Welcome to this week’s Survive The Coming Collapse newsletter, brought to you by The Fastest Way To Prepare course–the fastest, step by step way to get you and your family prepared for 8 hour to 8 week disasters.
- David
Survival Diva here to discuss the state of the economy and a short, but extremely eye-opening event that occurred on Saturday, October 12 when a glitch shut down the U.S. food stamp program for several hours in seventeen states and caused chaos at Louisiana WalMarts. You probably heard about that…but few knew that the Feds sent out notices earlier this week telling states that the food stamp program would be shutdown for the month of November.
Let’s start with the “glitch”.
Most grocery stores in the states that suffered the food stamp outage limped along, save for angry customers and grocery carts being left full of food when food stamp recipients were informed that they would be unable to use their cards until the glitch was patched. But there were two Walmart locations in Louisiana that became a free for all when word got out that these Walmart locations would honor non-capped food stamp purchases in their Mansfield and Springhill locations, which led to a free-for-all.
Here an excerpt of the story, as reported by Susanna Kim on Yahoo News.
Walmart Shelves Emptied in Food Stamp Shopping Spree
Louisiana officials are trying to decide what to do about a massive shopping spree by families on food stamps when a power outage lifted the caps on their spending cards.
Police were called to Walmart locations in Mansfield, La., and Springhill, La., on Saturday as shoppers cleaned out store shelves.
Springhill Police Chief Will Lynd said some customers were pushing more food than any household could store in a refrigerator and freezer.
“I saw people drag out eight to ten grocery carts,” he said.
Lynd said customers were “not unruly.” There were no fights or arrests made, but the scene was still chaotic, he said.
“It was definitely worse than Black Friday. It was worse than anything we had ever seen in this town,” Lynd said of Springhill, which is near the border with Arkansas. “There was no food left on any of the shelves, and no meat left. The grocery part of Walmart was totally decimated.”
He said one customer made about $700 in food purchases.
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There are several eye-openers that we, as preppers, should pay close attention to:
During the food stamp free-for-all, the shelves were emptied in a matter of hours.
Although no one was arrested for fighting, there were reports of pushing and shoving.
When the “glitch” was repaired and limits on food cards was restored, people who hadn’t cleared the checkout stand left their overfilled shopping carts in the isles and went home.
The crowding at one Walmart store was so bad, they had to close the store temporarily due to the fire hazard it posed.
The Springfield Police Chief said he witnessed people dragging 8 to 10 filled grocery carts out of the store.
This begs another question; if word got out so quickly, leading to these Walmart stores shelves being picked bare in so short a time, what can we expect if a widespread crisis happens and those without resources determine it’s time to help themselves to what they feel they need? It’s likely the first storefront windows to be shattered would be grocers, sporting good stores, gun shops, and for those who don’t think for themselves, electronic stores.
Earlier this week, it looked like we were as close as a couple of weeks away from finding out.
Fox 13 News in Salt Lake City reported something chilling. The article states that the U.S. Department of Agriculture sent out letters that reads, in part:
“understanding the operational issues and constraints that States face, and in the interest of preserving maximum flexibility, we are directing States to hold their November issuance files and delay transmission to State electronic benefit transfer (EBT) vendors until further notice.”
In other words, the Obama administration decided that it could gain additional leverage to get it’s way by using poor people as paws and threatening to take away Federal food stamp funding if Obama didn’t get his way.
Anyone still have the feeling that we AREN’T on our own? This may be a golden opportunity to wake up those naysayers in your life who do the eye-roll whenever the subject of preparedness comes up. Further, it’s worth asking the question who are our elected officials protecting nowadays? While the economy limps along with fiat money that’s churning off the presses, it looks as if the government may be thinking about pulling the plug on food stamps during the holiday season.
Unfortunately, the ploy worked and it looks like the 11th hour deal Senate Leaders reached will keep the government from defaulting on its debt and allow for the continuance of food stamps and subsidized housing…at least for the time being. I say unfortunately because once the use of a negotiating gambit proves successful, it paves the way for repeated use in the future.
This is all the more reason why it’s SO vital to stock up on whatever food you practically can, while you can and to get a solid grasp on the skills necessary to be able to produce some or all of your own food.
But this stay of execution on federal food stamp funding may be short-lived. It appears that Chase Bank is preparing for an economic blood bath when they sent letters to their customers that as of November 17, their customers will be limited to a total of $50,000 monthly withdrawals, and will no longer be allowed to send international money wire transfers (although they will still be allowed to receive them). It is worth noting that Chase is the bank that issues EBT (Food Stamp) cards. Could it be that they are getting ready for the economy to tank and are insulating themselves against a bank run?
If so, it’s doubly important to understand the potential of what the cities will experience if the plug gets pulled on Food Stamps and other subsidized programs.
(David’s note: As everyone knows, entitlement spending is complicated. What was originally designed as a safety net has become a lifestyle choice for many able-bodied people who want to free-load and leach. Frankly, I’d rather we get rid of bloated government entitlement programs at all levels that waste 60-90 cents of every dollar of their budget, and push hard-case rent and food support down to local charities. I say this because neither I nor Barbara are against helping people who are temporarily or permanently in a rough spot, but we’re both against the entitlement mentality and waste.)
There are many who have grown used to entitlements, who can work but would rather depend solely upon food stamps to feed themselves and expect the government to pay for their housing on a monthly basis. If 47 million food stamp recipients are unplugged from the ongoing help they’ve grown accustomed to, some will do the best they can and attempt to survive peacefully. But there will be others who will riot and if the Walmart incident is a microscopic window into the future, they will join one-another in a no-holds-barred attempt to survive.
Worse; during a full-blown crisis some won’t hesitate to turn to violence once the grocers shelves are picked bare and water and sewer has ceased.
The facts, whether we like them or not, are that homelessness (and tent cities) have increased at an alarming rate since 2008, poverty is on the upswing, we are seeing the decline of the middle class, and as already mentioned, there are more than 47 million people on food stamps and that number is growing at an astronomical rate every single day!
Surviving In The City or the Suburbs
Social unrest will not be limited to urban areas, although it’s likely to be felt in dense populations before the exodus from cities begins. If you live in the city, here is a check-list that can help to keep you and your loved ones safe during the waves of unrest that are likely to arrive during a wide-spread crisis:
(David’s note: Don’t focus solely on your own survival…focus on stability. That may mean preparing a little extra for neighbors who are law enforcement and first responders. It may mean that if you have someone who’s on government assistance due to circumstances beyond their control that you figure out how to support them or get them somewhere where they’ll be taken care of after a disaster. It may mean that if you have people who are on government assistance because they’re working the system, that you plan on how to strongly suggest that they leave in the event of a disaster and go to a relative’s or somewhere where THEY think is better..and have stuff set aside to give to them to help them on their way. It may mean that if you have neighbors without jobs who WANT to work that you start finding out what their interests are and feed/encourage any of these interests that would help them be of value (to themselves and others) after a disaster by buying them books/courses.)
Always keep your car’s gas tank topped off in preparation to evacuate your location if it becomes necessary. (David’s note: One friend of mine who lived through the Soviet occupation of his country makes it a habit to top off his tank every day on his way home.)
Know the exits to and from your location and make practice runs to familiarize yourself with alternative routes should the typical routes you travel are closed. (For more on this, check out the Survive In Place Urban Survival Course)
Beef up your doors and windows and other entry points such as a garage. If you’re unsure of where to begin, check out an earlier post Harden Your Home from Forcible Entry & Armed Attack.
It goes without saying that you must have food and water stored in your home for times when there is social unrest and the grocery store shelves are bare.
Research a reliable water source and practice retrieving that water and making it drinkable. Have containers available and consider a hand cart—water is heavy! In some areas of dense population, it may be necessary to gather water in the dead of night, or to take alternate routes to avoid looters and roving gangs. A quality water purifier will be a must-have, even if your intended water source is safe now. During a societal breakdown, open water sources should be presumed unsafe due to refuse dumping and disease and water must be purified or boiled before drinking.
If you have planned ahead for lighting by burning candles, or oil lamps, or for those who live in a more suburban setting and expect to rely upon solar panels or a generator, have the materials on hand to block the light that will emit from windows. This will be a calling card for opportunists! NEVER advertise that you are prepared!
If you plan to run a generator and you live in a dense population, it is critical to either avoid running it when looting is rampant (if you do, you might as well slap a banner across your windows announcing your preparedness), or find a way to muffle the sound. Be sure to run a generator outdoors to avoid carbon monoxide poisoning!
In the event of a full-blown crisis and looting begins in earnest, avoid cooking odors. This will only draw people to your doorstep. Instead, consider having a few weeks or months of canned goods that can be eaten straight from the can without heating if necessary, or look into MREs with heaters (Flameless Ration Heater).
If possible, keep materials on hand to shore up broken windows.
If you haven’t done so already, consider joining forces with like-minded people. Survival will be more assured when a group is involved, rather than a single family. It may become necessary to patrol your immediate area for safety.
Decide upon what you will use for self-defense and plan accordingly. Unfortunately, this will be necessary during a societal collapse, so if you are planning on firearms, you should be stocking up on ammunition as it becomes available. Additionally, it is a good idea to learn hand-to-hand combat for self-defense. (David’s note: If you have a limited amount of time and money, I would suggest avoiding martial arts where the strikes are so ineffective that you can use them while sparring at full or half speed. This would include all MMA and sport arts. Instead, I would learn a system like Target Focus Training that teaches you how to “flip the switch” and take an attacker to non-functional in as few seconds as is humanly possible. Click >HERE< to learn more.
If you plan to bug out when trouble strikes, you must cover all the bases to insure safety; keep your car in good working order to avoid breakdowns and carry a reliable spare tire and tools as well as extra fuel, bring topographical and street maps from your starting point to your final destination, and practice more than one route to get there. It is possible some roadways may be closed. Bring a compass. An EMP attack may take down GPS. Bring emergency backpacks that will cover food, water, medical emergencies (including prescription meds), and camping gear at the very least. I would also suggest a book on wild, edible foods and fishing gear should your journey take longer than expected and your food supply runs out. Realize that if an emergency is serious enough, Martial Law may go into effect. It is wise to get out of city limits as soon as possible, ahead of potential roadblocks. Bring important documentation with you such as banking, stocks & investments, insurance, medical & shot records, marriage certificates and mortgage paperwork, titles to cars, prescriptions, etc.
As most of you are aware, listing all the food, medical and preparedness supplies to survive a long-term crisis comfortably would easily fill a book. The purpose of this post is to cover just the bare necessities. After reading what it will take to survive in the city or an urban location, do you feel you are prepared to survive a crisis that brings looting or worse? Have you been watching the news and wondering just where the country is headed? Please share your thoughts and preparedness tips by commenting below.
For concrete, step-by-step ways to prepare yourself and your loved ones for local, regional, and national disasters like what we discussed today, check out the SurviveInPlace.com course, the FastestWayToPrepare.com course.
Chapter 26 of Survival Diva’s book, Implant, has been posted. You can Click Here to continue reading.
God bless and stay safe,
David Morris and Survival Diva