Back on June 12, more than three months ago, I asked “Are you Ready for November?” At the time, Election Day was 145 days away. It’s now just 45 days in the future, so how are your preps going? Did you squander the last 100 days?
If so, go back and read the post because this one is additive, not redundant. It’s not too late, but the clock is ticking.
Danger Time.
While there may be some violence, threats, and protests outside voting locations, I think the most dangerous period is after the votes are counted. When preparing, you must ask yourself: How will people react, and how will the losing party react?
As I said previously, I expect civil unrest. If Trump loses, there could be protests within a week, especially if it appears there were election shenanigans, like votes miraculously appearing after the poll watchers are sent home. If Trump wins, the biggest protests will likely be around Inauguration Day. Check your calendars and avoid traveling to Washington, D.C., your state capitol, and other areas prone to protests, especially in the weeks after November 5 and surrounding January 20.
Sabotage
I think a danger few consider is what the Biden Administration could do if Trump wins. For example, they could start a war with Russia or exacerbate the situation with China or Iran. Why? Out of spite.
I don’t think Biden himself would cause an international problem just to make Trump’s term less successful, but I don’t think Biden’s in charge. If Harris loses, there could be angry, bitter people in the Biden Administration who would be thrilled to stick it to Trump, leaving him with a crisis, regardless of the harm their actions might cause to the American people or the country itself. Remember, most leftists are entitled crybabies who don’t know the first thing about good sportsmanship and losing graciously. They will sacrifice us to benefit themselves, all while spinning it on the mainstream media to look like they are not to blame.
Lame duck presidents do far worst things than pardon people. They try to enact policies and get bills passed that they would not dare to do if still up for election.
Policies
This is also the time to prep for the differing policies each candidate will enact in the next four years. You need to think about what preps you should make to survive and thrive under these policies.
Taxes
For example, if Harris wins, you can expect that the current tax breaks will be allowed to expire, something few voters have stopped to consider. This means the generous $29,200 deduction a married couple enjoys on their federal income tax ($14, 600 for an individual) will be cut almost in half. As a result, married couple can expect to pay taxes on $13,000 more income in 2025 than is untaxed right now. Not only that, but the rate at which you pay taxes will increase by 3 to 9 percent. Trump plans to extend the current tax breaks (which were passed during his presidency) while Harris intends to let the tax breaks expire and impose new taxes.
If you get tips, work overtime, invest money outside of an IRA, or collect social security, Trump’s tax policies will benefit you more than those of Harris’s policies will. This assumes, of course, Trump can get them passed by Congress.
If Harris wins, you will have one year to make changes to your retirement plans, your tax strategy, and your estate planning. Prep by talking to your accountant and a financial advisor and by watching the news for information on new taxes and the expiration of the Trump tax cuts.
Energy
Pull out your electric bill and your natural gas bill from 2019 and compare them to the bills from this year. Did you pay more under Biden or Trump?
Energy was less expensive under Trump for two reasons: inflation and because Trump supported the use of fossil fuels and encouraged the U.S. to become energy independent. Biden and his EPA halted pipelines and production of gas facilities, closed lands to drilling, and made it tougher and more expensive to build new energy infrastructure. Meanwhile, Biden pushed electric vehicles, windmills, and solar panels before the technology was nature and the infrastructure was in place to support it.
For the first time in 100 years, the U.S. is running out of electricity, at least when the sun isn’t shining. It’s likely to get worse, especially under a Harris Administration. The lack of new generation facilities is delaying everything from chip producing plants, aluminum smelting, other manufacturing, and development of more powerful AI. But more important to you and I is the possibility of blackout and brownouts due to insufficient power availability.
Instead of being used here to generate electricity, we are exporting coal to China and other countries where the resulting cheap electricity benefits them. The greenhouse gases and pollution from burning coal are still being released into the atmosphere, but at our expense instead of our benefit.
If you are planning to buy a new vehicle in the next couple of year, the winner of the presidential election might affect your decision. For example, if you want a large truck powered by gas or diesel, you might be better off buying one soon, especially if Harris is elected. If you want to take advantage of tax credits for electrical vehicles, you might want to act quickly if Trump wins.
Inflation
Laughingly, it appears that Biden’s much-touted “Inflation Reduction Act” has had the opposite effect, and it’s not just energy that is more expensive. Food, rent, houses, cars, and just about everything else you buy costs more today than it did four or five years ago.
The reasons unions are negotiating for pay increases of more than 25 percent is because the cost of living has increased so much that their members are falling behind. Most Americans are worse off financially today than they were before COVID hit. Credit card debt is up, as are car repossessions.
It is tough to say whether Trump’s fiscal policies will get passed by Congress, which has a tough time passing anything regardless of whether Democrats or Republicans are in control. Regardless of who wins, the national debt is going to continue to climb and the can will continue to be kicked down the road. While Trump may cut taxes and reduce inflation by streamlining regulation and creating a more business-friendly climate, that’s unlikely to be enough to allow us to eliminate the deficit. His policies are better for individual tax payers, small business owners and bigger businesses, but many of them will require an act of Congress.
Gun Rights
Under the Biden Administration, the BATFE has promulgated several rules that the courts have ruled unconstitutional, including rules to ban pistol braces, banning your right to build a gun at home, and prohibiting the use of forced-reset triggers. Harris is on the “ban assault weapons” train right behind Biden and shows no sign of letting up.
If you want the ability to buy guns and ammo without more onerous restrictions, higher taxes, and outright bans, then you may have only a brief window in which to do so if Harris is elected. Plan accordingly.
International Relations
Trump plans to end the war in Ukraine on “Day One.” I don’t believe he can do so, and I don’t think anyone else does, either. However, our enemies will fear the United States more with Trump as Commander and Chief than they will if Harris wins. Keep in mind that Putin attacked Ukraine when Obama was president and again when Biden was president, but not while Trump was president. That is not a coincidence.
I am reminded of how Iran released our hostages as Reagan was inaugurated rather than suffer his wrath. Trump may have a similar effect on certain countries.
No matter who wins the election, it will be hard to make up the ground lost on the international stage since Trump left office. But it is more likely Trump will stop the slide while Harris will perpetuate our current policies, which have helped make the world a more dangerous place and brought us closer to war.
From a prepping standpoint, you need to prep to survive World War III more aggressively if Harris wins. That means covering all the basics, including the ability to survive for months or even years without little or no outside inputs. Supply chain interruptions will be the least of our problems.
An Ugly Future
The world is closer to nuclear war than it has been for 40 years. Not only do we have to worry about the nuclear weapons of Russia and China, but those of North Korea and likely Iran.
The world is also closer to an economic collapse than it has been for a century. Just because the U.S. may be in a slightly better position than much of Europe doesn’t mean we are in a good position. You should prep for war and/or an economic collapse regardless of who wins the presidency.
I have been a prepper for more than 30 years and never have I felt it as important to be prepared as I do today. Not before Y2K, not after 9/11, not during the Anthrax attacks, not during the endless wars in the Middle East and Afghanistan, not during Hurricane Katrina, or when forest fires seemed to sweep the planet. Things are worse now. The peace dividend has been wasted, our culture is decaying, and we are suffering because of it. Prepping is more important today than ever.
By all means, be prepared for possible civil unrest after the election, but be prepared for much worse as well. It can’t hurt, and it might just help you survive.
