Survival Gear is the most unused product until a natural disaster happens, then it’s the most desired products, but usually too late to help those that really need the help.
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We are experiencing yet another gun-buying spree (source, source, and source). Predictably, AR-15s are…
This article %Is the M&P 15-22 Worth Buying?% appeared first on %SHTF Blog – Modern Survival%.
This article was originally published by Brandon Smith at Alt-Market.us.
The issue of censorship by major tech companies is a precarious one, and I’m becoming increasingly suspicious of the nature of the debate. There are some complexities, but it can all be boiled down to this:
Big tech social media conglomerates argue that their websites are like any other private business and that they are protected from overt government interference by the US constitution. In other words, they have a right to platform or de-platform anyone they choose. Of course, this is the exact OPPOSITE of what most leftist groups have argued in the past when it comes to private businesses refusing to cooperate with people they disagree with on basic principle, such as LGBT activists, but let’s set that hypocrisy aside for now.
Social media companies have decided that the people they want to de-platform most are conservatives, along with anyone else who disagrees with hard-left ideologies such as social justice or the handling of the pandemic situation. Statements or content that run contrary to leftist philosophies are simply labeled “hate speech” or “conspiracy theory” and are erased.
Conservatives argue that big tech is a monopoly with far too much power, that social media should be treated more like a public resource or “town square” and that these companies are violating the free speech rights of conservatives by specifically targeting them for censorship. Many conservatives are also demanding that Donald Trump and the government step in to regulate or punish such companies for these actions.
The truth is that both sides are right, and both sides are wrong. The real solution to the problem requires a radical change in how we view the institution of corporations and how they interact with government, and it’s a solution I doubt ANY political official will consider, and that includes Trump.
Let me explain…
Social media and big tech do in fact represent a monopoly, but not in terms most people are familiar with. Instead of acting only as an economic monopoly controlling market share, big tech is also a political monopoly controlling the majority of communication platforms. If only one political and social ideological group dominates every major social media and digital information outlet, this in my view represents a completely unbalanced power dynamic that does indeed threaten the free speech rights of the populace.
Rabid censorship of the Hunter Biden laptop scandal, a scandal that is supported by facts and evidence that big tech has chosen to bury because it’s inconvenient to them rather than a violation of their community guidelines, is just one more example of the incredible danger that social media monopolies present.
Obviously, there is the issue of private property rights to consider. I fully support and defend private property rights and I do believe that a business has the freedom to refuse service to anyone for any reason. Just because you open your doors to the public does not mean the public now owns your labor. You should have the right to refuse labor whenever you wish.
If a business refuses a customer based merely on personal bias, then word is going to get around quickly and that business may lose a large number of potential buyers in the future (this is happening right now with multiple alternative social media companies on the rise). The free market should determine the fate of that business, not state or federal governments.
Government itself is an untrustworthy entity that craves a monopoly of power, and by handing government the authority to micromanage the policies and internal practices of web companies we might be trading the big tech monster for an even more dangerous governmental monster.
Who is to say that the government will stop with sites like Facebook or Twitter or Google? Maybe they will exploit their newfound powers to go after smaller websites as well. Maybe they will attempt to micromanage the entire internet. Maybe they will start dominating and restricting conservative websites instead of the leftist conglomerates we intended, and then we will be doubly screwed.
If you value freedom and the Bill of Rights, then this debate leaves us at an impasse. Both sides (perhaps conveniently) lead to a totalitarian outcome. The thing is, the publicly presented argument is a contrived one, a manipulated discussion that only presents two sides when there are more options to consider. The narrative is fixed, it is a farce.
The public has been led to believe that government and corporations are separate tools that can be used to keep each side in check. This is a lie. Big government and big corporations have always worked together while pretending to be disconnected, and this needs to stop if we are to ever defuse the political time bomb we now face.
To solve the social media censorship debacle we need to examine the very roots of corporations as entities. First, corporations as we know them today are a relatively new phenomenon. Adam Smith described the concept of a corporation as a “joint-stock company” in his treatise ‘The Wealth Of Nations’, and stood against them as a threat to free-market economics. He specifically outlined their history of monopoly and failure, and criticized their habit of avoiding responsibility for mistakes and crimes.
Joint-stock companies were chartered by governments and given special protections from risk, as well as protection from civil litigation (lawsuits). But, they were supposed to be temporary business entities, not perpetual business entities. The point was to allow for the creation of a joint-stock company to finish a particular job, such as building a railroad, and once the job was finished the company was dissolved and the government protections were no longer needed. Smith knew that if corporations were ever allowed to become permanent fixtures in an economy, they would result in disaster.
This is exactly what happened in 1886 when the Supreme Court allowed companies like Southern Pacific Railroad to use the 14th Amendment, which was supposed to protect the constitutional rights of newly freed slaves, as a loophole to declare corporations as “legal persons” with all the protections of an individual citizen. Not only that, but with limited liability, corporations actually became super-citizens with protections far beyond normal individuals. Corporations became the preeminent force in the world and it was their relationship with governments that made this possible.
This fact completely debunks today’s notion of what constitutes free markets. Corporations ARE NOT free market structures. They are, in fact, government-chartered and government-protected monopolies. They are SOCIALIST creations, not free-market creations, and therefore they should not exist in a free market society at all.
The alternative option to corporations was for businesses to form “partnerships”, which did not enjoy protection from government, limited liability or the ability to form monopolies. When the owners of a partnership committed a crime, they could be personally held liable for that crime. When a corporation commits a crime, only the company as a vaporous faceless entity can be punished. This is why it is very rare to see company CEOs face prosecution no matter how egregious and catastrophic their actions.
Today, certain corporations continue to enjoy government protections while also enjoying government welfare. Meaning, these companies get a legal shield while also basking in the advantage of tax incentives and taxpayer dollars.
For example, Google (Alphabet and YouTube) has long received huge tax breaks and is rarely if ever forced to pay in full for the massive bandwidth the company uses. In fact, YouTube was facing bandwidth affordability issues until it was purchased by Alphabet and Google, then it no longer had to worry about it – Google gets over 21 times more bandwidth than it actually pays for because of government intervention.
The same rules apply to companies like Twitter, Facebook, Netflix, Apple, etc. All of them enjoy extensive tax breaks as well as cheap bandwidth that makes it impossible for small and medium-sized businesses to compete, even if they operate on a superior model or have superior ideas. Many times the corporations pay no taxes whatsoever while smaller businesses are crippled by overt payments.
A truly free market requires competition as a rule, but the current system deliberately crushes the competition. Again, we live in a socialist framework, not a free market framework.
Now that we understand the nature of big tech and what these companies actually are (creations of government), the debate on social media censorship changes.
How? Take for example the fact that public universities in the US are not legally allowed to interfere with free speech rights because many of them survive by consuming taxpayer dollars. They are PUBLIC institutions, not private. Why then are we treating major corporations that survive on endless taxpayer infusions and incentives as if they are private businesses? They are not – They are publicly funded structures chartered by the government and therefore they should be subject to the same rules on free speech that universities are required to follow.
Said corporations will surely argue against this and will attempt to use legal chicanery to maintain their monopolies. Trying to dismantle them could take decades, and there are no guarantees that government officials will even make the attempt? Why would they? The relationship between government and corporations has been an advantageous one for establishment elites for decades.
Instead of challenging the corporate model in the Supreme Court, an easier option would be to simply take away all welfare and tax incentives for any big tech companies that refuse to allow free speech on their platforms. If Google had to pay normal price for the bandwidth it uses, the corporation would either implode or it would be forced to break apart into multiple smaller companies that would then compete with each other. More competition means lower prices for consumers along with better products. The threat of losing tax incentives would mean more large companies would refrain from censorship.
Donald Trump as president could conceivably make this happen, but he will not, and neither will any other political official. The partnership between government and corporations will continue, I believe because there are other agendas at play here. The establishment WANTS the public to argue in favor of tech totalitarianism on one side and in favor of government totalitarianism on the other side. They aren’t going to allow any other solutions to enter the discussion.
The only available strategy left for fighting back against big tech is to continue leaving their platforms and building our own. This will take many years to accomplish. The point is, there is a more permanent option, but it requires a complete deconstruction of the socialist government/corporate framework now in place. To confront the power dynamic between governments and major conglomerates is to confront one of the fundamental sources of corruption within our society, which is why it won’t be allowed. And when the system refuses to police itself, public upheaval becomes inevitable.
The post There Is A Solution To Big Tech Censorship – But No Politician Will Touch It first appeared on SHTF Plan – When It Hits The Fan, Don't Say We Didn't Warn You.
This article was originally published by Mass Private I at Activist Post.
The Feds are using the pandemic as an excuse to ID and track millions of innocent Americans’ cellphones inside their homes.
This past August, a Motherboard article revealed the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) had signed a $476,000 contract with Venntel, a cellphone data mining corporation.
Motherboard went on to explain why the Feds signing a contract with Venntel is so troubling.
The news highlights how law enforcement agencies continue to buy data that may in some cases require a warrant or court order to obtain.
What Motherboard is saying is that the CBP is using Venntel to monitor Americans’ cellphones without a warrant.
“This new contract raises even more concerns about the cozy and ongoing relationship between the federal government and these data brokers, which operate in the shadows and can amass mountains of sensitive personal data without any restrictions,” Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney, and Chairwoman of the House Committee on Oversight and Reform said.
What makes this even more disconcerting is how law enforcement can use Venntel to monitor every cellphone in a ‘certain house.’
If you search a certain house, you’re only going to get three or four different signals out of there. I think from that standpoint, you could definitely try and identify specific people, the first [Venntel] source said. I think that was part of the goal in using it for government customers and things like that, is that you’re able to identify devices, and then you can do device searches to see where else they might have been, they added. A second person who has worked with the company [Venntel] said the data in a geofenced area is not going to contain 100 percent of devices in that location, and that identifying someone would be laborious.
Five U.S. senators were so horrified about law enforcement secretly monitoring millions of innocent Americans’ cellphones that they sent a letter to the CBP demanding an explanation.
As revealed by public contracts, CBP has paid a government contractor named Venntel nearly half a million dollars for access to a commercial database containing location data mined from applications on millions of Americans’ mobile phones. CBP officials also confirmed the agency’s warrantless tracking of phones in the United States using Venntel’s product in a September 16, 2020 call with Senate staff.
The letter asked what legal analysis did the Feds use to justify creating a national cellphone location tracking program?
It is hard to imagine a more invasive national public surveillance program than what the CBP is conducting right now under our very noses.
A recent Vice article revealed that the CBP is refusing to justify to Congress how it is legal to ID and spy on Americans’ cellphones inside their homes without a warrant.
“CBP officials confirmed to Senate staff that the agency is using Venntel’s location database to search for information collected from phones in the United States without any kind of court order,” the letter signed by Wyden and Warren, and addressed to the DHS OIG, reads. “CBP outrageously asserted that its legal analysis is privileged and therefore does not have to be shared with Congress. We disagree.”
As the Vice article pointed out, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is also using Venntel’s data to ID and monitor Americans’ cellphones without a warrant.
Allegedly, the CBP and the IRS cannot tell what nationality a particular person is based only on the information provided by Venntel, but they can track a particular person’s movements throughout the country.
The CBP’s admission that it is not restricting its personnel to only use Venntel near the border sends an unmistakable message to Americans everywhere: law enforcement treats everyone like a suspected criminal.
There simply is no justification for a so-called democratic country treating millions of its citizens like suspected criminals. Our country is on the precipice of becoming a full-blown surveillance state.
The post The Border Patrol Is Monitoring Millions Of Americans’ Cellphones Inside Their Homes first appeared on SHTF Plan – When It Hits The Fan, Don't Say We Didn't Warn You.
You might have steel wool lying around the house. But do you know that it might save your life someday? Check out this list of survival uses for steel wool!
Steel wool has officially been around since 1896, and you’re probably familiar with it as a great tool for cleaning pots and pans. The steel wool scouring pads that you keep under your kitchen sink are actually soaked in soap to enhance their cleaning abilities, but you can purchase standard steel wool in a variety of grades and for a multitude of uses.
Standard steel wool is made of thinly shaved, flexible fibers of low-grade carbon steel wire, aluminum, bronze or stainless steel. It is called “wool” only because of its fuzzy appearance. Super fine steel wool is grade 0000, while the coarsest steel wool available is grade 4.
Survivalists and Preppers will want to stock up on standard steel wool in a variety of grades. Not only is it inexpensive and will last for years, but it has tons of practical uses, especially in a SHTF situation.
All you need to start a fire is some steel wool and batteries. A 9V battery works best, but multiple AA or AAA batteries will achieve the same end result. Just rub the battery leads with the steel wool and add some tinder as it sparks. Cotton balls make for great tinder to ignite the flames.
Your vehicles, tools, and firearms can all become susceptible to rust, which can be removed with steel wool. Steel wool is one of the most popular ways to remove rust from guns.
3. Sharpen Scissors
Scissors are a great tool, especially when you’re asking children for their help with tasks. But once they become dull, they’re close to useless. You can keep your scissors sharp by using them to cut through steel wool.
When your household is totally self-sufficient, you’ll be spending a lot of time tending to your garden, which will be your primary source of nutrition. Maintaining your gardening tools in top form will be a priority, and you can do so with dampened grade 000 steel wool.
Rodents are one of the biggest threats to your food stockpile, but you can use steel wool to keep them at bay. Just stuff steel wool into any entry cracks or holes that the rodents are using to access your home, and keep it in place with duct tape. Chewing on the steel wool will cause the mouse or rat to die, and your food stores will be safe from contamination.
In a true SHTF situation, there will be no more stopping by the hardware store and replacing items as they break. You’ll be repairing what you have again and again. Even as you screw into a hole that is getting too big, you can use steel wool wound around the screw to hold it in place.
If you’ve left rubber heel marks on a vinyl floor, some water and steel wool will remove the evidence that you traveled through the room.
The same way that you can clean rust off of your firearms, you can use steel wool to clean your knife blades. Just be mindful that rubbing steel wool on the edge of the blade can dull it; this application is for the sides of the blade.
With interrupted supply chains and the demise of society, you’ll want to keep what you do have, in good shape. Your tennis shoes can be easily cleaned up with grade 00 steel wool and water.
Grade 0000 steel wool is great for removing dust particles on a piece of wood furniture prior to its final coat of shellac or stain, or to finish the piece with a distressed look. Chances are that you’ll be learning how to build your own furniture if you’re handy, and it may become a business opportunity for you.
Not sure about you, but Windex is not in my Bug Out Bag. Grade 0000 steel wool with water can be used to scrub glass windows and windshields when they get dirty. Steel wool will even remove especially offensive stains like tree sap or adhesive glue.
If your children are becoming restless inside while you work outside, and they take their artwork to the walls, don’t freak out. Steel wool with water can be used to clean wallpaper, but remember to be gentle and only wipe in one direction, not scrub.
Not for use on plated brass, but real brass can be polished using grade 000 steel wool, salt, and lemon juice.
WD-40 on some grade 0000 steel wool will have them looking good as new.
You may not have access to a plumber when SHTF, so before everyone takes their bath or shower, cover the drain with steel wool. It allows the water to make its way through, but hair and debris will get caught and can be easily removed without clogging the drain.
There are some Preps that provide a myriad of uses, and steel wool is one of them. Now is the time to stock up, and be sure to purchase a few different grades so you don’t unintentionally damage the items you’re cleaning or repairing.
Do you have other survival uses for steel wool you’d like to share? Please let us know in the comments section!
Up Next:
worst of it or is there another crisis looming on the horizon? If we do see some other type of disaster or disruption to our lives, are you going to be prepared this time?
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Prepping is awesome, but do you know what’s more awesome? Shopping for items at a hugely affordable price. Here are some dollar store prep ideas and so you don’t burn a hole in your pockets!
Prepping can easily become very expensive, very quickly. Even if you bargain shop and clip coupons, stockpiling supplies for consumption, shelter, filtration, food preservation, protection, and medical care add up.
But if you’re a savvy shopper, you can find a myriad of useful items right at your local dollar store. Canadian Prepper made an entire video on the subject, showing everything he bought for right around $100 USD, and many of the items have multiple uses.
While you may be sacrificing some quality vs more durable counterparts found at hardware stores, having something will always be better than having nothing.
We’ve categorized all of the items to cover the areas that Preppers focus on.
Humans require shelter to shield us from the harsh elements. If you ever find yourself having to make due in the wilderness, you will need to be able to create a shelter that provides both protection and heat.
If you get creative, items from the dollar store can do just that.
Without electricity, you can kiss your refrigerator and freezer goodbye – leading you to rely on time-tested food preservation methods. Canning and salt preservation have both been used successfully for centuries.
Possibly the most-prepped item is food! You and your family need to eat every single day (preferably several meals each day), so you’ll need huge reserves of food. You’ll also need the right tools to be able to cook over open flames.
If our infrastructure were to crumble, there would be no more running to the store for soap, dish soap, laundry detergent, and other cleaning supplies. But hygiene would continue to be critical in maintaining your health. So, the time to stock up is now.
Being able to start a fire is debatably the most important skill you can develop. But to simplify the process, stock up on firestarters, matches, and lighters that allow you to save valuable time before cooking your meals.
If you don’t protect what you have, you will become a target. Even the appearance of security or simple tripwires can deter criminals from attempting to enter your space.
Water is right up there with food for most-prepped items because you’ll need a lot of it. Ideally, you will have effective water filters that you can use to fill and refill containers. Some of these supplies can be picked up at the dollar store.
Your SHTF wardrobe will likely be very different from your current wardrobe: it will need to be durable and protective. You’ll need to stock items that will shield you from every type of weather, and physical labor.
There are some items that every household should have, and you may as well save a few bucks by buying them at the dollar store.
Certain Prepping supplies have so many uses that you’ll want to stock up on as much as you can afford. These also make for great barter items.
Medical supplies will become like gold when society crumbles. Left on your own, you’ll want to have a very comprehensive first-aid kit to treat any ailments you might experience.
Being self-sufficient is critical when SHTF, and it all starts with a bountiful garden that you can harvest each season. The dollar store can provide you with the tools you need to get started.
It’s mind-blowing to think of all the products we use on a daily basis for hygiene and comfort. While you can’t stock up on all of them, there are a few you won’t want to live without.
You will likely find plenty of other essentials at your dollar store, but these 100 should get you started without breaking the bank.
Did that fire you up for a shopping spree at the dollar store soon? Let us know what you think of these 100 dollar store prep ideas in the comments section!
Up Next:
I would like to quickly share with you a conversation I once had with a fellow prepper. It went a little something like this. Them: …
Read moreUsing a Bug Out Bicycle in SHTF Scenarios: The Good and The Bad
The post Using a Bug Out Bicycle in SHTF Scenarios: The Good and The Bad appeared first on Survival Cache.
The fact that law enforcement officials across the nation are expecting widespread violence following the election should chill every American to the core. As I keep repeating over and over, violence is not going to solve anything, but much of the population is not listening to voices such as mine anymore. As you will see below, authorities have decided to “plan for the worst” because everyone can see what is potentially coming. But if we can’t hold a presidential election without violence at this point, how much longer can our system possibly last? No matter who ends up winning, I think that the election of 2020 will tell us a lot about how far America has already fallen.
Thankfully, officials in most major cities do not have their heads stuck in the sand and have been preparing for massive riots following the election. In New York, the NYPD is literally “training every day” to deal with the riots and protests that they are anticipating…
The NYPD is training every day and deploying hundreds of extra cops as it braces for Election Day and its aftermath, amid fears riots and protests could break out after the results are announced.
In Los Angeles, officers are being told that “they may need to reschedule” their vacations so that they will be available for whatever may happen…
LAPD sent an internal memo to its officers last week that said they may need to reschedule any vacations around election day as the agency prepares for possible protests or other unrest, according to the Los Angeles Times.
In so many instances, law enforcement agencies are pointing to the riots that erupted in the aftermath of the death of George Floyd as the type of scenario that they want to be prepared for this time around.
Even down in Texas, authorities in multiple cities are admitting that “they are planning for potential unrest around the Nov. 3 election”…
Agencies in at least four major cities — Austin, El Paso, San Antonio and Fort Worth — confirmed they are planning for potential unrest around the Nov. 3 election. Officials in other Texas cities declined to say whether they’re doing the same.
The intent of such preparations, said Tara Long, an Austin Police Department spokesperson, “is to ensure the safety of the community while protecting the rights of people to peacefully exercise their First Amendment rights.”
Of course in some cities the violent protests never seem to end.
Four years ago, chaos erupted in Portland when Donald Trump won the election, and the city has been wracked by civil unrest ever since then…
Portland Police say they are preparing for possible unrest on election night after they saw saw riots after the 2016 presidential election.
It was just the beginning of what would be four years of unrest, protests and riots. Now, the 2020 election is just three weeks away and local police is preparing for the possibility of continued unrest.
Over in Minneapolis, shell-shocked officials continue to deal with an unprecedented wave of crime and violence, and the spokesman for the police told the press that their approach for this upcoming election is to “plan for the worst”…
In Minneapolis, where the protests after George Floyd’s murder raged for weeks, similar preparations are being made. “We are aware that this may be a flashpoint and have made appropriate plans,” Minneapolis police spokesman John Elder. “Remember: Plan for the worst and hope for the best.”
I think that is a good word for all of us.
We can continue to hope that peace will prevail, but if you aren’t planning for the worst you are definitely making a big mistake.
At this point, even the Justice Department is “bracing for possible civil unrest”. The following comes from the Washington Post…
Bracing for possible civil unrest on Election Day, the Justice Department is planning to station officials in a command center at FBI headquarters to coordinate the federal response to any disturbances or other problems with voting that may arise across the country, officials familiar with the matter said.
Though the Justice Department monitors elections every year to ensure voters can cast their ballots, officials’ concerns are more acute this year that toxic politics, combined with the potential uncertainty surrounding vote tallies, could lead to violent demonstrations or clashes between opposing factions, those familiar with the matter said.
Personally, I sincerely hope that authorities will be successful in minimizing unrest as much as possible.
Any sort of political violence should break all of our hearts, because that should never happen in this country.
Unfortunately, an increasing number of Americans are convinced that things in this nation will soon take a very chaotic turn. In fact, one recent poll found that 61 percent of Americans believe that we are heading toward another civil war…
The poll, which included results from the “Back-to-Normal Barometer” survey, was conducted by three firms: Engagious, Sports and Leisure Research Group and ROKK Solutions.
The poll results showed that over 61 percent of survey takers believe America is nearing a second civil war, with 41 percent who “strongly agree” with that assessment.
Those numbers are truly shocking, and they are consistent with other surveys that I have seen.
Anger and hatred have been building up in our country for years, and it appears that we are about to reach a crescendo.
I will continue to speak out against rioting, looting and all forms of political violence, and many other influential voices are doing so as well.
But there are also so many voices throughout our society that are just stirring up more anger and more hatred with each passing day.
So I would encourage all of you to “plan for the worst” for the months ahead. It looks like it is going to be a very pivotal time in our history, and the more bitterly the election results are contested the worse the chaos is likely to be.
And when a winner is finally declared, many on the losing side will inevitably feel like the election was stolen from them.
There is still time to avoid a worst case scenario, but right now it is difficult to imagine how all of this is going to end well.
***Michael’s new book entitled “Lost Prophecies Of The Future Of America” is now available in paperback and for the Kindle on Amazon.***
About the Author: My name is Michael Snyder and my brand new book entitled “Lost Prophecies Of The Future Of America” is now available on Amazon.com. In addition to my new book, I have written four others that are available on Amazon.com including The Beginning Of The End, Get Prepared Now, and Living A Life That Really Matters. (#CommissionsEarned) By purchasing the books you help to support the work that my wife and I are doing, and by giving it to others you help to multiply the impact that we are having on people all over the globe. I have published thousands of articles on The Economic Collapse Blog, End Of The American Dream and The Most Important News, and the articles that I publish on those sites are republished on dozens of other prominent websites all over the globe. I always freely and happily allow others to republish my articles on their own websites, but I also ask that they include this “About the Author” section with each article. The material contained in this article is for general information purposes only, and readers should consult licensed professionals before making any legal, business, financial or health decisions. I encourage you to follow me on social media on Facebook and Twitter, and any way that you can share these articles with others is a great help. During these very challenging times, people will need hope more than ever before, and it is our goal to share the gospel of Jesus Christ with as many people as we possibly can.
The post “Plan for the worst”: Law enforcement authorities all over America are bracing for massive election riots appeared first on The Economic Collapse.
The reason why so many people are clamoring for Congress to get another stimulus bill passed is because an unprecedented number of households are in desperate financial need right now. As you will see below, millions of Americans missed their rent or mortgage payments last month, millions missed their student loan payments, and millions are falling into poverty. The economic downturn that was sparked by the coronavirus pandemic has stretched on far longer than most people originally anticipated, and many Americans are simply running out of money at this point. In fact, one survey that was conducted not too long ago found that 40 percent of all households have “used up all or most of their savings” and 74 percent of families with children that make less than $100,000 a year have “experienced serious financial problems” during this crisis…
Nationwide, food insecurity has become a pervasive problem. The percentage of families with children who reported not having enough to eat more than tripled in July compared with 2019. One report found nearly half of American families lived with hunger in the summer.
Another found more than 40% of surveyed households with children had used up all or most of their savings by early August. Children in households making less than $100,000 have been especially affected: 74% of those families experienced serious financial problems.
Those are deeply alarming numbers.
If “nearly half” of U.S. families are living with hunger now, how bad will things get if the U.S. economy takes another turn for the worse?
One hard working American that has almost reached her breaking point is a 43-year-old veteran and mother of three named Kaneadsha Jones…
By early October, Kaneadsha Jones was close to giving up. It had been seven months since she or her husband had steady work. Seven months since her three school-age children, including a 14-year-old daughter with autism who is blind, nonverbal and immunocompromised, had been to school. Four months since a shooting on her block left her car and her family’s rented house in north Columbus, Ohio, riddled with bullet holes and her 12-year-old daughter struggling with severe post-traumatic stress disorder.
When she received the first stimulus check from the federal government, she used it all to pay utility bills that were past due.
But since then there have been no more checks and the bills have just continued to pile up.
She continues to fight for the sake of her family, but she admits that she is really, really tired…
“I’m so tired,” Jones said. “It seems nothing is getting a little better. The only thing that keeps me trying is my family.”
Have you ever felt like she is feeling right now?
I think that most of us have at some point in our lives.
All across the country, unemployed workers are becoming very desperate because they are starting to exhaust their unemployment benefits and they still haven’t been able to find jobs. One such individual is a chemist in Ohio named Kate McAfee…
New research from JPMorgan Chase Institute and the University of Chicago focused on 80,000 unemployed people shows savings built up when the government provided aid is now rapidly running out, leaving people like chemist Kate McAfee fretting about their futures.
“I’m still unemployed,” said McAfee, who was laid off from her job outside Cleveland back in April. “I’ve now exhausted my 26 weeks of unemployment here in Ohio and have moved on to the additional 13 weeks of extended benefits from the federal government.”
Since the pandemic started, more than 64 million Americans have filed new claims for unemployment benefits, and every single one of those workers has a unique story.
Most of them had at least some savings, but when you are not working month after month those savings tend to disappear very quickly.
Now as we approach the holiday season a lot of people have completely run out of money and lots of bills are starting to go unpaid.
For example, it is being reported that over 6 million households didn’t pay their rent or mortgage last month…
More than 6 million households failed to make their rent or mortgage payments in September, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s Research Institute for Housing America, a sign that the economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic is weighing on jobless Americans as Congress stalls on relief measures.
And we are also being told that approximately 26 million Americans didn’t make their student loan payment last month…
In September, roughly 26 million people missed their student loan payment. The proportion of student debt borrowers who missed a monthly payment has remained steady at 40% since May.
We have never seen anything like this before.
Just like during the last recession, vast numbers of Americans that once lived comfortable middle class lifestyles are rapidly falling into poverty.
In fact, one recent study found that 8 million Americans have fallen into poverty just since the month of May…
Some eight million Americans have fallen below the poverty level since May after federal stimulus money dried up and Congress did not follow up with more relief legislation, according to a new study.
Meanwhile, the economic recovery has slowed down as more than 55 million Americans are now earning less than $26,200 a year – which is what the federal government considers the poverty line.
Coming into this year, most Americans were living paycheck to paycheck and were very deep in debt.
That works okay as long as the paychecks keep coming in, but once they stop things can take a disastrous turn very quickly.
Today, the average American has accumulated $90,460 in debt, and Generation X is drowning in more debt than anyone else…
The sad truth is that most of the U.S. population is simply not in any position to handle times of extreme financial stress.
Unfortunately, this pandemic is not going away any time soon, and that means that industries all over America will continue to let more workers go as economic conditions continue to deteriorate.
And as economic conditions continue to get worse, the level of economic suffering that Americans like Kaneadsha Jones and Kate McAfee are experiencing will continue to intensify.
This has already been such a challenging time for our country, and to be honest the days ahead are looking quite bleak at this point.
***Michael’s new book entitled “Lost Prophecies Of The Future Of America” is now available in paperback and for the Kindle on Amazon.***
About the Author: My name is Michael Snyder and my brand new book entitled “Lost Prophecies Of The Future Of America” is now available on Amazon.com. In addition to my new book, I have written four others that are available on Amazon.com including The Beginning Of The End, Get Prepared Now, and Living A Life That Really Matters. (#CommissionsEarned) By purchasing the books you help to support the work that my wife and I are doing, and by giving it to others you help to multiply the impact that we are having on people all over the globe. I have published thousands of articles on The Economic Collapse Blog, End Of The American Dream and The Most Important News, and the articles that I publish on those sites are republished on dozens of other prominent websites all over the globe. I always freely and happily allow others to republish my articles on their own websites, but I also ask that they include this “About the Author” section with each article. The material contained in this article is for general information purposes only, and readers should consult licensed professionals before making any legal, business, financial or health decisions. I encourage you to follow me on social media on Facebook and Twitter, and any way that you can share these articles with others is a great help. During these very challenging times, people will need hope more than ever before, and it is our goal to share the gospel of Jesus Christ with as many people as we possibly can.
