Defending Your Family During a Financial Collapse

Dear Fellow Survivalist;

It’s been more than a decade, so it might be easy for some to forget the Great Recession of 2008/2009. That was caused by the housing market collapsing; which in turn was caused by sub-prime mortgages that were given out during Clinton’s presidency. When the balloon payments came due, the people who held those mortgages weren’t able to make the payments and ended up giving up their homes.

Ever since then, I’ve heard one financial guru after another talk about how we’re heading for another financial crisis, even greater than that little hiccup was. Rather than 10% unemployment and 6% inflation, we’re probably going to see real unemployment top 20%, with inflation running neck and neck. We’re already experiencing 8% inflation, so we might actually be on the way there, without even knowing it.

I’m not going to try and venture a guess about when a true financial collapse might come or even what the trigger might be. There are plenty of things that can be pointed to, like Congress passing trillion-dollar-plus spending bills, which are reducing the value of the dollar. We can also look at the rising national debt, loss of confidence in the dollar on the world stage and real unemployment being higher than it should. All I know for sure, is that our economy is heading for trouble and the things our government is doing are just going to make it worse.

But the issue right now isn’t whether a financial collapse is coming or when it is coming, but what we will need to do, when it comes. I might be wrong about it coming; but I don’t want to take that chance.

The most recent example we can use to compare the coming collapse to is the ’99 Argentinean collapse. Like the United States, Argentina was an industrialized nation, whose government did some irresponsible things with their nation’s economy. That led to a financial collapse that lasted more than two years. Roughly 14% of the workforce was unemployed and overall inflation topped 2,000% over the two plus year period.

With so many people out of work, it shouldn’t be surprising that some of them turned to crime in order to feed their families. Those crimes were mostly one form of violent theft or another, crimes of opportunity that the criminals watched for; such as reaching through a car window to steal what they could, stealing cars that were stopped at a traffic light, and rushing the doors of people’s homes when they were open. The idea in all those cases, was to steal what they could, then run away.

But those weren’t the only types of crimes that occurred, or were even common. Kidnapping for profit, especially kidnapping children for profit, became a cottage industry. Anyone who we would consider to be middle class or above could expect to become a target of such a kidnapping, if they allowed their children to be outside without supervision.

The solution to all this, is of course, constant awareness, keeping yourself in condition yellow, looking for threats. If we see someone who is likely to commit a crime, before they commit the crime, we can usually do something to protect ourselves from becoming victims; especially if we’re armed.

That’s the other part of the equation; being armed at all times. There are some people who only carry at times; but when there’s a very real possibility of home invasion or someone trying to carjack your car, you need to be ready. That means being armed and knowing what you’re going to do, if you’re faced by that situation.

As far as kidnapping is concerned, your children will need to be guarded at all times. That means the only time they can go outside alone is when you or your spouse is available to watch them. Of course, that assumes that your spouse is trained and licensed to carry as well. If they aren’t, then the kids will have to wait until you’re available.

I’d recommend getting your spouse trained; at least to the point where they can shoot accurately and know how to maneuver while shooting. If you can manage it, get them a concealed carry license too. They might be at risk if they’re outside without you, driving to the store or picking the kids up from school. It’s better to have them be prepared, just as you work to make sure that you are prepared.

Most of the time, dealing with situations like this are more about being prepared, than anything else. That’s why I keep saying to keep your powder dry and your survival gear close at hand.

Dr. Rich