What you are watching unfold in Greece right now is eventually going to come to your own neighborhood. Someday, people living all around you will be storming the supermarkets in a desperate attempt to secure the food and supplies that they neglected to store up when they had the chance. Of course the Greeks never thought that it would happen to them either. Their civilization had endured for thousands of years, and they were a part of the most powerful economic alliance on the face of the planet. Most Greeks never imagined that they would be plunged into a multi-year economic depression that would ultimately lead to “bank holidays”, long lines at ATM machines, and people diving into dumpsters in a frantic search for something to sell. And this is just the beginning of the chaos in Greece – things are going to get much, much worse for them. Hopefully, this will serve as a wake up call for millions upon millions of clueless Americans out there, because we are on the exact same path that Greece has gone down. The sad truth is that no amount of “American exceptionalism” is going to prevent us from suffering the consequences of decades of very foolish decisions. We are steamrolling toward our own version of economic collapse, and when that time arrives you don’t want to be caught totally unprepared for it. (Read More...)
Supermarkets
Worst Freeze In 60 Years Wipes Out Entire Crops Across The Southwestern U.S. And Northern Mexico
Get ready to pay a lot more for produce at the supermarket. In early February the worst freeze in 60 years wiped out entire crops all across the southwestern U.S. and northern Mexico. Already, it has been reported that some U.S. supermarkets have doubled or even tripled prices for certain produce items. Yes, you read that correctly. The price of certain vegetables is actually doubling or even tripling in many U.S. supermarkets. The really bizarre weather that we have been seeing all over the globe this winter is really playing havoc with food prices. The global price of food hit an all-time record during the month of January, and most observers expect food prices to continue to soar. Even before this recent horrible freeze in the southwestern U.S. and northern Mexico, global food prices were pushed higher by unprecedented flooding in Australia and Brazil, and key agricultural areas of China are now experiencing their worst drought in 200 years. Things are getting really crazy out there. Produce prices in the U.S. are eventually expected to return back to normal levels, but this just shows how dramatically food prices can change when a major disaster happens. (Read More...)