You know how you always see, hear, or read “these are wacky times we’re livin’ in”? Ever since I was a young child, most of the churches I attended preached about how we’re in “the end times”. Though I’ve been hearing that and pretty much seeing points of their view (before dismissing the argument in general) for the past 40 years, I’m now coming to a clearer understanding of what they meant. I’m not really writing about the recent earthquake horrors in Japan or the fixation on the horror that Charlie Sheen has apprently become. Even if you take away the religious aspects, the current “everything” climate here in the US is a little disconcerning even for the most optimistic of us. I’ve noticed my own behavior changing slightly. I’m cutting down on non essential stuff, like most of us are doing I suppose. I’m more aware of what’s being spent now in my household. I’m now paying dearly for years of financial inattentiveness and carelessness. I’m freaking REALLY hard right now on the new 4 year commitment on my new (to me) car. Of course, a readily available 24-hour news cycle doesn’t help things.
Just this morning, I found myself looking at websites that sell non-perishable food like the MREs the military has for field soldiers. An MRE, or ‘Meal, Ready to Eat’, (per Wikipedia) is a self-contained, individual field ration in lightweight packaging bought by the United States military for its service members for use in combat or other field conditions where organized food facilities are not available. Most local “Army/Navy” stores have them. Apparently, I’m not alone in my mini-paranoia as there are many websites offering MRE’s and other similar “survival” or long lasting, non perishable foods. Some you can purchase per meal/day/week/month/year quantities. One site offers you 6 meals free- you just pay the shipping & handling (http://www.efoodsdirect.com/). Another has the previous mentioned quantities available - http://www.thereadystore.com/mre?gclid=CJOG4_jfy6cCFYqW7QodHme5EA ). A search engine result lists numbers of similar companies. I’ve has these MRE’s before- they’re not bad. Even if you’re not sliding into the aspect of a coming armageddon or apocalypse, these MRE types of foods are perfect for those 2 or 3 day power outages or camping when ‘the fish just aren’t biting’.
Of course, eating isn’t the only thing we’ll have to worry about if things definitively go awry. I mean, we probably won’t be able to access any money or savings. What will we use for trade? I’ve been hearing people have been stocking up on platinum, gold, silver, and other metals like copper and such.
Stocking up on guns and ammo is popular, even without “planning ahead”. Though I consider myself an “aggressive” pacifist, I’m a fervent supporter of the second amendment to U.S. Constitution regarding the “right to bear arms”. Then again, I don’t smoke pot and yet I’m a supporter of decriminalizing it, so what does that say about me? I also believe we in the US could do a version of socialized medicine much better than we’re planning to do or have planned to do. The obvious reasons why recent/current/future methods of this fails should be addressed but won’t because of political finger pointing and jersey wearing.
I don’t pretend to know all the answers to our problems and realize they aren’t as simplistic as they’re being discussed. We can’t fix our problems financially on a city/state/regional/national in a short time. I DO know that hard decisions must be made. I do like SC governor Nikki Haley’s approach of having each agency begin their annual budget planning with a zero budget, then making it out towards a lesser amount than the previous year. Is this good to do in your opinion? Should the government have to budget themselves like we do in our own households? The mere printing of money to cover our trillions in deficit is mind boggling. So much, that it’s probably why the public outcry is relatively to a minimum; with the exception to the Tea Party and other groups. Does anyone else see this reckless spending as trouble? I know, I know, this coming from a guy who has just taken on the burden of paying for a much needed car every two weeks onto his already strained financial situation.
BTW- GO HEELS!! BEAT THE STEENKIN' BLUE DEVILS!!
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