Geez Duncan, you're scaring the shit out of me.

Being scared won't help; instead, it will get in the way.

I think the banking problems, while serious, are not as important as what I see is the imminent drastic reduction in the availablilty of petroleum. Without a good supply of oil, we will have difficulty getting electricity to keep our cities lit and the water flowing. Without oil, we will be having problems getting food to the grocery stores. I think we will have a year to eighteen months to prepare for a future without a ready supply of oil. as far as the economic mess, there is a possibility of a depression, but if your job is a critical one, you should make it theough the next year okay.

Every word in your OP is God's truth, because I've been here for years lurking in the shadows.

Actually, I hope it's not God's truth; all i can do is act on what I see and hope I'm wrong.

So I just read the bailout is almost a done deal and felt better about things, then I read your post.

I don't think the bailout -- pass or fail -- or which statist pig wins the presidential election, or whether the Arizona Daimondbacks get into the playoffs is all that important.

Please Please Please verify that you think things are going bad.

I think that things will go very badly starting in about 12 to 18 months. You should be preparing for that, and you can get a lot of ideas from the LATOC folks.

I think that things could go very badly in a couple of days, but it won't be suddenly the End of the World as we know it.

What's your take on having cash on hand?

I would recommend getting a months' supply of food (not MRE's (they're too expensive), but stuff like rice, beans, canned food, peanut butter, honey, powdered milk -- stuff that doesn't need to be refrigerated. I'd also fix up your family bicycles if you have them, or get a couple of new ones if you don't. It would be nice to have about $400 in ten-dollar bills lying around (I don't think anyone's going to see anyrthing in gold or junk silver). I'd be looking for a good supply of water, whatever OTC medications you like, including antidiarrheals, cold medicines, and other similar stuff, and maybe one of those death-dealing engines for your personal protection (assuming you know how to use it).