At what point do we label the Covid - 19 virus a SHTF event ?

[4Freedom]

Once upon a time it was safe to let your children play outside and to leave your tp visible in your car. Those days are over.

Toilet paper reported stolen from SUV in Eugene

EUGENE, Ore. -- The Eugene Police Department reports it received an online report where the rear window of an SUV was completely shattered and the thief took all valuables including two cases of 30-roll toilet paper and some valuable business and personal items. The theft occurred on March 14...

katu.com

I never thought I saw the day Americans would be robbing people over toilet paper.. Yeah, things are going south.. I don't think our country has a great long-term plan of what we are going to do if this "Containment Experiment" fails. The long interview ith CIDRAP scientist , MIchael Osterholm., who even serves on Trump administration (and other administrations) had a less than optimal view of containment's long-term success of eradicating this virus.

Once stores start getting empty, Americans cannot buy food, toilet paper , thermometers and basic necessities, that is when robbing , looting and chaos will ensue.

 

[sobo]

This is where prepping helps. Those of us who prepped (I have 170 rolls of TP and I haven't bought any in a year or two IIRC) won't be out doing panic buying. Just like those of us who have savings and have paid off/down our debt won't be a drag on the economy compared to those who won't be able to pay their bills.

^^^^THIS!^^^^

I have 3+ months of food stored, a few hundred gals of shocked water, vitamins/supplements, all kinds of batteries, paper products out the wazzu, hygiene stuff, cleaning agents, tonz of gunz, 17,000+ rds, L3A body armor, etc. About two weeks ago, I went out and bought up a bunch of fresh produce and dairy products. The organic stuff seems to last forever compared to the homogenized, pasteurized, hormone-ized crap. If/when I go to the store now, I'm only looking for fresh dairy like milk, yogurt, cheese, etc. and lettuce and stuff if they have it. The shelves are pretty much bare of everything else.

This is the soup/broth/ramen/boxed dinners/canned goods aisle in my local Winco last night:


Same store, same night. Paper goods aisle on left (7B), pasta and pasta sauce aisle on the right (8B):


House and cars paid off years ago, zero balance on the CC (set to pay off automatically every month), ~six month's worth of normal expenses saved in the bank. When you're not making payments and lining someone else's pocket with interest charges, your wealth grows exponentially.

The feeling of freedom that is found by not owing anyone a dime, coupled with being prepared for just about anything, is beyond delicious. My Libbie co-workers mocked/ridiculed me while I was "preppin' up" in the run-up to The Hildebeast's ultimate fail. Guess who's laughing now...???

 

[WoodsPlinker]

When it is a situation of people hoarding commodities that doesn't work.

Higher prices is a limitter on stupid activities, makes people make sure they really need that tp before buying it.

But for some reason people think higher prices is a bad thing, those people also don't understand how a market works.

 

[sobo]

I sense a fellow Libertarian and Austrian economics cohort in my midst... Welcome!

 

[WoodsPlinker]

I sense a fellow Libertarian and Austrian economics cohort in my midst... Welcome!

Yeah, I also may have had a glass of wine before that rant. I got a nice email on how price gouging was good today from Tom Woods. .


He's better at explaining it then I am.

 

[sobo]

I got the same email, too.
Also have been subscribed to the podcast for years now.
I could never explain this stuff as well as he does, but it sure is nice to know it!

 

[cookie]

If you thought 2008 election was bad for ammo.. God save us all, all my goto ammo vendors who were well stocked throughout elections now are completely out of ammo...

Sh*t is entering the fan.. and getting ready to hit.. Italy has a 7% death rate from an overwhelmed health care system plus aging population. The fear, terror, government lockdown, inevitable economic recession and quarantines will be worse than the virus, but the virus isn't a joke. Keeping a population like Americans indoors for months also will take an act of God.

The 7% may not be a good number because so many people get Corona virus with out serious problems so they aren't reported.

 

[cookie]

^^^^THIS!^^^^

I have 3+ months of food stored, a few hundred gals of shocked water, vitamins/supplements, all kinds of batteries, paper products out the wazzu, hygiene stuff, cleaning agents, tonz of gunz, 17,000+ rds, L3A body armor, etc. About two weeks ago, I went out and bought up a bunch of fresh produce and dairy products. The organic stuff seems to last forever compared to the homogenized, pasteurized, hormone-ized crap. If/when I go to the store now, I'm only looking for fresh dairy like milk, yogurt, cheese, etc. and lettuce and stuff if they have it. The shelves are pretty much bare of everything else.

This is the soup/broth/ramen/boxed dinners/canned goods aisle in my local Winco last night:
View attachment 671017

Same store, same night. Paper goods aisle on left (7B), pasta and pasta sauce aisle on the right (8B):
View attachment 671019

House and cars paid off years ago, zero balance on the CC (set to pay off automatically every month), ~six month's worth of normal expenses saved in the bank. When you're not making payments and lining someone else's pocket with interest charges, your wealth grows exponentially.

The feeling of freedom that is found by not owing anyone a dime, coupled with being prepared for just about anything, is beyond delicious. My Libbie co-workers mocked/ridiculed me while I was "preppin' up" in the run-up to The Hildebeast's ultimate fail. Guess who's laughing now...???

Excellent !!

 

[4Freedom]

The 7% may not be a good number because so many people get Corona virus with out serious problems so they aren't reported.

True, but it will still send people into a panic.. And, the Italian medical system is pretty much devastated.

 

[cookie]

True, but it will still send people into a panic.. And, the Italian medical system is pretty much devastated.

Lots of chinese people in Italy.

 

[4Freedom]

Italy also has a much older population, which is something that worries me about Florida, as well. NYC is it just going out of control with the virus and Seattle too. Largest Asian populations in the USA are in these two cities. And they are also some of the most dense and European like cities. Go figure they are starting to hit the European rates of infection. It makes sense to me that Seattle and NYC are having the highest infection rates with San Francisco as a third. I just was saying to myself before this got crazy, I bet NYC, SF and Seattle are going to suffer big time and so far I am right.

 

[gmerkt]

We went out for some routine supplies today at Walmart. What we found were some stripped-out shelves in certain areas. Toilet paper, of course, and most other paper goods. Baby wipes were, well, wiped out completely. The fresh dairy section was a complete void. Some canned goods shelves were empty. This was a partial shopping trip, didn't do every aisle. Last Friday at Fred Meyer, similar situation except for milk was still available. Pasta aisle was getting pretty scanty. Ground beef was completely sold out.

I'm having a little difficulty trying to understand some of this. First of all, "supply chain " issues for many of these items don't extend across the Pacific Ocean to China. So far as I know, north American paper mills are still turning out TP; the over-the-road trucks are still rolling. Ditto many of these other common items that are now missing from the retail stores. Oh, and fresh milk. Where is the logic in stocking up deep on a perishable??

Yes to panic if the trucks stop rolling. That is a key weakness in our society now. And has been for a long time, nothing new. The food has to get from farms and processing plants to the population centers. That hasn't stopped yet and probably won't due to the virus thing. The government isn't going to shut down retail grocery stores as they know people must eat no matter what. Since most people live from hand to mouth from what trucks bring in, how long can they dig into their little apartment or suburban home fortress and survive? So they panic buy, say, a month's supplies. But what then? If the shelves stay bare, they are back where they started. They aren't gonna survive for years on packs of hoarded pasta. This part of the panic is almost laughable.

One thing I will predict, an up-tick in business for plumbers. As people who cannot find proper TP resort to other solutions to the problem. Like wiping with something that has more substance than TP that clogs sanitary drains.

I've had reserve TP stored away for years, just in case. And other emergency supplies. But probably not enough to last all that long. As I've gotten older, I've become more sanguine about survival supplies. What with figuring I don't have all that many more years to worry about it.

I'm hoping my fifth grade teacher, Mrs. Raether would forgive my practice of beginning sentences with the words, "and," "because," and "but." The use of "gonna" for "going to" would've never passed go with her either.

 

[sobo]

...Oh, and fresh milk. Where is the logic in stocking up deep on a perishable??

I have found that the organic variety of dairy products such as milk, eggs, yogurt, etc. have exceptionally long "use by" dates on them. Additionally, these items have in fact stayed fresh and useable for several weeks beyond those dates, in my experience. Don't ask me why, but all of the homogenization, pasteurization, and hormone-ization that is present in the cheap stuff doesn't seem to do much towards enhancing shelf life. The more expensive organic stuff always gets my buck$...

And I'm pretty sure that Mrs. Raether would forgive you. I know that Mrs. Classen, bless her kind soul, would forgive me...

 

[E4mafia]

I wouldn't want to be philly right now:

With courts closed by pandemic, Philly police stop low-level arrests to manage jail crowding

That news came as a relief to advocates who have worried that, in light of court closures, those held pretrial could be incarcerated indefinitely — and that jail populations could quickly balloon as a result.

www.inquirer.com

 

[Wncurley214]

Ready to go.

 

[sobo]

And with a folding stock adapter and MagPod, no less! Strong move...

 

[JuglansRegia]

I would say its starting to hit the fan, hopefully the sheeple will realize before they start rioting and looting, that there are the same amount of butts that need to be wiped after the Kung-Flu hit as before and there is no need to panic, unless a couple TP factories close or burn down, then its on.

 

[clearconscience]

Just keep in mind you have surging gun sales, a large amount over the last year are first time buyers. Who don't know the law, and may not have restraint.

and then some will panic and get desperate.

SHTF. Stay armed and keep that head on a swivel.
Look out for and protect your family, friends, and neighbors.

 

[sobo]

"Watch yer topknot!"

 

[GunSmoke]

A group of 3 or 4 stormed my Safeway yesterday in south tacoma. Maced an employee who tried to stop them.... it's not desperate people yet, it's those looking to take advantage of the situation. A little early in my opinion but I'm not a career low life so what do I know