Monthly Archives: August 2013

5 Dollar Preps – You CAN Afford to Prepare

“I can’t afford to” is definitely the number one excuse people use for not prepping. They believe this because they read about someone who has a $20,000 dollar gun collection and a basement filled with a 10 year supply of freeze dried food. That is just as unrealistic as saying that you want to buy your first house, so you attempt to get a multi-million dollar mansion. It’s just not going to happen.

By following the Survival Food Pyramid and spending just a few dollars a week on preps you will be surprised how quickly your stockpile will grow. Here is an entire list of food and gear you can get for just $5:

Food

  • Five gallons of purified water
  • 4 pounds of Sugar
  • 5 pounds of Flour
  • 1.5 quarts of cooking oil
  • Two cases of bottled water
  • 4 cans of fruit
  • 5 pounds of rice
  • 5 Pounds of Spaghetti
  • 4 Cans of Potatoes
  • 4 Cans of Vegetables
  • 4 Cans of Beans
  • 2 bottles of garlic powder or other spices
  • A case of Ramen noodles
  • Five packages of  instant potatoes
  • 4 Cans of Soup
  • 2 12 ounce cans of chicken or tuna
  • Two 12.5 ounce cans of Salmon
  • 5 pounds of Oatmeal
  • 5 packages of corn bread mix
  • 3 Pounds of dry beans
  • 2 Jars Peanut Butter
  • 2 boxes of yeast
  • 8-10 pounds of Iodized salt
  • A can of coffee
  • 10 Boxes of generic brand Mac&Cheese

Non-Food Items

  • A manual can opener
  • Two bottles of camp stove fuel
  • 100 rounds of .22lr ammo
  • 25 rounds of 12 ga birdshot or small game loads
  • 20 rounds of Monarch 7.62×39 ammo
  • a spool of 12lb test monofilament fishing line
  • 2 packages of hooks and some sinkers or corks
  • 3 Bic Lighters or two big boxes of matches
  • A package of tea candles
  • 50 ft of para cord
  • A roll of duct tape
  • A box of nails or other fasteners
  • A flashlight
  • 2 D-batteries, 4 AA or AAA batteries or 2 9v batteries
  • A toothbrush and tooth paste
  • A bag of disposable razors
  • 8 bars of ivory soap (it floats)
  • A box or tampons or bag of pads for the ladies
  • 2 gallons of bleach
  • Needles and thread

OTC Medications

  • 2 bottles 1000 count 500 mg generic Tylenol (acetometaphin)
  • 2 bottles 500 count 200 mg generic advil (ibuprofen)
  • 2 boxes 24 cound 25 mg generic Benadryl (diphenhydramine HCI)–also available at walgreens under “sleep aids.”
  • 4 bottles 500 count 325 mg aspirin
  • 2 boxes of generic sudafed
  • 4 bottles of alcohol
  • a box of bandages (4×4)

What Else?

If you get just one of these things each time you go to the grocery you will be well on your way to preparedness.

Guest Post by Lucas: aspiring survivalist/prepper, Eagle Scout, and blogger on his site SurvivalCache where he writes survival gear reviews, tips, and ideas.

 

Start now to make sure you are staying prepared.

Via: thesurvivalmom

Martial Law & Gun Confiscation – A Reminder From New Orleans!

Want to see what happens when any reason is given to take your guns.

 

 

As you can see and hear in the video, that even after a federal judge ordered the guns returned and that they stop taking them.

 

Did you catch the response? They have the right to take anything they want and there are no laws that apply to them.

 

So in essence they are above the law.

 

What this seems to mean is that, when and if they want, they can take your guns because people have no rights to have them.

 

Even if you are not a gun person, do you want anyone or government entry to tell you what you can and cannot have even if the current law says different?

 

Maybe we need to be careful on all fronts about what anyone knows you have, from guns to food.

 

Do your own research and think it though for yourselves.

 

Start now to make sure you are staying prepared.

 

 

On the Eve of War: Situation Report

What You Need to Know
 
Between Aug 26-28, AlertsUSA issued the following
Flash messages to subscriber mobile devices:
8/27
Overnight: Russia and China warn US over striking Syria, US diplomatic and mil facilities worldwide on heightened alert, world stock markets down, oil rising.
 


8/26
War Prep: Sources report Western fighter jets and transports have begun arriving at Britain’s Akrotiri airbase on Cyprus, ~ 100 miles from Syrian coast.

 


8/26
SecState Kerry: “All evidence says chem weapons used in Syria.” Syria & Iran threaten retaliation against Israel w/strategic weapons if attacked by US / allies.

Be advised that the U.S. could be at war in Syria within hours.
One by one European nations are making public statements on being in agreement with intelligence showing that chemical weapons were used in Syria and the nation’s military being the guilty party. Just this morning NATO Chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen, former Prime Minister of Denmark, stated that use of such weapons was “unacceptable and cannot go unanswered.”

Israel has put their foreign embassies worldwide on high alert and is calling up military reserves. Russia is continuing the evacuation of citizens from Syria (estimated during peace time between 50-100K). Airports in the region are surging with departures. Reports out of Syria indicate the government is evacuating defense and intelligence-related facilities throughout Damascus.

Jordanian officials say there will be no attacks launched on Syria from their soil though it is already widely known the U.S. and allied forces have been building up within the country for months (see this and this). Iran’s PressTV is also reporting that U.S. forces are massing on the Jordan-Syria border. The 22 member of the Arab League are urging ‘deterrent’ measures’, though not explicitly calling for military action.

A short time ago, both China and Russia issued another warning about striking Syria.

Timing

 

While modern warfare is easily carried out anytime of the day or night, it is likely an attack on Syria will be launched during late night or early morning hours. There are several reasons for this, but most importantly, it minimizes civilian deaths as most are at home and not around target sites.

Damascus is 7 hours ahead of New York. Thus, 5:00PM in New York is 12:00AM in Damascus.

What This Means to You

 

In addition to ramifications for defense forces, early on it is highly likely Americans will see much higher gas prices. According to the French multinational banking and financial services company Socit Gnrale S.A., the world could see an immediate spike in oil prices as high as $150 per barrel (Brent), ultimately settling back to $125 per barrel. This will immediately translate into higher prices at the gas pump. If these higher prices remain (for instance, due to a widening of the war and oil and gas infrastructure damaged or destroyed), expect higher prices for food and goods due to increased transportation costs.


Additionally, it is common for financial markets to sell off during wartime as investors move towards safety and stability.

As reported to AlertsUSA subscribers on 8/27, Syria and Iran have stated that the first retaliatory step would be to attack Israel using strategic weapons. If such an attack takes place, it is hard to imagine Israel not responding with a heavy fist. If an attack on Israel comes from Iran, the conflict will widen quickly and dramatically.


Russia and China have repeatedly warned the U.S. against direct military action in Syria. Both have openly vowed to protect Iran at all costs, even if it meant starting another world war.

And as a final note, the international terror organization Hezbollah, has repeatedly warned over the last two years that any attack on Syria or Iran would result in attacks on U.S. citizens and interests worldwide, including within the continental U.S.

 

Today’s update brought to you by our friends over at AlertsUSA!


http://www.alertsusa.com/

 

Start now to make sure you are staying prepared.

Ready Campaign – An invitation from FEMA

Hey, FEMA just sent out this email and wanted to share for those interested:

=================

Friends,

Last year, over 21,000 members of our National Preparedness Community coordinated 1,573 preparedness events engaging 1.5 million Americans in preparedness activities during National Preparedness Month.

In order to build on last year’s success, we are inviting you to join the National Preparedness Community, download the Tool Kit, and coordinate a National Preparedness Month activity.

Click here to join the National Preparedness Community and get started now!

The community is open and free to anyone who wishes to join. Members have access to resources including step-by-step emergency preparedness guides, public service announcements, informational materials, and regionally based preparedness discussions. In addition, members connect and collaborate with their peers as well as emergency personnel in the communities of practice.

With National Preparedness month coming up in September, this is an exciting time to be a part of this vibrant community. Join the community of 29,800 plus members – Join the National Preparedness Community now!

=================

When you go to the link it is a site for you to sign up and create a user account:

Thank you for your interest in the National Preparedness Community. By joining, you can connect, collaborate, and empower yourself and others to fulfill our shared responsibility to prepare.

There is no cost or obligation to do so. As a community member, you will have access to exclusive resources and be able to collaborate in the communities of practice, regional groups, national forms, and get updates from FEMA and emergency management personnel.

 

For those interested or part of community groups already then this may be another resource for you.

 

Start now to make sure you are staying prepared.

 

“Pentagon is Making the Initial Preparations for a Cruise Missile Attack”

Two words for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad: Get Out.

It should be clear based on reports this week of US soldiers and intelligence operatives entering Syrian borders last Saturday that a military operation is now in progress. After the events that played out in front of the world on Wednesday, when it was claimed that Assad launched a chemical attack against his own people, there is no question as to what was going to happen next.

It’s go time in the Middle East:

Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel suggested Friday that the Pentagon was moving naval forces closer to Syria in preparation for a possible decision by President Obama to order military strikes.

Fox News

And we’re not just positioning boats. Via Zero Hedge:

Moments ago the inevitable denouement arrived when as CBS’ David Martin reports, the US is preparing for a cruise missile launch against Syria, and is further ordering warships closer to Syria to be prepared and ready for when the trigger is pulled.


For those who would suggest this is just posturing, there is already a precedent:


In the eyes of the world Bashar al-Assad is now a mass murderer and he’s about to get Saddam’d by Hussein.

 

It’s a realistic possibility also put forth by survival specialist Joel Skousen in his documentary Strategic Relocation and a warning reiterated by a DHS Insider who claimed in June of 2013 that a World War was about to break out and would lead to the deaths of millions.

This is getting real folks. All signs point to a serious confrontation in our near future.

Start now to make sure you are staying prepared.

 

Via: shtfplan

How to Store Oil Safely

How do you feel about eating boiled food for every meal?  If you’re not storing oil, that’s what you may end up eating every day, meal after meal.  Quite a nightmare!  Oil is tricky to store long-term, however.

Polyunsaturated oils can turn rancid before they actually smell that way, and rancid oils lose much of their nutritional value.  There’s evidence that rancid oils contain free radicals, which can be a health threat.  What’s a fried food lover to do??

Oil can be stored safely but will never have the long shelf lives of our other long-term storage foods.  Keep in mind the four main factors that affect shelf life:  light, oxygen, temperature, and time and apply them to the oils you store.

Keep oil in the dark.

Light is one of the main enemies of oil  Store oil away from any light even if that means keeping the bottles inside a box.

Keep oil cool.

Refrigerate or freeze your oil to lengthen its’ shelf life.  If it thickens, just let it warm to room temperature before using it.  Coconut oil is a great option to the oils we typically think of for cooking and baking.  Coconut oil can be kept refrigerated and has a longer shelf life than other oils since it is a saturated fat.

Keep track of time.

The most important step in storing oil is keeping track of the date you purchased it and rotate it on a regular basis.  By the time it reaches its’ stamped expiration date, it may already be too rancid to use.  If you don’t use oil all that often, buy smaller bottles so you’ll be able to rotate through them more quickly.

Keep oxygen out.

Obviously, you won’t be able to  use oxygen absorbers in your bottles of oil!  The only measure you can take is storing oil in jars and then using a Food Saver device to extract oxygen from the jar.  Even that isn’t fool-proof.

Some food storage experts have given up on storing oil long-term and have switched to storing shortening.  It can easily be stored in jars, and with the use of a Food Saver, can be vacuum sealed for true long-term storage.  When oil is called for in a recipe, the shortening is melted, and there’s your oil.  A good compromise would be to store oil using the guidelines described above and store shortening in vacuum packed jars for storage up to several years.

One important reason to store and use oil is that it quickly boosts our daily calorie count.  Now, if you’re dieting, you’re probably staying away from oils, but imagine if you were in an emergency situation, 100% reliant on your food storage.  Chances would be very good that between a much higher level of stress and, possibly, more physical activity, your body will need well over 3,000 calories per day.  Adding oils to recipes, salads, or even a tablespoon or two of flaxseed or coconut oil in a smoothie will provide extra calories, not to mention all the health benefits that come with using good oils.

We can stack those buckets of wheat, rice, and beans, knowing they’ll be good for decades.  Oil is just one item that will require a bit more attention in our storage pantries.

Start now to make sure you are staying prepared.

Via: thesurvivalmom

How much should your kids know about your preps?

Guest post by Kris A.

My children are headed back to school, and because they attend public school, I’m constantly trying to figure out how to strike a balance between the security of our preps and keeping them up to speed with skills.  So just how much should your kids know about your preps?  I have kids ages 6-18, and here is my humble advice:

Up to age 4 or so—probably nothing. Of course, you’ll teach them about “stranger danger,” their address and phone number, the first and last names of their parents, and when to dial 911.  Beyond that, though, don’t let them overhear the latest episode of “Doomsday Preppers.”  It’ll just scare them.

I’d also recommend that you keep an ID card with contact information taped to the bottom of the baby carrier (or between the carrier and the cloth liner).  An initiative called CHAD (Children Have An iDentity) was launched after a 13-month-old baby survived a major auto accident—but he was in his BABYSITTER’S car, and emergency personnel had no idea to whom he belonged or how to contact his family.  Now emergency workers are trained to look for this information in or on car seats, so make it easy for them!

K-grade 2—Discuss food prep and storage and the most likely weather events in your area.  They can help you slap-chop, dehydrate, and rotate your way through your food storage goals—especially in the summer and fall.

Scouting programs are great to start at this age, as they’ll learn some self-reliance in a fun atmosphere.  If you keep firearms in your home, this is a good age to let your kids look at, touch, and ask questions about them under your strict supervision so there will be no mystery about them.

Kids this age should also know about the most likely emergency weather events in your area and what to do in such an event.  Practice your fire drills at home, and make sure your kids know the closest helpful neighbor by name and face. We let the kids deliver a jar of jam or salsa every so often just to keep the neighbors’ faces fresh in their minds, as well as promote good will.

Grades 3-6—Discuss all of the above, plus financial preparations. We are talking about saving for a rainy day, and while they don’t necessarily need to know how much money we make, our kids have separate canisters for money they will donate, save, and spend for themselves.

When my youngest wanted a new toy, he hauled rocks from the garden for a dollar a bucket until he had enough money to buy it.  Frugality and charity both begin in the home.  This is a great age to help them learn some financial self-control and the value of work.  When they get birthday or Christmas money, we help walk them through all their choices and consequences before they make a purchase.  Ultimately, though, it’s their money, and when it’s gone, it’s gone.

We do a lot of camping, too, because it’s a fun family activity that lets us all practice our survival skills and spend quality time together.

Middle school—Add information about medical preps.  Your local YMCA should offer a basic first aid class if your kids don’t participate in Scouting.  Ours offers a babysitting certification course complete with infant CPR!

They should know where you keep the first aid kit at home and in the car, as well as be able to operate your fire extinguisher.

Fictional titles like Stephen Grant’s Gone series or Gary Paulsen’s Hatchet or Dogsong can help your 7-9th grader imagine an SHTF scenario on his own reading level, with strong characters close to his own age.

Operational security is paramount at this age, especially since your kids may have friends coming in and out for sleepovers.  I kept going to the food storage closet only to find a group of boys had devoured (fill in the blank—fruit leathers, pickles, nuts, pretty much everything!).

High school—Move beyond the basics with information and training.  Your high school student should be proficient with every firearm in your home.  She should be able to locate and use all the medical supplies you’ve accumulated, change a tire, and cook for herself.  Ideally, field-dressing game, gardening, and canning are also emerging skills.

If you’re having trouble getting your teenager excited about the stuff we “old people” find important, kids this age love Suzanne Collins’s The Hunger Games and Jonathan Mayberry’s Rot and Ruin series.  In both, teenagers have to survive in a world without the modern conveniences your kids probably enjoy.  I know, life without an iPhone truly is apocalyptic, but we managed to survive for many years without cell service!  Girls will particularly enjoy Ally Condie’s series beginning with Matched, while boys might prefer Jonathan Mayberry’s vision of the aftermath of the zombie apocalypse.   All are engaging, age-appropriate, thought-provoking, and fast-paced.

Some parents may cringe at the idea of letting kids read about this scenario, but remember, 17- and 18-year-old “kids” have endured basic training, fought and won wars, and lived through a world your kids can’t even imagine.  Read one of these books together and discuss.  You won’t regret it.

Adult children—everything.  Let your adult kids know where you’ve hidden your goodies.  Your college student should have a plan for getting home in a major emergency scenario and have a week’s worth of water/food in his or her dorm room.  Your daughter, especially, should have a pocket knife, pepper spray, and a small medical kit in her purse.  It’s too important not to.

Let’s face it—few of us will ever be completely self-reliant, but as parents our job is to raise kids who—eventually—won’t really need us anymore.  That’s what I keep telling my 18-year-old, anyway.

Start now to make sure you are staying prepared.

Via: thesurvivalmom

Police Seizing Cash and Property From Citizens Without Charges

Police in many parts of the United States are routinely seizing cash and valuables from citizens without arrest or trial. Worst of all, police officers in Texas and Virginia have actually been stopping motorists and seizing their cash.

Having a large amount of cash on you or in your car is now apparently a crime in some parts of the United States. Worse, laws set up to seize cash from drug dealers are being used to seize money from people stopped for minor traffic violations.

A disturbing article in The New Yorker magazine mentions several instances of police seizing cash from citizens. The cops used a legal doctrine called forfeiture to seize the cash. The frightening thing is that the cash and valuables can be taken without an arrest or even criminal charges. They can simply seize it on probable cause and in many cases that have nothing to do with drugs.

State and federal laws now authorize forfeiture for a wide variety of crimes, many of them quite minor. You can have property or cash seized for such offenses as cockfighting, drag racing, gambling, illegal fishing, and more. The most bothersome detail is that many police departments consider forfeiture money part of their budgets.

The Monroe, North Carolina, police department wants to use $44,000 in drug money to buy a drone to spy on local residents, New Yorker reporter Sarah Stillman noted. Stillman thinks the drone would be used to patrol local roads looking for more vehicles to seize.

Read the full article here.

Start now to make sure you are staying prepared.

Via: thesurvivalistblog

Your Future: “We Are Now at a Point Where the Crisis Will Happen Almost Overnight”

With individual Americans underwater, unemployed, and on the edge of complete disaster, the future for millions is looking bleak.

This is an accelerating trend… one that touches all of our lives directly, no matter what income category you’re in, educational background, or political affiliation. This trend will alter your own job, business, and everyone around you.

….

It’s over. There is no fixing this mess. We are looking at either a planned reset, or a reset that will arise from the ashes of an economic disaster.


We are now in a situation where the global economies depend on an unsustainable amount of debt…

When it all ends it is going to end badly.

Every business will be affected.


The middle class is one crisis away from broke… We are now at the point where it will happen almost overnight.

The latest micro documentary from Future Money Trends explores the critical nature of the situation in which we find ourselves and provides key strategies that can help you depression-proof your life for the coming decade and beyond.

Watch: Your Future

 



(
Watch at Future Money Trends)

It is going to end badly – for a lot of people. Now is the time to position yourself to thrive in an environment that will undoubtedly leave countless lives in utter destitution

 

Start now to make sure you are staying prepared.

Via: shtfplan

What Is Going To Happen If Interest Rates Continue To Rise Rapidly?

If you want to track how close we are to the next financial collapse, there is one number that you need to be watching above all others.  The number that I am talking about is the yield on 10 year U.S. Treasuries, because it affects thousands of other interest rates in our financial system.  When the yield on 10 year U.S. Treasuries goes up, that is bad for the U.S. economy because it pushes long-term interest rates up.  When interest rates rise, it constricts the flow of credit, and a healthy flow of credit is absolutely essential to the debt-based system that we live in.  Just imagine someone squeezing a tube that has water flowing through it.  The higher interest rates go, the more economic activity will be squeezed.  If interest rates continue to rise rapidly, it will be more expensive for the U.S. government to borrow money, it will be more expensive for state and local governments to borrow money, the housing market may crash again, consumer debt will become more expensive, junk bond investors will be in for a world of hurt, the stock market will experience a tremendous amount of pain and there is a good chance that we could see the 441 trillion dollar interest rate derivatives bubble implode.  And that is just for starters.

So yes, we all need to be carefully watching the yield on 10 year U.S. Treasuries.  On Friday, it opened at 2.76% and hit a high of 2.86% before closing at 2.83%.  The yield on 10 year U.S. Treasuries is up nearly 120 basis points since the beginning of May, and almost everyone on Wall Street seems convinced that it is going to go much higher.

We are truly moving into unprecedented territory, because we have been in a bull market for U.S. Treasuries for the last 30 years.  Many investors don’t even know that it is possible to lose money on U.S. Treasuries.  They have been described as “risk-free” investments, but that is far from the truth.

In fact, we could see bond investors of all types end up losing trillions of dollars before it is all said and done.

And those in the stock market will lose lots of money too.  Low interest rates are good for economic activity which is good for the stock market.  The chart posted below shows that stock prices have generally risen as the yield on 10 year U.S. Treasuries has steadily declined over the past 30 years…


When interest rates rise, that is bad for economic activity and bad for stocks.  That is why so many stock analysts are alarmed that interest rates are going up so rapidly right now.

And as I wrote about the other day, we have just witnessed the largest cluster of Hindenburg Omens that we have seen since before the last financial crisis.  The stock market already seems ripe for a huge “adjustment”, and rising interest rates could give it a huge extra push in a negative direction.

By the time it is all said and done, stock market investors could end up losing trillions of dollars in the next stock market crash.

In addition, rising interest rates could easily precipitate another housing crash.  As the Wall Street Journal discussed on Friday, as the yield on 10 year U.S. Treasuries goes up it will also cause mortgage rates to rise…

Higher yields will push up long-term borrowing cost for U.S. consumers and businesses. Mortgage rates will rise, and investors are keeping a close eye on whether this may derail the recovery of the housing market, which has shown signs of turning a corner this year.

In one of my previous articles, I included an example that shows just how powerful rising mortgage rates can be…

A year ago, the 30 year rate was sitting at 3.66 percent.  The monthly payment on a 30 year, $300,000 mortgage at that rate would be $1374.07.

If the 30 year rate rises to 8 percent, the monthly payment on a 30 year, $300,000 mortgage at that rate would be $2201.29.

Does 8 percent sound crazy to you?

It shouldn’t.  8 percent was considered to be normal back in the year 2000.

If you own a $300,000 house today, do you think it will be easier to sell it or harder to sell it if mortgage rates skyrocket?

Yes, of course it will be much harder.  In fact, there is a good chance that you will have to reduce your selling price significantly so that prospective buyers can afford the payments.

Let us hope that the yield on 10 year U.S. Treasuries levels off for a while.  If it says at this current level, the damage will probably not be too bad.

But if it crosses the 3 percent mark and keeps soaring, things could get messy pretty quickly.  In fact, according to a Bank of America Merrill Lynch investor survey, the 3.5 percent mark is when the collapse of the bond market is likely to become “disorderly”…

Our latest Credit Investor Survey, conducted July 8-11, showed that 3.5% on the 10-year is most commonly thought of as the trigger of a disorderly rotation – i.e. higher interest rates leading to outflows and wider credit spreads – among high grade investors.

Put differently, 3.0% on the 10-year will not lead to overall wider credit spreads if there is enough buying interest from institutional investors (though note that the 10s/30s spread curve would flatten further, as mutual fund/ETF holdings are concentrated in the belly of the curve, whereas institutional demand is disproportional in the long end of the curve). However, if the probability of a further move higher in interest rates to 3.5% is high – which will be the perception if interest rate volatility is high – certain institutional investors will choose to remain on the sidelines.

Thus there may not be enough institutional buying interest to mitigate retail fund outflows and contain overall high grade spread levels.

So what is causing this?

Well, there are a number of factors of course, but one very disturbing sign is that foreigners are selling off U.S. Treasuries at a pace that we have not seen since 2007…

One of the biggest fears in the financial markets is that foreign investors will stop buying U.S. Treasury securities, causing borrowing rates to surge.

Not that this is the beginning of a frightening trend, but new data from the Treasury Department shows that foreigners were net sellers in June. In fact, this is the largest net sale of U.S. securities since August 2007.

Do you remember all of the warnings that we have received over the years about what would take place when foreign countries started dumping U.S. debt?

Well, it looks like it may be starting to happen.

Unfortunately, there is no way that the party that the U.S. government has been throwing can continue without foreigners buying our debt.  We have added more than 11 trillion dollars to the national debt since the year 2000, and according to Boston University economist Laurence Kotlikoff we are facing unfunded liabilities in future years that are in excess of 200 trillion dollars.

Even with foreigners continuing to loan us gigantic mountains of super cheap money, it would still take a doubling of our taxes to put us on a fiscally sustainable course…

Writing in the September issue of Finance and Development, a journal of the International Monetary Fund, Prof. Kotlikoff says the IMF itself has quietly confirmed that the U.S. is in terrible fiscal trouble – far worse than the Washington-based lender of last resort has previously acknowledged. “The U.S. fiscal gap is huge,” the IMF asserted in a June report. “Closing the fiscal gap requires a permanent annual fiscal adjustment equal to about 14 per cent of U.S. GDP.”

This sum is equal to all current U.S. federal taxes combined. The consequences of the IMF’s fiscal fix, a doubling of federal taxes in perpetuity, would be appalling – and possibly worse than appalling.

Prof. Kotlikoff says: “The IMF is saying that, to close this fiscal gap [by taxation] would require an immediate and permanent doubling of our personal income taxes, our corporate taxes and all other federal taxes.

“America’s fiscal gap is enormous – so massive that closing it appears impossible without immediate and radical reforms to its health care, tax and Social Security systems – as well as military and other discretionary spending cuts.”

Can you afford to pay twice as much in taxes to the federal government?

Very few Americans could.

But that is how serious the financial problems of the federal government are.

And all of the above assumes that interest payments on U.S. government debt will remain at current levels.  If the average rate of interest on U.S. government debt rises to just 6 percent, the U.S. government will be paying out a trillion dollars a year just in interest on the national debt.

Also, all of the above assumes that we will have a healthy financial system that does not need to be bailed out again.

But if rapidly rising interest rates cause the 441 trillion dollar interest rate derivatives bubble to implode, the bailout that the “too big to fail” banks will need will likely be far, far larger than last time.

In fact, once that bubble bursts there probably will not be enough money in the entire world to fix it.

If the picture that I have painted above sounds bleak, that is because it is bleak.

Sometimes I get frustrated with myself because I don’t feel I am communicating the tremendous danger that we are facing accurately enough.

We are heading for the worst financial crisis in modern human history, and the debt-fueled prosperity that we are enjoying today is going to go away and it is never going to come back.

You can dismiss that as “doom and gloom” and stick your head in the sand if you want, but that isn’t going to help anything.  Instead of ignoring reality you should be working hard to prepare your family for what is coming and warning others that they should be getting prepared too.

When a hurricane is approaching landfall, you don’t take your family out for a picnic at the beach.  That would be foolish.  Unfortunately, way too many Americans are acting as if nothing like the financial crisis of 2008 could ever possibly happen again.

If you deceive yourself into thinking that all of this is going to have a happy ending somehow, you are going to get blindsided by the coming storm.

But if you make preparations now, you might just be okay.

There is hope in understanding what is happening and there is hope in getting prepared.

So watch the yield on 10 year U.S. Treasuries.  The higher it goes, the later in the game we are.

Start now to make sure you are staying prepared.

Via: theeconomiccollapseblog