As far as I know, there have been no big SNAP riots and very few people robbing Walmart and other stores. There have been a few videos and scattered reports, but nothing near the level that some of us expected.
I went to Walmart on Thursday and saw no disruption. I was cautions and kept my head on a swivel, but the store was quiet. Of course, we’re nowhere near a city, even though we are in an economically-challenged area where lots of people get SNAP. A week ago, Walmart was forced to deny that they planned to close stores. Looks like they made the right call.
Early indications are the government shutdown may be coming to an end. I guess we’ll wait and see what Friday holds.
Communists in New York City
I lived in New York City more than 30 years ago, and I bet Mayor Koch is rolling over in his grave to see a communist elected mayor. We thought Mayor Dinkins was bad, but a generation later and he would look good compared to Momdani. (If you don’t know who I am talking about, ask your parents.)
The death of our nation will be caused by socialists and people who want free stuff, whether that’s free SNAP benefits, free apartment rent, free mass transit, freedom to commit crimes without being arrested, or free a access to your hard earned dollars. Whether you call yourself a communist, a socialist, or a socialist democrat doesn’t matter—any of them will be bad for the city.
Expect businesses to leave New York, rich people to move out, Jews to flee, and more of New York City to look like a third world country it two or three years when other people’s money starts running out. In less than five years, I bet the same people who voted for socialism today will beg the president for a bail out.
I used to say young people who wanted socialism should be sent to Cuba or Venezuela for six months; at the rate things are going, we’ll be able to send them to NYC to see what a failed socialist experiment looks like.
If you see socialism gaining ground into your municipality, it’s time to leave. That’s why so many people have fled California.
Gold and Silver Rebound
After reaching record highs just a few weeks ago, both silver and gold dropped. This week, they seem to be holding their own and maybe even climbing back up. It will be interesting to see if this is a dead cat bounce or if the precious metal market has consolidated, chased out the shorts, and will now resume its climb. Either way, it has been a record year for both gold and silver, no matter what happens next.
One thing that may affect preppers is that many local coin shops are no longer buying junk silver (90 percent silver coins), sterling silver (92.5 percent silver), or any other silver products that are not .999 or .9999 fine. This is because so much alloyed silver products have been sold to pawns shops and coin dealers, the refineries that have too much on hand. They have to melt the alloyed products down and extract the pure silver. Demand for fine silver is so high, the refineries probably find it more profitable to spend their limited capacity on pure silver products.
This does not mean your junk silver is worthless, only that there is far less liquidity in the market for junk silver. If you were hoping to sell $200 face value in pre-1965 coins to raise $6,800, this is not the best time to do so. If you are saving your $200 in silver dimes and quarters for use during a currency collapse or after a SHTF event, then you are fine. Consider this another example of why some diversification is a good idea.
Bitcoin also plunged when gold and silver dropped. Cryptos have rebounded somewhat, but not as much as the precious metals.
Cheap Guns Make Good Gifts
One thing that seems to be cheaper than they have been for some time is classic guns. Right now, you can buy a 1911 made by Tisas for $280 at Palmetto State Armory. It is made in Türkiye and is copy early 1911A1s, which means poor sights and an old-fashioned hammer. It may lack many of the modern upgrades, but if you buy it at less than $300, you can afford to make some upgrades. This is a great price for a classic man-stopper.
You say you prefer the 9mm? Well, they are also selling an Inglis P35, which is a clone of the Browning Hi-Power, at $370. With a 15-round magazine, the Hi-Power is one of the original double-stack 9mms, with the design dating back to 1935.
Both these steel guns were popular when I was coming up in the gun culture. You either had a revolver, a 1911, or a Hi-Power. Berettas and CZs were much scarcer. Even today, I would consider myself well-armed with either a 1911 or a Hi-Power.
If you desire an AR15, you can buy a complete lower and a complete upper, click them together, and you’ll have a decent gun for less than $400. So if you are building out your prepper armory, consider these or similar deals from others to be suitable Christmas presents to yourself and your future security. This just seems like a good time to have an AR.
