What SHTF?

[DisasterGuy]

I’ve just looked at the top headlines for 2011. Then I looked at a couple previous years. Where’s the SHTF?

It seems to me that it would take a lot to get the US into a true SHTF situation. Far as I know, no section of the country is currently in a real SHTF situation.

When I was in grammar school, we had atomic bomb drills. To be safe, we huddled under our desks. I am still not sure how much safer that was. But the atomic war never came in the next 55 years.

When I was in college, I had a professor who almost convinced me that the US dollar would crash within the next 3 years. There have been recessions since. Some 40 years later, we’re still using dollars.

Since then, I have seen predictions on running out of fresh water, famine, running out of oil (or peak oil), the collapse of the electrical grid, the total crash of the economy, rise of a dictator, etc.

I have noted in my career that the US is resilient enough to avoid SHTF despite the actions of incompetent elected officials in high and low office.

To summarize, it seems that despite the direst warnings, the US seems to bumble through somehow. Perhaps God is blessing us. Perhaps we haven’t reached the tipping point. Perhaps getting to a real SHTF situation in the US is a lot more difficult than imagined.

Is this what you see, too?

[mitunnelrat]

Yes and no. Events may currently be more localized than the level you're looking at, but its still out there.

The US faces a nationwide consumer and government debt crisis. That same crisis has led to a crash in the housing market that is still ongoing. Also associated with it is the myriad of bank failures, which are still happening today. the shtf in these areas. I've personally been impacted by debt. The shtf for me.

Regionally, it sounds like there was significant hurricane damage on the upper east coast, though it didn't get the amount of coverage or have the same impact as Katrina did on NOLA. It still interrupted services, caused flooding, and impacted some lives. The shtf there.

I've personally witnessed the physical and emotional toll in Joplin from the tornado that went through there. I can definitely say the shtf there.

All of it matters, but at the same time, as shitty as it sounds... None of it matters here. That isn't to say we don't have empathy or concern for the victims of such events, but only that we recognize shtf comes in many forms with varying degrees of severity. That's why we focus on the mechanics of prepping here over the theories of why we "should" prep.

I think, given elements of your discussion, that it would be better posed and received at our sister site, shtfnow, than here.

[Fatty]

Bubbles are bursting period. Financially, alot of our allies are suffering. Obama is requesting another 1.2 trillion debt ceiling increase. A financial crisis along with the crop failures, farmers forced to process their cattle over increased feed prices in Texas due to droughts, and increased food prices that are occurring... in my eyes, S is already streaking the fan. And if you take into account the tornados and floods from last season, insurance companies have been talking about raising premiums to compensate them having to do their job.

Needless to say, we're definitely in a little bit of a lul.:)

[msomnipotent]

It depends on your definition of SHTF. It hit the fan a few times for me already. It is definitely happening elsewhere, so we would be wise to learn from it.

I also personally think that all the predictions regarding financial crisis, famine, war, etc, could have easily became true if it were not for people like us that believe it can happen and did something about it, rather than people that think it can't happen here. And don't forget that there is no expiration date on possible disasters.

[The Stig]

It all depends on your definition of SHTF.

If your definition is that SHTF = Mad Max style total apocalyptic meltdown then no, we've not had one. How hard would it be to have one? Tough to say and would likely involve factors best discussed at our sister website ( All Discussions - SHTF Now! (http://www.shtfnow.com))

If your definition is that SHTF = any sort of event that can severely impact your life and well-being then yes, we have SHTF events in the USofA and have them on a regular basis. Weather events, natural disasters, chemical spills, civil unrest, food shortages, active shooters, rogue elephants and divorce (or depending on your perspective, marriage) all qualify as SHTF events. It's the stuff of life and, as such, it's what we spend our lives trying to prepare for.

It should be clear that our forum embraces the second definition of what constitutes a SHTF event. As such, we all deal with SHTF events, big and small, on a regular basis.