Grid-Down Collapse: Hard Assets Soar In Value
November 5th, 2012
By all accounts, the residents of many hurricane stricken areas of the north east are in the midst of a collapse. While FEMA, the National Guard and private relief organizations are in place and providing some level of assistance, the fact of the matter is that for tens of thousands of Americans, the world as they knew it has completely collapsed around them.
What we are witnessing are the immediate after-effects of what is referred to as a grid-down scenario, where utility infrastructure like water and electricity, transportation infrastructure like food and gas delivery, and commerce infrastructure like electronic banking and brick & mortar trade are no longer functioning.
In some areas there has been a total breakdown in emergency response. Without communications it has become impossible for emergency responders to be contacted. For all intents and purposes, law and order broke down within just a few hours of Hurricane Sandy passing over the east coast. Likewise, medical response was unavailable due to overwhelming demand put on the system by hundreds of people reporting simultaneous emergencies.
Almost immediately after the worst of the storm passed, people in the hardest hit areas began to realize how bad things were. Within 72 hours we had complete chaos. People were fighting for gas, digging through trashcans and standing in FEMA supply lines for hours at a time just for a bottle of water and an emergency ration kit.
The hunt for resources had begun.
Looters were hitting grocery and convenience stores, thieves and armed robbers were breaking into personal residences, and tempers flared.
With essential supplies running low and government support lacking, black markets have sprung up to fill the gap.
What has been theorized in previous commentary about what becomes money when the system collapses, became a reality over the last week.
When it hits the fan the only things of value will be the hard assets in your physical possession.