Oct 5, 2012

An article from Money Morningcaught my eye this week, titled, “Faber warns ‘Everything will collapse.’” In response to Bernanke’s stimulus plan (QE3) as well as the Fed’s predilection to print money, economist Marc Faber appeared on Bloomberg TV with ominous warnings about our nation’s financial future: “Eventually we will have a systematic crisis and everything will collapse.”

Faber made no distinction between Democrats and Republicans in this regard, noting that no matter who wins the presidency, the money printing (and dollar devaluation) will continue.

Faber is not alone in his predictions. “A group of [Faber’s] economic peers agree that with more central bank action like QE3, global economic collapse is imminent,” notes the article. “… they have discovered a ‘frightening pattern’ they believe points to a massive economic catastrophe unlike anything ever seen.”

According to Chris Martenson (global economic trend forecaster, former VP of a Fortune 300 and expert on the dangers of exponential growth in the economy), “[W]hat’s really disturbing about these findings is that the pattern isn’t limited to our economy. We found the same catastrophic pattern in our energy, food, and water systems as well.” He warns these structures could all implode simultaneously. “Food, water, energy, money. Everything,” said Martenson.

But here’s the line that caught my eye: “According to polls, the average American is sensing danger. A recent survey found that 61% of Americans believe a catastrophe is looming – yet only 15% feel prepared for such a deeply troubling event.”

Sensing danger. Yes, that’s it. The volatility and interconnectedness of our food, water, energy and financial systems are causing a lot of people to pause and wonder, “What if …?”

Yet only 15 percent “feel prepared.” My gosh, how do you “prepare” for something like an economic collapse?

With this in mind, I was very interested in attending a regional Sustainable Preparedness Expoin Spokane, Wash., last weekend. I was curious to gauge the tenor of the attendees. Why were they coming? What did they sense was on the horizon?

At the opening of this event, the lines to get in were literally around the block, and then some. Several thousand people – some of whom had come from hundreds of miles away – patiently waited to enter the convention hall to gather information on growing their own food, safeguarding their finances and otherwise becoming more independent and self-sufficient.

Over the course of the one-day event, I spoke to random strangers and asked what concerns they had that brought them to this preparedness expo. The answers ranged from “Agenda 21” to “EMP and the power grid.” But the overwhelming concern – and certainly the most pressing and likely – had to do with finances. “Economic collapse.” “Global monetary breakdown.” “Hyperinflation.” Over and over again, people expressed great concern over the state of America’s fiat currency.

Now quite honestly, I don’t really understand the macroeconomic situation going on today. I’m not an economist, and I don’t even play one on TV. I’m just a concerned rural housewifewho, along with 61 percent of the rest of America, senses that a catastrophe is looming.

The average American understands the complicated tangle of financial spider webs no better than I do. But people a lot smarter than me are issuing warnings that our government’s fiscal insanity is unsustainable. Sadly, most people remain ignorant of the details. And that factor – ignorance – is what our government is depending on, especially right before the elections. After all, if the fragility of our fiat money system were actually known, people would panic. Flat-out panic. And panic, more than anything else, is what our government wants to avoid. Scared panicky people often do scared, panicky things.

This ignorance is encouraged by the blatant media bias (Unemployment drops to 7.8%! The highest one-month change in 29 years!) which persistently downplays danger from terrorism, obfuscates the government’s financial policies and applauds anything (such as Obamacare) that grows government control at the expense of constitutional restraints.

Notably, most of the media are eerily silent on the thought that our whole economic house of cards could collapse around our ears at any moment. That’s why people aren’t “prepared” and why so many remain ignorant. The press refuses to ask the tough questions of our politicians, and so Americans remain in the dark about what dangers the future may bring.

But deep in the American psyche, something is sensing danger. Something is making thousands of people attend preparedness expos wherever they pop up around the country. Something is making people realize that maybe, just maybe, the government is NOT the solution if food, water, energy or monetary systems are interrupted.

In short, mainstream America is waking up to the idea that if they’re going to be prepared for whatever the future holds, they’d better look to themselves rather than their elected officials.

And they’re right. In my opinion, there is too much uncertainty in the world not to be prepared to the best of our ability. To depend on the government at a time like this is lunacy.

The thing to remember about this dawning realization is it is useless unless you act upon it.Preparedness expos are useless if you don’t apply what you find out. Learning about food preservation is useless if you never preserve food. Learning about the fragility of the fiat currency system is useless if you don’t convert your assets into something tangible. Learning about anything is useless unless you apply that knowledge in practical ways.

 Right now I feel as if America has the sword of Damocleshanging over it. This Greek legend illustrates the ever-present peril faced by those in positions of power. America’s dominant position may not last much longer if not enough people are prepared to handle the economic sword that could come crashing down on our heads at any moment.

“If our research is right,” concludes Keith Fitz-Gerald (chief investment strategist for the Money Map Press) in the Money Morning article, “Americans will have to make some tough choices on how they’ll go about surviving when basic necessities become nearly unaffordable and the economy becomes dangerously unstable.”

Are you sensing danger yet?

http://www.wnd.com/2012/10/americans-now-sensing-danger/