... nationwide on the kind of level that they are warning about, does anyone have any thoughts on what would happen to the average American family that lives paycheck to paycheck?

Mortgage payments, for example... health insurance payments. I don't know enough about the ramifications of these kinds of things.

Mail may cease to be delivered or picked up in some or many areas. Power may be sporatic or non-existent. Businesses close down, no paychecks.

What do you think would happen? If the pandemic lasted several months, would the banks insist on going into repossession mode when things were back to semi-normal? Would your family lose medical benefits due to non-payment?

Any thoughts?

Sue

IIRC, FEMA can put a temporary halt on morgates and the like in disaster areas. Can anyone confirm? If they can, you'd probably see something like that, although not a hold on intrest. :P

Post deleted by Chris Kavanaugh

While I applaude your enthusiasm, I think you're oversimplifing.

In the States, the mobility of a car is critical for us. My largest payment is my car payment. If I've become displaced, having my car seized for lack of payment on said loan will make a bad situation worse.

My other big payment is (about to be) on my college loans. Failure to pay those is federal crime, and it does get prosecuted. No jail time, but a life time of having the money taken out of your paycheck before you see it.

And both of those perma-pooch your credit. And if you are trying to rebuild your home, unless you are independedly wealthy and don't need to worry about mortgages in the first place, that is going to be a critical issue.

Simple survival isn't the point; any beast can do that.

Ironraven,

I think you took the bait. Methinks 'bigvic' is a bit of a troll based on posts made with that ID thusfar. And Massacre never trusts anyone who refers to themselves in the third person. LOL <img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Post deleted by Chris Kavanaugh

How long have you been watching us?

Most of us are rather realistic/pessimistic, and many of us just twitch when arround really exuberant/perky people. Cherry people are great, it makes up for all the moodiness we pump out, but soundbites that have no real meaning...

I've got the same initial vibe, Massacre, but I also think until shown to be a troll, give him a chance. My second impression from one of his posts is someone who wants to be here, but is a little over enthusiastic and hasn't taken the time to observe our social mode here.

Let's face it, there are times when we could make mallgoth's look perky. :P

*wondering if vic is a coffee drinker, and if so, would he notice we if we switched him to decaf*

Post deleted by Chris Kavanaugh

Well, I'm not an expert on anything, but have survived thus far with as little as a good attitude in the shadow of adversity. Hang in there Vic and I hope we are able to enjoy some of your advice.

I think Susan's point is well thought out. I work from home, so unless someone brings this disease into the house, I would be ok.

Having the shelter of a house is more important to me than having a car. Fortunately, both cars are paid off.

I have my paychecks directly deposited. Unless banks completely shut down, I think I'd be ok. I also pay my bills online, so slow mail wouldnt necessarily cause me to pay late.

There are some 'critical paths' that would make all this impossible if they failed, of course.

If things were that bad, I dont think it would make business sense for banks to reposses houses. Who would buy them if unemployment were as high as Susan thinks it may be? Better for them to work with us, no?

DBAGuy, that's exactly what I was wondering. Other than my house and credit card, everything is paid off. Utilities are a non-issue as far as payment goes.

I am thinking if there is a pandemic as bad as the fearmongers say (& I really have a problem believing that), it would shove the whole world into a financial depression that would make the Great Depression look like a stubbed toe. But finance and economics are not my strong point.

Sue

Susan

I am looking forward to Survivorman's 2 part series on how he and his live off the grid.

It still would require a mortgage, but would seem to resolve the other problems (utilities).

Under SHTF conditions I think the goverment would halt repossesions, unless they want a fully fledged revolt on their hands.

http://www.bmonesbittburns.com/economics/reports/20051011/dont_fear_fear.pdf

"I think the goverment would halt repossesions, unless they want a fully fledged revolt on their hands."

That's the part I'm not so sure about. American companies don't have much foresight, and governments don't have any. They are both perfectly capable of screwing everything up, and guess who pays?

Besides, most Americans have been so brainwashed that they aren't capable of thinking for themselves in any rational matter. Why do you think the public school system was created? There were far more literate people in the late 1800's (per capita) than there are today.

Greed runs the world these days --- common sense has almost disappeared.

I guess it's just a matter of wait and see.

Sue

Thank you, but I've read that. It's by a Canadian economist who says the U.S. HAS no plan. All I've really heard is about NAIS, where they want to microchip every animal in the country, which isn't all that helpful, but there is probably some money in it for someone.

Sue

I think if it gets as bad as they think, there may end up being drastic measures. Not to necessarily protect the people, but to protect the economy.

However, I personally don't believe it will be as bad as everyone thinks. Maybe someone will use this time to push an agenda to make sure we are prepared for things. There has been all this "talk" about "Emergency/Disaster Prepardness", but there doesn't seem to be anything visibly happening.

As for mortgage payments and such, if it gets bad enough, maybe that'll mean no one will be at the computers to see you're late! What will probably happen though is voluntary postponement of payments. It happened on a few of my student loans. They just put me into "forbearance". Never asked, and never told me!

Edited: Removed possible political comment - ki4buc

hmmm i to follow suit w/my family.when the 1st outbreak occurs does that mean all fast food spots stop business?is the chicken we already purchased suspect?do we know if h5n1 can be killed by freezing or cooking?do we stash the cash?perhaps to many ?'s for something that hasn't touched the shores yet(usa,canada)

H5N1 is supposed to be killed by cooking your chicken wings (or any other parts !) at70?C at least.
So KFC should be OK <img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Panic though...

Susan,
My wife and I have recently been pondering the same thing. We have been watching the Documentaries on CNN, and the "You Were Warned", one took us back a bit. It was based on a report OUR Gov did on Oil reserves.
On this basis, we are looking at setting up to do one of two things, Shelter in Place, or Bug Out. The only thing that we Both heavily agree on is the idiocy of the Gov's idea that you should be self sufficient for 3 days.....I have one word in response to that ....Katrina!
We both agree that 30 days would be more realistic.....and infinitely safer for the both of us. We are both Disabled, I am a Vet and she has had some serious health problems in the past. With all this in mind, and the restriction of a fixed income (Mil. Vet), we are still working towards that 30 day goal. We want to be Totally self sufficient......not waiting in the dark for an Army Cargo truck to come by and throw us an MRE and a bottle of water! If any of you Great people have any idea's or tip's, I'll gladly take them in mind!

Krell

Krell,

I agree that the 3 day plan is shortsighted. I'm trying to build up to one week before the end of summer and gradually keep adding. Being on a limited budget (I'm a teacher) makes it difficult, but creativity, patience and shopping around can help. I've found Wal-mart and Target superstores to be a treasure trove of supplies.

For example, I've bought the following over the the past month:
- Tuna Salad Kits (includes 3 oz of Tuna, crackers, mayo spread and relish) for about $1.47 at Walmart. The expiration wasn't until late 2007 and I would throw it my lunchbox at the expire date approach and replace with other stuff.
- Powdered Gatorade, $.20 per packet. Makes 32 oz and fits easily in a kit.
- First Aid Kit, $.99 at SuperTarget. It's really a 3" x 3" x 3/4" plastic box with bandaids. Now I have a good box to hold my own FAK that I previously kept in a ziploc.

I live on the Dallas/Denton/Collin county border. If want to exchange ideas and sales, I'd be happy to help.

BTW - Thanks for serving our country. I didn't serve and I'm truly grateful to those who have.