I find this thread interesting but it is not for everyone, clearly.

It is not for the people that easily panics, the people that are afraid or easily scared. Everyone would be better off if you just move on and behave like normal people.

The thread is for people that would like some tips on how to prepare for an uncertain future in a rational way. I'm not commenting on why this may be a better time than other times to make such preparations, timing is immaterial in principle.

Just like most responsible persons have a good first aid kit in their cars (that may cost you like 50 bucks or so), most responsible people should also have a "first aid kit" for their everyday lives not to be destroyed by shorter or longer disruptions to the taken-as-givens; the electric grid, water and food supply and so forth.

To prepare for this costs a little more than 50 bucks but most people will manage to get a basic level of preparedness for quite little money. Furthermore, unlike the car first aid kit many of the things included in the "home survival kit" can be put to good use also in stand-by mode; staple food that can and should be cycled, and things like solar-powered equipment that can be used to save on utility bills much like other investments in energy efficiency. In most respects it just a question of creating a buffer.

Keep the contributions coming, good thread even if you are not a die-hard survivalist!

/L