If you think a post is political, it usually is.

Thin ice. Well said.

Though I'm a pretty cautious person I don't think I'm an alarmist. But I've got a few hints lately that the situation might be a lot more dangerous than it seems. I know a few people high up in the financial world who've lost all faith in the banking system (the very system they developed themselves). It's not encouraging to see people withdrawing huge sums and keeping a big stack of cash just in case.

If Neiman Marcus starts selling bug-out bags and the Wall Streeters drive Cabela's stock up, then it would be a full-fledged phenomenon.

The Wall Street Journal reader comment section had a mixed reaction to Noonan's column.

Political or not (I lean toward not. This is economic), this is currently the greatest threat lurking out there. This is one reason we prepare. I am not doing anything different, just keeping up my supplies and keeping my eyes open.

My brother-in-law is a "retired" financial advisor who has done very well for himself (incredibly well connected on national and international levels). Last August he took all of his money out of stocks and invested in very boring and safe places. Most of his financial buddies thought he was nuts and told him so. He just smiled. He is currently still smiling and biding his time - not worried in the least. He has confidence in the mid-term future. I know nothing about the markets but there are some smart people who are just waiting this out ... knowing that the global economy will recover and, if they time it right, they'll make a lotta money. In a weird way that kinda gives me hope.

That said, I've stocked up some and I'm more ready for anything now than I would normally be - no sense in being stupid about it.

Folks shouldn't be spending what little cash they have left on anti-depressants and but instead on items such as shown below;


Transport


Transport


Cooking and Heating


Electrical Power


Gardening Tools


Clothing manufacture


Dig for Victory!

But somehow I think the transition for the urban haute bourgeois to a bohemian lifestyle will be more tricky physcologically for these folks than just getting the cheque book out.

Under some conditions, I could see seeds being worth more than bullets or money. Not necessarily in the case of a total meltdown of society, with stormtroopers or armed hordes sweeping through the countryside like locusts, but somewhere around the point where there are more people at home than at work, where there aren't too many cars on the freeway, when the malls are resembling ghost towns, the mail is only coming once a week or so, and when people are going to bed at dark because the power has been turned off, etc.

Not an apocalypse, not TEOTWAWKI, just hard times, with many things not being as available as they once were.

Giving (or trading) something as small and simple as a dozen squash seeds sealed in an old envelope could help to avert a crisis, give hope, and maybe even make a friend who would watch your back or give you help or useful information.

Three seed sources that I like dealing with:
* Bountiful Gardens -- open-pollinated, heirloom, untreated, some unusual stuff like old-time grains and hull-less oats, good prices.
* Territorial Seed -- wide variety of open-pollinated and hybrid (both clearly marked), some organic, good planting/harvesting info, full descriptions, somewhat higher prices than Bountiful, but they do grow 25% of their own seed, which is practically unheard-of.
* Pinetree Garden -- good selection, many heirloom varieties, all hybrids are clearly marked, good herb selection, good list of quality books and home gardening paraphernalia, low seed prices.

Open-pollinated, non-hybrid seeds. The REAL mark of civilization.

Sue

> I wonder how many Wall Streeters are buying farms and seeking self-sufficiency?

None. Zero. Zip. They're all still at work making money and getting bonuses. They know all the 'end of the world' paranoia is just paranoia, and they're exploiting it to short-sell their way to their next billion bucks. They're exploiting Peggy Noonan, just like they exploited Jim Cramer.

We'll have a financially rough time just like we do every 20 or 30 years, then things will pick right back up with some differences, just like they do every 20 or 30 years.