Saturday, October 3, 2009

Sign of the Times

1-Year Food Supply
$799.99 After $200 OFF


Due to overwhelming demand, any orders placed after 09/30/09 will not ship until 10/28/09

This isn't from some obscure survivalist website. It is located right on Costco's starting web page.

Costco.com

There you have it. Our monetary and fiscal polices are getting people to shop again. Splendid. If this isn't an example of moving future demand into the present I don't know what is. If enough people do it, the future is going to look pretty bleak though.

If I knew for sure that financial apocalypse would soon be upon us, I'd certainly cough up a one-ounce gold coin to buy a year's supply of food. Under no circumstances would I ever cough up a year's supply of food to buy a single one-ounce gold coin though. Hey, just something to think about.


Further, I actually thought *I* was bearish. The "overwhelming demand" for "6 Cans of Potato Chunks" and "3 Cans of Instant Milk" makes me look like a true believer in our long-term prosperity by comparison though. My idea of hoarding is to stock up on things I would actually prefer to eat in the future. Go figure.



California is going down! The guy's an actor. He's reading a script. When they tell you not to panic, that's when you run!

Generally, that's REALLY good advice. However, here we go again. It's just a movie. The 2012 scare will no doubt end just like the Y2K scare did... with a whimper. Well, almost a whimper. It isn't like our economy has actually prospered over the last 9 years. Come to think of it, who am I to heckle? It isn't like I'm not hoarding. It isn't like I'm not a believer in the "California is going down" theory.

Pimco's Gross: Calif, US Poorly Set To Compete Globally

Gross noted the downturn in fortunes of "once-golden" California, including a 12% unemployment rate, near a national high; the country's lowest bond rating; poorly rated schools; jammed freeways and what was a $26 billion budget deficit resulting from laws shaped from an outdated democratic system.

4 comments:

EconomicDisconnect said...

"The taste and texture of TVP (Textured Vegetable Protein) is consistent with real meat, making it a great addition to vegetarian diets"
Oh man, I am overcome with nausea!

"I'd certainly cough up a one-ounce gold coin to buy a year's supply of food. Under no circumstances would I ever cough up a year's supply of food to buy a single one-ounce gold coin though."

In his book "Patriots: Surviving the Coming Collapse" author James Wesley Rawles had this exchange at a trader fair after the collapse:
"I feel sorry for all those people I knew who bought one ounce gold coins as a 'survival hedge'. I can see now that a full ounce gold coin is too compact a form of currency, and it isn't easily divisible. I suppose that people who bought the gold coins minted in the 1/10th of an ounce weights are more fortunzte. What would a full ounce of gold buy? That Corvette that we saw advertised? A half dozen cows? Maybe. It certainly wouldn't do much good for someone trying to buy day-to-day necessities. It's pretty apparent that our stock of .22-rimfire ammo is a lot more useful as a store of value and as a means of exchange."

There you have it, ammo and pre 1965 silver coins are the way to go, not gold. Half a dozen cows, how much steak is that?

EconomicDisconnect said...

For a laugh, check out Google auto complete for "I like":
http://www.geekologie.com/2009/10/google_search_autocomplete_to.php

EconomicDisconnect said...

Sorry, try the tinyURL:
http://tinyurl.com/yaw3muu

Stagflationary Mark said...

GYSC,

I had heard that .22-rimfire ammo (what I grew up using) and Snickers Bars are excellent things to have on hand if it all really hits the fan.

Both can be carried easily and for the most part, you'll want things that can be carried easily.

In the battle between TVP and TP though, my money is clearly on the TP! Hahaha!

In another sign of the times, I bought two can openers today as yet another hedge of net worth. That's not the sign of the times though. This is.

I bought my last can opener in roughly 2004 (about the time I turned bearish). It was "Made in USA". Says so right on the can opener. The new ones say "Made in China". Says so right on the packaging.

Future long-term can opener deflation is now somewhat questionable (unless we can find someone that can make them cheaper than China). However, many cans don't require a can opener any longer. I figure hoarding two is safe though.