Reply #58: We pray a hard crash doesn't happen.

[bvar22]

We don't consider ourselves "survivalists". The people who fondle guns and daydream about shooting hungry people scare us. There are some of those up in these hills. We avoid them.
We sincerely pray that a crash doesn't happen. It would make things harder on everybody, ourselves included.

A few years ago we made a choice to pursue a lifestyle that was focused on sustainability and independence.

We started getting worried after selection 2000. When Bush* was installed by the Supreme Court we were outraged. When the Democratic Party posed NO OPPOSITION to the little Reagan on steroids, and in fact helped him, we were really worried.
Property values were increasing at incredible (artificial) rates with little or no value added to the property itself. Most people jumped for joy celebrating the Free Money. It scared us. When something is suddenly/magically worth twice as much without a lot of hard work, we want to know why.

The final straw was campaign/election 2004. We were forced to face the REALITY that neither political party represented us. We were sure something very bad was coming, and started making plans. Over the next two years we sold everything, cashed out most of out 401K, bought Bubble Proof property in a very rural unspoiled/undeveloped area in the South with an abundant clean water supply surrounded by National Forest (plenty of wildlife, long growing season, low energy demands, very low property taxes).

In 2006, we quit our jobs, left the Big City (Minneapolis), and moved to our new place.
The performance of the Democratic Majority in Congress since 2006 only reassured us that we made the right decision.
We ARE registered to vote, and support the Democratic Party 100%, but don't hold much hope that anything will really change. Our focus has become local Humanitarian/Community Issues, and methods of denying support for Corporate America.

We have planted a large vegetable, herb, and fruit garden, have two healthy HoneyBee colonies (expand to 4 colonies next Spring), and keep a dozen chickens. More fruit trees and a large BlueBerry Patch are being added this year. We are freezing and canning this year for consumption over the Winter. Next year we will be solar drying BlueBerries, Figs, and Lavender for marketing.

We will no longer pay for the obscenity this country has become.
We have reduced our taxable income to near poverty levels.
We no longer use "credit", don't have a mortgage, build everything ourselves, buy "used, 2nd hand, or salvage" directly from previous owners, and Barter, Trade, or pay CASH to avoid all taxes whenever possible.
As much as possible, we have stopped consuming in the Corporate America sense of the word.

After 2 years, we are still on the Corporate hook for electricity, Sat TV, some gasoline, and about 1/2 of our food, but have plans to eliminate or minimize those. Internet access is by cheap Dial Up.

We realize we are very fortunate to be in a situation to do this. We have no dependent children, and are in good health. We miss the advantages of Urban Consumption, but have little desire to return.
We pray that an Obama administration and a Democratic Congress can turn things around for America, but see no signs that this will happen.



Spring Promise 2008