I was thinking about this yesterday while I was wondering how POers manage to keep their sanity-knowing a lot of what is really going on, yet still living in the Unaware World.
Shouldn't consumerism take a bigger jump as more people read the slightly increased number of doom articles?
Oh, it should be small at first, but then go full-steam-ahead as there are more and more shortages.
It would be interesting to see What people are buying and when the 'What' changes.
ps: I know this is a bit garbled, but I've had the flu all week! *sniff, sniff*

As time goes on, a warm place to stay and a hot meal will mean a lot.

Of course, a silly thought that I've had recently:
What if the doom articles cause americans to start buying like never before and the growth pulls us out of this mess (albeit only temporarilly)?

KillJOY Wrote:
I DON'T FEEL SAFE RIGHT NOW!
In fact, I'm having a fucking heart attack.
Soon we will be in times "That try mens souls"...
We need to prepare mentally! Bankers will be jumpping out of windows. Others will simply drop dead of a heart attack...your mind can be your best friend or your worst enemy, but it will always be your most valuable asset.
Stay calm & collected. Navigate. Trust in your preparations. Have faith.
If you don't dispair, you'll make it (i'm not saying it'lll be easy...but you'll make it thru this mess).
Try you best (as hard as it may be) to keep a positive mental attitude.
As for me...Doom-O-meter is at an all time high. But i'm trying my best to not let it get the better of me.

Inflation does tend to drive purchasing as people attempt to dump cash today in or to avoid tomorrow's prices.
I've been hearing some of that in casual conversation: "I was going to wait but with the way prices are jumping I figured I'd be better off to buy now."

This is exactly how I feel. This morning in the shower I came to the realization that I'm either bipolar (not really) or living in an alternate reality from most people. Sometimes, it's all I can do to get through a day at work wondering why I'm not off in the hills learning to live. We live in interesting times indeed.
To keep sane, I'm plugging away at restoring an old VW Westfalia. Clever, eh? It is becoming a race to see if I can get it to the point I want it and still have some time to enjoy it. I think the project represents the denialist in me. We've also got a long road trip planned for the summer. It may be our last. I plan to enjoy the fuck out of it!

Ron:

I wondered why I was freaking out, yet my partner isn't.
Then it dawned on me:
"I know why you're so fucking sanguine about this..."
"Why?"
"Because you lived here through the seventies" [that is, on the farm, with no central heat, cutting firewood, growing food, while being paid next to nothing at a saw mill] .
"Yep."
"Well, imagine the 70s, but it never ends."
"We'll make it."

My Doom Meter is up as well.
I went to coin show last weekend with my kid, and we picked up a 2008 silver eagle for his collection,, $23 ouch. also figured I will never be able to afford the 1oz gold buffallo coin, so I got myself a silver one.
Almost $50 for 2 oz of silver

I used to take my motorcycle to track days, VERY expensive hobby. I have not gone in over a year. I have spent the time getting out of credit card debt (done) And buying some preps, Don't think that will ever be done.
But I am having a hard time justifying spending that much to go back to my hobby,, Rear tires are $200, and they last 1 day and fronts last 2-3. So 2 days at the track will cost about $550 just in tires..Don't worry I'm going,, but things have changed alot for me after learning about PO and watching the economy. Its obvious this is going to get ugly soon.

We have no money here anymore for discretionary spending. Someone bought some milk and yogurt from us yesterday, and I took the cash right out of the jar so I could have something in my wallet.[/quote]
So sorry to hear this, KillJoy. It's weird when all of the theorizing, analyzing of the last few years finally lands right on your doorstep, or cash jar. Then it becomes real. It hasn't hit me yet, but I'm more braced for it now, than ever. I may have zero income, if it gets bad enough. Have been preparing for this for years, so it won't be a horrible economic shock, just an amazing ohmygod moment, where it becomes "real".
Perhaps we should all be investing in rolaids and tums. My intake of rolaids has quadrupled in the last month.

Post peak, you set her on a pedestal in the living room, and charge admission.

Then you've got inflation on steroids.

--

Yeah, I agree with you about the prognostic value of the gas price sign, but $4 aint doom. Europe long ago saw $8 and they haven't been bestruck by doom. Yeah, I know, their situation is different from ours, but ultimately we're just as hearty and just as resourceful, and we too will cope with $8 gas.
Certainly some subsets of the population will get squeezed first. The elderly on fixed incomes may be forced to sell the house and move into a one bedroom urban apartment. That hardly fits my definition of doom. Doom, in my book, is when a large portion of the population(i.e. more than 15%) has to start skipping meals, go without heat, become homeless, or die from treatable diseases.
I'm not really feeling the doom-o-meter that intently right now. I agree there are storm clouds on the horizon, but they're a ways off. Pretty hard for me to imagine "doom" in less than five years.

Some days I almost wonder if we all aren't just scaring ourselves stupid with the crap we post on these forums. I've been following the Housing Collapse thread since it's beginning, and especially lately with all the 'impending disaster' in the financial sector, one would almost think that we should be seeing flames everywhere reaching to the heavens by now, yet apart from the $3.53/gallon gas at the nearby Chevron station (and it's higher than most other places in town) and the (relatively) minor up-tics in prices at the grocery, everything seems business-as-usual. Still just as much traffic as ever, still mostly SUVs on the road, the store shelves remain well stocked and their lights remain on, sh*t's still being built.

It's downright maddening sometimes. On the one hand, I don't want the system to collapse because as much as I abhor what we're doing to the planet as a species, I genuinely enjoy many of the benefits our modern world offers, and yet on the other hand there are days when I wish it would all crash the f#ck down already, just for the satisfaction of being able to say 'I told you so' to all the smug twits who are so damned sure that 'everything's juuuust fine'...

Try reading Savinar's links to coverage of the financial crises. The metaphor then won't be storm clouds so much as an oncoming train.