26, was only the one of many police victims. So I fully expect the police to get very aggressive after the politicians put pressure on them.

6. Backlash Against Police
There will be a call for “law and order”, but the police will go too far. They will kill too many innocent people and the heightened state of anger in the black (and poor communities) will lead to an epic backlash. Criminals will target cops and their families, while the angry masses remain silent. Recently, a Miami cop was caught waving a gun in the face of a law abiding citizen after his buddies shot a suspect to death in his car. The idiot cop pointed his gun at the citizen (holding the camera) and his family. It was the type of thug behavior that is becoming increasingly common from the law enforcement community. Now ask yourself, do you honestly think that the police are going to alleviate the tension by sending an angry community over the edge?

Think about it, you’ve lost your job, your house, your wife’s respect and now these cops who have been disrespecting you all of your life are pointing a gun at you.

Super criminals: No, I’m not talking about Superman’s Doomsday, but when you have millions of highly educated young people facing a bleak future with few economic opportunities, you end up with a new class of criminals. Traditionally, most criminals have been pretty stupid, but when you have people with degrees in chemistry, physics, accounting and engineering, you’re going to end up with smarter criminals.

7. Depression and transformation of Culture
Some men will turn to drinking. It’s no accident that Flint gets a lot of domestic violence calls. Some men will turn to drinking. It’s no accident that Flint gets a lot of domestic violence calls. Alcoholism, drug use and domestic violence will likely soar. I also expect the declining marriage rate to drop at an even faster pace.

Disclosure: I don’t believe that a man should get married. There’s nothing that marriage offers that he can’t already get. Plus, the divorce and family courts will screw him over in a big way.

Nevertheless, many women will not be interested in marrying a poor or working class man. And frankly, more men will fall into this category. Moreover, less men will want to get married because they will feel that they have little to offer.

8. Black Market and Bartering
As the dollar dies, people will not only look to bypass the Federal Reserve, but skip the bureaucracy and taxes of government. People will use Swiss Francs, gold, silver and local currencies to by cost effective items on the black market.

9. Federal Government Becomes Irrelevant
Simply put, it makes no sense for people in fiscally sound states such as Utah, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Nebraska, Kansas and Vermont to continue paying for a federal government that feeds resources to unconstitutional wars and falling states such as California. Sooner or later, many people will question why we need a union. So I expect a block of states to attempt to break away from the union. This could lead to a civil war or a revolution. But the last possibility maybe the most disturbing.

10. Rise of Fascism
The Patriot Act and Military Commissions Act were just the beginning. Now, the Supreme Court has declared that the police can enter your home without a warrant as long as they believe that you’re destroying evidence. So what’s stopping the police from lying? So much for the fourth amendment protections against unreasonable search and seizures. We already have corporatism with the government bailouts of Wall Street, all we need now is extreme nationalism, militarism (the ever expanding war on terror) and an enemy. I think the TSA has been it very clear who they consider to be the enemy. Not only do they have the power to examine you through a full body scanner, but if you refuse, they can molest you and your family via pat down.

So there you go, this is what I think will help when the system collapses. Please share your thoughts.

Republished with permission from Reginald Kaigler.

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