Dow Jones plummets

[eagl]

i planted a small garden (1/2 to 3/4 acre) and thinking about chickens and turkeys...

"victory gardens" were a big deal during the world wars...  No reason why people can't grow a little garden to supplement their diet, although buying fertilizer might get you arrested as a terrorist.  I read a story today about how a guy got arrested because he bought a bag of fertilizer and a wristwatch during the same shopping trip.  I guess the thousands of casio watch-bombs make purchasing cheap wristwatches and miracle-gro a surefire terrorist profile 

Back on topic though, it's probably not a bad time to look into gardening.  You can quadruple yields per square foot (or better) by using a greenhouse or hydroponics, but that takes a bit more effort than just sticking seeds into potting soil.  Someone willing to put an hour a day and a couple of hours per weekend into their garden/greenhouse could pretty much eliminate the need to buy fresh vegetables year-round.  Scale it up a bit (get the spouse or kids involved) and you might even have enough to sell/trade to neighbors.  It's tough to plant enough grain/corn to feed livestock, but there might be a local feed supplier or larger-scale chicken farmer who would be willing to trade you some chicken feed or laying mash for some fresh vegetables.

Chickens are smelly and noisy, but they aren't very difficult to care for.  And fresh eggs do taste a lot better.  The only nasty part is if you want to actually eat the chickens, killing and removing feathers/guts can be messy.  Plus sometimes the neighbors get upset if they're the queasy sort.  My brother raised rabbits for food because they're about as easy to care for as chickens and are easier to clean and prepare for eating, but he moved to a more populated area and decided the occasional "evening of the screaming rabbits" wasn't going to work.  So he offed them all in a massive killing spree and they had very tasty rabbit stew for a few days before they moved.

[Mr No Name]

LOL too funny... If he had bought say 500lbs and a mechanical clock... ok, maybe...

[Mr No Name]

I just started the garden this year because the price of food went so high thanks to gas prices and corn based ethanol popularity... see what i have been saying? when the government tries to tweak with free enterprise, it ALWAYS screws us up!

[Nwbie]

I suggest China to start.

I doubt they would lend us the money to do that

[Mr No Name]

LOL Good point... but we do have this old stockpile of stuff laying around..... hmmm

[Nwbie]

How How?? Enquiring minds want to know?

My wifes grandfather started selling used Model T's out of his backyard, learned body and fender work, walked around town and offered his services taking the dents out of cars, & started one of the first Ford Dealerships during the depression.
Now that took stones.

[thndregg]

It's times like this I am thankful for how I choose to lead my life, and raise my sons.
-I own my home. A used three-bedroom mobile home that cost all of $5000. Very humble.
-All of the vehicles my wife and I own, and we do indeed own them. An '86 Toyota pickup, a '95 Buick LeSabre, a '79 Trans Am, an '81 Ramcharger, and an '87 Dakota.
-We live on 10 acres out of town. The land has been in our family since the mid 1940's. My dad currently owns it, and it will eventually come down to my brother and myself. Therefore, food can be raised, money can be earned, enabling us to survive tough times.
-We have NO credit cards. If we do not have the cash, we don't buy it.
-For now, while I am employed, I work only six miles down the highway, so the high price of gas does not impact us too severely. (Guess which two vehicles I prefer to commute with regularly.)
-The only bills I pay are 1)Power, 2)Landline/Internet, 3)Cell phones, 4)Auto Insurance, and 5) Half of the property tax for the farm. My dad takes up the other half.

I just prefer to keep our finances as simple as we can make them, especially during times like this.

[FrodeMk3]

I doubt they would lend us the money to do that

As a matter of fact, I saw somewhere that China instructed all of it's banks not to lend any more lines of credit to Wall Street until they heard otherwise.http://english.people.com.cn/90001/90776/90884/6506513.html

and here's this as well:http://uk.biz.yahoo.com/080929/244/i7nnx.html

[Nwbie]

It's times like this I am thankful for how I choose to lead my life, and raise my sons.
-I own my home. A used three-bedroom mobile home that cost all of $5000. Very humble.
-All of the vehicles my wife and I own, and we do indeed own them. An '86 Toyota pickup, a '95 Buick LeSabre, a '79 Trans Am, an '81 Ramcharger, and an '87 Dakota.
-We live on 10 acres out of town. The land has been in our family since the mid 1940's. My dad currently owns it, and it will eventually come down to my brother and myself. Therefore, food can be raised, money can be earned, enabling us to survive tough times.
-We have NO credit cards. If we do not have the cash, we don't buy it.
-For now, while I am employed, I work only six miles down the highway, so the high price of gas does not impact us too severely. (Guess which two vehicles I prefer to commute with regularly.)
-The only bills I pay are 1)Power, 2)Landline/Internet, 3)Cell phones, 4)Auto Insurance, and 5) Half of the property tax for the farm. My dad takes up the other half.

I just prefer to keep our finances as simple as we can make them, especially during times like this.

Who would have thought thndregg, you are in an enviable position to many people

[oakranger]

The depression was caused by many situations.  the rich getting richer, we where out producing more then what was demand, so on and so on.  History will repeat itself.  It is inevitable.  America is at a point that F&^( up.  CEOs make more than what they are worth.  Sending jobs to third world country for cheap labor.  Unions forced companies to paid more to there employee, health insurance, ect. I hate to say it, but will are one the way to a collaps country where we may see another civil war.

[Mr No Name]

I will say this in defense of those CEOs... Many are very ethical and it astonishes me how people think it is horrible that an ivy-league educated CEO can make oh say 15 Million, but a basketball star can make 50 Million or an actor can make 10 Million on a movie and nobody really flinches...

[oakranger]

I will say this in defense of those CEOs... Many are very ethical and it astonishes me how people think it is horrible that an ivy-league educated CEO can make oh say 15 Million, but a basketball star can make 50 Million or an actor can make 10 Million on a movie and nobody really flinches...

There are more CEOs that make over 100 million.  Lets not forget the more 100 million dollars ofstocks, retirment, ect.  How much money do you really need?

[Hangtime]

off with their heads.

[Mr No Name]

I could say the same about athletes...  Have you bought a ticket to a baseball game and a coke, hotdog and cap?  Where is the outcry against that?  I sure don't think we need to be bailing these guys out at all - not one dime - but how can you decide what a CEO is worth?  Shouldn't that be up to the shareholders and board of directors of the corporation they run?

[oakranger]

I could say the same about athletes...  Have you bought a ticket to a baseball game and a coke, hotdog and cap?  Where is the outcry against that?  I sure don't think we need to be bailing these guys out at all - not one dime - but how can you decide what a CEO is worth?  Shouldn't that be up to the shareholders and board of directors of the corporation they run?

Well,lets  say you work for a company that makes computers.  The CEO decieds to move that factory to china, india, brazill to get cheap labor. CEO makes millions more and and you are out of a job.  Yea, that justifys everything.