I am of the opinion that some of our favorite stores that we have been buying from for our preparedness, will be the first to go down. Not because we will all quit buying in Jan, but because 99% of what they sell is foreign made. Especiall Asia. If Asia crashes, if our Customs Dept crashes, there will be no more WalMart. What I am trying to say is that even if goods are available after Jan 1, they will decrease in availability and increase terribly in price. Yesterday I bought my hubby and me 4 pairs each of $10 tennis shoes at WalMart. They either won't be there or you will pay $50 for a $10 pair of shoes. This will be true of so much of what we buy in the stores. We are an information society and if we go down, we won't go back to the industrial age as we have already done away with that infrastructure. We will in some ways be a combo of info/and preindustrial age. Its already interesting to see some of the "inventions" people are building for y2k. As true necessity takes hold the creative juices will run.

Got velcro??

-- Taz (Tassie@aol.com), March 02, 1999

Answers

I agree with the thesis that if (if?) the infrastructure collapses, we'll fall back to pre-industrial times, say, the 1100's. Why so far back? Because survivors will be so few and far between. Starvation, violence, disease and and inability to raise a new generation will wipe out the vast majority in the industrialized countries. As I've said before (and been flamed for saying), the pre-industrial peoples, the indigenous tribes, the humble, the simple peoples will not be fazed. But in the post-industrial world, human outposts will be far-flung and few. A dark age? Depends on your perspective. There was a reason it was called the 'Age of Faith.' In the year 2020, it would be a miracle to reproduce the efforts of the Hanseatic League, or 15th c. Venice. Won't be possible. Think hunter-gatherers, rudimentary agriculture. Think of the time you'll save commuting.

-- Spidey (in@jam.com), March 02, 1999.

My husband works retail (not Walmart). He says the reason that Walmart has some of the best profit margins is it has one of the best inventory mgmt. systems. Vendors read sales and adjust production accordingly. Where's the info going to come from if no data exchange? Taz is right. Going to get alot more expensive.

-- margie mason (mar3mike@aol.com), March 02, 1999.

spidey you're just being an idiot right now, maybe on purpose. Who knows. the 1100s ha ha ha. So what if Asia has problems. It will mean they cant ship as many tennis shoes but not that they won't send any at all. Do you have a job Spidey. You must be a dishwasher or a gargageman because no company would keep you if they knew how stupid the statements you are making are.

-- spidey2 (spidey@spideynonsense.com), March 02, 1999.

Spidey ... I was thinking 1800s till you posted this. But the thing not thought about to much in these threads is the large number of wars that will break out as Sadam , Russia , China see their big chance to finish the wounded US and/or just seize any territory that has needed minerals, farmland, water or just masses to enslave, like they did in the past. If you read the book by Rees-Bogg and Davidson , "Blood in the Streets" , you will see we are revolving out of political/ capitalalistic controled era , back to the warrior era (survival of the strongman when technology fails to keep their numbers in check). Glad I ordered extra ammo this A.M. . I KNOW we'll keep the deer population thinned out in this part of the country !! Eagle Got Vasoline intensive care ??? Those tender hans are going to do a lot of manual labor after 2000.

-- Harold Walker (e999eagle@freewwweb.com), March 02, 1999.

I'm one of the originals that have been labeled as doomsayers. While t is interesting to speculate on how far back that we may go, my point is not how far but how it will be different.

Pick the "age" you like best for a guess. What ever that age was like, we will have one HUGE difference. We will KNOW what is possible because we will have done it before. Big difference.

In which ever age you choose, those folks, while every bit as intelligent as we are, lacked the knowledge that we have firmly under out belts. While I may not have modern medical facilities at my disposal, I will have the knowledge of sanation necessary to avoid some of the worst problems they had. I may not have referigation available, but I will have the knowledge about food spoilage, again to avoid a lot of the problems they had.

Knowledge is the difference. My high school age son knows more about the workings of the universe that Galileo (-2/sp), my daughter know more chemistry (she barely made it out of the class) that Merlin in his best (mythical) days. Take even something as crude and low tech as Morse code. This is a HUGE advance in communications over what even out founding fathers had.

This is why we have a HUGE advantage. Thinking on these things has cause the Bear Den to be stacked with a LOT of reference books, how to books, and general knowledge books.

KNOWLEDGE IS THE DIFFERENCE

-- Greybear, course our society do also have some pretty nasty addictions to government teats to kick.

- Got Books?

-- Greybear (greyberar@home.com), March 02, 1999.

Greybear, you are not alone in the book store.

I'm even thinking about what books I plan to borrow from the library, and renew, renew, renew... (yes, I'm ashamed)

I prowl the used book stores, and am eager to get to the spring rummage and garage sales that always have boxes of books for a dollar or less.

One of my greatest anxieties about Y2K being a real disaster is what we'll do for eyeglasses. Just can't find an eye guy who will sell prescriptions that are stronger than needed... so I've been buying packs of reading glasses in greater strengths, just in case... Don't know yet what to do about the near-sightedness...

-- Arewyn (nordic@northnet.net), March 03, 1999.