Commenting on [RunningOnEmpty2] Digest Number 5305 and citing my initial post on Saturday of the 75 plus events & consequences describing What a 2010 depression might look like, Steven F. Scharff adds his own 20 items (see below)
Walter Derzko
Author of the soon-to-be published book-
ISBN13: 978-0-470-73761-3
ISBN10: 0-470-73761-1
Steven writes:
"I read your blog listing and came up with a few things to look for as situations worsen:
- Proliferation of counterfeit products, or off-brand items given fake major brand labels
- More cases of theft of services (illegally tapping into utility lines, etc.)
- Squatter camps and "Hoovervilles" (Already there have been squatter-occupied houses that are owned by banks)
- Nostalgia-themed advertising and packaging (Trader Joes stores already sells "Simpler Times" beer)
- Home cooking coming back in vogue
- DIY/Homebrew tech becoming more commonplace, even fashionable
- Giving food as holiday gifts
- "Bonnie and Clyde" style crimes committed by the destitute
- Scapegoating of minorities ("THEY'RE the reason why we're in hard times!")
- Bootleg alcohol distillation for personal use (Watch for a sudden interest in "micro-stills"
- Resurgence of generic food packaging and loose bulk food sales
- More escapist entertainment and TV comedies (Probably low-budget productions similar to "The Honeymooners" or variety programs like "The Ed Sullivan Show")
- "Bonus" packaging (like the free drinking glasses that were once packaged in laundry detergent)
- More people "escaping" through on-line fantasies like "World of Warcraft"
- Low-Tech Chic
- Privatization of government functions
- Game shows giving more practical items as prizes (clothes, tools, food, home appliances, etc.)
- Faux luxury items (like "Ritz" crackers which were first marketed during the [First] Great Depression)
- Food extenders and substitutes
Already I've seen the local "99 Cents Only" stores boost some items to 99.99 cents, which means it rings up as $1.00, or items that used to be 2 or 3 for 99 cents selling for 49 or 59 cents each. I wonder just how long it can keep up its 99 cents policy.
A note on food extenders: During the 1970's there was a product that you could mix into a pound of hamburger which made it weigh about a pound and a half. I forget the name, but the ingredients included wheat germ, soy flour and "vegetable cellulose"..
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Steven F. Scharff
Henderson, Nevada, United States
Thanks for your ideas Steven--Walter Derzko
N.B. Have you noticed that food and material packages cost the same but the gross weigt keeps getting smaller ie potato chips, candy, package of nails etc--Walter Derzko
I THINK A 2010S DEPRESSION, which really will be a late 2000s mini depression will start with
A MAJOR RUN ON THE BANKS taking place in late 2009 as many of the economic policies including a stimulus designated to help the millions unemployed and confidence in government reaches the lowest level since the Civil War
Production comes to a severe halt in the developed nations such as the United States, United Kingdom, Austrailia and Germany, while housing in Dubai, Kuwait, and the United Arab Emirates causes a pilgrimage from these areas to other areas because of skyrocketing property values, while the housing crisis in the United States leaves to a collapse of all the housing companies causing them to split into mini companies. Even the United States Department of Housing has to undergo a severe overhaul.
The countries of Egypt, Israel, Syria, and Saudi Arabia, have to eventually come to the aid of the ailing nations previously dependant upon for assistance while battling threats of civil war in their own nations
UNEMPLOYMENT SHOOTS TO A RECORD 10.5% in the United States as even companies that supposedly depend on engineering and drilling take an unexpected decline as the growing economic crisis causes most of the nations of the Northern Hemisphere to merge together in their economies in a last ditch effort to save the numerous refugees now made peniless by the financial crisis which roots began in the United States
The economic crisis by 2011 reaches its 4th year and has caused immense violence in major cities as they have become vulnerable to numerous other socio economic factors as natural and man made disasters have gripped them and because of the lack of cash to rebuild, projects have gone unlooked at for years by the current administration.
The price of commodities has continued its yo yo effect for some 20 months now with no end in sight as the price of Gold and Oil shot up to $6.00 in the early half of 2010 and went as low as $1.30 toward the end of the year.
The erratic move in commodities causes stocks to take tumbles unknown to mankind and make unprecedented gains as investors have been issues a moratorium demanding them not to trust the market as bartering becomes a major pastime of many of the unemployed who are not threatened by health issues.
The recent joining of forces between the middle east and European nations causes the cancellation of the Olympics because of boycotts spurred by the price of these venues and a growing fascination with a political figure from the old Czech Republic who preaches a doctrine of fixing all of the world problems.
Many unsuspecting unemployed citizens follow his doctrine and are soon convinced things are getting better as GDP soars into 2012 and continues to soar and people are aggressively lead back to work because of the soaring GDP because of the tapping of whatever natural resources and fossil fuels are left in the world. Iceland becomes a nation where most want to escape to because of the changing climate and new surge in economic activity.
In this new age of economics, The U.S, and Japan are ranked behind Russia and Israel as the most productive and must thus depend on their nations for export and imports, China is aggressively considering a referendum on tapping into the new economy but is then countered by Israel as trying to use propaganda and treason to try to blackmail the cities of the world into believing they were the ones who came up with the new economic policy.
The auto industries in the United States, and Japan and Germany, that were once powerful are now owned by Middle Eastern nations and Russia who is also building an advancing millitary ready to lauch a campaign of nuclear consequence against Russia
Lets hope it doesnt come to this, but this folks is the worst case scenario.
If consumer confidence in the United States drops any further, the other nations of the world will have at.
Posted by: J. Edward | January 13, 2009 at 03:45 AM