Forebodings,

I am a freelance Carpenter/Electrician/Computer Tech/handyman/mechanic/welder(well rounded I guess). I just want that out in the open for the rest of this post so you can see what I am getting at with it.

I have recently started looking for something a little more full time (at least part time, temporarily) to make a large purchase. 2 years ago when I was working as a full time IT tech, I was making $14/hr and wishing for more. The Economy tanked and there were massive layoffs in the area and instead of trying to continue with the rat race I chose to go under the table. It has served me well up to the last few months. Its not that there isn't work, the problem is money: Everyone is broke and have to nickel and dime projects. I have to be more selective on taking on jobs so as not to lose my ass and yet still have to be conscious of how much I can ask for.
Well the same applies to the job market now too. I was looking at the IT industry and am seeing similar effects. Where 2 years ago the going rate was between $12-15/hr for helpdesk lvl 1. Now, its $8-8.50. I know that the market is flooded with all of the Computertraining.com students but I didn't think it was that bad. I contacted some of the people I knew that were still in the industry and found that most of them are pulling multiple levels of work for the same amount that they were earning two years ago for less work. Of course they opted for that over losing a position, and I can well understand that. A couple of them have opted to just go solo same as me.

Now, I have that in mind while I am looking at the cost of living. So far, over the last 12months, I have noted about a 4% increase in the cost of food. I am not even looking at the silly shit that people want to buy but basics like bread and eggs. Yet when I look at the junk stuff in the world(IE Flatscreen TV's and Computers) I see similar or lower prices to last year. That tells me that the sales market is going down same as the pay market is. Housing has declined aplenty(as anyone with a house on the market can tell you.) and we still have this unGodly unemployment.

My last post I mentioned how the Entitled are the worst potential for strife. Toaster 802 mentioned how that aspect is going to go off the hook and that will be the key needed to 'round up dissenters'. Yeah, and of course the dissenters will be those that don't want to pay into the Ponzi scheme any longer. They will have to get the money from us in other ways.(ever heard of workcamps?)
I was reading this series awhile back and the Second book starts off in a workcamp. I can so easily see that coming to be though not 'soon'. We aren't that far along yet(at least I hope not, I could be wrong.) I know that books like Matthew Bracken, John Ross among others; are intended more as warnings disguised as fiction, Yet somedays, premonition comes to mind.

There is a slope we are on and I can't see anyway to stop the slide down. We as individuals, haven't the power to stop any of this. In the end there is only the individual and that persons actions. Keep that in mind while you prep. Your actions are really all that matter in the end. Do nothing now, work harder later or die trying. Do everything you can now and you will be better off so long as the Golden hoard doesn't figure you out.

I personally have made great strides loading up on information and skills. I haven't the property available to me locally to do any serious material preps. Where I have the property, I haven't the opportunities to make the money to continue the advance of prep. Believe me, its a fine balance of when is enough of one and time to bail towards the other. I think that time is coming faster than I would like. Then again, the sooner this dance kicks off, the sooner we can start the efforts to Fix it. And it will be an uphill struggle no matter how things turn out.

Addendum: Reading Ol Remus right now and he summed up my point quite succinctly.

Reality is already making margin calls on the former middle class and creating a nouveau poor. And at the same time we're in deflation for things we don't need and inflation for things we do, meaning bling is cheap but supper is dear. Finally, the underground economy has at least doubled in the last few years and is close to that of Europe, typically twenty per cent.