Good morning guys. Thanks for stopping back by. We hope all are well, and life is good!
The last time we talked, we were discussing the downturn of our economy, and the steps Deb and I decided to take on this account. We told of our oldest son Josh, and his family, and how their income had decreased from slowdown of their workplace along with Shelly having Gavin and being home with him.
But, by those guys having the foresight to recognize the slowdown of our economy, they started putting up some food storage. Because of this, today, even with a good bit of their income lost for the time being, they’re eating, and eating well.
By not doing as they did, at this time they’d be experiencing a “double-whammy.” This being less money available to them to buy groceries, then once reaching the stores…they’d be paying more for what they needed, plus receiving less because of the price increase. So, those two have weathered pretty well.
So you see guys, our game plan within our family is basically to prepare for the worst, but the whole while hoping for the best. Once more, what food storage we’ve put away, we couldn’t come close to replacing with today’s pricing, AND, I don’t see this changing. AND, the worst case scenario simply being…we’ll eat it anyway!
You only have to look quickly at the events unfolding in our Country, and for that matter worldwide, to understand that “we the people,” could get hung up between a rock and a hard spot fairly easily…from a number of different scenarios.
Because of this, Deb and I decided to put as much into our own hands as possible when it comes to the well being of our family. Food, water, alternative power, fuel, firewood, meds, seeds, tools, camping supplies, firewood, cookware, and even toiletries.
We both like to fish, so we have plenty of tackle, and could supplement our diet with fish or game. We put the cows on the place, and are fixing to build a greenhouse. All because of our economy, number one, and our elected leaders in Washington failing to ease our doubts of our economy turning back around in the near future…or ever, without a good “housecleaning” by… “We the People!”
I’ve touched base before on this subject, but stop for just a second or two and contemplate a remark made by our President…”We’re going to spend our way out of debt!”
As a small business owner, a family man, and a guy who is pretty frugal with a dollar, I’ve never heard of a more ludicrous statement in my entire life!
This is one of our problems…too many in our government today, with little to NO business experience. Never made a payroll, and all their decisions, no matter how asinine, financed by what they used to consider a bottomless pit, financed by… “We the People.”
Although today, “their bottomless pit,” is now on the very brink of default. We’ve let our politicians, through their power, unaccountability, and personal gain, put the greatest Country on the face of the earth, our Country, into a perilous position.
They’ve taught that you don’t have to have a work ethic! No, No! Even if you don’t, we’ll see that the ones that do, will furnish your livelihood for you. Not only that, for those that don’t, the government is going to indoctrinate you in the belief that you deserve such treatment…YOU’RE ENTITLED TO IT!
Do you remember the First Lady explaining that you DESERVE your piece of the pie too?? Well, as far as you deserving your piece of the pie, shoot, I agree with her wholeheartedly on this point. BUT, I believe we are at odds in how you get your piece of this pie.
I believe once more, that yes sir, you should have a piece of the pie, but in order to get your piece of it, there is a price to pay. The cost for this slice of pie? Hard work, sacrifice, saving what you can, and being realistic in your lifestyle. YOU EARNED YOUR SLICE OF THE PIE!
An example…a family making $25,000 a year, buying a $300,000 home. Someone please make me understand the logic behind such thoughts. But this is what our politicians today have advocated, and in many instances, FORCED lending institutions to do such as this…or else!
This is but one example of our current administration’s idea of you getting your “piece of the pie!”
Through this, with Fannie and Freddie leading the way, we almost toppled our economy with loans that they knew could never possibly be paid back, given the incomes of the people who got so many of these loans!
You know, there is a reason for lending institutions to loan money on their so called, “good loans.” COLLATERAL! By you having to put up enough collateral, this states pretty clearly that under normal circumstances, you’ll see that this money is paid back, or…you LOSE your Collateral, and whatever you purchased with the loan in the first place.
BUT, by so many of our politicians today demanding our financial institutions make loans to people who could not pay these loans back, on top of having them put into these homes with little to NO money down, they just walked off.
WHY? BECAUSE THEY HAD ABSOLUTELY NOTHING TO LOSE!!
SO, what does our government do?? They start passing out billions of the taxpayer monies, or once again, money that belongs to “We the People.” Not to be given to “We the People,” but to their cohorts.
Mainly, they “bailed out” Fannie and Freddie, AIG, the Post Office, AmTrak, and the unions. The last being one of the main causes of our automotive industry’s downfall, YET, they end up with a 20% share of GM and Chrysler!
And you wonder why Deb and I decided that we just might want to start becoming a little more self-reliant?? Go figger!
Plus…these are just part of the problems we face today as a society. By you guys trying to put up a little extra each week, it may come to pass that not unlike our oldest son Josh, here in the near future, you just may be very glad that you did.
This is our point. We’re not trying to tell anyone what to do, how to do, or why you do in regards to your family. We are though, of the belief…that we are living in a very different situation as a Country today.
We’re living in a Country today that now borrows about 43% of EVERY dollar we spend. We’re living in a Country today that has debt over the $14 trillion mark.
On top of this, we’re living in a Country today that’s school systems are now “middle of the pack” worldwide. We’re living in a Country today that is slowly, but surely taking our religious freedoms away from us.
We’re living in a Country today, where a young boy in California was made to take a flag off his bicycle, for fear of it being offensive to some of the other students. His flag? THE AMERICAN FLAG!
We’re living in a Country today, where our President wouldn’t stand at attention during the playing of our National Anthem, and refused to wear a flag pin of an American Flag, for the longest time. Pressure forced him to do so, and he started doing both, BUT…it wasn’t because he wanted to! If so, wouldn’t you think he’d have done these things to start with?
We’re living in a Country today, where a gunman, a major in our armed forces, shoots and kills over 30 other soldiers on a US base… IN THE US! The gunman was Muslim, was in contact with radical clerics, and was shouting “Allah Akbar” during his massacre of his comrades in arms. Our President’s first response… “Don’t jump to conclusions.”
We’re living in a Country today, where our Speaker of the House (at one point), declared to the American people that in order for us to know or see, what was in Obama Care, we needed to…PASS IT FIRST???
We’re living in a Country today, while at probably the most lenient of times in our Country’s history in regards to racism, it is preached, advocated, pushed upon, and used incessantly by our administration, our media, community organizations, State and Local governments, and the far left. Far too many times these charges are nothing but blatant lies.
You do realize I could go on and on and on with these types of statements, but I think you see the point we’re trying to make. Also, to many I’m literally preaching to the choir, but to many more…they still seem to just…have no idea.
NO ONE, and I do mean NO ONE is better capable of taking care of their own families, than themselves! Yet our leaders have decided THAT THEY are really the only ones capable of this. My response…BULL!
Anyway, Deb and I see the goings on today in our Country, and I have to tell you all that we by NO means feel comfortable. So, these are some of the reasons why we’ve became advocates of living as much as possible in ways we can control as best we can. Self-sufficiency…that’s our goal, or as least as much as possible.
So in closing today, we’d like to ask you once more, please take a look around, and see for yourself the direction we’re headed in as a Country.
If you look long enough, and hard enough, you may decide for yourself that taking steps in your own lives to better prepare your own family may just be…the best course of action…at least for the time being!
We will continue on this topic for another time or two, then…it’s on to something else. God Bless you, and as Deb says, “Keep a smile on your face, and one in your heart!”
Dub and Deb