Government Promotes "GO BAGS"

[karcent]

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,99162,00.html

[Jim Simmons]

The only variation is that my "go bag" includes several boxes of ammo and an abbreviated cleaning kit for my .45s.

[Wesley w/Glock]

It is just common sense to have some essentials around the house all the time. During the blizzard of 1993 many people in the central Atlantic states were house-bound for upwards of a week.

People routinely these days operate day-to-day with NO CASH in their pockets. When you ask them what they will do in the case of a natural disaster like the blackout of 2003 they will just say that if ATMs don't operate then stores won't be open either. I wonder if those people know about Meijers stores being open on a cash only basis during the blackout (until their shelves were emptied)?

I was listening to W4 Country (WWWW, 102.9MHz FM) a couple of weeks ago on my way in to work and they were taking calls from listeners surveying them concerning how much cash they were carrying. They were surveying listeners in response to a published statistic that the average guy on the street carries $106 in his/her wallet. The show's announcer did not believe the statistic and wanted to know what the listeners thought. Huge numbers of callers said that they carried NO CASH!

[shoprat]

They sure didn't survey any married guys... :lol: But, you're right in that most people do not prepare for any of lifes troubles.

[Wesley w/Glock]

They sure didn't survey any married guys... :lol:
I think that the $106 figure would mean more if the standard deviation has been published with it. Probably a significant number of people carry at all times $400-600 and a still smaller number carry $1,000-1,500.

Suppose an abreviated survey (strictly for sample purposes) contained a population of 16. Suppose that 14 of those were for zero, 1 for $300, and 1 for $1,400. The average would be $106 but the standard deviation would be $342.

[alex-vitek]

When you ask them what they will do in the case of a natural disaster like the blackout of 2003...
Not exactly a "natural disaster", actually man-made, (but I am just throwing some humor into this), but you made an interesting point. While up at the cabin trying to get the generator figured out and started (which it never did) I wondered how many people followed through on their mission statement of being prepared for the next blackout.

Remember all those people who were going to get "full house" generators? Got to wondering if all those people also put in a well after they installed the generator?

I know people who do not keep cash on hand for such disasters. Cash become worthless in a few days if the SHTF. They keep silver and gold, even scrap coins, on hand (in the safe).

[BigDaddy40]

What happened to the duct tape and plastic? :roll:

[alex-vitek]

What happened to the duct tape and plastic?

The govt said to cover with plastic and then tape up the doors and windows. Since the winter hulk is on its way yet again I guess I will be following the govt directives in the next couple of weeks.

It does make a difference in the winter heating bills.

[GreggB]

What is nice is that a gun safe can double as a vault for the aforementioned cash. It is too bad that the average schmuck on the street is clueless when it comes down to being responsible for your own security. Unfortunately for them they will find out too late. A bug out bag and a plan is a must!

[karcent]

As Alex stated, some hard currency (silver or gold coins) is a MUST.
Should things ever really unravel, all that paper money could be used as TP.

[goldwing2000]

As Alex stated, some hard currency (silver or gold coins) is a MUST.
Should things ever really unravel, all that paper money could be used as TP.

That's exactly why it's better spent on buying AMMO!!! :thup:

With enough ammo, you can get anything else you need. :twisted:

[Wesley w/Glock]

I know people who do not keep cash on hand for such disasters. Cash become worthless in a few days if the SHTF. They keep silver and gold, even scrap coins, on hand (in the safe).
I was thinking in terms of loss of general services for a few days or say a couple of weeks rather than an overall collapse of society.

But it is true that the US dollar must collapse one day. There is no getting around it. The only thing that keeps it going today is trust. Say, for example, the Federal Reserve Bank one days raises the interest rate and interest once again returns to double digits. The next time the US Dept of the Treasury has a T-bill auction it will have to buy its new 5 year loans at the exhorbitant rate. Within the next 5 years all of its multi-trillion dollar loans will be cycled to the new rate and it will be unable to pay the interest. Wall Street and everybody else will see the writing on the wall and faith and trust will erode. It's just that simple.

But in the mean time people will transition to a new medium. Maybe the Euro, as much as it disgusts me.

I don't see a solution for the average guy on the street like me. I just have to hope that my health holds out and keep an adequate supply of cartridges around for the defense of myself and others.

[alex-vitek]

I was thinking in terms of loss of general services for a few days or say a couple of weeks rather than an overall collapse of society.
Wesley,

If we are talking in terms of a lost of general services for anything over a week we are talking about the overall collapse of society as we know it.

People are going beserk when the power is out for anything over 3 days. Up to then it is a novelty and they are so proud of their ability to survive. But, when the freezer has thawed, their bottles of "spring" water are gone, and they start to realize that they don't even have a bucket to put under the downspout so they can collect water to flush the toilet, then society will start the downhill slide.

The second week of a major loss of general services will be real interesting. Really, interesting to say the least.

[Sigster]

Moat of you folks know that I'm an administrator of a small hospital. We were without power until late Friday night (the August blackout). No vacumn (for suction), no air handling, and no water.

I was away from work when the event happened. Hauled the generator over to the fiance's house to power the fridge and the big screen. Brought an extra 20 gallons of gas to keep it running for as long as 5 days (off at night). Pulled $500 in emergency cash out of the safe and 30 gallons of bottled water from the pantry (still had a 55 gallon water strorage drum in reserve).

Spent the next 30 hours at work- employees on mandatory overtime- couldn't leave unless replacement workers came in. Biggest problems- no one had extra cash, no one had enough gas in their vehicles, and there was limited food at their homes. Fast food society means that the next meal was at the store or restaurant. Hell, I had physicians with families at home who had no cash, no water, and not enough gas in their cars to deliver the extra water that I brought in from my stash.

The patients came through fine- I have a great staff. The lesson from this however, is that its going to be the unprepared that will present the greatest problem in the event of a major crisis. (And there will be a buttload of unprepared people). Had the power not come on when it did (and the ATMs and gas stations and grocery stores) the urban areas would have become quite ugly.

The politicians were quick to pat themselves on the back over how well things went. They were lucky by 24 hours.

Lessons? You better have a hell of a lot more than a go bag. You better be prepared for "good friends" and neighbors that will swarm to your well lit oasis like a caravan of bedouin asking for water, food, and gasoline (had one neighbor that bought a new generator but didn't think to get gas).

And you better learn that "No" may be the only answer if things start to get stinky. And it is not paranoid to suggest that "No" may need to be underscored with the muzzle of an AR-15.

It's a food chain people, you decide what level you're comfortable with.

[Sigster]

As Alex stated, some hard currency (silver or gold coins) is a MUST.
Should things ever really unravel, all that paper money could be used as TP.

That's exactly why it's better spent on buying AMMO!!! :thup:

With enough ammo, you can get anything else you need. :twisted:

That's a sentiment shared by many. Unfortunately, the people who "have what you need", are also aware that some folks think they'll just "take it when they need it".

Choose your victims carefully, friend.

[goldwing2000]

As Alex stated, some hard currency (silver or gold coins) is a MUST.
Should things ever really unravel, all that paper money could be used as TP.

That's exactly why it's better spent on buying AMMO!!! :thup:

With enough ammo, you can get anything else you need. :twisted:

That's a sentiment shared by many. Unfortunately, the people who "have what you need", are also aware that some folks think they'll just "take it when they need it".

Choose your victims carefully, friend.

Always...

[lee]

I agree with Sigster. Another 24-36 hrs I believe things would have got very ugly. I am a biomedical engineer and maybe was at your hosp Sigster. On rhe personal side my emergency generator failed to start even though I stored it correctly by running it out of gas and draining the carb bowl. It still gummed up. Its now repaired. I have a bunch of 20's that I keep for emergency cash that is locked up. My children freaked out with no entertainment. We were all in the dumps because we thought our family vacation would be cancelled due to the airport being closed. We had plenty of food and 50 gallons of water in the hot water heater which we started to use before we had power restored. I sat up a camp toilet in the garage which the kids just " had " to use. My oldest wanted to go cruising which I denied him due to the danger of driving without street signals. By the way , in total anarchy I believe the currency of choice would be 22 lr bullets and 12 gauge shotgun shells. The 12 gauge woud be the higher denomination and the 22's the smaller "coins". I couldn't believe the city officals patting theirselves on the back. Hell I didn't even see one cop in 48 hours as I drove to various hospitals preeping their equipment for shutdown or powerup. :shock: :shock:

[Maranatha]

The City Lied, I Live in the 6th Precinct in Detroit, I was listening to my scanner from 9:30 to around 11:00 Thursday night while I was watching the meteor shower. And there was looting going on everywhere the cops were crazy answering the different reports. And that was only one precinct. Can you imagine over the whole city. What a Joke

[BigDaddy40]

I was at McNichols and Outer Dr when the power went out. No cell, no insulin, (it was gonna be a quick trip LOL) one extra mag, 1/8 tank of gas. I saw a lot of looting getting started.

Needless to say I have a very well stocked house and vehicle now and it will stay that way.

[alex-vitek]

One of the many things we did back in my college days besides listening to Hendrix and the Doors was talking the very subject we are on right now.

We not only sat around on the big bean bags and talked about how the SHTF but how we would react. What vehicle did we need to get out? How did we stock the apt, where was it stored, and who did we let have a key to the stash. All very important.

And, after months of discussion down on the campus at WSU we realized that the Number One thing that was needed were good friends. We figured that the real answer was to surround ourselves with what other knew. We needed friends who were mechanics, who were doctors or nurses. Friends had to know how to farm or grow plants and raise animals.

Beyond people we figured out that we needed ammo because that could be traded for most everything else, including the guns which would help us keep the ammo. A small stash of the precious metals, as has already been discussed, because that will carry more weight over days and weeks than even the biggest govt issued bill.

And, we decided that a couple of bottles of booze was necessary. With booze you can make a friend or calm an enemy. Until society can make more lubricant, that bottle might be the best tool for getting more ammo, getting food, or, keeping the rest of society off your back long enough to get away.

[mohavesam]

"Get out"???
Where exactly do you plan on going?

All I can say about all the chicken little scenarios is - it hasn't happened yet. Not when the Mafia killed JFK, not when the Soviet Union broke up, not when 1/1/2000 rolled around, not when Mr. Borgu said the poles would flip-flop, not when the WTC fell. -Ain't gonna happen!

I keep telling all those end-days folks that all they really need to stockpile is a single bullet. Just go out back and squeeze, so the rest of us can set about the hard work of re-building without any camo-clad self-annoited "survivors" getting in the way.

My "Go-Bag" has a hammer and saw in it :roll: , and maybe some cheez-whiz...

Rant off. Have a nice day.

[Sigster]

"Get out"???
Where exactly do you plan on going?

All I can say about all the chicken little scenarios is - it hasn't happened yet. Not when the Mafia killed JFK, not when the Soviet Union broke up, not when 1/1/2000 rolled around, not when Mr. Borgu said the poles would flip-flop, not when the WTC fell. -Ain't gonna happen!

I keep telling all those end-days folks that all they really need to stockpile is a single bullet. Just go out back and squeeze, so the rest of us can set about the hard work of re-building without any camo-clad self-annoited "survivors" getting in the way.

My "Go-Bag" has a hammer and saw in it :roll: , and maybe some cheez-whiz...

Rant off. Have a nice day.

No flame from me.

I intend to "bug in". That's why I prepared as I have. Until I can get a few acres away from the "Jewel on the River", there's nowhere to "bug out" to.

That's not to say that things won't get a bit dicey as evidenced by the very real concerns during the recent power blackout. But the sky isn't going to fall anytime soon.

[karcent]

And, we decided that a couple of bottles of booze was necessary. With booze you can make a friend or calm an enemy. Until society can make more lubricant, that bottle might be the best tool for getting more ammo, getting food, or, keeping the rest of society off your back long enough to get away.

Not to mention what you can do with a cheap bottle of vodka, a rag and a lighter!

[alex-vitek]

Not to mention what you can do with a cheap bottle of vodka, a rag and a lighter!
Now you are catching on.

By any chance were you one of the people in our little discussion group?

[karcent]

Not to mention what you can do with a cheap bottle of vodka, a rag and a lighter!
Now you are catching on.

By any chance were you one of the people in our little discussion group?

I wish I had been there!

I have spent many, many hours sitting around solving most of the worlds problems while Jimi played in the background. As a matter of fact, disc 3 of the Experience boxed set is on right now!

[Sigster]

And, we decided that a couple of bottles of booze was necessary. With booze you can make a friend or calm an enemy. Until society can make more lubricant, that bottle might be the best tool for getting more ammo, getting food, or, keeping the rest of society off your back long enough to get away.

Not to mention what you can do with a cheap bottle of vodka, a rag and a lighter!


Story please!!

And pics!!!