Please focus on how to prepare for Natural Disasters and Larger Scale Emergencies. That's what this forum was set up to discuss. We have all been advised the forum could be shut down if we wander into areas of discussion other than those topics.

I am not sure if my point was clear enough with the Green Acres reference.
The thing is that if anybody is planning on retreating to a few acres and toughing it out while the economy collapses by becoming subsistence farmers, then they had better have a pretty decent set of skills already.

However, if you want to practice gardening, and have no land, now might be a good time to approach some owners of vacant lots.
They might like work out a deal to start an allotment garden on their property. They would likely be willing to rent cheap just so they don't have to pay the taxes all by themselves. (or pay for weed control)
Your biggest gain will likely be from reduced entertainment costs rather than reduced grocery bills or flower sales though.

I think that the idea of just running away to the country is a nice fantasy, but that it really is just a fantasy.
I think the way to weather economic bad times is to try to stay debt free and try to keep some income happening.

When was the last time you did a household budget?

I agree with the running away to the country being a fantasy. Now is a good timne to be sharpening agricultural skills.

However, if we end up with inflation staying out of debt is usually not the way to make out. Going into debt during inflationary periods may be a better strategy. When you borrow money, then the money loses value, you can end up paying back less in effect. I've heard a lot of predictions forecasting inflation recently.

Here's a question: if Peggy Noonan's focus on preparedness (dare we call it that?) is a passing fancy, how do we convince/teach people that being prepared is desirable and should be cultivated all your life?

All you can do is make the information available and encourage them where you can. Left to their own reasoning, most folks will eventually figure it out, and when they do, that's when they will turn to places like this for guidance.

How's that cliche go? You can lead a horse to water...

The columnist seems to have (or at least present) a rather narrow view of things. For instance, when talking about fixing the economy, she states, "All else—windmills, green technology, remaking health care—is secondary."

Now, to me, these seem like projects that might be able to boost the economy. New New Deal stuff.

On the subject of gun sales going up: That's not a sign of a general fear, that's a sign of fear of legislation. Considering Wall Street itself runs off of this sort of reactionary and speculative buying (and selling) binge, it's hardly surprising. Just human nature. If Steve Jobs is ill, Apple stock falls. If Democrats control the House, Senate, and Executive branch, and are likely to appoint the next Supreme Court Justice, gun stock goes up. =P