I am personally amazed that we STILL have so much willful ignorance at this problem. Very few people I know have a clue (or want to have a clue) about the troubles we're facing...I guess that's probably why we see the outside activity as "business as usual". The general masses are not preparred, mentally or otherwise.

When I hear somebody say "nothing I can do about it...why should I worry about it"? I say there IS something you could do, you could skip the beer this week & use the money to buy extra canned food or a bar of silver. You should see the looks I get for that one

Of course I wouldn't prefer such a thing Pretorian; my comment was simply a reflection of the frustration I feel. I never said anything about it being any kind of rational desire...

Besides the traditional houses of pain: Sun, Yahoo, & HP, the depression still amounts to only thousands of copies of AP stories about unemployment somewhere else. Most technology companies R still showing double digit profits.

This thread really hits the mark. Lately, I have this feeling like when you are in a car wreck and it seems to happen in slow motion. I've become very aware of the fact that most people's everyday activities are a waste of time and money. I find myself always thinking something like "They have no clue, do they?" I wonder if they have food and water stored at home.

It feels very weird to me now to walk down the fully stocked isles of the grocery store. I find myself wondering if I will look back at these times and try to remember what it was like to be able to purchase anything I wanted. (and wonder why I didn't just fill the living room with food and stuff while I could)

Most folks still have no idea what is going on because they are woefully ignorant of financial concepts. You wouldn't believe the number of people you could find here in the US that don't understand basic concepts. Inflation/ deflation, compound interest, you name it, I would bet that most people have barely any grasp.
They think the president is directly setting gas prices and crazy stuff like that. I've heard it for myself.

My husband is a very smart man (Mensa, in fact) but he's been driving me crazy with his stupid comments lately. Yesterday, it was "Hey, despite all of your doomer talk, gas is back to $2,50!" I tried to explain demand destruction to him. He also clings to that mantra about the stock market's historical performance. "It'll go up again, it always has." Well, I strongly believe we are now in uncharted times and historical norms are out the window for good. 10-20 years to get out of this mess sounds right to me. That will make 401(k)s and the like a waste of time for most workers my age.

Then you have the media telling us things like "this should be the bottom" of the market. (heard that today on CNBC)

I agree that we are in for deflation, then inflation, combined with depression and dollar collapse. Our current woes are just the appetizer for what we will have to swallow in 2009/ 2010. There are just too many negative factors in play right now. 60% of US gov't dept will be due by 2011. We have no growth industries (other than military spending). Consumer spending is 70% of our economy. Credit is drying up and there is no one to lend to anyway. We have a huge underclass of working poor who were barely hanging on even during the boom times. The election has become very divisive. 12/21/2012. Globalization. Iran. Russia.

Boy is this depressing! I fee like I'm along for the ride with a drunk driver and there is nothing I can do to prevent the inevitable crash.

In another words the next edition of WW (III or IV?) is likely comming. I'm personaly not in the draft age, at least for the first wave (perhaps later used as old nurse in the hospital), and the idea of conventional warfare is also unlikely.. The brain people behind controls will certainly reach one conclusion: solve the population problem, and the golden years are back again.

The problem is if the west (aka hard and soft neocons) want to stay ahead of the game they will have to use some sort of asian/race/genetic specific bioweapon. The problem is that in that case the chinese (the only real competitor in the euroasian theatre)will react by nuclear strike, be it on delayed/limited scale due to their utter naivity about the depths of our moral corruption. And then suddenly the rest of bonobos jumps on the bandwagon to get "an advantage": Israel, Pakistan, India, Russia, France, UK, USA to fire some more..

As we have seen in the docu, "Life after people", the earth will be garden again just in few decades after the thermo/nuclear blasts but to get there would be slow motion and nasty..

Good luck, and stay away at least 40-80mi from larger population centers and/or infrustructure/mil. hubs. Haul as many books (classic literature and science) as you possibly can to your hide out, the "civilization" show must go on, lets hope it will be based on more solid grounds.

The company I work for is very likely to be laying off a large amount of its current work force very soon. I switched to this company only 9 months ago, and it's a union, so needless to say, my corporate seniority is low so I don't stand too much of a chance.

One of the guys that I work with started the exact same day as me. He's very aware of the situation, and knows there's a fair chance he will be laid off. So what has he done in the last week to prepare for that?

Well, earlier this week he went and installed two new remote car starters in his vehicles which cost him over 600 dollars. Then last night, he went to Future Shop and purchased a new 37" television.

I know he isn't wealthy and can't afford these things without his job. I asked him, "Aren't you concerned about spending when you're about to lose your job?". His reply was so typical of people today, he basically said, "I'll worry about tomorrow, tomorrow. I'm not concerned at all."

I can't even begin to understand people sometimes. Maybe I'm just jealous that I can't be that care free.

Hogan, thanks for all the article links in this thread...interesting reading.

So, we need to make sure are airbags are engaged , my own husbands "things will get better" attitude is about to drive me over the edge. My boss is still wheeling and dealing real estate on the side making a killing(tax shelter). Co worker zombies sit in front of the computer and mumble, " I think Sarah Palin will do a good job". My only choice at this point is some mind numbing substance so I can fit in. Have a nice day lol

Here ya go emerald, try this:

[video width=400 height=350]http://www.youtube.com/v/MoLpxh7DyJc[/video]

What can we do to get ready for the depression? I think a couple month's worth of food, a garden and some wood for the woodstove is about all I can do right now.

It's scary.

I've been through a recession, but a depression is something many times worse.

Folks, the new Great Depression is already here. If you're one of the hundreds of thousands of people in North America with a foreclosed house, no cash, no place to live, no food, days/weeks away from bankruptcy, no job and no job prospects, 90% of your investments wiped out, at rock bottom, and no prospects of a near recovery, The Great Depression is upon you now! Not a year of five years away, it's already landed. And the truth is those people are not here posting on PO. They are not going to post here about their Great Depression experiences and we have no advice for them. They are already present amongst us. They are IRL and no on PO.

The "Media Accepted" definition if the Great Depression is not here yet that is to be true. It will only be defined as occurring when an "un-ignorable" amount of people are in the position listed above.

Right now, the Great Depression is "someone elses problem" like saying that starvation is only an Ethiopian or Zimbabwe problem because it's thousands of miles away or homeless people are tucked in a "tent city." The Great Depression hasn't hit your neighbors yet and the ill effects of The Great Depression are not blatantly visible when you open the door. (or maybe it is)

Make no mistake though, The Great Depression is already here.

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You have financial trouble ,fear for your job , Xmass is going to be glum , politicians promise tax cuts ( what a joke !)

As my old man used to said , if things are bad .. don't worry , they can ALWAYS get worst .

Keep in mind that participation to this forum has doom junkies side effects

best case , a year of recession with unemployment in the ten percent , four five years to recover .

yes that the rosy side .

worst case , " the end of the world as we know it " with the four horsmen running wild . ( much smaller odds )

Safe bet , a cruel adjusment of spending habits , an open hunting season on Mexicans ( broadly defined , anything will do )and a PERMANENT drop in the standard of living back to the sixties ,

Weellll , they were not so bad . at least the obesity problem will be taken care of .

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The standard opf living will go back to 1850.

No kidding.