There are a growing number of economic indicators over the past few months in the US that show Americans are joining in the prepper movement as concerns over a global economic collapse accelerate. Besides the failure of the EU to deal with nations such as Greece, Italy, Spain and Ireland over their massive debt issues, a new agreement on January 23rd between India and Iran over the use of gold for oil is facilitating a new paradigm where the word is quickly moving away from the dollar hegemony in the global economic system. As these agreements increase, the chances of a dollar collapse, or outright rejection of US control over the reserve currency also increases.
Over the Christmas shopping season, the FBI received record numbers of background checks for gun purchases, and sales of disaster preparedness gear were top items bought by Americans during the holidays. Additionally, economist and trends forecaster Gerald Celente issued his trends for 2012 in late December, and number one on the list for the new year was a call for a bank holiday, or some form of economic martial law by the government.
In the subcultures of America, the majority of people attuned to disaster preparedness are ones living in the rural areas of the country as opposed to city dwellers, and people living in urban environments. A recent interview with a rural prepper on January 21st showed that those who are self-reliant are more apt to feel the need to prepare for longer term emergencies than those who rely upon society and the infrastructure of a city to provide for them.
"In an instant, anything can happen," she told Reuters. "And I firmly believe that you have to be prepared."
Tegeler is among a growing subculture of Americans who refer to themselves informally as "preppers." Some are driven by a fear of imminent societal collapse, others are worried about terrorism, and many have a vague concern that an escalating series of natural disasters is leading to some type of environmental cataclysm.
…according to Cathy Gutierrez, an expert on end-times beliefs at Sweet Briar College in Virginia. Such feelings are not unnatural in a time of economic recession and concerns about a growing national debt, she said.
"With our current dependence on things from the electric grid to the Internet, things that people have absolutely no control over, there is a feeling that a collapse scenario can easily emerge, with a belief that the end is coming, and it is all out of the individual's control," she told Reuters. - Reuters
Americans like Tegeler view the world and the reliance on society and government much different than the majority of Americans. The reason perhaps, is that in today's world, more than half of the American people require the government and government programs to survive day to day. A new report compiled on January 23rd shows that 15% of our countries GDP is now being spent on welfare programs to more than 50% of the American people. Like the population moves from rural areas to urban ones that took place during the late 19th and 20th centuries, self-reliance is being replaced by reliance upon government.
Emergencies, natural disasters, war, and economic crisis can occur in the blink of an eye, and are not limited to just a few places around the world. The Arab Spring of 2011 toppled governements in just days, and when Katrina hit the state of Louisiana, it took FEMA nearly a week just to get supplies to the Superdome to assist the starving people. Our world is on the cusp of a global economic meltdown, or a new economic paradigm shift, and for Americans who still carry the concept of self-reliance as a way of life, a growing number of them are becoming preppers for one or more reasons.
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