When the bottom drops out of the economy....

[unkachuck]

....how will you survive?

....The one advantage that people who work with their hands have over the keyboard-pounding paper-pushing schmuck is that we can actually DO things and bring new things into existence for ourselves....

....I find it all too convenient that a huge economic down-turn is predicted right when it's our turn at bat, but assuming that it happens, how do you plan on surviving the next decade?

....How will you provide for the basics of life after years of protracted unemployment? Where will you go? What will you do?

[Lorien]

1. I'm an artist, so maybe I'd start painting portraits of wealthy people

their pets, their horses, their yachts....the wealthy in the upper crust town just north of me are always willing to shell out a good buck for a darling little oil painting of chichi or fluffkins.

:shrug:

[Mojambo]

2. I have no idea.

The only plus is that I've been living on the border of poverty my entire life. It's a shorter fall for me than it will be for many.

I've literally been scoping out non-traditional living spaces should it come to that. Safe/secure places to park and sleep etc.

Much more worried about my parents than myself. My retired dad had his first day BACK at work on Friday. My retired mom has been working 7 days a week for over a year.

[Newsjock]

3. If the bottom drops out of civilization as well ...

... I'm outta here. I'm not kidding.

That's the scary, deep, dark place where we just don't go in polite discussion, yet I know I'm not the only one who feels that way. And my mind doesn't normally go to such places. But given the choice between remembering a life well lived, and suffering the rest of my days in a spiraling descent into hell, well, there ya go.

Thanks for cheering me up on a Saturday night. :P

[backscatter712]

4. Time to stock up on survival gear.

At least I have vehicular needs taken care of for myself - it's called a bicycle. I have a car too, for however long I can keep it and drive it.

I've got a tent, a big internal frame backpacking pack, sleeping bag, warm winter clothes if it becomes untenable to stay in my apartment.

If things get really, really ugly, I've got weapons.

I'll have to figure out food though. I've got a few groceries, though that's not enough to survive a long-lasting apocalypse...

[kevinbgoode]

5. I'll bring food if you promise to protect me...:-).

And a few little things like a nice rechargeable desk fan and camping lights and. . .I have my own bicycle too....

[magellan]

6. Well, we own our car outright

...so in a pinch it can serve as housing. We have two bikes and hurricane supplies. And we're pretty good at innovating and making what we need out of what's available even though we're both keyboard geeks. We're also very fortunate to have good neighbors. I think...hope...we'd all pull together instead of apart.

It's all but certain there'll be little to no help coming from the government for some time. I just x them right out of the equation anymore. We'll be on our own. It'll be very difficult.

We really don't want to live in "interesting times" but if necessary we'll rise to the challenge and do what we have to to get by.

[NickB79]

7. Back to the family farm for me

I guess I'm lucky that between my dad, 7 uncles, and my grandfather, they collectively own over 1,000 acres of land in central Minnesota. Most of the equipment they use to run the land is at least 30 years old and built solidly; my Dad drives a 1937 Ellis Chalmer's tractor almost daily that my great-grandfather bought after the Great Depression ended.

Grandma, Mom, and Dad taught me and my siblings the basics of gardening, fruit grafting, canning, pickling, raising livestock, etc.

Hopefully, it will never come to that, but better to have a fall-back plan and never use it than not have it and need it.

[2008]

8. A three-phase business plan...

1. Collect Underpants
2. ?
3. Profit

[readmoreoften]

9. Well people who work with their hands won't be doing so well either...

No money means no home repairs, no new houses built. If you're a mechanic, you'll be in luck. What it's going to come down to is the rich against the rest--just a clear vision of what it's always been anyway.

[Firespirit]

10. Mom and/or Dad

They own a house outright, no danger of foreclosure. There's a second mortgage that's soon to be paid off on another house. Maintaining either could be expensive, but there's a large bank account, and in the worst case, cold shelter is better than none at all. They're doing damn spiffy, all things considered, and it pisses me off immensely that they won't help me when I am uninsured and fearful of eviction for not meeting a landlord's salary threshold. So far the management company doesn't know. :scared: It all makes me wonder if my parents are playing a game with me to TRY to get me "back in the nest."

[KharmaTrain]

11. We All Go Together

I'm the child of depression kids...and grew up with plenty of stories as to how they made ends meet on $100 a month...and how much in our lives we can live or do without if times get tough. They spoke about the sense of community among people who shared things and helped one another where they could if someone couldn't make the rent or faced some other financial disaster. The best of times can bring out the best in people. If anything, maybe having the bottom fall out will get some people's heads out of their selfish asses...looking around and seeing how we all are affected and that working together, we can endure.

Personally, I've been nutting away for this time for many, many years...I saw it coming 20 years ago and always have thought that as quickly as prices and values rise, they also can fall. That's the yin/yang of economics...and for every big swing up, there is going to be a "correction"...and never assume that "up" is the natural motion.

IMHO, this economic downturn has been political from the git-go. It began when booooshie's oil buddy and other started to screw around with energy supplies in the 2000 election in an attempt to turn it sour on Al Gore. It's been sliding downhill ever since...it's just been ignored and covered over by a compliant corporate media and the mighty wurlitzer of this regime that says that if you're suffering, it's your fault.

I think having the bottom fall out is not a bad thing...it'll force fiscal responsibility on many who need it and create a lot of new opportunities from small and medium size businesses and entrepeneurs who can use their resources rather than their market clout to get cheaper and better products on the market.

[MadHound]

12. You assume that there is a dichotomy in existence

That those in white collar or academic job areas can't work with their hands. I don't know about where you live, but out here in the rural midwest that dichotomy simply doesn't exist. Most white collar professionals, especially if the live out in the country, work with their hands everyday, and those who live in a more urban area do so at least in the form of some hobby. Many, many people, myself included, with advanced degrees have the capability, and enjoy working with their hands.

When the bottom drops out of the economy, I'll be doing OK. I own a small farm/orchard with enough land that I can survive on. My field is always in demand one way or another, and if it isn't I have many other skill sets to fall back on.

Oh, and having been on both sides of the fence, I find your barely concealed hostility towards white collar workers rather insulting. You claim that it is only the blue collar worker that actually does something, however you are terribly wrong. White collar jobs are just as important as blue collar jobs, in fact many white collar jobs actually create blue collar jobs. So please, stop being so divisive and biased against one particular job class or another.