Advice for Rich: Insure yourself against war...

[george29]

When the rich start worrying, it is time for all of us to worry, similar to when one sees Rats abandoning ship.

 

[PTK]

Ah, so this is where my family back home got the idea. All of the sudden I've been getting e-mails and calls from family, asking about what gun to buy, what supplies to get, etc. Turns out my brother and his soon-to-be-wife are buying a farm in Vermont and much of my family plans to move there and support themselves.

I find it highly amusing that a bunch of Ph.D.s are going to be living on a farm.

 

[Leanwolf]

PTK - " I find it highly amusing that a bunch of Ph.D.s are going to be living on a farm."


So do I.

Are they keeping their day jobs??

L.W.

 

[2RCO]

Wow this from Bloomberg --Wow again! I think we should all no matter economic status do the best we can to prepare for a disaster situation not necessarily SHTF. God knows we can't depend on the Gubmint. At least keep some extra food water and medication on hands a little extra ammo as well wouldn't hurt. I know I keep some extra and although I am better off than many I wouldn't refer to myself as super rich.

As said earlier by ScottD many rich guys got that way by hard work and wit not everyone is a Hilton and many of these guys know there way around a gun. Somebody buys $8k .50 Cals and $35k Thompsons and $100k plus NFA toys and it usually isn't Joe Sixpack. Some of these folks are better armed than small countries --ever met a Heavy Armor or Artillery collector I know a couple!

 

[catfish101]

I don't think money would be worth anything if "it" did happen.

The definition of "Rich" from one person to another can be totally different. Alot of people would consider people that drive new vehicles and live in nice house in the suburbs rich. I consider people to be rich if they don't work and have a maid and butler to take care of everything. Not to say they didn't work for it. If they have it then enjoy it.

Society has changed. Most people in this country would have no idea when or how to plant a potato. Most would starve to death pretty quickly because they are idiots. Look at Katrina. How many of the fools were stealing TV's instead of getting food or drink?

 

[-terry]

Hey Catfish,
Don't call them idiots. That is both demeaning and incorrect. They are probably as smart or smarter than you, but they are ignorant. Just as they may be ignorant of things you know you may be ignorant of things they know.

 

[PTK]

Leanwolf

Not as far as I understand. Most everyone else in my family is wealthy enough to simply retire, so they could theoretically pull this off. I just find it far more amusing than I can describe - literally having a rocket scientist, a biochemist, an electrical engineer, etc., working on a farm.

 

[ZeSpectre]

Well, the rich will get to build their manor houses and maybe the rest of us will get to live on them and provide the labor. Historically that's how it worked.

 

[thegriz]

Everybody has missed the point

THE RICH are getting richer by writing controversial/shocking books. The masses are buying the books and getting all worked up about them.

Whether the author's advice is valid or not is beside the point.

The point is whether or not is spurs you to buy a copy of the book.

 

[Gato Montés]

Being a rich person myself (oh BTW, did I mention I was rich?) I find that a lot of my kind are actually quite lazy. They do work, and are good at what they do, but what they do are not 9 to 5s. And even still, if you want to make the case that they are hard working there is definitely a change in experience from one or two generations ago to today. I doubt that the creators of google or youtube have the same spirit, nor the same roots as those other generations.

Also, when we say rich, what do we mean? As someone said earlier, are we talking about people with nice houses or cars, or private airlines and maids? If its the latter, believe me, when things get that bad they'll disappear in a bat of an eye. I would not worry about the rich.

 

[4v50 Gary]

THE RICH are getting richer by writing controversial/shocking books. The masses are buying the books and getting all worked up about them.

Whether the author's advice is valid or not is beside the point.

The point is whether or not is spurs you to buy a copy of the book.

Most authors don't get rich by writing books. A few do. Danielle Steele managed to buy the Spreckels (Sugar family) mansion in San Francisco. I'm sure best sellers like Tom Clancy, Tom Gresham have made money too. Even Joseph Wambaugh must have made money. Charles Henderson who wrote Marine Sniper hardly saw any money and had to buy the rights to his book back before he could. National Park Service Rangers don't get a dime for all those books they write. The National Park reaps the rewards of their work. The vast majority who write don't see much return for their effort.

Who makes the money then? Why, the publishers, then the distributors and a small slice goes to the bookseller.

BTW, some rich also get more money by going on the lecture circuit. Trump, Kirosaki (sp - Rich Dad, Poor Dad) are among them. They charge a handsome fee to flap their jaws before an auditorium filled with folks who paid good money to hear them.

 

[thegriz]

Most authors don't get rich by writing books.

I bet this guy makes some nice money on his book. Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck, etc. have made some pretty good money I bet.

You are right about the speaking circuit. Speakers have been in big demand and even marginally famous people are making serious money doing that.

My real point is that I don't believe this guy is serious about buying farms, etc. I believe he saw an opportunity to sell books and get some attention.

 

[mbt2001]

When the rich start worrying, it is time for all of us to worry, similar to when one sees Rats abandoning ship.

ergo I started this thread

 

[Mr White]

I'm sure best sellers like Tom Clancy, Tom Gresham have made money too.

Uh, I think you mean John Grisham. Tom Gresham hosts Guntalk, and although I'd much rather spend a day talking with Tom, I'm guessing that John has a few more $$$$.

 

[Sharps-shooter]

I had the good luck to come from a family that has been prosperous for many generations (most of the time). this is how we do it-- HEDGE

Health
Education
Defense
Grounds
Energy

It's sort of an investment strategy. If things are going well or not, you need to have access to all of these things, for your own, and if you can provide them to others then so much the better. And you need to have them in a form that can not be readily confiscated by the state or soonersp101. Money can become worthless at times. Being able to put food on the table, ward off enemies, and provide vital services to those around you (I'm not being altruistic here, BTW), are valuable even if we go back to the stone age.

 

[Dorryn]

Im looking forward to reading this book.

I will say one thing on this debate... its interesting how even the thought of TEOTWAWKI brings out the selfish, me-first nature of some people.

 

[ScottD]

I will say one thing on this debate... its interesting how even the thought of TEOTWAWKI brings out the selfish, me-first nature of some people.

Yup, instead of helping people, the unprepared jump to using firearms to take from the prepared. SoonerSP101 demonstrated that very clearly. Real class act there...

 

[jcwit]

This has all been discussed before in the days of duck & cover and bomb shelters. Mankind survied that and will probably will survive this also, if not I'm to old to care. There hows that for being selfish.

 

[CrawdaddyJim]

Sharps-shooter

I had the good luck to come from a family that has been prosperous for many generations (most of the time). this is how we do it-- HEDGE

Health
Education
Defense
Grounds
Energy

It's sort of an investment strategy. If things are going well or not, you need to have access to all of these things, for your own, and if you can provide them to others then so much the better. And you need to have them in a form that can not be readily confiscated by the state or soonersp101. Money can become worthless at times. Being able to put food on the table, ward off enemies, and provide vital services to those around you (I'm not being altruistic here, BTW), are valuable even if we go back to the stone age.

I know it doesn't make for a neat acronym but I would put Education as the number one priority in preparation for the scenario described above. Once the deal goes down then your exactly right about it being what you bring to the table. Those of us who know how to fix, build, design, grow, raise will be in good shape. Those who know how to type, deliver, inspect, will not unless they take it upon themselves to prepare.

And as always a pretty girl will get anything she wants.

 

[Mouflon]

As long as I have my guns and ammo I'll never starve. Some rich person with no guns and no ammo will give me his/her food.

Reading that comment makes me want to vomit. It's simply un-American and undermines every freedom that you now take advantage of. I'll defend my family and those weaker than me with my last bullet, but I'll do it in defense of things bigger than myself: honor, opportunity, ownership, and freedom.

Shame on you.

 

[Green Lantern]

Ned Flanders next door who suddenly panics because he doesn't have food or water and you do.

Actually, Flanders was shown to have a 'safe room' in one ep. Homer kicked him out if it! Which leads me to:

As long as I have my guns and ammo I'll never starve. Some rich person with no guns and no ammo will give me his/her food.

A rich person might not have guns and ammo, but they have money to hire people WITH guns and ammo to deal with people that would seek to prey on them...

And how do you KNOW they don't have guns and ammo, anyway?

Apart from the fact that most find the notion morally reprehensible, stuff like the above is why "stealing from others" should be the LAST RESORT in the smart and honorable man's emergency preparedness plans.

 

[springmom]

Springmom he wasn't talking about various arbitrary points, he did specifically mention record highs and lows. That's pretty definite, if accurate. The connection was record high=bad times coming, record low=good times coming. The problem is that it cannot be used as a predictive tool, because you don't KNOW you've reached the bottom, until far later when you look back.

Good point. The question I have is whether other highs and lows were unrelated to any social/military events but unreported by the author. IOW, were the examples selective? Correlation is not causality, but I'm unclear (without reading the book) as to whether the correlation even holds up under scrutiny. I'm basically dubious about the thesis, is the point.

Springmom

 

[mbt2001]

Correlation is not causality

Obviously, and if it were PROVEN that the market could "predict" future events, then we would all be in crap right now and there would be churches to Wall Street.

Most likely this is an observation on the collective wisdom of "crowds". The market represents a lot of people and those people have guesses, hunches, and so on. Princeton Para-research division has PROVEN that humans do impact "random" events by observation. On that note, I think that the idea is very interesting.

Also, as George29 said, when the "rich" become concerned enough to begin withdrawing from the markets or hedging on this kind of level, it does make you wonder IF this isn't "the big one".

More food for thought than anything. It could mean a lot of things, it could mean nothing...

 

[BridgeWalker]

I find it highly amusing that a bunch of Ph.D.s are going to be living on a farm.

Assuming that all PhD holder are incapable of self-sufficiency, farming, or self-defense makes about as much sense as assuming that same thing about the rich.

People earn PhDs through hard work, long hours, commitment, patience, and a whole lot of intelligence. Seems to me those qualities are pretty compatible with farming.

 

[bloodedsky]

"in any broth, the scum floats to the top."

~david gemmell