[extropy-chat] it's all understandable, except

[Samantha Atkins]

On Nov 8, 2006, at 2:49 AM, BillK wrote:

> On 11/8/06, Samantha Atkins wrote:
> <snip>
>> Given that a very large monetary crisis is imminent, what can we do
>> individually and in small to large groups to insure as much of our  
>> own
>> wellbeing and the preservation / continuation of as much of what is
>> really important to us as possible.  I believe and was one of the
>> first here to say that a major financial crash is imminent.  I  
>> believe
>> that most of the so-called "war on terror" is a convenient excuse to
>> jockey for hard assets while building up the capacity for draconian
>> levels of power over the people at home before the s**t really hits
>> the fan.
>>
>> So what can we do to make things better?   What shall we do in
>> preparation if it is too late to do much to stop it?  What can we
>> preserve and how?    How can we increase the odds that as much as
>> possible of what we most care about will not be lost?
>>
>
> In the sense that the economy is always changing through the normal
> cycle of boom and slump, and investment sectors are always moving in
> and out of fashion, then there is always a financial crisis on the
> horizon somewhere. Some crises are worse than others, of course.

Yes.  We are talking about one at least as bad although a good deal  
different from the Great Depression.

>
> If you are poor, or a wage slave with little savings, then there is
> little you can do. Just the normal state of trying to improve your
> situation, better job, better education, live more economically, etc.
>

I am not so sure.  Even those with modest means and prospects may have  
talents that can be employed to shore up infrastructure and  
information resources safety to at least a small degree.  Pooling  
resources with others could also make a lot of sense as a practice to  
master.


> If you have some savings, then try to do the same as the rich folk,
> but to a lesser extent, obviously.
>

In the event of a major disruption and at least potential social chaos  
we stand to lose a lot of information and technology and  
communications with one another.  There are things that can perhaps be  
done to partially mitigate that that are not what rich folk generally  
do.


> The rich always get richer, regardless of the economic problems,
> because they have spare resources to take advantage of the situation.
> Politics is pretty irrelevant to them, apart from creating a secure
> environment within which they can operate to their best advantage.
>

This isn't very relevant to what I was hoping to get into.


> If the currency is heading for a collapse, then move out of cash and
> into real assets, or buy into a stronger currency.

One part is protecting wealth as best as is possible.  But I am also  
very concerned with protecting knowledge and infrastructure.   This  
also can include plans for and producing alternative infrastructure.

> If property is over-valued and heading for a price crash, then sell
> your property portfolio before the price drops.
> If the share market is headed for a crash, then sell shares before  
> the crash.
> If every investment in the country is going south, then invest abroad.
>
> After the crash happens, buy up loads of the now cheap stuff, shares,
> property, whatever.
>
> This is all business as usual for the rich folk. Buy cheap, sell dear.
> Crisis, what crisis?
>

Crisis when social chaos is followed by martial law.  Crisis when  
science and technology get blamed and a theocracy or "cultural  
revolution" blooms.  Crisis when the "rich" are scapegoats and there  
are no concentrations of wealth left to recover with.  Crisis when the  
financial infrastructure melts down making investment and trade on  
anything but a very small scale extremely difficult.  Crisis through  
major warfare.  Crisis if in the chaos a great deal of important  
capital goods (means of production), infrastructure (especially the  
Net) and knowledge are loss.  It is about a hell of a lot more than  
being a savvy investor surfing whatever comes financially.

- samantha